AlpineJay
07-27-2005, 12:10 PM
*note* I finished writing this post and somehow clicked out of it on my work computer, thereby having to redo everything again.
Since I graduated and got my first FT job, I had some disposable income after rent, food, and utilities. I figured since this is probably one of the few years where I can be reckless and spoil myself with money, I'd go ahead and get that HT system I always wanted. Not wanting to spend so much money, I looked into a handful of different options and here's what I've settled on over the last 8 weeks - each things being purchased progressively over this span:
TV - Panasonic PT-43LC14 (http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=71396&catGroupId=24976&modelNo=PT-43LC14&surfModel=PT-43LC14&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702) 43" LCD RPTV. Nice TV for the price. I live on the second floor of an apartment and definitely didn't want to have to deal with a CRT RPTV. LCD panels were way out of my price range for the same size, and plasmas didn't appeal to me. DLP was within grasp but this TV was easily 500 dollars cheaper than either a Samsung, Panasonic, or a Toshiba DLP of comparable size.
Receiver - Yamaha HTR-5750 (http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/HTIB/HTR5750.htm). It does 105Wx6 supposedly, but we all know how it is with manufacturers and power ratings. This was picked up for around 135 incl. tax because BestBuy had a 30% open box item coupon out. Not wanting to spend so much money for a receiver (a HK or an Onkyo would have been ideal, but no money), I settled with this. I wasn't gonna get high-end speakers anyway so I made do with what I could.
Speakers/Sub - Athena Technologies Micra6 (http://www.athenaspeakers.com/micra6SystemSpeakers.htm) - another BB open box snag, around $125 incl. tax. It's a nice little set and very well built. Perfect for the size of my room.
Cable - Comcast HD Digital Silver. I'm on their uber promotion but we'll see what I can get out of them when it ends. I may end up doing Dish or DTV if that makes financial sense. I have a Motorola DCT6200 box with opto out and DVI out - I use a DVI-HDMI cable to go to the TV.
DVD - Sony Playstation 2 Slimline. I know, I know, I should do better, but this does 480p and I'm on a budget! I don't have the money for the upconverting player although I imagine that would look quite nice.
PVR - TiVo Series 2 40 hr. Didn't want a VCR and they were running all sorts of promotions. I plan on upgrading the HDD soon - when I have the time to fiddle with it.
I also have a GameCube for Super Smash Brothers Melee and MarioKart DD, which is great for friends coming by. No XBox because I'm just not appealed by Halo or any of their exclusive stuff. HD looks great on this because it's natively 720p, although I'm not so sure if I've watched true 720p content yet. Baseball games look absolutely fabulous.
Another purchase I had to make, somewhat against my will and the wallet, was the Logitech Harmony 676. Because I didn't put this together all at once, the number of remotes ballooned pretty quickly (to 5). When my roommates and my guests began complaining about how complicated it all got, I figured what the hell - it'll make my life easier too. I just got this yesterday and have been tweaking, but I feel that this is probably the final purchase I'll make on this setup for now.
If anyone has any suggestions on what I could do to improve what I've got, go ahead and fire away. I probably won't upgrade anything in the foreseeable future - time to save up now!
Pictures to follow soon!
Since I graduated and got my first FT job, I had some disposable income after rent, food, and utilities. I figured since this is probably one of the few years where I can be reckless and spoil myself with money, I'd go ahead and get that HT system I always wanted. Not wanting to spend so much money, I looked into a handful of different options and here's what I've settled on over the last 8 weeks - each things being purchased progressively over this span:
TV - Panasonic PT-43LC14 (http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=71396&catGroupId=24976&modelNo=PT-43LC14&surfModel=PT-43LC14&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702) 43" LCD RPTV. Nice TV for the price. I live on the second floor of an apartment and definitely didn't want to have to deal with a CRT RPTV. LCD panels were way out of my price range for the same size, and plasmas didn't appeal to me. DLP was within grasp but this TV was easily 500 dollars cheaper than either a Samsung, Panasonic, or a Toshiba DLP of comparable size.
Receiver - Yamaha HTR-5750 (http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/HTIB/HTR5750.htm). It does 105Wx6 supposedly, but we all know how it is with manufacturers and power ratings. This was picked up for around 135 incl. tax because BestBuy had a 30% open box item coupon out. Not wanting to spend so much money for a receiver (a HK or an Onkyo would have been ideal, but no money), I settled with this. I wasn't gonna get high-end speakers anyway so I made do with what I could.
Speakers/Sub - Athena Technologies Micra6 (http://www.athenaspeakers.com/micra6SystemSpeakers.htm) - another BB open box snag, around $125 incl. tax. It's a nice little set and very well built. Perfect for the size of my room.
Cable - Comcast HD Digital Silver. I'm on their uber promotion but we'll see what I can get out of them when it ends. I may end up doing Dish or DTV if that makes financial sense. I have a Motorola DCT6200 box with opto out and DVI out - I use a DVI-HDMI cable to go to the TV.
DVD - Sony Playstation 2 Slimline. I know, I know, I should do better, but this does 480p and I'm on a budget! I don't have the money for the upconverting player although I imagine that would look quite nice.
PVR - TiVo Series 2 40 hr. Didn't want a VCR and they were running all sorts of promotions. I plan on upgrading the HDD soon - when I have the time to fiddle with it.
I also have a GameCube for Super Smash Brothers Melee and MarioKart DD, which is great for friends coming by. No XBox because I'm just not appealed by Halo or any of their exclusive stuff. HD looks great on this because it's natively 720p, although I'm not so sure if I've watched true 720p content yet. Baseball games look absolutely fabulous.
Another purchase I had to make, somewhat against my will and the wallet, was the Logitech Harmony 676. Because I didn't put this together all at once, the number of remotes ballooned pretty quickly (to 5). When my roommates and my guests began complaining about how complicated it all got, I figured what the hell - it'll make my life easier too. I just got this yesterday and have been tweaking, but I feel that this is probably the final purchase I'll make on this setup for now.
If anyone has any suggestions on what I could do to improve what I've got, go ahead and fire away. I probably won't upgrade anything in the foreseeable future - time to save up now!
Pictures to follow soon!