Some changes to my systems around the house:
My 61 inch 720p Samsung died, so I decided to get a new TV.
As a result, I moved the 60 inch Sony into the bedroom and got a
Samsung PN63B590 63-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
for the living room. The main reason for a plasma is that I
wanted a better viewing angle from the side. Also, the stand
is actually on a swivel, so the TV can be aimed in a different
direction when we have visitors sitting on the couch that is on our
side wall.
The TV has a beautiful picture and it actually fits on the stand
we bought for the Sony. My webpage will be updated with new
pictures when I get my Denon receiver back. Yep, the Denon
receiver crashed and burned in the last couple of weeks, too.
I actually bought an extended warranty because it had a lot of new
features built in that I thought might cause a failure. So,
right now, it is at the repair shop.
I also want to mention that I bought this TV at Vanns.com.
They were several hundred dollars cheaper than Best Buy and they do
not charge for shipping or tax. The tax savings alone would
have made it worthwhile.
After my Denon receiver broke, I initially forgot that I bought a warranty.
I started looking for a comparable receiver and found that most receivers do not
have a setting for a separate set of stereo speakers (5.1+2). As a result,
I started to rethink my setup. I decided to get a center speaker (Monitor
Audio RS LCR) and some new surrounds (Monitor Audio RSFX) to match with my
RS6 speakers so I could go back to a more traditional 5.1 setup. My NHT
speakers are going into the bedroom and I am going to ditch the cheap Onkyo
receiver that is currently in the bedroom and hook up my trusty Denon AVR 3300
receiver that I have had in storage. The downside to the receiver is the
lack of HDMI inputs, but I can live without "hi-rez" audio formats in the
bedroom. I know this receiver sounds great with my NHT SB2 speakers, so it
explains the reason I am changing things up.
Also, it does not make sense to have a receiver I paid around $900 for in a
closet, while my $150 (if that) receiver is in my bedroom. I may still
need a sub, but I am not sold that I need one of those either. The Onkyo
sub I had in the bedroom was just too much and it is not powerful by an stretch
of the imagination.
For my birthday, I got a Slingbox Pro-HD. I wanted one of
these to replace the Slingbox AV I have in my bedroom. It
supports HD streaming around the house (although I usually have to
down sample it a bit because of the network speed). It also
has more inputs, so I can hook up my DIRECTV receiver and my IO Data
Linkplayer. The cool part about the Linkplayer setup is that it
streams stuff from my computer and supports Playon.TV. This
allows me to get Netflix, Hulu, the video I have on my media
computer, etc.. from my iPhone. With the iPad coming out, it
will even be better because it lack the screen size issues that you
have with an iPhone.
While I had to have the mono box the day it was released, I also had to have the
stereo versions. This collection fills in the missing stereo albums from
the mono set, it adds a few short videos related to each album (I have not
watched them yet, and sports newly remastered stereo versions of their albums.
It may be overkill for most people to have this and the mono versions, but it
was a necessity for this Beatles/music fan.
To this day, their music is still fresh. Listening to the new stereo and mono
versions make them spring with new spirit. I can't get enough Beatles.. 'nuff
said.
Last year, I heard that some of The Beatles music would be remastered for a new
Rock Band game. However, later I found out that The Beatles entire
collection would get a much needed overhaul on CD. The new versions
include remastered stereo versions of their albums and a mono release of all of
the albums that they recorded in that format. The mono releases are
what most collectors were waiting for. In the early years of The Beatles,
they recorded with the idea that the albums would be released in mono and later
they would go in an make stereo versions of the albums. Many consider the
mono versions more authentic because it is exactly what they wanted while they
were in the recording process. Needless to say, I HAD to have the mono
versions of these albums. They did record in both formats later and Help!
and Rubber Soul have both the mono and stereo recordings in this collection.
I have listened to four of the albums and it is like a veil has been lifted.
The sound is more alive, the details are more intricate, the separation of the
instruments and the vocals are more clear, and the bass delivers much more punch
than the earlier CDs. In other words, it is like listening to much better
versions of my favorite songs by my favorite rock band.
I am still deciding on whether I want to pick up the stereo versions of the
albums that aren't in this collection or if I just want to get the stereo boxed
set to round out the collection. The stereo versions of the early albums
may not be as authentic, but they still have a lot to offer when it comes to my
interest in their music.
