RimBlock

A few quick phone camera shots (my Nikon P6000 is still packed..... somewhere ) The broken door handle before I replaced it. The networking hub (needs a bit of a tidy after I have finished my final run and completed the upstairs trunking. A better desk for the study area. Yep need to tidy there too. Require some more storage.

And so cosmic Kama strikes again. As some of you may be aware, there is now a Sound and Vision forum which was kindly created after I requested it to try and split some questions out of a single thread dedicated to HiFi / Home Cinema. Whilst I am not in anyway an audiophile, I do appreciate decent quality music and home theater. As you have seen, I have upgraded and bought a projector, my single best purchase since buying a computer, and am loving it. Since selling my old surround sound system and amplifier I found myself missing my subwoofer and as money is tight decided to sell my photographic equipment. As people who have been following this thread from the beginning may remember, I used to love doing portrait photography for a hobby in the UK but since marring my wife, have found myself not really using the equipment to a point where it just felt like a waste. I therefore decided to put it up for sale and utilize the proceeds in making the home theater a bit better. A new subwoofer, a new center speaker and maybe a new power amp for the front speakers to improve the music ability. Well after looking at EBay (UK as there was nothing really to compare on Singapore EBay) I got a rough price and put an avert in a Singapore photo website. Within 5 minutes of posting the kit was reserved for sale at the asking price for inspection and collection that night. I was shocked, had 7 more sms/calls and began to think I had put it all up too cheap. I finally got home, sorted everything out, got a message they were on there way when karma struck. Power cut in the apartment. Power circuits tripped outside the flat. I turned them on and bang, loud noise and burning smell from the power extension my main home computer is plugged in to. I unplugged the extension lead and tried again with no problems. Plugged the lead in again and sparks between the socket and plug and bang, no power again. After a bit of frantic sorting, I narrowed it down to the main computer plug. I swapped leads and the power stayed on when I plugged it in ut the computer would not start. Turns out the PSU for the computer had blown. The gentlemen came and after inspection bought the camera and equipment which gave me a nice little sum for my proposed upgrades. After a dig around on Xtememplace, I found a center speaker. Top of the range Wharfedale speaker but the previous revision. Asking 1k, managed to get it for S$850. It is beautifully built but really pretty big. I also went to KEC in the Adelphi and listened to some subwoofers around the 1.2k-1.3k budget. I have written up a report in the Sound and vision forum here. So now I have a subwoofer and a new center speaker. I sold my old center speaker to another member here who was interested and so am now just looking for the power amp within budget. The ones I like are very popular and another forum member is probably / already has bought the one on sale second hand. A new one imported from the US (they do not sell via shops, internet sales only) is just over 1.1K (three channel) or 1.4K (5 channel). Both more or less on the border of the remaining cash. Gotta think about this. ALso there is a nifty device called an Antimode which will sample the sound characteristics of your room for bass and adjust the signal going to you subwoofer in order to tailor it for your room. By all accounts, the results are pretty good. A couple are available on Xtrememplace for S$400 but on contacting the distributor in Singapore, they are only S$480 new. I may get one of these but that would put the power amps out of the picture. Choices, choices. To be honest the home cinema is great. The music side now feels a bit lacking but is still fairly good. A power amp may correct this and improve the home cinema a bit more but there is a chance that changing the main front speakers is really the only way forward and if I did that, I would likely need to spend more than the remaining money to improve. Photos hopefully tomorrow as I will have the flat to myself for completing the network cable trunking. RB

Yes I can be a bit of a story teller I have another one about cosmic balance I will put here in a minute but first on to your questions. Thanks, the renovation is fairly basic but has been on a fairly tight budget which by all accounts is pretty cheap for a EM. Most significant is the lack of carpentry anywhere apart from the bathrooms and kitchen. For the main gate and doors, my wife found a local company who were quite a bit cheaper than out ID quote. The doors are ok but not top quality. They are solid doors though and not hollow molded doors. I will see if she remembers who did them and let you know. The light box for the stairs was taken from someone else TBH. It looked pretty good so we did the same. Cost around S$400 + lights. Although we like it, it still needs finishing along the top and bottom edges with some sort of finishing strip. I feel a wooden bead would look great but would be expensive. I may ask again for a quote. Take a browse through the thread, coffee in a flask may help , and let me know if there are any things I can help with. We just got the mirrors in today for the bathrooms so I will probably take another pic of them again. RB

So (US$780 * 1.2)*7% = S$1001.52. RB

Nice. I am after the XPA-3 or 5 though. I would expect transport to SG to be double but still waiting for the US to wake up Are your prices in US$ or S$ ?. If US then there is the 1.2/1.3 conversion rate . RB

