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Eskimo1

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  1. I think our Satellite receiver outputs all the HD stuff at 1080i. What I'm not crazy about is that I can see compression artifacts if I look for them, but it's not often that I watch TV in the theater room.
  2. Enjoy it!! I don't regret buying mine a single bit, especially now with the 'scope screen..
  3. 'Scope is incredible... We went from a 52"x92" 16:9 to a 49"x117" 2.35:1. Viewing distances are 11' and 18'. The 'scope is just absolutely amazing. We've setup 3 lens memories, one for 16:9, one for 2.35, and one for SD DVD which shrinks the picture a little to help hide the lack of resolution. The AE3000 make this all possible for THOUSANDS less than a good PJ and anamorphic setup. Using Cinema3, the picture is still plenty bright in our well-controlled room.
  4. Actually, pulling them away from that wall unit would help as much as, if not more than, pulling them from the wall.
  5. RG6 (75ohm) works fine for audio and video, and is what the monoprice cables are made from. I chuckled too when I read "with metal fancy connectors", but hey, at least they're honest and don't tell you it'll make a huge difference!
  6. Just my opinion, but in this day of big power amplifiers, bi-amping is overrated. When you're talking about a tube amp pushing 5 watts total, I could certainly see how you could drain the amp's reserves with the low-end, and it would affect everything. But with the mosterous power suppliesin the XPA series, I can't see that you'd notice a difference. Add to that the crossovers used in a HT receiver, and your mains aren't trying to reproduce 30hz anymore... Strictly my opinion though.
  7. I used a steamer on ours... we got them at BB&B, and another set from *gulp* wally world.
  8. There's a few used XPA-5's for sale in the emotiva forums right now.. you could ****** one up for a steal.. just an idea.. The XPA brought new life into my speakers like nothing else. I always use the "I could be like a normal guy and blow $200 at a titty bar if you'd prefer." as my excuse.. But a new TV is always good, too
  9. We have "last year's" Panny TH50-PZ77U in the main room in the house, and it's great. Comfortable viewing even at 20-25' or so for watching the news while we're getting ready in the morning, and watching TV shows at about 8'. But for movies, nothing beats a BIG screen.
  10. Wow, that looks just like a KLF-C7...
  11. You would create all kind of comb filtering problems by using 2 centers. I'm using my old CC and another matching one I bought as my rear surrounds. If you can, dipole side surrounds work really well, as opposed to direct-firing speakers.
  12. In my neverending tryouts of different AVR's while I wait impatiently for the Emotiva UMC-1, I returned the H-K AVR 354 and now have a Yamaha RX-V663. I haven't been using the built-in amps on any of them, so I won't comment on that. The Yamaha: The on-screen display is absolute garbage. I can't put it any nicer. My gear is in another room, so the OSD is my lifeline back to the AVR. It's really, really bad. Not only can it not just overlay the picture (it must blank the screen, interrupting the audio), but there are no graphics at all. It won't show volume changes while watching something because of this. Because it requires as much processor as an Atari game, it does however respond lightning quick. The iPod interface is also very quick. My biggest gripe with the H-K was the horrendous ipod interface, because besides being horribly slow, it had poor sound quality. The Yammy's is quick and sounds clear. The Yammy's remote is a confusing, 1980's style lightweight box with tiny text, and really shows how confusing the receiver is going to be. The H-K has a heavier, elegant remote that's easy to use. Appearance - The H-K looks like a pricy unit, and the display is plenty acceptable. The hollow knob with the white light in it is visually appealing. The Yammy has an amber display that looks out of place. The H-K is also significantly heavier. Connections- The H-K has more of every digital conenction, but does not have a 12v+ output to switch amplifiers. The Yamaha does, in addition to 2 switched 110V outlets. (The H-K had one switched outlet) Auto-EQ- The jury is out on this one. The 2 sound radically different, with the H-K being the more "accurate", but the Yamaha produces a "fun" sound, with more impact. I suspect the H-K has a more powerful EQ section. Crossover- WTF, Yamaha? Wake up! It's the 21st century! A single crossover frequency for all speakers?!?! Yeah, the twin 10" drivers in the KLF-20's need the same frequency cutoff as the 5-1/4" drivers in the KV-2.. [8-)] The H-K gives you separate frequencies for front, center, side, and rear surrounds. And, the most important thing.. how does it sound? The H-K was very smooth. I haven't had a chance to do much "critical listening", but I was pleasantly surpsrised that despite the Yammy's EQ giving a more "lively" sound, I didn't get any sibilance in vocals... I was braced and ready for it, too! The lower male vocal range didn't get boomy, again despite the EQ giving a punchier bass sound.. We'll see how things sound at higher volumes though. Right now though... These 2 are priced very similarly.. I would overwhelmingly recommend the Harman Kardon - With every operation, it just strikes me as a better quality unit, and one that should be on the market in 2009. The Yammy needs a makeover...badly.
  13. Not to mention, the price is RIGHT on these..
  14. I hope this doesn't come across wrong... You've got quite a bit of cash invested in your setup, easily over 10 grand... You're even trying different power cables in the quest for good sound. And yet, you want to put not only all the processing requirements, but also all the amplification requirements into one box, and pay less than $600. $575 will get you an Emotiva UPA-7 amplifier, which will wake up those speakers faster than speed-guzzling 4 red bulls. Once you've relieved the pre-amp of its amplification duties, you'll also find you can save a few hundred by going to the HK AVR 254, which is the same pre-amp, just without the nearly-worthless ipod dock. Honestly, if the absolute clearest, more revealing sound is your thing, the Emo MPS-2 might be a better fit, but it's a little more pricy. My point is that receivers are a compromise... and someone like you needs real amplifiers!
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