JJ's Year 12: First Year of the New HT in a New House

[JJ]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

Ok it was $700. There's a store here that has them and I think it was that price. Love how it looks. Has that honeycomb look on the speakers. My dad got a B&W Center open box for $250. You can have it on its little stand as a side of surround sound speaker or take it off and have it as a center. The sound is awesome.

No, no, $400! Jeez. $700 was the floorstanders. I was deeply considering the HTM61, but decided against it in the end...and it is great sound,

[tommyboy81]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

No, no, $400! Jeez. $700 was the floorstanders. I was deeply considering the HTM61, but decided against it in the end...and it is great sound,

The place I went to had some bada** speakers. He only had a couple of B&W's but Im pretty sure he can get more if ordered. He had some other brands that were jaw dropping. There was one brand that the guy said that made Martin Logans sound like Bose.

Edit: Well ok he didn't actually say bose

[tommyboy81]

Here you go. Some Mcintosh Speakers

http://cgi.ebay.com/McINTOSH-XRT-28-...QQcmdZViewItem

[Beta Man]

one problem with the bigger center channel, is the limited options of placement..... here's my HTM7 with a VERY non-ideal placement, but all that is about to change


Taken during the playoffs last year....

[tommyboy81]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

one problem with the bigger center channel, is the limited options of placement..... here's my HTM7 with a VERY non-ideal placement, but all that is about to change


Taken during the playoffs last year....

Thats what my dads problem was. The B&W he got was just right. I say it's almost the same as what's in the pic

[JJ]

6th channel came in today! Whoo! Going to place it behind the couch a few feet back - don't think I have space for a 7th, but I am growing to love these little Polk Monitor 50s, I might have to get a pair as a bedroom setup and hook them up to Speaker Zone B on my Marantz. The cherry finish matches the furniture and the B&Ws perfectly, too - nice contrast to the black finish of my two other rears.



You can also see a little poster frame in the back that I'm going to mount this poster on, on the adjacent wall to the bullfighting frame:



The acrylic eBay signs should be coming in, I'd say end of the week, and the APC power conditioner middle of the week...Driver! I bought your rugs...more pics shortly, I have a lot of coursework to do again... And I had to re-do my acoustic panels with a more adhesive spray-on solution (what I get for going cheap on such an important part), so I took them all down to place back up later.

And again, with all this coursework, and a mini-vacation I took this weekend, I've only watched two Blu-rays. TWO! Casino Royale ( ) and Cars ( )....

[scott87]

excellent setup jj

really loving what you have done there

[JJ]

Mini-update...

Power conditioner arrived - in a box with a size and weight that made me think someone upstairs had deemed me worthy to win another Martin Logan Dynamo - but turns out it's only my APC,

Having some problems with a crackle/hiss/buzz on some frequencies during conversation only with my Marantz - hoping its power interference, if not, I might have to exchange the old girl,



Major updates coming this weekend when hopefully the last bit of the decor comes in.

[tommyboy81]

ok stupid question. Is a power conditioner and a surge protector the same thing?.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

ok stupid question. Is a power conditioner and a surge protector the same thing?.

Negatory - I would explain in full detail, but I'm about to start class...but this APC is Voltage regulator - power conditioner - and surge protector. And it won't sacrifice itself to save my equipment like other machines. It's top of the line, better than Panamax and Monster Power offerings.

[tommyboy81]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Negatory - I would explain in full detail, but I'm about to start class...but this APC is Voltage regulator - power conditioner - and surge protector. And it won't sacrifice itself to save my equipment like other machines. It's top of the line, better than Panamax and Monster Power offerings.

I got a Monster Power HTS2600

[DBlackGT]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Negatory - I would explain in full detail, but I'm about to start class...but this APC is Voltage regulator - power conditioner - and surge protector. And it won't sacrifice itself to save my equipment like other machines. It's top of the line, better than Panamax and Monster Power offerings.

