The Audio / Visual Thread.........

[hindle8907]

lol yeh so what if we are geeks,
Btw just watched law abiding citizen in blu ray, and its a really kool film .

i too have about 5 remotes lol.

[barwel1992]

oooo just got my self one of these :D

ASUS Xonar D2 sound proccesor with coaxal and optical out :) so i will have 5.1 for games when it comes :D :D

http://www.maximumpc.com/files/u22694/asus_xonar_beauty.jpg
ohh and it has added bling
http://techgage.com/reviews/asus/xonar_sound_card/asus_xonar_38_thumb.jpg

[hindle8907]

http://techgage.com/reviews/asus/xonar_sound_card/asus_xonar_38_thumb.jpg

thats pritty kool with the LED's
(wheres the optical ? or is it one of these 3.5mm Jack converter ones
?

I got a 5.1 card a sound blaster FX and the cheeck T**ts charge an extra 10 quid for the DD and DTS codecs !!

[barwel1992]

^ im selling a PCI X-fi xtremeMusic with the DD and DTS codects ures for £30inc P&P

and the 2 Caxial ports on the left of the pic above (one in one out) has a optical behind it, comes with a long adapter thing that reaches through the coaxial and in to the optical, strange but it works well aparently

[hindle8907]

^ im selling a PCI X-fi xtremeMusic with the DD and DTS codects ures for £30inc P&P

and the 2 Caxial ports on the left of the pic above (one in one out) has a optical behind it, comes with a long adapter thing that reaches through the coaxial and in to the optical, strange but it works well aparently

nah im ok mate im happy with this one its a good card. Its one of the latest models

[barwel1992]

cool was worth a try lol :D

[Quiff Wichard]

hindle- only just seen this- wow a man after my own heart- everything neat and tidy - I love it- can I move in..

lovely house you have there- I like Ikea too.

[hindle8907]

hindle- only just seen this- wow a man after my own heart- everything neat and tidy - I love it- can I move in..

lovely house you have there- I like Ikea too.

LOL cheers dude, Yeah you can have the chillout room with TV.Xbox,PS3 for 130 a month ;) I will throw in a teddy bear too :smt023

[warrenhewitt10]

right guys i have a question, got a full new cinema system there (impulse buy in harvey normans) and the sub has its normal input from the amp, but i notice that it has inputs for speaker channels, which i dont understand, what are these supposed to be connected to? my speaker output on the amp is connected to the speakers....should this be connected to the sub too?

[Mr Speirs]

Some systems use the Sub as a base point for your speakers. So you have the option of splitting from your Sub or straight from your amp. So no you don't have to have them connected to your sub as well.

[warrenhewitt10]

heres a photo of it

http://file051a.bebo.com/20/original/2010/02/06/11/15062929a12180553079o.jpg

it says speaker level in sorry

but theres no output to speakers

[Mr Speirs]

Ah right that is a bit different. That is an active sub with a passive crossover meanng you don't need an amp you just send the left and right feed to the sub, the system then sends sub frequencies to the sub then the mid n highs to the other speakers as long as they are plugged into the sub.

So your chain should go,
Source (cd player etc) into
Subwoofer/crossover and out of there into the two speakers.

[warrenhewitt10]

ahhh right, i have the sub connected to the left line in just via the rca cable to my amps sub output and it works grand, but i was just wondering what they where for

[warrenhewitt10]

is it normal to not have bass/treble controls for the centre and rear channels? i got a full new cinema setup and the centre speaker is a bit flat sounding but my amp doesnt seem to have the ability to adjust this, only the main speakers have tone control

[barwel1992]

mine dosent

[Sid Squid]

Quad 22 and 2x Quad II, (both with proper valves), Garrard 301 with SME M12-2 & Kefs.

[amnesia]

Right then, its upgrade time. I have asked for opinions and advice elsewhere but more would be welcome.

Currently run...

Sony Bravia 42" (3000V model maybe)
Sony 350 Bluray
Panansonic SC-PT850 all in one DVD/5.1 system
NTL cable (from the dark ages so not HD)

This is at one end of the room in a square of about 3m x 3m

Struggling with bluray dialogue being a bit 'lost' and the panasonic doesn't decode dts-hd so we have had to downgrade the bluray player audio output.

So as a replacement system...

