What was your last major, and minor, upgrades?

[Kevin P]

Look out, it's another one of Kevin's infamous HT polls!

I know everyone loves to brag about their upgrades and their new toys. Now it's time to bring that bragging into this thread!

So, my question is, what was the last major upgrade to your system, and your last minor upgrade (if more recent than a major upgrade)?

A major upgrade in this case consitutes a replacement or significant enhancement to one of the major components of your system, such as the room itself, the TV, DVD player, receiver or prepro, amps, speakers, subs, other frequently or critically used A/V sources (dish/HD receivers, etc.), or let's say also anything costing over $1000.

A minor upgrade would be anything not fitting the major category above, either a cheap tweak, an upgrade of a less significant component, or one that isn't frequently used in your HT (such as a VCR), or an upgrade that didn't produce a huge improvement in your system.

Ok, my last MAJOR upgrade probably would be when I had my TV ISF calibrated back in March 2001. The difference in the quality of my picture is staggering compared to what it was before calibration. The prior major upgrade would have been when I got my Sony DVP-9000ES in December '00. I'm overdue in the major upgrades dept., now if I could only get my paycheck upgraded to something 21st century...

My last minor upgrades, most recent first, are: upgrading the driver in my SVS 20-39CS, adding the Sony MXD-D3 CD/MD deck, and replacing my busted VCR with a JVC 3800 S-VHS unit.




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[Burke Strickland]

Having already upgraded my main speakers to Magnepan MG 3.6s and upgrading the power amp to drive them with a BEL 1001 MK V, and before that a Rega Planar 3 turntable then adding a Lehmann Black Cube phono stage, the next logical step was to upgrade the pre/pro to a suitably refined quality level for both two channel music and surround duty. After surveying the field and checking out units ranging in price from about $1,500 to $15,000, I settled on versitile, astoundingly high quality (especially considering its $4,000 list price) Integra Research RDC-7 Audio/Video Controller as my most recent MAJOR upgrade. (Hard to believe it has already been a year ago!)

Adding a couple of Redi Shade room darkening window shades qualifies as my most recent MINOR addition. They really do the job, blocking out even direct sunlight. (The room is as dark as a a cave mid-day.) And they look pretty good, too, but they only cost about $5 each at Home Depot. They can be used alone or as a supplement to other window covering. (Although for temporary use they have an adhesive strip to hold them in place, for longer term use it is advisable to fasten them with something like finishing nails, small screws, etcetera.) This addition to my HT is less than a month old.

Burke

[Markj]

Just got my Firehawk screen this past weekend. So now I need to figure out how to hang this thing. It’s a manual roll up and at 60 pounds I will need to do some construction to get it secure to the ceiling. Two weeks ago I got a new VCR.

[JonMarsh]

Last major upgrade was my Hawk DAC and transport. Quite a bit more natural CD reproduction.

Last minor upgrade was set of Jon Risch style interconnects, on loan for evaluation. Not even sure if it's an upgrade, actually!

Next major upgrade is completing set of MkIV M8 monitors, expected in about a week. The sawdust is thick around the homestead- cleaning that up will be the next minor upgrade!


-Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[Andrew Pratt]

Latest major upgrades were the dedicated room and the Rotel pre amp

latest minor upgrades (w/r to cost) would be the IB sub and a few catcables and the new side maggie speakers

[David Meek]

Last major - Pioneer Pro Elite 610 58" RPTV

Last minor - 2 1/2-meter CATCables' digital Tigerpaws




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[Pat]

Major: Dedicated room (new house) July 2001
Sony 1272 Projector (w/screen and DVDO iScan) Sept 2001
Sony 5 disc DVD player (for x-mas) Dec 2001
John Gannon over to ISF and Tweek FPTV Jan 2002

Minor: using EFT to help with speaker placement (nice improvement)
BFD to equalize my sub (nice improvement)
(in progress) sound absorbtion panels (Audioworx recipe)
(in progress) Sofware storage




Pat's Page

[P-Dub]

Last major upgrade, that would be my recent pending upgrade to dual SVS20-39cs' I should have them by the end of the month. The upgrade before that would be basically my whole HT system, back in '99. Receiver, DVD player, speakers, and sub.

Minor upgrade would be my spl meter and copies of VE and Avia. With the calibration, it made quite the difference, subtle yet noticable. Also speaker placement, moved out from the sides of the entertainment centre.




Paul

There are three kinds of people in this world; those that can count, and those that can't.

[Chip]

Last major upgrade was my receiver. About 6 weeks ago i brought my beloved B&K 307 back to Tweeter and took home a Denon 5803. I had the B&K for 11 months. Even trade.

Minor upgrade was buying a pair of Sennheiser HD580's. Gotta be able to try Dolby Headphone right ? !




Chip Engle


"Concrete ain't a spectator sport"


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[SamS]

My last minor upgrade was adding black tab-top curtains to my windows to cut back on the annoying amount of light that bleeds in my room at night time. It was VERY distracting for HT.

My last major upgrade was the McIntosh MC202 2channel amp. This took over L&R duties from my Anthem MCA-5.

I'll be getting B&W Nautilus 802's in the coming week. This upgrade better be the last one for a loooog time

[Lex]

Hello all. David, the CATs a minor upgrade? I hardly think so, lol.

My last Major major upgrade was a Rega Jupiter CD player, and what an upgrade it was! Prior to that, the Classe CP-35. Both, quantum leaps in my 2 channel experience.

Speaking of Quantum Leaps, on a slightly lesser scale, my new Quantum Silver Centauri Reference Speaker Cables sure have been a sweet upgrade as well! Actually, they retail for about a hundred and fifty bucks less than I paid for my Classe CP-35. So, minor? you tell me.

Lex




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[MRWILLL]

Just added a Monster HTS-5000/Monster Power Bar 2100.




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[David Meek]

David, the CATs a minor upgrade? I hardly think so, lol.

Only in the cost sense, Lex. Only in the cost sense. You know, think: BARGAIN! :T




David - HTGuide flunky
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[Bob Santos]

I have done alot of upgrading lately.
While I had my HT disassembled for renovating I replaced pretty much my whole system. I chaged most major components.

Pre/Pro. Went from B&K Ref 30 to Lex MC-1.
Amp. Went from HK PA5800 to a pair of Citation 7.1's
TV. Went from Hitachi 60" 4x3 RPTV to Toshiba 65hx81 65" 16x9.
DVD went from Pioneer dvd 343 to JVC SA70BK progressive scan.
Added Definitive in wall rear surrounds.
Side surrounds went from Definitive Pro Monitor 100's to Definitive BPX's.
It was pretty cool to have replaced the whole system at once. The only draw back is not being able to see how each piece improved the sound individualy. The new system sounds better, but cant tell how much of it was amps, or processor etc.

[MuShu007]

My last 2 upgrades would be my dvd player,switched to Denon 1600 from a JVC723 and my sub to an SVS 16-46cs.Last year I replaced my 32" Sony tv with a Mits WT-46807 ,oh yeah before I forget I just switched my component cables to Monster M1000cv.

Wonder if there's an end to this upgradeitis???? 8O

MIKE

[Bob]

My last major upgrade was treating my room acoustically. While many of the changes or upgrades that I have made always changed the way the audio sounded this has made the biggest improvement rather than just change, and it's cheap!
Also, at the same time finally got around to installing air conditioning, that isn't cheap
Next major upgrade, DVHS,the moment titles start showing up in significant quantity or at least the promise of titles.