h00kemh0rns

Check out Racks and Stands: here As far as the Bush segment stand and supporting the speaker look for your stand on Racks and Stands: here Under the specifications they give weight limitations. Typically tempered glass is 50lbs total.

I have to chime in again regarding the receivers. For HT/Movies that are not in 1080p you need to think about how you're going to upscale any DVD's you have or your cable signal. I would go with these in this order: Onkyo (875 or 905): Simply the best video upscaler (Reon-HQV) for any SD DVD or signal from your cable company. Denon (5308 and up): Use the Realta HQV high end upscaler. Cons with this is simply cost. You can get the Onkyo for a fraction of the cost of the Denon. Denon (2308 to 4808): Uses the DCDi Faroudja mid level upscaler. Cons with this is lower quality video upscaling than the Reon and costs more than the Onkyo. Yamaha (1800, 3800, and up): Uses ABT (Anchor Bay Technology) 1010 upscaler. Hands down the worst you can buy. ABT produces a high end upscaler but for whatever reason Yamaha chooses not to use them in any of their lines including the $5k rx-z11 receiver. Here is a blurb about ABT 1010: The ABT1010 is Anchor Bay Technologies' second generation video scaling chip that is targeted at low-cost DVD player/recorder applications requiring up-conversion from 480p/576p to high-definition formats including 1080p. Now, if upscaling isn't a concern for you....go with whatever you can afford. The Denons would be my choice if that was the case.

LOL...I think I just heard him say "sh&*!!!"

If you're thinking of this in terms of a movie/music combination room concentrate on what you want for your front (r/l) speakers and center channel. Then match the correct surrounds (2 or 4 speakers depending on what you want.) From what I see you've mixed and matched some speakers from different lines. I personally wouldn't do this as the harmonics won't be the same and there is a reason Klipsch pairs speakers together in order to get the best sound. As far as using the RF-82's for rear speakers...yes that is over kill and not needed. My suggestion is pick a price you can spend on the room then build from there. A room of that size I would do a 5.1 system of the RF-82 home theater room setup Klipsch has. You could probably do something similiar as my room minus a couple surrounds: http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/42024.aspx?PageIndex=98

Guess it comes down to what you plan on watching (any sports/fast action?), how your LR is set up (ie bright light/lots of windows), cost of the Panny (as its a discontinued model), etc. For me I like to watch sports and the 120 hz/MEMC is appealing, also if you have a bright LR b/c of ambient lights LCD's are better in this environment than plasma's, and finally I can assume what you paid and hope you got good deal since it is a discontinued model (ext warranty.) My assumption is that you paid around $1k for the TV and at that price I would have leaned heavier, even though they cost slightly more, on the newer vizio's out right now (can be had at Sam's/Costco for around $1200) or the Black Tie Series slated for July/Aug (see blurb on black ties below.) Keep in mind the MSRP below isn't what you can expect to pay at retail..usually knock a couple hundred off. The firm's new Black Tie family consists of the 42-inch SV42LF and the 47-inch SV47LF, both of which rock that 1080p goodness, 120Hz processing, 6,500:1 contrast ratio, four HDMI 1.3 inputs, an integrated NTSC / ATSC / Clear-QAM TV tuner, on-board Dolby 3.0 processing, Motion Estimation Motion Compensation (MEMC) and a side access "HD Game Port" with an HDMI input. These units also feature slimmer bezels than those found on Vizio's past sets, and should be available this July for $1,499 and $1,899, respectively. With all that said the easiest is to look for reviews from owners to see what issues they've had and if you can live with them. And if yes, then if you're happy with the cost and picture quality it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Of course there is always something better around the corner it all depends on if you want to wait or look around.

Most manufacturers don't even have an ISF certification. A certification doesn't mean a whole lot to begin with. 9x's out of 10 they aren't in spec with what the calibration will show to begin with. However, all modern televisions/projectors do have the ability to be calibrated to ISF standards.

If the question is how do you get the calibration hardware on a screen there are multiple ways, up to and including tripods or hanging it from the frame.

Honestly, in your case it really doesn't matter b/c the best you will get is 720p. But, according to Onkyo specs it will upconvert any signal it receives to 1080p.

About 2000 reasons. Specifically all the standard dvd titles I have not to mention the 1080i signal from time warner that would benefit from an up conversion to 1080p.

