jjennings2510 Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 If you're thinking about a power conditioner then I would lean towards a unit with battery backup. The advantage of a battery backup is the fact that it gives you a chance to properly shut everything down. Especially your projector which probably has a brief cooldown period after you turn it off. I personally could never spend that much on a power conditioner bc while it does protect against brownouts etc I think its counterintuitve bc most units usually just shut off the outlets until the power goes back to normal.....which means if I'm gaming or something or if I have my projector hooked up then that could end up being worst than the surge or whatever. So for a few bucks more you can get an APC Home Theater unit or a Panamax unit which will actually keep power going to your equipment allowing you to shut it down right (saving your progress in a game or enabling the resume feature on your blu ray etc) so i think thats the way better investment if you are going to invest in power management. Bc those units have filters for amps, tvs etc just like the Monster units.....as far as a screen goes I've never used screen paint BUT when I was just using a plain white wall my pic was good but the screen made a HUGE difference. Text got 10 times sharper....colors seem to pop out more. Everything just looked better. Not sure how much better sceen paint works but a good quality screen made a difference in my case. So I would personally lean towards a screen upgrade or power upgrade first and then focus on your subs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted July 25, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 25, 2011 If you're thinking about a power conditioner then I would lean towards a unit with battery backup I have a Monster HTPS 7000 MKII listed if you decide to go that route with your upgrade. Link It is a line conditioner, backup as well as a sequencer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Well Thx for the offer but I was able to score a monster hdp 2500 for under $100 so I went that route. I think I will be going the screen direction next. Monoprice is calling. This picture is of an rc 3 I tried out. Sounds very nice. Obviously not up to the rc64ii standards but better than the rc52ii I had previous. You can also see that the trim from around my screen is off. I took it off to repaint my screen. 2 seperate tries and it's still not right. That's why Im going for a screen next. My new used side surrounds. I was going to go with rb51ii's or rb61ii's but I scored these Polks for $40 so I'm giving them a chance. They sound great so far. You can see how the bookshelf speakers vs floor standers have allowed me to slide my couch against the back wall thus giving the 63's room to breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Jason how do the rf-7ii fit and sound vs the rf-63? Are you as happy as me with the sound? (I think they sound just like the rc-64ii just a little bigger and better) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Jason how do the rf-7ii fit and sound vs the rf-63? Are you as happy as me with the sound? (I think they sound just like the rc-64ii just a little bigger and better) I will deffinately take some shots and review the rf7ii's soon. Currently they are in my garage. I am awaiting assistance to move them to my basement theatre. I have about 10 movies and maybe 15 hours of sports and gaming on the 63's for comparison sake. I was having issues with one of my subs so getting my system optimized has been a challenge. Just have not had much time at all due to the baby. I can tell you that going from the rc52ii to the rc64ii was night and day. It actually put a smile on my face. Can't say the same about going from the rf62ii's to the rf63's. I don't listen to any music so the mains get kinda put off to the side so to speak because most of the sound is coming from my center channel. I also have a small room. As for fit...they are 3 inches less deep than the 63's so with that and the 8 inches I gained by going to bookshelf surrounds the 7ii's should have plenty of room . I'll give this opinion now and maybe the 7ii's will add to it later. I went from polk monitor 60's to the synergy f2's to the f3's to the rf62ii's to the rf63's. I noticed a difference going from the synergy line to the RF line in clarity. But I think that in my case (with a small room such as I have) I honestly could have stopped at the rf62ii's and been completely happy. I did not see the rf63's as an upgrade at all. Again that's is in a small room with 2 very powerful subs. There is an increase in low end in the 63's but that is just not noticable during normal listening for HT. Maybe in 2 channel stereo with my subs off but again I don't listen to music. My friend has a set of rf62ii's in a much bigger room than mine and when I get a chance I am going to have a listen. I am hoping the larger tweets in the 7ii's will make a big difference but im not holding my breath. I love the looks of the 7ii's and if the sound does not improve from my 63's I still won't be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted July 25, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 25, 2011 Well Thx for the offer but I was able to score a monster hdp 2500 for under $100 so I went that route. Not a problem at all. When you find good deals, it just allows you to buy even more gear. