picky

Hey, that's really GREAT NEWS because I really do hate buying things for less. In fact, I always tell my car salesman to keep his factory rebates and cash back because I prefer to pay full price when I buy a car. Heck, let's get rid of all tax cuts too, as I'd much rather have more money taken out of my paycheck! Pardon the sarcasm, please. I understand the premise of what Klipsch is getting at. But I'm kinda on-the-fence with m00n on this one. Only Klipsch and the brick-and-mortars stand to really gain anything out of this. And, also the few unfortunate consumers whom may have been sold (used) goods that weren't what they thought they were buying. I do agreed with the premise. -Picky

Wasn't that was one heck of a great football game yesterday? We had about 12 people over to enjoy the game in our new theater for the first time. I guess you could say that SuperBowl Sunday was our theater's Big Premiere! I have only about a month's more work and it will be completely done! It's about time too, as we've been at work on it since August of 2002. I must admit that the quality of the high definition picture on CBS made the game that much more enjoyable to watch, and that says a lot because I am not really a football fan. But, I do respect the game and the players. I am not one who normally whines about things I see on TV. Having done road shows for a band many years ago as a sound engineer, I know what it is like to set up a stage on the road and that the halftime show has literally only "seconds" to get their stage ready. But, that has been true for EVERY Super Bpwl halftime show and many of them in the past have been quite impressive to watch and to listen too. However, the quality of this XXXVIII halftime show was terrible! I am not speaking in terms of the performers, which in itself, is another story. I am talking about the video quality and the sound was awful!! The audio feed was constantly breaking up, and it sounded VERY thin and there was no bottom end at all. At first, I thought something went wrong with my system. So, I ran upstairs and our freinds watching it up there said the same thing was happening. What a disappointment! Then today, I found out that MTV was responsible for producing the halftime show. Well, with all due respect to MTV, I am giving you a big, fat grade "F" for your awful technical representation of the show. Let's hope whomever produces next year's show knows what they are doing. I guess that's why may name is Picky!

I bought my Tripp Lite LCR 2400 20 amp conditioner on line for about $240 bucks a year ago. http://www.tripplite.com/products/product.cfm?productID=211 It does an excellent job protecting my entire system. I saw it for $276.99 (+ shipping) today at buy.com I hope that help you. -Picky

Doug, John, (et all): I do not think that the i-Link (aka Firewire) actually requires the receiver and DVD player to be of the same brand, just the same protocal, in order to work. Naturally, I could be wrong. I noticed that Doug wrote ("I think"), to, so I guess that neither of us is sure. There actually (I think) there MAY a way to record the i-Link audio output digitally: I'll have to try connecting my DV-47Ai i-Link connection into the i-Link connection on my JVC HM-DH30000U D-VHS recorder and see if I can record the audio digitally. I don't know for sure if it will work. I know I can directly plug my Mini-DV video camera directly into the JVC and record full digital video and sound that way. When I get the chance I'll have to give that one a whirl. -Picky

Hey, m00n: Nice toy, but 287 pounds??? SHEESH!!! That's a Super-Gonzo Table saw!!! Have fun, dude! Hmm...let's see.......8, 9, 10! Yep! They're all still here! -Picky

Hmmmm...it seems to me that some little flower pots turned upside down would work well too, but much more cheaply. Of course, flower pots are made out of crock.....just like the elevated-speaker-wire theory. -Picky

James: Dougdrake has an excellent suggestion. It could be that your optical cable may have a break in the fiberoptics or even one of the end connectors may have a speck of dirt on it. Weirder things have happened. I know how frustrated you must be. I love my own 47Ai and I would miss it too if it didn't work right. Best of luck. Please let us all know what the problem was. Thanks! - Picky

BLOSE?? Who.........???

