Author Topic: Updating the audio video system  (Read 12724 times)

KnuckleBuckett

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Updating the audio video system
« on: March 28, 2013, 03:49:57 PM »
We recently replaced our projection TV with a new 240Hz Samsung LED/LCD.

We also added a AV center below it.  It has kind of a rustic look.  Oak plank top coppery patina cage structure below.

I just picked this integrated up.
http://jeffrowlandgroup.com/ConcertoInt.htm

And next weekend I am heading out to pick up a pair of these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB4IDdVOJE0

So pretty major jump.  Most or all of this will be funded by selling used equipment I have around the house.
« Last Edit: March 28, 2013, 06:33:48 PM by KnuckleBuckett »

ober

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2013, 04:42:06 PM »
Second link didn't work.  I need to stop by some time when we're out there to check it all out.  You've always had really cool stuff.

KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2013, 06:36:04 PM »
Received the integrated.  Wow.  Photos do not do it justice.  The remote is sweet also.  All gray anodized aluminum front and back except for machined silver aluminum buttons.

Mike Kelly and I are road tripping to get the speaks next Saturday. 

Can't wait to demo them for ya Benny.  You will have a blast.

KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2013, 06:41:09 PM »
I will put up photos when I get it all together.

BTW, all used audio equipment.  No way I could purchase these products new. 

I use Audiogon.com and have for years.  Great place to buy and sell quality audio gear.

KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2013, 11:17:50 AM »
The integrated is installed in the system with my original Monitor Audio speakers.  It is an amazing piece of gear.  Fast, powerful, and lacking in nothing I want from an amp.  The remote is simple an built like a Russian tank.  10/10.

As a bonus it has a very high WAF (wife acceptance factor).  It looks amazing and she has commented on it several times.

A friend and I are driving north of NY City to pick up the speaks on Saturday.

I suppose that Saturday night and Sunday I will work on setting them up and enjoying them.


Betazep

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2013, 01:36:23 PM »
I think all of this stuff is really cool, but I have never been able to get into it. 

I pretty much just go with an in-a-box solution for my entertainment system.  It is so much less money than components... takes up less space... but certainly doesn't sound as amazing as I bet your system does.

Most of my movie watching these days involves the kids sleeping nearby... so the audio is on very low and sometimes with subtitles so we don't wake them up.  :(

I bought the current setup 4 years ago for $150.  It is starting to have a little problems... so might be time to fork out another $200-$300 for the next 4 years.  :)


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kermi3

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2013, 02:12:44 PM »
Nice!  Did you do a pro install or do it yourself?
govtcheez03:  i kind of look for it - i seek out stupidity and annoy it until it either gets better, gets banned, or goes away on its own

KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2013, 05:31:48 PM »
I am working on setting it up myself.

I think I can set it up well.  There is a local (DC) shop that is trained for these loudspeakers if I need help.

Betazep

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2013, 05:56:19 PM »
Woah... what makes it that complicated?  I thought it was just two wires and good to go?
"The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents." -Nathaniel Borenstein

KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #9 on: April 07, 2013, 08:24:49 PM »
LOL

No way.  For most of my early life I would have agreed though.

Setting up a high end system and getting it just right can take days or months.  As Kermi noted you can get a pro to help with the proper setup electronics, recordings, and techniques for that set of loudspeakers, but it isn't exactly free.  I have been doing this for years and can get them set up fairly close in short order.  Tuning them perfectly is more time consuming and something I won't do for a while.  I purchased a pair with new drivers and at about 75% off.  However the cabinets are a a bit rough.  Knowing that this manufacturer uses automotive grade paint, I decided that when I get the car paint repaired (some tool scratched up my paint - plastic only) this summer I will have them shoot the speaks at the same time.  Moonlight pearl with a clear coat.  Then.  I will get them set up professionally.

If you ever get a chance and want something to do that won't cost you anything, grab some favorite music and check out your local high end audio salon.  Demo a few speaks in price ranges that you could never afford.    You will probably be pretty amazed and it should be fun.

A nice upper mid-fi audio system can be had for a very reasonable price point, if you know what brands to purchase, go with used gear, and have a little patience.  Obes did that a few years back.  I just helped a neighbor do the same.

It isn't that the brands you know all suck, it is more that for the same money you can own superior gear that puts their cash into product rather than marketing and mass appeal.  Plus if you care for it well, it will likely have a pretty healthy resale.  Most of the equipment I am selling now is selling for 9-% to 110% of what I paid for it 8 plus years ago.  My gosh that is nice.  Speakers tend to be the exception. 

If you ever demo a set of speakers to purchase, bring your own music.  Bring cuts, that you could listen to over and over and again.  Have the sales person play these cuts and listen to the entire track.  If it sounds great but you want to stop/interrupt the song before it is finished, be warned that the speaker is likely the wrong choice.  The real test is - do you want to listen all the way through without interruption-.  This demonstrates that they aren't hooking you with false/pronounced upper mids and highs that catch your attention but tire your ears fast.  A nice set of speaks will make you want to listen to the whole song and leave you wanting more.

In my world it is about loving the music as it is presented not about dollars, and name brands.  I can literally listen for hours to complete cuts and in some cases complete albums all because the system never tires your ears, presents a very realistic sound field, and places the musicians, instruments, and recording environment in a three dimensional field in front of me.  You can actually hear the woodwinds up front and the triangle thirty meters back and ten to the left.  Same with a good band or solo.  Oddly the big Whitney Houston hit from The Bodyguard is always a big hit with folks that want to hear my system.  You can actually hear her at the proper height, dead center on the mic and as real as if she was on stage in front of you.

One last cool tidbit.  A good stereo system does far better surround than a full fledged 7.1 surround system.  I cant count the number of times we have had friends over that have gone looking for the speakers on the side, middle, or behind them -- that don't exist.  Laura find this a blast and I just laugh.

Betazep

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #10 on: April 07, 2013, 11:04:35 PM »
Hmmm... you are totally convincing me.  Maybe it is time for a new hobby.
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KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #11 on: April 08, 2013, 06:20:09 AM »
 :D

ober

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #12 on: April 08, 2013, 10:39:29 PM »
A nice upper mid-fi audio system can be had for a very reasonable price point, if you know what brands to purchase, go with used gear, and have a little patience.  Obes did that a few years back.  I just helped a neighbor do the same.
Knuck knows his shit, and it's totally true.  He hooked me up with my first set of awesome speakers.  Went from tall Bose floor speakers that I thought sounded good to something half the size that sounded SO much better from a brand I'd never heard of.  And it is true, the 2 speakers that Knuck had threw sound around the room like there were speakers everywhere.  It sounded like an arrow was literally shot around the room and into my ear from the side and the speakers were sitting right in front of me.

KnuckleBuckett

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #13 on: April 09, 2013, 07:27:59 AM »
A couple pics of the setup as it is.

I will work with them a bit more before I add the spikes to the bottom of them.

Wilson Audio Watt Puppies Loudspeakers
Jeff Rowland Concerto Integrated (preamp amp combo)
Cables are MIT (interconnects) and Nordost (speaker cable)

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Re: Updating the audio video system
« Reply #14 on: April 09, 2013, 11:30:25 AM »
Looks great! Thanks for sharing the pics.  What TV is that?