Lightguy

Your messages reads for me and thanks for the suggestions. I'm kind of burnt out on chasing Klipschs. Long story that I wont go into. I did find a pair of mint Dahlquist dq30 floorstanders that solve the problem of a floorstander that looks out of place in this room. They sound killer but without Klipschs efficiency and I'm OK with that.

Masking makes a difference but like flaws in your wife; If you dont look for them they are not there. You can build simple masks with long thin styrofoam sheets wrapped in black velvet material that soak up ALL light from a projector. Use velcro on the screen surround and backside of the mask to take off for old movies. A freind of mine did this and it works flawlessly. I'm too lazy The big help with a mask is that it will make you hide most contrast problems to the point you dont know they are there. Big grey bars top and bottom of the screen really magnify the real contrast ratio.

I called direct and they said only on a few occations a year do they do 1080p. Top sekrit. Shhhh... The rest of the time your HD receiver should show 1080i when a HD show is selected. Normal recording still show 1080i but the resolution is obviously less.

Yeah Direct likes to sell the "HD" image even though 99.9% of their HD is not 1080p. I can get 1080i on most of their HD broadcasts. Looks good on my 65" Plasma in the living room. On a 120" HT screen I much prefer blue-ray where the differance becomes pronounced.

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I think there is an electronics repair place close to the lake on Arkansas. Bring it there.

For $300 you need not be picky. I would check craigslist daily and get whatever comes up. It should be powered. Or look to Vann's closeout page if you need new.

From what I have seen black levels are fine and I am very particular. What you gain in vividness more than makes up for any few %'s of black. No screen delivers solid black. IMO the surrounding light conditions hense, darkening the wall/ceiling/floor (and BTW darkening helps with low reflective screens, even the grey ones), and projector contrast ratios are more culprits in low black levels than the DaLite's reflectance.. I have had zero issues with veiwing cone problems. IMO these issues are exagerated if the projector is positioned as it should be. Seeing is believing.

^ Thanks !

Figures; I've been scanning Craiglist for a month and posted WTB's with minimal luck. Did you use a search type engine or just go to craigslist ? Enquiring minds want to know !

Thought I would post results in our HT that made a big differance; 1; Paint the walls AND ceiling above the screen in a flat dark color. Does not have to be black. On my ceiling I used a flat dark purple. Side walls are a Chocolate brown. Back wall is dark "theatre" red. You would be amazed at the improvement in image contrast. Like doubling (or more) the price of the projector. The contrasts IMO look nice when the lights are on. They blend well with the; 2; Dark carpet on the floor in front of the screen. Once again it does not have to be black. Dark patterned rug to match the rest of the dacor. Cheapest easiest mod to kill reflected light and sound. 3; Sound absorbtion panels. ATS acoustics has pre-fabbed panels or you can DIY if you are handy.Six 2x4' panels turned my echo chamber room into a amazing sound stage. 4; Sub woofer. They are not cheap but make a big differance in enjoyment. 5. DaLite high power screen. You have to mount the projector just above the top of your head but WOW ! Its like veiwing a huge plasma TV. I mounted my projector on a back wall adjustable rack. HT is primarily a visual experiance. Put you money into a great screen. Projectors come and go. Do it.

If you can hang them in the top wall-to-ceiling corners they would act as bass traps as well. Tri-angulate with two hooks back wall, one hook upper ceiling, and one hook sloped ceiling. I did this in all my corners with cup holder hooks screwed into drywall anchors then screwed the same hooks into the wooden frame of the panels. Connect the opposing hooks with black "O" rings from a kit at any automotive store. The O rings eliminate vibration and because of the variable sizes you can tweek the fitment. The set-up give a very professional look showing someone put some thought and effort into the room design.

Would Klipschorn boxes make a suitable casket bolted end to end ? Or would La Scalas be more practical ? If you look at / hear them and pass let me know what you me think about them please. I'm Klipschorn hunting.

I built absorbtion panels from the DIY section of ATS acoustics for my theatre room. Transformed it from an echo chamber into a pretty decent space if I say so myself. http://www.atsacoustics.com/ Their pre-built stuff is pretty cheap though.

I'm trying to negotiate the price down to where a deal would make sense. And if I did then the problem of getting an upper. The other walnuts I've found are sweet but $2700. About $500 above my self imposed budget.

