-
mattepntr, i'm sure you'll love it. that's a stellar setup that WILL last you a long time.
eddie, i was watching LOTR scenes today as well. fair warning - you'll find yourself watching the same movie over and over and over... hehe
there are some sweet systems developing around here. sounds like Ascend has been very busy lately. i'm glad to see that the forum is getting more traffic. 
-
Eddie -
What scheme did you come up with to mount the center on top of your RPTV? I'm always looking for ideas about this.
-
Rick, did you buy a B-stock Outlaw amp? It will save you a couple hundred bucks with the free shipping. Considering your setup costs more than the used car I just bought, those saved dollars could go for some DVD's or interconnects or speaker wire
]
Ed
-
David, I stacked 2 cheap rubber door stoppers on top of one another, put self sticking rubber feet on the bottom where it will sit on the sloping back of my rptv, and wrapped the whole thing with black electrical tape to keep the two door stoppers together and to make it blend in with the back of the tv console which is black and the center channel which is also black. I made two of these contraptions with a total of 4 door stoppers, a total of 4 rubber sticky things, and 1 roll of electrical tape. Grand total of about 7 bucks. You may have to play with the orientation of the stacked stoppers to get the angle right on your tv, as well as add additional stoppers to make up for more or less angle, but it seems to work well. Now about 2/3 of the weight of the speaker is on the back cabinet and 1/3 is on the narrow top ledge.
-
Hi Ed,
Yeah, I did get the B-stock 770. I realized that amps
were the one component I knew the least about when I was
doing research. If you go to AVS and look under amps, you'll see
a thread called "amps, amps...amps" that goes on for 25 pages
AD NAUSEUM. I discovered the wonderful argument between the "all amps
sound the same" and "all amps have noticeable sonic differences" camps.
Anyway, as I was finishing page 25 (as the sun was coming up) I realized
I wasn't going to glean any clear advice about how to shop for amps.
I decided I wanted something in the same class as the Outlaw (power,
build quality, support and service etc.). The only other real contender
was the ATI at2007. But at twice the cost of the Outlaw B-stock, I was
dubious that it would sound twice as good in my system. I never hear
anything but positive feedback about Outlaw gear, so I went with them.
Just as I went to Outlaw's site to place an order, I saw the B-stock
sale they're having!
Maybe one day, if I get bored, I'll try to get an in-home audition
with the ATI, just for kicks.
Rick
-
For anyone interested, my listed setup was planned for and researched
over a long period of time. I admit I did succumb to the phenomenon
where you keep inching higher in price, thinking "for another $200
or $500, I can go seperates instead of a receiver etc. blah blah blah".
But eventually I leveled off, and downscaled it a bit.
The Anthem pre/pro and Integra universal player were bought at a dealer.
The Anthem AVM 30 is $400 less than the AVM 20.
Combined MSRP was $5500.00. I got $500.00 off.
The Outlaw B-stock amp was $1549.00. Free shipping.
My Ascend package was right around $2000.00. Free shipping and stands
for the 340's for $50.00.
Total was about $8500.00. A lot of money for entertainment! But I know
people who spent more for a single component. Sometimes A LOT more.
I think I did pretty well. I hope so.
Rick
[]
-
Rick,
It would be interesting if you could write how your choices evolved and the "agony" you put yourself through.
-curtis
-
My sister and brother-in-law set up a home theater a couple years ago.
They had some receiver (I don't know what it is) and a **** AM 5.1
speaker set. We watched movies at their house and I thought "wow! this
is really fun! I want one of these toys!" I helped them set it all up
and work some of the bugs out. Actually, I was having more fun playing
with it than they were!
At this point I knew nothing, I mean NOTHING about home theater and audio.
So I started researching **** on the internet. Well....we all know where
that goes....
I can't remember where I first heard about Ascend. But it had (and still
does have) the most extraordinary user satisfaction (and pro reviews) of
any speaker in their price range! So the speaker choice was easy.
So I started looking at receivers. Early on, I kind of zeroed in on
Denon's line. I think I was most interested in the AVR 4802r. As time
went on, that model became more and more dated, and I started looking
at the 5803, their flagship. At $4300, it was definitely pricey.
Then I started hearing about the benefits of seperates. At the price
point of the 5803, seperates weren't a big step up, pricewise.
Anthem's name kept coming up as a very good company with a solid
reputation for quality gear, and an excellent value. I pretty much
decided on the AVM 20. Then I started to hear about the D1. This
sounds like an awesome product! At $5000.00, it should be. I was going
to buy one when I went to a dealer and he had an AVM 30, which I didn't
know existed. At $3000.00 ($400 less that than the AVM 20), that cinched
it for me. Plus its going to be upgraded at the end of the year to
include DPLIIx, HDMI and IEEE 1394 capability.
I was also looking at Denon's universal players. Solid units with
excellent build quality. I was about to get a 5900 when my dealer told
me this model is about to be discontinued and it's replacement won't
be out for a few months. He steered me towards the Integra DPS 10.5.
This model had an excellent feature set! At $2500.00, it was more
expensive than the Denon, but he knocked off $500.00 when I bought
it with the Anthem.
Amps were the toughest. I realized that without some kind of EE degree,
I wasn't going to be able to decode that mystical realm. The only
way to really judge this amp versus that amp is to get them home and
compare them. So I got the Outlaw (based on reviews) assuming it
would be a good place to start. The 770 definitely has the power I
want. Giving up on the ATI was tough. I gotta admit I love the way it
looks! Those big handles on the front! It's just COOL.
So that's about it. The only real agony was giving up on the D1 ($5000
was just too much at this point in time) and the ATI amp. But I don't
really think I'll be unhappy.
-
mattepntr,
you have done a considerable and honorable amount of research. i think you'll find that the time you invested will pay off. the only downside, like you said, will be hooking all of it up.
seriously, you have a top notch engineered system at your fingertips.
rock on [8D]
-
They just delivered my Outlaw 770 amp today.
They said it was heavy. THEY WEREN'T KIDDING!
Rick[
]
Posting Permissions
- You may not post new threads
- You may not post replies
- You may not post attachments
- You may not edit your posts
-
Forum Rules
Advanced Member
