johnnydrama
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Posts posted by johnnydrama
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Front Soundstage
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Just got my new reference system put together last friday and it turned out great. The cherry veneer matches my cherry hardwood perfectly. Just wanted to share my home theater story and background. I got started in home theater a few years back when HDDVDs and BluRays came out. First I was just fascinated with HDTV and had a good friend that worked at HHGregg. Then one day he told me I should get some nice speakers and he had a set of JBL Cinema Sound CST55 towers marked down from $499 ea. to $100 ea. so I pulled the trigger and bought a reciever and JBL ES250P sub to go with it. This is when I began to appreciate good audio. I had always liked speakers but back then I was impressed by most HTIBs, this is when I really began to seek more knowledge and the desire for more performance. Eventually I purchased a matching center CSC55, and bookshelf surrounds CSB5 to match my towers. I was blown away by how much excitement I had been missing all of these years when watching a movie with poor audio. Then I upgraded my reciever to an Onkyo TX-SR606 and was introduced to high def audio, again another milestone that kept me engaged. I loved my JBL system, it was a looker and it sounded great. However I was always drawn to Klipsch, perhaps because my friend that worked at HHGregg had a Synergy system. I was still in college so I was on a pretty tight budget back then but was able to put together my JBL system, reciever and sub all for around $700, retail was probably somewhere around $2300 for my system so I was happy with it.
However I'm the type of person that loves to change things up and after getting my business up and running and making a decent living I wanted to change things up a bit...I ended up purchasing a Klipsch SUB12 to replace my JBL ES250P first. Then shortly after Klipsch discontinued the XF line and Vanns had a blowout on them. I was always drawn to this speaker setup but never dreamed I would spend that much on speakers ($4495 retail), therefore never thought I would see those speakers anytime soon. I was able to unload my JBL system and SUB12 and Onkyo 606 to my brother in law for $1000 and put that money towards the XF-48 system and a new Onkyo 608 reciever which total ran me about $1600. The XF system is a beautiful speaker. And it sounded great, bass wasn't as great as I was hoping for or what I was used to with the SUB12, however living in a townhouse I couldn't play at a desired volume as often as I would of liked, so the XFs seemed like an even more reasonable move for me at the time. I had the XF system for a little over a year however it always left something to be desired, it was a cobination of the XL-23s lack of power and the lack of bass of the entire system. Sometimes the bass was there but sometimes it just wasn't when it should have been. So I tossed around the idea of adding a sub and switching out my center to a definitive mythos 9 or 10 but while I love good audio, cosmetics and esthetics mean alot to me and my wife as well so I think the cosmetic difference of the definitive would've bothered me even if it sounded better. So I just decided to change it all up again and unload my XF-48 system and wanted to get a reference line.
Sold my XF system to a local guy for $1200 which was essentially what I paid for it a year ago so I was happy with that. Was able to put together a beautiful cherry RF-62ii, RC-62ii, and RB-61ii combo. Would like to thank JasonJCarney for the RFs, and USNRET for the RBs, and Acoustic Sound Design for the RC. The RFs arrived first from Jason just as described 9.5/10 and got them hooked up immediately. Was kinda glad it happened this way as it gave me some time with them as a stereo setup and would've been happy with just that. Got to listen and know the speaker well before I added the center and surrounds.The bass output on the 62s is greater than my XF48s which I wasn't expecting. Monday my RC and RBs showed up and got them installed immediately. Like I said cosmetics are important to me as well and these are beautiful speakers. The cherry veneer is beautifully matched with my cherry hardwoods. I made special mounts for the RC (I own a machine shop so this was easy to do, essentially copied the pinpoint center channel mount, just beefed it up a bit to hold the monster of an RC-62) to give it the floating on the wall effect which turned out great. I had to mount the RBs a little higher than ideal due to room constraints but still turned out good.
At first my wife and I just thought wow these are huge speakers, especially compared to the JBL and XF48 systems we had previously had since both of those systems were flat panel design driven. However the size has grown on me and they really look great in the room. I've been blown away by the RF-62 setup, the sound is perfect. I am adding a subwoofer still even though the bass output with this system is greater than the XF system. It's something that I won't have turned on very often but want to have the capability to use the sub if the guys are over and we really wanna feel the bass. The subwoofer choice was the hardest decision of all. Literally for a week every single day I went back and forth between 4 or 5 subs. (Jason's Paradigm DSP3100, Epik Legend or Empire, HSU VTF-15H, or a Lava LSP12) Pretty broad range I know but let me explain.
