Who are we?

[Sonnie]

Who are the owners, administrators and moderators?

I was born and raised in south Alabama where we like to call L.A. or Lower Alabama. I am a bonafide country redneck hillbilly and take pride in it (I really am!). I have been married to my lovely wife Angibug since April 1984 and we have a loving young daughter, Chelsea, born in 1990. We are all Christians, living our lives as best we know how and members of His one and only church, however, don't worry... I will not force religion on anyone, but if you ever want to talk or need a prayer, I'll be here. I have been in the finance industry (lending) since 1983 and have owned my own company, First Troy Finance, since May 1998. I also own First Troy AV where I simply piddle with AV stuff, NO Internet sales, just a little local stuff for friends, etc. I love to hang out in the forums, work with websites, watch movies in the HT, fish, pitch horseshoes, tinker with car stereo, and fiddle around on my tractor on our 63 acres of land... and of course we love to fellowship and worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I believe everything is made for love and that one of our main goals in life should be to love one another with all our heart. Think about how much better the world would be if we all loved one another as much as God loves us.

My first real stereo system was a complete NAD system put together back in 1984 with the help of a good friend, Walter Barno, who was and still is, in car stereo retail management at CKR Stereo in Montgomery, Alabama. In addition to the NAD equipment we had a Thorens Jubilee turntable and a couple of EPI speakers that I quickly upgraded to Klipsch Fortes. I first got serious about HT back in 1991. I piddled around with it small time from about 1987 until I broke all out in 91 with the big screen and full surround system... McIntosh, Snell, Lexicon, and more. In August 1996, Ron Sabin at Stereo Review magazine got desperate and contacted us about a Systems article in their mag. I'd sent them some pics and a write up about a year earlier... I guess they finally got to the bottom of the pile. Anyway they flew out from California to our honky tonk residence in BAMA and reviewed our system. We were honored to say the least. You can see/read the article here. I traded up and down over the years, having fun learning about HT and it became a favorite hobby of mine. In October 2003 we started construction on our dedicated home theater with a front projection system, which an absolute blast to build. We finished this up in early 2004, in time for the Super Bowl. It has been our favorite room in the house since. It is named after the road we live on... Cedar Creek Cinema (see sig).

My first experience in the HT forums was the SMR (Lexicon) forum back in the mid 90's when I got our first real processor, the CP3+. I popped in and out but was not what you'd call a regular. I traded the CP3+ up to a DC-1 and later sold it and went the Sony TAE9000ES route and departed from what I considered at that time a less than friendly SMR forum (there were some good guys there but too many that were... well you know). I joined up at HTF back in 2001 and hung out there a little off and on. I joined most all of the popular HT forums (AVS, HTT, HTS) and skipped around from one to the other, but HTF was probably my favorite at the time. Shortly after joining HTF I moved over to the fairly new HTG and ended up hanging my hat there for a number of years. While I was labeled the BFD Expert there, I've never really been an "expert" with anything, just a fella who loves to chat about HT stuff. I'd be better labeled as a jack of all trades - master of narry one! In 2001 I set out on a challenge to author the BFD Guide (actually co-authored with Ken Bruce). It's actually a compilation of several HT enthusiast thoughts and input that I simply put together in one place. I never dreamed it would be what it is today, but I am glad it has been of some help to others and to myself for the friendships it has helped to develop. I look forward to helping others here.

In October of 2005, Andrew Pratt, formerly of HTG, asked me to help Next Level AV forums start a BFD Forum. I obliged and it was a very popular section of the forums. It was fun working with all the folks over at NLAV. Hard to find a finer group of guys. Unfortunately the owner, Jim Piscitello, passed away unexpectedly in early April 2006. It is a great loss to the HT community and Jim will be missed dearly. I was fortunate enough to have gained a great friend in such a short time. These events brought about the idea of creating a new home theater forum and consider partnering up with John Mulcahy of Room EQ Wizard, since the two compliment each other so well. Things worked out and here we are. We hope you enjoy your stay at the Shack.

