First pic of the new room

[Bluesmoke]

All my Grammas do is sit at home, eat cotton candy and watch crappy soaps.

 

[j_garcia]

My grammas are leaned up against the wall behind my speakers still. I feel exceedingly lame now that I see yours.

Congratulations on a room you obviously enjoy very much.

Edit: Those speaker stands, I had my sister get the same ones and am wondering if you filled the tube with sand or anything.

I have not filled them yet. They are heavy already on their own, and I also have the MoPads isolating the speakers from the stands so I don't think filling will be necessary for me.

That's an amazing investment in movies.

That is only about 1/8th of my movies I don't have a full count, but I am at 155 Blu-rays alone...and I have way more DVDs than BDs.

 

[croseiv]

but I am at 155 Blu-rays alone...and I have way more DVDs than BDs.

And here I was feeling proud of my 10 BDs!

 

[Alex2507]

If you rap your knuckle against the round tube part of the stand you'll hear a ringing like a bell was struck. After reading way too many WmAx posts all I can think is resonance: bad. With my sisters stands I just used some weather stripping to isolate the speakers and was okay with that but if I had more time and thought she was interested in spending the extra, Mopads and sand would have been on the agenda.

I only keep a small handful of movies like The Matrix, 300 and Sin City. Anything not in that class gets given away to one friend who only ever buys movies and never rents. 'We' have somewhat of a library but nothing like you.

And here I was feeling proud of my 10 BDs!

Peasant.

I don't even have the player.

 

[j_garcia]

I also had a different type of thin, soft rubber between the stands and the speakers originally, but I did get some of that ringing at higher volumes. I am not crazy about the idea of sand in there, so I was going to line them with a garbage bag or use some BBs instead. Not sure if the BBs would rattle in there or not.

Since getting Netflix, my BD buying has gone down dramatically.

 

[j_garcia]

New TV. Just need to get something to cover up the wires:

Now I have the speakers setup the way I've wanted for a long time...with the center between the mains and the TV on the wall!! The BDP-83 also.

 

[Adam]

Excellent! Congrats on the new TV and set up.

What size of TV is that?

 

[j_garcia]

Excellent! Congrats on the new TV and set up.

What size of TV is that?

It is a Sharp 40" 1080p. Looks amazing with BD I wanted a bigger set but this was a very good deal at Best Buy ($750). I had allocated funds for the TV, but with my days being cut back at work I couldn't spend any more than that.

 

[westcott]

I love the changes. Far too often the most important speaker, the center channel, gets relegated to a lower shelf surrounded by cabinetry.

I am pleased to see that you appreciate the importance of speaker placement at ear level. I am sure the breathing room you have afforded your speakers really improve the sound within the room.

Keep up the good work and keep us posted as changes arise.

Congratulations!! Nice job.

 

[jamie2112]

Nice John really sweet.........I have never heard the GR speakers before.I would love to hear them someday....

 

[adk highlander]

Looks great J!

Isn't having just one source player a great thing.

 

[croseiv]

Looks great! The oppo player is a nice looking unit there. I remember when I first moved my center from the old cabinet I had to a more central placement between my mains (actually at westcott's recommendation some time back). The improvement was grand...

Congrats on the new equipment. We all seem to be helping the economy lately with all of the new gear..

 

[Alex2507]

Isn't having just one source player a great thing.

I have a one source player too ... it just doesn't play Blu rays.

 

[j_garcia]

The 2900 was a larger player than the 83, but the 83 actually weighs about the same or a little bit more thant he 2900! It is nice to be able to have fewer components in the rack, though technically it isn't the only source; the PS3 is below the receiver in a nice big open space, though it doesn't see any movie duty now.

The center was always centered, but it was on top of the TV before, angled down. It sounds noticeably more seemless now, with all of the tweeters within an inch or two of level with each other.

 

[ldgibson76]

Hello j_garcia.

HT: Marantz SR-8300, MA500 mono, Audiosource Amp300, 5X GR Research A/V-2s, Adire Audio Tempest sub, Oppo BDP-83, Denon 2900, RC2000MkII, Panamax 5100, Panamax Max2 sub, PS3 60G (250G) + 320G USB

I love the equipment listing! Especially the Marantz and Panamax products!
"I like where your head's at!"

The GR Research's are sweet. The wood finish looks high quality. And the Salamander stand really sets it off.

Now, I have a few questions for you. And please forgive me for not reading the entire thread because you've probably articulated the answers in previous posts.
But here it goes: I noticed you the AudioSource Amp300 and the Marantz MA500 mono amp. Which speakers are the amps pushing?