Considered the paradigm because I felt comfortable with Jason now after making the RF transaction and knew the sub would be as described for a great price $350. The EPIKs have always been the subs I've always wanted and been drawn to. Why ? I dunno really I just have. The HSU only because there was a like new one I could get basically for half off of what a brand new one would run me. The LAVA well because it seemed like the most practical choice, If you're an AVS forum member you can grab one of these for $287. And with my previous 2 subs, the ES250P and SUB12 were both more than enough for my room. I figured the LSP12 was going to atleast be on par with these if not a little better at a great price, plus I like the look of the sub, again cosmetics are important. The deciding factor was LAVA offers a 30 day trial period where if you're not happy send it back and they will refund your money. So I pulled the trigger on it and it should be here tomorrow. The output is supposed to be great from 35hz and up but falls off pretty quickly once you go below that. So EQing and room placement will be a key factor. I already know the sweet spot in my room and with audysseys help I think this will be more than enough sub for my room, but if not i'll send it back and most likely get a Legend.
I've searched the Klipsch forum for LAVA subs and found no results and was a little surprised. Anyways I'll let you guys know my subjective opinion on the sub when I get it setup tomorrow and how it compares to the SUB12 in case anyone else is interested. Below I'm gonna post some pictures of my past JBL system, XF system, my new RF system, and some other random photos. Hope you guys enjoy my thread and thanks for looking and thanks for the wealth of knowledge this forum provides. Cheers!
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You're not kidding... im not usually attracted to angelina jolie even... but in that movie she is goddesslike. The movie itself youre right isn't that great but she is jaw dropping the whole time.Super 8 is a nice special effects movie and was entertaining. I liked Cowboys and Aliens better. Somehow I am stuck on the Tourist, for the wrong reason. It is not a great film, but Angelin Jolie just look &^%$# fantastic, Wow!
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First of all don't get the bose. Second if you're most worried about sound quality and with your size of space I would recommend the quintets. I've installed them for both my brother and best friend and they are a pretty impressive little speaker. Now you'll still have to buy a sub with these but your results will be much better than either the hd1000 or 500.
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Correct!Thanks greatly to all. So, do I understand correctly that, even though the LG does not have analog MC outs, its optical output will carry DD5.1 to optical input on the receiver?
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Some bluray players have analog outputs and decode the high def audio internally then send it to the receiver as multi channel pcm.
Yes the blurays still have regular dd5.1 tracks.
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First question? does the LG BluRay player have audio analog outputs? Some do some don't. If they do connect the audio of the BD player to the reciever with those and the player does the decoding for you... if not your best bet is to just connect via optical and you will get regular dolby digital and dts tracks as if you would watching a regular dvd. I know this isn't a very detailed description but hope it helps.
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This is great info guys and there is no denying the facts but if you read the OPs original post he said he's settled on the Empire bc of it's price nothing else. At $799 it's a great value for what you get and it's $1200 cheaper than the PB13 and $550 cheaper than the PB12. The PB13 and PB12 may both be better below 20hz but not better enough to justify the price. If money wasn't an object sure but for most people performance for your dollar is most important.
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I don't have an epik but is the sub I want no doubt. Would love an empire but would probably be overkill for my space so I'm leaning towards a legend. They are already a great value but I keep hoping a like new used one will pop up somewhere but they are nowhere to be found. If i get my dedicated space built I will definitely be going with a dual empire setup tho. If you get one let me know how it works out. I've never read where someone was disappointed with one.
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Here's the link if you're interested. He has 2 pair.im lusting for them at this point. I think i would sell my 7's to get them so i could pay around 500-600 for a pair for the non classics and i would pay maybe more for the newer ones.
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He's wanting $1800 for the 4 RF-5s and RC-35 center. much more than what they are worth to me. But if anyone is interested I can send you his phone # to message him. Real nice guy have spoke to him on the phone.
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That is so difficult to say and very personal. I've always first decided what I was looking for and then the top I was willing to pay (all condition driven) and started to hunt. When I was first building my RF 7 surround system I knew that I wanted all matching, 7.1 and nothing less than an RSW 15, some of the pieces I bought way right, while other ones were closer to my max. but in the end it all worked out and I was happy and still am, but I still buy all of my equipment that way, unless it is a really sweet number, then I might buy it just because of the deal.K well I'm almost certain they are the re-release, the guy said he bought them brand new in 2009. What would be a fair offer for a pair and he also has a RC-35?
well that's kinda where I'm at it's not exactly what I'm looking for but if I can get a sweet deal I think I'd be more than happy with the performance of the speaker. I appreciate your advice and thats generally how I try to look at my purchases, the what's it worth to me approach. Just trying to grab some more knowledge and opinions on this speaker so I can make that decision. The guy actually has 4 RF-5s and a RC-35. He said he would sell seperate or all together.
