I've spent alot of time on this forum and was impressed with the fervor some owners displayed toward their Rotel Gear. So, yes, visiting this forum prompted the Rotel purchase. I was also considering Adcom, B&K and Carver but the Rotel seemed the best product considering its price.
The speakers are a completely different story. I auditioned Dynaudio, Vienna Acoustics, JMLabs, B&W (703's and 800 series monitors)and Paradigm. I had an appointment to audition Von Schweikert and received e-mails from Salk Sound and Ed Frias Technologies. But sitting at home were my 19 year-old Klipsch Fortes. I honestly didn't hear anything that was so remarkably better than what I had-- at least not for the prices I was considering. So I visited the Klipsch Forums and was able to purchase a matching center channel for my Fortes and a pair of vintage Heresy II's.
The video equipment wasn't as well researched-- I visited a local store and walked out with a discontinued projector. I wish I had done more research-- I could have spent less money for similar performance. I bought the scaler because the common consensus is that they improve picture quality-- especially with projectors. It came with the SDI input at no extra charge and adding the SDI Denon seemed to be the best connection. I can't testify to this because I haven't actually used any of the equipment yet (except for the scaler-- I connected it to my Sony LCD-- didn't see a huge improvement).
Best bet for anyone looking to upgrade or build a theater-- visit forums like these, ask questions and don't be afraid to admit to being a novice! There are so many posters that respond to queries with good information; your knowledge base will expand rapidly. I've learned a great deal in a short time and am completely hooked on this hobby.
Haven't decided on a screen. Was considering a Carada but they didn't send me the samples I requested. I need to build a "screen wall" so I haven't determined the screen size as of yet. The screen wall will house my equipment, the IB subwoofer, DVD's, lp's and CD's inside a 4' wide enclosure.
I'll probably need an IR extender and a power conditioner and there's still acoustic treatments and the analog gear and my wife's reservoir of patience to consider.
And I just wanted a bigger screen to watch movies on!
The speakers are a completely different story. I auditioned Dynaudio, Vienna Acoustics, JMLabs, B&W (703's and 800 series monitors)and Paradigm. I had an appointment to audition Von Schweikert and received e-mails from Salk Sound and Ed Frias Technologies. But sitting at home were my 19 year-old Klipsch Fortes. I honestly didn't hear anything that was so remarkably better than what I had-- at least not for the prices I was considering. So I visited the Klipsch Forums and was able to purchase a matching center channel for my Fortes and a pair of vintage Heresy II's.
The video equipment wasn't as well researched-- I visited a local store and walked out with a discontinued projector. I wish I had done more research-- I could have spent less money for similar performance. I bought the scaler because the common consensus is that they improve picture quality-- especially with projectors. It came with the SDI input at no extra charge and adding the SDI Denon seemed to be the best connection. I can't testify to this because I haven't actually used any of the equipment yet (except for the scaler-- I connected it to my Sony LCD-- didn't see a huge improvement).
Best bet for anyone looking to upgrade or build a theater-- visit forums like these, ask questions and don't be afraid to admit to being a novice! There are so many posters that respond to queries with good information; your knowledge base will expand rapidly. I've learned a great deal in a short time and am completely hooked on this hobby.
Haven't decided on a screen. Was considering a Carada but they didn't send me the samples I requested. I need to build a "screen wall" so I haven't determined the screen size as of yet. The screen wall will house my equipment, the IB subwoofer, DVD's, lp's and CD's inside a 4' wide enclosure.
I'll probably need an IR extender and a power conditioner and there's still acoustic treatments and the analog gear and my wife's reservoir of patience to consider.
And I just wanted a bigger screen to watch movies on!
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