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Jason how do the rf-7ii fit and sound vs the rf-63? Are you as happy as me with the sound? (I think they sound just like the rc-64ii just a little bigger and better) I will deffinately take some shots and review the rf7ii's soon. Currently they are in my garage. I am awaiting assistance to move them to my basement theatre. I have about 10 movies and maybe 15 hours of sports and gaming on the 63's for comparison sake. I was having issues with one of my subs so getting my system optimized has been a challenge. Just have not had much time at all due to the baby. I can tell you that going from the rc52ii to the rc64ii was night and day. It actually put a smile on my face. Can't say the same about going from the rf62ii's to the rf63's. I don't listen to any music so the mains get kinda put off to the side so to speak because most of the sound is coming from my center channel. I also have a small room. As for fit...they are 3 inches less deep than the 63's so with that and the 8 inches I gained by going to bookshelf surrounds the 7ii's should have plenty of room . I'll give this opinion now and maybe the 7ii's will add to it later. I went from polk monitor 60's to the synergy f2's to the f3's to the rf62ii's to the rf63's. I noticed a difference going from the synergy line to the RF line in clarity. But I think that in my case (with a small room such as I have) I honestly could have stopped at the rf62ii's and been completely happy. I did not see the rf63's as an upgrade at all. Again that's is in a small room with 2 very powerful subs. There is an increase in low end in the 63's but that is just not noticable during normal listening for HT. Maybe in 2 channel stereo with my subs off but again I don't listen to music. My friend has a set of rf62ii's in a much bigger room than mine and when I get a chance I am going to have a listen. I am hoping the larger tweets in the 7ii's will make a big difference but im not holding my breath. I love the looks of the 7ii's and if the sound does not improve from my 63's I still won't be disappointed. Some great spots in movies to really hear the mains shine is in the credits. I personally have my center set at 0db and my mains set at +2.5db. Giving them a bigger bump helps create a bigger sound stage and pushes the horn to give a more announced detailed sound (imho). It helps that the rc-64ii doesn’t need to be turned way up to perform. With my rf-82 set up I had the rc-62 a few db hotter than the rf-82 because they had the ability to drown the rc-62 out a little. In my experience with the 2 set ups the rules kind of changed a little. What’s wrong with your sub? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 Well first I was getting port chuffing and after some trouble shooting I found that the ports installed by eD were wrong. They installed ports for the a2-300 which are quite a bit shorter. So after eD quickly resolved that I thought I was good to go. I have not had much time to listen to it recently so I sorta put it to the back burner. Now I was watching a movie the other day and I heard the port chuffing again. Because of time constraints I have yet to make a video and send it out to eD again. I will soon though and then I'll be able to audyssey my system. Probably have the 7ii's in at that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjennings2510 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Very good deals! On both the Monster and on the Polk speakers! I really don't see why they wouldn't work since they're just surrounds! lol. But you have more options on screens other than monoprice. I know they have some cheap screens but Da-Lite, Elite, Draper and Dragonfly all make great entry level screens as well. Unfortunately with Dragonfly you have to go to a retailer bc they will not sell to customers directly for some reason so that was a hassle in getting mine but they have great screens too. But the others are available at a variety of online retailers. What type of screen were you looking for? high gain? low gain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 Not sure. I have a room that I can black out completely. Should I be using a white screen or grey screen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjennings2510 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 if you can black it out completely then go with a white screen. With a grey screen the gain will be higher which will equal a brighter picture BUT it will probably be too bright, plus depending on the quality of the screen you may have hot spotting (where the center of the picture appears brighter than the edges) or even sparkles if the screen is glass beaded. I have a matte white screen with a low gain and honestly it still looks good even in the daytime. My control of the lighting sucks during the daytime with all the sunlight streaming in but I can still get a decent picture on the screen.....so even if you keep a couple of lights on, as long as they are not directly in front of the screen then you should be ok. Screens do better with off axis lighting. Of course you will lose a little contrast and the darker areas will be hard to see but at night in complete darkness my low gain screen is very bright. and thats with a calibrated image which is going to be way darker than the max lumen output which is only 1400 lumens on my unit. Even though the picture is bright the viewing angle is superb and I have no hotspotting at all. My screen has a gain of 1.2.....but with complete darkeness you could go lower and get better contrast, especially with a .9 gain screen but 1.2 is a safe point in my opinion