More tidying up...

chebby

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I took apart and cleaned the system yesterday. (Disconnected and moved everything out as part of a spring clean of the living room.)

Still a bit hacked off at the number of cables running around & between my TV, Blu-ray, PVR, hi-fi and speakers.

So I will be getting...

2 x 2.0m speaker cables (instead of the current 2 x 2.5m).

New, much shorter (figure of eight) mains cable for the Marantz.

2 x 0.75m HDMI cables (currently 2 x 1m).

1 x 0.75m optical digital cable from the TV to hi-fi. (Currently 1m)

0.75m co-ax fly lead between TV and Humax. (Currently 1.2m)

I am also looking into any Blu-ray recorders (with at least 500GB HD) so that I can replace my Humax and BDP with one box. (Although it must be as good as my BDP-S390 and HDR-Fox T2 combined in terms of PQ, SQ and usability and good BBC iPlayer perfornance.)

That will cut down on another mains lead and one of the HDMI cables and give some more space. (Every little counts.) Hopefully it will have a fig.8 mains connection (rather than a tethered/captive mains lead) so I can replace that with a short one as well.

Seriously thinking of selling the Rega R3s and getting some bookshelf mounted, (sealed cabinet) speakers. Trying out the speakers I bought for the spare room system (JPW Sonatas) proved very satisfactory on my main system and left me 're-converted' to small, sealed cabinet monitors. (The Naim nSats were the last ones I owned until the recent acquired JPWs.)

Using the space vacated by the floorstanding R3s (and the space that has to be left around/behind them and forward from the system) will give enough room for two more book cabinets (with new bookshelf speakers in/on the book cabinets or walled mounted above them) and still give more usable space (about an extra 8sq feet in total even after the new book cabinets are counted.)

This is just me 'mulling' over options - whilst I sit here with a cuppa - before tackling living-room spring clean pt II.
 

hoopsontoast

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I find it quite theraputic taking apart the system and putting it all back together again.

If you are looking at small, sealed speakers, I would recommend an audition of the ATC SCM7/SCM10 and Spendor S3/5R. I quite fancy trying some old KEF Reference 102s at some point too!

The R3s are cracking speakers and I think you may miss their 'get up and go' and mid-bass punch compared to the smaller sealed 'monitor' style speakers.
 

MajorFubar

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Hard-wired mains cables |( . Grrr don't start me on those. I like to thread-up all the cables before placing the components back, which isn't possible when a component has a hard-wired mains-cable. Another problem with hard-wired mains-cables, it won't be the first time either I've had to lop-off a non-removable mains-plug to get the cable through a small hole. Though I'm sure the time is well on its way where the nanny-state will dictate than I need to get a qualified electrician to fit the new plug... :roll:
 

chebby

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I'm more interested - right now - in getting rid of 3.2 metres of wire (I think that's what it comes to) in the short-term.

Unusable space around/behind (and including) the R3 speakers is currently around 2 X 9sq ft. (18sq ft total). The two book cabinets would occupy about 2 X 3sq ft. (And they'd be hard up against the wall leaving all of the 12sq feet of saved space usable and accessible).

That's something to look forward to.
 

GMK

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I hear you. I'm still hovering over the button to buy a Marantz MCR 603 and be done with all the boxes and faff
 

richardw42

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I sympathise.

Round the back of my TV is just horrific, I have 11 plugs.

PI need to review all my hdmi cables as they cause a lot of the problems.
 

chebby

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richardw42 said:
I sympathise.

Round the back of my TV is just horrific, I have 11 plugs.

PI need to review all my hdmi cables as they cause a lot of the problems.

I thought mine was bad enough with four mains leads, 2 HDMI cables, 2 Ethernet cables, 1 co-ax 'fly lead', 1 optical cable and two co-ax cables (for TV and FM aerials).

You have 11 plugs !! (What happened to all that minimilism that active ADMs give?)
 

relocated

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Have you had any initial ideas on a Bluray/HDD recorder? It seems that Freesat has been dropped by Panasonic for their recorders and have gone with Freeview HD only.

I have always had Panasonic recorders in the past and they have never missed a beat. Samsung and LG do the same thing it seems but I have no experience of their long term reliability.
 

richardw42

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chebby said:
richardw42 said:
I sympathise.

Round the back of my TV is just horrific, I have 11 plugs.

PI need to review all my hdmi cables as they cause a lot of the problems.

I thought mine was bad enough with four mains leads, 2 HDMI cables, 2 Ethernet cables, 1 co-ax 'fly lead', 1 optical cable and two co-ax cables (for TV and FM aerials).

You have 11 plugs !! (What happened to all that minimilism that active ADMs give?)

:)

its all the flippin sources.

ATV3, Sonos, ps3, BDP, Sky box, Sky connector. I've also kept my Yamaha to act as a flash hdmi hub. Add in the TV and sub.

Im quite interested in an oppo or CA BDP. if I could use their HDMI input with a hdmi switcher I'd be able to get rid of 2 boxes for one
 

chebby

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relocated said:
Have you had any initial ideas on a Bluray/HDD recorder? It seems that Freesat has been dropped by Panasonic for their recorders and have gone with Freeview HD only.

I have always had Panasonic recorders in the past and they have never missed a beat. Samsung and LG do the same thing it seems but I have no experience of their long term reliability.

My first thought was Panasonic. (All of my old DVD/Freeview recorders were Panasonic.)

However, the Humax will be a tough act to follow, as will the Sony BDP-S390. So a one box replacement will take a little research and might not happen if there is anything I don't like. I might end up getting the YouView version of my Humax instead (so my wife can get ITV Player for her murder stuff without having to use a computer.) Although a change to a slimmer/lighter 32" Samsung Smart TV would do the same.

