Audible Nectar

I am also in the "3D is a fad" department, not being much interested in it after trying it out in several setups. Just give me a really good 2D pic and I'm happy. It took me some time to recently sift through all of the choices - LED and plasma - and it seems you have an idea of some of the pros and cons of those. I bounced between the two types in showrooms for about six weeks, getting used to looking at the various models, then even adjusting a few in store per settings I got from AVS once I narrowed down to a few. Plasma is consistent corner to corner, LEDs are a bit brighter and exhibit more "pop", but can have more screen uniformity issues - so if you have a room with varied bright day and dimmer evening light that might lead more towards LED. In a light controlled room - usually plasma, but not always as I recommend having a good look in showrooms to make sure your eyes "like" it. I ended up with a 55" Sony LED (HX729) with an Oppo 93 BR machine (all calibrated) and it is quite the show. This combo is very adept WRT scaling, making internet based video look quite good, DVD video looks UNBELIEVEABLE in many cases and can be easily mistaken for BR, and BR looks like BR should, and HD cable looks good to awesome, depending on the signal - most all HD stuff is good, even those channels not getting the best "treatment". I sit about 10 feet out and it looks really good - any minor flaws disappear over about 12 feet, and from 12 to 16 feet the picture is outstanding on most any resolution I feed it. Scaling was a critical issue for me, the Sony and Oppo passes all of these tests with flying colors. YMMV. Everyone "sees" these machines differently and have different uses. I use mine for TV (sports), DVD, and BR as well as an array of internet based video. No gaming. I have issues with plasma in most situations....I am sensitive to phosphor trailing that plasma exhibits, where most don't seem to have a problem with this. That's one example of a flaw that a percentage of people are sensitive to, there are others too. I suggest AVS forum for a complete "taking apart" of the various models, there's lots to learn if you are curious......but be careful as it can be overload too[] Sometimes overly picky, and sometimes too much info to consume in less than a month, but will help you pick through your considered choices. While the best efforts in plasma and LED actually were happening a few years ago, the midline is MUCH better now, in a 55" you can get some really nice displays in the $1500-2000 area - and these are "higher end" displays that shred what was happening at that price 4 years ago. Panny, Samsung, LG and Sony all have good offerings.

OLED isn't realistic in the current economy and price/performance ratio isn't good either. As mentioned in the article, professionals will use the technology, but it's going to be a number of years before irt sees consumer shelves, and that assumes that manufacturers are able to "scale up" to mass production.

The Revel is a serious unit....if I ever was to get a sub for my Mac system (Belle Klipsch) that would be a very easy way to do that system justice. Not just a great sub in the usual desired respects but known to be extremely musical.

Agree with Chris - and agree with psg: That room sounds like it screams for Heritage. 6 LaScalas + Danley DIY sub = Upgradeproof speaker system, and can be done without busting the budget, too.. If that's a room/dwelling you plan to be in for the foreseeable future, take a step back, breathe, and consider what it would take to do this ONCE - and make you happy in that room for life. Great speakers make for a great system. There are a host of options for the electronics that doesn't have to be highest end, but good value choices that could make that a colossal installation. I put five Cornwalls and two JBL pro woofer cabs in a 20x14 (yeah, it's overkill) and know that I can die with this kit.

Wow - are some of you easily led..... If all it took for people to ditch a lifetime of work was some website telling you that your "concept" was "out" of fashion, it's no shock that so many rooms went from Heritage to Acousticmess in one decade. It is the allowance of people with no clue, leading you by the nose ring, that leads to disasterous results. Think for yourselves. Don't be a "SUCKER". Conventional wisdom has a way of becoming "conventional stupidity", especially once a corporate news outlet or ad agency gets hold of it. I do agree with the website's "outing" of the term "Occupy", but not because it's out of fashion, but because it was picked up virally and used incorrectly. For example, a local church that used the term as such: "Occupy Our Church This Sunday". OK, but only if you have given us a reason to "Occupy" it, such as assisting financial leeches in ripping off the public, buying off politicians, or otherwise engaging in corrupt practices. If you are going to "borrow" a term made known via some current event, at least use int in the context intended, or you may end up with some unintended consequences.

