Thanks for the compliments on the system. I'm glad it turned out pretty well. I know what you mean about the Miata comparison. It may not smoke most cars off the line, but it's great in the twisties! My system may not look as fancy as some, but I'm sure it's got the good stuff where it...
It's tough trying to build a system on a budget when there are so many nice ones shown on web sites like this. I know mine isn't perfect but I think it will work very nicely for our situation. Maybe when the kids are out of the house I can convert a room to dedicated HT. I'm not sure how old...
Thanks for the compliments. Running the cables on the back wall were more difficult than I expected. And yes, the shelves are built in. That's another DIY project from several years ago. The space under the shelves is wide enough for most LCDs, it's the height that is a concern. That's a 32"...
Here are a few quick shots I took last night. It's nothing fancy, but I think it's pretty nice for a budget system. I hope to get some lined curtains soon to help with the extra outside light, especially during the day. The sun rises on that back left corner of the room...
I can finally say, "It's done!". Man, I never thought I'd get it finished. Between family and work it has been a busy couple of months. My brother-in-law (electrician) came to lend a hand after work yesterday. It took us about 3-4 hours to run just the back speaker and sub cables. I had...
Thanks Shannon. I was watching your posts recently. I almost went with a PB-10, but chose the STF-2. Part of my decision to go with HSU was due to your situation (along with budget constraints, etc.). I guess everyone runs into problems like this occasionally. I'm just glad everything worked...
Man, I thought I'd never see this thing! HSU ships via Fed Ex and they require a signature to deliver. I missed them Wednesday evening by mere minutes. They left a door tag with some info. I missed them again yesterday because they came at 1:30. ??? After many frustrating phone calls and even...
Jeff, thanks for the advice. I gathered that calibration was very important after reading many posts on forums like this. But, my questions arose because it seemed that most everyone that referred to this process had much more sophisticated systems than mine. I would like to maximize the quality...
Bob, thanks for the feedback. I was kind of thinking along those lines regarding the need for an SPL meter. I'll start looking around for one. I think I'll start with the internal test tones and go from there. Part of your sentence in the second paragraph got cut off. You started off by...
Is it worth the trouble? I asked similar questions in my other post in Speakers & Subwoofers. I apologize for any possible cross-posting. Here's what I've got so far. Sapphire SAT1500 speakers for surrounds, HSU STF-2 sub, Denon AVR-1604, Sony 32" TV, Sony 5 disc DVD/CD, & Dish Sat (not HD)...
Here's an update on things. Fed Ex attempted to deliver my sub yesterday. I missed them by minutes! GRRR. So, they will try at least two more times and then I'll have to go to them to pick it up. Bummer. That's what stinks about them requiring a signature to leave a package. My cables from...
I'm going to order all my cables through Blue Jeans. I measured out what I'd need for the sub and nobody (retail) carries a 50' sub cable. The longest I found was 36' from Monster. Also, nobody seems to carry anything CL3 rated other than Monster. A 100' spool is $80 at all the places I...
Thanks once again for the info. I didn't know about having to use CL rated wire. I'll be sure to look for that designation while I shop around. I'll also have to consider how fancy I want to make the wall plates. I plan on being in the house for a while, but I don't want it to look crappy...
Thanks guys for the additional info. I didn't even consider Home Depot or Loews for the speaker wire and such. I'll definitely have to check it out. Drilling out the blank plates makes sense to me. Did you bother installing any type of electrical box or such for the plates? It sounds like you...
Greg, thanks for the input. I've asked a friend for some help with the wires. Luckily he has done this sort of thing before and didn't hang up the phone when I asked. :) Mark, I understand about the port thing. I've had several friends with kids tell me the exact same thing. I'm hoping the...