Official A/V Thread

terry.330 · Aug 3, 2013

Nothing fancy but got myself a pair of Grado SR225i to replace my old ass pair of Sony MDR-V300 headphones. Still need to get an extension cable and amp to add them to my hifi setup, right now just been breaking them in on my old goofy CD/MD setup.

Neo Ash · Aug 18, 2013

Over the weekend I installed some room treatments by Auralex Acoustic in my dedicated listening room. I've been very pleased with their products. For the most part the room is finished. I do, however, need to finalize the placement for the ceiling panels and bass traps. The wife has already said I can't do this for the home theater.

Man, my digital camera sucks.

terry.330 · Aug 19, 2013

Got me Schiit Valhalla headphone amp. It's a bit more than needed for my entry level Grados but the cans are easily upgraded and reasonably priced tube amps for headphones are few and far between unless you want to cross the $500-600 line. So these'll do. Also got me a 10' Mogami extension cable, no hype, no gimmick just a solid cord.

Can't complain, all the components together sound great. 8 tubes in total when using the turntable, lots of warmth to say the least.

http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=2

Oh yeah also got some granite stands custom cut for my MMGs nothing fancy just a nice base to add some stability. They do the job and match the carpet.

OrochiEddie · Sep 29, 2013

any recommendations for ear buds? Mine are slowly dying and I'd like a nice pair, nothing over the top price wise, but good for their value.

Nick Goracke · Sep 30, 2013

OrochiEddie said:
any recommendations for ear buds? Mine are slowly dying and I'd like a nice pair, nothing over the top price wise, but good for their value.

When I was searching last year, these were widely considered the best value for the money - head-fi has lists, sortable by score, of all makes & models in their forums, and this was the outlier: http://www.head-fi.org/products/head-direct-re0-in-ear-headphones

I was pretty happy with their performance. I didn't do any scientific comparisons, but I thought they were on par with the other set of (large, not really portable) headphones I own, which retail for considerably more: http://www.head-fi.org/products/audio-technica-ath-a500-headphones

Teddy KGB · Oct 7, 2013

Recently picked up an Oppo BDP-103

I've been a big Oppo fan since they started out locally here in the mid 2000s and have had a couple of their up-converting / region-free DVD players over the past several years.

Out of the box, the BDP-103 was set just about too my liking. Not much to adjust although I did make some tweaks after running Audyssey again on my receiver which I haven't done in ages. As always, fantastic build quality and no corners cut from the packaging to the peripheral HW included in the box. As with past models, there is a fairly simple region/zone free mod so my mutli region Kung-Fu collection will be getting some play again. I have a few SACDs and DVD-Audio discs which are still more of a novelty at the point with me but yeah, this will play just about everything I have.

Neo Ash · Oct 8, 2013

Teddy KGB said:
Recently picked up an Oppo BDP-103

I've been a big Oppo fan since they started out locally here in the mid 2000s and have had a couple of their up-converting / region-free DVD players over the past several years.

Out of the box, the BDP-103 was set just about too my liking. Not much to adjust although I did make some tweaks after running Audyssey again on my receiver which I haven't done in ages. As always, fantastic build quality and no corners cut from the packaging to the peripheral HW included in the box. As with past models, there is a fairly simple region/zone free mod so my mutli region Kung-Fu collection will be getting some play again. I have a few SACDs and DVD-Audio discs which are still more of a novelty at the point with me but yeah, this will play just about everything I have.

That's a sexy player. Congrats! Have you tried it with Netflix or the Roku Streaming Stick? I have a BD player that is mostly used for internet streaming, now that part is not working. I really need to replace it if the factory reset doesn't resolve the problem.

In other news...I've pulled all the Rogue audio equipment out of my 2-ch system. I'm in the process of replacing it with Audio Research gear. I'm switching to a fully balanced system with XLR In/Out. I hope to have time to put everything together over the weekend.

