I think a big step in avoiding listener fatigue watching regular TV is to get a quality center channel speaker and get it properly calibrated. Most of the dialog should come from the center channel with the surround speakers just adding the color and depth. A lot of times you see people have a set up where the dialog is in the background and all the peripheral sounds like crowd noise is up front. Like watching football on Fox and you can't really hear the announcers but all the whooshes on the graphics knock you out of your rareback. My old Sony DA30ES (10 years?) has a massive set up menu that asks where each speaker is in relation to the viewer and what size they are. Once you get it set the balance on TV sound and use the auto-format for the sound mode, it is never overbearing. But when you watch a CGI movie that you want to rock the house you can pick one of the THX theater formats and it will rattle the doors. Tinman, I have a problem with the old Sony and remotes because some of it's commands overlap with other equipment. Think the Logitech will work that out?
The Logitech database is insane, it should work fine. you can always return it. I have Pioneer receiver, there's like a billion buttons too. you have hit that 'page next' to see the next set of options.
No, not really, but I might consider it next time, just like dudes like Miguel, tinman, and others I now don't remember might have recommended in the past. Usually I just take them to Fried's or Worst Buy and buy something inexpensive, but of good quality.
Well that's good to know. I have the Samsung 4071. It works great as my bedroom TV and computer monitor. As for the rest of my setup: Bedroom: Samsung 40" LCD LNT4071F Pioneer Elite VSX-81TXV receiver Playstation 3 Blu-ray player Toshiba A35 HD-DVD player Onkyo "home theater in a box" 7.1 speakers and subwoofer HD-DVR Living Room: Sony 60" SXRD KDS60A2020 Onkyo TX-SR605 receiver Playstation 3 Blu-ray player Toshiba XA2 HD-DVD player Paradigm 6.1 speakers and subwoofer HD-DVR
^ No you can't since it's bluetooth..My logictech couldn't do it for that reason, but I have it porgramed to do everything else but turning on/off PS3 Hell no it doesn't get exhausting... In fact, its the opposite...I find it very hard to watch anything other than HD... I have my living room and bedroom set up and love it...The only thing missing, which I don't NEED is a PS3 and a new Onkyo receiver in my bedroom...I'll wait till I get a really good deal...I think I have better speakers in my bedroom but that's debateable...
I did pay a bundle for that one, but Pioneer Elites are built like tanks. That thing will last a decade. And aside from a lack of HDMI 1.3(I think it has 1.2), it has everything I could possibly need for the foreseeable future.
Well the first two pieces of the puzzle arrived today. The Pioneer VSX-918V-K: and the remote: Logitech Harmony I was told that the new AVR's don;t sound as good since they have to put more money in A/V processing they skimp on the power supply and amp. I can't hear it cause this one sounds pretty nice.
My Outlaw pre-amp is on the outs, and now I need a new pre-amp. (It had a good run...) Can someone with (high-end) HT experience please recommend a good one? And please, no receiver recommendations, unless I can bypass the amp portion and use my ATI behemoth amp. I prefer to remain a snob and stick with separates, thankyouverymuch. My budget is $1000+ for the pre-amp. Oh, BTW, I have a Harmony remote, and I think it's fantastic. Prior to my Harmony, I had a Philips Pronto (all-touchscreen remote), and although the customizable menus were great (but time-consuming to create), it was quite sluggish in performance, and I hated having to look at the screen every time I needed to press a button. The Harmony, OTOH, was super easy to setup, and the remote is a joy to use.
Most quality recievers have analog preouts in 8 channels. You are not looking for any video processing or upscaling?
Parasound Halo is slightly over your budget if you shop well, but they are very solid - unless you have heavy bass speakers and then they might be too much. For cheaper you could look into the Parasound Classic line. Vincent has their hybrid tube/solid that gets good reviews. Other cheaper options - Rotel, NAD (but best with British speakers), Cambridge Audio. Can't think of anything else where you might find one for 1k. If you don't mind used you can always check out audiogon.
Didn't realize we had so many Home Theater/Audio enthusiasts around here. The class has certainly gotten bigger over the last 5 or 6 years.
Pre-amps are for video processing, so I'm not sure what you're asking. As for upscaling, it would be nice if every input would upscale to HDMI. Or are you referring to an additional upscaling doohickey, like a DVDO iScan? If so, no, I don't need that. I've heard good things about the Halo line, so maybe I'll check them out. Right now, I'm leaning towards buying a used/new Anthem pre-amp on Audiogon to pair with my Paradigms. But I'm totally open to recommendations.
you mean upconverting i think. changing component or s vid or whatever to hdmi. most HDMI recievers do that. If i was you i would just use the recievers as a Pre/Pro. All the dedicated preamps I have seen costs 3-4 times more. And this is digital media so its not like 196kHz sounds better or worse when you pay $4K. I like the pioneer line so I would say get the VSX-1018AH-K (link) Or if you want to spend more and have HDMI 1.3a plus a ton of extra inputs http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/P...AV-Receivers/EliteReceivers/ci.VSX-92TXH.Kuro
Anthem definitely works well with Paradigm since they are the same company but in general Parasound is better. You might try looking for a store that carries both and asking for opinions/auditions from them. I don't know about Austin but in Houston All-Star Audio & Video carries both. I know Parasound is horrible with Klipsch and DefTech, but my guess is it would not be a problem with Paradigm. What line & model are your two fronts?
Elites are badazz, but why didn't you wait for the 1.3? I know its not being utilized to its full potential now, but it will in the future...I bought all my stuff w/ 1.3 for future proofing, well at least in my living room...next will be the bedroom... redefined: I don't know if I'd recommend a DVD theater in the box...speakers/receiver, sure as i had a Yamaha that was fine...don't you have a PS3?
I have no need for 1.3. WIth a PS3 you cannot use it anyways since all the information is sent via MPCM.
