Home Theater/Game Room Thread

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Tmac

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For 65" that probably won't drop too much lower (Black Friday price was $1900), Samsung's biggest discounts for 65s are end of year sales while 55s can push lower at odd times

Q90 are getting a Neo version for 2021 and it starts at the same $2600 MSRP as the Q90T, but they haven't been reviewed by rtings yet.

edit: 55" Q90T is on educational discount right now for $1439 at Samsung Student Discount | Education Discounts | Samsung US
Basically sign up with an edu address and check that page for specific deals

I just bought the Q90T for $1535 at some randar website. About a $400 discount from big box stores.
 

LachiusTZ

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My receiver and speakers are ancient, and prolly not worth keeping at this point.

Need a 500$? setup to hold me over until I get something really nice.

Is there a stand out product in the 350-600$ range?

Want the American made Klipsch, but dropping 5k on speakers during tax season isn't happening. Lol
 

slippery

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When does the next generation of TV's come out? And are we expecting stock problems? I kind of want to get the CXI (or whatever name they go with).

Before I posted I went and googled lol. Looks like they are going with C1 for name. Seems like next few months. I might have to try to get a 55 or 65 inch

 

Tmac

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So, I bought a Samsung Q90T 65”, Polk Magnifi 2 soundbar/sub, and a PS5. Got em all hooked up and dear god it looks good.

Only problem is the Maginifi2 optical input stopped working like 45 minutes in to hooking it up. WTF? I contacted their support and they literally copied a bunch of DIY steps.

I think they built a lemon bc the reviews on Amazon are brutal :( I asked for a refund.

Other than that the TV looks amazing. Not sure what I want to use for my streaming though since I have an Amazon fire stick 4K, the tv has apps, and PlayStation has a pretty good media controller now.
 

Hateyou

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So, I bought a Samsung Q90T 65”, Polk Magnifi 2 soundbar/sub, and a PS5. Got em all hooked up and dear god it looks good.

Only problem is the Maginifi2 optical input stopped working like 45 minutes in to hooking it up. WTF? I contacted their support and they literally copied a bunch of DIY steps.

I think they built a lemon bc the reviews on Amazon are brutal :( I asked for a refund.

Other than that the TV looks amazing. Not sure what I want to use for my streaming though since I have an Amazon fire stick 4K, the tv has apps, and PlayStation has a pretty good media controller now.
Why are you using optical on such a nice setup? You know that’s trashing your sound right? Use the eARC.

That’s like hooking your ps5 up via composite cable.
 
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Denamian

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Why are you using optical on such a nice setup? You know that’s trashing your sound right? Use the eARC.

That’s like hooking your ps5 up via composite cable.

I am no audio expert, but isn't optical a fiber connection? Shouldn't that allow for shitloads of bandwidth and uncompressed audio?
 

Hateyou

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I am no audio expert, but isn't optical a fiber connection? Shouldn't that allow for shitloads of bandwidth and uncompressed audio?
No you’re right. I must’ve been reading some high end audio discussion and misunderstood why eARC was better. I thought optical compressed the audio some but guess it doesn’t. eARC does have more bandwidth but for Tmac Tmac ’s sound bar the optical is probably fine. eARC still wins though because you can use your tv remote instead of two remotes.

 
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Attog

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My old Bass EQ system was a Behrenger commercial deal and it finally died on me. I just upgraded to a MiniDSP HD and this thing is pretty cool. Does anybody here use one of those? I am trying out the BEQ program some of the guys at AVS made for this thing, it adds back in ULF content that is on individual movie releases but that has been "mixed out" of the home releases so it doesn't blow up people's soundbars or Bose speakers.
 

Tmac

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So, I will never do business w Polk again. Holy shit. They’ll sell you a lemon and then refuse to fix it.

They asked me to provide a “date of purchase” and they could send me a new one (bc they don’t do refunds), so I sent them the receipt. Apparently the purchase date isn’t on the gd receipt, so they rejected it and stopped replying to me.

Fuck these people.

My soundbar now emits a high frequency squeal any time you turn it on. It’s like two weeks old.
 

Attog

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So, I will never do business w Polk again. Holy shit. They’ll sell you a lemon and then refuse to fix it.

They asked me to provide a “date of purchase” and they could send me a new one (bc they don’t do refunds), so I sent them the receipt. Apparently the purchase date isn’t on the gd receipt, so they rejected it and stopped replying to me.

Fuck these people.

My soundbar now emits a high frequency squeal any time you turn it on. It’s like two weeks old.

Two weeks and you have the receipt, won't the store just do an exchange?
 

Tmac

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Two weeks and you have the receipt, won't the store just do an exchange?

Apparently not. They told me they don't do refunds, so I asked for an exchange. They denied me bc I can't "prove" the date that I purchased it w their own receipt or order #.