Teddy KGB · Oct 8, 2013

Neo Ash said:
That's a sexy player. Congrats! Have you tried it with Netflix or the Roku Streaming Stick? I have a BD player that is mostly used for internet streaming, now that part is not working. I really need to replace it if the factory reset doesn't resolve the problem.

Yeah, got the stick. It's a slight nuisance as it'll only work plugged into an MHL capable HDMI input, of which there is only 1 on the front. So, you can either have this stick literally sticking straight out, or fiddle with a couple adapters like I ended up doing.

I first ended up getting one of these 270 degree thingies but decided the purple stick had to go... aka, get hidden.

So this was the compromise. Still not pretty but it got the purple stick out of view.

Netflix is decent. I prefer the app that comes loaded on the Oppo than what's on the Roku stick. The interface is probably the best I've seen out of the regular Roku, PS3 or 360.

Neo Ash · Oct 8, 2013

Wow...I can't believe they put the only port on the front! What you did does look better...but it is still poor design on Oppo's part. Sorta makes me want to go with another Roku device. I must have Hulu support...and don't care to hide a purple stick due to the Oppo's lack of native support.

Teddy KGB · Oct 8, 2013

Neo Ash said:
Wow...I can't believe they put the only port on the front! What you did does look better...but it is still poor design on Oppo's part. Sorta makes me want to go with another Roku device. I must have Hulu support...and don't care to hide a purple stick due to the Oppo's lack of native support.

Yeah, that's kind of the age old trade off with devices. Not one does everything well. The stick and/or some sort of Roku device was a must as I wanted the Amazon app for Prime membership movies. I just cut the chord on my Xbox Live Gold membership so I could no longer do this via my 360. Oppo also has a decent YT native app that I'm starting to use more and more but Roku still doesn't support YT for whatever reason. All would be acceptable if they'd just make that damn purple stick, black.

Kristian Meller · Oct 9, 2013

Apple TV does Hulu. So that's pretty much everything but Amazon and Vudu it does now.

Lastblade · Nov 2, 2013

Update to my home theater basement. I bought 3 HT chairs and upgraded my surround to Klipsch RS-62 II (and moved my original surround to make it 7.1). We watched World War Z and The Hobbit this week and the sound/comfort is spectacular. Wife said it is better than going out to the movies!

Neo Ash · Nov 4, 2013

I recently sold sold off some of my hifi gear. I've switch to Audio Research for my amp and preamp needs. I've also rearranged my listening room. For some time now I have wanted to get rid of the rack between my speakers. It's typically a bad idea to have anything between your speakers; the result is a smearing of the soundstage. The goal was getting all my gear moved to the side/rear of my listening room, which was accomplished with my recent upgrades. I'm using Mogami Gold balanced cables terminated with Neutrik XLR connectors. Also, I find myself moving away from silver components in my rack in favor of black. IMO the black components disappear more, attract less attention, and are less of a distraction in general.

I've been very pleased with the upgrades for my Rogue equipment. The Audio Research gear is a vast improvement, and in a totally different league from the Rogue components. I have always had high regards for Audio Research (ARC), now after being an owner, I feel that I will stick with the ARC product line. I may not always own a mostly ARC system; however, I feel I will always own something by them. The same has been true for me with McIntosh. I have owned McIntosh products consistently and continuously for roughly a decade. Now ARC joins those ranks. These are two companies that represents an end game for me when it comes to core components.

I've been kicking around the idea of a small vintage 2-ch system for the living room area. It will probably be based around a McIntosh MC240 or the MC30 monoblocks. We'll see....

Kiel · Nov 13, 2013

Very nice, I can't wait for the day I have a room large enough for my speakers to breathe and preform to their potential.

joe8 · Nov 28, 2013

terry.330 said:
Nothing fancy but got myself a pair of Grado SR225i to replace my old ass pair of Sony MDR-V300 headphones. Still need to get an extension cable and amp to add them to my hifi setup, right now just been breaking them in on my old goofy CD/MD setup.