I'm a Marantz fan from way back and I understand the your reluctance, replacing the SR8300. I have the SR9300 and I love it. If I were to ever replace it with another AVR, it would only be the SR9600. Pre/pro is my next move. What do you like most about the SR8300?

The Denon DVD2900 was a beast of a player in it's heyday! Now that you have the Oppo BDP-83 Universal Bluray player, is the 2900 still used for SACD/DVD-A or standard DVD playback? I own the 2910 and I use it strictly for SACD/DVD-A playback.

I have the the Auralex Subdude and it's probably the best $25.00 I've spent for my entertainment room. Has the Gramma been helpful minimizing the unwanted resonances and rattles that usually accompany such a large sub?!

That's a pretty impressive media collection you have there. How many bluray movies do you have in your collection now?

And the flat panel is a fine addition! Are you running HDMI from the Oppo and PS3 to the TV and optical or coax digital to the SR8300?

All in all, you have a sweet up.
I hope you don't mind all of the questions?

Regards.

 

[j_garcia]

Hello j_garcia.

HT: Marantz SR-8300, MA500 mono, Audiosource Amp300, 5X GR Research A/V-2s, Adire Audio Tempest sub, Oppo BDP-83, Denon 2900, RC2000MkII, Panamax 5100, Panamax Max2 sub, PS3 60G (250G) + 320G USB

I love the equipment listing! Especially the Marantz and Panamax products!
"I like where your head's at!"

The GR Research's are sweet. The wood finish looks high quality. And the Salamander stand really sets it off.

Now, I have a few questions for you. And please forgive me for not reading the entire thread because you've probably articulated the answers in previous posts.
But here it goes: I noticed you the AudioSource Amp300 and the Marantz MA500 mono amp. Which speakers are the amps pushing?

I'm a Marantz fan from way back and I understand the your reluctance, replacing the SR8300. I have the SR9300 and I love it. If I were to ever replace it with another AVR, it would only be the SR9600. Pre/pro is my next move. What do you like most about the SR8300?

The Denon DVD2900 was a beast of a player in it's heyday! Now that you have the Oppo BDP-83 Universal Bluray player, is the 2900 still used for SACD/DVD-A or standard DVD playback? I own the 2910 and I use it strictly for SACD/DVD-A playback.

I have the the Auralex Subdude and it's probably the best $25.00 I've spent for my entertainment room. Has the Gramma been helpful minimizing the unwanted resonances and rattles that usually accompany such a large sub?!

That's a pretty impressive media collection you have there. How many bluray movies do you have in your collection now?

And the flat panel is a fine addition! Are you running HDMI from the Oppo and PS3 to the TV and optical or coax digital to the SR8300?

All in all, you have a sweet up.
I hope you don't mind all of the questions?

Regards.

I have two MA500s that I used to use for just the two mains, but I got a deal on the Amp300 which now powers the mains and I use one MA500 for the center. The surrounds are handled by the 8300. I like the 9600 too, but I would probably move to a pre/pro next and that will likely be my next upgrade, though not in the immediate future. THe 8300 and 9300 have great DACs and the fact that they can cascade them for 2ch listening makes them both sound very good. I got a better deal on the 8300 new or I would have had a 9300, plus the 9300 was a LOT more

The 2900 has been retired at this point and I will be putting it up for sale soon as the BDP-83 is a superior audio player I am running the PS3 and Oppo to a HDMI box so I can feed the display with one cable from the two of them, and multichannel analog from the Oppo to the 8300, optical from the PS3. The Gramma made a very noticeable difference; so much so that the BFD is no longer in the setup.

The BD collection is about 165 right now

The GR's finish is real cherry and that was one of the things that sold me on them. The fact that they sound amazing doesn't hurt My setup has always centered around the sound since I listen to a lot of music, but the HT side really benefits from that configuration too.

 

[ldgibson76]

Looks great J!

Isn't having just one source player a great thing.

Well my system is the epitome of a polar opposite of that philosophy!
10 digital devices (boxes) and proud of it!

But I do admire the minimalist concept! and recently been considering downsizing my system. In due time, but not yet.

Regards.

 

[j_garcia]

Well my system is the epitome of a polar opposite of that philosophy!
10 digital devices (boxes) and proud of it!

But I do admire the minimalist concept! and recently been considering downsizing my system. In due time, but not yet.

Regards.

I have a lot more boxes than that , but I find that I don't use all of them often enough, so I am working back in the other direction Kind of funny to spend more but end up with a smaller system

 

[j_garcia]

One more, just because I liked the Assassin's Creed II background.

 

[Seth=L]

You've come a long way.