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  1. Andrew W

    Analog/Digital sound?????

    Well, the digital signal got decoded in the receiver rather than the output device. If the DAC in your receiver is a lot better than the DACs in your components, it could sound better.
  2. Andrew W

    How much better is an external amp

    The sound difference was very apparent at mid to med-high comfortable listening levels. Just muddy and ughh sounding. That's why I like to test stuff on my wife. She's got a good ear, but has no idea what I'm tinkering with, so I can A/B test on her and get honest feedback.
  3. Andrew W

    How much better is an external amp

    Well, I know there is a difference in sound quality even between equally rated receivers. When my 444ES was in the shop we borrowed a different 5x120W receiver and it sounded like mud. At first, my wife didn't know it was a borrowed receiver and thought they had "broken" ours. (roughly same...
  4. Andrew W

    How much better is an external amp

    OK, so a 125W per channel may be fine if that's enough wattage to sound loud enough already? If I don't already have the receiver at full gain, do I need to worry about clipping?
  5. Andrew W

    How much better is an external amp

    So I've currently got a Sony STRV444ES that claims to give me 120W x 5 channels at 8 Ohms. When I use it to run my new Rocket 850's/RSC/250's I get enough volume to be "too loud" before the 444 is cranked all the way up. In fact, it usually shows the volume to be -20dB through -40dB depending on...
  6. Andrew W

    New Family Members are Here!

    A couple of front views A look into the corner left rear behind the sectional sofa Old stuff (Infinity SM-120, SM-Video, etc...)
  7. Andrew W

    New Family Members are Here!

    My wife and I have been looking to replace our existing Infinity 5.1 speaker setup with something better. We really like the look and reviews on Rockets, so we ordered a pair RS250's to audition since they guarantee satisfaction with money back shipping. If we liked them we would pick up the...
  8. Andrew W

    Setup Advice?

    I just got my SVS PB-12+ which is a much better sub than I had before. I'm wondering how I should set my ICBM and Receiver crossovers. I've got speakers with the following +/- 3db rolloffs: Center: 44Hz Ft: 36HZ Rear: 48Hz My Sony 444ES has all speakers set to small and all...
  9. Andrew W

    I Was Reading Dear Abby A While Back...

    The woman agreed to have and hold, honor and obey, cleave unto the husband, all that stuff. When she fails to put out, the contract (marriage vow) is broken. Once the first party breaks a contract, it's broken. It doesn't take a disallowed action from both sides to invalidate the agreement.
  10. Andrew W

    Leaking in the Pool/ocean

    In the ocean, in my wetsuit. In the middle of a dive, you don't have much choice. There's an underwater procedure for #2, but thank goodness I've never needed to try it.
  11. Andrew W

    Do you print your photos at home do you take them elsewhere ?

    The ink mfgs have this figured out. You have to print a lot or else your print heads dry out. So you buy ink if you print a lot and you have to buy new catridges if the head drys out. either way, you lose.
  12. Andrew W

    Color: Ink Jet vs Laser?

    Keep in mind that these numbers are not real resolution which is pixels/inch. The dpi advertised by inkjet mfgs is dots of individual colors. It may take from 9 - 12 dots to be equal to a pixel. Try and compare effective resolution which is going to be in the 300 ppi range. Here's a decent...
  13. Andrew W

    What's the best way to get rid of my Passat?

    Agreed, if the total cost of the loan is the same. But I can finance $30K for five years at 2% or pay 10K down and finance $20K for 3 years at 4% and my loan will still cost $292 less. But the longer loan will increase your cash flow and allow you to save away some money for unexpected...
  14. Andrew W

    What's the best way to get rid of my Passat?

    Well, I'm here to give you a short financial sermon. Part of your problem is that you financed your car for much too long and now you plan to roll that into another loan and you'll be paying for this car for the next 15 years. You need to put enough down so that you can pay off your car in 3...
  15. Andrew W

    Beware, that new flat screen TV might be an oven door.