The mono box has been reported to be a limited release, not sure if that is
true, but you may want to pick up a copy soon if you have any interest.
My old laptop kicked the bucket, so I had to get a new one.
While my old laptop was about 15 inches, I decided to go with a
sprawling 18 inch mammoth sized laptop this time around.
The main considerations for a new laptop was 18 inch screen and
Bluray disk drive. Sony had a similar model, but it was a bit more
expensive, so I got one of these. My main complaint is the
lack of a spdif digital output. While it does have an HDMI
output that will suffice if you want to watch movies and run sound
through an HDMI equipped receiver, it does not help a lot if you
want it for listening to music through a DAC (for improved sound
quality). I ended up buying a
HP Notebook QuickDock 2.0 that has a digital output. The
downside is that the dock is large, has a very, very short cord, and
is connected on the side of the computer that is farthest away from
a table when I am sitting at my usual spot on the couch. As a
result, I have the dock in a drawer and I don't think it will get
much time on my computer. I ended up unhooking the
M-Audio transit from my PC and using it. It is a device that
connects to a USB port and supplies a digital output. I have
it connected to my Behringer SRC 2496 and I have a set of Grado SR60
headphones running off of the SRC's headphone output. The
sound quality is pretty good.
I have watched a couple of Bluray discs on the laptop and they
look fantastic and they run without a glitch, even when the laptop
is not connected to power. The drawback is that it will eat
through the battery capacity at a blistering pace. We had a
blackout during a storm, so I watched "Kung Fu Panda" in Bluray on
the laptop and as the movie was climaxing with a great fight, my
battery died. I had to wait for power to be restored before I
could finish the movie. I have the 8 cell lithium battery, but
I think I will use less power hungry features of the laptop during
the next power outage.
I am a big guy, so I can handle the size of the laptop without a
problem. It is great for internet based activities and it
connects to all my music and movies on my network. It also has
a Netflix program built into WMC. In other words, despite the
lack of digital output and battery life, I am pretty happy with the
laptop. I use my desktop PC a lot less since I bought
it...which is the main reason I own a laptop.
|
Omega
Speedmaster Date Watch (3210.50) |
The "Date" watch is fairly uncommon
because most Omega buyers seem to prefer "the moon watch" or the "James
Bond" watch. For me, that made this watch more appealing.
Anyway, I posted some pics below:
I haven't posted anything new in a while, but thought I would
share some info on a Navigation unit I bought recently.
Many people get Navigation units in their vehicles nowadays, but the BMW factory
navigation has a lot of complaints and it seems overpriced for what I need on a
daily basis (it costs $2100). The Garmin 780 on the other hand has dropped
to $200, so I did not have to spend a fortune on it. I am sure the BMW
Navigation is better at integrating with the iPod, so I am not comparing the two
units, just explaining why I did not see that it was worth the extra money.
The 780 has a MSN Direct (3 months are free, but there is a charge for more
months) built in that is supposed to help with everyday traffic in certain
areas. However, the main reason I wanted the Nav unit was to be able to
find restaurants and other places of interest when I get to a new town.
Also, I have been stuck in Mobile, AL traffic because of a wreck and it would
have been nice to know where to get off the highway and how to get around it if
needed. The 780 will re-calculate a new path to your destination as you
get off the path they have designated.
I also liked the fact that I could send destinations to the Garmin over the
internet and change the Nav voice (I like the Australian female voice) and the
vehicle (I have R2D2 as one of my options). There are a lot of other
features on the Garmin, but I did not really need some of them since my car has
Bluetooth built in.
I also bought a
Garmin Portable Friction Dashboard Mount. It makes it easy to pull the
navigation unit off of the dashboard and hide it out of site. The downside
is the fact that my dashboard slopes a bit, so it does work its way down the
dashboard during a long trip. I guess it could fly off and hit me in the
head if I had an accident, but I would rather have that than a permanent mount
in the vehicle.