Amp - Denon AVR1610 (£250)
Fronts - I have a pair of B&W DM601's (from about 1998) that are brilliant hi-fi speakers. Not sure if they would be suitable for this though. I might run them off the Panasonic unit over the weekend to see how they sound - providing impedances are OK.
Rears - Q Acoustics 1010i (£50)
Centre - Mordaunt Short Alumni 5 (£120) or Aviano 5 (£200...prefered choice)
Sub - Mordaunt Short Alumni 9 (£200)

The amp has a nice feature because I can convert a component input into HDMI to the TV. I am sure other systems do this, but I haven't read around much yet.


So - good / bad / unbalanced / better option comments appreciated. :smt017

[Viney]

My current set up is

Amstrad SM104 Vertical Stereo
Monochrome 14" Portable TV from Boots with coathanger ariel
ITT Top loading VCR
Sony Betamax
Atari 2600

[warrenhewitt10]

just randomly stuck some LED's to the back of my speakers, looks awesome :) haha
£2.50 and 15mins of soldering

http://web4.twitpic.com/img/75253263-9f4186a1009f2294fd6c974d87f4ed00.4b9e99ef-scaled.jpg

[Drew Carey]

AV Fans......lend me your ears......

Right, we unfortunately had a little tyke launch a plastic elephant at our nice Samsung 40" TV (model LE40N87BD). This was a gift from a family friend a year ago, so, I am not too annoyed that it is trashed (liquid display fubard).

The GOOD news......we have contents cover, with an excess of £25 which replaces new for old. Upon agreeing the claim today, they are sending us a voucher of £499.99, for use at Comet only. So my question.......

I am happy to contribute a tiny bit extra...like £50, if it means a better TV. I have narrowed it down to these 2.

Toshiba 40LV665DB - £499.99 (http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/578495/TOSHIBA-40LV665DB)

LG 42LH3000 - £529.99 (http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/528005/LG-42LH3000)

My usage will be PS3 / DVD's / Sky. But main benefit will be PS3 (incl Bluerays). Soooooooooo........which of the above two would you get, or is there a better option around the £500 limit....... from Comet only!!!! :D

[tigersaw]

AV Fans......lend me your ears......

My usage will be PS3 / DVD's / Sky. But main benefit will be PS3 (incl Bluerays). Soooooooooo........which of the above two would you get, or is there a better option around the £500 limit....... from Comet only!!!! :D

Can only comment on the LG, as I have this set.
Nothing negative to say, very happy with it. At the time I compared it with samsung, close call, but preferred this one

[Drew Carey]

To be honest, at the moment, I am thinking the LG too. Happy to pay £30 more for an extra 2 inches (good morning!!!!), same specs really. Plus has a swivel base!!!! :D

[tigersaw]

It has a optical audio uotput, which routes whatever you are watching to the surround a sound, and adds the correct delay to get better lip sync.
Turn off all the eco warrior crap though, unless you like a dim picture

[barwel1992]

personaly i would lose the 3/5 inch and get a Panasonic 37inch plasma

dont like big LCD's and find there picture quality lacking for BluRay where's a plasma is super crisp and has very rich colours

or if you can afford to put some more money towards a 42inch plasma

http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/535486/PANASONIC-TX-P42S11B

we have the 37inch version with full 1080p (most plasmas under £600 are only 720p

[Drew Carey]

Is a Plasma really going to make that much difference to my life? I'm not really one for seeing the visual effects on movies etc perfectly......just like to enjoy them for the entertainment value.

Considering we currently have a 720 LG LCD with no HDMI output - components only....surely that increase to 1080p of any kind will be big enough? I certainly can't justify adding in that much more cash. (This is our current TV left following the one that has gone bang and is what I normally play PS3 on as it is in the living room so unfair on Lily if I hog it too)

Just th guys I have spoken to at work all said that yes a plasma is better quality....but worthy of the extra money?!?!?!

[Drew Carey]

PS - add to that, there is only 1 Plasma in Comet that is 1080p and is in the ballpark and that is £100 more than what we are getting. The remaining are way way more.

[barwel1992]

fair enough, but there is a bit difference (in my opinion) between LCD and Plasma but i suppose going from 720p to 1080p will be enough of a upgrade any way :)

and id go with LG out of the two you listed

[TSM]

Denon A1SE
PMC TB2
SVS PB12-NSD Sub
Philips Plasma 42"

Hopfully i will upgrade soon to PMC OB1 or LB1's or i wish some IB2's

No suround sound as dont like it too much even though the amp is for that i may replace it for some Arcam or the like.

[warrenhewitt10]

got an 42 inch LG plasma in the living room, 42" LCD in my room, plasma isnt suited for normal tv use in my opinion, when watching tv the menus and channel logos get burnt into the screen very easily, as well as the huds in games, LCD is also much brighter and better quality, my LCD is a £400 Hitachi and the LG was £900

[Bluepete]

Only just seen this thread!

