Fried Elliott

With five H II's would he really need the sub right away? He would be getting plenty of bass and could always add the sub later. Great idea on splitting the pair and reselling. I am something of a woodworker and we could refinish all five to match up very nicely. That would be awesome. I'm assuming they're oak veneer?

I bought all our HT stuff on eBay and saved a bundle. I'm sure I'm going to wind up buying most of it for them too! Hmmm... my fee might be a KSW-12 for myself... I know! I'll sell him my HT setup and use the money to get new stuff for me!!! Their LR is huge and I think just about any speaker mounting/stand arrange will work. I like the idea of four Hereseys and a ksw sub; -12 or -15? What would you use for the center? Another Heresey (might be hard to find just one) or a true "center"? How much power should I be looking for in the AVR? I'm not used to dealing with spaces this big --- In our own small HT room, I like to sit close and comfy with my snuggle bunny, the lovely wife and woman of my dreams. Course, watching Julia Roberts get married to some guy for the 50th time,... well, we don't really need a 60" monitor and the audio power demands placed on our HT are minimal. This message has been edited by Fried Elliott on 11-01-2001 at 04:03 PM

I need help! My daughter's boyfriend has built a house and he wants to spend $5,000 for the home theater system. He doesn't fully understand all the ins and outs and he has asked my advice on how to spend it. I like these kind of boy friends! This HT will go in a big open area in living room where he has already created a built-in for the tv capable of holding 60" projection system. There is another room upstairs that eventually will be the personal viewing room. I'm thinking a 60" 4:3 projection system downstairs and eventually a 36-40" 16:9 tube or panel system upstairs (not in this $5K). Which ones? He thinks the little Bose speaker cubes are cool because he can aim them. Help!!! What is a good Klipsch product line set for a 20x30 LR with high ceilings? Electronics. I'm partial to Denon. AVR, DVD Player, and CD jukebox (Sony?) Latest thoughts? Anything else I'm missing. Thanks! Lets go shopping!

Hey Guys --- Long time no post! The second phase of my HT buildout is about to get underway. I need to pick up a pair of speakers to replace my KG4's that I am currently using for the HT front pair so I can move them to an audio only room. In the HT room (it is small), I currently have: Center: SSC-C1 Front Pair: KG-4 Rear Surrounds: SS-1 Sub: None (prob. a KSW-10 or -12 at some point). The quality I am getting from the KG-4 pair is quite acceptable in my current setup. It looks like there are SB-2, RB-3, SB-3, and RB-5 available on eBay for $220-$540. What would give me comparable sound, given that I eventually add a sub? Thanks guys! Everything sounds great and your help has been a big part of the reason. fried

Hi John --- For me, it usually gets down to choosing between finding the stupid crimpers and eyelets in my garage or running to Circuit City. The last time this happened I printed out the Monster spec sheets and sweet talked my wife to go for me (Honey, don't you want to watch Julia Roberts get married for the 15,000 time on our new DVD player?) and she PAID FOR THE CABLES ON HER OWN CREDIT CARD!

Here's a trick my wife uses. She goes and buys some new clothes and puts them in the closet. Some time later she wears them for the first time and I go, "Honey, is that new?" and she goes "Aww, no, it's been hanging in the closet."

Don't know the interconnect details for these components. The subwoofer is hooked to the promedias, and they are hooked to the computer, correct? If they are working, you are correct in assuming nothing you did to your computer would make any difference to the subwoofer. Is the subwoofer on its own power? Sometimes when I move stuff around I get the plug strips and on/off switches messed up.

Hi Tony --- based on recommendations here, I recently purchased a Denon 1801 AVR on eBay for approx. $300. It has been fantastic. I would expect the current Denon products to be even better. After looking at the specs on the Denon line pretty carefully, I decided that I really didn't need the extra features and power of the current generation products so I went with the 1801, which allowed me to put more money into other parts of the system. I believe you can't spend too much money on speakers and monitors. Electronics, on the other hand, I buy what meets my immediate needs because the technology and standards/formats move so fast.

When I buy all my cabling I look for well constructed properly shielded connectors and terminations. Sometimes that might mean I pay more for the "wire".

See my response under Technical Questions forum.

