RimBlock

Our new surround speakers. They are that strange shape as they have two sets of drivers in and fire in two different directions giving a less direct sound and creating a bigger sound field than normal speaker which would just fire the sound directly at you and which your brain would be able to locate as coming from a single place. I am very happy with them, they really work as advertised. Due to the white cover and the collection of dues at the places the speakers are located under the cloth cover there are some darker circles. I am reting to find the best way to get rid of it (shoe white maybe ) but as they are they remind me of an early morning breakfast show I used to watch in the UK called The Big Breakfast hosted by a DJ who had a reputation for being a bit wild and wacky. The show was noisy, colourful, loud and 'in your face'. It was charged with energy and some of that was meant to transfer to the views and get them going in the morning. The show had two puppets called Zigg and Zag who were teenage space aliens (yep, I think you can see the level of the show). The speakers remind me of them... Zigg and Zag Bit of trivia for you (all links below are U rated - viewable by everyone and suitable to view from work if allowed to browse).. The Big Breakfast initial presenter, Chris Evens went on to marry the singer Billie Piper (thay later divorced) who had a little success with a couple of top 10 Uk hits. She then went on to play the role of Rose Tyler in Doctor Who (2005 - Series 1 & 2 with cameos in series 4) before going on to star in the mini series for UK tv called Secret Diary of a Call Girl which was based on Belle De Jours "The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl", a memoir detailing the life of a high-class prostitute. The books and TV show deal with the aloneness of the profession and coping with normal relationships much more than the 'naughtier' side. Just as an aside, Belle (Brooke Magnanti) holds a Masters degree and an BSc. The show was no worse than the Chinese tabloids here. So all you Doctor Who fans who liked Rose Tyler (she was the highest rated doctors companion) can get to see her in her underwear (if should so wish too) . Not me though cos I'm, like, married and it would not be appropriate or something like that mam .

Well it has been so long that people could be forgiven for believing the renovation is over ..... but, no. Still some stuff to get sorted out. Most of the plastering issues have been fixed, a couple of places were missed. The lightbox on the stairs still needs finishing. If anyone has one I would love to see what your ID did to finish off the top and bottom edges. Mirrors still need to arrive and my network cable still needs running behind the light box. I have taken a couple of pictures of the kitchen with the worktop installed and of my new side speakers for the home theatre setup. I forgot to take the shots of the front speakers on their stands though. I will try to remember tonight. I may pop down to KEC at luunchtime to get a bit more Chord Carnival so I can bi-amp my front speakers. I also have some image sample pics at home which I will share hopefully tonight. Kitchen with my good lady wife . She was not so keen at being in the photo so imagine her response at the photos going on the internet. Shhh, don't worry, it will be our little secret .

Yep although it uses 5.1 for the most part. The 7.1 is artificial as most movies that I have come across have 5.1/6.1 sound tracks. This was a bit disappointing but as I can use the 7.1 rear channels (the 7.1 back sides are used as 5.1 rears) to bi-amp my front speakers it is not such a big loss. Once I get some more cable, I will have 90w/driver rather than 90w/speaker on the fronts which will hopefully make a bit of difference. I finally got to watch Tron in HD last night. Not bad. Took a couple of pics last night so will put them up in a little while in my T-Blog thread. RB

Again, let the ID work out how to secure. Be there to open for the first time and then they can padlock the way they want. The padlocks they supply are usually combination and they pass the combination to the workers as needed. When finished then the padlock is removed and you can use your normal keys. No issues with security as no-one but you ever has the keys. Make sure the ID gives the code to you too so you can open for delivery if you have stuff coming before the reno completes. Obviously don't store anything of value there if you can help it. I have my projector delivered and to my shock, the delivery people called and told me they were inside and had left it for me and locked up again. They fiddled with the lock and were able to open it. As there is nothing of value inside (I collected the projector and took to my old apartment) it was not really a big deal. Until the keys are handed back over it is the ID companies responsibility to secure and pay for any damages if someone gets in. RB

A little too late maybe . THX888 who used to give quotes on behalf of KEC seems not to have posted since December. RB

Well I gave my 18.DFS side speakers a proper tryout last night. The Fifth Element Bluray and it sounded great. Still need to replace the now missing sub and the front could use with boosting up with a better centre but the sides were great. Bullets whizzing everywhere around the room. I was also surprised at the number and quality of effects in The Fifth Element. There really is quite a lot of surround data to give your sides a good workout. RB

Ok, you have my reply to this in the other thread but, what I think you need to realise is that Opennet supports the fibre to the door and the TP. From the TP to the TV is your providers responsibility so Starhub, M1 or Singnet. You really need to ask them rather than opennet. RB