[JCD]

Hi Everyone..

Thought I'd drop a few words here to say "hi" and "this is me".

Soon after college, when I finally had a small amount of disposable income, I bought a modest home theater setup, the Atlantic Technology 250 system and a Harmon Kardon AVR25 MkII. At the time, that system cost me ~$1300. That was a LOT of $$ for me back then, but it kept me happy for several years.. until it was stolen during a house move. This is when I learned about homeowners insurance. Turns out that the 250's were no longer in production, rather, AT was up to the 270's by that point. I was explaining to the insurance agent that I was having a hard time finding a new set of speakers for the same $1,300 I originally paid for them. I told him that the same line of speakers were now retailing for $2,800 and blah blah blah. I was really hoping I might be able to squeeze another ~$500 out of the guy.. to my very happy surprise, he said "spend the $2,800". So, this is the amount that I got to play with, before sales taxes of course. This is the also the point where I left the "normal" world and entered the "mid-fi/hi-fi" world. The next month or so included countless hours of research on the web and listening to a few different brands of speakers at some of the local boutique audio shops. I ended up with a nice set up from Paradigm and a Denon receiver. We moved again and disaster seemed to strike, my center channel wasn't playing correctly anymore. Back to the internet.. where I stumbled on to a few AV forums where I solicited some advice on what could be causing my problems. I got several responses of possible solutions -- which unfortunately, didn't work. Turns out that the one of the "bridges" connecting the two sets of binding posts wasn't connected anymore. Feeling both elated and retarded at the same time, I reconnected the bridge and everything worked great. But, I ended up hanging around the forums and learning a LOT in the process. Of course, it's cost me a LOT as well. If it weren't for the forums, I'd have never decided to build my own speakers (see pics below) or built a headphone amp (still waiting for the last part to come before everything gets put together) or thought of creating a listening area in my garage with the proper acoustical treatments and layout with the potential for an IB subwoofer or..

That last item is what brought me to this site in the first place -- how to calibrate the sub when/if it gets installed.

I figure, I'll stick around and share whatever I've learned so far. Expert? no, but, every once in a while there is SOMETHING I can help out with.. or at least I hope so.

Anyway, that's me in AV.

JCD



DIY Usher 2.5 speaker

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Well, let's see: I was born in Houston and have lived in the area most of my life. Been married to my first wife, Donna, for 28 years. We have three kids, Sean, Ryan and Michelle. We’ve lived in Katy, a far-west suburb, for 20 years.

Sean’s in his early 30’s and lives in Dallas. He’s a lead installer for a company that does professional audio/video installations. His wife Jennifer is in the Air Force reserves and their four-year-old daughter Isabella is all over the house.

Ryan’s in his mid 20’s and lives in Corpus Christie. He graduated from Texas A&M’s Corpus Christie campus with a bachelor’s in communications and is currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity. His wife Amanda, also got her degree at Corpus Christie A&M.

Our adapted daughter Michelle is 17, the only one still at home.

I've been an audio buff since I was a teenager back in the 70s. I guess it grew from my love of music, which has been a part of my family for generations. One of my most cherished possessions is a violin that my g-g-g-grandfather brought here from Germany; reportedly he spent a lot of his spare time writing music. My mother was a church pianist for over 40 years, from the age of 12.

I exhibited an interest in music at a young age, so Mom signed me up for piano lessons when I was in kindergarten. Sure wish I had pursued that further! Unfortunately, she started me too young, and I was more interested in playing cowboys and Indians than practicing scales. Later in junior high and high school I played drums. I would have loved pursuing that, but Mom and Dad politely ignored my requests for a full-blown drum kit. (Gee, wonder why? ). So I picked up the bass guitar when I was 13, and it's been my primary instrument ever since. My parents sprung for my first bass rig from Sears; I imagine they liked it because it had a volume control.

Being a musician, I naturally wanted a wife with some talent. Donna was a music major in college, and in high school choir she was #10 in state and collected a shelf full of solo and sight-reading awards.

