HDTV and Audio thread - Page 5

NickH · #81 25.02.2010, 17:36

The cheapest I have seen for Hi Fi in Europe has been in the UK. There is just more competition there.

The other option is buy second hand equipment. Good speakers and amps last for years.

axman · #82 26.02.2010, 08:45

	Quote:	PlantHead
	I got some Tannoy speakers delievered to my Mum's back in England, I then brought them over myself to avoid the import tax, which I imagine would have been hefty.

How did you transport them though? I am a big fan of Tannoy, but over here they are too expensive.

I go to London quite a few times for work, but subwoofers alone are >10kg, so I don't think taking them with me on the flight is a good idea (I don't mind at all declaring them at the airport and paying the relatively low import tax here though).

PlantHead · #83 26.02.2010, 14:39

I actually drove them back myself.
I wouldn't trust an airline to store them safely in the hold.

Bananahead · #84 26.02.2010, 19:18

	Quote:	PlantHead
	I got some Tannoy speakers delievered to my Mum's back in England, I then brought them over myself to avoid the import tax, which I imagine would have been hefty.

But surely you would have stopped at customs to have the UK VAT removed and as part of that you would have paid the Swiss VAT. Which is a nominal 10% saving.

The last thing that I bought was a power lead for £400. Am I crazy? (Let's start a poll).

krlock3 · #85 27.02.2010, 08:53

yes you are crazy, theres no need for a poll, but i assume you have it hooked up to some very serious kit (im guessing klasse or something?).

AbFab · #86 27.02.2010, 09:35

	Quote:	NickH
	The cheapest I have seen for Hi Fi in Europe has been in the UK. There is just more competition there.

...and a rubbish currency that fell from CHF2.41 to 1.66 since 2007...

PlantHead · #87 27.10.2010, 13:39

How do people listen to music in their homes?

I've got all my music on a central NAS which is networked but I am wondering how to get that music into all the rooms in the house.
What do you people do?

Also does anyone know where I can get some rope lights in different colours...IKEA don't seem to sell them anymore.

richardm · #88 27.10.2010, 14:02

	Quote:	PlantHead
	I've got all my music on a central NAS which is networked but I am wondering how to get that music into all the rooms in the house.

This must be a troll attempt.

This is Switzerland. Our flats are too small for anyone to ever need a music distribution system.

Carlos R · #89 27.10.2010, 14:08

	Quote:	PlantHead
	...I've got all my music on a central NAS which is networked but I am wondering how to get that music into all the rooms in the house....

Here, let me help you with that...

PlantHead · #90 27.10.2010, 14:19

Peasants, my castle is too big and also my misses music is rubbish, hence the need to have different music in different rooms.

I am thinking a couple of Squeezebox booms would do it.

NickH · #91 27.10.2010, 14:21

Invest in a Sonus system?

PlantHead · #92 27.10.2010, 14:25

	Quote:	NickH
	Invest in a Sonus system?

Too expensive and you still need to add speakers to them.
I need something to put in the office, bedroom and kitchen, doesn't need to be a 5.1 set up in any of those rooms.

Carlos R · #93 27.10.2010, 14:28

Must admit that I am scratching my head at the moment with my own dilema.

We are having a house built and plan on getting a flat screen - still no idea what to go for, but guess it will be LED. I will be taking the tape measure and PH's table (earlier in the thread) to work out the size of the screen when the plastering is done.

I also had the builders put in some cable ducts, so that we can hook up some speakers from the ceiling, but I have no idea where to start with what in terms of what to get. The room is about 4 x 3 m, with holes in the ceiling in each corner for the speakers. I don't particularly want to spend an eye-watering amount on a sound system...

Any suggestions/ideas welcome.

NickH · #94 27.10.2010, 14:35

	Quote:	PlantHead
	Too expensive and you still need to add speakers to them. I need something to put in the office, bedroom and kitchen, doesn't need to be a 5.1 set up in any of those rooms.

So you want to get music to other rooms without adding speakers?

