iwander

I have a BDP-105D that I use with a 1tb usb portable drive. Runs like a champ. I have all my CD's ripped to wav files. I also have mkv files for movies and concerts. These are on an external hard drive with 4 bays. Seems to play everything that I've tried. I use the IOS app for access to the portable drive. Or the TV screen for movies. With the 103 & 105, you can use drives larger than 2TB. I have not tried streaming. With everything on the portable drive, I did not see a need to stream. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Tarheel, What DAC are you using? I have a portable DAC/headphone amp. Teac HA-P50. I just connect the lightning cable into the usb port on the DAC. It has an analog output for connecting to a stereo. I use that at home. I mostly use the headphone jack. The HA-P50 bypass the DAC in my iphone 5. Much better sound through the Teac. The Teac runs around $200.

I have an iView 3500STB2 OTA tuner. Currently $40 on Newegg. It can receive OTA or cable. I use OTA. Antenna orientation is important for best reception. It receives HD channels. HDMI 1080p output. Dolby 5.1 if available. It can also record shows if you attach an USB HDD to it. I'm very pleased with it. I just need an outdoor antenna to get the best reception. Good luck.

Check out Musical Paradise MP-301 tube amp. $340. No radio. 2 line inputs. If you are using vinyl, you'll need to add a phono preamp. Excellent introduction to tube amps. Your Heresey's will sound great with it. Good luck.

On my 105D, I have it configured to turn on to a set volume. Regardless of the volume last played, it comes on at that set volume. No surprises at turn on. I have my 105D hooked directly into my stereo power amp using xlr cables. Cheap protection. I use my 105D strictly as a pre pro into a stereo setup. McIntosh MC2102 amp and Klipshorns. Control of the 105D is through the ipad app.

The hereseys may be bass shy if not properly placed. Cornwalls are great if you have the space. They are big. Used should be around $700-$1000. Have a look at Musical Paradise MP-301 tube amp. Excellent amp for Klipsch heritage speakers. It is an integrated amp with 2 analog inputs. No phono. What will your source units be? CD's, vinyl. Do you need a DAC. There are many SACD/universal players around $1200 new with excellent DACs built in. Oppo BDP-105. Cambridge Audio Azur 752BD. Both of those have digital inputs which can use the internal DACs. That leaves you with $1000 to spend. Turntable with phono pre-amp. Good luck.

Check out Vanatoo Transparent One speakers. My wife loves hers. USB connection to iMac.

The Anthem MRX series is great. I've had my MRX500 for almost two years now. Not a single problem. Set up ARC once and have not changed it since. Best movie sound we've had in our HT. Driving Cornwalls front and back with heresy for center. Energy sub. Best stereo sound from AVR I've found. SACD's have never sounded so good. If you're looking to buy, I would hold off for now. Talk is the new MRX-x10 series will be coming out by the end of the year. All MRX models have analog multiple channel inputs and preamp outputs. You can use a separate amp it you like. I use HDMI and the internal amp. Gets louder than I can stand. Not a bit of distortion. Best AVR for the price. No frills. Just great sound.

You might want to check into obtaining the rights to show the movie in a public setting. Being in a public park with the rec dept might constitute a commercial showing. Doing it in your own backyard would be fine. Protect yourself. Great idea though.

Youthman, I'll be keeping my 40gb for the HT setup. I still listen to music there. I will have more capacity for the main stereo setup. Pretty much all my iTunes library. No streaming. iwander

The best thing about the first gen Apple tv is the hard drive. I currently have the 40gb version. The 160gb would hold much more music. Gen 1 is extremely under powered compared to what is streamed today. Streaming on a gen 1 is very slow. Hardware was designed for 480p video. Firmware updates allowed 720p video. Extremely slow. Unit can't keep up with video streaming. Used for music in my HT setup. Gen 2 is the one commanding high prices. It can handle 720p and can be jail broken. A guy at work did that. He gave up on it because his wife was frustrated at the difficulty using it. It was no longer the simple ease of use that Apple designed. They bought the 3rd gen. It handles 1080p. I don't believe it has been jail broken yet. Gen 2 would be the one for jail breaking. I will be using the 1st gen strictly for music. I get too many drop-outs when streaming music from my Mac. It will be used in my main stereo setup. No videos. No streaming. iwander

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The mini plug on the ipod is an analog connection. The inputs listed on your DAC are all digital. Is there an AUX input on the DAC? It would have left/right rca type connections.

derrickdj7, It would seem you are having problems receiving pm's. After all my questions, I sent a pm on Thursday afternoon accepting your sale of the M70. I received no replies. I figured you were busy preparing for the holiday weekend. Us too. After returning home last night, I was surprised and disappointed to learn you had sold the amp. Just my luck. You might want to check why you are not receiving pm's. iwander

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