ed4000

Craigslist is def the way to go, but I'm way too much into instant gratification to go that route for my home theater stuff! plus for what the wife spends on that dadgum decorator, what's a couple hundred bucks for a little old sub?

Thanks for the info. Youthman, good advice. Actually though I had already tried the "sub crawl". But due to furniture layout and wife's meddling with proper sub placement options due to some crackpot interior decorator's view of what the room should look like, I can't move it. I think I may be somewhat in a null, but it's hard to tell with hearing in just one ear. Also part of the problem I think is that when I sit down, the mains & center are a little overbearing and I can't change their placement or direction either, they're pointed straight at me. Might need to try changing the distance and/or volume settings for the front speakers? Anyways, here's what I tried. I pulled an old pioneer sub out the closet, and a Terk Leapfrog wireless set I still have from an old lake house setup. (forgot to mention, the 2nd sub will have to be wireless due to the same aforementioned crackpot decorator ) I hooked up my second sub output on the avr to left channel input on the leapfrog, then hooked up the sub to the receiver and put it on it's side under the end table. It works ok, a little too much static & interference with the wireless, but enough to tell that I think a sub there will solve my problem. Much better bass in my viewing seat now, with the added bonus of being able to easily reach over and adjust the sub volume based on source material. So I jumped on ebay and picked up a Mirage MM-8 and the Klipsch WA-2 wireless kit. The Mirage was about the only small sub that has a WA port that the Klipsch wireless kit plugs into. I'm thinking (hoping) wireless with this setup will be much better than the Terk. I'm thinking the terk is analog, while the Klipsch setup will be digital (i think?). Also the Klipsch wireless is about $70 cheaper than the Sunfire wireless kits, and the Velodyne kits also. The Mirage is small (about 9x9x9) so it should fit under most any end table the wife & decorator sidekick throw at me, and I'm thinking it should be powerful enough since it's really just to augment the main sub at my listening position. I'll update when I get the stuff set up in case anyone's interested!

I currently am running a Yamaha RX-V867 to Klipsch RB35 fronts, RC35 Center, and RS42 surrounds. My sub is an RW-12D sitting in the corner behind my sofa to my rear left. There is a 4 foot space behind the sofa and my listening position is around 12 feet from the sub. My problem is I am deaf in my left ear. Everything sounds good if I am standing, or walking around anywhere in the room. But when I sit down the bass is diminished. It's fine for everyone else, so I assume it's my deaf ear, or I'm sitting in a dead spot. I've moved it to the front left thinking since it's a front firing sub it would be better, and it is somewhat, but I really want to leave it rear left for looks. Front or rear right is also not an option. I am thinking a solution may be to get another down-firing sub and place it to my immediate right under an end table, but due to the size of the end table it would need to be fairly small, not over about 12 inches high. My question is will it solve my problem, and if so, what would be a good sub of that size that could handle occasional high volume and be less than $500? The Yamaha receiver is rated at 95 watts per channel. Thanks!

I've had a Panasonic PT-AX200U now for a couple years, paid about $900 for it. I upgraded from a Infocus X-1 to get a greater zoom range when I went to a ceiling mount and moved the projector to the back of the room.. I love the Panasonic, I have about 1000 hours on it without a hitch.. It is only 720p, but has a great picture and is very bright. Great for gaming. Read some reviews of it, it has been called the "poor man's 1080p projector". I just checked and they can be bought for around $500 on ebay. Ironically I got it from "projectorpeople.com". Great service and knowledgable staff. If it ever goes out, I'll probably go for the PT-AE4000 for the 1080p but I doubt it will be hugely better on my 84" screen.

Found this decent deal on a refurbished Yamaha RX-V867. 2 hdmi outputs, decent reviews. What ya'll think? I can't get forum to let me insert link, so copy and paste: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=785590

Well there goes that theory, I thought I might have found the problem. I was about to ask you if you had tried the ps3 through the receiver. Oh well. My pioneer has 2 digital coax inputs, and 1 digital optical input for audio. Thats what I use for the audio for the 3 sources. I'll play around with the Harmony delay settings, maybe I can iron it out that way. It really doesn't bother me, I can always play around with things, reset the switch or whatever and get it going. I like an electronic challenge, and tracking down and figuring out problems. But it is infuriating for the wife. Especially after all my proclamations of how great everything was going to be when I got the harmony and got it all set up [6] She can never get what she wants going, and the madder she gets, the more she randomly pushes buttons [8o|], which of course just makes it all worse. I was hoping that switching thru a new receiver would solve all that, I'm getting one anyway for the upgrade to HD audio formats, but can't decide whether or not to spend the extra bucks on 2 hdmi outputs and throw out the switch. Sounds like the switching thru the pioneer works well for you (except for the ps3) so I could do the same thing with a 1 output receiver, and have my empty inputs on the switch for any troublesome components or for the son-in-law to plug his xbox in they visit.

