[binary visions]

HAHA! The 42" 1080P Westi and Scpetres are out! Around $2700 MSRP. This will be good w/ a HTPC methinks.

The TV thing doesn't interest me at the moment, I don't watch enough of it, but I HAVE been mentally building a SFF HTPC to stick behind that cabinet door.

Not spending the money on it, though. Going back to school - can't be blowing money on frivolous electronics when the laptop works perfectly well.

 

[Pau11y]

What school/program? I think I'm going to use my HTPC project as a design project. I might have to write some code or somfin and make it jump up and bark, roll over, and play dead, but I think they'll take it.

Interesting thought for you BV: space-based industry. The school I'm in is a big Geo/Mining school. The petroleum companies will need to diversify to stay alive in the next 20 years. They can go down the alt. energy road or move into resource exploration (what they're good at)... my $0.02

Oh, I found out an interesting little fact about my Leadtek 7800 GT: it doen't do dual monitor in SLI mode, and it won't run when both PCI-E slots are filled so I can't run triple monitor

 

[binary visions]

What school/program?

Information Technology program at East Carolina University. Would be interested in other programs if I find something better - I've only got a few credits so I've got lots of school ahead of me.

There's a great engineering program about an hour from me so I could always transfer there.

BTW (thread related), those R30's are back in stock at Outpost for $40:

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3241451

 

[Ciaran]

BV, if you get this in time, how do you like those speakers? Since I am moving into a house and they are on sale right now I might go ahead and get a pair. (sounds like fate to me!) But I gotta do it quick, sale ends tomorrow!

 

[binary visions]

BV, if you get this in time, how do you like those speakers? Since I am moving into a house and they are on sale right now I might go ahead and get a pair. (sounds like fate to me!) But I gotta do it quick, sale ends tomorrow!

I like 'em a lot for the price. They really lack in bass but, on the hand, that's what a subwoofer is for, not your speakers (generally speaking). I'd say if these were your only speakers and you listened to a lot of rap, or used them primarily for movies, you'll be disappointed in their bass.

I live in an apartment and extreme bass (or even extreme volume) is not my friend, and I find they're great for day to day music listening. When I move into a place where I'm allowed to crank things up a bit, I'll probably buy a subwoofer and eventually a nicer set of fronts, maybe migrate these to surrounds.

For $40, I'm not sure there's a lot else to say - they are, to me, a screaming bargain. Go for it

 

[Pau11y]

Polk's originally known for accurate reproduction of 2 channel audio. My old RTA8s were from those times. BV is right about the bass. But typically, 2 channel music reproduction isn't going to demand that much bass, until you get into electronically generated sounds. Rap, techno, movies, video games ect are all going to sound weak on a 6.5" driver alone. For stuff like classic rock, classical, maybe some flavor of metal, these should be sweet. My oldies has paper cones and it makes vocals sound very warm vs the crisp of the current poly cones (my rear surrounds are the R50 flavor bookshelfs w/ poly cones). This however may change after you play them a while and they break in.
Another company you may want to check is www.fluance.com. GREAT write-ups in the bang for the buck ratio.

BTW, BV. Hope you and Sanjuro didn't mind me dropping your name when I "worked" Burley Shirley on the WiFi theft thread

 

[Ciaran]

For $40, I'm not sure there's a lot else to say - they are, to me, a screaming bargain. Go for it

Thanks BV, I appreciate the review. I went ahead and ordered a pair. I am pretty stoked, and the wife is too. I think like Jenn, she is diggin the un-ugliness factor. I may have to stick a couple of photos on top of them as well.

 

[binary visions]

Thanks BV, I appreciate the review. I went ahead and ordered a pair. I am pretty stoked, and the wife is too. I think like Jenn, she is diggin the un-ugliness factor. I may have to stick a couple of photos on top of them as well.

Jenn hate them at first since they're pretty large but I think she has just resigned herself to them. I really did try to find the least-ugly set of speakers I could afford

You'll have to let me know your impressions of them after you've got some listening time. I did actually notice a break-in time for them. The first day I had them up I did some listening, and for a couple days after that I just left some classical music on when I went to work. The next time I listened to them, they sounded a bit different. A little less harsh.

Mackie bought a set, too - I PM'd him when the sale went back on. I think I should make a commission

 

[narlus]

i think you should just buy the pair Ito is gonna have for sale soon.

 

[Mackie]

Any of y'all have a recomendation for a speaker splitter?
I'm interested in using my single home theater setup to send music to speakers in the diningroom (where the amp is) the livingroom, and out to the deck. Just a simple 2 speaker setup in each location.

Thanks for any advice.....

 

[binary visions]

You really mean you're looking for a speaker switch or a speaker selector, right? Something to output to one set of speakers at a time, vs. a "splitter" that would output to all of the speakers at once.

Your amp almost certainly doesn't have enough power to drive all of those speakers at once unless they're tiny

 

[Mackie]

You really mean you're looking for a speaker switch or a speaker selector, right? Something to output to one set of speakers at a time, vs. a "splitter" that would output to all of the speakers at once.

Your amp almost certainly doesn't have enough power to drive all of those speakers at once unless they're tiny

Nope, you are right, a speaker selecter. The most I'd drive would be 2 pairs at once, and that would be rare.

 

[binary visions]

Nope, you are right, a speaker selecter. The most I'd drive would be 2 pairs at once, and that would be rare.

