blueswan
Responses from blueswan
| Digital cable set top box connections S-video, composite and component should all give a better picture than a standard RF connection. The RF connection requires an additional modulation to send the signal to the TV as channel 3 or 4. Have you mixed the terms "composite" and "componen... | |
| Room Acoustics Putting a TV between two speakers does affect the soundstage. However, I have found that by moving the TV forward/backward in small increments, I found a location that minimizes the damage. | |
| speaker to stand coupling I found that anything between the speaker and the stand affects the sound. My final solution was to manually bend, file and sand the top of the stand as perfectly flat as possible. This, of course, ruins the finish of the stand, but you cannot see... | |
| Audiophile Vs. Techfile Well said. I go through periods where the left side of my brain dominates (techfile) and I pay attention to the gear, upgrades and tweaks. Then I have times when the right side of my brain takes over (audiophile) and I just sit back and listen. Cl... | |
| Pass Aleph P vs L preamp ? My Aleph P has incredible resolution and is dead quiet, but I find it to be a bit steril and analytical for music. I use it for both 2 channel HT/HDTV and CD playback. It really shines with spoken dialog on movies and vocals on CD. | |
| XLO, Cardas vs Tara Labs, MIT: which ones? The Tara Labs Air-1 and Air-2 are an overall improvment over the Decade. The Air-1 is faster and more detailed, but the Air-2 is more open and musical. The Decade comes off slow and muddy in comparison with either of these. | |
| How should I go about adding a dedicated ground? I have to agree with Sidssp. An isolated ground could result in a voltage potential difference with the neutral, which by code must be the same as ground. As I have said before, my system has a dedicated 20 amp line, is all code, has no cheater pl... | |
| HDTV questions Thedautch, I view all channels through the 1080i input on the back of my set. The 5100 sends all channels through the RGB output. He may have set you up this way because he knows that the basic channels are a bit grainy when viewed through RGB. Tr... | |
| HDTV questions I just got Comcast HDTV in Atlanta. They replaced my existing standard box with the Motorola 5100. I use an RGB component video cable to connect to my HDTV "ready" Sony Wega. S-video cannot carry an HD or progressive scan signal. I get all my prev... | |
| Speaker set up tweak, maybe old, but worth repeat. I went through a similar experience with my Maggies. Even a quarter inch change in the toe-in had a noticable effect on the soundstage. My floor was not entirely level either, and leveling the speakers helped as well. | |
| Working backwards... I recommend upgrading to the Tara Air 2 (or 3). They are a significant improvement over the Phase II and 55i and can be found at half list (or less) right here. IMO a very cost effective upgrade which should allow you to select the correct amp for... | |
| Best Manufacturer's Website Features Accuphase lists all of their vintage products and their years of production allowing me to research such items as their T101 tuner. This is a great feature because quality manufacturers which have been around 20+ years still have many products in ... | |
| Best Maggie Tweaks/upgrades The best tweak I did for my Maggies was a lot of work but well worth it. I epoxyed all of the crossover components to the lower back of each speaker and then re-wired the crossovers with Tara internal wire. I then added upgraded binding posts for ... | |
| I am getting Comcast HDTV, but... I have a Sony 36in XBR Wega with a 4:3 flatscreen. It supports 480p and 1080i and has 2 sets of component inputs. I can view widescreen DVDs in 1080i (with the top and bottom of the screen blank) or I can view 4:3 DVDs on progressive and get the f... | |
| Speaker position???? I used the simple Cardas placement formula. I can post the website when I get home. It involves the "Golden Ratio" known from the times of ancient Greece... (sqrt(5) - 1)/2 = 1.618 and its inverse 0.618. |