Yeah, I noticed the either A or B thing too, but I understand. Sooooooo, this leads me to believe that my problem, and possibly your PS3 problem, is caused by having the Monoprice do the switching of the sources. Soooooo, if you had the PS3 switched thru the receiver also (if you had another input) you would not have the occasional problem? Are we together on this? I have Directv, Blu Ray and a Roku XDS box running straight into the Monoprice. My a&b outputs on the monoprice both stay on, but when i switch inputs, the projector or tv sometimes have problem syncing with the source. Sooooooo, if you have no problems with the Pioneer switching, we can blame it on the Monoprice?

ajoker2c, thanks for the reply. To make sure I understand exactly how your set up: it sounds like you are doing the primary source switching in the receiver, and only using the Monoprice with 1 input from the receiver so the Monoprice just assigns the 1 source to either a or b output. Is this correct?

I am upgrading receivers from my old Pioneer VSX 516. I am currently switching video from 3 hdmi components to my lcd tv and projector with a Monoprice 4 to 2 matrix switch. It is somewhat glitchy, with some problems with handshaking and bringing up the new source. It seems this might be a problem with receivers also from what I've read. I am considering the Pioneer Elite VSX-33 and an Onkyo TX-SR876 or similar. Does anyone have any experience in using these or similar receivers to switch to 2 outputs? I can get a good receiver much cheaper with 1 hdmi output and continue using the external switch if the receiver won't switch any better. Also if anyone has compared the Pioneer Elite versus the Onkyo offerings? Thanks!

CECAA850 wrote: "There's a reason the 5 or 6 Klipsch fanatics tried to steer you clear of Klipsch subs. There was also a reason it sold for $170.00. If you hang around long enough, and I hope you do, you'll find that most all forum members will steer you in the right direction. All you have to do is take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and past experiences that are presented to you. Sure there'll be differences in opinions, but if every poster is basically telling you the same thing, then there has to be something of merit to what they are saying." I truly say this with all due respect, but I know what the purpose of the forum is, or I wouldn't be here. Judging from the system you have, you know what you're talking about, and it's opinions like yours that I'm looking for. It was my fault in not explaining the reasons more for my purchase of the Klipsch sub, and I was somewhat joking about going against all advice. The ksw-12 scored a 4.51 out of a possible 5 in 169 reviews on audioreview.com which isn't too shabby. Based on this, I thought it was worth listening to, and making my own decision. Home theater & electronics is really my only hobby, and I have always enjoyed trying out different components, seeing the pros and cons of them, then reselling them, all the while slowly upgrading to newer and better components. Using resources like ebay and craigslist make doing this fun and cheap, as most things can be resold for at least what you paid if you buy carefully. My system is pretty archaic by many measures, but I started out not that long ago with a 27" crt tv and a $199 pioneer htib. So I'll one day get the system of my dreams, but am in no hurry to do so, as getting there to me is half the fun. I was also trying to stretch the $500 upgrade budget a bit, to possibly get the receiver a little quicker . I sometimes feel a little guilty spending any money at all on this stuff. 2 kids in college, way too many balls in the air, and a skimpy retirement outlook at best all conspire to make me try to find the cheap way out while keeping the hobby going. I say all this because I don't want to appear to be a mindless rookie, as my post might have suggested, and there (usually) is a method to my madness.

LOL, good question! Maybe I'll promise to listen better this time? Surely, the KSW 12 wasn't that bad a choice! At least it's Klipsch ! and at that price, I thought I could try it out for the knowledge/experience and still flip it back on e-bay and get my money back & even maybe make a few bucks.

