EmptyDivided

Yeah they could not do the auto calibration due to the noisy drilling works in the background that day. It is a good idea I do that soon, when silence can be achieved. I tried adapting but without basic functions like sinks not working, now toilets removed, unless I use the swimming pool's bathing facilities, that is the only way of adapting. Toilet now has to be rehacked in certain areas to adjust the plumbing in both bathrooms. They said it can be achieved with tiles fixed back on today as well. I find that hard to believe given their progress. I can't even clean any area of the house or put things up as there will be so much dirt yet again. I won't elaborate further. I am just sitting here with fingers crossed the ID can do a handover this Friday as he has promised me, for the third time in three weeks. My wife thinks it is more likely in June. Ha! We will see. Bats not needed. Passive anger seems to be the key. The day I explode in the house, there will be more air movement than the sub. He is not a bad ID. He just needs to better handle expectations from both his contractors and his client. And he needs a notebook to write things down. He seems to forget many things and he doesn't favor emails. Grumbles. Life goes on.

My wife and I will ensure the 100 hours are breached first before asking you over. Okay I am going to sound like a complete idiot here. They just adjust each db on screen for every speaker for the loudness level. And they only showed us how to tweak for each different movie. Music wise nothing was demonstrated besides using the presets. I was listening to Stacey Kent and Lisa Ekdahl. Very clean and neutral as compared to my tube which was richer/fuller. When we turned on AC/DC, it was sharp again but the beats were accurate. Needs some tuning in after the running in still I reckon. Hohoho. Band of Brothers is an excellent serial. I prefer this to the newer Pacific. yes Bastogne, the place filled with snow and inadequate winter wear. Are your neighbors complaining or saying about your noise levels? I am thinking of buying some noise insulation tape for the main doors and sliding doors, but she says it doesn't work. Yeah let me know which titles you are bring, just to check if we do have them too. Btw you must be really busy with your new home, toys, kids and a new kid. How do you manage? My wife and I are feel like killing ourselves over this reno works. Thumbs up for you mate. RB

Hmm to the best of my 37 years of WC experience, this is the first I have noticed. Usually the drop zone is directly below without having to prop oneself "effectively". I am surprised with your experiences, it seems like we are living in different realms. hahha But yeah my particular Bravat WC is designed that way. So I thought it's good to let Kobelala know about it first.

Hmm,whats a good metaphor for a description? The helicopter ain't going to land on the landing pad straight down. It will have to slide down leaving marks.>< I have not tried it, but when I was looking at mine, I think there is a high possibility this will happen.

Thanks RB. Just paying forward. I have learned much here and I do appreciate that. Anyways yeah, still have got that 100 hours to run in both for my TV and speakers. The Wharfedales sounded a bit too neutral and sharp for my liking. They sounded different in the showroom. I will have to patiently wait for that hundred hours before they would shine. Thus I am not writing a review on them at the moment. Calibration is something I have to learn. But the first stepping stone is the controls. Too many controls with too many functions. It makes me dizzy looking at them. The wife is better with them actually. The on screen ipod menu is actually quite a cool feature with the 609s. Come, come when you are free to show me how to calibrate. And I would love to hear your sealed sub. It must sound very punchy. I had two PPI 12 inch in my car with a sealed box before. I had an Xtant 1000 watt d class mono block amp powering them. They were mean!

Try KEC. They have a great range for most budgets. They are at Adelphi. Plenty of high end shops there. HTS is like opening a can of worms. Set yourself a budget and work along with that. Why don't you read the thread on recommendation on a decent sound system thread? Quite informative. What is your budget? And what sort of usage would you use the hts for? 50% music 50% movie for example? And in terms of looks, what is acceptable? RB gives very sound advice(no pun intended).

Kobelala Please look at the Bravat WC where the pool of water is. For the Bravat WC I had bought, I realized it is going to be an on going issue. (I may be wrong, as I have yet to test it).

