Eskimo1

I replaced my Outlaw receiver with a H-K AVR254&354 until the Emo preamp comes out. Their power is still rated low compared to the other big names (Maybe they're just being honest?), but the pre-amp section is pretty clean. I don't know about the internal amp though - I haven't used it except for the rear surrounds.

x2 for the XPA-5 - for $100, you get another2 channels of 200+ watts... My original decision was an XPA-3 also, till I thought of it that way...

You too! [H]

No disrespect meant, but DVD's don't look ANYWHERE near as good as what a Blu-ray does. I've got Transformers on Blu-Ray and DVD, and it's literally night and day - not even close. BR still looks better than DVD on a 720p/1080i set. Good BR players are under $300 now, by the way. Both the Sony S550 and Panny BD55 are $299, and have 7.1 analog outs.

Or get the XPA-5 for $699 and hook 5 speakers up to it. That's the one I'm looking at buying. And that's the one I have.. The XPA-5 will drive the heck out of your speakers... CLEANLY. And it's on sale now for $699 shipped! I paid $840 for it and it's STILL a great deal. They've been put up against amps at multiples of their price andfared quite well. When/if you get any amp - bypass the power center - those can be limiting when you're really driving the amp.

When I bought my Outlaw 1050 receiver back in '01, it was a terrific bargain. When I went back to their site this year, I was surprised by their prices. Yes, their gear is all US-made as opposed to Emotiva's being made in China, but that (IMO) doesn't justify a ~40-50% price difference between the 2 brands. Both companies make fantastic products at prices the major manufacturers can't touch, so it's just up to you how much "Made in the USA" is worth, versus "Designed in the USA" Just my $.02

But cake is yummy when you start to eat it.. You're gonna really enjoy it.

I would absolutely do that! If you don't have the room for the towers, than ya don't have the room.. Not a big deal. Don't really pay any attention to "watts" on a speaker, it's not an indication of any kind of sound quality. The fact that your mains will match the center channel WILL help quite a bit, and should be very pleasing. But since I'm so darn good at spending other people's money, keep in mind that the RF-52's are basically the same width, only 4" deeper, and overall height will be basically the same height once you put the RB-51's on stands to get them to the proper height. They WILL give you a "fuller" sound and will dig down deeper thanks to the larger cabinet. Either way, you're much better off than with the XB-10's.

I'm looking to purchase the Panasonic AE3000u projector. BTW, looks like you have a great system already. It's a great PJ, and the power zoom/focus memory is icing on the cake.. I have about 70 hours on mine now..

Upgrade would be RF-52 fronts that will timbre-match to your center, and use the XB-10's for side and rear surround! [] (And there's nothing special about a "subwoofer cable", it's just half of a RCA cable pair. More marketing magic smoke from our "friends" at Monster, et al) Sometimes using both inputs with the y-splitter can help "wake-up" a lazy input like you're thinking... give it a shot!

The PS3 would do a better job of upconverting your DVD's anyway..

Here's a few good PS3 links, BTW... <url>http://www.edepot.com/playstation3.html</url> <url>http://www.ps3sacd.com/sacdfaq.html#_Toc168933213</url>

All Blu-Rays have a standard DD track in them, it's part of the BR standard. You're missing out though.. TrueHD is awesome... Do go into the setup menu on the PS3 and make sure all the outputs are configured correctly.

Nothing wrong IMO with a y-splitter, as long as the source can still supply enough clean signal...

What's your budget and the rest of your equipment? I could call out some names that cost more than a car, but the improvement over something like a PS3 (which is what I use) isn't that much, and wouldn't be seen at all unless the rest of your equipment is absolutely top-notch. For the rest of us, and especially in the hot sub-$500 area, Panasonic & Sony seem to have the market wrapped up, and I doubt you'd be unhappy with any of 'em. The Sony 350 can be had now for $199 - that's quite a deal! Grab an HDMI cable from Monoprice and enjoy!

I'm currently using a Harman kardon AVR354 and it's a decent receiver, but the menu system through the iPod is nothing short of pathetic. slow, slow, slow. The Alpine decks in my vehicles do a FAR better job of it. Major letdown.

IMO, sell your current center channel, pick up a KLF-C7, and you can buy an inexpensive pair of direct-firing speakers for the rear surrounds with the difference..

There's your difference. Lossy vs lossless, there ya have it!

Is that a recently released model? I was shopping a little over a month ago, and the pioneer I was looking at, which I thought was the 1018, didn't have pre-outs... That one now looks to have all the right goods.. audio extraction from HDMI, HD codecs, pre-outs, etc.. My 13 year old Pioneer receiver is still kicking..

The rear surrounds should be behind you on the back wall though... not saying in-walls wouldn't work, but that the width of the room wouldn't be as much a factor in choosing the rears...

wanna trade? My stuff is the other way around! []

I have my KV-2's wall mounted.. (the other wall is just standard drywall) I got the wall inserts from lowes or HD, the ones that are 50lbs rated each.. put those in the wall. then, we added 2 of the beefiest looking key-hole mounts to the speaker.. VERY solid mounting, and I have no doubt they could hold the 25lbs of yours at all. Another alternative you could try is ordering some of the wall-mounts from a large Klipsch wall-mount speaker, and screwing those into the cabinet. My KSP-S6's weigh almost as much as the rb-61's you have... but the brackets are about $5 each from klipsch and really don't seem any better than the stuff from the store. Look at it this way, there are many piecs of artwork that weigh far more than 25lbs being hung with these parts..

Best explanation ever.

I used a KV-2 for a looooong time with my KLF-20's, and though it was a good match until I heard it with the C7 - no comparison. I'm actually undertaking a little project to match the C7 even better to the KLF-20/30's, but I want to get some results before I talk much about it.

Yammy 663 or the H-K AVR254 are 2 very current, full-featured receivers with all the current codec's and what not.. THX - well, I could care less about. That's not a format, just a standard. It's mostly marketing babble for the masses. I mean hell, my 4-channel computer speakers are "THX-certified"and I know damn well my HT is far better. I'm using an Emotiva XPA-5 to power the 5 main channels, it's a steal at $699 shipped right now, and a Behringer EP2500 for the subs.