HDB did the same sort of thing to my top floor unit due to ceiling leak and constant rain so they could not repair the roof at that time. Seemed to work fine although one risk is that it will just migrate the water away to somewhere else. RB

Our old place was fully replastered inc ceilings and was HDB approved before sale. Our current place has replastered ceilings. No one even asked or mentioned so I think you would be safe. RB

Shipping, import tax and exchange rate will make the US$700 over 1K and would imagine the XPA-5 will be over 1.5k. Will get a quote and see though. Still may take a look at the Behringer if I can get a quote from the local distributor. RB

Yeah, the guy still has not decided if he wants to sell yet . May be a bit out of budget. I will get a quote from Emotiva and see what that comes in as . RB

As I have just bought the amp and at an expensive price from Courts (had the seize the wifes moment of weakness before she changed her mind) there is no way I will get anything like what I paid for it back so upgrading it makes very little sense. It does all I want it too, just would like to upgrade the power amp section. I am so far very happy with the SB12. Not bone rattling at the current levels I have tried it at but the sound is much richer, clearer and detailed, also partly helped by the centre speaker no doubt. The sub is big but not overly so. I think it is still a fairly manageable size. The other sub suggested was the velodyne but that was much smaller and although arguably better with music, I could not see how it would fill the large open space I have. One point of note is that the PC12 in an open space like my living area with the staircase etc could most likely have lost a lot of the boom. The problem was that I would have to hope it lost enough and take the chance. At 1.4k I was not willing to hope that much . Everyone is different and different people sometimes prefer different sounds. Personally I preferred the SB12 as a pretty good all rounder. Oh and it is you then sealing away my XPA-3 . Nevemind. I am sure I will find something else appropriate . RB

The plastering should be dry before painting so the staining is usually from leaking water. As water will always find the easiest route, a leak in one place may come out somewhere completely different if you have a crack somewhere. I think a crack would be unlikely. Best check is to paint and see if it comes back. If so have HDB come and check. For you, if they are happy to proceed with just the photos and a site inspection then just see where it goes. At worst they will do nothing and if it comes back then call them in again. Note, if it is leaking upstairs then the repair work to the other owners bathroom / kitchen is shared between HDB, the owner and yourself. We had a suspected leak in our old place and it worked out to be around 2k-3k or so for out portion. HDB heavily subsidises for Citizens (we are classed as such due to my wife). Hopefully the plaster was just not let to dry properly and it will not come back for you. Best of luck. RB

