eq_shadimar

I ran my system like that for quite some time and I was happy with it. The only times I really noticed the difference was for SACD and DVD-A 5 channel music. For movies I was more than happy with the arrangement. Laters, Jeff

Look for a H/K receiver that is a couple years old like the 510. This series had pre-outs that just jumpered back into the internal amps for all channels. It would be simple to run the pre-outs into an EQ and then back into the internal amps. Laters, Jeff

Timbre matching is key to surround sound audio bliss! Laters, Jeff

Also need to know how big your room is and how loud do you want to go? How much room do you have for speakers? Is your source mainly CD's? Does your current CD player have a digital output on it for audio? Laters, Jeff

What size room? In a 10x10 it will blow you out of the room. In a 20x20 just about right. Anything larger and you may want to up the power. The HK635 is a 75wpc unit and being a HK that rating will be on the low side. In most normal instances it should be fine. Laters, Jeff

It is not FM radio but Blue Note has a streaming radio station: http://www.bluenote.com/radio.asp Laters, Jeff

The large/small 60/80 setting may depend on your processor. Some will only let you get at the desired frequency with a large or small setting. In any case for movies I run all at small with the 80hz crossover. For 2 channel I run large with a 40hz or 60hz crossover depending on the material and source (vinyl or digital). Laters, Jeff

Any of the early Fisher models. I use the Fisher 500B myself. Cost $150 on ebay + $90 re-build kit + $90 for 4 new quad matched JJ/Telsa 7591s Power Tubes Laters, Jeff

Ray - I would recommend that you use the DB15 (VGA) input of your tv's since a multiheaded video card for vga will be cheaper then it's DVI counterpart. There are tons of companies that make dual head cards. A fewer amount make quad head cards. Windows XP will support multiple video cards so it may be cheaper for you to get two dual cards instead of a single quad card. In any case I would think that you will be spending around $400 for video cards. Since most PC's only have a single APG or PCI Express port (with the exception of high end gaming machines and motherboards) and you are for the most part displaying simple graphics I would look at two dual head PCI video cards. I think that will be your cheapest option. I use software called Ultramon to manage my multiple monitors and for the $40 it costs I would recommend that you look at it as well. Ok so that covers the output. How are you getting all the video into the PC? The webpages are easy. What about CNN and the webcams? Are the webcams streamed over the web (easy) or connected to your PC? Do you need a DVR function? What about security cameras? Here is a good primer for multi-monitors using a PC and Windows XP: http://www.pcmech.com/show/video/796/ I think this is a good start but we can contuine to discuss and refine as you provide more input. Laters, Jeff

<==== Really that is my main system two channel or multi-channel but since this is a pure 2 channel rig thread I finally took some pics of what I have in my home office. Not much but I enjoy it and it does sound decent. Laters, Jeff

What is interesting about this is that the flag (called ICT) that triggers the downrezzing does not have to be used by the studios. So in fact if a studio does not care (or put another way supports the current installed base of analog only HDTV's) you will get HD over the component outputs. Part of the deal is that all movies that use the ICT flag must be clearly labeled. This will allow us to vote with our dollars. Another interesting part of the spec is that while the player does have to downrez the HD signal if ICT is present, it can then turn around and upscale it back to 1080i or 720p. This feature was needed to support all the TV's that only support one timing on their HD input. Go figure. EDIT: Let me add that since ICT is part of AACS that it affects both Hi-Def DVD formats. HD-DVD as mentioned in the thread title and Blu-Ray as well. The poster could have meant HD DVD to encompass both formats but I wanted to make that clear. Laters, Jeff

Those swivel tv shelves that mount on the wall make awesome Heritage (or Academy) center speaker platforms. They are only $80 or so. Laters, Jeff

I ran one for a long time between my Cornwalls as a center. Properly balanced it was fine for movies but a tad lacking for 5.1 high resolution music (not because it is a bad speaker). It just ran out of steam a lot quicker than the Cornwalls so the system was out of balance. There are older pictures of it on my web site if you are interested. Laters, Jeff