lancestorm: I see from your reply that this "arguement" is more of a playfull-thing, not unlike what my best buddy and I put ourselves through. Your first note made this sound much more serious. I am relieved. Thanks for the clarification. He is proving my point for me by taking a stand based only on what he's been told, not having actually heard them himself. But, as hwatkins points out: Perhaps you can teach a pig to sing? Seeing how he has his mind made up, I don't think you're going to win this one, dude. Perhaps, you should simply ask him if he needs help installing it? -JMHO Like j-malotky, I too found your friend's comparison between Bose and Microsoft to be quite laughable. Have a great one! -Picky ("Bose" rhymes with "Blows" for a reason!) LOL! -Just kidding!

lancestorm: I am going to stick-my-foot-in-it here by attempting to comment on your question. Notice, I did not say "answer" your question? That's because I do not think it is my "place" to actually "answer" it. Here goes...... You mentioned that this person is your friend. Friends usually do not speak to one-another in such a manner. There seems to be no mutual respect here. -Just an observation. With that asside, first, let me point out that, although I am not fond of Bose speakers myself, I do think they make some very impressive (albeit, very expensive) products. The Acoustic Wave Machine is one of the best-sounding portable stereos I have ever heard. But, it's cost is three-times more than I'll ever pay for something that could get caught in the rain! With that said, I do not consider myself to be "anti-Bose" (your friend's term). Bose systems seem to be a good solution for those whom desire to have "something" that they've been told (either by marketing or other friends) "sounds good". Notice I said "told" they are good? I think a lot of the Bose mystique comes from the idiom that, "If I pay a lot for something, then it must be good!" Those of use whom are seriously involved in this hobby know that rationale is hogwash. Another thing that we hobbyists understand is that if two speaker systems are compared side-by-side, whichever system is played loudest, usually wins. I have witnessed several Bose demonstrations. Perhaps, you have as well? The one thing I noticed is that Bose ALWAYS demostrates their systems at rather high volume levels. Why? I discovered that when you greatly reduce the listening levels of most Bose systems, they tend to fall on their faces! We hobbyists know that the mark of a good system is that they have the ability to hold their own at any volume level. This is important to us hobbyists, but is it really that important to the general public? Probably not. AV Store salesmen have an old saying: "Sizzle Sells!" To put things into perspective, when viewing things as we hobbyists do, to say that Bose is actually ripping-off it's customers is a bit of a stretch. They have very good marketing and good word-of-mouth business. Sort of the blind-leading-the-blind, if you will. (appologies to the sight-impaired). The folks that choose to buy the Bose systems, take them home and seem to be pleased with them. In essence, isn't that the whole ball of wax? "Spend money on neat toys > bring them home > excitingly plug them in > have an enjoyable experience = Happy Camper?" So what if those speakers are not behaving at the level that you or I expect? Perhaps your friend is not into the hobby at the same level are you? If your friend is happy with their purchase, why not be supportive of your friend's decision? You could be sitting beside them (holding your tongue) and be enjoying the experience with them. Isn't that better than being alone and P-O'd? I hope you two can work your differences in tastes out and salvage your friendship. Remember, one of the greatest aspects of being an American (assuming you are) is the ability to exercise your right to choose. And, it sounds as if your friend has chosen Bose. Best of luck! -Picky

Klipschfoot: Yeah, that's why I mentioned it's probably a Hammond (or other brand) organ extention speaker and not a Leslie: No slots. CC1091: Back in the late 1960's and the 1970's, connecting a Leslie speaker up to a lead electric guitar was somewhat common. The group 'Three Dog Night' put out many songs using this technique on parts of their songs. Other groups such as 'The Beatles' and 'Peter Frampton's group' (Frampton also used a device called the "Voice Bag" that was rather interesting). Today, the effect can be achieved electronically and it has been "baked" into many portable, electronic pedal designs. I agree, it is a really unique and enjoyable sound. As with most effects, they seem to be most effective when used sparingly. -Picky