Haha, you just had the last post in the thread before the sale complete. Was a reasonable guess . The XPA-3 is up for audition Friday so I have chosen to let that one go. Will probably be sold to the first listener. I now have a new center and sub. I popped in to KEC yesterday and had an audition of 3 SVS subs. SVS mainly as they were a reasonable size around my budget and I need a reasonable size as my listening area is very open. The budget I had given was 1.2k-1.3k So I listened to (in order of listening)..... PC12-NSD (12" sub, 400 Watts - S$1399) SB12-NSD (12" sub, 400 Watts - S$1250) PB13-plus (13" sub, 1000 Watts) - S$3+k as reference). The PC12 is a cylinder sub while the SB is a sealed box and the PB is, you guessed it, a ported box. Now I love the cylinder subs look. Striking, a talking point and when I saw they had one, I was leaning towards getting it even though it was just outside budget and without even hearing it. It is worth noting the PC and SB both have the new uprated 400 Watt Sledge amp rather than the older 320 Watt versions. Listening material was; War of the Worlds, obvious choice, where the pavement cracks and the fighting machine first emerges. Chosen for the very cleaver use of base, from the first rumbles to the cracking to the feet of the fighting machine thumping down to the heat ray blasts (well they were heat rays in the much better Jeff Waynes version). V for Vendetta, when Evey emerges from captivity and goes to the roof in the thunder storm. Chosen for the rising musical score cumulating in a powerful crescendo mixed with the sounds of the rain and thunderstorm and the burning of V's memory of his fiery escape. First was the PC12 cylinder with WotW. My first impression was that the sub was very physical. I could feel the air pressure changes quire acutely and they continued in the scene with so much presence as to almost feel oppressive. Now what I mean by this is that I could feel the pressure change like you do in a thunder storm or airplane (without the ear popping), or a fast lift but it was changing rapidly so it felt like waves of pressure more than of sound. The first rumblings where quite noisy before the pavement starts to crack and overall the whole effect was good for the overly boomy feel. Next came the SB12 Sealed box with WotW. The first thing I felt was that the whole scene was noticeably louder. It was clearer with almost no boomy feel to it. It felt a lot more accurate and controlled. The first rumbles started to sound like an underground train hence the cops comment about a subway before the pavement starts cracking. The whole scene seemed fuller, richer, full bodied . There was still some rumble, some force on the body in deep loud scenes but not like you are standing in a pressure chamber and being pummelled. To me this sounded much better. Lastly the suggestion was to try the 'seriously out of budget' PB13 with WotW to get a feeling for what good bass can sound like. Well, the surprising thing was that not just the deeper lower end was affected but the vocals had more weight and clarity, the whole scene was a lot more controlled. The rumbles at the beginning actually sounded a lot more subtle, the fain noise of a passing underground train. IT was a lot less 'in your face' than with the SB12 and quite different to the PC12. The sound was fuller with no obvious deep, deep vibrating. There was very little tactile sensation from the scene, it was very much oral. This came as a bit of a surprise. Whilst I like the quality of the sound, I do like to get my chest vibrating now and then from the louder, more bass powerful scenes. In the test with V for Vendetta, the differences were more subtle. The PC12 was a lot less boomy and didn't seem so much different from the SB12. The scene was a bit low in volume for my liking to be honest so it didn't carry the weight and passion of when it is played high. The problem I then had was the choice over the cylinder and the sealed box. I love the looks of the cylinder but to me the sealed box sounded better tuned to what I like. I was not sure how my wife would view the cylinder or where it would go but worked out the sealed box could sit in front of my main speakers. The cylinder would have to wait until Saturday for delivery but the SB I could take home right away. The SB12 won.... After describing the cylinder to my wife, it was clear I made the right decision. I am sure she would have lived with the cylinder but she much prefers the box design and it is more out of the way. Oh and it ws the cheaper one as well . I also went out and bought the second hand Wharfedale Opus tri-center from the guy over on XP. Managed to agree on a lower than advertised price and took it home. This center speaker is really a beast. Two 6.5" bass cones along with a midrange and a tweeter. Tri-ampable and a big beach cabinet. The unit is in near perfect condition with a couple of pegs on the grill missing (a known issue for this range) and a little corrosion on the back metal plate (but not on the binding posts). The biggest difference is the presence of the lower end in movies now and the fact that I can crank it up and it does not sound 'loud' but just powerful. There is little distortion to the point that I have to walk away to the kitchens for a drink or something to realise exactly how loud it really is and this is at the levels I would usually have it. The whole set-up clearly fills the downstairs and, if my wife is to be believed, the upstairs even with the door closed . I need to give WotW a go but also need to run in the woofer and then see about tuning it. I notice there have been a couple of Antimode units on XP recently (one already reserved) which are meant to compensate for the room acoustics and so bring out better sound for the subwoofers. I am tempted but will research a bit more first. Now to continue looking for a power amp to improve the musical side of things as I suddenly feel this side is now lacking and that the home cinema sounds so good. The rears for the home cinema could also do with an upgrade maybe. They are ok but could be better. The guy is also selling the Opus surrounds on XP but at 1.6k per set I think I will be leaving those alone . Oh the wonderful world of HiFi and home cinema. I will put some pics up on my reno thread over the next couple of days although not taken with my expensive camera obviously . RB

Oh dear. Think we are missing yesterdays comments. Cannot see anything about plaster problems now. Good for you Mae, got them all fixed so quickly . Guess the forum upgrade is not quite as smooth as desired. RB

Oh, the UMC-1 has now been sold on XP (not to me). I would guess Drexter has bought it going by the owner of the last post to that thread . RB

but it is entertaining. There are also others who are not aware that the cinder can be safely ignored as this is not a dedicated HiFi website. Now if I only had a bucket of cold water . RB

Correct although the person selling the UMC-1 may also sell his XPA-5 if the price is right at the same time. I have asked about it via PM on XP. RB

Again you fail to provide any evidence. You also fail to understand the point. It is not that they are worse, clearly that is not the case material wise, it is whether they make any 'real' difference. Using a gold plated fuel nosslle at the petrol station to fill your Honda Civic does not make it run any faster, whatever you choose to believe. If you believe differently them show us the evidence. RB