If you checkout the hinges in the picture I would guess the gate hinges on the left and the small and big sections are also connected by hinge so the gate opens on the right next to the gate frame. As there are no holes in the gate frame the gate cannot be secured to it. Padlock and chain between the gate and door handle if you have one of the loop types on the front door. The gate opens out and the door would usually open in so they would pull against each other with a chain linking them. Bottom line though is that it is up to your ID to work out access for his workers and he is responsible during the renovation process for securing the property. If they need to be on site every day to let workers in then that is what they need to do. Our gate was padlocked but some workers wrote the number on the wall by the front door.... . We had words with our ID and it never happened again. RB

An AV Receiver is just an amp with multiple output channels, some home theatre decoding software and a built in radio. It should be as good as any other amp for the types of devices you can connect to it (give or take a record player). Oh, I see there is a CHT 10R sub going second had for S$450 on The Echo Loft. Would be very tempted if I had the cash. RB

The question I would put this with most closely is the one asked about all-in-one systems and separate components for HiFi. If a all-in-one system costs S$500 and has an amp, speakers, cd player and radio then what is the value of the electronics for each of those individual items and how would separate component items sound if they had only that much spent on them ? The same would go for the Oppo where it is tuned for BluRay video. The question is how much would you have to spend in order to better the CD quality. Of course it is not so simple as you only have one case rather than two so costs saved there. Some of the components like the DAC could be used for both the Bluray audio and the music audio. The transport mechanism and laser assembly may not be best suited to CD playback though. I know my BluRay PC drive takes a lot longer to rip my CDs than my DVD drive for instance. This could be just this model or the fact that the laser used for Bluray is not quite so good for CD as the laser in a dedicated CD player. Yes you can pair a cd player to an amp usually with digital, optical or even analogue connections. As to whether it would be better..... again you need to have a listen to see if the Oppo is good enough for you and if you can better it for CD playback within an acceptable budget. RB

Yeah but need to have the cash to get the stuff in before you can build. Need to give it a bit of breathing room as the last renovation payment is almost due and the new baby will be coming in June. I would love to get this going but guess I will have to wait a bit. RB

Nope it doesn't. As PPS is very asia-centric it can be hard to find it in European produced tech. I had never heard of it until my wife showed me. RB

Ok, the tubes are sold in Singapore by Sonoco. WOuld need to see if they would sell to a customer as I believe they are a distributor more interested in bulk orders. RB

No local warranty. It is fine if it does not go wrong. I looked at getting a projector from the US as it was almost 50% cheaper (excluding delivery) but if it died then it would be 2k+ of dead plastic. Also the US uses 110v so you need a stepdown transformer and the UK is not much cheaper than Singapore for new stuff but you can get some better deals there. You need to work out if the deals + postage are still better than Singapore prices considering the warranty issues. I order BluRays from the US (Amazon) as the bargain discs are around S$20 or so after delivery so saving S$10/disc on Singapore bargain prices (2 for S$60). RB

I would love to make. My father is/was a carpenter as was my grandfather. Unfortunately where as their motto was "measure twice, cut once" mine is more the case of "measure twice, cut once, curse, cut two more times, curse again, throw away and restart". Ok, not quite that bad. I might give it a go when funds permit and if it works out really well then I may look at doing for others for a moderate fee . Need to source local supplies especially of the card tube for it to be a great success though or international prices for shipping will be a killer. RB

So with a 3k budget (taking out the Oppo), you are considering spending a third of it on a sub ? More than on the Amp or the rest of the speakers combined ?. You may want to have a think to see if the money could be better reallocated elsewhere. Maybe it cannot for the sound you want but from this thread the other components seem now to be fixed but the money keeps going up and up for a sub. Saying that, it is your money and your pleasure so ultimately you need to get what you are happiest with {voice of reason off} Just doing a quick pricing via Borderlinx delivery and you could get a Dayton Audio RSS265HF-4 10" Reference HF Subwoofer (350RMS/600W Max, 4 Ohm) for S$240 or a Peerless 830452 10" XLS Subwoofer (150RMS/300Max 8 ohm) for S$256 delivered from the US. Add to them a Bash 500W Digital Subwoofer Amplifier at S$347 and around S$60 for sundries (feet, grill etc) and you have all but the case for a sub at S$650. You can either make a case from MDF or plywood or go the sonosub route is you can find a high density card tube of the right size. Maybe source a carpenter to make one to your spec if the price is right and you should be able to get a great sub for a fraction of what it would cost to buy a commercial sub at the same level. Of course this is just a very quick pairing and there are probably better combinations of amps and speakers there. This is purely to give an idea. RB

...and now, the voice of reason........ How much have you spent on your package (speakers and amp) so far ? Are you swapping out the Wharfedale sub for the new sub you are looking for ? RB