Go with the Onkyo (I'm partial to them personally as I have the 875 and love it!), save the extra couple hundred and put it on the blu ray player. And quite honestly I understand keeping everything symetrical however you can NOT beat the Sony PS3 40GB for $399. Besides all components will probably be hidden behind a cabinet or not seen when the lights are dimmed. So being all the same is of a moot point when you, your family or friends are wow'd by the end result. If anyone concentrated on the components to see if they are of the same brand then you have bigger probs If upconversion is a big deal then the Reon processor Onkyo has in the 875 is the best out there in the mid range a/v rec's. Consider spending a few extra to get this feature. For the delta in price it will be pennies per day until you have to upgrade again. IMHO

I'm assuming this rant was meant for someone else...

Doubtful...maybe a different flavor of Avia but as far as I'm aware the blu ray version isn't out yet. See email I received today: info@ovationmultimedia.com to me show details 8:51 AM (6 hours ago) Reply Thank you for your inquiry. Our target is now sometime in the 3rd quarter of this year for the Avia High Definition Blu-ray Disc release. I will add your email address to our database in order to send you a notice once the disc is available. We were hoping to have it on the market by now, but changes are currently being made to its content. We are postponing its release in order to cover all features offered by Blu-ray such as BD Live and a PS3 set up guide. Thank you for your interest in our products! Kind regards, Lisa Berendts Ovation Multimedia

I'm curious about how good the Avia II (Blu Ray) version would be as compared to having an ISF Calibration done. I'm actually going to have the ISF cal done on my new Samsung Series 7 TV...but now that I have a home theater (projector) I was debating on doing one or the other. Seems there is no one way that is definitively good. The Avia is a do it yourself disc but the blu ray version isn't due out until Fall of this year. Not to mention people on avsforum have had mixed reviews. Whereas I've done the ISF cal before and there is a dramatic difference in the performance. However you're paying ~$300 for the service and is it any better than Avia?

Subwoofer cable:

I would use the largest possible that you can get away with for your walls/studs/joists. Never know what you might end up snaking through there in the future.

Well depends... For my case I didn't secure them to any studs b/c this was done all after dry wall was up. The only connection is to the wall plate/banana plug inserts. Now if you are doing a complete start from fresh application and have access to the dry walls then using carpenter staples would do the job. Personally, there is no added benefit from securing the wires to the studs. If you think about it...they aren't going any where. [H] Conduit is a flexible plastic tube that you can install into the walls in areas where you'll need to run wires more than once. Today this would translate to HDMI as this technology will change. Speaker wires once installed you should never have to touch them again.

Now, I was fortunate to know someone who is a friend of a friend of a cousin twice removed and did mine via software. After plugging some measurements in, specs on the system, yada yada...bada bing I had a layout where to place the panels. The alternative instrument is a....drum roll....mirror I was going to go the route of the mirror b/c like you I'm doing everything on a small budget. In fact, the whole set up when done will be under $10k (there were alot of EPP deals, hot buys, and discounts that took most of the 6 - 8 mos of buying.) Basics of using the mirror requires two people. One sitting or standing in the main viewing/listening area the other to hold the mirror and move it along the wall. You move the mirror until they can see the speaker and that is the center of the panel. Repeat the process on the other side. Also, don't forget bass traps for the corners. You can have them built in a soffit like design, column, or angled panel. The other route I was going to go was buying this service. The one I stumbled across and peaked my interest (though I'm sure there are more) is this one: http://www.readyacoustics.com/index.php?go=products.proddetails∏=3DRA At $55 it seemed to do a good job and it was right up my frugal alley. Hope this helps....

As I just got done doing this it's fresh in my head... For the wire in the walls/ceiling use structual/architectual grade wire. It is a much thicker jacket and gives better protection (usually white.) As far as the other wire from the wall to speaker/av receiver you would use the standard speaker wire (usually gold jacket.) As far as gauge goes I would opt for 12 gauge though you could get away with 14. Think about banana plugs as well from the wall to the av receiver. Now on the HDMI cable think about running a flex tube conduit and wall plates. This will do a couple things...One you don't have to get a huge run from end to end when using wall plates. Rather than having a single 45 foot hdmi cable you could do a 30 ft cable in wall/two wall plates/(2) 7-8 ft cables from wall to receiver/vid source. This will save you some money up front. Second, if you change equipment or new technology comes out (and it is coming since they have 2kP coming) then changing this system out won't cause too much headache. Where to get and quality... Monoprice has the wall plates for HDMI (1.3a version) and you can either buy the HDMI cable from them or go to BlueJeans (where I opted.) Both have excellent QA and you can't beat the price. For the speaker wire you can purchase from just about any large electronic store. If you're lucky enough to have an Altex, or something similar, I'd start there...the big chains will gouge your wallet. Genesis also makes a good wire and can be had online. Hope this helps.

