RimBlock

It can't heart to try. Suggestions I have been given for switches are the following. I have not had a chance to look yet though. RB

Well now I am really confused. Did you get the 9.1 package with a centre speaker ? Funnily enough I have just been recommended the Wharfedale 9.1CS as an upgrade . RB

Ok, quoting multiple replies you can do by clicking the "QUOTE" button under eack of the posts you want to quote and then clicking the reply button on the last one. All the posts you marked by clicking the quote button will be quoted in your reply. Splitting up the text in one post you wish to reply to I just cut and paste the "quote name=XXXXXXX" stuff in the square brackets (including the brackets) and the "slash quote" at the end to 'cut out' a section of text Imagine B- = square bracket (cant put in the square brackets or it would hide what I am trying to show). B-quote name='mars73' date='Mar 15 2011, 06:07 PM' post='618987'B- test you are replying too B-/quoteB- Your reply B-quote name='mars73' date='Mar 15 2011, 06:07 PM' post='618987'B- test you are replying too B-/quoteB- Your reply B-quote name='mars73' date='Mar 15 2011, 06:07 PM' post='618987'B- test you are replying too B-/quoteB- Your reply RB

Yes, sorry that was not meant to be negative in any way. Everyone needs to start somewhere. My centre is only a Wharfedale WH-2 so probably below your 9.1 centre. It is fine in most respects but could be much better. RB

Might have to take a look at this in the manual. If I understand you right you mean using the rear outputs as a second set of from outputs in stereo mode on the amp. Obviously in 5.1 mode it would be crazy Yep, confirmed with AVForums as well so don't try that at home kiddies. Yep as the AV decoder is doing the decoding rather than the better stereo amp. Or as was suggested to me, a speaker cable switch with two inputs (for eack amp) and one output to bi-wires cables. Yes and how do they stack up against power amps with one for each channel (left/right) or even one for each driver so 4 amps in total....... Hows your head now . Needs more research I think but for entry level I think the results are not going to be as big as we all might hope. RB

Stereo 9.1s or the AV package. Remember that the Wharfedale 9.1 10.1 packages are entry levels and to an extent you get what you pay for. It also depends on what you are comparing against. I have a feeling my centre is now lacking and like you will not mention it to my wife just yet. Welcome to the "Our wives are not amused" club RB

...and here is a great thread expalining how it really does not make any difference . As always, if you fancy a go then try it and if you like it then keep it. RB

Here we go. Some info on bi-wiring here. RB

Usually you just terminate two sets of speaker cables at one banana plug for the amp end but the amp must be able to cope with the two sets of cables. Bi-wire amps have two sets of terminals as you know so it makes it easier. I used to bi-wire my Cyrus II amp many years ago with my Ruark Sabre II speakers. To be honest I think the benefits are likely better heard with high end equipment and I am personally not that much of an audiophile to notice much of a difference with what I have. RB

Mix up of terms . Bi-wire is one set of amp outputs to two sets of speaker inputs (split output from amp). Bi-amp is two separate amps powering each set of terminals on the speaker. Some speakers have more than one set of terminals and some have one set for each speaker cone or driver which is believed to give a cleaner signal. If you did mean bi-amp then I was thinking of pairing a stereo amp and attaching to the second set of speaker terminals but keeping the linking plates at the back of the speakers connected so a signal coming from the av amp still goes to both terminals as well as the signal from the stereo amp also going to both terminals. My issue was checking any issues of having two amps connected to both terminals at the same time. This may be ok if one amp only was on at a time but if both were on there could be big issues and a mini fireworks display .... ohhh, ahhh, wow........ not really what I would like. Need to do a bit more research before considering that. Of course I could just have two sets of cables (av / music) and swap them but that is pretty labour intensive . By and large good AV sounds and music have fairly different requirements and so AV amps concentrate on the movie effects side and try to compromise a little ont eh music side as well. As we have seen here when people are reporting back on the Denon AV amp, they liked the surround sound but the music was much better than the other AV amps at the same price point. Denon have probably tailored its amp a bit more for the music lover but the AV side will suffer a little. A good stereo amp should blow away the same priced av amp for stereo music. An entry stereo amp should be a requirement if you really love listening to music. As long as you have a reasonable set of front left/right speakers they should be fine for both uses. Mini speakers + sub packages usually sold or give free with TVs etc are likely to be poor performers. RB

Probably not cheap but back in the UK we would just lay some wooden joists and then cover with plywood and then lay the finishing (laminate, wood boards or carpet). I know wood is not so commonly used for construction here so it would be better to check with your ID. Another option may be a channel in the cement screed when it is put down. Would need a hatch to access or would have to lay permanent cables and bury them, preferably in some sort of protection like piping or at least wrapped in plastic. False floors may need sound proofing though as otherwise you may get a bit of noise walking on it. Bare feet will probably be ok. RB