This is my den. DVD, Playstation 3, Freeview through 6.1 surround on a six foot wide screen fed by a Panasonic projector. Two comfy leather sofas, black-out blind at the window - and relax...

Kids are NOT allowed in!

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk24/conker51/DSC_0013-2.jpg

Pete ;)

[barwel1992]

^ Almost perfect lol

[hindle8907]

going over 32" get a plasma you would be a fool not to.

Pete that is kool what amp n speakers you got . ?

[Drew Carey]

going over 32" get a plasma you would be a fool not to.

Pete that is kool what amp n speakers you got . ?

Fool or not......is the cost really worth it? Can't seem to justify an extra £100 just for the sake of going Plasma?!?!

[warrenhewitt10]

i have to disagree, the only thing that the plasma tvs win on is the trails, which modern lcds dont really have nowdays anyway

[warrenhewitt10]

heres a good link

http://www.somucheasier.co.uk/ed-plasma-lcd-tv-difference.html

[hindle8907]

Right then, its upgrade time. I have asked for opinions and advice elsewhere but more would be welcome.

Currently run...

Sony Bravia 42" (3000V model maybe)
Sony 350 Bluray
Panansonic SC-PT850 all in one DVD/5.1 system
NTL cable (from the dark ages so not HD)

This is at one end of the room in a square of about 3m x 3m

Struggling with bluray dialogue being a bit 'lost' and the panasonic doesn't decode dts-hd so we have had to downgrade the bluray player audio output.

So as a replacement system...

Amp - Denon AVR1610 (£250)
Fronts - I have a pair of B&W DM601's (from about 1998) that are brilliant hi-fi speakers. Not sure if they would be suitable for this though. I might run them off the Panasonic unit over the weekend to see how they sound - providing impedances are OK.
Rears - Q Acoustics 1010i (£50)
Centre - Mordaunt Short Alumni 5 (£120) or Aviano 5 (£200...prefered choice)
Sub - Mordaunt Short Alumni 9 (£200)

The amp has a nice feature because I can convert a component input into HDMI to the TV. I am sure other systems do this, but I haven't read around much yet.


So - good / bad / unbalanced / better option comments appreciated. :smt017

How much you wanting to spend all together mate on your sound system mate ?

[amnesia]

How much you wanting to spend all together mate on your sound system mate ?

About what is listed above, so all in no more than £1000. However, a couple of things have changed as i do a bit of research into new shiny things the budget starts to creep. I have cables and connectors to add into the budget too.

Stands - Atacama Nexus 6i £70

Centre - B+W HTM62 £250

Sub - BK Gemini II £230

[Bluepete]

Pete that is kool what amp n speakers you got . ?


Eltax floor standers at the front, one centre, 3 stand mounted at rear, 500w sub. Yamaha DSP AX5640se amp.

Pete ;)

[hindle8907]

i have to disagree, the only thing that the plasma tvs win on is the trails, which modern lcds dont really have nowdays anyway

I own 2 plasmas 50" and 40" and a 32" LCD and have owned various LCD and Plasma sets over the past 3 years I upgrade on a regular basis.(Photos on first page)
Picture quality is far better on plasma than LCD, plasmas give Better black levels/True colours and Zero motion blur.
I personally would only get an LCD if below 32" anything over 32" and plasma is the way to go IMO.
Plasma also processes Standard definition better too
I don't think i have ever stood in front of a LCD playing Stranded definition content and said that looks good quality they allays look pixelated and fake , and i have only said it about 3 times for hd content and thats on few of the sony sets lol.
each to their own but i would never buy another LCD the only benefit of LCD imo is better power consumption but I'd rather pay the extra leccy bill than suffer the terrible blacks and fake colours of a super efficient LCD screen.

[Viney]

Drew. I have a LG32" plasma, and thats rated at 720p, but, the PC which auto detects will not do anything below 1080p. I like the Optical output as well, but i wish you could control the volume on it from the std remote (If you can, then let me know anyone?)

I like the sound ont he LG products as well compared to the Samsung. Looks wise, they are about the same.

[warrenhewitt10]

guys, i love speakers

[warrenhewitt10]

right ive got another question, my new speakers are 6 ohms, on my amp i have settings for 8ohms or 4ohms, atm im running it on 8ohms, have been for a while now, would i be better changing it to 4?

amp has been running them fine for about 2 months now with it at 8

cheers

[barwel1992]

leave it at 8, 4 ohms could posibly blow the speakers

[warrenhewitt10]

ok cheers mate!

