LATEST Piece of Gear in Your Stack - What is it?

[jimfisheye]

Is it better than playing stereo through a 5.1 decoder? My Pioneer does a pretty good job of getting surround out of stereo sources. Would a Surround Master be so superior?

Absolutely! Playing stereo through a 5.1 decoder would take you further away from the recorded sound as intended to be heard. Anything that 'simulates' or adds reverb should be left off.

Mirroring the stereo program in the rear speakers can work well sometimes (depending on room and setup). You can do this on the computer with Core Audio settings. Not sure about the various hardware units. But to really hear surround sound, you need music mixed for surround.

 

[Russells]

Absolutely! Playing stereo through a 5.1 decoder would take you further away from the recorded sound as intended to be heard. Anything that 'simulates' or adds reverb should be left off.

Mirroring the stereo program in the rear speakers can work well sometimes (depending on room and setup). You can do this on the computer with Core Audio settings. Not sure about the various hardware units. But to really hear surround sound, you need music mixed for surround.

This reflects my experience. I find that most stereo sources (but not all) tend to become indistinct when played through a 5.1 decoder. SQ and QS through 5.1 often sounds fantastic (literally - not real resolution but fantastic sound).

When I set the amp to play a stereo source as stereo through front and back speakers (mirroring) the audience usually states a preference for that mode. But a 5.1 source (satellite movies and TV for example) definitely sound better in 5.1 than stereo, unless the soundtrack happens to be stereo (they never tell you), such as in old movies.

It can take a moment or two to find the best settings when playing satellite TV, DVD movies and some CDs this way...

 

[leevitalone1]

I have finally after 13 yrs sold my Integra. I wwanted to keep her so much, but enough is enough. On to the good shit now.
I need a compliment to my Oppo 93 NE. The Old Integra did the job well, so I expect more this time. Really have not deceided yet on what - but it must have analog in ports for my nuforce mod.
waited long time for this day. whoo hoo! (I get sick when I spend money.)

 

[quattroatl]

Seaton Submersive HP subwoofer....2400 watts of bass heaven. It has opened up all of my music and movies to another level. I now have 2 Emotiva Ultra 12's collecting dust.

This beast definitely goes to "11"!

 

[proufo]

Anything that 'simulates' or adds reverb should be left off.

Have you tried recreated ambiance to the sides?

It's a huge improvement over plain 2-channel stereo.

I want to believe additional ambiance speakers would make it even better, but that has to wait.

 

[Quad Linda]

Makes my REL look like a toy!

 

[Quad Linda]

Are you looking at a receiver or SEPARATES? :51banana:

I have finally after 13 yrs sold my Integra. I wwanted to keep her so much, but enough is enough. On to the good shit now.
I need a compliment to my Oppo 93 NE. The Old Integra did the job well, so I expect more this time. Really have not deceided yet on what - but it must have analog in ports for my nuforce mod.
waited long time for this day. whoo hoo! (I get sick when I spend money.)

 

[inkubuzz]

:banana: :banana: YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! :banana: :banana:

My Cambridge Audio Dac Magic Plus arrived!!! yeaj its a stereo DAC, so why the fuzz right?

Well I connected it to my Surround Master, and those two monster combined just rock the hell out of everything!!!!!!! It sounds FANTASTIC!!!!


Now Im playing Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power (yeah, what you thought was the intention!)

 

[kap'n krunch]

well, apparently, my boss LIKES me (hey, I'm a great employee and I kick serious ass),
so she gave me some "corporate points" , which took me a bout a month and a half to find out I could exchange for some goodies at their shop (i.e. El Corte Inglés...the biggest dept. store in Spain)...so I found out I could get this cheap ass DVD player but , HEY, mind you , it has an HDMI output, plays EVERYTHING but DVD-As or SACD's
AND
it is region free , so I can give my Oppo a rest , since it was the only region free player in my rig....



Sunstech dvpmx855
pretty funky...
occupies only half the space of a normal player and has a swanky blue light where the tray goes in...mind you , the first time I hit "eject" it got stuck, and I had to "push it down", but it had ejected perfectly since then...
It doesn't decode ANYTHING, but that's what the receiver is there for...

 

[leevitalone1]

Are you looking at a receiver or SEPARATES? :51banana:

Ended up with a Onkyo 702 off e bay @ $37.00! 100 watts x7 no hdmi, but who cares? For that money it is a deal!

 

[LizardKing]

PS3 - CECHC02 with firmware 3.55.....:banana:

 

[LizardKing]

PS3 - CECHC02 with firmware 3.55.....:banana:

First SACD Rip completed!!!



