Highland Theater

[adk highlander]

Dang .... that's some nice wire management.

Also, thanks for the refreshing honesty regarding your amp "upgrade". I made a similar lateral move from a Sunfire TGA7400 to a W4S 7 channel with no discernable difference in SQ or output. But my lighter wallet makes me so much more agile .

Thanks, yes the lighter wallet help my skiing this weekend.

I will say this about the ATI. It does have a lower noise floor than the MPS. Not that the MPS had alot of hiss but I could here it a bit when I was standing next to the speaker but this amp is dead quiet. So I guess that makes it worth the 2200+ that I spend.

[adk highlander]

The MX-810 is different than all the other pro series as it uses a wizard based system similar to the harmoney remotes. If you've programmed URC remotes in the past this is annoying at best. While wizards are nice for a beginner it was a real pain when trying to do complex macros and there was no way do use variables or other programming tools to help in tracking the "state" of the system.

URC's customer service was great and offered to let me upgrade to the 880 for only 20 bucks more than the 810. All the latest remotes use a single programming interface so you can program an entire house of remotes and base stations in one project.

One other complexity to my system is that my HT gear and my distributed system share sources which can be a pain if you are watching something in one room and someone else is trying to use the same source in another zone it can turn off sources and the remotes will go out of sync. At minimum I wanted to be able to track which sources are being used by which zone and keep power states where they should be and not turn off a source that another zone is using.

Enter the MSC-400. This is URC's top of the line base station and it stores the macros and has voltage and video sensors to check power state of devices. It also has RS232 control so I can hardwire my components to the unit and not rely on IR flashers (which with directv boxes is a pain).

The MSC also allows me to create variables so I can track what zone is using what sources so it will not accidentally power down a sources being used in another zone. The sensors also allow me to check to see if a source is on before I send a command which allows me to write better macros that will work faster if it can skip steps.

The only bummer so far is the MX-850 I have for the bedroom is not compatible with the new software and I cannot get the MSC triggers into the remote so I will need to upgrade that one as well.

The only thing missing for me from this system is complete 2-way communication between the remote and the MSC. I would like it to be able to let the user know if someone is using a source and let them choose a different one based on info coming from the MSC. URC does offer 2-way IP based systems but these are way more expensive and are not fully developed.

I want to thank Scott for all his help and direction getting this going.

RS232 control on the following:

Onkyo 885
Integra MZA 4.7
Directv HR23-700 DVR
Directv H23
Mitsu HC500

IR for these:

Oppo BD83 (50 bucks for the RS232 so I may upgrade)
Fireball SE-80

To get RS232 control of directv boxes you just need a USB - DB9 converter and a null modem. Works like a charm.

[adk highlander]

Well I've finally finished installing my rack rails and installing all the gear with the custom shelves. I'm very happy with the outcome.

I could only fit some of my gear in the rack so I chose to put my prepro, dvr, Blu-Ray and amps.







I have to do some touch up paint work around the outside of the trim.

The shelves fit very well. The only glitch I had was that middle atlantic mislabeled the box for my Oppo face plate. It said Oppo BD83 on the box but had a ps3 faceplate. They send the correct one and I had it in two days.

[TheFactor]

looking pretty sweet man nice job !!!

[krzywica]

Looking very slick Craig. I like the mesh vents between the gaps in the rack. Keep up the good work buddy!

[TLS Guy]

Well I've finally finished installing my rack rails and installing all the gear with the custom shelves. I'm very happy with the outcome.

I could only fit some of my gear in the rack so I chose to put my prepro, dvr, Blu-Ray and amps.







I have to do some touch up paint work around the outside of the trim.

The shelves fit very well. The only glitch I had was that middle atlantic mislabeled the box for my Oppo face plate. It said Oppo BD83 on the box but had a ps3 faceplate. They send the correct one and I had it in two days.

That looks really nice and professional. How do you get access to the back of the rack?

[STRONGBADF1]

Nice job, Craig.

[adk highlander]

Thanks guys. I've been buying parts to do this for so long I never thought I would actually complete it.

That looks really nice and professional. How do you get access to the back of the rack?

There is a room behind the rack that I have the rest of my gear (server, popcorn hour, sat box, multizone receiver and dvd player). I am finishing my wire management and then I'll post some pics of the rest of the gear. I also have a thermal management setup that consists of 4 120mm fans and a temp sensing control unit that will pull air in through the bottom from vents and pull the air out the top to give the chimney effect. I still have to build the back door so I will just leave it open until it is complete.

It has been almost 3 weeks and I really haven't watched anything with the new 7005. I was troubleshooting he buzzing I was getting and not really listening to anything. I may get a few hours today to toss in some music and a movie to see if there is any real difference with my old Onkyo.

[adk highlander]

I've got more pics now of the back room with the back of the rack and my other gear.

Top of the gear rack which has the whole houses cat 5 wiring, dsl modem, router, and the MSC-400 which is the brain of the control system.


This one is the entire back of the rack unit.


Detail of the upper gear.


Amps


Had an extra 17" lcd so I've got that hooked to the server just in case. Next to it is the popcorn hour C-200.


Last one has the dvd player for the bedroom zone and sat box on the first shelf. Second shelf has the Integra MZA 4.7 which is a 4 zone av unit and below it is the server.

[zildjian]

Looks great Craig. Keep figuring out all the whole home remote control details, so I can bug you when I go that route in the next house!!!