New Theater Electronics - questions

[tp7539]

April 1 marks the beginning of our home media room construction, and I'm curious to know what some of you think about the following combination. The room will be about 15' x 22'

The system will include:
NAD T773 receiver
Ascends - 7.1 (340's across front, 170's for side and rear, with sub in question)
Xbox 360 and hd dvd drive (however will be connected to pc below)
PC : Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 overclocked, 2 GB RAM, with X Meridian 7.1 Sound Card.....will replace the OPAmps to improve performance
SHARP Aquos - 52" LCD

The PC is essentially a gift from my new employer...they are reimbursing me $1000 toward a new office pc. But since I already have a 2 pc's, I thought, why don't I build a new pc dedicated to the home theater, while using my 5 year old pc at work.

I'm curious to know who is using a pc dedicated to their home theater, and what your experience has been with that? I'm excited about the idea that I will now have a DVD audio player, music server, hd dvd player, download hd content, etc all as one unit.

Does anyone have any experience with the X Meridian sound card? The reviews seem to compare it to some pretty hefty retail equipment out there, and I plan on upgrading the OPAmps to improve on the soundstage further. I'm very excited about the prospect of hearing the 7.1 analog as it's paired up with the NAD and Ascends. What are your thoughts, will this combination compare to equipment dedicated to just high end audio? Has anyone experienced Dolby TrueHD over their ascends......I assume my setup will support that, and can't wait for that moment.

I'm thinking of running the pc on VISTA, by then hopefully 3rd party companies will have their driver issues in control. I'll of course be using the media center functionality for music, movies, pictures, etc., networked to my media center pc upstairs as well. Is there better way to manage my music? I've seen comments regarding music servers....lossless music ripping, etc. As I've never had the pc connected to such nice speakers, I've never entered this arena. But now, of course, I have to find a way to get the best sound possible......how do I do this?

As mentioned above, the excels with analog. Of course it does digital well, but there isn't as noticeable of a difference in that respect. Just curious, but it seems that many people on this forum prefer 2 channel listening for music. When you use this method, would I be using the analog output? Would that give me more of a 'true' sound, less compression?

Lastly, for the subwoofer. I am leaning towards the HSU VTF 2 - MK3. Would that work well for this size room? Any other suggestions? How much benefit would I get in placing the sub behind the couch compared to the front corner of the room? The couch will be in the center of the room

Sorry for the long winded post, I'm just thrilled that I'm actually to this point. I thought I was building this 2 years ago , and then it almost didn't happen this year. But I have finally pinched myself, it's going to be a reality, and I'm hear posting for the first time in months. Just excited, and I'm hoping that I could get some advice, comments that will help fuel the fire and get me better prepared to set all this up. Thanks

[audibleconnoisseur]

Setup looks nice so far.

Have you looked in to the AMD processors and the AMD LIVE experience? Taylor made for what you are trying to do. Also, their processors are cooler and use less energy than intel. Check them out unless you don't have a choice. They also have a soild strcture with the new VISTA. Look at the minimum 4200 dual core but anything in the 5000 - 6000 series will be solid! New quad cores coming out in a bit as well.

Can't say how to get best sound if using computer setup but I would personally stick with NAD to speaker config unless you can find out something I don't know on this - I am sure you can!

The HSU 2.3 will do well in that size room unless you have 18' ceilings. I have a 2.3 and a 4500cuft room and last night I stepped outside of my home around 50-75 feet away (next to neighbor's home and into street) and could still hear/feel the bass with both ports open and the switch to 25Hz extension & the DENON 1905 @ -10dB! The metal outlet on the outside of my home (for the fireplace) was slightly rattling with the deeper bass :D I think you will be quite satisfied!!

Send us pics of your before and after with install if you can...

[tp7539]

I'll look into AMD.....I understand that they have ruled the roost for quite sometime, it's just the latest reviews of the Intel Core 2 Duo make it hard to resist. I'll let you know what I decide....this decision is coming quick.

