The Best Journey Always Leads Us Home

[reglxt 0]

check this out ..

if got extra budget can consider this.. **** cool LOL

touch switches .. available on ebay

[Ely1 0]

HAHA...

noob here again...

think HTS... maybe audiophiles might be better at this...

I have no idea too... hopefully someone can give me some enlightenment, given my budget, my preference and my living room layout...

btw, what's Borderlinx?

It's simply a consignment merchant linked with Citibank, if not, use vPost, which provides the same service - giving you individual US/UK/JP addresses to make purchases online which does not normally allow international transactions/delivery. Very, very handy. You can check both of them out online - registering is free, save for Borderlinx which requires a Citibank credit card.

As for HTS, you're best to seek the advice on the very popular 3K HTS budget thread in the Electronics directory of this forum. Got a lot of useful input from there, and went down to Aldephi to check them out for myself. Got floorstanding speakers in the end, and upgraded to a Onkyo 93 receiver due to the NTSC restrictions. I have several media players, but will use the AC Ryan as the main one, wirelessly, as a NAS that allows external HDDs. Will run a DLNA program on my laptop like Nero Media Home or TVersity to sync everything so hopefully it won't be too complicated. I want to stream music, videos seamlessly throughout, and will have dedicated iPod docks in my bathroom/walk-in-wardrobe because my singing should seriously be only be contained in the shower.

[Ely1 0]

hey ely

check out this link ok http://www.zgallerie.com/

will go crazy shopping online

oh GAWD reglxt! The things my knees got weak for. Evil woman.

[reglxt 0]

oh GAWD reglxt! The things my knees got weak for. Evil woman.

hehehe can buy thru borderlinx

[csingeu 0]

actually,

how you decide on your HTS ah?

what brand/model? how much?

3.1? 5.1? etc?

[Ely1 0]

actually,

how you decide on your HTS ah?

what brand/model? how much?

3.1? 5.1? etc?

Firstly you need to decide what use you're going to get out of your system. Primarily TV, cable, DVD/Blu-rays, downloaded content, music? If it's simply cable and TV mostly, then it should be a lot easier - a 2.1 will do with some entry level speakers.

We had already decided on a 5.1 system and I gave ourselves a budget (not inclusive of player), and read every page of the 3k budget system thread. Headed down to Adelphi, went to KEC and spoke to a guy named Alan and had him set up several configurations for us. Already decided on the Velodyne Chq-8T subwoofer and paired them with Def Tech Pro Cinema 600s and then 800s, and with the 1000 center speaker - but felt it disappointing and lacking of the "ooomph" I was looking for. The Def Tech Pro Cinema 600s combo is about $1.7k, and the 800s are $2.7k.

The husband had secretly auditioned the B&W's MT30s the day before and was quite blown away by them, but they cost about $3.6k alone so I refused to even indulge his whimsical pleading to "just hear them". Yes, definitely put my foot down or the budget will keep ballooning, like it already has! You'd also need to know how big you can go (speakers k!) - the MS Genie are small and are about $1.5k. The Mythos and Tannoy Arenas were a little above our budget - closer to 4k, with the Mythos about $4.2k inclusive of sub and receiver.

I stuck by my initial choices of sub and receiver (Onkyo 608 - hear NOTHING but good stuff about them - check them out online) so merely listenened to other speakers. You can also check out Yamaha receivers which are pretty good. Alan brought in the Wharfedales, because our previous feedback for the Def Techs were "mediocre", "not rich enough", "not very crisp". He's pretty good and customed-focused, and would tune everything according to our expressions - a slight downturn of the lip, an unimpressed shrug, a wide satisfied grin. We tested the same scene of Avatar, iPod music, and some jazz vocals music - wanted to keep as many variables the same as possible. We tested several configurations of the Wharfedales, floorstanding and bookshelves and center speakers and finally decided on the floorstanding ones (Diamond 10.6), with the 10.CC center speaker and rear 10.0 speakers. We found that the floorstanding speakers gave a richer, deeper sound and since our living room is about 4.75m x 5m, I felt we could afford having floorstanding ones. Our rear speakers would be ceiling mounted. It came up to 3k nicely so it matched our budget perfectly. I'm less pedantic about asethetics (the guys call it WAF - Wife Approval Factor) since I am geekier than most female counterparts - I actually like how retro the speakers look.

Other brands recommended by renotalk audiophiles are NHT, PSB and KEF.

We then decided on getting the Oppo 93 blu-ray player (about $9xx) since the upscaling conversion makes every DVD makes look Blu-ray, are region-free, supports 3D, without the hassle of FAT32/NTSC limitations- the discontinued 83s only support FAT32 so files that are NTSC would be limited to 4gb per file, meaning if a file you're playing is 12gb, you'd have to play one 4gb segment at a time - returning to menu 3 times and selecting the next segment. A refurbished Oppo 83 (mint condition) is about $550. As we plan to watch a lot of content via a media player which acts as a NAS, this was a big determining factor for us. I'm hoping to stream everytime wirelessly through the house, so thr AC Ryan Playon was a no-brainer for me with its wireless capability, 2TB NAS with external HDD support and multi-format support. Everything would then be hooked up to the Onkyo receiver (so lots of HDMI cables!). The Master Bedroom houses another HD media player and an Xbox so that would also act as a media center. I'm crazy about having music everywhere so even the bathroom would house an iPod dock, or I might explore Sonos at a later stage when the budget allows.

