New Space - Page 14

I love the height speakers and Avitar with all of the flying scenes, really brought out the best in them.


Best comment I can make is I will be keeping the Seymour. While I'm not a videophile, I did not (nor did anyone else) notice reduced brightness with the Seymour. I'm going to have a HT Meet in June but if you want to check it out before that, let me know.

Thanks Peter, I think the brightness of the Seymour is very close to the Stewart.

Any suggestions on a reasonably priced light meter?

Thanks

This is a personal preference thing. It is good that you are trying out the screen size(s) by projecting on the wall. I'm 13' from the 126" screen and it is working out great. I think for scope movies bigger is better but with a 16:9 source I would not want to go larger than the 126".

Here is a pictureof the speakers as setup behind the screen. I had to rework the acoustic panels and removed the grill covers from the LCR's.


Here is a picture of the back of the screen that show the XD fabrics transparency.

The 80.1 is a nice processor. For me, the main advantage over my previous (and very similar) Integra 9.8 was the 9.2 capability and Audyssey Dynamic EQ. Others claim better analog audio performance withthe 80.1 but I am only using HDMI so can't comment.

Honestly, if you don't care about the 9.2 or Dynamic EQ, I'd get a used 9.8 or 9.9 (or Onkyo 885/886) for around $1K and be happy with a few extra shekels in my pocket..

Measure twice, cut once ...

Due to the frustration with HTPC’s inability to deal with the Bluray format not to mentioned HD audio, I decided to get one of the Sony auto changers (BDP-CX960). I bought the cheaper one (I could see no good reason to get the BDP-CX7000ES at over twice the price) and it really has been great. I jury rigged my home made AV cabinet to accommodate the large unit and loaded it with over 100 Blurays, DVD’s and some CD’s. There was a lot of criticism of the UI of the unit but I find it easy to navigate and very cool.

The biggest complication was having to add a wireless bridge to my HT closet so that the unit could access the Gracenote database for disk information and cover art. It took about 30 minutes to load the disks and another hour or so to find and load the disk info from Gracenote.Gracenote only missed 7 disks out of the over 100 loaded (400 is capicity) and that was no surprise as they were import or esoteric titles. The unit also noted the need for, then upgraded the firmware using this Web connection.

Overall I am very impressed with the BDP-960. I wish it could handle SACD (hello Sony ) and DVD-A formats but I still have the Oppo BDP-83 for those. Browsing my disk collection has been fun (load times are a little SLOW) and I can waste a lot more time in the HT room now that all the disks are at my fingertips . Now I need to cull through my CD's and load the best 200 or so.

It is a LARGE unit so I'm glad it's hidden in the Equip closet.

Hi cuzed2,

Yes, it is LARGE but since it holds 400 disks it seems about right. Like you, I lacked the resolve to build an HTPC when I considered all of the potential snags (although I share your regard for those brave souls who are "getting it done" ). I chose the easy route to getting my Blurays, DVD's and CD's "online" . The street price of this changer makes it kind of a no-brainer for a techno troglodyte like me.

I have played a few DVD's and the up-scaling is being done by my Integra 80.1 SSP and its Reon Scaler so the DVD's look fine. I also have the Oppo BDP-83 so I wasn't worried about that capability with the Sony.

Overall I have to say it is a very nice unit for the price.

I am simplifying my system and unfortunately, it was necessary to make room for the Orbit Shifters so I sold the Danley THSPUDS and the Captivators will also be leaving. Based upon specifications alone, I'm guessing that the dual Orbit Shifters will provide enough bass for the room .

No, some DF 2X12's will be replacing them as risers.

Hopefully they (Orbit Shifters) won't be seen. I'm building a couple of custom sub grill covers for the OS's that will make them stealth. By adding these large (60" wide) grills except for the screen, I will have floor to ceiling black with only 8-10" on each side of the screen not covered so I'm about 90% of the way to a false wall. This begs the question, "why not just build a false wall"? ... Once again, I did it my way ...

Today I was busy performing a sucessful Danley-ecotomy on my riser. Typical of me to buy Danley when no one else was ... and then when they get popular I sell. Bit of a contrarian I guess

In any case, the Dual Captivators are performing admirably and the new owner of the TH-SPUDS is having fun with them. It's all good.

Thank you ChopShop1,

You are welcome to have a demo of my system any time you are in the area. It was just such a demo at Fugueness's home that put me on my current HT audio track and I'm happy to do the same for others.

I consider myself a neophyte in AV and much of the "science" still eludes me. I have spent many hours at the keyboard and out in actual product demos trying to get my HT to sound and look "right". This Thread provides me with an audit trail of my frequent tweaking in trying to achieve a goal that has been a moving target from the very beginning. It is a nice side benefit that others can gain something from my experiences.

Hi Grady,

The Orbit Shifter is JTR Speakers attempt to throw the planet off its axis and I am but an unwitting accomplice in this diabolical plan to alter the space-time continuum. To put it another way (as you correctly guessed) it is a big a$$ed subwoofer . The OS (as I prefer to call it) is a large horn sub with a new custom 18" driver and a very powerful 4Kw amp. No pictures exist yet but many will be taken the week June 7 as that is the ETA for a pair of them in my HT.

Regarding the Seymour AT screen, it is fantastic. The larger size has been fun and both the picture and audio quality have exceeded my expecations. I just wish I had done it sooner.

So there's a method in your madness ...