Watching TV

I think I finally have the home theater system to about where I want it.  I have an Oppo BDP-93 for discs and streaming upon which I cannot heap enough praise.  Next to my old 1989 vintage Sony CDP 605ESD it is my favorite disc player.  We use a somewhat (for an AV receiver anyway) older Marantz SR6003 as the brains, and a very old (1982?) Hafler DH 200 (again updated and modified by Wayne at In House Stereo Repair) running the mains.  This is an amplifier to keep forever.  The speakers are all new Dynaudio DM series- DM2/7 fronts and DM center.  They sound great, even though they are not broken in.   The center is 1/3 the size of my Dynaudio Audience C122 center (which is in storage now) but has a wonderfully natural timbre on voices, which is obviously important.  It's also on a neat stand it comes with to give it clearance over the top of the cabinet, which is perfect given the cabinet's depth.   No sub (yet, I think- the DM 2/6s have great bass) and no serious thoughts for surrounds, but just fine as is for most stuff.  I will admit that the Emerson Lake and Palmer Brain Salad Surgery DVD-A could use surrounds though, as could some of my Porcupine Tree stuff, but the ELP- there's a TON of weirdness in that mix.

The End is Nigh

. . . and I do not mean that in the sense that Anthropogenic Climate Change Doom is upon us because we haven't seen snow like in this picture of Chermpf from last year.  What I mean is that Susan, of her own volition (no Jedi tricks from me) has:

A.) decided to get rid of the top of the cabinet that housed our Flatscreen and home theater, thus freeing our Dynaudio DM2/7 speakers from the little cubbies in which they resided, leading to hugely improved sound,

and:

B.) decided that she wants to either fix or replace our dead Martin Logan subwoofer.


Who woulda thunk it?  I was going to be happy with the 2/7 and DM Center doing everything, but the lady wants more bass!  Time to do some research (as in HSU Research, perhaps?)  I'll send an e-mail to In House Stereo Repair first and see what can be done about the Martin Logan Dynamo.  It blows fuses now the moment it is turned on.  Probably a short, but it was so cheap it may not warrant replacing. . .

A/D/S/ as promised

Well, it took me a while but I managed to dig up an older picture of a system I ran with a pair of a/d/s/ 1290 speakers.  They belong to my Uncle, but lived in the basement of the condo we used to have and a dorm room (!).  Sorry this is a terrible picture, I took it to show someone how we had installed speaker wiring in the walls and had plates for hook up.  The system actually worked pretty well, but the picture does not flatter the room color or the equipment.  At the time, the amp I was using was a Hafler, and that still lives with me now.  It has been recently upgraded with new binding posts, caps and high quality RCA inputs by In House Stereo Repair in Setauket, NY.  Check out their link- they do terrific work.  The Hafler now runs a pair of Dynaudio DM 2/7 mains for a home theater, with a Marantz SR6003 AVR providing the processing brains.  I can't really comment on the sound in detail as the speakers, amp modifications and blu ray player are all very new to me (blu ray is an Oppo BDP-93).  I'm not yet accustomed to listening to multi-channel without a sub woofer, although I will say the DM 2/7s create a ton of bass for their size.  Apparently they need a lot of break in time, so we shall see. . .

Let's try this again

Okay, I think I'm over it (my rant over what Sony has become, that is).  it only took a few months.  So I think it's time to give this blog a chance again, albeit with a name change.  The whole system has changed anyway- I'll have to write about the addition of a Yamaha A-S2000 integrated amp, along with modifications to the home theater set up including a new Oppo Blu Ray player and a brilliant pair of Dynaudio DM 2/7 speakers.  I think I'll even take some pictures. . .