My System

**Mike P.** · **06-20-09, 10:28 PM**

Quote:

One blue ray movie for $15-25 or 4-5 dvds for the same cost?

My thoughts exactly. I'm perfectly happy with my Sony 1080p up converting DVD player.

**SteveCallas** · **06-20-09, 11:27 PM**

Yeah, just a minute ago I bought Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on HD DVD new sealed for $0.49 with $2.98 shipping. If it's good, I keep it. If I don't like it, I can sell it back on Amazon and probably make money in the process.

**Fabricator** · **06-20-09, 11:53 PM**

Quote:

SteveCallas wrote:

Sure it's no 120" screen, but it is 52" with a seating distance of 6.5', giving me a perfect 1.5 viewing distance ratio. When it comes to PQ, this set is in the upper tier.

dvd, hd-dvd

Blue Ray still needs to mature with a final set of specifications and disc prices need to come down. Used prices are still high because not nearly enough people are buying Blue Ray discs - they won't until prices come down, so it's a never-ending cycle.

fair enough. i didn't realize just how close you are seated. i have a 65 dlp, i sit at 10'. with a non zoomed picture, it is just to small. most guys hate zoom, but thats what i use. i have 65", and i want to see a 65" picture. now, i am looking at projectors and 100ish screens.

dvd, lower PQ. never seen hd-dvd.

i agree on the prices. since i only watch a movie 1 time, i never buy. netflix ftw. though i am looking for a cheap copy of cloverfield for testing.

anyway. nice setup

**Fabricator** · **06-21-09, 12:01 AM**

Quote:

SteveCallas wrote:

You guys are cranking up the peer pressure

lol. i'm not tryin to do that. i'm just saying how much i LOVE the pq and sound of HD. sure, blu-ray has problems, i have many stories. but the quality, when it works right, is just fabulous, imho. if you live by me, i would gladly bring my panasonic bd35 to your home and we would check it out. i bet that would push you off the fence

**SteveCallas** · **06-21-09, 03:55 AM**

I can't imagine it being noticably better than a good hd-dvd, and a good hd-dvd is not earth shatteringly better than a good dvd.

Input from Sonnie might be good - he had hd-dvd, has blue ray, and has good dvd upscaling.

**Sonnie** · **06-21-09, 11:06 AM**

Well... you could almost flip a coin, but I have to admit (begrudgingly) that Blu-ray does look better on my 125" projection screen than does anything else I have seen. I think it all depends on what you are viewing it on. When I had my PS3 in the great room on our 61" Samsung, I could hardly tell a difference between upconverted and Blu-ray. I still think our OPPO 983 is every bit as good with SD-DVD as the PS3 was with BD on our now 67" Samsung. Comparing the BD on the 125" with the upconverting OPPO on the 67", BD wins. There is a subtle difference in the SD upconverting between the two with a slight edge towards the BDP-83 on the 125" screen. Keep in mind that none of this is with a side by side comparison and I am not the most critical of viewers.

I really did like my HD-DVD and I do remember it and the PS3 being on par with one another, but the Toshiba bested the PS3 in upconversion.

They are all very good pictures IMO and I could probably be happy with any of them. I am not regretting my OPPO BD player purchase in the least bit, because it has given me the best picture I have ever seen thus far, albeit not earth shattering like some make it out to me. If I had it to do over, I would do the same exact thing I have done. I have only purchased a few BD's... (4) and will only purchase very select ones until the prices come down. I will NOT be replacing my entire DVD collection, although it is not that large anymore.

Fab... Cloverfield new from $13 and used from $10 on BD. It is one of the 4 BD I own and it is a must have demo IMO. Make sure you got good subs!

**Fabricator** · **06-21-09, 11:37 AM**

thanx, Sonnie. i had not realized upconvert was so good. i had been avoiding them like the plague.
now, for some movies, i will rent them.

i have somewhat good subs. check them out in my "what my box tuned to ?" thread, in the diy ported room. but i have no idea on how to tune them = new thread coming.

thanx for the link

**SQCherokee** · **07-09-09, 03:50 PM**

does it ever feel like the screen is up to high since you have to clear your center chanel speaker?

I'm sure it was akward at first but does that ever still become a distraction?

**SteveCallas** · **07-09-09, 04:06 PM**

No - it actually feels ackward when I go to someone's house who has their tv mounted on a 20" tall tv stand and I have to look down at it

I liken it to a movie theater - you typically view at a slight upward angle as opposed to looking down at the screen, so looking down at a tv seems strange to me. I haven't looked down at a tv in my system since I used a 27" JVC tube tv in an entertainment center in college, so I'm probably quite biased at this point.