Our kids are talented musically as well. Ryan is an excellent drummer. Sean is a guitarist/vocalist/writer/arranger/ad nauseum. He can also play piano decently, bass and drums very well, and played trombone in jr. high and high school. Makes you sick, doesn't it, the way some people seem to get more than their fair share? His band Boy Caught Dream was getting some attention in and around Dallas until the second guitar player ran away with the chick lead singer (gotta luv the music business).

Together, we're like the Osmonds, only not as photogenic.

I guess my love of music naturally led me to becoming an audio buff. I remember when I was a teenager my younger brother picked up a budget top-loading component cassette deck and a pair of headphones. They really weren’t much to write home about, but the first time I heard stereo through the ’phones, I was completely and utterly floored! The vocals in the center of your head, the sounds on the left and right - I was hooked!

Being a musician naturally led to an interest in pro audio and PA systems, ‘cause you don’t get heard in an auditorium without them. Along the way I spent a few years in the early ’90s as an installer for a respected local pro audio company, LD Systems. I got a chance to resurrect the old skills a few years ago when our church decided to build a small recording studio. I did the complete audio and electrical wiring, including terminations for all the custom-made connection panels, which I also designed.

Much of what I learned as a pro installer transfers nicely over to my "first love," home audio. Over the years on the home theater forums I’ve been able to pass along tips on configuring audio-related electrical circuits, suspending and hanging speakers, fabricating, room tuning, making all kinds of custom cables, recording studio-style construction and soundproofing, etc. You truly have to be a jack of all trades to be a pro audio installer.

Haven't done much professionally on the home theater front, other than a few speaker wiring gigs here and there for some Forum members, but I did fully install the system in our last home, complete with two dedicated electrical circuits. I've also installed a few DSS systems for friends and relatives.

We moved into our current place in February 2005, so naturally there's a new installation in the works, converting a useless wet bar into an equipment rack, and maybe an infinite baffle or built-in LLT sub. Hopefully the house will still be standing after it's all said and done.

Aside from home theater, my second interest is ’60s and ’70s muscle cars, particularly Trans Ams. My most recent toy (sold in 2008) was a low-mileage 1979 10th Anniversary Edition with a 6.6 liter 4-speed. You can see a picture of it here.

Other interests include genealogy, photography, and writing (ya think? ). I’ve had letters published in just about every publication I’ve ever subscribed to – High Fidelity, Audio, Stereo Review, Car Stereo Review, Car Audio, Car and Driver, Houston Chronicle, High Performance Pontiac, etc. I’ve probably forgotten some.

Regards,
Wayne

[lcaillo]

I am Leonard Caillouet, moderator for the Manufacturer Service and Support forum. I live in Gainesville, FL and am the service manager for Electronics World, a mid-high end AV dealer doing about 60% of our business as installation work and about 40% retail. I focus on repairs, technical consulting, and calibration.

My current system is modest, but the most enjoyable that I have ever owned, overall. I have a Sony KE42TS2U PDP, 5 MTX in-wall speakers, 2 Mach5 12 IB subs, LG LDA511, Yamaha RXV620, Yamaha RXV850, DSP1124P, SA8300HD DVR, and MX350 remote for the main system. I have had various equipment over the years, including Thiel (still some of my favorite speakers), PS, Denon (Still have a Denon turntable), Nakamichi (still have that LX5, too), Marantz, etc. For video calibration I use Accupel and Sencore generators, an EyeOne spectroradiometer, a Spyder colorimeter, AccuCal and CalMAN software, and an assortment of test discs and computer files. For audio calibration I use a recently calibrated ECM8000 mic, Tascam US122 mixer, REW, TrueRTA, a RS meter, and an assortment of discs and computer files. My computer is a bit archaic Dell 5000 notebook (inherited from my son who got the new Toshiba), but works fine with the external hardware.

I am 47, married to Julianne, who is a computer analyst and RN. We have two sons, Eric, 6 and Evan, 5. We have Drew, 18 from Juli's first marriage, who lives with us and just entered college, and Daniel, 21, from my first marriage who lives in Louisiana where he is in the National Gaurd and goes to school. I grew up in Louisiana, where we lived until moving to Gainesville in 1999.