Haha, you are a really funny chap. So you only know of thousand dollar cables of 50 cent cables. Please check your local HiFi store to find some decent S$2 cables which will be of the correct gauge to offer a better signal transmission. 50c cables tend to be too small a gauge and can tend to corrode a little especially in the Singapore environment. If you have money to burn then feel free to do so. If you are just an average person looking for something reasonably decent then read the comments from the experts like the link posted above and make your own mind up. Alternatively listen to FKN who clearly believes himself a superior expert to the people who make the Audiophile HiFi. Clearly they should forget about this 'physics' stuff and believe in you and your golden ears (see thread on top ten HiFi myths for that reference). Prove me wrong, please.... Show us a comparative double blind test where the signal is also examined at the end of the cable run to show how remarkably different it is if you use expensive cables. Bottom line, get something of decent quality but you don't have to spend lots on expensive cable unless you really feel the need. Anything from S$2-S$10 should be fine. RB

I would have thought the Emotiva XPA-3 would have been a better bet from the same place here. Get both and you have 5 channels power amped. 1600 for both plus approx 700 for a yamaha 667 or the like and you could either bi-amp the fronts and power amp the center or have the fronts, center and rears power amped. That is 2.3k gone then you just need to look for a suitable speaker package. Rb

You are entitled to your views although as you have gathered I tend not to agree with them. Monitor Audio BX and BR series are well worth a listen along with other brands. B&W are arguably the largest producer of speakers internationally. Of course they advertise religiously to maintain that position. To do otherwise is just plain dumb. Are you truly suggesting that the quality of a product is defined by the amount of advertising space they take and that a company that advertises a lot can only produce very bad quality products ?. Surely not ?... RB

Most of the main brands be they British, American, Canadian or from anywhere else should be fine. They got that way by producing good products that sell well as people like them. I would choose an amp that has the specs you want first. Handles the HD audio formats Has enough HDMI inputs Has expandability (pre outs so you can add a power amp later if you desire) If you need two HDMI outs for a TV and a Projector then you can get a powered splitter cheaply from Amazon so don't pay for this feature in the amp. I have the Yamaha 667 and am very happy with it. Others have the Denon 1910 and love it as it is more geared to the musical side of things and others like the Onkyo 608 (soon to be the 609). I would look at this as your starting blocks for amps. If you need something more feature wise then look upwards in the model lines. Lower models than this are just fine. I had a 465 for a couple of years and never had any complaints but the 667/608/1910 seems to be the 'sweet spot' as far as the product ranges go. The speakers then depend on your preference. Do you want floor standers, book shelf, bipolar surrounds or designer looks ? B&W are always well regarded, Monitor Audio also have a great reputation. There are many other choices and to be honest you are well advised to check with the shops on what they suggest as they have the equipment and have listened to it many time. Now to get the best out of their reply you need to have an idea of what you like. Do you like the pin sharp clarity of the high notes, the deep rumpling bass, one more than the other or both about equal. Being able to tell the guy in the shop what you like is much more likely to get you what you want. Also be firm. Don't get fobbed off by someone telling you what you do and don't want to listen too. It is your money and if that person will not help you spend it then find someone else who will. Far to many salespersons have, pardon my bluntness, their head up where the sun doesn't shine and believe they are gods gift to audio. Some of them have forgotten that people like different things and so what they think is best may not be the most suitable for the buyer. They are also sales people and have higher margins on one product over another so may try to stear you in one direction. Look at the 3k setups here and then build up from there. Have fun RB

Doh, forgot there is a garage sale forum here. DVD sales put up there. Thread here. We should have the plasterers back tomorrow to patch some missed spots and a little bit of bubbling plaster. Our ID is also pushing for the mirrors to finally be put in tomorrow as well. Then it is all on me doing the network cable trunking upstairs before the painters come in and after cleaning again, check around then done. Oh the mirrors will be most welcome, or not considering what I look like first thing in the morning . RB

Ask about a free return / trial period. Try it out at home and return it for exchange with a different model (refund / top up as required) if not happy. See if anyone willing to ?. Common practice in the UK (with conditions). Checkout the post on sub calibration I have just posted here. Put it outside of this thread as more people will probably benefit. RB

Hi All, Came across this article on tuning your subwoofer from sound and vision. There are also liks to free tools for graphing, test tones etc. Enjoy. RB

The whole 1000 series is well liked for an entry level system. Tuning a sub is matching it with the other speakers you have so it can take the job of the low frequencies your other speakers cannot deal with efficiently. The only way to then deal with bass is to turn the volume down on the sub but this can cause it to be under powered and so not work as well as it should. For example, most speakers come alive when powered to a reasonable level. More detail becomes apparent for example, more richness to the sound stage. Elements hidden in the blur at lower levels start to show themselves. Under running a sub is likely to offer a weak result compared to running a smaller sub at a better volume. Again, best to try and see in a like sized demo room with the doors closed. Just points to consider. Saying that I have seen someone with a 2K 5ft tall SVS sub in a 3x2mtr room so it really depends on taste . RB