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Old 12-18-2013, 12:30 PM   #758
Titan
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Some general thoughts. I am not a true techy but follow this stuff and dabble a bit.

I got a LG Plasma 3d tv and agree with most of the comments about plasmas people have made here. It works really well in my basement but when I move it back upstairs after renovations are done I will have to use it with the blinds closed. It is almost unwatchable with the blinds open during the day. That is my biggest regret.

I know LG is not in the same category as the others but it was "good enough" for me and I got a smoking deal at a golf tourney. It came with a Gateway and 3 portals for $1100. Having said that, my next tv will almost surely be an LCD/LED as the vast majority of the watching is in the living room upstairs. Also, the Plasma throws heat off like crazy. You can actually feel it if it has been on for a while and you walk by it. I find it hard to believe it is only $50 per year more.

As to speakers I bought these from Monoprice: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_i...seq=1&format=2

A word of warning, they are MASSIVE. The wife almost killed the purchase. I did use them for the surrounds and am looking at centre solutions as the centre Monoprice had did not fit in my configuration. They sound pretty good to me and are very loud but I am hoping once I get the room done and calibrate the receiver they will sound even better.

I also bought a Harmony Ultimate remote so all of my components are in the furnace room below the living room. It works extremely well and controls all the devices very well. The IR blasters seem to work no matter where you put them and control the receiver, Gateway DVR, Apple tv and blu-ray player. I also bought a wireless sensor bar for the wii and it works flawlessly as well. A happy wife...

Since I have gone this far... I also bought a Onkyo NR 717 amp: http://us.onkyo.com/Products/model.p...urce=prodClass

It was also a smoking deal. It seems to do what I need but the interface is not what I would have expected and it does not play as nice with iphones/ipods as I would like. It also required a bluetooth dongle which sucks but that is what you get for buying older models I guess. It does work but pairing is a bitch. Maybe a dedicated ipod would work better. Right now I would give it a 6/10 but I am hoping once I get it calibrated and have some time to learn its features it will increase its score.

Sorry for the long post but I hope it helps even if it determines what not to do!!
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