Well, I don't know what you were looking to spend but I was interested in this kind of thing myself and it looks like anything decent is going to run at LEAST $100 upwards into the $250 range.

The conclusion I came to was that the cheap ones provided a noticable drop in audio quality. I don't know if it would be noticable for me but I didn't really want to spend $40 + shipping to find out that I should have spent $140.

If you do a search on Amazon or any other site for "speaker selectors", feel free to purchase a cheap one and be a guinea pig

 

[Mackie]

Feel free to purchase a cheap one and be a guinea pig

Oh thanks.
I'll let you know when i buy something....

 

[jacksonpt]

As BV said, there are a variety of speaker selectors on the market. The cheap ones are made of lower quality materials and will degrade your sound quality (how much will vary). The more expensive ones do a decent job. It really comes down to how particular you are about your music quality.

Probably the best option would be to upgrade your receiver to something with multi-source/multi-room capability. Add into that an a/b speaker switch (built into the receiver) and you should be good to go with no noticable lost in sound (assuming your speakers are even remotely efficient).

 

[Mackie]

Probably the best option would be to upgrade your receiver to something with multi-source/multi-room capability. Add into that an a/b speaker switch (built into the receiver) and you should be good to go with no noticable lost in sound (assuming your speakers are even remotely efficient).

Any brand that you could recommend?
I've already got a fairly decent reciever with an A/B switch on it. Just looking to add a few more locales into the mix. Speakers are just fine, although I take advice on a good outdoor set.

 

[binary visions]

Bump.

Mackie: http://bensbargains.net/cgi-bin/bp.cgi?201752105

Have no idea if it's decent, but for $30 you wouldn't be out much money if it turns out to be crap. Just a suggestion.

How are you guys liking the Polks?

 

[Ciaran]

How are you guys liking the Polks?

I like the Polks. Nice speakers but as you said not a lot of low end punch. Not a big deal, especially for the price.

 

[H8R]

Picked up a pair of older JBL LX44 speakers on Friday from a coworker.

(circa 1990 or so)

USA made, 150 watt, 8" and 5" drivers, titanium tweeters


Exactly like these: (GIS pic)

$30!


Wow. I mean WTF was I thinking? I was using $40 speakers from Best Buy.

Now for a new receiver...

 

[Domin8stang]

my dad just started his own home audio business for people that want superior sound. he has alot of high end brands so if anybody is looking for something shoot him an email. here's his website

www.blackbirdaudio.com

tell him Nate sent ya

 

[H8R]

Holy fvck!

 

[Pau11y]

That thing looks like a bomb from Battlestar Galactica!

 

[Ciaran]

Is that a frikkin turntable!?

 

[H8R]

Is that a frikkin turntable!?

Yes. Or an incubator for eggs that aliens left on earth. I'm not sure.


http://www.basisaudio.com

 

[binary visions]

Nice score, H8R.

I'm leaving the nice speakers until I move into a place where I can turn up my music without disturbing sixty-five other people.

I wonder how much that bizarre contraption costs?

And does it require the $20,000, carbon-fiber coated speaker cables?

 

[narlus]

Yes. Or an incubator for eggs that aliens left on earth. I'm not sure.


http://www.basisaudio.com

i found some speakers to go w/ that:

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/920/

they cost more than most people's cars.

 

[H8R]

Nice score, H8R.

I'm leaving the nice speakers until I move into a place where I can turn up my music without disturbing sixty-five other people.

I'm hearing things in some of my favorite CD's that I didn't know where there.



I got the new speakers hooked up and hit play on whatever was in the CD player at the time - -

PJ Harvey's "To Bring You My Love". So much awesome production on there that I was missing before.


Now for a new amp, receiver and a new needle for the turntable, and we'll be all set.

 

[H8R]

i found some speakers to go w/ that:

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/920/

they cost more than most people's cars.

Jeez-lo-eez.




I've tracked a few records listening on these:

http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.models/label/Model 805S



Probably my all time favorites.

 

[narlus]

bw's are studio's monitor of choice, right?

my old a/d/s are still kicking pretty good...when the kids are out of college, maybe i'll go nuts and dump some serious cha-ching into my sound system...that's only a couple decades away, and i probably won't have any money left...

 

[binary visions]

Meh. They're old enough to take care of themselves. I say give 'em the boot and use your savings on a new stereo and speakers.

 

[H8R]

bw's are studio's monitor of choice, right?

At Electrical, yes.

We did some mixing and tracking for Times of Grace in San Francisco on Mackie studio monitors - it was a painful chore. Lots of listener fatigue.

my old a/d/s are still kicking pretty good...when the kids are out of college, maybe i'll go nuts and dump some serious cha-ching into my sound system...that's only a couple decades away, and i probably won't have any money left...

Need cash? Lease the kids out while they are young enough not to remember too much.

 

[narlus]

Need cash? Lease the kids out while they are young enough not to remember too much.

:nonono: :nonono:

 

[H8R]

:nonono: :nonono:

I never said send them to Vietnam or Thailand. Jeez.


Just some lightweight sweatshop work. Maybe at a Trek factory lacing wheels?

 

[Da Peach]

Okay:

Is there such a thing as wireless speakers that I could hook up to my stereo? I would like to have mobile speakers. I don't want to run cables all over the place.

The "experts" at Best Buy didn't know if that kind of thing even existed.

So?

Dang, this was supposed to be a new thread...

 

[binary visions]

I replied to your new thread