    Oh thanks... Now I know why I can only get the cooking channel. ;)
  16. Andrew W

    Plea for help setting up father-in-laws insanely expensive equipment

    So, I finally got to talk to a tech that knew about the Runco projector. Turns out this was one of those products from the 1999..2000 era when they were lying about stuff being HD. Well it kind of is. What it projects is line double or quadrupled, but the best input it can handle is in fact VGA...
  17. Andrew W

    Plea for help setting up father-in-laws insanely expensive equipment

    Allan, Sync on Y seems to work OK. I can now get 480p from the DVD and Comcast box to look good with the Runco input type set to component video. Y/Pr/Pb seems to be another name for Y/Y-R/Y-B as the usage in manuals and labeling of the jacks is intermixed. At this point, I just can't...
  18. Andrew W

    Plea for help setting up father-in-laws insanely expensive equipment

    Ah, I found the online docs for the Comcast box. It can put out a variety of signals including 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. We get green on 720p and 1080i, but the 480p signal looks good (well, just like the progressive scan DVD picture.) If I switch to the 720p or 1080i, I get about 2...
  19. Andrew W

    Plea for help setting up father-in-laws insanely expensive equipment

    Alas, things are worse than I previously posted. The component->RGB converter is actually a component -> VGA converter. So the 720p or 1080i HD signal coming out of the Comcast box is being turned into 640x480 VGA. No wonder it didn't look like HD.
  20. Andrew W

    Mounting center speaker on top of DLP/LCD RPTV's

    I also have my center down low. Moved it there a few years ago and I quit going Huh? all the time on the dialogue. If your center looks OK on top of a DLP/LCD or plasma, I assert that it is too small!;)
  21. Andrew W

    Plea for help setting up father-in-laws insanely expensive equipment

    So the video store that has been selling my father-in-law his HT gear has gone out of business and his stuff is in a screwed up state. I've got audio mostly figured out, but I'd like to know the best way to set up the video. I have: Runco 992 Ultra CRT projector. This guy takes RGB+sync or...
  22. Andrew W

    Half of all returned electronics work perfectly...

    No. What we now incorrectly call "Quality Control" is only manufacturing consistency control. If the product is cheap and poorly designed, we still end up with a million cheap, poorly designed products. Six Sigma is all about making them the same, not about making them good. And David, I'm...
  23. Andrew W

    Evolution in Depiction of Men /Women/Children in Popular Culture

    It's because men are the only ones that will take it well, like a man. If you make fun of women, you're sexist, any minority and you're racist. So the only safe group to take comedic jabs at is men.
  24. Andrew W

    Are Some Children Just Born Evil?

    Well, that was my question in this discussion. You can't decide if kids are born evil, become evil through bad parenting or other natural causes or become evil adults or even evil geniuses if you don't have sort of an idea of what is truly evil. I don't thinks crying, selfishness, bedwetting...
  25. Andrew W

    Are Some Children Just Born Evil?

    That's why I think it's not a good idea to base morality or determine evil based only on laws. Yes, I concede that some laws such as those concerning murder, robbery, rape and other capital offenses attempt to legislate some aspect of morality. But true evil has to be determined by some higher...
  26. Andrew W

    Are Some Children Just Born Evil?

    Laws don't define what is good or evil. There used to be laws against weird things such as carrying pliers in you back pocket on Sunday. Would a law against such an act really make it become evil on one day and not evil when the law was rescinded? Of course not. Is breaking the law always...
  27. Andrew W

    I Can't Drive 55

    Speedometers almost always read low, so driving 55 is probably only 50-52. If you drive with a GPS that's not build into your car, you can figure out how much your speedometer is off.
  28. Andrew W

    Are Some Children Just Born Evil?

    What I mean to say is that in general you can't define a specific act as evil without the circumstances. Is killing a person evil? What if it's a policeman protecting a victim? What if it's a soldier in war? What if the solder enjoys shooting the enemy in the arms and legs first before he...
  29. Andrew W

    Are Some Children Just Born Evil?

    A whining and crying 30 year old would be rude, annoying and inconvenient, but not evil if those were his only acts. I don't consider being inconvenienced as moral "harm" although the court systems may consider it legal harm. But laws aren't about good and evil.
  30. Andrew W

    Are Some Children Just Born Evil?

    Bundy knew he was doing wrong. Why else would he do it privately and evade capture? Both Hitler and Bundy were evil and they knew what they were doing. BS self justification doesn't count as lack of awareness.
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