My Gadget Reviews

 

 
The system below was put together for video first and audio second.  However, I left in a two channel speaker system, electrostatic headphones, and Super T-amp for great sound quality when I am in the mood.  The point of this page is to give people an idea of how to put together a respectable media setup in a bedroom.  The surround system that I mention below is not the end-all-be-all for sound, but it still gives the audience a "theater-lite" feel to the festivities.

LEAVE ME YOUR QUESTIONS, CRITIQUES, COMMENTS OR CONCERNS

 
 
Bedroom System

Some major changes to the bedroom system:

I decided to get a king size bed to fit all the dogs in the family.    Therefore, I was no longer in a bed that would work with a TV that was mounted so close to the ceiling.  I also had a spare 61 inch 720p HDTV lying around, so I decided to move the LCD to my office/workout/mancave room.  The setup below is the result of the changes.  I am still using the Onkyo receiver, PS3, Linkplayer, etc...

 

One of the other changes I made was moving the Electrostat headphone/T-amp to the nightstand so that I could listen to music while lying in my new bed.  Typically, the Roku is not sitting on top of the Entech DAC, but I thought it was easier to see the DAC in the picture this way:

 

One of the other features I like about the bed is that it has a Precision Comfort foundation, so I am able to lift the head of the bed while playing games.  It also has a massage feature and it can lift the feet when I am in the mood for ultimate relaxation.  The bed is a Select Comfort 7000 series and I fell in love the minute I layed on it in the store.  I have a bad back and this thing is the best way to manage it.

 

Below is a shot of the "little girl" resting on my side of the split-king bed:

 

Some shots I took of the old system (most of the stuff is still in use.  I mainly moved the TV to a different room:

 

As you can see, I was not kidding when I told you this thing was close to the ceiling (see my Westinghouse remarks in the section below if you wonder why I have it mounted so high)!

 

The shot below is Grand Turismo HD.  I took it from the bed.  The bed is pretty high, so the fact that the TV is mounted so high is not much of a problem. 

This game was free from Sony of the internet.  There are not very many games out right now that are must buys for my tastes, so I can envision playing this and other demos until they release Devil May Cry and Metal Gear Solid on the PS3.  (The "Freeze" button is from the TV because I wanted a somewhat still shot for posting).  

Below is a picture of the web browser.  As you can see, it is pointed to the best site on the web! LOL  Some people have complained that the PS3 font is too small and I agree that they should have a way to make it bigger.

A shot of a Blu-ray trailer for Underworld - Evolution (sorry my flash made this a less than stellar pic):

The PS3, MediaPilot USB keyboard (that works with the PS3), the Linkplayer, Sony Sat-T60, cutting board because the Tivo gets unbelievable hot on the bottom, TDS202, Entech Number Cruncher, and TCC TC754 (phono stage/switchbox)

Super T-amp with HP100 electrostatic headphones.  I run the speaker wires from here, too.

 

LEAVE ME YOUR QUESTIONS, CRITIQUES, COMMENTS OR CONCERNS

 

More about some of the stuff:

 

 

Insignia™ 6-1/2" Bass-Reflex Bookshelf Speakers - These are the >$50 speakers many on the internet are raving about.  Very good for the price.  I guess I could get a surround system in the bedroom, but the two channels are perfect for me right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Westinghouse LVM-42W2 42" 1080p LCD HDTV - I have been wanting a new TV for my bedroom for a while now.  Unfortunately, my bedroom setup leaves a lot to be desired from a TV watching perspective.  As a result, the TV had to go on top of a "wardrobe" and not be so tall that it hit the ceiling. Our bed is very high, so mounting it that high does not hurt too much if we are watching from bed.  However, the TV, with stand, had to be less than 30 inches tall to fit the space nicely.  Luckily, I liked this TV anyway because it is priced relatively low and it uses 1080P resolution.   It also fit the space perfectly!

The combination of Westinghouse and my Linkplayer leaves me a great place to watch movies!  I did hook up my cable HD - DVR to it and it looks spectacular! 

 

 

 

 

PS3 (60GB) - They had 3 of these at Target, so I went ahead and bought one.   I decided to put it in the bedroom with the Westinghouse.  I may move it into the living room on occasion to watch a Blu-ray movie, but it makes sense to put the gaming machine in the bedroom since it is rare for the living room TV to be free for my sole purposes.

It is a pretty awesome machine with gaming, blu-ray (a form of DVD for High def), web browsing, SACD playback, and many other features.

 

 

 

 

  

I-O Data Linkplayer - I mentioned this player on the gadget page for it's great networking and it's USB 2.0 abilities.  The Linkplayer is also a DVD player.  It has the ability to upscale DVDs to HD resolutions.  The DVD player can handle DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R and DVD-RWs!  This month the company is providing an update that will handle WMVHD DVDs with Microsoft digital rights management.  Did I mention that player is available for $250?    

Click here to see the rest of my review

 

 

 

Harmony 880 Remote - Love this so much in the living room that I bought one for the bedroom, too!

 

 

 

 

 

Entech 203.2 - Works great as a DAC for my IO-Data Linkplayer and I will also use it with my HD PVR when it is delivered.

 

 

 

 

 

Super T amp with Realistic HP100 Electrostatic headphones - I use this for music, but I also feed my Insignia speakers using the "energizer box".   I keep this unit on a different shelf near my massage chair because the headphone cable is very short.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sony Sat-T60 - This is a standard def DVR that I have had since I started using DirecTV.  It will probably get less use when the SA 8300HD shows up!  update: Comcast was supposed to put me on a waiting list and bring me a DVR when it became available.  Two months went by, no phone call, so I called them.  They said they were still out...Bye, Bye cable, I am canceling the service and adding another Directv box instead..  The Tivo to the right is still hooked up for old recorded programming, but will eventually be moved out of the system.

 

 

Updated:

I have also added a cheapish surround system ($159) to the bedroom.  It is a refurbished HT-S590S - 5.1-Channel Home Theater System from Shop Onkyo.

 

Being a longtime customer of DirecTV, I got a bargain on another HD DVR.  The functionality is not up to Tivo standards, but it will pick up more high def channels than the old Tivo and use less space when recording them.   Now my bedroom system is also complete.  :-)