[amnesia]

Holy Thread Resurrection Batman!

Finally got our upgrade sorted. We ended up throwing the budget in the bin after a demo of a couple of items. #-oPrices of the new kit listed with the budget too

Kit list...

Sony 40V3000
Sony BDP-S350 bluray
NAD CD521BEE cd player
Samsung NTL cable
B+W DM601 S1 fronts
Atacama Nexus 7i stands (£70 - budget £0)
B+W HTM62 centre (£249 - budget £200)
Wharfdale 10.1 rears (£183 - budget £50)
Atacama stands
Denon AVR-1910 (£375 - budget £250)
BK Electrics Gemini II sub (£230 - budget £200)


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/amnesia_stokerockscene/IMG_2437.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/amnesia_stokerockscene/IMG_2445.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/amnesia_stokerockscene/IMG_2440.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/amnesia_stokerockscene/IMG_2441.jpg


Was it worth the overspend? Hell yes. Without doubt. It sounds immense, even a low volumes the sound has a lot of weight. :)

[warrenhewitt10]

avatar, oh yes, it really is a new breed of blu ray, more people should make movies in 16.9 and with sound like that, through the 5.1 it really sounds like ur in a forest :)

[warrenhewitt10]

some pics i took when i was bored one day :)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4478558361_93035e814a_b.jpghttp://farm3.static.flickr.com/2745/4479183230_aee4a5766c_b.jpghttp://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4479181884_0f9682c2bf_b.jpghttp://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4479175480_b09c3e1d14_b.jpghttp://farm5.static.flickr.com/4029/4478541515_c5e483c84b_b.jpghttp://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4479165674_6d28f5f9e2_b.jpghttp://farm3.static.flickr.com/2773/4478538975_e4dd372e08_b.jpghttp://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/4479163056_d0816ec251_b.jpghttp://farm3.static.flickr.com/2734/4478536007_98ef6d2757_b.jpg

[hindle8907]

nice warren, looking good amnesia :)
I keep forgetting about this thread I will do a personal review on the Ipad soon. just got one at weekend.

[Viney]

I boght me mum a Denon DM37 Micro Hifi the other day to go with a pair of Mission 700's that i had laying around. I was really surpised with the quality of the little unit thats for sure.

One day i will sort my own system out...just need a stolen credi...erm, some cash and lots of it. I want Naim and nothing less.

[barwel1992]

just droped a fair bit of dosh on some of these AKG k 141 mkii head phone rrp £145 got them for £75

http://www.djdeals.com/images/equipment/akgK141STUDIO.jpg

[hindle8907]

how they sounding worth the doe ?

[barwel1992]

no idea yet just braught then will have them monday, 200 hour run in time should be fun lol

not sure how well they will do with films as they are pro audio monitor's but we shal see

now need to get a headphone amp as well (at some point)

[beabert]

amnesia

I have the same B&W speakers and a BK monolith subwoofer :-D

[amnesia]

amnesia

I have the same B&W speakers and a BK monolith subwoofer :-D

Good speakers aren't they?

The Monolith was way too big for our room. I imagine it must be a monsterous unit given how our little Genesis performs.

[dill89]

ive got:

37" Hannspree HDTV (soon to be upgraded to 720p projector with 108" screen)
XBox 360 Elite
XBox 360 HD DVD drive
Did have PS3 60Gb, now PS3 Slim
Sony SS-F5000 floor standing speakers,
Tangent centre speaker
Tangent surround speakers
Yamaha HTR5640RDS AV Receiver
Dane-Elec 1.5Tb hdd
Iomega 1Tb hdd,
Ben-W external CD/DVD drive
Nintendo Gamecube
MacBook
iPad
iPhone 3GS 16Gb

[barwel1992]

just going to order a fiio e1 headphone amp to go with my ipod also it help the sound quality as it uses the ipod line out instead of the head phone out

[beabert]

Good speakers aren't they?

The Monolith was way too big for our room. I imagine it must be a monsterous unit given how our little Genesis performs.

They are crystal clear, unlike the wharfedale and jamo crap i had before. As for the monolith, you have to hear it to believe it, shocking.

[Viney]

just droped a fair bit of dosh on some of these AKG k 141 mkii head phone rrp £145 got them for £75

http://www.djdeals.com/images/equipment/akgK141STUDIO.jpg
I still have my Senheiser HD25Pros. They need new ear pads but stilla re stonking headphones

[beabert]

I have cheapo koss porta pros, sound ok for the price tag.