Not to argue with what your saying, because I agree with most of it. But maybe you should just rephrase that where its "top of the line compared to Panamax and Monsters products in the same price range". Is that the S, H, or J series conditioner you got there? Because depending on which series it is (battery backup that is), it isnt all that different from a similar Panamax or Monster product which would sacrifice itself for the equipment. I'd figure you'd want that in your area with all the lightning stricks there. Now im not saying all this because I own a Panamax product but its kind of comparing two different things in my opinion. For example the Panamax I own (5300pm) is more of power cleaning, filtration device, cleans up the picture, but also monitors the volts and will shut down power if there is too much of an increase or decrease. And the way I see it (and please correct me if I am wrong) the APC is more of a stable power conditioner. By that I mean keeping things at a more equal power level, while not focusing to much on cleaning up the power and picture like the Panamax's sole job is? Now the higher you go up in Panamax and APC's lines you will find units that do it all but this is just my view on these units. Please correct if I am wrong, because I am about to pull the trigger on buying an APC battery back unit. I will use this unit to keep the power at a certain level and then use the panamax to clean up the power more and filter the picture, get rid of artifacts, etc.

By the way love your setup, keep up the good work.

[Slec]

Originally Posted by DBlackGT

Not to argue with what your saying, because I agree with most of it. But maybe you should just rephrase that where its "top of the line compared to Panamax and Monsters products in the same price range". Is that the S, H, or J series conditioner you got there? Because depending on which series it is (battery backup that is), it isnt all that different from a similar Panamax or Monster product which would sacrifice itself for the equipment. I'd figure you'd want that in your area with all the lightning stricks there. Now im not saying all this because I own a Panamax product but its kind of comparing two different things in my opinion. For example the Panamax I own (5300pm) is more of power cleaning, filtration device, cleans up the picture, but also monitors the volts and will shut down power if there is too much of an increase or decrease. And the way I see it (and please correct me if I am wrong) the APC is more of a stable power conditioner. By that I mean keeping things at a more equal power level, while not focusing to much on cleaning up the power and picture like the Panamax's sole job is? Now the higher you go up in Panamax and APC's lines you will find units that do it all but this is just my view on these units. Please correct if I am wrong, because I am about to pull the trigger on buying an APC battery back unit. I will use this unit to keep the power at a certain level and then use the panamax to clean up the power more and filter the picture, get rid of artifacts, etc.

By the way love your setup, keep up the good work.

It's the APC H15 Power conditioner with Voltage regulation and noise filtration.

[tommyboy81]

Where diyou get the B&W's at. I can get them from 1 place here but I don't know i can get them the same price as you did. You got them and the Center at a good price. Unless I saw old prices.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

Where diyou get the B&W's at. I can get them from 1 place here but I don't know i can get them the same price as you did. You got them and the Center at a good price. Unless I saw old prices.

$1,800. Audio & Video Solutions of Florida. Great group of guys. Ask for Charles.

And MAN did I just do some DRASTIC redecoration of my living room - but errands to run, pics will go up when I return!

[Johk]

Originally Posted by DBlackGT

For example the Panamax I own (5300pm) is more of power cleaning, filtration device, cleans up the picture, but also monitors the volts and will shut down power if there is too much of an increase or decrease. And the way I see it (and please correct me if I am wrong) the APC is more of a stable power conditioner. By that I mean keeping things at a more equal power level, while not focusing to much on cleaning up the power and picture like the Panamax's sole job is? Now the higher you go up in Panamax and APC's lines you will find units that do it all but this is just my view on these units. Please correct if I am wrong, because I am about to pull the trigger on buying an APC battery back unit. I will use this unit to keep the power at a certain level and then use the panamax to clean up the power more and filter the picture, get rid of artifacts, etc.

The APC H type (like JJxiv1215 and I have) units do filtration, surge protection and voltage regulation like the Panamax 5400PM. They monitor the line power and regulate the voltage... APC C-type models do filtration and surge protection like the Panamax 5300PM does filtration and surge protection...

