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I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

post #1 of 28
11/7/08 at 10:18am
Thread Starter 
I absolutely love my InFocus X1. I do not own a single HDTV, and have no intent to replace my two 27", one 20" and one 13" "bubble" TVs till they break.

I am completely satisfied with my Integra DTR-7. I had 7.1 separates a few years ago, but went back to the simpler 5.1 receiver setup and am much happier with the simplicity of the thing.

My only HD source is an antenna. As a matter of fact, I have the antenna amplified and routed throughout the house, I'm recieving DTV OTA broadcasts on four TVs, I even use the VHF part of the antenna for (very clean) FM radio broadcast (in four locations!).

I still watch my LaserDiscs, and enjoy them. Over the years I replaced very few of them with DVD. The X1 displays them nicely!

I have no interest in Blu-Ray.

I bought my main front B&W DM602 speakers "new" in 1998. I love them. The rears have changed quite a lot through the years, but the inexpensive Athena dipoles will probably stay quite some time.

I built an infinite baffle sub with two 15" speakers soon after moving into my current house. It's powered by a circa 1973 Crown power amp and it completely kicks butt. I will not upgrade the drivers or the amp till something breaks. And from what I understand, when these old Crowns die, they do so fairly catastrophically, so I may be sitting on a time bomb.

I have no interest in upgrading anything. When the X1 lamp blows, I'll replace it.

Who's with me?
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post #2 of 28
11/7/08 at 10:46am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

I'm with you to a point.... I'm still using my V2 Paradigm reference speakers purchased new in 1998. I love the sound they produce so much that I really don't see a need to ever replace them. I'm also using an outdated B&K receiver which I have no desire to upgrade until it no longer functions. It's built like a tank though so it could be decades before this ever happens. I like you dabbled with 7.1 and prefer my 5.1 set up.

I did however purchase a Blue Ray player although my InFocus IN76 only outputs 1080i/720P. I have no desire to upgrade this projector either since I'll be moving long before I consider it obsolete and it will most likely be staying with the house.

There's allot to be said for a simplistic system that is easy to operate and sounds great!
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post #3 of 28
11/7/08 at 11:37am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

I don't think that word means what you think it means. You've got a front projector, a high-end 7.1 receiver powering B&W speakers, and a custom-built 2x15" sub (!) and whole-house antenna for OTA HD. You're far ahead on the HT curve.

So no, I'm not with you. I've "only" got a 5.1 system and 36" CRT HDTV and not HD reception or media. If you're luddite, I'm Stone Age.
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post #4 of 28
11/7/08 at 12:20pm

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

As long as you don't buy Bose, you're okay.
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post #5 of 28
11/7/08 at 12:41pm

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

I'm only with you on a couple of items: (1) I am using a Pioneer Elite 7.1 receiver with no HDMI or lossless codec capability, and have no plans to replace it, and (2) I still have my trusty B&W 604/602 speaker setup.

Otherwise, I'm into HD with two TVs -- a 67" Samsung 1080p LED DLP in the main HT room, and a 37" Vizio LCD in the bedroom. I just got into BluRay a little over a month ago.
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post #6 of 28
11/7/08 at 1:01pm

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Actually, Phil appears to be a High-Definition HT Luddite.
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post #7 of 28
11/7/08 at 6:54pm

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Dude, you *really* need a 480p native 16x9 projector. You'll be so much happier with the picture. Buy an old one off ebay (e.g. Infocus 4805) so you can continue the "fight the powah!" vibe.

I just upgraded to a 720p projector, and bought a Blu-Ray player (using credit card reward gift cards for all but $40 of the purchase price). I'm not exactly riding the bleeding edge these days, either.
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post #8 of 28
11/7/08 at 8:28pm

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
I've "only" got a 5.1 system and 36" CRT HDTV and not HD reception or media. If you're luddite, I'm Stone Age.

Heh. By those standards, I'm practically pre-Cambrian. I have a 25" standard TV, standard Sony DVD player...hooked up to my decades-old two-channel system.