[Viney]

Ah but mine are over 15 years old and have been gigged to death (Hence the ear pads needed, gaffa tape is so uncomfortable)

[barwel1992]

new desk and speaker stands, room has been done as well so have surround sound set up now, getting a 32inch soon as the 26 although it does 1920x1200 its to small :/

http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo16/barwell1992/22012011701.jpg

[Venom]

Bought my hi-fi when still a teenager 12 years ago. Still love the sound quality. I need a decent stand for the seperates though and to fill the hollow legs of the speaker stands with sand or lead.

B&W DM602 S2 bookshelf speakers
Sony CDP-XB930E CD player
Rotel RA-971 Amplifier

[hindle8907]

Older than me that kit :D nice

[hindle8907]

Just got my mum and dad to buy them self a Panasonic 50" G20 and it is an excellent set. would highly recommend.

[hindle8907]

Any one using XBMC for their home setups ?
Really Cool media center solution.

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo290/hindle8907/IMG_0787.jpg

[barwel1992]

looks good is it free ?

[Dave20046]

Just got a logitech z-5500 system as they're selling them off cheaps at the mo.
Got to say, I am a bit impressed. I only spent about £40 on my last system a decade ago so £130's a bit of a jump... but I don't remember my old set being this crisp. (sub's bigger than me though)

[Pimp Cat]

Any one using XBMC for their home setups ?
Really Cool media center solution.


Yes mate, good bit of kit. much better than media portal. Finally got round to setting it up on my media server a couple of weekends ago.

What skin are you using? i need to have another play about with it as i have TV shows and movies, both come under the videos catagory, managed to split them out so that they apper on the main window as indvidual catagories but as they are both under the videos cat they have the same picture.

Also have an issue with a couple of the tv shows, only found half of one season of one show even tho the file name formats the same for all eps in season one and two.

Then i just gotta either get my remote for the pc working or find some way to control it from either the laptop or iphone or android tablet. :confused:

[hindle8907]

looks good is it free ?

Yeah Its free open source http://xbmc.org/
You can run it from Windows, or linux or install it as full on OS which is linux driven.
Huge amounts of add-ons and support within the community forums.

Just got a logitech z-5500 system as they're selling them off cheaps at the mo.
Got to say, I am a bit impressed. I only spent about £40 on my last system a decade ago so £130's a bit of a jump... but I don't remember my old set being this crisp. (sub's bigger than me though)

They look nice dave where did you get them from.

Yes mate, good bit of kit. much better than media portal. Finally got round to setting it up on my media server a couple of weekends ago.

What skin are you using? i need to have another play about with it as i have TV shows and movies, both come under the videos catagory, managed to split them out so that they apper on the main window as indvidual catagories but as they are both under the videos cat they have the same picture.

Also have an issue with a couple of the tv shows, only found half of one season of one show even tho the file name formats the same for all eps in season one and two.

Then i just gotta either get my remote for the pc working or find some way to control it from either the laptop or iphone or android tablet. :confused:

Neon skin, Yeah you can use FTP to edit all the background Images.
And Also there are manny apps for iphone to control the Center.
XBMC Commander and XBMC Remote.
As for your TV shows use Tag editor to make sure they have the same info.

:) I will post up some screen shots of my whole menu when I get home.

[Pimp Cat]

Cheers mate, i'll check out the two apps and see how it goes.

Screen shots of your whole menu system would be great.

Cheers,
Colin.

[Dave20046]

Direct from logitech (described as blemished box,think they have a lot of them)

what box are you using for your media center?

[hindle8907]

eMachines ER1402 Minie Desktop PC Athlon II Neo (K125) 1.7ghz 2GB 250
Displays 1080p Content perfect over HDMI and has optical out put for 5.1

[Bluepete]

Thread resurrection alert!

I'm as pleased as a tickled cat 'cos I've just finished fitting a new hi-def projector and Blueray player in my cinema!

It's an Infocus SP8600 DLP unit, ceiling mounted. So far, all I've done is set the angle of dangle and put Wall-e on for a look-see and WOW! It's so bright and colourful. Sharp as a sharp thing too, of course!

Once the settings are suitably tinkered with, I'm going to be spending a lot of time watching my DVD collection all over again.

Hehehehehehehehe :cheers:

Pete ;)

[hindle8907]

:) nice one mate that looks good get some photos up.
I am just in the middle of buying a house, its got room for a loft conversion, will get a projector setup and some new av gear.

[Jackie_Black]

here's my man cave

http://www.technolaundrette.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/man-cave.jpg

and my PC

http://www.technolaundrette.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/plumbed_in1.jpg