Before I forget....there are numerous companies out there that you can use for prefab'd panels. However, they cost a pretty penny... I did come across one company who prefabs the panel and uses both wool or insulation. They are relatively cheap (fraction of most companies and just a little more than a DIY.) http://www.acoustimac.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=11&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=21

I'm about 3 - 3 1/2 hrs away from lewisville. As far as the acoustical treatments I'll be doing that on my own. It's relatively easy to do and cheap. 1" x 2" wood planks cut to size (depending on demensionsof the panel ie. 4' x 2'), OC705 Insulation, thin backing board, piano hinges, and fabric. The hard part is that I'm going to try to get a good contrast shape/color that goes with the room. I'm envisioning some trial and error to get the look right.

Thank you... This was the third color scheme this room went through before it got to what you see here. Needless to say I refuse to paint another room in my house until I can forget the painting snafu I had with the media room. [:S]

I had actually worked with someone to give me an assessment of speaker placement in addition to acoustical treatments. All of this was based on the existing room dimensions and the fact I had already purchased these speakers without much thought to the room. Anyways, long story short I was concerned with the shear size of the fronts so I called and emailed Klipsch. After they saw my sound guys write up and assessment they said he was spot on and that the layout would be perfect for this room size. And after listening to it...it is nothing but spectacular. Some may call it overkill but I'm happy.

Just finished up a major hurdle with this media room. It's been 6 mos in the making (planning/buying) and over the last two weekends finally finished up a good majority of what I wanted to get done. Now granted there are some things that I still need to buy and/or touch up but for the most part it's very close to done. Here's what I have: Hardware Onkyo 875 AV Receiver Monster Clean Power 5100 HTII Sony PS3 Scientific Atlantic HD-DVR Panasonic PT-AE2000U Screen Innovations Black Diamond 92" Screen StudioTech U22T Cabinet Speakers RF-63 Floorstanders (x2) RC-64 Center RS-62 Surrounds (x4) RT-10d Subwoofer Misc Harmony 1000 Lutron IR Lighting Control More to come IR Blaster/RF extender for Harmony Ipod add on for Onkyo IR2BT for PS3 (will allow for full control of all 51 commands of the PS3 on the Harmony) Seating Acoustic Panels New Sconce lighting Soffit Replace entry doors. Paint small attic door. And whatever else my mind comes up with. So without futher ado... Utilized my homes dedicated media room (though not an ideal layout/design by the builder it wasn't all that bad.) I blasted some flood lamps in the room which is why the screen washed out...not to mention had the flash go off on the camer. (doh) Entry into the room; looking to the right. You'll see blue painters tape on the pipe/project mount top...part of my touch ups needed (ie calk/paint hole in ceiling.)

He's looking for a good HT receiver which means he wants a good upconverter chip. The Yamaha uses ABT 1010 which is their lowest line which doesn't even compare to a Faroudja much less the Reon. As far as the Marantz 7002 it only upconverts to 480p/480i the Onkyo 875 does 1080p (XA2 processing on all sources.) For the most part the Onkyo trumps Marantz (more watts per channel, better upconverter, burr brown DACs) and is on par with other features. So, I question your reasoning to suggest a Yamaha or even Marantz especially with no reasoning besides just a suggestion. BTW, the caprice comment is completely asinine. Simply throwing an inuendo that what he's choosing is a budget receiver is ridiculous.

You're absolutely right on this...there is ALWAYS going to be something better out there. Either wait a bit and the new product line will be better or spend more money. It all comes down to being frugal. Go ahead and set your price point, select the features you'd like to see, then listen to owner feedback. It's what you can afford and live with that is all that matters. If you get the Onkyo 875 you'll be very happy with the sound and to boot the Reon onboard. Besides, it's not like you'll be switching it out with the Denon 5308 to compare each day. If you change your price point this becomes a different argument but right now the price difference isn't giving you the most bang for the buck. There are so many other things that go into sound (i.e. room config, accustical treatments, etc) which would give you more and cost less than buying a higher end receiver (IMHO.)