ccclapp

Hi Guys I've been away from this site/thread for a while. I'm wondering if you could give me a recommendation for an inexpensive, but decent (a few hundred $) 2-ch amp or pre/amp combo to go with my Mytek and my office speakers. To date I've been running spare channels on my legacy Theta Dreadnaught 7-ch amp, but the energy draw on that amp is huge for only running my small office speakers. It will be cheaper to buy a small amp than keep paying the electric bill for the Theta ;-). Also, If I want to add a sub, should I run out of the unused RCA or BNC pair (i.e. 1 to speakers other to sub), or run from Mytek to sub to speakers? Any suggestion for modest prices sub? Sorry to be OT. Ill start a new thread if this goes more than a couple of rounds... Thanks!!

Thanks Eloise and mayhem i will also explore streaming options. do you know of 1) a decent remote controllable speaker input selector ,and 2) the generally accepted view on sound quality of spdif over cat 5/6?

...looking forward to your findings

I am implementing a whole house A/V solution and want to incorporate that into my primary listening room as a 'B' option. My "A" option for the audiophile zone is a CAPS server feeding a mytek DAC to both speakers and headphones. My whole house system incorporates ATV, TiVo, media center extenders, ROKU, sonos, etc, etc... my audiophile zone is +/- 50' from my whole house sources In that context my question is: what's the best way (sonically) to add the whole house components to the audiophile zone. These do not need to be the highest audio standard, but should be good. i imaging two basic solutions: 1). A speaker input switcher to select between mytek and whole house analog input, or 2) A spdif/optical over cat 5/6 solution to transmit the digital out from my lexicon pre-pro (used for whole house) to the mytek digital input, using mytek DAC Q: A) is there a good remote controllable analog switcher for option "1"? B) is it preferred to use a digital extender to transmit digital passthrough from lexicon A/V to mytek vs analog out of (lexicon) av pre/ pro? If so, what solution for digital signal 50' to mytek ? I assume this is a spdif/optical to baulm cat 5/6 solution , but have not implemented this previously and don't know what signal loss/degradation to expect , if any, and what products to use... please advise i welcome your wise advise (recognizing this question is outside the CA primary sphere) thanks in advance!!

...looking forward to your process/results/commentary ... Would/are you ever considering convolution as part of your optimization, or do you consider that out-of-bounds?? thanks for all you do for all of us!

Ok I figure an audio recommendation from chris is a good place to start... I don't understand how/why but these list are on sale at amazon for $299 each from $2k??? Since it's through amazon I bought 4 ( for 2 rooms ). I may end up returning is too good to be true ... Amazon.com: 6-12 Reference Standard In-Wall CST LCR Speaker: Electronics here is the manufacturers listing and a review. Since these are 2ndary zones, I'll just run with luck ( or return) S-IW691L - 6 1/2" Reference Standard In-Wall CST LCR Speaker | Pioneer Electronics USA Pioneer Elite EX Series S-IW691L In-Wall Speaker System Features | Home Theater

Thanks Chris! Are you referring to in wall as your recommendation?

Hi all, I've been away from CA for a bit but I'm glad to be back… I am working on a whole house system expansion and have a few questions: A. In the bedroom and kitchen floorstanding Full-range speakers are not feasible. Generally speaking am I correct the order of priority for speaker quality from best to worst would go: 1) in wall 2) small wall-mounted 3) in-ceiling B. Alternatively, would I want to consider a decent soundbar? I would expect this would not compete with the other options but I don't know. C. Typically I wouldn't consider in-ceiling mounted speakers because the audio path is not direct to the ears. However, in a bedroom application where the listener is normally horizontal (in bed) Would in ceiling speakers be preferred to wall-mounted because the path is more direct to the ears for someone lying down? D. At less then $1000 per pair (possibly considerably less) do you have Specific speaker recommendations for each of the three categories (four including sound bar)? NOTE: While the emphasis is music, these will be used for television as well Thanks very much!