I've found a set of Khorns but one of them is missing the entire upper box section including the midrange horn, tweeter, and crossover. These are late 80's in Birch. I've found single Khorns for as little as $500 (plus shipping) but from the 50's. I know the drivers and crossovers dont match but can it "blend" with the late 80's Khorn. My idea is to swap the 50's upper to the 80's lower for two speakers that look similar on the bottoms or would scratch building and upper be the way to go ? That upper would have to be <$700 total to make this work $ wise.

Remember you are going to pay more for a "Name brand". Thats just the way it is and I knew that when I bought my Def Tech trinity. I did find a demo for 1/2 price but still "overpaid". I intend to get a lot of that % back at resale because of the name. SVS, Hsu, Epik etc are internet direct so have no middle men. As the market gets knowledrgable these brands rise in consumer confidence. Epik conquest was supposed to be the end all in consumer subs. No longer made. Why is beyond my comprehension as a business owner. If you make the best; continue ! Epik has a killer sub (their current best) for about $800. Claims down to 15hz IIRC ! I would seriously look at that I I had your budget.

First a decent blueray for $150 whether a $1000 or $10000 system.Two years from now it will be outdated. Then the rest of my $4K system 50% SUB 25% the speakers 25% AVR. If I had to do it over I'd move 10% from the AVR and put it in the speakers. Center mainly. Dont forget room treatments if you have a "ringy" room. Make a HUGE differance. Because I did my homework and bought only demo/closeouts I feel confident that diminishing returns would take effect. You would have to spend double to get a few percents. Ive been in $100k HT demo rooms and my system blows them away.

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_41&products_id=618 Those spec out at kick but level;

Vann's has RW-10's for $250 in the clearance dept.

Honestly I dont get the multiple sub concept. Four subs that go to 26hz still gets you 26hz x 4. IMO sell the two you have if they are not cutting the mustard and get one monster sub that will.

With subs its not only quality (as in HZ, this one claims 18hz) but quantity. This one has two 12" with 600 watts. If I recall correctly one of my HT buds has this exact sub. Either that on the one with 2 13" drivers if they make one. His HT is a converted 2 car garage and it rocks the place. I'd bring cash and go from there. Remember SVS is internet direct so there is no distribution channel markup.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Impressions with Klipsch La Scalas Date:December 25, 2010 Location:USA Technical Knowledge:Amateur Experience with product:I own it Value: 5 out of 5 Performance: 5 out of 5 Features: 4 out of 5 A little background - my Klipsch La Scalas are extremely sensitive speakers (spec'd @ 104 dB). They're fully horn-loaded 3-way speakers that I've updated with new crossovers. Until now, my speakers were driven by a rebuilt Eico HF-81 - a well regarded vintage tube amplifier that despite its 14 watt limit could drive my sensitive La Scalas to extreme levels. I can confirm that Klipsch La Scala speakers and Dayton's DTA-100a Class-T amp are a special combination. As others have said, a diminutive t-amp driving a set of huge Klipsch boxes seems truly absurd. But the music imparted by the DTA-100a Class-T amp is much more than I'd heard from my vintage tube amp. All the music's detail is revealed - nothing is clipped or distorted despite the ear-splitting volumes that can be achieved by DTA-100a with 104dB speakers. I can also verify that the DTA-100a's bass is extremely accurate and tight - much better than had been possible from my Eico tube amp. I recommend that Klipsch Heritage speaker owners give a Dayton DTA-100a Class-T amp a try - you won't regret your decision.

I'm going to take a medium sized floorstander and lay it on its side on top of my built-in bookshelfs. Seen laying them sideways done with Corwalls as a center I figure any of the above speakers will work too. Plenty or room up there but obviously close to the wall. A 4 'wide x2' tall x2' deep area above each shelf. Originally wanted Chorus's but @100 lbs each aint going to happen.

I need some bookshelf speakers (to be placed sideways) on top of some built in bookshelves I have. Will the rear radiator on these models not sound correct or can this be done effectively ? I know Forte I's are out there but the II's seem to be everywhere and cheap in Dallas. Originally I was going to go with Heresys but there are expensive in comparison with the other types. must be the demand for the 2/3 Klipschorn concept.