It's all a bit 'fluid' at the moment. Whatever happens, it will involve less (and shorter) cables and all occupy less room.

I have just bought another two large 'Case Logic' CD folders to eliminate all of the remaining CD cases (and CD storage boxes) from the living room and give plenty of capacity for more CDs in future. (I still prefer to rip from CDs - when available - then store them away rather than download.)

After that (and at the same time as the R3s' sale and bookcase purchase) I am going to get something nicer (and smaller) than the light oak AV unit we presently use to house the TV and hi-fi. Something more like furniture than hi-fi/AV kit.

I love books and (and solid wood book cabinets) far more than I like the look of tellys and stereos and so I am finally going to break any remaining stranglehold on space this stuff has enjoyed at our expense for far too long now!
 

altruistic.lemon

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There's always the classic speakers, too, the LS3/5a, now available in v2 format from Stirling Broadcast. If you know how to handle glue, a soldering iron, screwdriver and varnish there's also the Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a kits at about the £500 mark. Spendor still make their clone in the form of the S3/5r2. Then there's Harbeth, but with a hefty price increase!
 

chebby

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altruistic.lemon said:
There's always the classic speakers, too, the LS3/5a, now available in v2 format from Stirling Broadcast. If you know how to handle glue, a soldering iron, screwdriver and varnish there's also the Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a kits at about the £500 mark. Spendor still make their clone in the form of the S3/5r2. Then there's Harbeth, but with a hefty price increase!

You read my mind!

I have been looking at Stirling Broadcast's shop...

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/stirlingbroadcastls35ashop

This kit in particular...

Clicky

£488 gets a set of speakers that normally retail for £1140. (Minimum assembly and a tiny bit of soldering.)
 

jcarruthers

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I do wonder why interconnects are always SO long.

Who has their CD/DAC/record player more than a metre away?

My DAC sits next to the amp — at most the interconnect needs to be about 30cm.
 

relocated

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On the Tv front I had expected that by now you could get a tv with built-in recorder, but if anyone has them they are not on smaller sets. Then you could just keep your BD.

My first Panasonic plasma had a built in sd card recorder, must be 7+ years ago, which should have been ideal given that video and still cameras can record HD and up quality. You won't sell many dvd, bluray or HDD recorders then though I guess.
 

bluedroog

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I find it one of life's little mysteries that even if I take out and sort all my cables before putting them back together again it remains a complete mess.
 

CnoEvil

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bluedroog said:
I find it one of life's little mysteries that even if I take out and sort all my cables before putting them back together again it remains a complete mess.

You have a point there.......it's up there with "odd socks".
 

steve_1979

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GMK said:
I'm interested in sealed speaker ideas so keep the suggestions coming

The Acoustic Energy ProSat and ProSub 2.1system are the best sealed speakers that I've heard.

Don't be put off by it being a 2.1 system because the subwoofer integration with the stereo speakers is 100% perfectly seamless. Just hide the sub out of sight somewhere and put the small ProSat speakers on stands close to a back wall and the sound is phenomenal. Close you eyes and the deep solid bass is better than you get with floorstanding speakers and never sounds directional. The midrange and stereo image are as outstanding as you would expect from a pair of high quality compact active speakers too.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb11/articles/ae-pro-subsat.htm
 

hoopsontoast

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steve_1979 said:
hoopsontoast said:
I find it quite theraputic taking apart the system and putting it all back together again.

I find it's a pain in ar5e and boring.

Depends on how much stuff you have really, I only have a CDP, Amp and speakers so its not so bad. Gives me a chance to give stuff a clean and dust. :rofl:
 

PJPro

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chebby said:
richardw42 said:
I sympathise.

Round the back of my TV is just horrific, I have 11 plugs.

PI need to review all my hdmi cables as they cause a lot of the problems.

I thought mine was bad enough with four mains leads, 2 HDMI cables, 2 Ethernet cables, 1 co-ax 'fly lead', 1 optical cable and two co-ax cables (for TV and FM aerials).

You have 11 plugs !! (What happened to all that minimilism that active ADMs give?)

I've been away from the forum for some time. Basically, I've trashed the house and am still putting it back together. However, I've taken the opportunity to address the cable issue. Here's a couple of pictures which, hopefully, will give you an idea of how I'm going about it.

8676581806_e68e7f4a97_z.jpg


The area in the centre is a recess into which will be fixed an articulated TV mount. This will allow the mount to be fully contained within the recess, allowing the back TV to be moreless flush to the wall. The articulated mount will allow the tv to pulled out and moved to one (or other) side to gain access to the recess and the cabling it contains.

The recess provides 4 ethernet ports, satellite and freeview TV ports, a route to the rear speakers, front and front height speakers. You'll also notice provision for two double gang sockets within the recess (bottom) proving power for the TV and any other devices I might be able to squeeze into the recess.

8676579366_65e134018b_z.jpg


Below the recess are two triple gang sockets, with a further two double gang sockets just out of shot on either side. That makes a total of 14 power sockets in all. Hopefully that will be enough! Cabling will get into the recess from amplifers and other devices via the big chunky trunking in the centre.

Obviously, the plasterboard still needs to be fixed onto the wall.....amongst other things.
 

Diamond Joe

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CnoEvil said:
bluedroog said:
I find it one of life's little mysteries that even if I take out and sort all my cables before putting them back together again it remains a complete mess.

You have a point there.......it's up there with "odd socks".

:rofl:

Untidy cables are something of a pet hate of mine, I still haven't managed to tidy them up though. Inspired by chebby I might have another go this weekend.
 

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