Want to make my HT system look cool (1 Viewer)

[JeanVanDam]

Ok here it is...
I'm planning to buy the ELT Rockets, I will need a receiver of course and my budget will be around $500 also including a DVD player. I want however, to make my set up look really cool! So, I've seen these pre-amps, seperates and power thingys that have cool lights and all. Can anybody suggest componments that I could buy for cheap ($200 or less) that I could add to my HT system to make it look cool with lights and all? Thanks.

 

[Daniel*T]

You're kidding, right?

Seriously, shouldn't it be what's on your television (and coming out of your speakers) that's the cool part of your home theater system?

Of course, I don't have glow lights or chrome rims on my car either, so maybe I'm unqualified to answer this question...

 

[JeanVanDam]

Ok this is maybe the lamest idea posted on this forum..
I just can't afford one of those nice looking Parasound pre-amps.:frowning:

 

[John S]

And to think I gripe about components that don't allow you to get rid of their lights completely.

What the heck am I thinking!!!!!

Honestly, AVR's, DVD's players, SAT tuners / Cable boxes, CD Players, OTA HDTV Tuners, Laserdisc players, all have way way to many lights these days for my tastes. I guess it looks cool, but when viewing, I pull a black curtain across all of it, as I hate the lights.

 

[Justin_D]

Well put John.
I know I dim the crap outa my DVD player and Receiver. I can't even sleep when I accidently leave my PS2 on standby and it has that little red dot. ARG!!! And my Comcast cable box has no right showing stuff when its off!

/rant

Anyway, why not just buy some LEDs, CCs, etc. and project them on the wall?

 

[JeanVanDam]

Maybe I'll just put some Christmas lights on my componments.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Jean,

It should be self-evident that the more components you get the more cool-looking LEDs and stuff you’ll have.

Here are some suggestions – some functional, some not; some under $200, some not:

• If you watch any regular TV, a VCR can be used as a tuner. Other options are a cable box or a satellite dish set-up.
• A cassette deck. Hard to find a cooler display than that! If you can find an older three-head model with a mechanical tape monitor switch, you’ll have a meter level display anytime the system is on.
• An 80’s model Yamaha M-series power amp. They have a really cool power meter display.
• A component-styled power director/conditioner (i.e., one that looks like a piece of gear, but largely functions as a power strip). Look at Panamax, Monster, etc.
• A separate CD player or changer.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Garrett Lundy]

How about a flux-capacitor with 16 jigowatts of rated power?

 

[Justin_D]

What about one of those Monster Cable power conditioners w/ the bad@$$ power cleansing gaugne thingamabob?

 

[Mark Murphy]

This HKAVR125 has lots of lights and looks cool for all of $179. If you can find an HT receiver thats better than this one at that price, let me know. That leaves you w/$321 for a DVD player.

 

[Chu Gai]

How about forgetting about the blinking lights and thinking along different lines? If you've got something like a RPTV, you can construct a mask if you will to just give you the screen and nothing else. That'll make it more like in a movie theater. Then consider painting the walls a darker color. Then maybe install a couple of small accent lights on the ceiling pointing towards your speakers so that they're dimly illuminated. Sometimes less is more. Heck you don't want your room to look like this do you?

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Yes. Yes it is.

Spend that money on music, movies, popcorn, clothes, books, electricity, food, water, manicures, spinny rims, pretty much anything else. Lights in an HT are a PITA anyway, and having a "cool" lookin system to impress friends who don't know jack and would be more impressed by a Bose acoustimass system is a waste of money. I would SURE as hell get an ISF calibration before i starting putting crazy lights all over the place, which again is really annoying in a pitch black room anyway.

Cool lights get old REALLY fast. Though I admit I'm partial to the Musical fidelity lights. And the feet that change colors as they warm up. I'd buy something like that. Though not for the lights.

 

[Johnny Ayala]

I must admit I was once the same way. I had 3 EQ's in line just so that I could have 2 with the slide controls lit up..........and the other because of the spectrum analizer lights. I've learned that if you want the real HT experience, you'll spend your money on sound and what the picture looks like.

 

[Jim Rakowiecki]

First let's all remember that everyone likes different things and some people like lights and stuff and some of us don't.
You could try a spectrum analyzer like the one here.
http://store.yahoo.com/jlhwholesaler...t655espe1.html
And perhaps and equalizer with lighted slides like this one from audio source.
http://store.yahoo.com/kb-electronics/eq-100.html
Jean, try not to spend too much on this stuff because it is likley the novelty will wear off pretty quickly.

It's your system and it should reflect your tastes. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks. Good luck in your quest and have fun.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Uh, that would be Gigawatts. Jigowatts will simply make the DeLorean jump around like that "Lord of the Dance" guy.

 

[Robert*S]

The christmas lights are not a bad idea.
Have you thought about using rope lights? I have seen them in a HT and they looked really good. Granted it's not a component, but it might be a cheaper way to get your fix!

rob.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

I'm pretty sure he said Jigowatts in the movie....

Anyway, iff you want more lights for your HT head on down to the pawn shop. Rthey have all sorts of ancient audio crap there...

Tape decks, 8-tracks, LD players, somethign called a warble-tone generator, and other junk with power lights. And its all cheap!!

 

[Justin_D]

He did say
"jigawatts"
But it is correctly
"gigawatts"

You never hear anyone say "jigabyte" do you?
Its gigabyte, similarly.

They probably wanted to make it sound like he knew something we didn't and spark a debate like this one

 

[Nathan Stohler]

It's been a long time since I watched "Back to the Future", but I could swear that Christopher Lloyd said "jigawatts" as others have confirmed. I even went to imdb.com to look for quotes from the movie, and they had "gigawatts", but I don't believe it

 

[ChrisWiggles]

baahahhaha

This is the silliest thread.