Well I went against all advice here and elsewhere. I got caught up in a spur of the moment e-bay deal and scored a KSW-12 sub for $170 shipped. I couldn't resist trying it that cheap when the matching RW 12 usually runs closer to $400. I just hooked it up last night so I haven't been able to listen to it much (waiting for the wife and kids to be out!). But so far, it sure sounds better than the old Onkyo 8 inch htib sub. Another reason I got it, was because i think(?) I would prefer a down-firing sub versus the rw12 side firing. The KSW 12 doesn't have the most stellar reviews, but I'll think I'll be satisfied with it, as long as it doesn't die on me. Anyway, I've got the Onkyo stuff sold now, and will have to get some surrounds fast. I'll get the new receiver this fall. I can get the matching RS 35's for around $300 but I'm having trouble pulling the trigger on them because of their size (mainly the width) and shape. Also not sure if I'll like the directional properties of them versus a direct-firing speaker. I don't want to get more RB 35's either because of their size. I have even though of using Quintet surrounds because of their small size, but am concerned about the power handling specs of most smaller speakers. I want to be able to crank the system up when I've got the house to myself and not worry about damage to the rear surrounds or being underwhelmed with the sound. What would be something decent for surrounds that might be a little smaller than the RS 35's in that price range that would be a decent match for the RB35 mains? They wouldn't necessarily have to be Klipsch, I just have to get something fast! Thanks!

Hmmm, haven't thought of keeping the Onkyo sub and adding a second. Should I keep it where's it at in the back corner, and add a front firing sub to the front wall pointing towards the listener? Should the second sub just be hooked up with a y-cable off the sub pre-out on the receiver? My sub budget is up to around $500. I've been reading a lot of good reviews on the BIC America subs, at around $200, would the extra $200-300 over that for another sub get me any significant improvement? I am now leaning against the Klipsch subs, because of all the reports of amp problems.

I am at a junction in my home theater, and want to start some upgrades. Looking for opinions on what would be the most significant upgrades to do first. What changes could I make that would make the most noticeable improvements in sound? I will probably need about a year to get everything I want, but want to do the most important upgrades first. (will be about 3-6 months between purchases) I have: Pioneer VSX-516 receiver (no-hdmi, no HD audio processing) - (Upgrade candidate) Klipsch RB 35's for fronts, RC 35 for center (they will stay- built into cabinet - see second pic below) Surrounds and sub are from Onkyo SKS-HT500 HTIB set -surrounds are 2 way: 4 " woofer & 1" dome tweeter - 100 watt ----(sub is 8 inch 150 watt - downfiring) -(Upgrade candidates) Everything sounds good, but I have the upgrade bug and would like to eventually go all Klipsch. I can only have a 5.1 setup. 1. The matching Klipsch RS35 surrounds are a bit large for the the wife, and I've read that a direct radiating speaker might be better for newer multi-channel formats. Also the surrounds are actually about 3 feet to the rear of the seating area and about 12 feet apart. (See pics below- surrounds on wall units behind love-seat and in right corner of first pic) What kind of Klipsch surround/rears would be best for this setup, and should they be wired into the surround or surround back channels of the receiver in a 5.1 setup? 2. My sub sets behind and to the side of the seating area, in a corner. (see first pic - sits in right corner of pic) I could move it up front in a corner close to the mains, but like the location it's in, and it sounds ok to me, but I haven't listened to other setups and subs either. The matching RW 12 is front firing, I'm thinking of using a Synergy sub 12 that is downfiring as it might be better for a behind the couch setup? The synergy can be purchased a little cheaper than the RW 12 reference sub also. 3. Thinking of upgrading the receiver to a Pioneer VSX 33 to get hdmi switching to 2 outputs for projector and lcd-tv. Also for HD sound processing from blu-ray. So which upgrade would give the most bang for the buck first, or are any differences from what I have be negligible at best? Receiver first? Sub first? Surrounds? or just keep the money and be happy with what I have?

I have a 5.1 setup and am using some older Onkyo surrounds and Onkyo sub with Klipsch rb35's for fronts and rc35 center. I would like to complete the system with Klipsch surrounds and sub. What would be the smallest surrounds that would pair well with the rb35's? I want to keep them small as possible to keep the wife happy. I currently have an older Pioneer VSX-516 receiver, but I plan to upgrade to the Pioneer Elite VSX-33 very soon so that is the receiver I am planning the speakers around.It is 110 watts per channel. Thanks! Ed