About $7,000. These includes; 1. Sony NX 710 46" 3D 2. Onkyo 609 3. Wharfedales 10.6 and 10.0 4. SVS sub PC 12 Ultra 5. Oppo 93 bluray player 6. AC Ryan playon 2 The TV costs quite a bit. As I have mentioned in my post before, the HTS(less the players and TV) is about $3k. It is a 5.1, upgradeable to 7.1. I would love to post photos of our humble entry set up, but now place is still undergoing works. Sadness. Once it is up, i will post photos.

I bought a Bosch Island hood for my place. I made a mistake by trusting the sales people to know their specifications well. All hoods should not be more than one meter above the hob ideally. I did tell the sale staff my ceiling height and they said it was within tolerance. My installer ( Bosch recommended) said it was not right. I have a hood that is 200mm higher than its ideal height. So functionality now is compromised. It will still work but not as well. Thankfully we are not going to do any heavy cooking, and the hood was purchased due to looks more, as compared to functionality. Moral of the story is ask for the specifications and confirm them yourself. Bosch has this unique charcoal filter to absorb smells. This hinders the airflow rate I was told and given a demonstration by the installer. It feels much weaker. I have yet to cook so I don't know if the charcoal filter pad is going to be an advantage or disadvantage. Airflow rate versus smell. Again I was told, a hood works best if it can ventilate the sucked in air out to the open, as compared to recirculation. He did mention the pull out hoods were also more about form than functionality. He did not want to elaborate further. Another important point, not many contractors, whether it may be carpenters or electrician, or even plumbers are willing to take the task of installing an island hood. It requires some skill and equipment. The holes that were to be drilled and attached to the hood were done by laser. So there will be additional costs if you want an island hood. It is even more costly if your ceiling is false as they would have to add reinforcements. The price of installation almost doubles. Looks wise, it is great. Price wise, it actually cost more than double as compared to a fit in wall hood. Things you might want to consider if you are working on a budget or if you need to buy an island hood.

Hi guys, I am sure many of us here have pondered about what subs to get, which brand to buy, what size to get. My wife and I have visited KEC several times to audition. I have personally heard Velodynes CHT 8Q, CHT 10 Q, SVS PB 13 Ultra and the B&W PV1. In all fairness, the Velodynes were of the lower range, with lower powered amps as compared to the other two brands. Thus, I found the imaging not accurate, overly boomy and undefined. I am a novice at this, so please read with an open mind. Some may like the Vedlodynes and find them great, so please do your homework and listen to all despite individual views. One thing I realized on my journey in my HTS is that everyone's preference differs. Given a limited budget due to reno expenses, I was given a challenge. Try to achieve a HTS under $3k. This $3k includes only amp, speakers and sub. The hunt began. I was disappointed with Velodynes performance and continued with my research online. The SVS PB 13 and PV 1 sounded much better. So i told my wife we were going to get an SVS. She said okay if it was within budget. I posted on another website looking for an svs sub and I bought a mint condition PC 12 Ultra.(It is a round cylindrical shape sub shaped older version) The guys from KEC came to install the system. The mains are Wharfedale 10.6s, 10cs for the centre and 10.0 for the rears. An Onkyo 609 powers the speakers and sub and the player is an Oppo 93. The Dark Knight was used to test the system. The Wharfedales were clear and crisp. But what blew me off was the sub. My wife is a bass freak. So she got the guy to turn up the sub. I was directing some work at another part of the house and I heard a boom in the back ground and following that my wife shrieked followed by immense laughter. She yelled for me to have a listen. And we played the scene again.Its the scene where the robbers shoot an arrow through a glass. the bass was accurate not boomy. The sound replicated felt like a punch. I could feel air movement against my face. It seems exaggerated, but I did feel the air move. It was fantastic. I can't wait to watch more but due to the disappointments in the reno works, we can't move in and it is three weeks late, now moving into the fourth. I will update more when I watch more movies. What I can safely conclude to say is, 1. the more power driving you feed your sub, the better it gets. An underpowered sub will give you a boomy sound. 2. SVS does live up to its reviews online. 3. 8", 10", 12", 15", 18"' 21" do all differ. 8" will be very punchy and short, and for the huge subs will be much bigger in sound and will send out way bigger reverberations. For me personally, pending on room size, speaker size and personal preferences, that is how a decision should be derived upon. An average sized living room I think(in my opinion) needs at least a 10" sub or a high powered 8". I hope my experience will help those who are searching for their HTS. last and not least, kudos to the great service and patience KEC sales and installers provided. They are good. Period.