Running Cornwalls all the way around. HK AVR 510 runing Center and Surrounds. Fisher 500B running the front mains. Take a look at my website for all the details and the connections diagram. It sounds AWESOME. Everyone I have over gives it the thumbs up too! http://www.madtomstudios.com/HomeTheater/home_theater_page.htm http://www.madtomstudios.com/HomeTheater/Amphookup3.jpg Laters, Jeff

Hey Allen - Where in TX? In the DFW area there are lots of us that can help you out with equipment demos etc. Will respond to the rest of your questions after giving them some thought. Laters, Jeff

Yes I have a computer hooked up to my 800x600 projector shooting on a 119" dia 4X3 screen. It is a hoot! I love it. Not so much doing word processing etc but gaming, web surfing, playing DVD's etc. I am working on the whole HTPC setup with my eye on a new HD widescreen projector sometime this year. Do it...do it now! Laters, Jeff

I agree good looking car (nuther Ford guy here) BUT 2009 for production? By then everyone will have moved on. The Camaro has not been made since 2002 I think? So it will be 7 years out of production if this one is introduced in 2009. Laters, Jeff EDIT: LOL I see everyone beat me to it on the date info

Wow very impressive booth. It looks like you guys had quite a presence. Laters, Jeff

Almost any cheap (read Chinese) DVD player can be made region free via "secret" codes punched in through the remote control. I would goto your local retail box and find an Apex or other player that you like then google search "model # region free" and I bet the codes will pop up. I have two players at my house that I made region free this way. Here is an example I found just now by simply typing in "apex region free" into google. Laters, Jeff

LOL yes this is a true statement. Having grown up in VT I laugh about how nervous people here get over an inch or two of snow. Of course sheet ice is much worse and interchanges like the high 5 (highest part is over 12 stories high) are not very winter friendly. Luckliy my commute is only 5 miles on local roads so no need to get out on the highways. Lots of tipped over 18 wheelers on the news this morning. [] Laters, Jeff BTW I always drive the exact perfect speed for any given road condition []

Well I have done both. I have a HIP-II that was raw birch that I spray painted black lacquer (from a spray paint can) I put on several layers but left it so the wood grain can still be seen, I have a pair of Cornwall's that were covered by what appears to be a black formica type product (super easy to clean BTW), I have another pair of raw birch Cornwall's that had a dark stain on them that I re-painted flat black (no visible grain), and a pair of raw birch Heresys that I have not done anything with yet. I have 3 untouched walnut Heresys and 1 untouched '64 walnut vert Cornwall. I was thinking about painting the vert Cornwall but decided against it because it is a rare speaker. So my big picture plan is to refurb the existing walnut Heresys and re-finish the remaining ones to match to have a nice matched set of 6 Heresys. I do not intend to do anything further with any of the Cornwalls. So in the end it is up to you. If you have generic Cornwalls, Heresys, etc.. then why not. They are after all your speakers and need to fit into your space. I would try and find another option that you can live with if it is one of the more rare speakers. In car speak terms you could repaint a plain jain classic Mustang to any color you wanted without affecting the value too much unless it was a Hertz rental or Shelby in which case changing the color scheme would kill the value. Laters, Jeff

I run my 5 Cornwalls and Subs all the time even for CNN. The bandwidth for Stereo TV sound is much better than FM and the Networks have used surround sound for years on most of their shows. Another reason would be that most HDTV shows use DD 5.1 sound. If ABC is showing Toy Story it is also in DD 5.1 (with better than DVD picture no less). Why would I want to leave that to the crappy TV speakers? If I am going to watch TV I may as well have the best sound possible. I think the better question is why are people NOT using their kick *** systems to watch TV? Laters, Jeff

Is the Heresy sitting flat on the TV or angled down towards the listening position? I have used a Heresy center and I really liked it. Remember that from your sitting postion you should be looking down the lense of the tweeter and midrange. As you found out the tweeter towards the tv with the woofer up in the air works best. Take a look at the older system shots on my web site and you can see my Heresy center. Laters, Jeff

I have an old Hafler P505 that I find works really well with the Heritage speakers. It is built like a tank and can run for hours on end without any issue. Since Hafler does not exist any more you can find stuff cheap on eBay. Laters, Jeff

WOW very impressive (and I don't say that often)!! It takes quite a system to make me jealous but you have done it! Now sit back and enjoy the result. What was (is?) the first movie that you are going to watch? Laters, Jeff