I would try typing that error message into the Compaq and the Microsoft website search functions and see what they return. They may have a patch or process that may fix it this. ------------EDIT ------------------ Microsoft website says the cause for this error is: This occurs if you do not have a sound card installed." ----------------------------------- How did you do the uninstall and what exactly did the OS reinstall? I would review the sound card installation documentation for some clues as to what might be amiss. This message has been edited by Fried Elliott on 09-19-2001 at 09:40 PM

I have been struggling the past few days to find the word or words to describe my state of mind and that of my friends and co-workers. I struggle for understanding and comprehension. How can people hate us to such a degree? What did we do? I struggle with a desire to "do something", both to fix it and to kick someone's a** so hard they have to open their mouth to relieve themselves. Make no mistake, I am not on board with what has happened, the methods, or the reasons. Nevertheless, I am trying to understand. Sort of like Jules talking with Ringo in Pulp Fiction, I guess. In some form the terrorists are saying that I (and by extension the United States) must take responsibilty (and accept the consequences) for my actions. Okay, lets look at that. As I do so, I find I have become so cynical of the political and media establishments that I am not sure I can honestly evaluate if the many self-proclaimed aggrieved peoples of the world truly have a legitimate grievance with me or my country. This is the beginning of the slippery slope, as I see it. I am not talking about the current crisis, but over the years my own eroding lack of faith or belief in our political processes and information channels has left me unable to really participate in our democracy, to advocate and promote almost any act with any kind of conviction that it would be unconditionally constructive. And beyond the notion of giving blood and "supporting our President", I have identified one thing I can do as a US citizen. I am going to become more politically aware and I am going to get more involved in understanding and holding our media accountable for the accuracy and independence of its reporting. I am not sure yet what forms this will take but once I began to think about it, I realized there are thousands of Americans already active in these areas of societal responsibility. Thanks for letting me vent here.

Okay, gentlemen, its starting to come together! I eventually want to move the kg-4s to another room and get a different front pair along with a sub at the same time; but for now, this is the audio setup. AVR: Denon 1800 AVR Fronts: KG-4 (pair) Center: KSC-C1 Surrounds: SS-1 (pair) Sub: none I walked through the Denon setup instructions, setting the speaker sizes, and listening distances. I then used the test tone to balance the volume. When listening to the test tone itself, I notice that my kg-4s make a sound like "kuughhhhh" while my center and surrounds make a sound more like "kkshishhh". (I can already see the witty replies to this last sentence pouring in even now...) Is this due to: 1. The differences in horns? 2. Woofer/subwoofer presence/absence/settings? 3. Treble/bass settings on the AVR? 4. Oak front, black center, white surrounds? 4. Anything I should care about?

Like Boa, I too am a bit confused about the S-video and composite video connections between my Sony Trinitron television (monitor) and my HT gear. I have two "no alternative" devices feeding composite video to my AVR: the cable box and the VCR. If I hook up composite video from everything to everything, I get picture no problem. I then hooked up an S-video cable between the DVD player and the AVR, and another between the AVR's Monitor Out and the monitor, and removed their corresponding composite video cables. I guess I was expecting the AVR to use S-video when the DVD was the source, use composite connections for everything else, and feed S-video to the Sony. However, from what I can tell, I wasn't getting video to my monitor, no matter what the input source. I also tried S-video into the monitor's Video 1 and composite into Video 3, switching the video input on the monitor when I switched at the AVR but still nothing. What I didn't try was playing the DVD S-video directly into the monitor. In thinking it through, I now realize the AVR is not going to "convert" a composite input video signal to S-video. But I thought there was some sort of signal presence/precedence logic so that if a S-video input was present it would route it to the S-video Monitor Out and if my Sony monitor detected a signal on the S-video connection it would use it preferentially over the composite connection (assuming Video 1 had been selected on the Sony). After some more reading, I am now getting the sense that if I have ANY composite video inputs to my AVR, then it will not use the S-video Monitor Out? If I do hook up the DVD player directly to the monitor using the S-video, do I lose any video processing functions having now bypassed the AVR? (The DVD and AVR audio channels are hooked up via the optical digital link and that works fine.) As I said, I'm confused. MONITOR Sony 32" Trinitron KV32TS36 (Oct 1993) Video 1 (rear): S-video, Composite video, audio L&R Video 2 (front): Composite video, audio L&R Video 3 (rear): Composite video, audio L&R UHF/VHF (rear): F-connector HT Denon 1800 AVR: everything connection under the sun (except component video) Denon 1000 DVD: S-video and Composite video out; optical and analog audio out Toshiba VCR: Composite video in and out; L&R analog audio in and out Cable setbox: Composite video and UHF/VHF video out; L&R analog audio out This message has been edited by Fried Elliott on 09-10-2001 at 11:05 AM

Hey fini! No problem on the photos --- uhh, no wait second. I'm not wearing any socks!