Yeah I agree with RB on the Mythos 9. A lot of fellow forum posters are liking the Deftech speakers. I have personally heard the mythos 9. I did not like what I hear and for that kind of price, I felt at that point of time, I would have better and more options. Second hands are "caveat emptor" for everything regardless. Like you, this is an entire new hobby and the amount of research, write ups and reviews are too many. What I did was read up on the many write ups and reviews, choose what I like from my research, go to the shop and listen. Try and use the amps that you are going to purchase to pair it with the speakers. Then I played different tracks, movies and music and see if I liked them. Then I asked for prices. With a knowledge armed, I search for used items if I can to save some money. How do we know if we are buying a "lemon"? Test the speakers/amp like what you would do at the shop. If the seller stops you from certain things, then something might be amiss. It might not be a bad thing, so just ask why. Maybe he has sensitive neighbors or their baby might be asleep.If for some other reason that I can't understand, then I would give it a miss. Look at their demographics. Ask them what they like to listen to.Talk to them and ask questions. Why are they selling? What music do they like, what movies they love and if they have complaints from neighbors. If its rock music and they love jamming their systems, it is usually a sign their drivers have received a fair amount of wear and tear. It might seem to be stereotyping but i think it is a fair deduction. Look at their settings as well and other equipment used. You would somehow know an audiophile fanatic when you see one. And if I may stereotype again, many of them take care of their systems immaculately. I wish you luck on your search and hope you get some great buys! These should give you a good indication on how much wear and tear the system has gotten, besides a visual and physical inspection.

There is a section on Sound and Vision in this forum. You should post over there.

Firstly bring wife for a nice lunch at Fullerton hotel. Then say casually why not stroll for a walk to Adelphi. Go KEC and look for Allan and see what he can offer for your budget. Sit down and have a listen. I have a soundbar at home, and I fully regretted buying one. Why you should not buy a sound bar 1. You can't upgrade any part of a sound bar. 2. Once a sound bar spoils, you lose the whole system. I have a problem opening and closing my philip sound bar dvd cover. If that breaks and the warranty is over, it will probably cost me easily $50- $100 to fix that issue. I can buy a new blu ray player with that kind of money these days. 3. How can a sound bar project surround sound more effectively then placing speakers surrounding yourself? If your wife wants a minimalist system, look for satellites. They will sound as good or even better than a sound bar. Bookshelfs are better, floor standers are even better. But again, because we love our wives, we will compromise. Break it down to even dollars and cents, a Ht system will be cheaper to replace or resell in the market as compared to a soundbar. And soundbars ain't exactly cheap.I think they are only good for the new developments of mickey mouse, shoe box apartments in bedrooms where there are hardly any space to walk, less put in a wardrobe. This is my frank opinion. As I have posted earlier, Audio Iconic in Adelphi has posted a B&W mt 20 (satellites) ht speakers for $1k negotiable. If they are in great condition, I think they are great value for money if you can bargain down somemore.

Haha. The reasons for the DVDs may not be what you think. We have decided to prioritize purchase due to our unexpected purchases. Yes, definitely we will pm to meet. Hows the sub progressing?

xtremeplace.com has got a set of used B&W MT 20s for $1000 negotiable. It is from Audio Iconic. You can go audition them there. The price seems too good to be true. That is if you have not got a system yet. These are satellites. So in tems of clashing with your existing design, it will be minimal. With false ceilings, there are no issues running your cables in them. Plus false ceilings are easiest for retification works. Ceiling speakers or wall mounted is really up to your personal choice. Mounting them will not make much of a difference.

