What's your setup like?

[gryffinseye]

Just a slight update from my last reported state.

Television: Panasonic TH-50PZ700A 50" 1080p plasma television
DVD: Oppo DV-983H.
Blu-Ray: 60GB Sony PlayStation 3 (Region A Blu-Ray, Region 3 DVD, NTSC/J PS2).
Sound: Yamaha YHT-195 Home Theatre System

Not a state-of-the-art sound system with full HDMI support (it only supports HDMI Video, not audio, so I don't use the HDMI and have to run the PS3's sound and the Oppo's sound in through separate optical cables), but for the cost (AU$430 at the time I purchased it in July/August last year) it provides incredibly clear and strong sound with the basic speakers it comes with. Have seen Iron Man, Kung-fu Panda, Casino Royale, and Transformers on Blu-ray and several anime series on the Oppo with the sound set up and it is fantastic. Highly recommended to those on a budget. Yamaha is great bang for buck at just about any level, but for those looking for entry level home theatre sound, this system is definitely worth looking at.

[Chacranajxy]

Originally Posted by Ty

What are you using to drive the Senns Cha-kun?

Nothing. They're just plugged into the receiver right now. I should get an amp, but I haven't scraped together enough cash to get a decent one yet. That said, they're still excellent.

[Digital Boy]

Just ordered 4 zones (Living room, Patio, Master Bath, and Garage) of Sonos to add to my Rotel + B&W home theatre in the living room

This product is the cat's ass and cheap compared to a lot of multi-room audio systems

www.sonos.com

[Ty]

Originally Posted by Chacranajxy

Nothing. They're just plugged into the receiver right now. I should get an amp, but I haven't scraped together enough cash to get a decent one yet. That said, they're still excellent.

You have something to look forward to then. When you make that upgrade it will sound like you got a whole new pair of headphones again. The 650s respond dramatically to amplification upgrades (along with signal path upgrades of any kind such as external DACs, but the amplifier is the biggest improvement).

[Chacranajxy]

Originally Posted by Ty

You have something to look forward to then. When you make that upgrade it will sound like you got a whole new pair of headphones again. The 650s respond dramatically to amplification upgrades (along with signal path upgrades of any kind such as external DACs, but the amplifier is the biggest improvement).

Yeah, I tried these on a cheap amp that my friend had and they really started to sing then. They went from excellent to like... really, really damn good. So that's why I'm trying to save up for a good piece of equipment to use on these... the 650's really do benefit from amplification... moreso than most headphones seem to.

[Njr Scrawl]

Originally Posted by naiera

This has been replaced by a TH-42PX80EA. ISF and JKP certified calibrator dude's coming by next week

Stuck with plasma then. Only 720P though?

Looks cool. Is yours silver like the one here? http://www.ciao.co.uk/Panasonic_TH_4...Review_5722180

Uh...where do you get TV calibrators...from a shop, professional hi fi outfitter, Yellow Pages? What should I look for that would give some reassurance when reading ads, so I can avoid cowboys & stand-kickers?

[naiera]

1024*768 is quite sufficient for a 42" set. This is by no means a major upgrade; the old one had been dying for a while and I could just about afford the PX80 + calibration.

The one you're linking to is the old one. The one I just got is the continental version of this.

I found the guy I have coming by later today on some Danish discussion boards. This is his website. He used to be employed by my Hi-Fi store of choice, but chose to go into business on his own two years ago. You can use this page to look for an ISF certified tech near where you live. Be prepared to pay upwards of £300 for it though.

[Njr Scrawl]

Thanks for the cailibrator links.

Your new set looks like mine then. As mine is the PZ I'll check see what the difference is.

I'm alarmed your old one died already! Thought they would have a longer life - such as 10 - 15 years! I'm only going to use mine for DVDs & HD broadcasts, the CRTs I have can do the long stints. Not that I watch much broadcast TV anymore.

[ColoradoJim]

I bought a LG 32LG70 TV from Best Buy this Sunday. I really wanted the Samsung 32" 1080p version but they were sold out of them at the other Best Buy I looked at on Saturday and the one on Sunday had a much higher price on it. I only looked at the 32" 1080p sets since it needed to fit an entertainment cabinet that housed my 27" Sony tube set. The nice thing about this LG set is that besides being 1080p, it has the 24 frame cinema thing even at 60 Mhz. The invisible speakers are pretty cool too. I also finally got to hook up my Oppo 983 player that I bought way back in July.

I still need to get a video setup DVD so I can fine tune the display but I can say that in the intelli sensor mode and just scan, over the air HDTV looks great. I still need to hook up the free HD DVD player that I got from my sister when she bought a Blu-Ray player and also my game systems. I did get several HD DVDs from her that she got as part of that promotion deal way back plus Planet Earth. I found a couple more HD DVDs on clearance the other day so if nothing else it will be a showcase until I get a Blu-Ray player probably the PS3.

One thing that did surprise me about the TV is the total lack of any channel guide feature. I only get the name of the show on that channel at that moment. Even the Apex converter box that I got for the 27" tube has more description and some listings for later on the same channel. Not really a big deal for me since I do have that and a smaller 15.4" HDTV with guide functions to let me know what will be on that day.

I doubt that I will miss the lack of a true 120 Mhz mode on the LG since sports looked just fine to me on the little 15.4" HDTV at 60 MHz after an adjustment period.

I still want to get a much larger display such as the 61" LED Samsung but with the economy the way it is, it's not too wise for me to do that any time soon. Hopefully by next Christmas. With Samsung no longer producing new rear projection displays I suspect the supply of the LED DLP displays from them will dry up pretty soon although they have said they will continue to make last year's models for the time being. It looks like after Samsung, the only other major rear projection maker is Mitsubishi with standard bulbs.

[naiera]

Originally Posted by Wrath of the Njr

I'm alarmed your old one died already!

It didn't die of old age; it had a rather serious malfunction that got so bad I couldn't live with it any longer, which can happen to all kinds of consumer electronics.

The difference between our sets is that yours has a 'Full HD' panel, probably better PQ overall, and yours come with a stand that turns as well.