First I got the DVD player.  Oops, not enough inputs on the old receiver.

Then I got the receiver.  Actually ended up getting a Harman Kardon AVR520. (I know, but it really sounded the best to me) BTW, I got it from [url]www.onecall.com[/url] and they rock. Got the receiver for 600 even, two day shipping was 23 bucks, shipped out the same day, arrived double boxed and they even threw in a small flashlight with batteries.  And they are an authorized dealer as well. Highly recommended.

Now crappy old speakers aren't good enough.  I like Cambridge Soundworks so I went to their outlet and got Ensemble fronts, MC300 center, 5.1 Surrounds and a base 12s subwoofer.  All refurbs but in mint condition.  Got the sub from their ebay store for 179.  Everything else was equally cheap.  Plus if anything goes wrong I can take them to any CSW store and they will replace them.  Their customer service kicks ass.

Thank god it is over.  Total for the system was about $1300.  Though I guess the HDTV will be coming next Christmas. The system rocks but bye-bye to the gun fund this year.

Been hanging in some of the home theater forums.  Those people are even freakier than gun people about their stuff.  Thank god my addiction is just to firearms, relatively cheap to what these freaks do.

ratters -


Take up woodworking. It'll finish off your bank account.

They don't make a serious woodworking tool for less than $500.

And their at least a dozen of them to get. Planer, joiner, band saw, table saw, power mitre box, radial arm, shaper, drill press, air compressor etc etc etc.

Yikes.

Hope the new stereo system is to your liking.

You made the right decision. You weathered the storm of all of us who told you to avoid the HK. You went with what sounds best to YOU. You passed the test grasshopper.

Happy listening and viewing.

"A government of the people, by the people, and for the people...need not fear armed citizens."

I just went through the same thing.

Got a new Sony 5-disk DVD. Had fiber/S-video/composit hook-up's along with the A/V.

Old Dolby Prologic system didn't, so I upgraded to an Onkyo 595 (DD 5.1 is great and DTS is even better, has PL II also). I didn't realize how much better DD/DTS is than PL. Also, S-video is a world better than the A/V hook-up. Optical-fiber sound is fantastic.

Old VCR didn't have S-video, so I had to replace it with a JVC.

Speakers/sub-woofer of course had to be upgraded.

Luckly TV had S-video, but sure would be nice to use that composit-video hook-up on the DVD....

And so it goes.

I always wondered if hi-fi and the shooting sports are compatible. On the one hand, you have high quality audio producing nuances perceivable only to those who take care of their hearing, yet on the other hand, you participate in a sport that eventually damages your ears to the point of being unable to perceive those nuances, if not worse. Hmm…

Yet, knowing this I too have spent thousands of dollars on hi-fi, musical equipment, and firearms. What would Freud say?

One thing's for sure: standing in front of a 100w Marshall amp for 20+ years hasn't helped the situation.

Ratters, sounds like a good system. It must rock. Have you looked at Dynaudio speakers at all?

Instead of buying new speakers I took the 'cheap' way out and had my JBL speakers reconed. Apparently the surrounds simply dry rot after about 15 years. It was about 50% the price of replacing the drivers.

garandman-  My wifes cousin does woodworking.  I find it to be like owning a boat.  Always better to have a friend with the stuff than to own it yourself.

DJ- Great, now I'm gonna start having flashbacks to my life at the monostary.

dfr- Yeah, I liked the Onky, it sounded fuller to me where the HK sounded clearer if that makes sense.  Loved the Marantz for the features but didn't care for the sound quite as much, though I'm sure I would be happy with any of them as hearing is all a relative thing anyhow.

Matt-  Tell me about it.  Wife is always trying to tell me to turn things down.  I think thats why I liked the clarity of the HK.  BTW, '80 Ibanez Artist with Duncans, Marshall JMP1 preamp into a Carvin all tube 100 watt amp.  I too started to protect my hearing too late.  I pretty much looked only at the CSW cause that's what I had before, they are local, and their customer service is awesome.  Plus they are dumping a lot of refurbs for really cheap now.

All in all I am pleased.  

DVD- OK, OK, I'll register.  I guess I already have seven movies.  Thanks for the offer of borrowing as well, I'll let you know.

At least I registered at the Fork in the Toad site. [:D]

actually all you need is a table saw, drill press, planer.

Almost all the tools i've used were not over $500 each. You just need to look around. Buy a nice used cabinet table saw instead of a new Delta for $2000.

My Radial Arm Saw is a crafstman 10" and was only $75 in mint shape.

Aviation is where you'll really spend your $$$$

DFRColt:

The picture would improve if you use the composite video output from the CD / DVD player rather than the S-Video.

Worse yet, anything to do with cars. My vice was drag racing, wherein anything you needed cost a minimum of $1,000, and at any time an engine failure could cost many times that. Luckily, I only ever had one motor let go, but at $5-15k a shot, it doesn't take long for even a slow race car to break the bank.  Then there is tools, tow vehicle, trailer, slicks ($500 a pair), fuel ($4.50/gal), admission fees, motels, food for you and the help, and it quickly will empty the bank account. And of course, no drag racer is ever satisfied and at all times yearns to go faster......

Wow, been almost 2 years since I've been on that site.  Found my old info too.  [url]http://www.dvdtracker.com/dvd_list.asp?user_id=airtj%40onebox%2Ecom[/url]

I'm lucky I bought most of my DVD's back in the great coupon days.  I spend all day on [url]www.dvdtalk.com[/url] Bought about 40 dvd's during checkout.com's great 55% off sale.  

Gus, is that your Cuda?  That is too sweet.  Yeah, cars are a bitch.  Gave up on that when I was young thank god.  I have a friend who is a pilot, liscence and everything but rarely flies cause it costs so much.

Between guns and the freakin dog shows, they better not come out with any new sound formats so I have to upgrade again.  At least I still have two open video slots as well as the option to go 7.1 if I add an amp.  Oh crap, can't think that way.

Steve, sounds like a good set-up. Carvin always made some good stuff. You know what I mean about the hearing situation then. Oh well, life be too short to not get the toys you want. :)

No, but I wish it was. I just sold my race car (Dodge Challenger, Alston chassis, big block, etc., needed about $8k to put it back into racing form, despite the $20k I already wasted on it) and am restoring a 1970 Charger R/T at the moment. I used to have a `71 `Cuda 440 4sp., but sold it like a fool. Before that one I had a `70 440-6pack `Cuda that I sold for $10k, which would be worth over $30k now. `Cudas and Challengers are rare these days and an original factory muscle version is WAY expensive. Once the Charger is done, I'm going to try to locate a nice low rust (Az. folks keep an eye out) 1970 Barracuda 318 body that I can build up into a street machine/bracket racer. BTW, the one in my sig pic is a 1970 AAR (340 6Pack) that a buddy owns. Here's the original pic...

[img]www.ar15.com/members/albums/gus%2FAarcuda%2Ejpg[/img]

sheesh...  I hear you there!
Dont forget all the saw blades and bits you have to buy and have sharpened.  Then hand tools and the tools to maintain the hand tools...and you dont have a real woodshop until you have the wall o` clamps n` jigs.

Now that I think about it, I believe firearms are actually cheaper than woodworking.

Yea, I know, but my TV doesn't have composite.

I was implying that it would be a good excuse to upgrade my TV.

Yes, I was around at that time.  Only wish I had purchased more way back then.