If it sounds retarded, it's probably by their own design. Their MagniFi line has a ton of 1 star reviews on Amazon.
 

Utnayan

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Apparently not. They told me they don't do refunds, so I asked for an exchange. They denied me bc I can't "prove" the date that I purchased it w their own receipt or order #.

If it sounds retarded, it's probably by their own design. Their MagniFi line has a ton of 1 star reviews on Amazon.
Cancel the charge on your card or call your bank. Fuck that.
 
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Hateyou

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Apparently not. They told me they don't do refunds, so I asked for an exchange. They denied me bc I can't "prove" the date that I purchased it w their own receipt or order #.

If it sounds retarded, it's probably by their own design. Their MagniFi line has a ton of 1 star reviews on Amazon.
Justifiable Arson
 

Hateyou

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Utnayan Utnayan I took your advice and called the bank. Claimed a fraudulent charge on my card. Hope they don’t contact Polk for a receipt of our convos! Lol
Fuck them. Demands date be on receipt...doesn’t date receipt. That’s bullshit.
 
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Tmac

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Fuck them. Demands date be on receipt...doesn’t date receipt. That’s bullshit.

That whole exchange blew my mind. I was shocked and immediately thought, “They know these sound bars are pieces of shit and are selling them by the thousand. They’ve given themselves an easy out.”
 
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Armadon

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Anyone have the svs ultra front speakers? Was wondering how much bass they produce. Want to get rid of my front subs that are 8inch subs in the front. Or should I stick with the front subs and just get the prime speakers or the pinnacles. I already have the svs ultra front speaker and it sounds freaking amazing so I was going to stick with svs.
 

Chanur

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Im thinking about replacing my Klipsch RP 260F with some bookshelf speakers. I would like to upgrade if possible at the same time but would like to keep it under 1000 if possible. Right now all my speakers minus my sub are Klipsch but the new fronts don't have to be Klipsch. That being said I am considering the RP 600m since they are Klipsch. I would love some other suggestions though.

 
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Burns

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Im thinking about replacing my Klipsch RP 260F with some bookshelf speakers. I would like to upgrade if possible at the same time but would like to keep it under 1000 if possible. Right now all my speakers minus my sub are Klipsch but the new fronts don't have to be Klipsch. That being said I am considering the RP 600m since they are Klipsch. I would love some other suggestions though.


You can build $1000 comparable speakers, for 1/2 to 1/3 the price by following plans from various audiophile designers (autists who do this as a hobby). There are a few different places to get parts, and even pre-cut (with CNC machine) MDF kits (I'll list some below).

Soldering your own crossovers is the most "technical" aspect, but the designers usually include easy to follow plans and build threads can be found to see a pictures of the layout.

Finishing the speakers can be some what time consuming, depending on your woodworking experience. MDF is the most commonly used speaker wood, due to its audio properties and it is best finished with a veneer. Otherwise, to paint MDF, you need to cut a small groove on all the lines were the wood pieces are joined, then fill with wood putty and sand flush. If you don't do this, the lines will show up through the paint on a high gloss finish. On the bookshelf speakers I built, I tried to just use sand paper and filler on the joints, and my piano black finish has lines at all the joints.

An alternative to MDF, is Russian/Baltic Birch plywood. From what I read, it has little to no voids in it, unlike domestic ply which is a mixed bag. Voids can cause resonance problems.

Parts Express (linked below) also has a wealth of information on speaker builds, with lots of pictures (EXAMPLE $800 speaker set). Audioholics forum also has a bunch of build threads, for even more pictures (EXAMPLE, currently being built)

I built the Speedster Bookshelf speakers from Paul Carmody:

I bought my kit, with pre-cut pieces from:

I bought anything else I needed (like a Dayton amp) from:

Forum for speaker building:
 
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Tuco

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All right boys, help me out here. I bought a house and the owner left his old audio stuff. He's got

AV Receiver: Sony STR-DE657
Sony STR-DE675

Center Speaker: BOSE VCS-10

Front speakers: BOSE 301 Series IV

Satellite Speakers: Infinity Universal Satellite 10-100

I have a TV that's a few years old: Samsung UN65KS8000



I've tried just about everything to get it hooked up right and it doesn't seem to be performing well (Can't get decent audio out of all the speakers simultaneously). I tried factory resetting the AV receiver. I'm not too surprised, it's ~20 years old, though it's been kept in a climate controlled, finished basement and has no visible marring.

I'm hoping I can buy a new AV receiver and use it with my existing speakers / TV. The speakers all receive 2 conductor wire and seem to support 8 ohms. My TV supports optical audio, HDMI and maybe bluetooth. Any recommendations on an AV receiver or general recommendations on what I should do? It'd be nice to use the speakers I have, but I don't know the shelf life of them or how to identify whether they're even worth keeping. I have enough $$$ to buy new stuff, but am not looking for an amazing sound system, just a serviceable one.