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thunderlounge

Burnt Ends
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Posts posted by thunderlounge

  1. 8 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

    You mentioned surround speakers with 14g cable. How did you run it from the receiver? Just ugly across/around the room?

    Correct. I ran everything in 14ga, CL3 rated. Monoprice, to be specific. 
     

    I ran from an 8-pair plate behind the a/v cabinet, to two different 4-pair plates in the room. I went under and over. One plate at the back corner on the right side, one on a wall along the left side.

    Receiver straight to the front 3, and then from the receiver to the main plate for the rear surrounds.

    Speakers into the plates, banana plugs on everything just for that extra safety factor so 2 wires don’t someday short out in the wall. More peace of mind than anything. 
     

    Right now I’m running a 5.1 setup. Both rear surrounds are plugged into the back corner plate. But I planned ahead for me, and maybe whoever buys it someday. Might as well do it as best you can the first time and all that.

    I did try it out as a 7.2, using a couple of old klipsch that came with the sub. Put those on the sides, and then the svs as the rears. 
     

    Yeah, if I end up on that path then I’ll get another pair of the svs bookshelf and mount those on the back wall, or maybe jut put in a couple in-wall for the rears. The way I was messing with it had all 4 on stands, and it was too much for the limited space in the areas they were in.

    So took off the klipsch, moved the svs back to the sides of the loveseat (primary seating), and put them back in the right jacks on the receiver.

    Not as good for people on the couch, but they’re company so be thankful. 

  2. On 2/23/2024 at 6:46 AM, ChickenSandwich said:

    A center channel speaker is a critical component of a home theater system set-up as it delivers about 70% of the dialogue from movies and television. Without one, you're missing out on vital parts of what you're watching.

    Most frequent complaint/want is clear dialogue from the center. Can’t stress enough how much a three way speaker excels over a two way center speaker in home applications. 

    The detailed spec will clearly state if the speaker is 2 or 3 way.  

    Avoid the 2 way center if possible. 
     

    Good budget friendly example in piano black from SVS

    https://www.svsound.com/products/prime-center?variant=9532387395

    Top line Ultra in piano black

    https://a.co/d/5Tqx4uT

    SVS also has a 45 day in home trial period available 

    Monoprice 365c THX

    https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=34189

     

    I kept a semi-running account of updates to what I went through to update the LR to more of a media-centric LR in another thread of this sort, but wanted to come back to share my thanks to @ChickenSandwich for his above post.

    While I'm here, might as well catch anyone up that missed what's happened, and where things are currently. Grab more coffee, or beverage of your choice, here we go.
     

    First, the important shit. What did I end up with? The short list:

    The basics:

    - New theater-style couch and loveseat
    - New waterproof LVP flooring in the LR, upper landing, kitchen, pantry, and laundry room (~850sqft combined)
    - New blinds (4, double honeycomb blackout; 1 roman blackout)
    - New ceiling fan for the LR
    - All new paint in the LR, upper and lower landings, stairwell, kitchen, pantry, and laundry
    - New vent registers where needed with new floor


    The Electronics:

    - AWOL Vision LTV-3000 Pro (Ultra short-throw projector, aka laser-tv)
    - Nothing Projector Black Series, 120" ALR screen
    - Salamander Synergy 248 A/V cabinet
    - Onkyo RZ50 AVR
    - SVS Prime: L/R tower, center, bookshelves for L/R surrounds (14ga wire)
    - Klipsch 12" sub (12yr old, that I already had on hand, and is pretty damn good)
    - AppleTV


    Here's the painting:

    Spoiler

    Here's mostly the start. Ignore the extension pole, but you can see things at the start, after the furniture arrived but just getting ready to paint. Yes, the beginning of a mess in progress. Also note the TV cart in the corner, and the old (way too fucking low) ceiling fan.

    IMG_0712.thumb.jpeg.c4cb45481fdd97783d28e037c9a41351.jpeg

     

    After painting the LR/stairs/landing/entry:

    IMG_0784.thumb.jpeg.5e55d1cc3507a2893984f9df7d1a0bda.jpeg

    IMG_0837.thumb.jpeg.8963c7d5e9f5118bbbdd3e204eabc22d.jpeg

    IMG_9640.thumb.jpeg.6955cb605202e70edefcf62c7b444e4b.jpeg

    IMG_0799.thumb.jpeg.e00da639502717625b98b0b97de3b1e6.jpeg

    IMG_0802.thumb.jpeg.0034d8daa7f50ff0821952627f26423c.jpeg

     

     

    After painting the kitchen:

    IMG_0929.thumb.jpeg.1d2ac56321925e127bdb92bfcefe5e33.jpeg

    IMG_0924.thumb.jpeg.e2c3c198a8d6223fb4cb7625d1541c5a.jpeg

    IMG_0886.thumb.jpeg.90a58a8e751b6a78d7d92cdb2e64bb91.jpeg


     

    Then came the flooring:
     

    Spoiler


    IMG_1020.thumb.jpeg.ad2b489281c4dca02ee01823076568a9.jpeg

    IMG_1019.thumb.jpeg.b92c094b0dfe561d3ced36305f8f1214.jpeg

    IMG_1018.thumb.jpeg.239183510505380cb384156546030460.jpeg


     

     

    And then came the fun shit:

    IMG_1052.thumb.jpeg.90b4354cdb0b956f067c38b4f1144d91.jpeg

    IMG_1164.thumb.jpeg.8d5eb40affb61d27874089afccd4544a.jpeg

     

    It's a work in progress, still. But not constantly active work, and we're starting to put things back together. Will be swapping the center channel and the projector before too long. Right now I'm just letting it break in. So yes, the screen isn't in 100% the perfect spot, and some tweaks need to happen. That will happen this month at some point, but for now it's fine while I handle some other needs that are more important.

    I didn't 100% know how or if this setup would truly work in my space. I knew the gear was good, I did my homework. Other than "settling" on an Onkyo receiver that was on sale for $1018, vice the Denon I'd been looking at which was another $700. Savings, plus Crutchfield standing behind it even further, made it an easier decision. So far it's been great, no complaints, and it stays out of the way. and more of an afterthought than realizing all it is handling.

    The SVS Prime are fuckin tits. They sound very, very fucking good. I love them, and now we're back full circle. I was originally thinking Klipsch, as I'd had good success with them previously. Then digging a little deeper, they aren't the quality/value they once were, and there are better options out there. (Not speaking to their handmade stuff that's still made in NW AR, just their main production line.)

    Anyway, Chicken was absolutely right. I read his post, took it to heart, and went on to do a bunch of digging. Let me save anyone coming across this some time and effort. SVS Prime: do it and don't look back. This center is fantastic, I love it. The rest are just as damn good, and together it all sounds incredible. Originally, I'd been looking at the soundbar route. A double sub Nakamichi setup, not the dragon, or maybe the sammy 990C. I'm so, so glad I decided to do the AVR/Speaker setup instead, on several levels. First, the sound is just so much better. You don't realize it until you do. Not just in overall quality, but depth. You don't really know you're missing so many layers through a soundbar that just can't accurately reproduce the audio. Second, switching and video features. There would be no video help with a soundbar, and limited inputs to switch between. Not optimal these days. Yes, it doubled what I planned to spend, but the result was absolutely worth it. I wouldn't hesitate to get SVS again, and guarantee I will be in the future when the time comes in a few years to move.

     

    Now for picture quality. I moved from a 2020 model year, 75" samsung Q60T. It was ok, but not great in the areas that LED are known to struggle. The biggest issue for me was color banding when trying to show gradients. It was not bueno, and drove me fucking nuts. The color range just wasn't there at times, and it sucked ass like a pixelated image. Bad bad bad. And of course, the fucking glare off the som bitch was just atrocious. Like a fucking mirror. So placement of things was an issue. That glare would have my eyes bouncing between the image in the reflection, and the underlying image from the TV screen. It was getting to the point of causing me headaches from time to time.

    So I did a ton of homework, and ended up coming across Ultra Short Throw projectors. Did some more digging, and it sounded like a solid fix for my situation. But what model? This wasn't going in a fully light controlled space, it was going in the living room. I knew I would painting dark, as well as adding new blinds, but would it be enough? Did I need those 4000 ANSI lumens from something like the Epson LS800? Could I go with something like a Formovie Theater at 2800 ANSI lumens instead? That one seemed to be the favorite across a lot of sites, user driven and review. More digging, more research. After all of that, I finally narrowed down to the AWOL LTV-3000 Pro. 2400ANSI lumens, with a peak of 3000. I'm guessing peak is on a really bright DV image, dunno. Even after all my research, I still wasn't sure it was going to work like what I'd been lead to believe about UST capabilities.

    Well, it worked out and it's fucking glorious. It's really good during the day, and fucking incredible at night. The blacks aren't a light gray, they're black. Maybe a few shades light, but unless you have eagle eyes, it's very good. At night, it's brilliant.