:51banana:

 

[dumbchemist]

This is a little off topic:
I bought a Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD player off E-bay some months ago and it plays as good as it can.

I don't think there are any HD-DVD's with 5.1 sound only. Am I right or not?

 

[JonUrban]

This is a little off topic:
I bought a Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD player off E-bay some months ago and it plays as good as it can.

I don't think there are any HD-DVD's with 5.1 sound only. Am I right or not?

There are HD-DVD concert videos and movies in 5.1, but I don't recall any music only HD-DVDs.

 

[Russells]

This is my latest acquisition. It's a Philips 3051AT radiogram manufactured in Rhodesia of about 1970 vintage. It's labelled a 'MicroWorld' '19t' (19 transistor - all germanium). That's all the model details shown. I can find nothing about it on the internet (anyone have any additional info?). It has a 4 speed auto-changer on the left and space for a horizontal reel-to-reel tape recorder on the right. The radio is FM (mono) AM and two SW bands working well. It even has an 'Aux' input! Sadly, no remote controls in those days.



I had it refurbished by a cabinet maker and I replaced the original - and faulty - amplifiers of about 5 watts per channel with new amps of about 125 watts a channel! (Yes 125)



It sounds terrific and has a "lovely tone" as they used to say. The record changer works well and it has a 'tape' input on the right to which I have connected my i-pad or a receiver of the stereo signal from my lounge HiFi. I daren't turn it up too loud or the speakers (and my neighbours) will blow...

It's not HiFi but it makes a lovely conversation piece on my patio. The dial folds down when not in use and it then has a completely flat top and it makes a perfect server (for plates of buffet food) when we have a braai (similar to, but not the same as, a b-b-q). All this and it sounds real good, too.

 

[Quadwreck]

Wow, that is incredible.

 

[phydo]

This is my latest acquisition. It's a Philips radiogram manufactured in Rhodesia of about 1970 vintage. It's a 'MicroWorld' 19t (19 transistor - all germanium) model 3051AT. That's all the model details shown. I can find nothing about it on the internet (anyone have any additional info?). It has a 4 speed auto-changer on the left and space for a horizontal reel-to-reel tape recorder on the right. The radio is FM (mono) AM and two SW bands working well. It even has an 'Aux' input! Sadly, no remote controls in those days.

View attachment 9690

I had it refurbished by a cabinet maker and I replaced the original - and faulty - amplifiers of about 5 watts per channel with new amps of about 125 watts a channel! (Yes 125)

View attachment 9691

It sounds terrific and has a "lovely tone" as they used to say. The record changer works well and it has a 'tape' input on the right to which I have connected my i-pad or a receiver of the stereo signal from my lounge HiFi. I daren't turn it up too loud or the speakers (and my neighbours) will blow...

It's not HiFi but it makes a lovely conversation piece on my patio. The dial folds down when not in use and it then has a completely flat top and it makes a perfect server (for plates of buffet food) when we have a braai (similar to, but not the same as, a b-b-q). All this and it sounds real good, too.

Russells:

Beautiful cabinetry! What type of wood is it?

Justin

 

[Russells]

Russells:

Beautiful cabinetry! What type of wood is it?

Justin

I believe it's Rhodesian Teak. Very nice long grain with no knots. Solid wood; no veneer. Beautiful.

It cost me R400 (about $45) in non-working condition. I spent R2000 ($220) on the refurb, R300 ($35) on the new amps and about 20 hours of work and some scrap-box components to wire in the new stuff. Total about R2700 or $300.

What's it worth now, I wonder?

 

[Frantic]

I wanted to give my Oppo 93 a break and I picked up a Sony BDP S 790.
I am really satisfied with this baby! The streaming capabilities are off the hook.
And, having that second HDMI out helps with my 3D as I still run my non-3D Denon 3806.

 

[66Grandeguy]

OK, I finally bought a couple of new pieces after about about ten years going by without buying any state of the art stuff. i decided to blow my pending tax refund on an Oppo 105 and and a set of Sennheiser 800 headphones. Just got both of them this morning via Canada Post so I'm a bit overwhelmed. Haven't played with the Oppo much yet other than sticking the headphones on it but to tell you the truth the best sound I have heard yet comes from plugging the 800's directly into my Pioneer QT2100 quad deck. Right now I'm listening to the front two tracks of the Paul Simon Q8 and except for a bit of tape hiss its as clear as a bell.

WOW! This really shows what a craftsman he was.