Home theater full of pride for only being 18

[tofu]

Subs generally don't have to be on the front wall. Mine sounded

great right behind my couch; it had more slam. T

behind your couch? did you have it crossed really low?

i can't see having a sub anywhere but directly front center crossed at thx spec (80hz if i'm correct).

[TheEAR]

Subs generally don't have to be on the front wall. Mine sounded great right behind my couch; it had more slam. T

behind your couch? did you have it crossed really low?

i can't see having a sub anywhere but directly front center crossed at thx spec (80hz if i'm correct).

Only logic

No sub,unless cut very low will sound good behind a couch,unless one has a B0$e Direct Repulsive band pass one note BOOM and another BOOM.

[33klfan]

Thanks for all the sub help. Unless i get time i'll move it a little but i'm pretty sure it's glued where it should be. As for that standing wave, everything sounds pretty good to me. I would think i would notice something like that and know if something wasn't sounding right but i don't.

[psg]

Try it behing the couch guys, even at 80 Hz. It was recommended

to me by Dr Hsu and I liked the result when I had my La Scala's up

front. Lots of slam on the kick drum on the HFO DVD.

[erickoegle]

I've had this system since August 2003, when I was 19, still keeping it the same since im living in a townhouse, for now. I get noise complaints with my 5.1 Promedia originals. I have the money to upgrade to the RF-5 system, but don't see any use of doing so until I graduate. I have the original 5.1 Promedia's, a DD 5.1 decoder, 47'' WD HDTV generic speaker stands, homemade wall mounts, coaxial and optical digital cables, component cables, all the works. I also have a computer hooked up to the tv, via s-video and optical toslink cable, I have a secondary network router on top of the component stand which allows me to hookup the internet to xbox and my secondary computer. Its the same system and setup i had 2 years ago, just in a different location

[erickoegle]

.

[erickoegle]

..

[erickoegle]

...

[33klfan]

Well guys, i took ur advice and took the sub out. When i pulled the sub out, i notice the knob was wobbly and wouldn't turn right so i took to my dealer and in a day it was fixed. Just a nut was loose. But that night which was last night i took advantage of the space missing and shifted my stuff to the left and brought my speakers out further and towed them in. I haven't listened to it a lot like this yet since i just did this, but i do think it sounds better and looks better even. It is not as crowded. I'll post some pictures soon. I put my sub along the wall in front of the left speaker and have the back of the sub up against the wall. It passes my expectations. When i first bought this sub it didn't sound good there, but with it really broke in now, and better electronics, it sounds mighty fine.

[psg]

Good for you! []

There's always room for improvement, and so much the better when it doesn't cost anything! []

[33klfan]

Here's the new setup.

[33klfan]

Why isn't the picture showing?

[psg]

It's there...

[33klfan]

It only shows an x for me. Can u see it though? What do u think if u can see it?

[33klfan]

See if it works again.

[pathighgate]

Wow. What a lot of replies.

The other night a friend of a friend brought a 19 year old over

and I demoed my Klipsch setup. He seemed

impressed, commenting that when he got the money, it would be the kind of

system hed want. The

recording from THX title screen at the start of Star Wars III was

enough to knock his socks off (I often times find myself playing that

intro over and over again) Im not an old man

(yet), but its still good to see people over 10 years my junior

appreciating

better audio.

Actually i would like options on what to do for getting radio..

I spend a lot of time listening to the radio (both terrestrial,

sat and Internet broadcasts). In my

opinion (and, of course, your results may vary considerably), the best way to

go is putting an aerial outside the house on a tower. Something good at picking up UHF signals as

well as FM. The advantages of this are

twofold: 1)

You generally get a better,

cleaner radio signal for FM music (or talk . . . I find I listen to NPR

more

then any other terrestrial station), and 2) The antenna can also

provide better

reception for digital major network HD signals for your television

display (which, remember, often has 5.1 digital sound in the broadcast). Im assuming you still live with your

parents, and if the house is old enough it might still have an above the roof

antenna capable of receiving the FM band.

So, if the folks dont mind you splicing off the antenna and running

cable all over the attic or basement, it might be worth a shot.

When it comes to antennas, I learned a difficult lesson: tearing

down my old 15 foot eyesore tower two years before I got into HD. (I havent put another one back up because I

keep hearing Direct TV is going to start providing HD network broadcasts you

can get without jumping through hoops).