The console was from Green Furnishing in the Tanjong Katong Complex by Payar Lebar MRT. We hot the coffee table and sofas from the same place around 3 years ago. Sorry, I have no idea of price but it was the one thing I insisted on when we bought it as I liked it very much . RB

Busy time, that is for sure. My wife is now on the third trimester. Not so long now until we get the new addition. The living room has changed quite a lot with the speakers at the front on stands and the rears changed. I must take some more pictures. The kitchen worktop is in as well. Just on the last stages with correcting little issues and touchups. Thanks, we like them a lot too and it was not until recently we realised they have sparkles in them too which catch the light. Have a look at the 'Decent sound system thread' as there is lots of lively debate in there . RB

, a bit too late to join the party. Bit earlier and it may have been an option. RB

Should be fine but just take a while to copy to the 'NAS'. I had no problems with the ACR playing from an attached hard drive. RB

Put in a false floor and run them all underneath . RB

Haha, wait till you see my new surround sound speakers. With the speaker holds dark on the white cover, just need to add a bit of hair and red swirls and I will have two Billys (the puppet from the SAW films) looking down on us ..... Strangle my wife has not commented on the marks. Oh well, they are features . RB

Yep, it is the 50l and a 25l that seemed a bit of overkill . RB

Sure, the two different ways of doing it. I prefer distributed so have a central NAS with media player but have installed cat6 in all the bedrooms, living room, kitchen and study. One box with the media and backups and no multiple hard drives to put the latest movies on. We also have two mio TV installs and two XBox 360s so laying cable also helps with those. Both methods are very valid. If you are going wireless then probably best sticking to a dedicated player for BluRay. Of course home plugs are another option. RB

Copying the files wirelessly may be a bit slow but sure beats laying cat6. The main advantage I think the Oppo will give is access the BD+ material if you like funky menus and little games on the BluRay discs. Be aware that if you are ripping full rather than converting to MKV or the like then the 2TB will fill up pretty fast. Mine has but I have a 20 bay server chassis so I can just slot a couple more drives in. The NAS is using a low(ish) powered dual core so doesn't draw too much power. Part of the human condition is to expand to fill all available space . Any thought to backup of all the ripped movies ? A failed hard drive could cost you a lot of time filling and ripping again. An external second drive would be a cheap solution. The WD also supports everything I have thrown at it. I think RM is just about the only unsupported format I have found a it is licensed from Real Media but the WD was twice the price of the ACR Mini when I bought. RB

Huh, a 50l and a 25l. I know your plan. He upset you too much you block the drain and door for the shower and drown him in hot water . 50l is usually recommended for a bath. We are using the Jovan 50l for two large rain showers. Unless you are going to be spending the best part of an hour with the water running then it should be fine. Also remember it will take longer to heat a larger amount of water. Also I find you just need to turn a little on the hot tab and full on the cold to get nice hot water rather than turning the hot full on. The hot water lasts much better that way. RB

Lucky guess . RB

Haha, only S$210 difference..... lucky hubby to have found you. I had to negotiate heavily to get S$120 surround speakers . Saying that we have recently bought and reno'd the EM and the credit cards are creaking a bit under the strain ....... Any reason why you decided on the Oppo and a media player rather than just ripping to a hard drive and streaming your media (BluRay / CD / DVD) ? RB

Hi Ely, just reading through and have not read past this part so if these points have been covered then no harm in repeating . Borderlinx I think, does not care what card you use to buy the products but you have to charge the delivery to your citibank credit card. I mistakenly used another credit card to buy some stuff and paid for delivery via borderlinx as usual with the Citibank card and there were no issues . I have an AC Ryan HD Mini and am selling it as the chipset is used for decoding the video and network duties. For movies up to around 8GB in size this is not a concern but if you are ripping blurays straight to a NAS like I am then it will drop and skip frames quite badly. I am using my WD Live HD TVs (have two) and they work fine. I understand the newer AC Ryans (i.e. the mini2) use the newer realtek chipset and so this problem may not be an issue but do not have one so cannot confirm. The AC Ryan menus can be setup to look very nice though. The other point would be that a wireless connection will be fine for DVD and HD 720p material but will probably struggle with 1080p stuff. I tried with my WD using a netgear dual band wireless dongle and dual band router and even using the 5Ghz band solely for media streaming I was still getting dropped frames. I am ripping my BluRay movies to my NAS without conversion so they are the m2ts files coming in at 19GB->40GB (Avatar). Quicker to rip, I have a fair amount of space although running low now and it saves ripping again if a better compression format which is fully supported by media players appears. Details of my setup inc network diagram are in my T-Blog if you want more info. RB

Sorry Marc, I got side tracked with Ely claiming she was a WoW chick and a real female but without providing pictures . To be honest I have only dealt with KEC but I would advise googling for shops in The Adelphi or looking in the Yellow Pages for the same and giving them a call or just going there and asking around. RB