Paul, or others: I am near the water in Gloucester Massachusetts with older infrastructure using Comcast. Until recently I had never achieved my published Internet speed. I Had attributed this to the old infrastructure. After researching the question, I bought a Motorola modem Surfboard model sb6141. This is a Docsis Modem, which I believe can bond with three or four streams (Possibly wrong terminology). I immediately saw a doubling of my Internet speed and that speed remains consistent even at the highest use time periods within my neighborhood. I previously had the standard Comcast Wi-Fi modem router. I am amazed that this single change has doubled my Internet speed and put it at or above the published speed of my Subscription. Are you able to briefly describe the technology that makes this possible in these modems? Also, why is it that everyone is not doing this? Also, if everyone did it I suppose I would not be able to benefit from the excess capacity. Is that true, ie Sit is it only because most people are using standard modems in my area that by my using this type of modem There is excess capacity, which I can pick up and utilize. Thanks!

Thanks for this thread. I too am revamping my entire network and have been thinking about routers and access points. I recently purchased a Asus rt-n66u 'dark night' fast Wireless router. It is certainly better than the Comcast modem/wifi router I previously used, however I've been disappointed with the lack of granularity of its quality of service controls. I also get frustrated when I can't access the user interface because it gets tied up with network traffic which Freezes the admin interface console. Because of this I've now ordered a netgear n9000 wndr4500 wireless router because it received good reviews, appears to have good QOS control, et cetera. However reading this thread makes me consider the option you discuss: a standalone router and separate access points. The cisco router maybe more robust than the consumer oriented products and the xirrus product Chris mentions above looks like very high capacity/capability One thing I'm a little unclear of that maybe you can help is: at what point in the network should one manage QOS? The router, AP Wi-Fi or Managed switch? I have a couple of high-end managed HP switches, But don't believe they can effectively manage the wireless clients, other than restricting the port the AP is connected to, And thus having no differentiation between wireless clients On the other hand, some of the access points being discussed have reasonable QOS management, however it seems that would involve setting them up individually and also merging that QOS with whatever I have set on my switch and/or Router. This is why Xirrus mentioned above Is interesting because I believe allows single Point of QOS control for both wired and wireless devices?? Any wisdom you all can offer on the QOS management question would be appreciated. I'm running VoIP streaming video having kids doing video chatting Movie downloads, youtube etc. etc. and want to have reasonable controls. I want something more advanced than just limiting single device bandwidths, or specific application grouping types. Thanks in advance PS: I will likely do a separate thread on the following but just to give you a heads up of nearly doubling my Internet speed… I previously used Comcast's mental modem/router/Wi-Fi/VoIP device And was frustrated that my Internet bandwidth always seemed much lower than my subscription rate of 50 Mbps. After reading extensively on the topic I purchased Motorola surfboard SB6141 Standalone cable modem. My band which immediately nearly doubled and has stayed at that level consistently. In my case I am In a non-urban location with older infrastructure including Comcast cabling In the street. I had attributed my low Internet speed to this fact. I was amazed at the difference in changing the modem. It employs the technology that multiplies the signal which I cannot describe by memory but will post later. Even in sustained download uploads and in the most busy times of the day the network throughput is extraordinary. I use cloud back up for several terabytes of data and I'm always streaming up-and-down.

Hi chris Did you look into these? If so what did you conclude? They look very interesting both in terms of broad range capacity and manageability. I expect the price would be very high what are your thoughts?

Yes I use REW and have done many room measurements...mine is far from flat Next step it treatment and/or digital correction

jud I just looked that album up on amazon: priced $44-$215 what's with that? Must be rare...

Has anyone heard this? How is the SQ? https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=catalogdetail&valbum_code=00888072341418 I listened on MOG and like the album...trying to decide whether to pay the HD Tracks premium. Thanks

strange, I tried to edit the above post to correct Miska's name but couldn't. Have we lost the ability to edit our own posts, or am I just dumber than in the spring? EDIT...however, this post I can edit. Strange