I have the back of my tv propped up just a little bit so that the screen surface is parallel to my plane of vision.

**SQCherokee** · **07-09-09, 04:35 PM**

guess my setup is different...my couch is vintage so it sits low...and my 30" samsung on the stand is pretty much eye level.

**jairo** · **08-12-09, 12:06 PM**

Yeah, I ´m also waiting on Blu ray prices to drop as well, cant see changing over just yet, here in costa rica blu ray disc´s cost about 30-40 a piece, not money easily spent. Like to get a PS3, more for the games than the player, but still the best alternative for me.

**SteveCallas** · **08-14-09, 02:32 AM**

Yeah, plus I just picked up a few more hd dvds this week for less than $1 each and some used dvds I've been wanting to see for less than $2 each. I'm spoiled in getting films I want for less than $5 delivered to my house.

**ironglen** · **10-29-09, 03:40 AM**

Hey Steve, that looks like a nice setup. I don't have a bluray yet either, no worries. I was curious about those Boston speakers you have as I'll want to get/build real main/center in the future. Can you tell me what model it is or size & number of drivers are in it?

**SteveCallas** · **10-30-09, 11:20 PM**

Well I folded and picked up a PS3 Slim on a great sale from Dell.com, so actaully now I do have a blue ray player

The mains are Boston VR3s, center and surrounds are VR1s, and rears are Ascend Acoustics CMT 340s. Boston unfortunately no longer offers the VR line of speakers, it was phased out about a year or two ago. If you are currently looking at Boston mains, I've gotta think the top choice right now is the heavily discounted E100s which have also been discontinued. Those used to go for ~$2500 each and are now going fo $1000 each. If I were in the market for speakers right now, I would definitely try to get some listening time in with them.

**ironglen** · **10-31-09, 04:24 PM**

Actually, I'm looking at picking up, maybe seven anarchys to build a couple MTM mains along with MT center and surrounds this next year. I can maybe do $1000 for all five, so the boston's are out, but I was curious what those were so I could look up their specs and compare to my potential build speakers. I recently picked up an outlaw 7x100 amp along with an old samson 2x225 amp, so I've just got to figure out the speakers, along with REW in the future and I'll be golden

Thanks for the Mal-x LLT recommendation- my guests and I have been thoroughly impressed

**SteveCallas** · **11-01-09, 12:54 AM**

Even though you are going to go DIY, you can still benefit from listening to as many commercial speakers as you can find, if only to learn what type of FR profile and driver alignments you prefer. Personally, I haven't heard any MTM that has the imaging quality of an equivalent speaker with no driver above the tweeter, so knowing that for example, any DIY project I might consider would be something like a TMW. I also like a slightly elevated upper midrange as opposed to completely flat.

**ironglen** · **11-01-09, 02:17 PM**

I see your point with the TMW vs MTM. I'm looking at how much time and money it will take to build a nice, tall set to place the tweeter higher- it's quite a bit. So I'm contemplating/looking at a number of designs, and a couple have drawn my interest. Of course I've seen the SVS bookshelf and towers, I really wouldn't mind bookshelf speakers for surround, or maybe center, but definitely not for mains. The SVS towers are impressive, but I think I'd rather diy if I were to spend anywhere near that much. Also looked at the Boston CS226 TMM 2 way and the EMP E5Ti TMWW, currently heavily sale priced and rated very well for value/sound. These last two are similarly priced, however the EMP handles 150w vs 250w of the Boston's, which I believe shows differences in driver quality. Furthermore, I'd like to have a set that can handle some power, perhaps 225w@8ohm/285w@4ohm as I have a 2ch proamp to use for this. Of course, I can still diy, maybe an anarchy TMMM 2.5way?...probably wouldn't need a sub with the dual 6.5's in separate ported enclosure below, probably ~$600/pr

Decisions, decisions...any advice?

**SteveCallas** · **11-01-09, 08:29 PM**

Take a look at the Dayton RS270 10" for use as the woofer section. It measures very well, is very inexpensive, and doesn't require a massive enclosure. You could do a TMW that is still relatively compact and put it on a speaker stand if you didn't want to build a large tower.

As for wanting - let alone needing - 225 watts running through your main speaker, keep in mind speakers tend to be more efficient than subwoofers. 225 watts in a well designed speaker in room should result in ear bleeding levels. You should aim to use as little power as necessary to attain your desired listening levels.

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