    Just a quick note, the 3500 Pro probably isn't worth damn near double the price for another 400 ANSI lumens. Maybe if you had a ton of open windows, and shit like that during the day, but for me it was worth the gamble that the 2400 ANSI lumens of the 3000 Pro would work out. (If not, I'd probably went with the Formovie, which is at the same price point at the 3000 Pro.)

    Back to the 3k Pro. It's awesome. I've watched sports, TV, movies, and 3D movies. So far it's been outfuckingstanding. Could not be more pleased. The color representation is fucking great. Not talking about over-saturation like you'll see on LED tv demos playing at a store. I'm talking actual colors it can reproduce. While my old samsung struggled to hit 70% of the rec.703 scope, this 3k Pro hits 107% of the bt.2020 spec. Stupid smooth gradients, impressive shadowing, even a proper burnt orange.

    Finally, after a lot of digging, a lot of research, a lot of contemplation, and a lot of sweat, it's settled and all but complete. I do have the final positioning of the projector to handle, some minor touch-up on the walls, as well as sand/paint the fireplace, stair banister, and hand rails. Along with all the wall plates for the kitchen/laundry areas. For those I'm not quite sure how I want to handle it in terms of color. I've narrowed it down to 3 options:

    IMG_0911.thumb.jpeg.3124861619d355cb44f5ff7d8a51139f.jpeg

    Copper, dark copper, and a dark gray that's close to the LR walls. So I painted 3 old plates, and have them on the wall in the kitchen until I make up my damn mind. So far, it's been 6 weeks and still not 100% sure.

     

    I'm leaning towards this:

    IMG_0894.thumb.jpeg.3eaf0081dcd99a21a98157a045134590.jpeg

     

    It doesn't really tie into the room, yet.

    However, once the kitchen goes through phase 2 next year sometime...

    Screen20Shot202024-03-0120at209_58.4520AM.thumb.png.5aca7911506ee9340742b9786ed123ab.png

     

    This is the color scheme from the kitchen. Stock image from a paint color preview tool, but you get the idea. White cabs, and butcher block countertops. Once the new tops are on (looking at something a bit more like copper shade) I think the wall plates being copper would look pretty good. As it is right now, the darker gray to match the trim would be better.

    So still figuring that one out, plus some minor touch up paint, and the sand/paint mentioned as well. So it's close, and for now close enough and extremely functional as is. That's good, as I have some other things that unfortunately need attention first, as this project took a ton of focus, energy, and time.

    It wasn't all smooth sailing, but noted in another thread. Anyway, kind of funny I ended up with an appleTV. I have Roku Ultra's for 4 of the 5 other tv's in the house, but after seeing some of the shady shit they've gotten up to lately, I'm done. Grabbed an aTV to try, and won't be going back. Took a minute to get used to, but it's incredible. And despite what I thought initially, it absolutely was worth the extra coin. It will even process and update signals into a 4k Dolby Vision output. Now upscaling can only do so much, but damn if it doesn't help on content that is not native 4k, or has suffered compression. Amazing capabilities, and works really well.

    Got dayum that was a long catch-up. Well, there ya have it.

    10/10, 5 stars, would absolutely buy again, blah blah blah.

     

     

    • Like 1
  3. My room is about the same size as yours, and 1 is fine. Depends on the acoustics of your room, but in terms of size you’re ok with 1.

    If you want 2, ok. Won’t hurt anything, but could easily be overkill.

    If SVS is interesting, crutchfield has some bundled packages that will knock some off, if one fits your needs.

     

    • Hook 'Em 1
  4. 9 hours ago, Stringer said:

    On the other hand, movies that are aimed at adults, like Furiosa and The Fall Guy are struggling.  Adults just aren't motivated to go out (find a sitter, etc) when they know they can stay home and watch it in a month.  It seems like an inversion of what would be expected.


    If they want grown-ups to go to the movies, then maybe they should make something good instead of all the remakes that mostly shit all over beloved, classic movies from our past.

    The other part is dealing with the sort of people they do attract, who tend to be on their phones/talking most of the time.

     

  5. 1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:

    the bottom half of the conference seem pretty dug in on maximizing cupcakes, home games and bowl eligibility


    Yet will be the staunchest critics of the b1g making more per team. 

  6. 4 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

    Again, fuck the conference.  Just because aggy opened the door for recruiting in Texas for the SEC doesn’t mean they belong anywhere among the top teams in the nation, even if just by adjacency. 
     

    Looking at the ND schedule, I count at least 3-4 teams that should put up as good of a fight as aggy. And that schedule blows. 


    I never said I agree with their statement. Simply explaining to those who couldn’t comprehend it.

    The rest of what you said is also what I said. 

    • Hook 'Em 1
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