I will definitely be leaving the NAD receiver in the system as the 'hub'. Therefore, minimizing (if not eliminating) any processing done by the soundcard in the pc. Without yet experimenting with the equipment, I'm thinking that for CD/Music playback, I'll be running it through the digital passthrough and then using NAD's EARS or playing it in Stereo. I'm curious to know how the analog passthrough to the receiver would compare with this source? For standard DVD's, I'll use the digital passthrough to the receiver......for DVD-audio, HD-DVD, and WMV-HD sources I'll switch over to the analog, thus leaving me to figure out how to manage the bass output I suppose. Again, just speculation at this point since I don't have the equipment yet. For pc games, I'm not sure if I'd benefit by have this card process DTS realtime or if this is something that the receiver can handle.....???

Thanks. Your description of being able to feel the base 50 feet outside your home is all I needed. That and the fact that your space is larger than mine....I didn't think I'd have issues, but I appreciate the feedback.

I'll definitely post before and after pictures of the media room.

[musicforme]

I don't know if any such PCs are in the market yet, but you may want to keep an eye open for ones that support CableCard.

It is my understanding that Vista supports CableCard which allows you to receive/record your digital cable channels without using a cable box. I'm using two CableCards with my Tivo Series 3 and love it.

[curtis]

I'm using two CableCards with my Tivo Series 3 and love it.
If the price on the Series 3 comes down significantly, I will also go that route. I have had three different DVR's since giving up TiVo to go with offerings from the local cable company, DISH, and now Verizon FiOS. While all were adequate, and some better than others, nothing beats the TiVo software.

[sensibull]

I'll look into AMD.....I understand that they have ruled the roost for quite sometime, it's just the latest reviews of the Intel Core 2 Duo make it hard to resist.

If you have any plans to upsample/upscale regular DVD playback with your HTPC (ffdshow) to the native res of your Aquos, then I'm pretty sure Intel is the way to go.

[tp7539]

This pc that I'm putting together will definitely be capable of incorporating the cable card for hd playback and such.......but this issue is that it's a DIY project, and I believe the VISTA pc's must be certified as a whole unit and sold retail. It sounds like the certification is so extreme that there is even question as to whether or not a person can buy one of these units and then later 'upgrade' a single component and still run the cable card.

I'll have a tv tuner in my pc, but I'll basically be using my hd dvr cable box for tv....at least for awhile. With everything else I"m purchasing, I'll just have to hold off on the TIVO for a bit. I can take that though.....

And to the other question regarding upscaling dvd to match the Sharp's resolution, why is intel better than amd?

[sensibull]

And to the other question regarding upscaling dvd to match the Sharp's resolution, why is intel better than amd?

It is my (admittedly limited) understanding that ffdshow, the primary post-processing app used in HTPCs to upscale and tweak dvd playback, works more smoothly with hyperthreading cpus.

[drewface]

amd and intel have been constantly going back and forth on who reigns supreme in the processor market. at the moment, intel's core 2 technology (duo or quad) is the best you can get. it is very efficient and powerful. amd has a new quad core on the way, but if i remember what i read correctly, it isn't going to be as efficient as the intel core 2 quad. we'll see though.

one of the reasons amd is preferred by so many tech heads is they're chips are usually cheaper than intels and don't sacrifice much, if any, performance. right now, though, if you're looking to get the best you can, go with an intel core 2 processor.

[tp7539]

You've confirmed what I already thought. I'm purchasing a motherboard that will support both intel core 2 duo and the quad core. I'll purchase the middle of the road intel core 2 duo (overclock it) and be happy with it for at least a few years. Then as the pricing comes down, I'll decide on whether or not to upgrade to a quadcore, or do I just build a new pc incorporating Intel's next round of processors......or the third option, do I go another few years without upgrading at all.

I like the plan...and I think I'll stick with it.