Snoman

I've been running the Sherwood Newcastle R-972 for several months now. Previous to that I've had an Onkyo 906, Yamaha RX-V1500, and Denon 3805. I demoed an Anthem MRX-500, Denon 4520, and HK 7550. It is by far the best sounding of the bunch. The pre-amp section is very clean, and I would characterize the sound as highly detailed without sounding thin or bright. I've yet to hear an AVR or processor under $2500 or $3000 that sounds as good as this does. And Trinnov truly does amazing things to multichannel recordings. The speakers disappear completely. I dont use Trinnov for stereo sources, since i notice less of a benefit and love how stereo 2 channel sounds unadulterated through this thing. However... This thing is quirky as hell, and it is definitely not for the novice user. First, the remote is absolutely useless, and the front panel controls are not intuitive. IMHO if you aren't planning a universal remote you are wasting your time. The HDMI switching is very slow, and the audio syncs a good 5-7 seconds after the video does. This happens every time you change codecs or listening modes, so if you channel surf a lot, keep it in mind. It doesn't bother me all that much because of my listening habits, but I can see how it could drive some people nuts. My video processing has never worked properly, and this is a recurring issue on every forum. The Reon is a good chip, but the implementation in this AVR is very buggy and poorly optimized. Thus, I run it in bypass mode, treating it like it has no video processing, and most users (even those who got it replaced under warranty) do the same. Also, none of the parameters are adjustable if Trinnov is enabled (no adjustment of crossovers, channel levels, or even listening modes. There are ways around the last one, but...) so those used to tweaking Auddysey or MCACC won't have the same flexibility. Having said all that, I'll never part with. If you go in with the expectation that this is a dedicated audio device that also happens to do HDMI switching (kinda like an Outlaw model 975 with amazing room correction...) and that it will take patience and growing pains to implement, it will reward you. For the $599 its going for at A4L, its nigh untouchable. Things you will "miss" because of its original planned date of release?: -no network/streaming capability of any kind -no PLIIz or Auddysey DSX -"only" 7.1 -realistically, no video processing, upconversion, on screen volume display, or cross-conversion of legacy inputs to HDMI -only 4 HDMI -4k passthrough -audio passthrough when the unit is off Sorry for the essay...

For what it's worth, the A-965 is one hell of an amp. I demoed it (and the snob in me doesn't own it since I could only find it in silver and I want it to match...), and it is honestly the quietest amp I've ever heard. If I could find one in black up here in the Great White North I would own it. The noise floor is incredibly low, so it would actually be a great pairing with your Klipsch. The guys at AVS gush over this amp, and when bench-tested, Dr David Rich (from Sensible Sound) was comparing it to Anthem Statement, MacIntosh, and Bryston in terms of it's noise floor...

You can also get weird trim levels if your sub is up too high. Try reducing the gain on the sub manually (on the back of the plate amp, not in the AVR), and re-run it. That usually solves the problem. I know on my Onkyo it doesn't really let you reduce the main volume when the tones are running...

I would be willing to bet that he's in Canada and he's looking at Future Shop.. The RCA-500b is a rebadged RC-52. Go with the RC-62 if you can a) afford it fit it and c) find it...

US: Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi UK: Stand By Me - Ben E. King CAN: Touch Me (I Want Your Body) - Samantha Fox

Nothing but plasma...Panny GT30

I used to think that way too until I got this QSC PLX amp, it only weighs 20lbs or so and it puts out 425 watts a channel. I don't know how these pro amps are doing it but the residential market needs to pay attention. I hate moving my Emotiva amps! That's funny, since I think I read on AVS that HK is borrowing their new amp designs from Crown. Hence the higher power and lower weight. The HK's supposedly sound pretty damn nice...

Along with all the digital stuff, the 10d is a completely different driver. No dust cap, and has the high excursion rubber surround. I've still got my RSW-10d; I can't bring myself to part with it. Hopefully once I'm in my new house I can run both it and the 115...

Additionally, the listed specs are identical to the original RF-62 specs...

I looked online at them, thebhave the IV feet? I also noticed they have the RF-82 on clearance for $300 each, that seems like a fantastic deal. I don't think those are the IV feet. Those look like the Synergy feet from the F20/F30/SW350/SW450. That looks like the grill and bezel from the Reference IV's though. I would speculate that they are slightly tweaked Reference IV's: a way to clear out discontinued inventory, and also prevent them from being officially price-matched by competitors...similar to the Synergy/Icon K...

The problem with using the VGA input on a television is that you really have to check the maximum resolution that it will accept. Even on a 1080P model, many sets will only accept a maximum resolution of 1024x768 through the VGA port. This is the case with every Panasonic I've installed, and many of the others, which is a shame since Panasonic makes the best looking TV's available (the ST50 is an unbeatable value...). Samsungs and LG's seem to be fine, though.

Yeah there is no reason to be rash and gut the room. It's good to remember where you posted this question. This is a group of very enthusiastic (okay, slightly obsessive) people who strive for amazing sound, often to somewhat impractical extremes. And I don't mean this as a slight in any way. He's got a beautiful room, and not everybody needs speakers the size of a refridgerator and 2000 watts of power. However, what needs to be nailed down is his expectations. What would be considered great sound by 95% of people can easily be accomplished in that room, it just depends on his expectations. One goal this is very hard to achieve is great sound with minimal footprint (not to be confused with minimal size). If he can live with a pair of standmounts or floorstanders in the usual front location, and probably some sound treatment (if nowhere else, at least up in the lofts, which look awesome but will definitely echo and play with the bass frequencies), that room will rock. I'm with dtel, I'd kill for that room, and I used to be a system integrator...

Is that TV staying there as it is? Where's the center channel going? If he's that concerned about floor space (which seems strange if he's keeping his TV and AV stand up there), this might be an instance where a quality set of in-walls would be appropriate. I would think that as long as he uses a decent subwoofer, it would still sound better than shoving Klipsch towers (which would have the wrong dispersion pattern tipped on their side) or bookshelves way up there (that's nine feet up!) or into the wall, where you'd be restricted to front ported speakers (RB-61, RB-81, KL-650, F-20, F-30) and no toe-in. It would also keep the front three at least semi-close to the same vertical plane, where as the front soundstage would sound really bizarre with the center down with the TV and the LR basically tucked into the ceiling...

Once reason would be if he ever wants to explore DVD-A as well. No Sony will read DVD-A.

Quite honestly you will probably never hear a difference between the 42s and 42iis. I do, however, tend to like the round aesthetic of the new series over the triangular older one. What part of Manitoba are you in? I know that London Drugs is an authorized dealer for the new reference series. They have a location in Winnipeg and can custom order just about anything...