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Audio / Visual Gear

Discussion in 'Technical Board' started by Nettdata, Dec 1, 2009.

  1. Nettdata

    Nettdata
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    Mr. Toast

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    Home theatres, mixing boards, TV's, projectors, etc.

    Go nuts.
     
  2. cargasm66

    cargasm66
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    Re: Can someone help me with this?

    Can anyone recommend a decent Center Channel speaker for my home theater setup (<$150)? I currently have some KLH floor speakers in front, some Yamaha bookshelves in back, powered by a Sony 110w/ch receiver. No sub yet, altho that's next. Nothing reference quality, just something to go with my new "grown-up" TV...

    Thanks in advance!
     
  3. djo723

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    Re: Can someone help me with this?

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ickDeals&cm_mmc=AFC-SlickDeals-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA

    Here is a good Polk Audio center for $130. It often goes cheaper on Newegg too if you aren't in a hurry. Best Buy carries the same one for a ridiculous $300. It's pretty big but maybe go to Best Buy and see if it's for you then buy it from Newegg
     
  4. LessTalk MoreStab

    LessTalk MoreStab
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    Re: Can someone help me with this?

    I recently bought a Jensen Centre Speaker (SPX-13 Cherry) it should fall into that price range and I've been really happy with it.

    My Jensen glass top 160w Sub is also an animal.
     
  5. LessTalk MoreStab

    LessTalk MoreStab
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    Projector screen crack.

    Through a drunken e-bay fuckup I stumbled upon a way to get a cheap fixed projector screen.

    4:3 native screen formats sell for hundreds less than 16:9 because of the general lack of demand. For $50 in cash I got a local picture framing company to cut down my aluminium framed 4:3 screen to 16:9 dimensions, then it was relatively easy for me to cut and stretch the screen material to size. The result was a 120” 16:9 fixed screen for about half the price I have seen several fixed “native” 16:9 screens sell for.

    I rate this a s a win.

    For detailed instructions PM me.
     
  6. jecantor

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    I think this should fit under this category... I'm in the market for a couple subwoofers for my car, so I'd need enclosures and an amp as well. I have next to no knowledge on this subject, beside the fact that I want to be able to listen to loud music. If anyone has any suggestions about relatively inexpensive options, I'm all ears.
     
  7. Now Slappy

    Now Slappy
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    Re: Can someone help me with this?


    Here's a company you should probably check out. http://emotiva.com/

    They may be a little out of your price range, but if you can flex your budget a little their equipment is outstanding. I recently went from a receiver based system to separates and I couldn't be happier. I'll admit I haven't heard their speakers, but if the reviews mean anything you'd be getting almost reference quality for three or four times less than than what you'd pay anywhere else. They're an internet direct company so that's how they keep their prices down.

    I own their RPA-2(Retired product) to power my two mains and pair that with an XPA-5 for the center and surrounds, my processor is a LMC-1(hopefully I'll be able to upgrade to their new UMC-1 soon).

    Hope this helps.
     
  8. Fernanthonies

    Fernanthonies
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    Anyone around here an HDTV guru? My roommate is looking to buy a TV for our living room, and he is considering buying a DLP projection set. I'm thinking that he would be better off with a Plasma or LCD TV, but he is about as stubborn as they come and I don't really know enough of the differences/pros/cons between the three technologies to persuade him.

    As far as I know, DLP is pretty much a dead tech. I've heard they are not very bright and have bad viewing angles. Also, I think Mitsubishi are the only ones making DLP TVs anymore, and the price difference between DLP and LCD/Plasma isn't big enough anymore.

    Any thoughts?
     
  9. Nettdata

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    I've had 2 generations of DLP (LG's) and loved them, as they were the best tech at the time. They had the best black response, as well. They tend not to do well in bright light situations, and the bulb replacement was a kick in the nuts. ($400 every 1.5-2 years for me).

    In my opinion though, the newer LCD TV's are kicking their ass.

    Just go look at them in the store and draw your own comparisons. A typical big-box store will be the worst viewing scenario (bright fluorescent lights, etc), so you'll see how well they do.
     
  10. Now Slappy

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    I'd like to pose a couple of questions, what size TV is your roommate looking to get? And, what are your viewing habits going to be?

    I ask this for a couple of reasons...
    1) If he's looking to go big (65" or bigger) there really is only one option and that's DLP. Once you reach the 65" plateau plasma and LCD technology start to become cost prohibitive.
    2) The black levels on the new Mitzu's rival that of almost every plasma and LCD now on the market save for the Pioneer Kuro plasma(not being made anymore) and a couple of the Pannasonic plasmas.
    3) LCD is great up to about 50", but anything bigger than that and "motion blur" becomes a big factor. It almost gives you a queezy feeling in your stomach and almost everything you watch that's not HD quality seems like it was filmed soap opera style. I remember watching Lethal Weapon on TNT or some shit and thinking it was a live TV show...it was weird and disconcerting.

