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Trying to rebuild a decent apartment setup, but have been out of the loop (1 Viewer)

gostillerz

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Hi everyone. I'm not too good at wording stuff, so please bear with me. Here is my situation. I have a small apartment, and my existing equipment is as follows.. Insignia 42" 1080p LCD (When using one HDMI input, I see what I guess is burn-in from the other HDMI, but I thought that was impossible) Integra DTR-5.5 (Center channel is dead in surround modes, but works in all channel stereo), no HDMI Polk 50W 10" sub 6 of those wedge shaped Insignia bookshelf speakers (don't sound too bad surprisingly) 2009 Mac Mini running Plex Xbox 360 DirecTv HR22 Harmony 880 iPhone I'd rate my usage as 70% Mac Mini, 20% Xbox, 10% DirecTv (probably losing the satellite though, Plex rules!). Not interested in 3D. Honestly, I don't even know where to start. Receiver wise, I'm leaning towards the slim Marantz models. 50W is good enough for me, I've had Onkyo/Integra for the past 10 years, so I kind of want something different, and I love my 2270. I'm having a problem justifying trading specs for physical size for near the same price though. Accessories4less has better deals for full size receivers too. The Mac Mini displays video through HDMI, but has to use toslink for audio. TV, well I hate the one I have. Are DLP and plasmas still bad with burn-in? So my general question is: With about $1000, what would you guys do? Again, sorry for the post which makes no sense. I'm a UPS guy, so my brain is a bit fried around this time of year.
 

gene c

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Did you use a setup disc to calibrate the video on the Insignia display? Something like the S & V calibration disc. There are others. You can even find the same thing on some THX dvd's like Cars (I think.). It might help. Looks like you need to replace the srereo and even though you say the speakers are fine they probably aren't :) . Neither is that Polk sub. With $1000 to spend I'd focus on the audio. Start with a better speaker system like the Boston CS2310B from Amazon (Vanns) http://www.amazon.com/Boston-Acoustics-CS2310B-Classic-System/dp/B001GIOSWG/ref=sr_1_1?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1323472167&sr=1-1 or the Energy take Classic 5 pack and use your existing Polk sub. Newegg.com has great prices on Polk Monitors. I'd also give them a look. Add a decent receiver like the Denon 1612 http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-1612-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B004U403WM/ref=sr_1_21?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1323472417&sr=1-21 and you still have +/- $350 left over for a better sub or towards a better display, BluRay player, etc. Other receivers to consider are the Onkyo 509, Pioneer 821 and Yamaha 471. The Marantz 1402 should also be acceptable but I haven't tried one of those yet myself. Ac4l.com carries Denon, Marantz and Onkyo factory refurbs to save a little more. And don't spend a lot on cables and wires. Partsexpress.com Bluejeancables.com and Monoprice.com are where we usually get ours. Amazon, the local hardware store or the knock-offs at Frys etc will work just as well as those Monsterprice ones will.
 

gostillerz

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Nov 10, 2008
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I used the S & V disc, it's from 05 though. The tv issue drives me nuts the most. It only happens on the HDMI inputs. I have the Mac on 1 and the Xbox on 2. When I play the xbox, I can see a "ghosted?" version of the Mac's desktop, and it doesn't go away, even when I unplug the cable. Sometimes, I'll even see a page that I closed 15 minutes earlier. I don't understand how that's even possible on a LCD screen. When the xbox is running but the tv is set to the Mac, everything's fine. Isn't Energy the same company that makes Athena too? I've heard the AS towers and bookshelves before. Really liked those. I know I'm supposed to budget much more for speakers than a receiver, but the more I think about it, I'm having the most problems with the tv and receiver. The speakers and sub work at least.
 

gene c

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Gene
Energy, Mirage and Athena were all owned by a Canadian company, API, at one time. API was bought by Klipsch a couple of years ago. I still have some Athena Point 5 speakers in a box somewhere. Pretty good speakers for the price. If you truely do "hate" the display then by all means replace it. They're getting real cheap these days. I thought burn-in wasn't an issue with LCD and only a "concern" with plasma. Plasmas have a better black level and some say a better picture but they also require a darker room and consume a lot more electricity. LCD's are better with anti-glare, have a slightly smaller frame and are better in a bright room. My brother has a Samsung LCD and it looks real good. My "bottom-feeder" :blush: Panasonic plasma is great with HD but horrible with SD. But $699 for 58"s of plasma was to good a deal for me to pass up. Man, I'm a cheap.... Anyway, if you're happy with the speakers and sub then spend the money on a receiver and display. The most popular entry-level receivers are the Denon 1612 (the 1312 doesn't have Audyssey room correction. It's worth the extra $$ to get it), Onkyo 509, Pioneer 821 and Yamaha 471. Onkyo, Pioneer and Yamaha also make a bottom-feeder receiver (no offense :blush: ) but the second-tier is a better value to me. Ac4l.com sells Onkyo and Denon, as well as Marantz, refurbs which can save you a little money. But I urge you to re-evaluate the speakers/sub some day.
 

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