m00n: Although, I am not much of a scotch drinker, Glenfiddish single malt (the brand pictured in your post) is the only brand that I do care for on occasion. In fact, I happen to have a half-full bottle on the shelf right now. Next time you are at your cousin's in East Lansing, come-on over and we'll kill it together! My favorite sipping whiskey is Old Bushmill's Black Bush (when I can afford it) and just plain Old Bushmill's Irish Whiskey when I cannot. My favorite drink to curl up with to watch a good movie is a Southern Comfort Manhattan-perfect, on-the-rocks. (FYI: "Perfect" is half sweet Vermouth and half dry Vermouth). If we're at a party and going to be sipping on drinks all night long, if I am not in the mood for beer, I always choose Jim Beam and 7-Up on-the-rocks. It's smooth, good and I can sip on it all night long without feeling like heck the next morning. Party on Garth! -Picky

If it is indeed a Hammond organ speaker (which is what I believe it to be), if it has a rotating drum device connected to a dual-horn tweeter and rotating baffles on the woofer, then the speaker is most likely a Hammond patented design called a "Leslie Speaker". Ref: http://blues.about.com/library/weekly/aa092800b.htm It creates a "tremolo" effect (that works on the doppler-effect prinicpal of sound) on demand via a remote switch thrown by the organist. They were commonly used alone as a main speaker for the organ, but sometimes offered with an extention cabinet. Although both cabinets resembled one-another the main speaker was commonly the only one that contained the Leslie device, which was evident from the location of a grille or sound cut-outs near the top sides of the cabinet. The extention speaker rarely contained a Leslie. Hope this helps. -Picky

Randy: I'm glad you clarified what those little things are. At first look, I thought that you'd installed your new low-voltage, mono-rail lighting system on the floor instead of the ceiling! Nice setup!

Tibor: Hi, I know that Artto is probably going to blow me out of the water like he usually does, but let me get a word in edgewise and explain to you what I did and with good results: I used a very thick, GAF Roofing TP4 Torch APP rubber membrane in my walls to BLOCK, not ABSORB sound from the laundry/furnace room of my basement. It is true that the rubber membranes do not absorb sound. Very dense ones BLOCK it. The idea is to form a seal that the sound cannot penetrate (leak through). Regular roofing felt will do nothing. It is not dense enough. The stuff I used is very thick and very dense (and very heavy). A roll of it weighs 105 pounds. It's available at some Home Depots for $38.00/roll. It is unlike any other roofing product I have seen. I built a wall with a 2x6 top plate and a 2x6 sole plate and placed 2x4 vertical studs staggered on both sides and weaved the membrane in-between all of the studs from one end of the wall to the other and from top-to-bottom, sealing all of the seams. I installed a layer of 1/2" Homasote (sound-deadening board (see Home Depot or Lowe's)) on each side of the wall, 1/2" drywall on the theater side and 5/8" drywall on the furnace-room side. Regardless of what the experts think.....it works on my installation! I am also installing the membrane along the floor joists in the ceiling and covering it all up with a melamine foam suspended ceiling from Illbruck-Sonex http://www.illbruck-sonex.com/ . Their Harmoni foam tiles are fire proof. They are also available with a sound-block already molded into them (at extra cost) that negates the need for any membrane in the ceiling. As far as putting the membrane on the exterior walls, I cannot tell you what you should do. Mositure is always an issue in basements and it depends on where you live, how much humidity you have, what sort of soil composition you have, how well it drains, and how good your basement wall integrity is, etc. Here in southeast-lower Michigan, we have clay soil that drains poorly and high humidity. However, I have a cinderblock basement that I've had waterproofed both inside and out, so it is dry. We also use central air conditioning in the house during the summer along with a dehumidifier in the basement. So, our basement stays very dry. I went ahead and applied the membrane to all of the exterior walls too. It's a gamble: some day I may have to rip them down due to a mold problem. Maybe not. But, because of that factor, I will not recommend that you do the same thing that I have done. The results sound awesome, but please use your best judgment. I hope this helps you decide. Best of luck. -Picky