I graduated from High School in 1977, spent several years at LSU in engineering, but did not finish my degree. I was fortunate to get my start in the Home Theater business with Art Colley's Audio Specialties in Baton Rouge in 1979. I became the service manager there, also doing system design, sales, and installations. Eventually, I completed my degree in Education in 1992 and taught Math and Computers until 1999. Along the way I got my MS in Motor Behavior, with Thesis work on the processing and analysis of EMG signals. After moving to Gainesville, I got back into the electronics business. Someday, I hope to retire into graduate school to finish my phd studying human motor learning from a biomechanical perspective.

I am mostly agnostic, the result of being raised and educated Catholic, but have a deep respect for those who practice and live by thier faith. I would consider myself to be a somewhat spiritual scientist with a deep regard for the complexities of life and existence that we cannot understand. Philosophy has always been one of my interests. I am politically unaffiliated, and proudly so as the parties are an embarrassment. I tend to be conservative until a progressive issue is made to make sense to me, then I can be rather liberal. Ultimately, like most people, I am more interested in pragmatism than idealism. I try to stay well informed on politics, paying attention to issues from both sides, when I can find the rare factual and lucid discussions of such matters.

My interests include sports, psychology, computers, and my kids. I was once seriously involved in Olympic style archery, but the kids and bursitis have limited that and golfing lately. We go camping every couple of months with the kids, and enjoy Florida very much. I served for 4 years as a member of the USOC Sport Science and Technology Committee and was biomechanics advisor and instructor for the coaches of the NAA. I am a DIYer for nearly everything, and like helping others to do the same. These days I stay busy with work, cub scouts, T-ball, basketball, and homework. I am in the process of remodeling the family room where I installed in-wall speakers and IB subs. I came to HTS as a result of my interest in REW and the BFD, like many of us did. I am happy to be here in this community of exceptional people who make on of the most pleasant forums on the Internet. I enjoy sharing information and helping people with service issues. I have learned a lot here and am sure that I will continue to do so.

I can make some fine etoufee, gumbo, and jambalaya (especially when I can get that real andouille from back home) as one might expect from a cajun from the bayou country. I do miss those crawfish.

Go Gators. Go Tigers. Go USA.

[mechman]

Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. Had various jobs growing up including cook and mortuary night attendant. Then I become an Air Traffic Controller for the Federal Aviation Administration.

When I went for the interview at Minneapolis Tower, the manager asked me "How many people took that test?"

I replied "Around 250."

He then told me "Well we will be interviewing 15. And of that 15 only 10 or so will go to Oklahoma City. And of that 10, maybe 3 will make it out of Oklahoma City. And of that 3 only 1 will become an Air Traffic Controller. Are you that one?"

I gulped and said "I hope so."

Spent three months in Oklahoma City, OK not knowing where they would end up placing me or for that matter whether or not I would get through the 'Screen' program. This was back in 1991 and I was 25 at the time. It was much more difficult to get this job back then. They placed me at Minneapolis Center in Farmington, MN. Centers are the place that works the airplanes from airport to airport. Approach Controls get the planes in and out of the airport and we get them to where they're going. It's been 16 years now and I've only got 8 left!

I've been married to Anne for about 14 and a half years and we have three kids - two daughters 9 and 8 (going on 10 and 9) and a son who's four and a half. We've settled in beautiful Empire Township, MN. And we make frequent trips to my in-laws cabin about 3 hours north.

I decided to build my basement into a Home Theater over 3 years ago and started out in the 'other' forum searching for DIY screen options. While I was there I watched paint formulas come and go and I learned an awful lot. Like how not to run a forum! Back in February this year Bill (wbassett) told me about the Shack and how we should settle in here. I agreed and shortly there after became a moderator in the Screen forum.

My name is Steve, but my friends call me 'mech' (pronounced like the mech in mechanic). Please, call me mech.

mech