For the radio in my bedroom, in the meantime, I have whats essentially lamp

cord gauge speaker wire running outside the frame of my closet, somewhat

hidden by the trim. I can pick up local

FM stations crystal clear, stations from Sacramento (some 80 miles away) with

varying quality going from pretty good to I think I hear something coming out

of the static. I can also pick up a

couple of San Francisco (90 miles away and a whole bunch of hills) stations,

but even the best ones still have a fair share of static.

If youre interested in radio format (hey, its great for

being exposed to music youve not heard before), you might consider the option

of hooking your PC up to your stereo system and checking out some of the

streaming audio feeds you can pickup via broadband. For example, when chained to the desk in the

mornings, I play the Los Angeles

based KCRW for their Morning Becomes Eclectic programming, streaming live

over the internet and running into the analog inputs on my Sony digital possessor.

Depending on the quality of the feed,

youll probably be

able to hear a noticeable difference between Internet broadcasts and a

good FM

Station and/or CD, but for my ears, going that route yields an

acceptable level

of quality from some of the better Internet radio channels. The

major downside is that you're either going to have to lug your computer

into your room or buy a really long audio cord. I recently spent some

$30 for a 50ft 'RCA' type cable a few months ago, only to discover that

many modern sound cards have a optical (fiber) or coaxial output,

meaning that I'll have to get a new soundcard and shell out even more

money for a 50 foot peice of fiber.

Another option: If you have Satellite or digital cable, check out some of their music choice style channels. It doesnt appear (well, sound) like theyve

over compressed the audio--at least on Direct TV--and it typically gives me a pretty

good listening experience. I only bring

it up because Ive found most people neglect or forget the music channels theyre

paying for anyway, and some of them arent that bad. On the other hand, Ive tried this with streaming audio from my

Sirius sat account linked to the receiver in my car, (you get some free Internet

streaming channels if youre a subscriber) but even though I really like a

handfull of their stations, the audio compression is so bad over

the Internet that it elicits more headaches then listening pleasure.

In my (once again yours may vary) opinion 95% of all the terrestrial

broadcast FM stations pretty much stink, and theres so many better options out

there via Sat or the Internet that it almost seems pointless to put hard work

into getting a good signal. Unless, of

course, youre doing it just for the fun of doing it, which I would always encourage.

Gads. Sorry for the long post.

[33klfan]

Gee, thanks for that long informative post on radio help. We have to put an antenna up outside sometime i guess. I like the way xm looks and what it does, but not sure about it. Any views here. The once a month fee is crazy though.

[33klfan]

See if this picture works.

[007]

SOX WIN!

[pathighgate]

I cant speak for XM, since I have Sirius, but Ive talked

to a lot of people who have XM and from the feedback Ive received, it seems

that theyre more or less very similar.

The major difference is in programming. Sirius has a handful of really good stations,

and quite a few genres (depending on your own musical tastes), as does XM. Ive been told that XM tends to play more

obscure or deep tracks, while Sirius is a little more general.

Either way, youre going to get music thats pretty good

(worlds better then the mostly junk they broadcast on FM). The downside is that they use a compression

method that sucks out a lot of the fidelity from the recordings, at least in my

ears. Your system is going to be good enough

to noticeably tell the difference between sat radio and a good FM

broadcast/CD. Its not *really*

bad. Certainly listenable, but by no

means fantastic.

If youve got a good relationship with your stereo store,

you might be able to cajole them into letting you demo a standalone sat

component with an active subscription and listen to it at home for a few days before

you buy. Its not likely, but it wouldnt

hurt to try.

The other thing to consider is their non music channels. I ended up deciding on Sirius over XM due to

their NFL coverage. I find myself in my

car on Sundays pretty often, so being able to listen to my Steelers is a bonus. Every game has two broadcasts; one for each

teams local coverage. Last year I was delighted

to hear the voice of Myron Cope announce for Pittsburgh

again (I havent heard him since I left the region some 8 years ago).

On the other hand, I believe XM has MLB, so I suppose it

depends on what you like.

Sirius has three separate NPR feeds, which I love, and

countless talk format stations (which Ive never really listened to). Its great in the car because if youre on a

long trip and bored, you can almost always find something interesting to listen

to thats entertaining if you search long enough.

Theres also Howard Stern.

Not really my cup of tea, but a lot of people seem to like him, so

depending on what youre into he might be a bonus too. (I believe that in 2006,

Sirius is going to be the only place you can hear him). XM has their own version of Stern. . . I

forget their names . . . but I believe they charge a few bucks extra to listen

to them. On Sirius Stern is included with the base subscription.

Id recommend at the very least going down to a place with

an XM or Sirius system setup and just scanning the channels of the stations

which play your favorite genres to see if they have stuff you like.