Will definitely suggest going down to Aldephi and listening to several systems and brands yourself - the abovementioned thread gives many suggestions of shops and brands. Don't be too swayed by anyone's personal perferences, just tune in to your own and once the music hits the right spot, you'd find yourself with a valium-like contentment Hope this helps!

-Ely

[sfk7 0]

Great buy in the oppo 93. To poison yourself further you can check out xtremeplace.com

[EmptyDivided 0]

hey ely

check out this link ok http://www.zgallerie.com/

will go crazy shopping online

If only we were staying in the states, the items there are simply gorgeous. Btw, I saw a very similar looking faucet in Balestier going for around $300. So definitely there are savings to be made online.

[hafiizh 0]

if only my wife was this keen on my HTS!!!

would look forward to seeing pictures of your set up. sigh unfortunately for my my hts dreams would be left to another stage of home improvement. already blew the budget on my kitchen....

[Ely1 0]

Great buy in the oppo 93. To poison yourself further you can check out xtremeplace.com

Totally cannot afford more poison. wru antidote~

[Ely1 0]

if only my wife was this keen on my HTS!!!

would look forward to seeing pictures of your set up. sigh unfortunately for my my hts dreams would be left to another stage of home improvement. already blew the budget on my kitchen....

Many ways to get the wife interested in HTS - Just bring her along when auditioning systems! Bring her favourite CD or movie - trust me, I don't see how anyone cannot get excited by a HTS!

In our relationship, I'm the one who does the networking/IT/software/PC stuff, whereas the husband's domain is more hands-on construction - he's making our steel traps for the balcony like these:

as well as overseeing all the steel door frames, windows etc. My DIY is limited to making things pwetty - like restoring old furniture, customising our own decals, having the final say in all things design We delegate different tasks to each other, like he's in charge of TV selection, while I do research on HTS receivers etc. We're a pretty good team I think.

Out of curiousity, what is your dream HTS?

[Ely1 0]

The sinks we're considering:-

For wet kitchen:

Dry kitchen:

Anyone has thoughts on Elkay, Englefield, Rubine?

[marshmallow 0]

Heya Martin

It's not THAT big haha. I think it just looks bigger than it really is, as it's only a 2-roomer.

Already had a good sit-down meeting with our ID, and everything is on track. We discussed the design more thoroughly, and made a few changes. ID is very receptive to our needs so happy all around. Hopefully tiles we picked won't turn out too ghastly. Everything is in such a mess so there's hardly any pictures worth taking

still not big hahaha... it's more than 1500 sqft leh, that's almost 3x the size of my parents' home and we squeezed 3 bedrooms in it

btw, your cat is very pretty!

Now, my dilemma is whether I want to build some form of concealment like a cabinet to house them both side by side (we're not stacking them). It's extra carpentry ($$) or an eyesore... The ID says it's fine as long as they look nice and "branded" but not being Miele, are they considered display-worthy?! Have no idea really, I just don't like the look of them. Either just a countertop or in a cabinet, which would need to be open as long as they're in use - they would serve as counter space for folding clothes etc, or to house detergent and house cleaning supplies. What do you guys think?

See designs like:

if you ask me, i'll say, don't spend extra on carpentry just to house them what if you wanna change washer/dryer next time and they don't fit into the space nicely?

and i was thinking... dryer will generate heat, so the open type like the last photo is still fine, but dun think keeping them conceal on 3 sides is a good idea... my $0.02

And steel traps:

Will coat one in black to match the master bathroom tiles.

and... nice trap that you have~

[Ely1 0]

still not big hahaha... it's more than 1500 sqft leh, that's almost 3x the size of my parents' home and we squeezed 3 bedrooms in it

btw, your cat is very pretty!

if you ask me, i'll say, don't spend extra on carpentry just to house them what if you wanna change washer/dryer next time and they don't fit into the space nicely?

and i was thinking... dryer will generate heat, so the open type like the last photo is still fine, but dun think keeping them conceal on 3 sides is a good idea... my $0.02

and... nice trap that you have~

Hmm, thanks Marshmallow - guess I'll leave that out and use that money somewhere else. I've scoured the net for pictures of laundry designs with just the machines side by side and they actually look acceptable. keke

Thanks for your compliment on the cat - I'm sure Bondi will be mighty pleased - he also has the best nature in the world! I can't wait for him to join me back in Singapore once the apartment is ready.

The steel traps were bought online for $8 per piece. Gogo eBay!

[marshmallow 0]

The steel traps were bought online for $8 per piece. Gogo eBay!

$8 is cheap leh... too bad my reno is already over hahahaha