Ray --- Yeah, that baby needs more POWER! I say we rewire it!!! With 775 amps in the mains, we'll also need some cryogenic cooling equipment. And, with that kind of current, we're going to have to really bolt down those conductors. We're way past MDF and dry wall screws. Man, I'm really getting interested now! My first job was at the University or Rochester Laser Fusion facility. To flash pump the lasers, we had this massive power system that for, like 1 microsecond, dumped more power than New York City uses in a year. That was some cool stuff. This message has been edited by Fried Elliott on 09-07-2001 at 12:50 PM

The Crutchfield website http://www.crutchfield.com and their Audio/Video Reference ($12.95) has been real helpful to me in figuring out all these connection issues. I think all the tricks I have read about here on this site are in their A/V Reference. Plus, it comes with a pile of decent labels for your cables.

I am going to ask a dumb question, and I think I know the "answer" but here goes anywayz... After having spent all this energy (and money) figuring out all the cool HT component electronics and getting all my Klipsch speakers set up just right, why can't I just buy a freakin' video *monitor* to hook up to my AVR? Its like going to buy a turntable and find I have to buy half a stereo system to go with it that I will never use. Or as if our computer monitors had embedded video cards we never need because better functionality is also available from our PC. I will never use my tv's speakers, its internal tuner, or its remote. I know tv's have to function outside of HT setups and I know us "best-of-breed component integrator" types are not the mainstream buyer, but come on! Pull the electronics and speakers out, build a "clean" high quality monitor, and I will gladly invest in it knowing I can keep its signal processing "front end" current over the years by buying the latest and greatest electronics. Do they make such things but because I don't subscribe to Conde Nast I don't know about them? -------------------- Okay, my bad. Now that I have read the links kindly served up above, I read there are indeed HDTV monitors. Anyone have any favorites? This message has been edited by Fried Elliott on 09-06-2001 at 07:25 PM

Hey wired1! I forgot the 2 element version of the parallel connection arbitrary element formula. It is much simpler and more applicable to typical speaker setups; unless we are dealing with that future 49.7 setup I read about the other day... You might need that Krell Amp to drive those 56 speakers!

Okay, John, I wasn't going to list the *entire* freakin' inventory of fastners I have used on MDF or even the ones I have in my garage, or even the fastners I have known in my life. Lots of people are familiar with dry wall fastners and I was using them as an example. I am aware of their differences and even the differences between glues. My dad once had a "slab" of animal glue he got in Germany during the war he used in only the most dire emergency repairs, when all else had failed. God, did it smell. My sense of this thread was that currently available MDF materials were getting a bad rap, which is not consistent with my experience. I am perfectly okay with my Klipsch synergy speakers being made of the modern MDF. However, had I not had some personal experience with it, I would have considered it "cheap". BTW, I have not glued any MDF to plywood, but I have glued it to some #2 pine I had to pull apart. Result: the pine splintered first.

How was the signal being fed to the set? Could be simple case of garbage in garbage out. Like you, I suspect, I have been hitting the local stores to see if I can actually see any difference between all these confusing and overlapping names and "performance" enhancements. After some very frustrating tire kicking, a guy at one store said, "Forget trying to do any sort of comparison shopping in anything but the very top high-end stores." He said in most stores the sources, cables, cross connections, switching, and all the other crap is so bungled up as to render in-store on-screen performance meaningless.

Before peeling those little guys off, or anything that is stuck onto something, I use something like a label remover (that orange stuff). I let that kind of soak a bit and then remove the "stuck on" item. That stuff is magic. Kind of like a reverse crazy glue.