I have two SYSTEMS for this reason. System one is the Peach/VRD/Cornwall system, a testimony in linearity and accuracy, with that smooth liquid power that the big Heritage do sooooo well with. This system is the one you use with the idea of "best recording - best performance", again, linearity being the primary "concern" here. http://community.klipsch.com/forums/t/154457.aspx?PageIndex=2 And then I get even more "interesting" with the Peach/VRD/Cornwall kit, because that "chain" is a 2 channel kit within a larger HT setup, so I have two complete systems in one room on one set of speakers (I just manually swap the speaker outputs from the two amplifiers involved, only using one system at a time). So I get multichannel HT sound with high solid state impact as a "double bonus", and a "smorgasbord" of audio options that covers any conceivable want or need. So not only is it typical for some users to use different speakers to get certain tonal balances/"sound", but it is also normal for people here to take the same speakers and hook up multiple "system chains" to them, as the electronics can and will change a Klipsch's sound to impart just what that gear sounds like. The bigger Klipsch are very much "changelings" in this regard - untold hordes of people over the years gave up on Klipsch because they never heard them on proper electronics for them (and some of those people ended up back here). System two is a vintage McIntosh system, MX110>MC30s>Belle Klipsch. "Midrangimus Maximus" is the story here, as well as a unique ability to bring older recordings back to LIFE! It imparts a bit of the SET kind of sound, by way of some really pricey capacitors and tubes throughout the audio chain, yet with the testicles of a push pull, and a midrange saturation/fullness that is just downright HOLY. The Belle Klipsch are a great speaker for this purpose/setup. So yes, we do lots of things to try to get all the best audio combinations.

I can also vouch for permanent DeanG'd Klipsch that are here for the duration.....and much of the electronics are "permanent" too. Life is good when you have what you want, and can just enjoy it. I won't make any claims about best in house Klipsch, although I might boast of my main set of Mac MC30s in such fashion.....they really are other worldly, and when driving a set of Dean's V-Cap AAs in Belles there's no reason to change anything further. I quit looking at SET at that point. SET is good, but I really don't care because MC30 midrange tweaked like that allows me to quit looking. So yes, I can understand the satisfaction of finding your sonic bliss.

+1 Any guesses as to what the HT room in heaven has for equipment? No, but the two channel room has McIntosh MC30s on a pair of KHorns[H]

Helpful hint on that decor issue: Try Heritage. As any good salesman knows, there's always an opening which can be exploited when dealing with an otherwise skeptical person. In my wife's case, it's a like of antiques and other fine furniture that offered "The Opening", in which I could introduce the idea of "speakers as furniture". It also helps that she loves music as I do, so the idea of an audio system isn't totally unwelcome - but many, many speakers out there look like speakers, where Heritage look like furniture. So instead of "I LIKE that" when shown a minty pair of '68 Cornwalls, or "Those are beautiful" when I brought home the Belles, it's "mehhhhhhh......" with something like a KLF series speaker, because as good as they sound, they still look like gear. Heritage can be made to look very "homey", and with a bit of interior decorating and woodworking skill can look downright rich. And vacuum tube gear can be a real "hit" if selected and presented properly...... Cables: Nothing too fancy here - Monoprice for HDMI and optical digital cables, Monster 14ga for speakers, and Audioquest for ICs.....except for the Peach/VRD ICs which are custom built from a local tube and audio guru. I reserved such persnickety points of view for the Mac vintage system, which will be profiled soon - where extreme lengths were taken to arrive at the best caps, tubes, and so forth.

Thanks for the video. I too realize that youtube/computer fidelity are limited, but I'm not sure that's ultimately the point - the moving/sweeping camera does much to set the system in context within the space it resides in. Often one sees a piece of gear in photo, and it really doesn't convey just how large or "commanding" that piece of gear is....nor how beautiful (as is the case with the "Big Mac"). That MC300 is quite the beast. I considered one of those as a sub amp - would be a nice added touch aesthetically - but being realistic it's a bit overkill just for a sub. It seems put to much better and greater use here. Nice kit!