(For the record, I would love to upgrade, but the money simply hasn't been there. I've been pretty happy with my set up, though.)
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post #9 of 28
11/8/08 at 5:22am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Sorry, can't say I'm with you. The only reason why I haven't upgraded my old CRT HDTV set and amplifier is due to the fact that I spent too much damn money on them in the first place and need to get maximum value out of them; otherwise, I would already have replaced them. My Mirage M5si speakers are a different matter. I still like the sound of them and am not ready to replace them; although, one of them does require a new set of tweeters.
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post #10 of 28
11/8/08 at 6:11am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

720 projector, 5.1 surround, 1080 up converting dvd player in my theater. I just built the theater 2 years ago and I very happy with it. I don't see any reason to upgrade. I have a 29"CRT hooked to a Awia stereo in the livingroom. I don't feel that there is anything on TV that requires better set up than that.
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post #11 of 28
11/8/08 at 6:15am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Sorry, I can't say I'm with you either. The only reason I haven't upgraded is because I have other expenses. Four years ago I upgraded the video portion of the theater and, like Edwin, have too much money invested in the display and the DVD player to consider upgrading now. I will probably go Blu ray before going to a 1080P display whenever I do change.
The audio portion is fine for now but I don't even have DTS on my ten yr. old receiver so whenever I do go Blu, i'll need a new, HDMI receiver that decodes all the new codecs. The speakers are pretty good but I want a new sub considering the space I now have.
So what I am trying to say is once I can shell out the coin for basically all new equipment except speakers, i'll be good for at least another ten years or so.
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post #12 of 28
11/8/08 at 7:58am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Good equipment is good equipment, no matter when it was made. As long as it can do what you need it to do.

I'm currently using two older receivers. A Pioneer Elite 59TXi (and matching DV-59AVi) in one room and an H/K 520 in another. I'll probably replace the Pioneers in a few years (I've only had them for around 6 months) but the 520 is a keeper. I do have HD via satellite and a Samsung 1400 BR player which internally decodes DolbyTrueHD for output thru the 6ch analogs (but not DTS-MA). Next upgrade will probably be a Panisonic 55 BR. But there's no hurry.

As for speakers, I have no plans to change either my Swan Diva's or Infinity Beta's.
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post #13 of 28
11/8/08 at 8:23am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

In order to be a true Luddite, don't you have to be a loom-atic first?

Quote:
And from what I understand, when these old Crowns die, they do so fairly catastrophically, so I may be sitting on a time bomb.

I'd guess they have some pretty humungous electrolytic caps, and when they get old they may explode violently. You could tear the amps down and replace the caps now. If you wait too long, you won't even be able to read how many uF they have since they will be all scorched.
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post #14 of 28
11/8/08 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Nicholls
I'd guess they have some pretty humungous electrolytic caps, and when they get old they may explode violently. You could tear the amps down and replace the caps now. If you wait too long, you won't even be able to read how many uF they have since they will be all scorched.
Check it out. This thing absolutely ROCKS my infinite bafle sub.


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post #15 of 28
11/8/08 at 11:38am
Thread Starter 

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
I don't think that word means what you think it means. You've got a front projector, a high-end 7.1 receiver powering B&W speakers, and a custom-built 2x15" sub (!) and whole-house antenna for OTA HD. You're far ahead on the HT curve.
Now hold on there.... My DTR-7 is a 5.1 receiver, not 7.1. Heck, the most advanced thing it has is DTS 5.1 surround! Yes, it was fairly high end when it came out in 1999 or so, but it doesn't even have component vide switching! And the whole-house antenna is powering DTV not HDTV. My receivers include two Magnavox "coupon" receivers, a Panasonic DVD-R with built-in ATSC receiver (records very nice 16:9 enhanced DVD from OTA HD), and two HDTV receivers, one of which is plugged into a 27" Sony through S-Video.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
So no, I'm not with you. I've "only" got a 5.1 system and 36" CRT HDTV and not HD reception or media. If you're luddite, I'm Stone Age.
If you can get OTA reception, I HIGHLY recommend getting an antenna and a DTV box!!!! The picture, even on a 480i NTSC set is dramatically better than any other source.
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post #16 of 28
11/8/08 at 11:44am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Philip,

That photo looks like you got a transistor, not a tube, Crown. Is that right? Those big honking off-white cylinders right below the speaker wires appear to be the giant electrolytic caps I was discussing. When they "go" they tend to explode and shower the room with "confetti".
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post #17 of 28
11/8/08 at 11:46am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Wow. Here is one for the HT books. People who are actually proud of being behind the curve instead of in front of it.

Who' da thunk?
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post #18 of 28
11/8/08 at 11:56am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Quote:
two HDTV receivers, one of which is plugged into a 27" Sony through S-Video...