Yeah I know what you mean when you say is it worth the price though it sounds better. Thats why my wife and I choose to not to audition the expensive units. I got the 10CM. Listening in KEC last week, the specs for polarity matches better with the 10.6s as compared to the 10CC. Sound wise it is louder and less muffled. The replica of the voices were accurate. But again, the ushers that I auditioned, I felt personally they were definitely clearer(cinema like quality) and better. My wife has compromised on many things with my indulgences.She has been very patient and great wife to me, this is no sacrifice at all. No I think I will not venture to projectors. I can't even afford a pair of decent working pants at all. I now go to work in shorts and singlets. >< Does Asahi, pop corn and chips sound good? Let me know what your kids like too.

Thanks RB. Yes it was a shame I could not listen to the SB 12. The day I went to KEC, a customer the night before apparently blasted and the driver broke.>< What bad luck. I do advocate and agree about what you have said, trying everything you can if possible. I know it might sound bad and its like being a pain to the sales person, but ultimately, you want to get best what you like in your affordable range. Best bang for the buck literally. I have not seen the new PC12 amps. During my read ups, it seems a re-occuring comment was that SVS was bought over and they didn't make subs like what they used to manufacture before. I am not too sure about the changes so I can't comment. But looking at what the rest are saying in the posts before, it seems they are still doing the right thing. I just can't wait for next week when my new equipment arrives and is set up. The set up is 2 10.6s, with a 10cm, and 2 10.1 for back surround. Amp is the new Onkyo 609, I wish I could get the 709 but wallet constraints. Btw RB, I was also eyeing the evo centre speakers. the front port makes a huge difference on the delivery of dialogues. Sigh, CFO does not see value in that. There were Ushers centre speakers, two 5.25 drivers with two port front facing going new for $250, wife says its ugly. But guys, they normally cost $600. And if you like clear, sharp and very audible efficient centre speakers, go take a look at them. IMO excellent value for money. Btw, if anyone is looking for a reasonably priced bookshelf speaker, give usher s520 a try. I ran it with a hybrid 13 watt amp, vocals, clarity and transparency to my unpolished ears, sounds fantastic. I paid less than $800 for this setup. I can assure you it sounds better than any commercial docks. And these ipod system docks are not cheap. And I to declare I have no affiliations with Usher. I am a Phua Chu Kang, running around sites in safety boots, helmet and safety harnesses, hanging off gondolas and mast climbers to make a living. Thats why hearing music at home is a huge relaxation as compared to hearing hacking, drilling heavy machinery noises in bloody hot conditions. RB, when my system is set up, you are welcome to have a listen and better advice me on how I can improve the placement on my speakers and how to tune my amp or even suggest in front of my wife if maybe I should add pre amps if I do need them. hahahah. Its like opening a can of worms. Never know when to stop. Hows your sub going? Finish running them in yet?