Higher up, you have the APC J and S type which are power conditioners (filtration, voltage regulation and surge protection) with battery backup. Which are great if you need battery backup to shutdown equipments (projectors...).

The Panamax 5300PM unit looks like a great product... If your power is stable (if it doesn't really fluctuate), then you don't really need voltage regulation.

One thing I'm wondering, why do you want battery backup power? If it's to shut down certain components like a projector (which needs to cool down) or to protect data (computer or DVR), it's worth it but if it's to provide stable power then a voltage regulator will do the job but then again if your power is stable then you don't really need one.

Also if you still wanna get battery backup unit, you need to find one that will provide a pure sine wave power... Many UPS provide crude approximation of an electrical waveform (square wave, modified square wave).

[tommyboy81]

JJ anymore updates?

[DBlackGT]

Originally Posted by Johk

The APC H type (like JJxiv1215 and I have) units do filtration, surge protection and voltage regulation like the Panamax 5400PM. They monitor the line power and regulate the voltage... APC C-type models do filtration and surge protection like the Panamax 5300PM does filtration and surge protection...

Higher up, you have the APC J and S type which are power conditioners (filtration, voltage regulation and surge protection) with battery backup. Which are great if you need battery backup to shutdown equipments (projectors...).

The Panamax 5300PM unit looks like a great product... If your power is stable (if it doesn't really fluctuate), then you don't really need voltage regulation.

One thing I'm wondering, why do you want battery backup power? If it's to shut down certain components like a projector (which needs to cool down) or to protect data (computer or DVR), it's worth it but if it's to provide stable power then a voltage regulator will do the job but then again if your power is stable then you don't really need one.

Also if you still wanna get battery backup unit, you need to find one that will provide a pure sine wave power... Many UPS provide crude approximation of an electrical waveform (square wave, modified square wave).

Thank you for this info. Now I don't know how much voltage should differ? On my panamax the most it dips down to is 118 and it only goes up to 121. So is that to much fluctuation or is that normal? The reason why I want to get a battery backup is mainly for a piece of mind (and for the fluctuation if that isnt normal) but because my panamax shuts off power in a spike or surge, and also if my power just plain goes out I would like to be able to shut down my devices properly rather than just a shut off. Plus I live in an apartment so I feel as if the power going to my gear can never be too good.

[JJ]

Updates! Drastic remodeling of the living room. I used to have this dining table next to all my stuff, which you can see here under all my boxes:

- http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x...t=DSC03480.jpg
- http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...5/DSC03550.jpg (on the right)

That table was big, heavy (took 3 of guys to move it into the house when it was packaged - commented that it felt like solid oak), and a reflective nightmare, being of all fake-wood and shiny-black-glasslike-material construction. An acoustical mess. So I got rid of it. Weighs like 200 pounds. Crafty me, I tipped it over on some old comforters, took out the legs, and dragged it on the comforters into my pool room:

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...5/DSC03590.jpg

And this is the new look (finally pics instead of links) - I had a recliner in my other room lying around unused, so I moved it into its place.


I think a nice little end table next to it will be nice, as well. Later though, later. Doesn't match the rest of the stuff, but it'll do for now until craigslist has some gem I can get.


Gladiator poster came in! I HIGHLY recommend buying from these guys on eBay - I ordered monday night and it was here today! Well-rolled and packaged, priority mail, $15 for a 27x40 poster. I think their member name was 'posterplanet.net'.


The new 3 rear Monitor 50 set-up...I need to get yet ANOTHER rug to cover up and protect that cable - right now I'm using a placemat,


Got something special planned for this blank wall - 6 black-acrylic signs like this:



Featuring that B&W one, a Marantz one, a Martin Logan one, a Blu-ray one, one with the classic DTS logo, and a THX one. I've always loved the DTS and THX logos.

And my A/V rack:


I think all it needs is decor - and I'm trying to do something about my ceilings. But I don't know what. And I have all that space between my TV/"acoustic columns" and my ceiling, too...hmmm...

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

JJ anymore updates?

give them an inch..........