Blu-ray and HD DVD Discussion Thread

Not to sound meanie or anything, but as soon as HD-DVD royally dies... the better for everyone.

Man, I cant wait for LOTR trilogy coming in HD.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Man, I so want a new set of speakers... but importing that shit is unbelievably expensive. (<- Not us citizen)

I guess I'll have to wait.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Hmm... I was thinking more in These babies, or These ones or these others or these guys... sadly I just can't trust the reviews/reviewers for this stuff. (And Obviously, some of those are way out of my budget)

Oh well, I heard only good stuff about those cute Usher Audio S-520. I'll probably get a pair to improve the current setup. (And later, get a proper system)

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Hmm... this may be a good place to make a small question...

Bookshelf vs Floorstanding speakers?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Heh... I was kinda lost.

But I think I get your point, I was thinking in going bookshelves anyways: I'm having some serious problems allocating my current small and cheap system, and the walls and windows have a nasty time when I put the volume at "bad neighbor" levels (= a room not made for this stuff).

And it's time for another question!
- Should I get the same speakers for everything? (7.1 setup)
Besides the center and subwoofer, Im not sure what to get for the surrounds. I was tempted to get something like these ones. (But cheaper )
And for the frontal and back the same stuff.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Megalith

Absolutely. Identical speakers for all channels are ideal. You could try getting seven M3 v2 bookshelves. I wouldn't even bother with a typical center channel unless you must have a horizontal design due to placement issues. Even if the center channel is part of the same speaker line from the same company, it won't sound the same as the others, because the horizontal design is a compromise and changes the sound dispersion significantly.

Regarding surrounds, I prefer monopole (direct-firing), rather than dipole (dual out-of-phase output) or bipole (dual output) configuration. Dipole and bipole surrounds can create the sense of a more immersive surround field and a less localizable sound, but I can't think of any sound mixers who actually use them while mixing.

Woah, that's good to know... and the whole set of M3 v2 is under $1000!!!. (Well, 3 pairs... the additional guy doesn't push the price that much).

And just noticed that Axion has an online store: this made my day.

Man, I forgot about the subwoofer... and since I'm going Axiom, it would be a good idea to go that way too... but this pushes the price another $560... and the the cable and connectors... another $300. Crap once again on the $2000 mark... my day ended here.

Heh... j/k, besides I'm planning to do this upgrade in the future, maybe at this year's end or the next year. 1.5-2 years would be more than enough to get the money and make a good plan to evade the retarded super high import duties.

Thanks for the help dude!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Gooood, the sooner the better.

Btw dude, found a Polk Audio retailer on the country... the guys are giving me the real price + taxes (Completely acceptable).

The problem is... Axiom is shipping internationally and the price is pretty much the same. (And everyone loves Axiom)

What should I choose!?

FELIPE NO

Oh...

Bookshelf Speakers: Millennia M3 v2 - Axiom Audio
vs
RTi A1 Product Page : High-performance Bookshelf Loudspeaker : Polk Audio

And there is a good chance that I'll get floorstanding for the fronts (I can solve the space problem):

Floorstanding Speakers : Millennia M60 v2 - Axiom Audio
vs
RTi A7 Product Page : High-performance Freestanding Loudspeaker : Polk Audio

From what I have been reading Polk's require 130+W/channel Amps to work as intended, my current 90W/Channel are certainly not close but and I'm not willing to upgrade something that works just fine... at least during this year.

Internet loves axiom, looks like they offer the best speaker for the money.. and their service people is amazing. (I have been talking with them about the shipping and stuff)

Now, I would go Axiom... but if something wrong happens, I'll have to pay the shipping back (Not cool), with the Polk's I just don't have that problem.

Naturally, I'm seriously thinking in taking this stuff to AVS, but dude... that place is kinda intimidating. (heh, at least for me)

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Megalith

Is it possible for you to audition the Polks? Nearly all speaker reviews are oddly positive, and for every good thing someone says about a speaker, there is always a bad thing that is said right alongside it. The bottom line is that you can only trust what you hear. But buying blind is fine if you can't audition...both my Infinitys and Mackies were bought blind.

I just don't buy any of this hype from internet dealers. I'm sure that the products are good, but most of the reviews are probably biased, as many of the customers are the type that purchase on faith, since they lack the privilege of going around different dealers and surveying multiple brands...thus, there isn't really a wide spectrum for them to dabble into when they make their judgements.

Too much true in those words.

Oh, and the reviews (that I'm considering) for the Axiom are based on stuff outside their site... after the TV I learned that people is extremely biased to the stuff they just bought. Granted speakers are been much more difficult than the TV. (Way too many options and in general, people base their entire perception on plain opinions)

For the auditing, I can go and hear the Polk's, sadly I have no idea what I am "looking" for. If I had to compare those with my current set, I would expect something impressive but that's all (lol, if those speakers can't humiliate my current $300 configuration, I'll get pissed and spit the face of everything related to expensive audio stuff).

Any ideas for what should I "look"?

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Hmm... I think I read something about it: colored sound works specially fine for those who intend to use their to play mostly certain music genres and stuff. However the coloration may become quite nasty on other sources. (Heh, don't kill me that's what I understood)

In my case, I listen pretty much anything that catch my fancy... and since this set is going for games, music and movies of several genres... I think it is safe to go with something neutral.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

An explanation:

Quote:

If we are being true to the goal of seeking higher fidelity, then an ideal loudspeaker should have no "sound" at all. In other words, it should be completely transparent, an open door to the musical performance. An accurate speaker's role is to replicate--precisely--the sounds of musical instruments or voices exactly as they were present in the original source recording. The speaker shouldn't add any sound of its own--it shouldn't make strings and violins sound screechy or edgy, nor should it artificially add bass emphasis to male singers' voices so they sound too bassy or "fat" (a common fault of many speakers).

So what sonic clues should immediately become evident? What attributes do we listen for, and what weaknesses should we be mindful of? Let's start with the midrange, which is where most musical content resides, and where our hearing is by far the most sensitive. (Yes, I know we all love bass, but a speaker must reproduce the midrange smoothly if we are ultimately going to like it.) If a loudspeaker nails the midrange precisely, without harsh-sounding peaks, or dips that make the mids sound muffled and distant, it will tell your ears immediately whether you will accept it as natural and "musical." If not, you'll reject it as tonally false or "colored," and music won't sound realistic. We've all heard speech and we're familiar with the sound and nuances of male and female voices. And we've all grown up hearing pop music, which mostly features vocalists or groups of singers, as well as live choruses, the latter in schools or church, or even the national anthem at sporting events. Therefore, a good place to start is with a good CD of an individual singer or a group.

If you want the entire article, I can PM it to you.

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Come on, they need to improve the absorption of HD media... and they give a new chance to the DVD!?

Seriously, I hope it doesn't get too much attention.

Ok, I know that sounds eh... meanie?, but the sooner BR gets a bigger user base, the faster we get LoTR/Star Wars love on HD.

Edit: Stupid English.

How ya doing, buddy?

Dude, you make it sound like if HD was bad in some way. All content should come in both formats! (Hehe... is not bad to dream about it)

The moment you taste HD, you just cant go back.

Now if it comes as a "standard" on hi-end HD players... the whole thing changes.

Maybe as standard is too much, but you get the idea.

I was speaking idiomatically.