Yeah I actually think the SVS cylinder subs looks cool. Even the B&W PV1 is a beaut! But at the end of the day, what really matters is hwta sounds good to our ears. The cool factor will loose if it just does not deliver the effects that our ears desire.(that's my opinion:)) Okay just to share some personal auditions I had with three subs. The CHT 8Q and SVS PB12 Plus were tried in KEC. Amp used was Onkyo 708. Speakers to match where WHarfedale floor standers. CHT 8Q - I read some raving reviews and personal recommendations and endorsements from different sites about this. I went in with great expectations. I had Alan from KEC tuning the amp and sub, constantly. Somehow the CHT 8Q to me, was not accurate and extremely boomy. It was not precise and did not replicate sounds well. I was disappointed.The only good thing about this sub was that it had a preset control to suit different needs and characteristics. But again Alan tried his best and we weren't able to achieve what I felt was passable. CHT 10Q,- Then I thought about it logically. If I went up in size it may be boomier but the built in amp had more power. So i thought it might be more precise and less boomy. True enough it is less boomy and slightly more accurate but again I felt it was not worth the purchase to get s sub when it can't really replicate accurate bass notes, eg the helicopter blades churning thumps, the explosions. It sounds like what Ris Low says, it just goes 'boomz'. Sadness. Went back to the computer, I decided to read AVS forum as Rimblock recommended and googled SVS. Again raving reviews. And price wise, it wasn't a huge killer, pending on which range you chose. I went back to KEC (Kudos to KEC for their patience), I had the only choice of listening to the SVS pb 12 plus. If I closed my eyes, and if there were strong winds blowing, I would think a helicopter was actually was landing near me. It was realistic and it replicated well and the beats were timed perfect and accurate. Image merged well. I was impressed. Then suddenly came the downside. Price. $3000 plus. I always had to go like the "wrong" things. Sadly I left. I knew my CFO will not endorse this purchase requisition. I was then recommended by a nice chap whom I bought the Oppo 93 from on where I can source used subs. I found an old chap who was giving up his hobby ( he matches the stereotype of a music audiophile, old, nothing else to do and have bottomless wallets to spend on heavenly equipment). I went his house, I was greeted by 1970 Altec Lansing horn speakers with 15 inch built in subwoofer(there were four of them) and they were powered by individual amplifier tube blocks! The horn tweeters reminded me of my school day assembly loudspeakers. Then he brought my wife and I into this small room which was his theatre where the PC12 Plus sat beside a huge screen and speakers. His flavour of theatre was clarity and accuracy. The sub was tuned for accurate beats that were gentle. (The typical american street thug with their muscle v8s, hydraulic suspensions and 1000 watts 15 inch subs would been laughing silly and questioning why bother to have a sub at all) We played Fantastic four. Not impressive as it was not loud enough for my standards, bu then the imaging merged well and the accuracy was there. The bass did fill the room. Then the real reason came up why the built in amp was tuned this way, he listens to a young girl who sings with David Foster playing the piano every night. To him that was what he loved. And it did sound lovely, with the in focus projector. The beats again were accurate and it was not boomy. And futher more he dampened the two out of three holes to dampen the bass to be less boomy. Hearing the PB12 plus and now the PC12 ultra plus, I knew this will serve our needs and I paid less than what I initially has to pay for a CHT 8Q. The Sub was immaculate for its age(<5 years) the input gold plugs were till shiny, the rubber on the drivers did not look fatigued and worn.I bought it with my wife whom was reluctant about the size only. Luckily she liked the sound too. SVS cylinder subs as what the previous person has posted in my opinion is excellent. I lugged it with the poor old chap four storeys down, placed it in my small car and drove home a happy man. SVS cylinder subs and and the pb 12 plus in my opinion are great subs. The accuracy, the amp matched well, the quality is great. This is my view. My advice, give this a chance and have a listen. Its worth the time. Btw, the PV10s(B&W) are excellent too. If WAF is a huge issue and price insn't, go have a listen.

I don't know if copper or aluminum will function better. Copper and Aluminum will actually both oxidize due to water or humidity. Aluminum treated eg, anodized, powder coated, flurocarbon painted will last for yonks. But for the benefits of the air con, I really do not have a clue. But weight for weight, I can tell you copper is way pricier a commodity than aluminum. Try privately messaging Aron and see if he is willing to advise you. He is the air con expert here from what I read.

Rainbow does actually work.If your sinuses are affecting you very badly, try vacuuming your bed and have the rainbow run continuously in your bed room for half an hour daily. And clean your air con filters monthly too. It should help.