tillmbil: I have been running a Tripp Lite LCR2400 Rack Mount, Line Conditioner http://www.tripplite.com/products/product.cfm?productID=211 on my equipment rack for a year now. Although, I cannot tell you whether or not the LCR2400 makes a difference in the sound quality of my HT, because I would never run my equipment without this type of protection, I can tell you that the voltage correction feature works seemlessly and as expected. I am not here to flame anyone, so despite the statement that was made by another member that "most power in the U.S. and Canada is really pretty good", I live in Michigan near the U.S./Canadian border. We, being an industrially-driven state have enormous amounts of power available to us from tens of nearby power plants. One would think that good, clean, well-regulated power should not be a problem for someone living where I do. WRONG! I have a voltage meter that reads the line voltage going into the line conditioner and one that reads the voltage coming out. Quite often, the status lights on the front panel of the LCR2400 indicate a "High" line-voltage condition. The meters confirm this. Very often the input voltage is between 120 and 125 volts. The LCR2400 faithfully regulates it back to 110 volts. The benefit? I know that my equipment is operating at its design-intended voltage so that it will perform as expected. A bonus: The Tripp Lite LCR2400 can be purchased through vendors on the web for much less than a lot of the competing brands, including the Monster 2600. I paid $245 for mine. And, this unit handles a 20-amp load (2400 watts)! It powers my entire rack and projector! There are 14 outlets (12-rear & 2 front). Although this unit does not protect coax cables, a separate in-line, coax-surge suppressor can be had for just a few dollars. Tripp Lite makes one of those, too (Model DCATV) and I use it on my incoming cable. I hope this information helps you. Best of luck! -Picky

About a month ago, I had answered another forum member's post asking for recommendations on certain receivers for his new HT room. One of those receivers he was curious about was the Pioneer Elite VSX-49TXi, which is what I have owned for the last year. At the time I made the post, my HT, which is now nearly complete, was under construction and I had advised the fellow member that he may wish to consider a receiver with more power per channel to fill his much larger room than mine with sound. I was greatly mistaken! At the time of my post, there were still walls in studs against concrete cinder block basement walls, an open ceiling (to joists) and a lot of items in the room, including boxes of tools and building materials. Despite all this, we had our theater fully functional and were able to still enjoy movies and music throughout most of the construction process, while bundling things up when dust was to be an issue. In order to watch a movie at "concert level" I had to set the Pioneer to -10db (0db is reference level). The walls are now all insulated and the studs are covered with GAF TP-4 rubber roofing membrane and drywalled and our theater seats were installed yesterday. I recalibrated the room using the Pioneer's onboard MCACC and the difference in the volume was astounding! I had no idea that everything had been absorbing so much of the sound. Now, the volume setting to achieve the same level as before must be set at or near -17db, which is a significantly lower dial graduation. So, my appologies to those of you who may have read my post and may have used that erroneous information in your purchase considerations. I am now confident that the VSX-49TXi has sufficient resources to power the Klipsch Reference System in rooms much larger than my own. Happy Holidays to you all! -Picky

b-man: Nice setup, man! It looks like you have the same Hi-Def tuner as I do (Motorola DCT-5100). Who is your Hi-Def service supplier? We're with Comcast. Nice job on the system. I'll bet that SVS really kicks! Looks like you are all decorated for the holidays. The best of holiday wishes to you and yours. -Picky