What do the Grado's sound like? Do you have any other audiophile headphones to compare them to?

The most recent headphones I've bought are the AKG K240 Sextett (two different versions of it- middle production (MP) and late production (LP):

Kristian Meller · Nov 28, 2013

As mentioned in another thread, I bought a pair of Beyerdynamic T70p the other day. My extension cable is Grado

joe8 · Nov 28, 2013

Naiera said:
As mentioned in another thread, I bought a pair of Beyerdynamic T70p the other day. My extension cable is Grado

What do they sound like- are they bass-heavy? Do it make a difference to use a better cable?

Kristian Meller · Nov 28, 2013

I just have the extension cable because the one on the headphones is only 1.2 metres. I need about four, and the Grado cable is 3 metres.

The T70p's are analytic; I thought they were very trebble-y at first, but I really like them now. At $600 they're more than I ever expected to spend on headphones, but since the alternative is pissing off my neighbors and maybe getting thrown out, I saw no other way. They had to be good to take over for my nice DLS R55 speakers, which they will a lot of the time from now on.

terry.330 · Dec 1, 2013

joe8 said:
What do the Grado's sound like? Do you have any other audiophile headphones to compare them to?

I don't have anything to compare them to aside from my old Sonys.

They're pretty nice though, very clean sounding. No added bass etc. which is what I was looking for. I wanted straight sound. They were a little off putting at first but once I broke them in and got used to them they really are stellar.

They excel with female vocals and stringed instruments.

Could be a bit more comfortable though.

joe8 · Dec 3, 2013

Could be a bit more comfortable though.

Most of the Grado's are supra-aural (on-ear) rather than circumaural (around-ear), that's why I've never really considered getting a pair. The K141's I have are on-ear and they can get really uncomfortable after wearing them a long time. But any headphones can get somewhat uncomfortable if you wear them for long enough.

Teddy KGB · Dec 4, 2013

Neo Ash said:
I recently sold sold off some of my hifi gear. I've switch to Audio Research for my amp and preamp needs. I've also rearranged my listening room. For some time now I have wanted to get rid of the rack between my speakers. It's typically a bad idea to have anything between your speakers; the result is a smearing of the soundstage. The goal was getting all my gear moved to the side/rear of my listening room, which was accomplished with my recent upgrades. I'm using Mogami Gold balanced cables terminated with Neutrik XLR connectors. Also, I find myself moving away from silver components in my rack in favor of black. IMO the black components disappear more, attract less attention, and are less of a distraction in general.

I've been very pleased with the upgrades for my Rogue equipment. The Audio Research gear is a vast improvement, and in a totally different league from the Rogue components. I have always had high regards for Audio Research (ARC), now after being an owner, I feel that I will stick with the ARC product line. I may not always own a mostly ARC system; however, I feel I will always own something by them. The same has been true for me with McIntosh. I have owned McIntosh products consistently and continuously for roughly a decade. Now ARC joins those ranks. These are two companies that represents an end game for me when it comes to core components.

I've been kicking around the idea of a small vintage 2-ch system for the living room area. It will probably be based around a McIntosh MC240 or the MC30 monoblocks. We'll see....

That's insanely nice gear Ash. I've always kind of envied folks (a few in this thread) that have enough space for a dedicated 2-channel set-up. Although I'm not in a teeny house by any means, sharing space with a waifu and 2 kids limits some of my options. I find that with the dedicated space I do have, it's primarily used for TV and/or home theater. I have an OK set-up with more consumer line stuff (middle of the road Denon AVR, B&W bookshelves and surrounds etc. etc.) so I've always struggled with that ideal set-up (if such a thing exists) for both HT and audio-only listening.

Also with this latest OPPO upgrade, I've been dabbling in a few SACDs here and there but it's more of a novelty thing than anything else at this point.