I think what Disturbed meant was go mega discount and get their best price possible. Then bring it to Harvey Norman and ask them to beat it if they can. They usually can. I did that as well. For my 46" bravia 3D TV, I manage to even beat the deal offered at SITEX. It was **** lot of walking between Millenia Walk and Suntec Expo, but I had a much sweeter deal!

Hi Everyone, When shopping for electrical products for our new home with my wife, we were confused by the million of choices and brands, their functions, uses. We finally ploughed through most our purchases by posting questions on forums like renotalk or researching through other foreign forums. Some difficulties that hindered our research were like the different model numbers,the climatic conditions, the service back ups and the availabilities. We have a cat and a dog that lives with us in our bedroom. My wife has a very bad reaction to pet's dander. It has worsened and I decided to use the new dyson DC31 motorhead before we were ready to shift in our new home. Before I go on to give a full review on this magnificent product, let me share on how we derived on this purchase. I have a Dyson vacuum cleaner in Australia for the past many years, and till date currently it still works very well without having a loss in suction power. I do regularly maintain my machinery. Our tools are only as good as how much maintenance we spend on them. I clear the dirt mostly after every use and I wash the canister at canister and filter at least once a month. I have not added or changed any part of the machine. This has proven to me it is a worthy machine. My wife also loved the dyson as it was easy to use and the motorbrush worked well on the carpets, especially when we have pets and seasonally they do moult. I was visiting my friend's new place in Australia and he liked my Dyson and he bought the same vacuum cleaner plus he bought the DC31. He has a domestic long hair and he uses that to clean his couch as well. He simply swears Dyson is one of the best value vacuum cleaners around. This has been one of my ideal wants for my new house. And my wife, being my soulmate understands my desires and satisfaction needs, She said I will never be satisfied unless I got the Dyson. She told to get one, but I was hesitant as it was quite expensive. It cost more than some branded fullsize vacuums. My wife and I having decided we prioritized our privacy as a utmost need, we decided we do not need a foreign domestic helper. Our new place is small and we both share the same traits. We are both clean and we do not procrastinate. I am actually overly obsessive which always get on her nerves. With that in mind, I decided to get the best equipment we can afford to make cleaning chores easier, and with that extra suction power which I sought after much due to my wife's allergies, I decided to get it. Last night, after seeing my wife's very red nose and swollen eyes from the allergy from our loved pets, I decided to open our new dc31 before we shifted to our new place. After charging for 6 hours, I decided to vacuum our pillows. And I was in for a shock, a couple of strokes I could see fine fur and powder in the see through canister. This immediately motivated me to do a vacuum of all the pillows and the comforter and the top section of the bed. The canister was filled with fur and dirt. I did not even have to use the extra boost button and it was that powerful. Of course some people will say then don't let your pets on the bed and your wife won't suffer. My wife, especially will not mind suffering for the sake of her animals. The **** amazon has bitten her many a times drawing litres of blood profusely. I have bitten twice and I dare not go near her anymore. My wife still carries her regardless. So not letting the pets on the bed is not an option. Vacuuming the bed is not a total solution but least we do see the improvement in her allergic reactions. Back to the machine, the filter is easily removable by pressing a red button to open the canister and remove the filter to wash. The filter must only be handwashed and and air dried. The downside of this filter is that it is a non HEPA compliant filter. The canister is easy to clean, though some dirt might"fly" out when dumping the dirt in a bag. Ergonomically, it is not as friendly as the "shark" or the Black and Decker, but it is quite manageable. The motorhead is worth the investment especially if you do have a pet. It works very, very well. Don't be fooled by the 1400 or 1500 watt rating. The cyclonic action is a proven method. My other downside I feel on this machine is the short battery life. They rate 10 minutes in lower power and 6 minutes in high power. And the replacement battery is $100 plus dollars!!! So if you are look a a very good handheld to vacuum your couch, crumbs on the floor or some sand on the ground and are obsessive like me, it is worthy an investment.

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Excellent choice of collar for the cat. The blue goes marvelously well with the cat's grey fur. You have got exquisite taste.