Howdy Folks: A few weeks ago I started this thread: m00n was RIGHT: ....That V-O-I-C-E !! MATRIX:REVOLUTIONS in IMAX right after my wife and I had seen 'The Matrix: Revolutions' at the local IMAX Theater at the Henry Ford, in Dearborn, Michigan. Last night, my wife and I, along with a couple of friends, went to see the movie again, only this time we saw it at a standard-type movie theater that had the typical Dolby Digital Surround sound system. Although we still enjoyed the movie, it was no surprise at all that the differences between the standard presentation and the IMAX presentation were astounding! In short, it was like comparing apples to oranges. First, the "immersion into the movie" visually as witnessed at the IMAX was totally non-existent. In fact, we all noticed that the movie wasn't even carefully focused as both the main feature as well as the previews all appeared to be fuzzy. As for the sound, the IMAX was presented in 5.1 as the theater information suggests and the sound was much more prominent and life-like. At the standard theater, it appeared that the movie was being presented in either 6.1 or 7.1, as it was difficult to differeniate the output from the rear and side surrounds at times. Perhaps, some of you fellow forum participants out there have a better idea of what formats these films are released to the theaters in? I really do not know. At any rate, the sound seemed compressed and we could here the sound track "stutter" at times, a phenomenon we never noticed at the IMAX. When the VOICE from that "machine God" (for lack of a better term) was reproduced, it was still distinctly unusual and impressive. However we detected that some of the voice was also coming from the left and right fronts in addition to the side surrounds and subs, while at the IMAX it came only from the two rear surrounds and the subs. My conclusion is that after the home DVD of this movie is remixed and released, I am now more confident that my system will be able to reproduce the voice fairly accurately, relative to the standard theater. But, alas, there is no match for that IMAX sound. Not at MY house anyway!! m00n tried to warn me and I chose to ignore him. DARN! (I'm really glad we went) -Picky

Frzninvt : I am really sorry to hear of your disenchantment with your new rig. I was all excited for you when I read that you had got it. What a difficult way to discover that something does not live up to expectations. That, in itself, is probably the worst aspect of this hobby. Hopefully, it does not happen to us very often. I am sure that you most-likely researched everything thoroughly before you purchased it, and unfortunately, this set of issues probably were not revealed in the research. I wish to extend my deepest sympathy to you. I hope you are able to find a piece of equipment that resolves your issues quickly. Please let us all know what that is when you find it. Best regards, -Picky

The Atlantic Technology in-wall speakers I was referring to were never meant for "paging" or "background music" applications. They were designed from the ground-up, primarily, for home theater applications. I recommend you please get out and listen to a complete system installation of these speakers before lumping them together with "most" in-wall speakers. Although my Klipsch reference series greatly out-perform these, they were a serious consideration had we decided against floor-standing speakers.

Orange: Yeah, if you are moving then, the Pellas are a bad idea for you existing house as they are on the pricey-side! These windows are what I consider "keepers" so I advise you to put them only in a house you're gonna keep for a long time. Naturally, the casements were only a suggestion. Pella makes a lot of different styles. You can see how they look on our house by visiting our Theater site below. There is a before and after view of the outside of the house on the first page of the Construction Section. We had the original (1943) single-pane, double-hung sash windows before the Pellas. They rattled like crazy every time a big truck drove by! Thank goodness we upgraded! Best of luck with the Dynamats! -Picky

Ric: I have the new Digital Video Essentials 2003 DVD and it has helped me tweak my DLP projector, such that I now get a much more vivid picture than before. There is now clearer detail and focus, blacker blacks and improved color balance. It'll be the best $19 bucks (plus shipping) you ever spent on your home theater! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005PJ70/ref=pd_sim_dv_1/103-4982718-3458257?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846 I recommend it! -Picky

Orange: Buy some Pella Casement windows! AWESOME! We've got the Designer Series and not one buzz anywhere! Of course, we don't own an entire "battery" of SVS's either! http://www.pella.com/products/windows_patiodoors/Type.asp?path=/products/windows/casement -Picky

Jesse: You have a really nice-looking (and I am sure, nice sounding, too) setup. I also like the grills off of the mains. They look cool! Love the color of the leather furniture. I can see why you are proud of your setup. Nice going, man! Thanks for posting the photos for us! -Picky