There are a lot of phones coming out with GPS nowadays, but for $200 I
thought it was worth the investment even if it only gets a couple years of use.
|
Porter Cable Detailing Kit |
I got a Porter Cable 7424 Random Orbiter and kit with sponges for Christmas last
year. I finally got around to trying it out on Denise's car. While I
bought it for my car, somehow I ended up using it on her car first. ;-S
The process was made easier with the Porter Cable because it helped with the
polishing and the waxing of the car. I should mention that a proper
cleaning of a car from washing to claying to polishing to waxing is still a back
breaking affair even with the greatest tools in the world. The best
resource I was able to find that takes you from steps "a to z" is available for
free on the web. It is called the
Detailer Handbook and is specifically for New England S2000 owners but it
will work for any car on the market. I would highly recommend it even if
you only wash your car.
Anyway, I am glad I have the Porter Cable even if I will only use it about four
times a year. It should last forever and make my job easier. Of
course, you could just take your car to a detailer shop in your area, but to be
honest, I have heard horror stories about them ruining paint finishes and I do
not want to risk it with my car.
As I mentioned, the kit came with the sponges and towels like you see to the
left. They came in handy because I did not have to track down sponges to
fit the 7424. The kit was available from Palm Beach Motoring at one time,
but I think they have moved on to sell stuff from
Griot's Garage, which makes similar products. I also bought a
PC 7424 Microfiber Bonnet Kit to use for polishing.
As soon as it gets a bit cooler, temperatures below 70, I will actually get a
chance to detail my car. ;-) It was nice to have a car to practice on,
though. Just hope Denise does not need another detailing on her car by
then....
Click
on the pic to read more.
I am giving a new script from a Flickr account a try. If it works for a
month or so, I may change several of my photos to include the embedded notes:
AKG K701 Headphones - I got these for Christmas and I wanted to break them in
for a while before posting anything about them.
Compared to my trusty Sennheiser HD580s, these are very detailed and easier to
drive. They actually offer quite a bit different sound. The Senns
have a heavier bass quality and blend better with my X-can V3 headphone amp.
The AKGs do not exhibit as much bass presence, but every instrument is detailed
and transparent.
I also think they are more comfortable than the HD580s, but some have complained
about the strap that goes over the top of the head being too tight.
Personally, when listening to vocals, jazz, etc... The AKGs would be my
headphones of choice. For when I want more bass impact, I would pick up
the HD580s.
We had some server issues, so my
site has been down for a few days. I still have some pics that are not
showing up, so I will try to fix those problems in the near future.
Click on the images below to see my office system:
I was looking for a comfy chair for my office setup that would allow me to
recline and listen to my headphones or play video games. I was at Scan
Interiors here in Memphis looking for a new coffee table and ran across the
perfect office chair. The chair is made of cushy leather, can be ordered
in numerous leather colors and wood details. I have a large (they also
have a regular size)
IMG Windsor chair in black leather (other colors take months to
ship) with cherry wood accents. It reclines and the cushion below the head
can be adjusted for just about any position. It is has an office chair
base with wheels and the height can be adjusted. Sweet!
I got a new bed and moved my Samsung 61 inch HDTV to the bedroom.
See more here.
See my initial thoughts on the Sony PS3
I made some recent changes to my main system. You can read
about it on my Home Theater page.
I added a
Sony Bravia SXRD KDS-60A3000 60" 1080p Rear Projection HDTV ,
a
great stand for the TV, and more!
I updated my receiver to the Denon 3808CI and I added a Wii and
an Oppo 980H. The other big change is that I got rid of my
rack and now have most of my stuff under the TV. I also bought
an Apollo Wall shelf for my turntable. This gives me some
extra floor space and gives the turntable some isolation from the
floor.
You may also want to view my
photography page
with my camera, lenses, and accessory information. I have tried to
come up with a few shots with each lens that demonstrate what it can do.
While I have mentioned that many of the subjects on this site are not
personal, I think my
Photography section on Pbase will tell you a little about, me by what
I see through the camera.
To find out more about my lenses (with examples), please see my
UofMtiger photography page.
I encourage people to pick up the hobby, even if it is not for every day
posting. It really opens your eyes to your surroundings and gives
you greater appreciation of the simple things in life like a flower in
bloom, a fiery sunset, a butterfly's wings, etc...
You can visit this month's
Picture of the Day by clicking on the
photo to the left.