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K well I'm almost certain they are the re-release, the guy said he bought them brand new in 2009. What would be a fair offer for a pair and he also has a RC-35?
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So cosmetics are the only difference, internals still the same, which im assuming would make the newer release ones worth more?
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Whats the difference between the original and re-release model of 2009?
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I bought a mint pair with boxes for $600 about 2 years ago.
I'm assuming you like them, everything I keep reading is about how great they are and supposedly better than the newer reference lines... what are your personal feelings about them?
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Assuming mint condition or like new? Most of my knowledge is on the newer reference lines and was just curious as to what you guys thought these are worth? I found some but the asking price seems high to me and there aren't too many of them out there for me to check pricing on. thanks
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I thought you had to buy Master & Commander on DVD still because the audio was messed up on the bluray release?
hmmm thats interesting... it seems that the mixes won't go below 25 hz on the blu ray releases... I wouldn't have noticed this because I just have xf-48s and don't currently use a sub. Maybe someone else can shed some light on this. other than that the audio sounds great on Master and Commander.
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Book of Eli definitely rocked.
Have you watched Master and Commander yet?
Master and Commander is always a go to demo for me. I've never even watched the whole movie, just the first battle out of the fog probably 50 times. When the crew is running into postion after a wave of cannonballs it literally sounds like there are people upstairs running around on a hardwood floor. Awesome example of DTS-HD Master Audio.
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I have a blu ray collection of 175 and counting and have heard several dolby true hd and dts hd master audio tracks and honestly you can't really go wrong with either they are both great and noticeably better than a regular lossy dolby or dts soundtrack. I don't think I could honestly say one is better or that I prefer one over the other. I think it depends more on the movie itself.
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i'm certain aliens tipped him off. or maybe he figured he would use the time between audition and cash delivery to use that new fangled thing called the internet to see if his discount of $1000 was really warranted or not ..he likely came back to the klipsch forums he had long forgotten about, started browsing around, and noticed your post near the top of the lists.
without any proof, i'd be careful how far you go accusing this group of such shady tactics. sure, it's possible, but my experience has shown these forum members to be highly credible people that self-police and ostracize those that do what you've described.
if you do have concrete evidence of what you describe, please share it so that we can self-police and ostracize the ******.
again I mispoke.. my explanation wasn't meant to accuse a fellow member of doing such... however this forum is open to public I was on for several months before I actually signed up. So what I meant to say was someone read my post and tipped him off. Sorry for not being clear more clear on what I meant and wrongly wording what I was meaning to say.
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My roommate got a pair of Image One headphones from where he works. They sound great when plugged in directly to whatever device (computer mainly) however the cord is Way short. So he picked up a 3.5mm extension cable. The moment you plug in the cable, the sound quality goes to hell, sometimes even distorts it so bad you cant make out the audio. Whats the deal? I tried two different extensions with it, same result. Why wont an extension work with it? Is there even an extension cable that WILL work with it?
I have Image ONEs and purchased a 12 ft. extension so i can wear them and sit on my couch and still watch stuff at a good volume after my wife and infant are asleep. I had the same issue when I first plugged everything in. I began checking the connections... I finally got it work by tinkering with the headphone male connection into the female extension connection. Instead of forcing this connection all the way in I relieved it just a click and the sound was perfect, just as if the Image ONEs were plugged directly into my reciever. Not sure if you are understanding what i'm saying it's kind of hard to describe.
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I agree with Jason on this, if he were a member he probably would have known what sub he had. Plus he would have had the speakers listed in the garage sale section and not just on craigslist. I would also think that he would have called you out publicly right here. Sounds to me like someone read your post and ratted you out. Who knows, maybe their intentions were to swoop in on your deal. I would keep an eye out for someone's new reference system in the forums.
Yea I'm almost certain it was a fellow member that just tipped him off and swung in for the rebound on the deal, mainly for the reasons you stated above mrclean. I'm not too upset about it. I wasn't in the market for a new system but at same time wasn't gonna pass up on the deal. I probably would've ended up shopping the system anyways due to the wife. She already thinks my XF-48 system is big, can't imagine the kinda brick she would've shit if I would've popped those RF-82s down. Until I have my dedicated home theater I really am not gonna be in the market for a reference system. I was even having some trouble wrestling the thought of getting rid of my XF-48 because it's such a great looking system. I would've thought the reference would've looked great but still would've looked a little large for my space and most of my friends and family would've thought I was crazy so... I appreciate the support tho guys, an apology was definitely in order on my part and things happen for a reason, just wasn't meant to be, something better will come along im sure.
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I haven't had a chance to watch this yet but have read several positive reviews on it, especially about how impressive the audio was.
Johnnydrama's Home Theater Past, Present, & Future
in Home Theater
Posted
Surround Right