    I personally own a 46" Samsung LCD LED HDTV and a 65" Panny plasma. Both of these are wonderful TV's, but after having the 65" Panny for about six months now I wish I had gone with the 73" or 82" Mitzu DLP instead. (I had an old 73" Mitzu before and it has been hard for me with the downgrade in size, and my room is not conducive to using a front projector.) I still may sell the Panny and go back to Mitzu because the pricing on these right now is fantastic. I could sell the Panny for a loss and still be able to buy a 73"er and have money left over.

    Some other food for thought, if you're worried about the bulbs going on the DLP's, don't be. Mitsubishi now sells replacement bulbs for $99 a pop, which is a far cry from the $400-$500 they were in the past. Nettdata, I feel your pain.
     
  11. Fernanthonies

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    Thanks for the input guys. I was under the assumption that DLP was a mostly dead tech these days.

    I think he is wanting a 60+" tv to put in the livingroom, which can be fairly bright during the day. Only thing I can see being a problem here is that we have a sofa and two chairs arrayed around the TV now, and the bad off-angle viewing on a DLP could cause some troubles there.
     
  12. p00g0blin

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    This pertains to audio, on a much smaller scale.

    I'm in need of some new headphones. Especially after the ones I've got in my ear right now only play out of 1 side and keep electrocuting my fucking ears/face. Swear to god, I'm scared if I fart they're going to light me on fire.

    So looking for both OVER-the-ear monsters, and in-ear buds. I've done a good amount of frugal consumer research bullshit on a variety of sites, but have yet to pull the trigger on any specific ones.

    Lookin to spend around $20-$50 on either pair.

    Thoughts?
     
  13. ssycko

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    It really depends what you're looking to do with them. For pure sound alone (and reasonably priced), I'd go with Denon AH-C452k's for earbuds and the Sony Studio Monitors for the cans. Granted, they're a bit above your price range, but to be honest if you're not going to spend more than 50 bucks it's not going to make a terrible amount of difference.

    If you need to go cheaper, the Sony EX71's (buds) are alright. I honestly wouldn't know what to tell you for <$50 cans, but if you have any more questions if you decide to expand your price range a bit, shoot me a PM.
     
  14. c_norris

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    For earbuds, any Sennheisers are awesome. Picked mine up in an airport electronics nook, best audio-related $5 I ever spent.
     
  15. Now Slappy

    Now Slappy
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    For any of you interested, Emotiva Audio has just released it's new pre-pro the UMC-1. They are currently filling pre-orders but it should be available to the general public by March. For $699.00 this is one serious piece of equipment rivaling some of it's competitors at four times the price.

    I can't wait to get a hold of one of these babies.
     
  16. LessTalk MoreStab

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    Why not get a projector? For my dollar they kick all manner of ass.

    If I was going to upgrade it would be with this puppy:

    <a class="postlink" href="http://www.projectorreviews.com/panasonic/pt-ae4000/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.projectorreviews.com/panason ... /index.php</a>

    If you can get a reasonably dark room you can have a 120" 1080p picture & and when your not using it the rooms not being dominated by large panel. Seeings I almost always watch TV and movies at night I've been a total convert to projectors for years.
     
  17. Dcc001

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    Can anyone recommend the best place to buy a small, cheap TV in Canada? I care nothing for quality - this thing is for a kid's games room, and I'd happily by the old school, non-flat screened televisions if they sold them anywhere. The key word here is cheap.
     
  18. rei

    rei
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    First bet would be craigslist and kajiji. There's always someone trying to offload a 20 inch tv for cheap. Same goes for garage sales.

    You might even want to look on those sites for some old commodore monitors, as they have composite cable-in

    From the searching I've done for new, a 13" tube tv is only $30 less than a 17" LCD, and if you order online thats going to be offset by the shipping weight of the tube vs the LCD likely
     
  19. cargasm66

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    I have a quick question about Cables:

    My Nikon D80 SLR has a "Video Out" port that is 3.5mm, and the cable that came with it (that I've lost) looks like a RCA-Y Cable, except instead of Red and White, it's Yellow and white:
    [​IMG]

    Is the Yellow (video) cable actually different, or could I use a cheapy Y-Cable made for audio (Like THIS one) to get the video feed to my TV?
     
  20. Nettdata

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    It's the same actual cable, but the tricky part is usually the plug-end. You have to match that exactly, or it won't work.

    Some of those have special offsets to force you to use a separate/specialty/proprietary cable rather than a cheap one.