You seem like a very hands on kind of girl, in the most decent possible sense naturally. To save all the hassle in choosing, go get the sonosub software, spec out the size, driver to install and amp and build one yourself . Large cylinder subs at a fraction of the cost if you can source the parts and your EBay skills should help with that. Some examples people have made can be found here (post #10 and #20 are good examples). Someone made one to order for a lady who wanted it to be disguised as a Roman floor to ceiling column . I would love to do a project building my own sub but with little space and no idea of a good source of the components required it would be very difficult. RB

Well that reply is pretty wrong from Starhub. I suspect they are just missing bits out to make it simpler for the customer. The TP needs to connect to the OTP. The OTP converts the light sent via the fibreoptic to electrical signals. The OTP has a single RJ45 connection active (the FAQ states only one will be made active although others exist on the OTP). The OTP then connects to a ADSL router or home gateway in their terms. This then passes the internet content to the set-top-boxes for tv / telephone and broadband services. The Starhub website makes no mention of using devices to convert RJ45 based signals to coax (I am assuming your 5 way splitter is coax). If this is the case then you would need network cables to distribute. In the diagram from Singtel (reproduced in post #10 of this thread), they have a "Home Coaxial Network device" (refered to as HCND from here onwards ) which could be used to bridge between the Home gateway and the 5 way splitter. another HCND would be needed at the other end of the coax cable before connecting to the STB. These HCND would act like the home plugs do with electrical wires but use coax instead. So, in essence, if Starhub have something like the HCND system then you would have the TP, OTP and HG all in the room/cupboard with the splitter and then HCND and STB at each point you would like a Starhub TV connection. The page on the Starhub site with their network suggestions is here (click the "Home network option" tab above "related links") but it makes no references to HCND which is strange as Starhub customers would most likely have coax wiring from the previous generation of Starhub products. RB

No problem. Asking the HDMI question especially could be considered as 'Incitement to cause violence' on some forums . I only suggested doing a comparative test of cables somewhere to see if there was nay difference in real life taking in to account the source and destination and not just the HDMI cable and the thread went to 159 very passionate posts of how it is not possible for there to be any differences apart from those I listed above (except in a from a very, very unlikely scenario in which case the cable would be faulty) . The same sort of thing sometimes happens with talk about speaker cables and bi-wiring . The problem is that the results are generally very subjective to the individual and although there are some internet tests, there are no professional tests done by an approved body conclusively that there should be no difference. After all, if there was then Monster cable would loose most of its business overnight on HDMI cables at least. RB

Now, assuming you are not a troll (sorry but these are the sort of questions that can provoke strong opinions ) I would suggest the following.... Ask to try the S$2/mtr cable and then the cable they suggest. Make sure they are not modifying the amp settings when changing the cables and see what difference you can hear if any. You could also try Chord Company Carnival which is around S$6/mtr. Make your decision on which you like best and not on what someone tells you is better. If the S$2/mtr cable gives better results to you then get it. I have S$2/mtr fro my rears and S$1/mtr for the sides. I do use the Carnival for the fronts and centre though. Now HDMI cables....... Get one certified fast HDMI (with or without Ethernet) and pay as little as possible. Check the build quality as any certified high speed HDMI cable should produce the same results regardless of costs and if it does not then it is faulty. This is what the certification is for. Anything above the standard price you are paying for is build quality (if running inside light boxes or walls you may want better build) and shielding but in most situations a Amazon basics fast Ethernet cable will perform the same as a QED S$200 cable or it is faulty and should be replaced. I have just done a set of tests between my QED 16mtr cable (S$360) and two cheaper cables, one with no branding at all and the resulting images were the same as far as I could make out. Images were captured with my D-SLR and compared side by side. If you get faulty cables you are likely to see sparkles (white dots appearing) or breaking of picture / sound or nothing at all. In all but the most exceptional cases, a HDMI cable cannot affect image quality (sharpness or colour saturation) and if a cable does then it is faulty and should be exchanged. HDMI.org give some useful background reading under the "Consumers", "installers" and "Resources" tabs on the sites home page. RB

In all reality I think the weekend is the earliest I will be able to take them. I will try earlier but my phone is broken and my D-SLR takes a bit of work getting setup and then sorting the pictures for putting on the internet. My compact cameras are either packed or their chargers are If you need some ideas then just ask here or PM me. I may even put a thread together to partner the HiFi one and others can post their setups to give some different views and choices as one size does not fit all . Form over function. Your wife does not happen to own any Apple products does she (*ducks*)..... Probably better to have the doors open. My amp gets quite hot and that is on top of the cabinet with the ceiling fan going. RB

Speaking of plants, that has just reminded me. As you are over east IIRC, the gardening centre at Tanah Merah has water features / walls if you walk to the end past the soils. You may want to take a look. Be aware though that they close around 6pm on week days. RB

Haha, you all right now ? Got it under control ? RB

Really, don't be. The 9.1s got a great review for the budget and if anything, the 10.1s were not rated quite as highly. Ok, so if I get a new centre then we will see about you buying the one I currently have. First refusal. How is that :-) RB