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eq_shadimar

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Posts posted by eq_shadimar

    Audiophile Input Needed: The Future of Recorded Music

    in 2-Channel Home Audio

    Posted

    If you want to do it then do it! [8-|]

    Now to answer some of your other questions. First you are thinking PC based playback which is sooooo 2000 [;)] All the action these days is in networked (wired or wireless) media streamers. The streamer setup is sweet because you can have your noisy PC, media server, NAS, or whatever sitting away from your listening area. All you have is this smallish box that hooks to your network and amps.

    Sonos and Squeezebox are good examples of music based streamers. Both have digital outs so you can use your own DAC if you want to. Then there is a whole host of streamers that do music and video (I have one called Popcorn Hour hooked to my 4TB NAS via my network). Again these are all equipped with digital outputs so you can use your own DAC if you desire. All these devices will support lossless formats like FLAC as well as plain ole WAV files.

    There is a need for high quality music downloads and I wish the music industry would start supporting higher quality downloads!

    Anyway that is my 0.02 worth. I hope it helps.

    Laters,

    Jeff

    Are there any disadvantages using FLAC instead of WAV?

    in General Klipsch Info

    Posted

    As mentioned FLAC is totally lossless. I rip all my CD's to disk using FLAC. I use a combination of MediaMonkey and Winamp to manage my music collection. I generally use MediaMonkey to rip, organize, tag etc all my music files and Winamp for playback. Once in a while when I get a CD of a live Grateful Dead, Gov't Mule, Phish, etc show Winamp will show all the track information without having to re-enter it all in by hand. MediaMonkey is the only choice (in my opinion of course) if you have a huge music collection that you need to manage.

    MediaMonkey is able to sync with my portable device (Dell DJ30). When I transfer the files to my MP3 player MediaMonkey will automatically transcode the FLAC files to MP3 based on the parameters that I select (bitrate, playlists etc) as it puts them on the player. This way I can keep my "master" files as FLAC and convert them to MP3 (or other formats) as needed. I believe that MediaMonkey also works with iPods and iTunes. I do not use either of those products so I cannot confirm how well they work.

    Laters,

    Jeff

    Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Battle May Not Matter

    in Home Theater

    Posted

    As a recent owner of an Xbox360 with the Microsoft Live service I would say that streaming is a very viable and real technology that is here right now. I can download/stream 720p movies with 5.1 DD sound and watch them in my theater for around $4 a pop. I have Verizon FiOS service at my house and even though the total file size for a 2 hour movie is around 13GB I can start to watch the movie after a minute or two. I have to say that I really like the system which surprises even me!

    I would be very surprised if Microsoft does not have some plans up their sleeves to allow for the secure burning of the movies or transfer to another device in the future. So I am actually going to agree with Mas on this one (shock horror [;)] ). These companies are not just thinking near term and downloading is just going to become more and more prevalent. I will even go further and say that I think Blu-ray disc and HD-DVD will be the last physical media formats released for movies (although flash memory may become a "sneaker net" way of being able to transport the movies to your car etc..).

    Laters,

    Jeff

    Two Pair Heresy's, Optimal HT Hookup ?

    in Home Theater

    Posted

    I am a big believer in having a dedicated center channel. However that being said you can always get a single Heresy later on for the center channel. Here is a picture of my front speakers. It is a bit dark because of how the camera reads the screen material:

    P1010074_web.jpgP1010074_web.jpgP1010074_web.jpg

    Here is a better shot of the speakers without the screen:

    P1010071_web.jpg

    and just to round it out an older shot of the back. The rear speakers have since been mounted on wall mount TV stands made for a 13" TV and they are facing the seating:

    fp_P2190063_web.jpg

    Laters,

    Jeff

    Harmony Remotes

    in Home Theater

    Posted

    I have a 550 and two 520's and I love them. They control everything including my portable Air Conditioner and Lasko fans. The only thing that I do not like is that you have to create a different account in the software for each remote. They do not let you have a single login from which you can pick your multiple remotes from. The IR signal from the remotes is very strong as well.

    Laters,

    Jeff

    DVD AUDIO ANYONE?

    in Home Theater

    Posted

    In addition to all the discs mentioned here I would add that pretty much anything from AIX Records that matches your tastes rocks. They "get" multi channel sound. I am using 5 Cornwalls +2 subs for in the system with my DVD-A/SACD/DVD player.

    Laters,

    Jeff

    Questions on Heritage HT Setup

    in Home Theater

    Posted

    I would use the Khorns as the front mains, a Belle as the center, and the Cornwalls as surrounds. Is there some reason you don't want to use the Khorns in the HT system?

    Otherwise I would look at getting another Cornwall and doing 5 Cornwalls (of course I am bias in this reguard). Then perhaps 3 Cornwalls up front and Belles as surrounds.

    Or the Belles and Forte upfront, 1 pair of Cornwalls as side surrounds in a 5.1 setup or as side and rear surrounds in a 7.1 setup.

    For HT the most important selection is the 3 main front speakers. The best case is that they are all identical. Second best is that they are all timbre matched. Don't forget to use a SPL meter and balance your system once it is all setup. This seems like a small step but it can make a huge difference in the sound of your system.

    Laters,

    Jeff

    The million dollar Native 720P Projector question? Suggestions?

    in Home Theater

    Posted

    Jeff,

    Does this projector preform well with some lights on? Also are you using it mainly for watching movies? Do you know if HD look good on it? Thanks for your help. I am looking at getting this projector at Costco for $1699 with a $400 rebate. Looks like a good deal to me. Any info would be helpful.

    Michael

    Here is a screenshot with all the lights in my theater on:

    P1010083_web.jpg

    Here is the same frame with all the lights off:

    P1010084_web.jpg

    So with the lights off you certainly see that picture is washed out a bit without the same deep contrast etc but the picture is still totally watchable. The projector setting for these pictures was Cinema 1. That is the out of the box calibrated setting. There are several even brighter settings that you could choose from as well. Would I want to watch a movie with the lights on? No probably not. Could I watch a football game with all the lights on? You bet.

    For HD I use both HD Cable and my HD DVD player. Both sources look excellent on this projector. Even though this is a 720p projector I find that I get the best picture with the cable box and HD DVD player set to output 1080i and let the projector scale it to 720p.

    Hope this helps you out.

    Laters,

    Jeff

    DFW Hornheads gathering in Plano, TX - SEPTEMBER 23RD!

    in Klipsch News

    Posted

    Ok it looks like August 5th is becoming a bad date even for the few people who responded to the orginal invitation. I am flexible and the date really does not matter to me so lets do another poll.

    When in August or September would be a good time for everyone to have a gathering at my house in Plano?

    Respond back here or in the DFW_Hornheads Yahoo group.

    Thanks!

    Jeff

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