NickH · #95 27.10.2010, 14:37

	Quote:	Carlos R
	Must admit that I am scratching my head at the moment with my own dilema. We are having a house built and plan on getting a flat screen - still no idea what to go for, but guess it will be LED. I will be taking the tape measure and PH's table (earlier in the thread) to work out the size of the screen when the plastering is done. I also had the builders put in some cable ducts, so that we can hook up some speakers from the ceiling, but I have no idea where to start with what in terms of what to get. The room is about 4 x 3 m, with holes in the ceiling in each corner for the speakers. I don't particularly want to spend an eye-watering amount on a sound system... Any suggestions/ideas welcome.

One idea is to have wall enclosures for built in speakers. It all depends on how much you want to spend and how seriously you take having good sound quality.

cello · #96 27.10.2010, 14:41

	Quote:	PlantHead
	Too expensive and you still need to add speakers to them. I need something to put in the office, bedroom and kitchen, doesn't need to be a 5.1 set up in any of those rooms.

Buy an Airport Express from Apple for each room. It is much cheaper than Sonos and it will improve the connectivity in your castle. You will also be able to direct different streams (from iTunes and any iDevice) to any connected room.

NickH · #97 27.10.2010, 14:49

There is also the Monitor Audio Air stream. Think Sony, HP and Cisco also make a version of wireless audio.

cello · #98 27.10.2010, 14:50

To better clarify my original post..

If you have music on one or many computers (iTunes and a wifi network are prerequisites), you can play any music and select to which Airport Express base station to send the music to (each base has an audio jack. It's not on top of my mind whether it is analogic only or hybrid optical/analog like the ones on the macbooks).

After plugging in, simply attach any speaker (which you can choose according to your liking and budget - from a logitech speaker set to a proper amplifier) and you are set.
If you own an iPad or an iPhone, you can then use the Remote application or (with the next 4.2) direct the audio straight from your mobile device to any base station.
In my opinion this is the most cost effective and versatile system for multi-room music (and it extends the range of your wifi network).

cyrus · #99 27.10.2010, 14:54

	Quote:	cello
	To better clarify my original post.. If you have music on one or many computers (iTunes and a wifi network are prerequisites), you can play any music and select to which Airport Express base station to send the music to (each base has an audio jack. It's not on top of my mind whether it is analogic only or hybrid optical/analog like the ones on the macbooks). After plugging in, simply attach any speaker (which you can choose according to your liking and budget - from a logitech speaker set to a proper amplifier) and you are set. If you own an iPad or an iPhone, you can then use the Remote application or (with the next 4.2) direct the audio straight from your mobile device to any base station. In my opinion this is the most cost effective and versatile system for multi-room music (and it extends the range of your wifi network).

I use this, but I'm pretty sure you can't send different music to different rooms at the same time, you can only choose which speakers to use.

It's pretty funky when paired up to the remote app on the iphone.

axman · #**100** 27.10.2010, 15:00

	Quote:	Carlos R
	I also had the builders put in some cable ducts, so that we can hook up some speakers from the ceiling, but I have no idea where to start with what in terms of what to get. The room is about 4 x 3 m, with holes in the ceiling in each corner for the speakers. I don't particularly want to spend an eye-watering amount on a sound system... Any suggestions/ideas welcome.

Watching from 4m, 50 inch TV would suffice. Watching from 3m, 42 inch will do. But if you want 3D, get bigger sizes.

In your case, you will probably need to choose the speakers first (based on size and looks, and how it will fit the room, etc.) and then from there you can choose a suitable home cinema amp.

I got these speakers for now:

http://www.qacoustics.co.uk/2000/2000-cinema.htm

except that for the fronts I use the bigger 2020s. I like them for the price, but I am mentioning it to you because if you look under "accessories", you will see that you can get wall brackets for them. Once my kids are older I will replace them with something from B&W or Monitor Audio. I got mine delivered from the UK because they are simply much cheaper over there. Tell me if you want details.

Something new I realized the past few months is that I should have positioned my internet modem where my home theater is, instead of in the office. The reason is that in the office, only my home computer is using the internet, but all the latest home theater components can all be connected to the internet - Blu-ray player, amplifier, satellite box, TV, apple TV, etc.