An Audiophile's Mid Century Home

[singingbird 0]

Kotoku fan

Height speakers

Suspended from the top cabinet, which uses hydraulic struts, just like a hatchback:

car.

Feature wall, shown with lighting at the bottom, which allows the back of the console to be illuminated.

Is this ko toku fan same as the haiku fan?

[petetherock 13]

Is this ko toku fan same as the haiku fan?

Yep...

If you going to ask the cost it should be 800-1000 now. See my previous comments on installation..

[petetherock 13]

Just adding an article on choosing a fan + the Haiku Fan:

http://peteswrite.blogspot.sg/2012/09/tips-on-choosing-fan-and-haiku-fan.html

[petetherock 13]

New addition:

Got this off Tao Bao, and a friend in China shipped it over. No idea of the cost, but in general they are 1/5 the price locally.

If you have friends in China, the lamps are about 1/5 the price here.

Main thing is breakage in shipping and you need an adaptor for the China plugs. Voltage is the same.

Also a link to some demo worthy movies that you can use in an AUDITION, not Audit of your new sound system.

For example,

I use Die Hard 4, the scene where the four Frenchmen attack Justin Long, lots of mid-bass and deep impact and slam. Then in the tunnel scene, there is a scene with very deep bass as the car overturns and flies over their heads.

Hero is another good movie, the duel between Donnie Yen and Jet Li has lots of music, ambient sounds of raindrops and some impact and slam too.

Band of Brother is a five star movie for sound, and you will find lots of little details plus good bass in many episodes.

http://peteswrite.blogspot.sg/2011/01/description-of-scenes-in-demo.html

The new Hunger Games disc has a sound check at the end, for 5.1 and 7.1 speakers.

[petetherock 13]

Just posting a pm here so others can also learn:

Hi, will you be able to advise me on the following?

My hubby has this current pair of JBL TLX 320 speakers with 4 ohms bought many many years ago, and a Pioneer SX-SWR1 Subwoofer cum AVR. Are these both still worthy to be kept?

There is no harm trying out kit you already own in the new home.

The key will be to choose equipment that can pair with it.

Your husband needs to check if the subwoofer is passive or active. This thread will answer many of the basic question first:

http://www.xtremeplace.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=48382.0

Choose an AV amplifier which suits you, then go from there.

Alpha Audio, KEC, Seng Heng in Adelphi; City Electronics in Sim Lim Square are good spots to check out.

Audio House has some in house deals, with caveats, as I have my own reservations about them sometimes.

Good luck!

[petetherock 13]

Added a few knick knacks:

A doorstopper - you can order this off Amazon for < USD 20.

More clocks:

Guess the time zones?

[petetherock 13]

A cursory glance through some threads makes me notice that many of the TVs are mounted waaaayyyy too high...

I suspect the aesthetics took a big precedent over real viewing specifications...

The rule of thumb is quite simple:

The centre of the TV should be slightly lower than the eye level when you are seated. That way you are not craning your neck upwards, and this is quite unpleasant.

The most comfortable viewing angle is 12 degrees below horizon. As you move upward from there, fatigue and eye dryness increase gradually. Too high and you'll get a sore neck.

It is best to get it right the first time, and even if your ID or perhaps the lady boss of the home wants to center the TV around her eye level as she walks around, that's incorrect. And it's not a portrait, it's a TV, so sit down, take out the measuring tape and get it right.

This is a nice little article to help especially if you are good at DIY, otherwise leave it to the pros :

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/step-step-how-mount-flat-panel-tv

As for lighting:

From an article on CNET:

Room lighting Since most people turn down the lights to watch a movie, our recommendations are designed to deliver a better picture in rooms with controlled lighting. Unless you have a big-screen projector or you're sitting at the minimum viewing distance, you shouldn't watch movies in complete darkness--it can cause eyestrain. For bright plasmas and smaller direct-view sets, the ideal setup is to place a dim light directly behind the TV and leave the rest of the room dark. Look for special daylight bulbs that glow at 6,500 degrees Kelvin. You should also prevent any light in the room from reflecting off the TV, as glare will hamper image fidelity. Watching at night is best, but if you watch during the day, thick curtains will really improve the picture.

The key is to have some light, which does not add any glare or hotspots to the TV, but prevents your pupil from dilating too much.

Here is a couple of useful links to the ideal lighting conditions:

http://www.residentiallighting.com/how-light-media-room

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11247_7-6217705-1.html

Edited September 30, 2012 by petetherock

[insane 0]

Added a few knick knacks:

A doorstopper - you can order this off Amazon for < USD 20.

James the doorman!

[petetherock 13]

Some tips on installing Open Net: http://peteswrite.blogspot.sg/2012/10/open-net-tips-and-info-on-installation.html

[petetherock 13]

An article I wrote on choosing your surround speakers: http://peteswrite.blogspot.sg/2012/10/choosing-surround-speakers.html

[Desember 0]

Hi Pete, I hope to learn some advice from you regarding your feature wall project. I'm currently building not a feature wall but instead a feature 'shelf'. This shelf will be made from Nyatoh wood and it will house my Pioneer Plasma and Pioneer LX/MA RX1 home theatre. The speakers will sit openly on the shelf (not surrounded by books) but my concern is that they'll be no more than 5-7cm from the wooden backing and thus that will affect the sound. I read that you had special wood flown in from the UK and also extensive use of rock wool.

It's probably hard to ask for detailed advice but would you be able to share some thoughts on wood and acoustically treating a built in shelf. I'm also thinking of adding other items like Auralex to help but need some advice. If you can, it'll be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. Mark.

[petetherock 13]

IMO I strongly recommend stands for your speakers. You might as well buy $50 speakers if you use a shelf.. Nyatoh or other wood don't make good support for speakers.

Pm me if you want to have a listen, I may have some time this coming Saturday morning. It's not the rock wool. If you really want to do it well and still make it look nice, I can recommend you the person who helped with the acoustic treatment for my den.

[Desember 0]

IMO I strongly recommend stands for your speakers. You might as well buy $50 speakers if you use a shelf.. Nyatoh or other wood don't make good support for speakers.

Pm me if you want to have a listen, I may have some time this coming Saturday morning. It's not the rock wool. If you really want to do it well and still make it look nice, I can recommend you the person who helped with the acoustic treatment for my den.

[Desember 0]

Hey Pete, I'll love the recommendation and will PM you. Thanks. Was juggling between hiding the numerous wires and maintaining sound quality. It' doesn't seem easy. Curiously does it make a difference if the shelf was open back (but speakers still close to the wall) or if there were some acoustic material behind the speakers. How is that different from a feature wall with a console? The alternative would means sats (not keen).

Confused but determined.

Mark

[petetherock 13]

Mark

When you are done with NS, we can arrange. Probably after I return, which will be end November.

We can aim for the weekend of 24 Nov.

Easier to talk then.

Cheers.