Hikarate's Condo HT

12-20-09

LCD TV: Samsung 52B750

Blu Ray: PS3

Receiver: HK AVR-120

Cable: Comcast - Motorola DCH3416 HD DVR

Center: Polk Csi3

Mains: Polk Rti4

Surrounds: Polk R20

Sub: 1x Bic Acoustech H-100

Remote: Harmony 700

Headphones Sennheiser HD 595

Updating with some old pics. I am not currently using the PJ or screen


Can see my old little polk 8" sub from the RM6000 Htib, old TV stand and old 36" Sano.
Pic also has my new Bic H-100 Sub, and TV stand before I put it together


Optomo H-30 PJ with couch and lights


Da-Light 84" 4:3 High Power screen



Pic from the right with HK-120 Receiver


Pick from recliner on left with HK-120 Receiver


Al Bundy







03-06-10 Upgrades:
Receiver: Harmon Kardon AVR-120 to Denon 790
Fronts: Polk Rti4s to Polk Rti8s
Center: Polk Csi3 to Polk Csi5
Surround: Polk R20s to Polk Rti4s
Sub: added a second BIC H-100

Basic pic


Batman style pic


Right side messy pic


Left side messy pic


Back pic








4-10-10 Upgrades
Nuforce UDAC
Moved and added furniture
Added wire covers for surrounds
Took curtains down

UDAC


New table and rug




Ottoman (added wire covers)


From Stairs (curtains down)


Recliner (added wire covers)


My cat Blizzard


6-26-10 Changes
Just did some more reading and thought I would try stacking the subs since I don't have a rectangle shaped room. It seems to give the bass more presence without sounding boomy, but I don't have any tools to take measurements other than my ears.

Right side with Dvds/Bds


Front with stacked Subs.

It's a gas fireplace, and I'm not into watching money burn

Still very happy with the receiver. It does 5.1 and thats good enough for me. I just run optical cables to it no video, and it gets the job done.

I'm happy with it, upgrading from an 8" polk that came with the RM6000 HTIB, so pretty big jump.

My wife probably named the bear, but I have no idea, other than it is a she of course.

My ghetto Christmas lights that I had hanging from cabinets in the kitchen, to pictures in the living room and ending at the curtains are down now, but maybe they will show up next year if I get in the spirit of things.

I just made some chili a couple days ago but was out of Rotel tomatoes, and the weather kept me from running out and getting any btw.

I am going to upgrade my receiver to a Pioneer VSX-919AH-K, due to some lip sync issues with my TV. Figured I'd mention it here in case anyone has advice for or against. I'll update with more screens afterwards.

yeah less than a month after you mentioned it, go figure. Don't ask when I am getting anything else new, I don't want to be jinxed!

Updated with some more pics. Doing some more upgrading so will have another batch soon.

Hey Guys,

I'm done upgrading for now. I actually got the 2nd H-100 prior to XaRiUS recommending it, though his thread definitely was a motivating factor. After I bought the first one I got a $25 coupon and free shipping while it was on sale, so figured I'd grab it.

I was originally considering upgrading my speaker stands and getting a couple more Rti4s, but figured I'd pay a little extra and just get rti8s. I had picked the Csi5 out a few years back with my old setup, but it was just too big for my stand at the time, so I had to take it back. I decided to go ahead and get it now since I have room for it.

Upgrades:
Receiver: Harmon Kardon AVR-120 to Denon 790
Fronts: Polk Rti4s to Polk Rti8s
Center: Polk Csi3 to Polk Csi5
Surround: Polk R20s to Polk Rti4s
Sub: added a second BIC H-100

I just recently moved everything around and blocked this entrance with my recliner. Chair use to be over where the DVD rack is. Over here I can fully recline though which is nice and it is easy to get to the back of my PC if needed. The wall next to my chair is a partial wall with entances on either side of it, so the one angle you aren't seeing is a big entrance into the dining room which is currently full of boxes and all sorts of other stuff I need to clear out.

Need to walk through the Dining room and kitchen to get to the rest of the house, but other than going upstairs or to the basement, there isn't much else to the place, its pretty small.

I mainly got it cause it balanced out the look of the front stage for me and I got a good deal on it.
This articles lists a couple benefits:
"smoother bass response across a wider listening area and increased dynamic range"
http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/ge...nnection-guide

Plus as my Dad says, 2 is better than 1.

Hey Guys,

I'm pretty drunk. Just wanted to say I had my friend over and we made a playlist for music on my PC and played it over the PS3 on my HT and had a blast! We ordered a couple pizzas, hotwings, and had a couple fifths of Jack Daniels and a 2 liter Coke. If that doesn't sound fun to you then I don't understand you, and don't care.

Anyhow, just wanted to let you all know I was enjoying my gear, hope you are as well!

I have 1 small Audio related update. I picked up a Nuforce UDAC for my headphones. I just have an onboard soundcard on my PC and plugging in my headphones I could hear some background noise. Using the UDAC eliminated this. Plus it will be a good combo to use with my laptop while travelling.

Rest of the changes are mainly cosmetic. Took the curtains down, moved the furniture up about 18" towards the TV. This got my seating at a better viewing distance from the TV (from 11' to 9.5'), and put my surround speakers back behind the seating which really improved things IMO. Had room to throw an Ottoman behind the couch for some much needed storage. Got wire covers up on the Surround, still have a few spots where wires are showing but they are hidden for the most part. Overall moving the furniture a bit forward was my best upgrade for both audio and video IMO, just had to buy the Ottoman for WAF.
I updated my first post with new pics.

Thanks for the comments guys. Unfortunately on the UDAC the comparison is not fair between USB and the stereo plug due to the background noise problem I have on the stereo plug. Based on all the reviews and comments I have read from others though, I have no doubt the improvement is there.
I did compare them with my Logitech Clearchat USB headset and the biggest differences are improved bass, separation of instruments and vocals, and a much more dynamic range between highs and lows. I don't really hear anything "new" in the music, but can definitely tell differences in the above areas. All that said I wouldn't say the differences are night and day, the Logitech headset still sounds good to me, and it is hard to beat as a utility item I can use for anything. I'll be listening to the headphones from now on though

Waboman I look forward to your drunk post!

Cyberbri has bass test results here on a single H-100
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...26#post9583426

I haven't seen any results with 2 subs posted anywhere and I don't have the tools to check it. I think I would need to crawl around the room while listening to a single sub and both subs independently to see exactly what difference the 2 subs make. Unfortunately I'm not gonna do that.

I can confirm it definitely does not sound any worse

lol thanks for the bump! Nah eventually I'll get my PJ set back up, probably with new screen and new PJ, but at the moment I am between jobs so everything has been put on hold. I just live vicariously through all the other members currently upgrading and having fun. Thanks to everyone who invites us in their homes and shares their HT knowledge and experience!