Well, MY MDF DOES TAKE A SCREW SO THERE. Heehee. The MDF to which I am referring is the stuff you currently find at Home Depot or Lowes and is an extremely heavy dense material that looks more like cardboard or brown paper. You can buy it in sheets or boards. Some is already primed. This stuff is pretty impressive. The "older" MDF looks and works more like particle board. That stuff sucks. I have used drywall screws with the MDF in both screw/glue and dry applications. I am not sure how hard you guys are driving or tightening your screws, but this stuff is very close to wood in its screwing properties. Gee, I'm starting to get a little excited here...

Yes, pretty much. Impedance is the generalized concept of the loading elements of a circuit; i.e., resistors, capacitors, and inductors. The term "resistance" is loosely used, sometimes to refer to the impedance, sometimes to refer to the real number part of the impedance, and sometimes to refer to the load presented by the resistors in a curcuit. Not sure if the distinction means anything to us here. Series resistance does add. A 6 and 8 ohm speaker hooked in series presents an effective 14 ohm load. Parallel resistance adds in inverse. If, say, two 8 ohms speakers are hooked in parallel, then total resistance is 4 ohms. This is the special case example that a lot of people use. Two items of equal resistance hooked in parallel present half the resistance of either. In the case of a 6 and 8 ohm speaker, its not quite that, but 3.43 ohms. Imagine if one of the speakers was 0.0000001 ohms. Since it would be an almost direct short, you would expect the total resistance would be almost zero ohms too, which the formula would give you. Kind of neat.

Hmm... I see some sloppy physics in here so just a bit of a refresher... OHM's LAW Voltage = Current x Resistance (or Impedance) V = I x R POWER Power (watts) = Voltage x Current P = V x I ---> (subst. Ohm's Law) ---> P = I^2 x R RESISTANCE IN SERIES R = R1 + R2 + R3 + ... RESISTANCE IN PARALLEL (1/R) = (1/R1) + (1/R2) + ... SERIES CONNECTION In a series circuit the current is the same through each device and the sum of the voltage sources (amplifier) is equal to the sum of the voltage "sinks" (speakers); i.e., I(amp) = I(spkr1) = I(spkr2), and V(amp) = V(spkr1) + V(spkr2) where R = R(spkr1) + R(spkr2). Lets suppose Craig hooks up one 6 ohm and one 8 ohm speaker in series to one channel of his amplifer that produces 224 watts per channel. R = 6 + 8 = 14 ohms (total circuit impedance or "load" seen by the amp). P = 224 watts = I^2 x 14 --> I^2 = (224/14) = 16 --> I = 4 amperes. If the current is the same through each device, then Ohm's law for the voltage across each speaker is: V(spkr1) = I x R(spkr1) = 4 x 6 = 24 volts V(spkr2) = I x R(spkr2) = 4 x 8 = 32 volts. So in Craig's example, when the 6 and 8 ohm speakers are hooked in series to the amplifier, the voltage across each speaker is NOT the same. Furthermore, in this case, the 6 ohm speakers are absorbing less power than the 8 ohm speakers. PARALLEL CONNECTION In a parallel circuit, the voltages across the devices are all the same and the sum of the currents "in" to any node (or device) is equal to the currents "out" of the device. Since the amplifier is the only source of current and the speakers are the "drains", we have V(amp) = V(spkr1) = V(spkr2), and I(amp) = I(spkr1) + I(spkr2) where <1/R> = <1/R(spkr1)> + <1/R(spkr2)>. Now,lets hook up a 6 and 8 ohm speaker in PARALLEL to a single channel of a 343 watt amplifier. We get (1/R) = (1/6) + (1/8) --> R = 3.43 ohms (total load seen by the amplifier). P(amp) = I(amp)^2 x R = 343 = I^2 x 3.43 --> I = 10 amperes. V(amp) = I(amp) x R = 10 x 3.43 =34.3 volts. and so V(amp) = V(spkr1) = I(spkr1) x R(spkr1) --> 34.3 = I(spkr1) x 6 --> I(spkr1) = 34.3/6 = 5.72 amperes. V(amp) = V(spkr2) = I(spkr2) x R(spkr2) --> 34.3 = I(spkr2) x 8 --> I(spkr2) = 34.3/8 = 4.29 amperes. Note that the 6 ohm speaker draws more current than the 8 ohm speaker when hooked in parallel. This makes intuitive sense. In a parallel circuit, your amp has to work harder the more devices you hook up to it, and a lower impedance device pulls more current than a device of higher impedance.