my very basic home av setup

[rigors]

horrible iphone pic - sorry!



here's what i currently have:
tv = LG 32LX2R
av receiver = Yamaha RX-V361
digital box = Phillips DTR-220
dvd/blu-ray/games = PS3
speakers = 2 x Scandyna Minipod, 1 x B&W M-1, 1 x Yamaha YST-FSW100 Subwoofer
remotes = Logitech Harmony 525 + PS3 Adapter

okay, so of course i want to start upgrading... things i think i need to do include:
1) get a bigger TV that supports 1080P (my LG's max is 1080i, so i end up running @ 720P so i can play DVD's) and with built-in freeview.
2) upgrade to a better sub (maybe a Monolith-DF, or a XLS200-DF MK2).
3) Add a couple of rear speakers (probably 2 x B&W M-1's) to get to 5.1.
4) Get a better amp (no idea what to pick here really).

I would really love to hear what you guys would do, and in what order, to improve this little setup. Any and all advice greatly appreciated!

[Hammie]

Those are some of the craziest looking speakers I have ever seen.

Very nice and clean looking.

[bhampton]

PS3 ... Aren't they the greatest.

My PS3 is the only source component I have... Love it.

-Brian

[rigors]

the PS3 ROCKS! just got it recently - can't say enough good things about it! with the Harmony remote and PS3 adaptor thingey, the whole thing integrates brilliantly.

wow - i'm kinda surprised i didn't get slammed for my setup!! some of the HT's i've seen on here are just incredible!

one thing i would like to improve upon is the sound... the treble is good, and my bass is okay... but sometimes the mid-tones sound a little raspy... gonna have a fiddle with the "small" vs "large" speaker setting in my AV receiver tonight... anyone else get this and have a quick fix, or is it an equipment thing?

[btf1980]

Originally Posted by rigors

the PS3 ROCKS! just got it recently - can't say enough good things about it! with the Harmony remote and PS3 adaptor thingey, the whole thing integrates brilliantly.

wow - i'm kinda surprised i didn't get slammed for my setup!! some of the HT's i've seen on here are just incredible!

one thing i would like to improve upon is the sound... the treble is good, and my bass is okay... but sometimes the mid-tones sound a little raspy... gonna have a fiddle with the "small" vs "large" speaker setting in my AV receiver tonight... anyone else get this and have a quick fix, or is it an equipment thing?

Why would you get slammed? We all start somewhere.

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by rigors

wow - i'm kinda surprised i didn't get slammed for my setup!! some of the HT's i've seen on here are just incredible!

Just because you don't have a super baller setup doesn't mean people will rip you for it, we all enjoy movies here! Just the fact that you've got some nice AV gear and cool speakers make it a nice setup. Most people I know don't even have a blu-ray player or speakers. I actually like seeing more "college kid" type bedroom setups because they're more unique and it's fun to see what kind of setups others around my age have. And yeah the PS3 kicks ass, mine gets a lot of use!

[D_M]

Love those speakers!

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by d_m1010

Love those speakers!

He's a perfect candidate for getting some Anthony Gallo floorstanders!

Anthony Gallo Reference 3.jpg

John

[Big Daddy]

I did not know that we have a member with Pod speakers.

The Pod Speakers from Scandyna are beautifuL, exotic, and affordable. They come in Silver, Yellow, Red, Carnaby Blue, Midnight Blue, White, and Black. See more pictures http://press.scandyna-speakers.com/d...trpass=podpass here.

These are their product line.

Speakers :
Minipod
Minipod Jubilee
Smallpod
Cinepod
The drop
Micropod SE
Micropod SE Active
Bigpod
Megapod

Subwoofers:
Bass Station
Minibass
Megapod kit
The ball
The ball 2.1

The Minipod is $849 a pair, and the Cinepod (center channel) is $599 each.

Megapod



Bigpod



Minipod



Drop



Cinepod (Center Channel)



Bass Station



Minibass



Ball


B&W: EAT YOUR HEART OUT

[Beta Man]

I like the stand..... I know many may say it's very "plain" but I like it.... If it's real wood, I'd consider running a sander over it, and staining it a nice chocolate brown color...... would look really nice! (of course I don't know if you have other tables etc. that match it.... that may make it too much work)

I'm having troubles seeing it in the picture.... but is the M-1 sideways in the stand? I think I can see the stand that comes with the M-1, but can't really tell.

[rded]

Now this set-up deserves to be in the "unique equipment...for this site" thread.
I always drool when I go to Decibel Audio here in Chicago for their Scandyna speakers

[Icedburden]

Those speakers are very odd looking, but I do like them. Nice setup too man.

[rigors]

i actually already had to sand and stain the stand... it was a really dark wood before, like teak, but my new flat is all light oak, so i tried to sand and stain it to match...

took some slightly better pics.. but don't have photoshop on my home comp, so can't clean them up properly...

always loved the minipods - wanted to buy them for years before i could afford to. now that i have them though i do wonder if i could get better sound from something much simpler looking... but i still love them...

thanks for all the positive replies guys!

[xneox]

Ok, those speakers are freakin sweet [/Peter Griffin]


Seriously, I think they're fantastic. If the specs I read are correct, they're 4ohm, no? How does the Yamaha receiver do with that kind of load? How do they sound?

[SammyG]

I'm about to jump all over those for the bedroom, please tell us how they perform.

[rigors]

just checked and the minipods are 4ohm. checked the M1's too and the tech specs say they're 8Ω (minimum 4.8Ω). but, uh, i have no idea what that means or refers to, so i'm not sure how the receiver deals with it...

performance wise i think they sound incredible when i'm playing music. but for movies? well, yeah they sound great but not super-dooper-wow incredible.

i don't have a huge amount of experience though with HT. all i know is my little setup and my buddy who lives down the roads setup (he has a 5.1 B&W 600 series setup).

gotta say though that home av makes me feel a bit like that scene in The Matrix when they say "you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes"

i've learnt a lot over the past couple of days just hanging out here and reading through old posts... but i feel like there's a shed-load more to learn...

[tbizzle]

Originally Posted by rigors

i've learnt a lot over the past couple of days just hanging out here and reading through old posts... but i feel like there's a shed-load more to learn...

I knew absolutely nothing about HT stuff or blu-rays when I came to this site, I just knew that I had been wanting a nice HDTV and PS3 to go with it. After I got here, I started checking out speakers and receivers and I've learned a TON by cruisin the forums here, and had a lot of fun learning too. I'm nowhere near an Audiophile or an expert, but now a lot of my friends ask me for HT advice!

So have fun man, there's a plethora of info and a lot of great people on here to help you out

[jk1980]

Wow I really love how those speakers look

[rigors]

here's a new thing i discovered on this site... i thought i had dolby digital sound but i didn't. so yesterday i got myself a digital optical cable... so here's a pic of a very beautiful sight:



i never knew it would come up with "Dolby Digital" when it was actually decoding something! i decided to buy my first blu-ray disc to test it out. thought i should go for something with a big Hollywood budget, so went with a film that i wanted to see despite it getting bad reviews: Watchmen.

The sound really is incredible. Only one thing i don't quite get - there's such a big difference between the volume when there's plain old dialogue, verses when some big effects come in. Anyone know why this is? Is that normal for Dolby Digital? Or is it a disparity in my speaker setup?

Here are a couple of pics i took watching Watchmen. It's playing out at 720P on a 32" LCD.

[jdc115]

Originally Posted by John72953

He's a perfect candidate for getting some Anthony Gallo floorstanders!

Attachment 7168

John

I would second that.. but then again I might be a bit biased..