Any recommendations and/or thoughts regarding my ramblings is appreciated. :help:

Neo Ash · Dec 4, 2013

Teddy KGB said:
Any recommendations and/or thoughts regarding my ramblings is appreciated.

If your AVR has a Zone 2, you could use that as the output for a 2-ch amp and speaker setup. Your AVR will act as the preamp. This could get lengthy, so I'm sending you a PM.

Thanks for the complement. I just got a new pure tube phono stage this week; the hobby just never stops - analog overhaul time. After I have some more time to play with it, I'll probably post a blurb on it.

Teddy KGB · Dec 4, 2013

Neo Ash said:
This could get lengthy, so I'm sending you a PM.

You may be sad you sent one. Sorry for the verbal diarrhea'd response. It just kept flowing.

Karou · Jan 3, 2014

rather than starting a thread this is the place for tv questions right?

my 6year old insignia just faded to black three times in a row after the initial occurence playing rayman via hdmi on wiiu. google suggested it would be permanent due to caps failing. but after unplugging (only for a second) and powering it on off (see above) its reset itself and has allowedme to be watching dish for about an hour and a half now. I'd love to trust it and think I can keep it, I've resurrected it once by swapping out a power board, but I'm not high tech like some here with your analyzer probes or whatever they are supposed to called.

anyhow can you even get a set that will have a remote that will control dish satellite and a good ol vcr? also what about s-video and vga inputs? all I saw was hdmi inputs with maybe one component which would have to be swapped/shared to put in normal rca and the only remote I looked into said it could only control stuff through hdmi? hows that work?

edit: well I looked a little more and I found some with vga at least. s-video still no though which isn't so bad because the ps2 could upgrade to component, if I didn't have to run the vcr/ dish through the normally yellow one that gets taken over by component that is. Darn it all.

edit Again:after the set continued to glitch out most of saturday its not doing it (flickering randomly stopping and turning to bars of colors and freezing and then fading to black) anymore today, Sunday 1/04/14. I hope it keeps working as remotes that come with sets don't seem to be able to contol satellites or vcrs anymore and having to piggyback audio would stink, also not being able to get one with svideo would stink too. Weird but good!

Neo Ash · Jan 6, 2014

Karou said:
rather than starting a thread this is the place for tv questions right?

my 6year old insignia just faded to black three times in a row after the initial occurence playing rayman via hdmi on wiiu. google suggested it would be permanent due to caps failing. but after unplugging (only for a second) and powering it on off (see above) its reset itself and has allowedme to be watching dish for about an hour and a half now. I'd love to trust it and think I can keep it, I've resurrected it once by swapping out a power board, but I'm not high tech like some here with your analyzer probes or whatever they are supposed to called.

anyhow can you even get a set that will have a remote that will control dish satellite and a good ol vcr? also what about s-video and vga inputs? all I saw was hdmi inputs with maybe one component which would have to be swapped/shared to put in normal rca and the only remote I looked into said it could only control stuff through hdmi? hows that work?

edit: well I looked a little more and I found some with vga at least. s-video still no though which isn't so bad because the ps2 could upgrade to component, if I didn't have to run the vcr/ dish through the normally yellow one that gets taken over by component that is. Darn it all.

edit Again:after the set continued to glitch out most of saturday its not doing it (flickering randomly stopping and turning to bars of colors and freezing and then fading to black) anymore today, Sunday 1/04/14. I hope it keeps working as remotes that come with sets don't seem to be able to contol satellites or vcrs anymore and having to piggyback audio would stink, also not being able to get one with svideo would stink too. Weird but good!

I was hoping that one of our more "videophile" members would chime in on this. Everything has been shifting to HDMI for a while. S-Video has been dead for a while. There's just some much stuff out there that still use composite video, that it will take a little longer to phase out; but the end is sooner than later.

If you buy a new TV and need to connect several older devices you have a couple of options. A good quality switch box or use a AVR to switch between the devices.

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