bc it will handle some light if needed. My other screen was a 1.1 gain screen and it was pretty bright as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I was planning on getting a grey screen until I spoke with the manufacturer's. They all recommended a white screen with a 1-1.4 gain for my room (Epson pj and no ambient light). It displays greater color and contrast. Even when I turn the lights on in the rear of the room, the color is still exceptional. I would suggest that you find a manufacturer you like, give them your specs and ask for a recommendation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 Do you have the 8500UB epson? Just curious. As for the screen. The only reason I was even considering a screen over my paint is because of the reasonable prices at monoprice. I'm not really willing to spend $1500 on a screen. The $500 deals at monoprice have me thinking though. I have a grey screen now and an 11 foot throw. I am getting hot spotting and this is my third try at painting. It's not terrible....but to me it is noticiable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Do you have the 8500UB epson? Just curious. As for the screen. The only reason I was even considering a screen over my paint is because of the reasonable prices at monoprice. I'm not really willing to spend $1500 on a screen. The $500 deals at monoprice have me thinking though. I have a grey screen now and an 11 foot throw. I am getting hot spotting and this is my third try at painting. It's not terrible....but to me it is noticiable. I have an 8350...so a step down in model, but newer tech. Haven't compared the specs. Check out this link for a high quality low cost screen: http://www.jamestownhometheaterscreen.com/products.html That's what I'm using, and I'm confident that it was cheaper than screen paint and trim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 wow that is cheap. My screen paint was $25, the masonite I used as a substrate was $10 and the trim plus trim paint and nails was about $30 so I did get away very cheap but the results are debatable. I wonder what the shipping rates are on those screens? I'll delve deeper. So the white screens are for higher or lower light applications concerning overall room light? My other concern is the screens on monoprice in the $500 range are labeled as HD and the screens that are labeled nonHD and matte white are only like $150. Im wondering first what the difference between the HD and nonHD is and if the matte white from jamestown is the same as the matte white on monoprice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjennings2510 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 $500 for what type of screen? Fixed or retractable? If its fixed then I know Elite and Da Lite both have some screens that are cheaper! Draper will probably be around the same price....and I figured you didn't want to spend a lot on a screen which is why I didn't recommend the upper end of all those manufacturers and I didn't even mention Stewart Filmscreen bc their screens start at $1700 lol. I'm not saying the Monoprice screens are bad but I think the quality will be better with those other screens. As far as hotspotting I don't think you will be able to get rid of it completely. Doesn't matter how many times you paint. Thats just a disadvantage of having high gain. And with you having controlled lighting it is very unnecessary.Nonetheless get whatever screen you can get a better deal on. Or buy more than one and return the one that you don't like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 $500 was for an HD screen fixed at 16:9 110 inch. Monoprice seems to have good prices but their shipping is brutal $135 for any screen that checked on. So with the screen being about $310-$350 adding the shipping it's up there. That jamestwon place just quoted me $25-$30 shipping on a 100 inch screen. Plus they will do a custom size. That puts their matte white screen at the same price point as monoprice's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 $500 was for an HD screen fixed at 16:9 110 inch. Monoprice seems to have good prices but their shipping is brutal $135 for any screen that checked on. So with the screen being about $310-$350 adding the shipping it's up there. That jamestwon place just quoted me $25-$30 shipping on a 100 inch screen. Plus they will do a custom size. That puts their matte white screen at the same price point as monoprice's. Actually, their 110" 16:9 is only $219.00 and $250.00 after shipping so it's considerably cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjennings2510 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 $500 was for an HD screen fixed at 16:9 110 inch. Monoprice seems to have good prices but their shipping is brutal $135 for any screen that checked on. So with the screen being about $310-$350 adding the shipping it's up there. That jamestwon place just quoted me $25-$30 shipping on a 100 inch screen. Plus they will do a custom size. That puts their matte white screen at the same price point as monoprice's. Actually, their 110" 16:9 is only $219.00 and $250.00 after shipping so it's considerably cheaper. thats it? Great price on that screen with cheap shipping. Pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 The monoprice version of the white matte screen is $244. The $500 monoprice screen is the HD screen. I still have no answer as to what the HD scren actually is though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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