TILT! Maybe you really ARE a Luddite.
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post #19 of 28
11/8/08 at 6:49pm
Thread Starter 

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Nicholls
Philip,

That photo looks like you got a transistor, not a tube, Crown. Is that right? Those big honking off-white cylinders right below the speaker wires appear to be the giant electrolytic caps I was discussing. When they "go" they tend to explode and shower the room with "confetti".
Yes, the DC 300 is a relatively early solid state power amp. It was actually sold as an audiophile piece as well as a PS/professional amplifier.
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post #20 of 28
11/8/08 at 8:18pm

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Philip Hamm
Now hold on there.... My DTR-7 is a 5.1 receiver, not 7.1. Heck, the most advanced thing it has is DTS 5.1 surround!...
.If you can get OTA reception, I HIGHLY recommend getting an antenna and a DTV box!!!!
Sorry, I inadvertently overly maligned your as being more advanced than you reall are...

And your projector isn't connected to your antenna? It sounds like you could have HD reception displayed by an 800x600 projector easily. Not fully HD but better than SD.

I get lousy OTA with a set-top antenna, so I pay $8/mo for "lifeline" cable service to the local networks in fuzzy, analog cable. With a roof-top omni-directional antenna I might be able to get local networks and OTA HD, but I don't know for sure.
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post #21 of 28
11/9/08 at 1:03am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Dave,
You can get a pretty big "rooftop" antenna at Home Despot for around $35. It has far superior gain to a set of rabbit ears, and even if installed in the attic might do the trick for you. Dumb question...does Rochester have its own OTA stations or do you rely upon Buffalo?

I hate paying for things like cable.
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post #22 of 28
11/9/08 at 4:56am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Nicholls
Dave,
You can get a pretty big "rooftop" antenna at Home Despot for around $35. It has far superior gain to a set of rabbit ears, and even if installed in the attic might do the trick for you. Dumb question...does Rochester have its own OTA stations or do you rely upon Buffalo?

I hate paying for things like cable.
We have local stations; I'm in a new subdivision south of town that, it turns out, has lousy reception. Although, even in an apartment at the edge of the city, I had mediocre reception, and missed critical episodes of Buffy by forgetting to turn the bowtie before leaving for the night.

So I've not been motivated yet to buy an antenna, take it into the attic, and see if I get good reception, and then wire it into the house. Much less, install an exterior rooftop antenna. I'll probably get digital cable (again) one day when we feel the $1000/yr cost is worth it.
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post #23 of 28
11/9/08 at 5:15am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Ok So I must be the stone of the stone age!.. I am JUST installing an Infocus IN72 that is brand new in box i have been planning to install for 4 years.. I have an old but perfect set of Paradigm ADP Bi-Polar 100s. And looking to purchase a used center, Front Paradigm phantoms or monitors and rear minis.. but I am going to hook it all up to a yamaha 7.1.. So I am the stone! Oh and yes I have a cable life line box that does Component
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post #24 of 28
11/9/08 at 6:40am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

I guess I'm just spoiled living here. My OTA stations broadcast from a mountaintop about 5,000 feet above the valley floor - I can stand in my yard and see the towers. They are 20+ miles away but there are essentially no multipath sources so I get really solid reception.

Dave, maybe you could get better reception using a garbage plate from Nick Tahou. Just add some aluminum foil and an RG-6 pigtail.
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post #25 of 28
11/9/08 at 11:02am

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Dennis, I still don't understand the Rochester affection for the garbage plate

Quote:
Originally Posted by [COLOR=black
Michael O[/color]]I am JUST installing an Infocus IN72 that is brand new in box i have been planning to install for 4 years
You've had a FP sitting in its box since you bought it four years ago? That's exciting, if painful.
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post #26 of 28
11/9/08 at 12:02pm

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

I discovered the garbage plate when checking on the relative size of Buffalo vs. Rochester. I thought Buffalo was a lot bigger but it's only about 20% bigger.

Has this thread veered off-topic?
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post #27 of 28
11/9/08 at 6:22pm

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

I'm watching my LaserDiscs on a 30" tube HDTV, with audio via an old Yamaha 5.1 receiver that I bought second-hand here on HTF (its 5.1 analog inputs hooked up to a Yamaha DDP-1 for the rare LD AC-3 track) & a Cambridge Soundworks speaker system. More than that, I'm buying more LDs almost every month. I have bought some BDs, but not a player as of yet. So, I don't know about following Ned Ludd, but I'm certainly out of step.
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post #28 of 28
11/10/08 at 6:01am
Thread Starter 

Re: I am a Home Theater Luddite! Bigtime!!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
And your projector isn't connected to your antenna? It sounds like you could have HD reception displayed by an 800x600 projector easily. Not fully HD but better than SD.
My projector is indeed hooked into an HDTV box, and the downconverted EDTV picture is fabulous for OTA!
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