I don't know much about the rapture, or mayan prophecies - but my subs might well have folks believing that one or the other is occurring[8-|] I quit betting on football two decades ago (and I think of myself as knowing that topic well), but know little of the probability of a rapture event. I do know this - I'm not wasting any time waiting around for one - I would rather attempt to make sonic recreations of such as produced by various Panavision operators worldwide..... It's funny you bring up the rapture v system comparison, because it has been a bit of "oh yeah, right" with respect to finishing this project. I have been telling myself and others that I was going to make the HD upgrade for several years now, and it was only when my old trinitron tube set died that I finally said "OK, I guess I gotta do it now". And then it was about 2 months of research interspersed with a room refinish that had me sans TV except for a 20" in the bedroom.. Making an educated choice was paramount, and I finally reconciled that info into a finished project. It did seem that "The End Is Nigh" and "I will finish my HT via an HD upgrade" were running at similar odds for a while, but all good things in all good time. Finally, video that does justice to the audio. NOW it's a "theater".

RF7s want power. The Dynaco is a good rec, but the NOSValves VRDs are as good as I can think of for RF7s.

YES. Because there is NO WAY that I end up with this without the assistance of Klipsch and the members here. Even as an enthusiast when I first arrived - there is still no way I end up with all this without the help of the good people here. In an era when money is made just from information - as in "hey, come learn the secrets of success at the Henry Cabot Lodge this weekend at 10AM from the one and only Super Sales Guy" - it's refreshing to see places like this where people share information for the sheer joy of spreading an idea and hobby. You can't pay people to show you stuff like is seen here....all the more reason this forum is priceless - and much appreciated. I could never repay all of the help given here, but I do try to pay it forward, and make the world a better sounding place. And rest assured - if I can accomplish this - than most people reading here can too, if they are focused on it, and don't plan to make it happen in a week[] I don't post "show and tell" to brag as much as I post to say "You can do this too!"

Try this on for size.....

I guess "that's why they play the games"[] I'm not worried much about Green Bay.....they will be fine. Running the table is hard to do, especially when everyone brings thier best for the champs every week. The pressure is off for them now, and they can just focus on the playoffs. Still very wide open, though.....Pit, GB, Bal, NO, maybe NE.....still lots of possibilities. Now that the Bears are toast, I can just enjoy the rest of the league for the year......

.....to come on over to Home Theater, to see what I did with my rendition, since I know that many in 2 channel don't make it over there often...... Namely, to see a 2 channel system nestled within my HT installation, also known as "what I did (in part) with ten years here". You guys helped start the disease, so I figured you might look at the manifestations, because I care enough to make my HT have GOOD 2 channel sound[H].....now it's nothing you haven't seen before, but in a different context. http://community.klipsch.com/forums/t/154457.aspx?PageIndex=2 I just completed the digital upgrade (complete with new digicam) so in the nearest future I will have an upcoming pictorial and inside look at the vintage room....... Couldn't have done it without you all, so thanks for the inspiration, and thanks in the holiday spirit. It's been ten laps around the sun with you guys, and it's been a pleasure doin' business with ya. More to come.......

Mine just likes to decorate the tops of them. She uses cloth or doilies, so there's never an issue with scratching, and she's willing to work with me when something's a bit out of bounds or not recommended.... She likes the results of the gear, and likes old Heritage cabs, so there's no fighting or stress about it, really. Early on she had some doubts, but once I put results in our room she understood. She's not in on the gear decisions, but she's in the conversation. When I can tell her in advance why we are buying/doing something, and then I do it, a certain amount of credibility does build. We got married at a Phish concert 14 years ago, and spend much of our vacations on live musical pursuits so lots of Heritage in houseis a natural fit. Not just music you hear, but muisic you experience. I really feel for some of you guys.

Yep - and good tube gear and tubes are more expensive than ever before - especially MC30s, vintage tubes, and even current stuff like VRDs go up in price over the years, because true quality iron for those amps go up in price over time. So I got most of my tube stuff years ago, and put off HD until it became more market saturated. So yes, that plan allowed me to get both ends with max bang for the buck on price.

Uh-huh. Definitely late to the HD party. I put that off until I almost had to make a move, but used that time to get all audio isues worked out. The waiting enabled me in getting some really good video gear without paying exorbitant prices. This was a good time to buy - definitely a buyers market. I read myself blue on AVS figuring most of the HD out, but the reading really brought results.

To borrow a line from Commandant Lessard...... "I hope this was as much fun for you as it was for me"

You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale........ ,,,,,,,and YOU.........WILL.........ATONE!!!!!

We're in the boredom killing business!!!!

This tube is the most awesome, godd@^^n propaganda force in the whole godless world.....

This tube is the gospel - the ULTIMATE REVELATION........

As we speak, police are coming......