Home cinema

rimibar

Established Member
Joined
May 17, 2003
Messages
473
Reaction score
12
Points
203
Location
Cambridgeshire, UK
Speakers
<> Jamo D7 - 5.1 system
When I heard these in the demo room of the dealer I was genuinely amazed at the sound and the way you are completely submerged in it. Music too is good, although not quite in the same class as good floorstanders. I have toyed with idea of getting another sub and 2 rear speakers to match, but the size of the room does not justify it. I'm waiting for my garage conversion - this is where the speakers will come into their own given a bit more space to breath!!

DLP Projector
<> Optoma Themescene HD81
Having already owned an Optoma H50, and H78 I had no hesitation in choosing another from the same family, but the difference in quality is breathtaking. Main reasons for upgrading were noise (H50 was very very loud comparably), image quality (definition and contrast ratios) and the fact the new unit is 16:9. I compared this directly with the Infocus 7205 - and it completely blew it away in every respect. See notes on DVD player below to learn of the only slight glitch I have found so far.
EDIT: Still running this picture and recently had to change the bulb. Incredibly, I managed 3600 hours on the original factory-supplied bulb, but improvement in picture quality was nothing short of dramatic when the new bulb went in...

Amplifier
<> Pioneer VSA-AX10i
Great amp with enough power for you to genuinely feel every explosion that the director intended. Also provides enough heat to negate the use of both radiators in the room! Very impressed with this generally, although the new Denon and Yamaha amps with HDMI ports look attractive!

DVD Player
<>Arcam DV79 :smashin: :thumbsdow
I was truly awe inspired the first time I spun some CDs on this player - vocals are much richer than I thought was possible given my speakers (see above).

Image quality is first class too - it's connected through HDMI and pictures show every detail - a bit of a problem when the DVD quality is none too good. Recent DVD's however (and the ubiquitous Pixar collection :thumbsup: ) look wonderful.

The only issue I have at the moment is that, when connected to the projector (see above) I sometimes get image/sound distortion if the correct display mechanism is not selected. Re confirming the "Digital RGB" channel remedies this immediately - however I did not realise that the HDMI cable could sent signals back to the DVD player. Not a big gripe, but a gripe nonetheless!

This has been since remedied! By simplying removing the component cables completely - I now rely on HDMI 100%

Another gripe - the remote control - AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGHHHH! How annoying - bad design and the worst infrared reception I have every encountered!


Digital/Analogue Radio
<> Pure 702 ES :smashin:
Love this radio - it looks great and it sound even better. This is connected to the amp via both phono and optical. I prefer the former as it warms the sound slightly. FM reception is good, DVB reception good for some channels (BBC particularly), but I will need to invest in a proper roof mounted DVB aerial at some point in the future.

Satellite receivers
<> Sky + :smashin:
<> Sky HD Also :smashin:, but sick to death of sound issues when resuming play after pause, rewind or fast forward. The crackling noise it makes is hideous and potentially dangerous for the speakers. For those looking for a fix, I'd recommend that you push and hold the play button in order to put playback into slow motion, then resume by tapping the play button again. This seems to support the problem. Still very frustrating that a premium product has these problems!

Console
<> Playstation 3 (New version! 120GB)
Haven't had this long enough to really comment yet - but watch this space!

<> Nintendo Wii + Balance Board
Good party fun - social gaming at it's best, still prefer the realism of the 360 though, especially when playing slone

Interconnects and cabling
<> Chord Carnival Silver Plus :smashin: :thumbsdow
Significantly improved the sound, but has caused me some problems - will post details of this later on.

<> Chord 10m HDMI cable :smashin:
Beautiful picture from a beautiful DVD player through a beautiful projector. Why not complete the "beautifulness" with a beautiful cable?!

<> Chord 10m Component cable :smashin:
Haven't used the XBOX enough to comment on this. More details will follow once I have made a conclusion...

<> Audio cables
Too many to mention - coaxial, optical and high quality phono leads for good measure. The photos show the sheer mess!
 

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Last edited:
eviljohn2 said:
That looks very neat and tidy. Why not edit your article to include a full list of your equipment rather than just having it in your sig?

Done! Especially for you Evil :devil:

eviljohn2 said:
Do you actually have a seat at the end of the room opposite your screen or is it just the sofa down the side of the room? :)

Yes indeed, although photos do not show it too well! If you look at the one from the back of the room you will see the corner of the chair arm. It's actually a Lazee Boy - complete with fridge, telephone, heater and massage settings. A big thank you to my wife for this!! :thumbsup:
 
I have mentioned having some problems in the above description. This is to do with the "ohmage" of the speakers. I think that the AMP was designed for 4 ohm speakers, and the Jamo D7s are 8 ohm. I previously used some bog-standard QED wiring which never caused me a problem - allowing volume to be turned all the way up with no problems at all.

Since installing the Chord Carnival Silver Plus, if I try to turn it all the way up, the speakers cones im/explode - thank God for Jamo's warranty! Annoyed about this generally.

I foolishly believed that if the AMP was THX Ultra 2, and the speakers were the same, then I wouldn't have a problem.

Any comments on the above would be much appreciated! Has anyone experienced similar problems????
 

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