# BigPine's Home Theater



## BigPines (Jul 10, 2007)

I don't usually detail my equipment in forums. Home theater is not about bragging rights to me. My family just enjoys the entertainment. However, since it is a requirement to post my equipment for this month's cash giveaway (and I could use the cash), I will go ahead and do it.

*Audio/Video Receiver:*
Onkyo TX-SR876 Receiver - The brain of my system. Fully loaded AVR with all the expected options of a modern receiver. This baby is heavy on features and power and well..it is just plain heavy! It weighs in at over 50 pounds!

*Source Components:*
Panasonic DMP_BD30 Blu-ray Disc Player - A sweet little unit that has a great picture and has a bit faster loading times than most players on the market. It also outputs 1080P/24.
Apple TV Media Server - This unit has some software glitches and has limited picture quality but it is still a worthwhile addition to any system. The best picture it can output is 720P (upscaled to 1080P). It also does pass Dolby Digital on properly encoded video files. Although it can't hold up to Blu-ray (especially on front projected images), it does a decent job as long as the content is HD. Apple needs to bring this baby to full HD capability and fix the bugs if they want this to be a popular product. The one thing it is great for (and the primary reason I purchased it) is streaming audio to my system. I can stream lossless audio from my PC in all it's glory. It will also stream and pass properly encoded Dolby Digital and DTS WAV audio files to a DD/DTS equipped receiver.
Pioneer CLD-D704 LaserDisc Player - As you can imagine, this baby doesn't get much use these days but I actually do still own some LaserDiscs. This was one of the better players during it's time and has served me well.
JCV HR-S3500U S-VHS Player/Recorder - This was a decent VHS/S-VHS unit at the time. As much as I'd like to, I just can't seem to give up the capability to play video tapes. Maybe someday...
Sony PlayStation 2 - What can I say? I have kids. I haven't got around to getting a PlayStation 3 yet but I'm sure that will happen eventually. I enjoy games but am not a big gamer myself and the PS3 is still pretty expensive if you aren't interested in using it as your primary Blu-ray player.

*Display Devices*
JVC DLA-RS1U Front Projector - Throws a large, bright and beautiful picture. The color out of the box is excellent and it displays 1080P/24 correctly. I have been very happy with it.
Sony Bravia KDL-40XBR4 40" LCD Television - This is my 'little' display for the kids to watch cartoons and play games on. However, it is a stellar performer in it's own right. Once calibrated, this set delivers a stunning picture. It displays 1080P/24 correctly.

*Speakers*
M&K S-150 Monitors x 5 - These are the original M&K monitors before the company name was sold at the bankruptcy auction. I am using these for L/C/R/LS/RS. I like the sound of the same speaker all the way around vs. using the SS-150 which sounded small in comparison. Also, I don't care for dipole surrounds on music and even some film mixes.
M&K S-125 Monitors x 2 - These are used for rear surrounds L&R. I would have preferred to use the S-150 in the rear surround positions too because I prefer the same sound from all speakers but my room simply would not accommodate that. The S-125 uses the same drivers as the S-150 and sounds similar (although a little brighter). They fit where I needed to put them so they seemed like the perfect compromise.
M&K MX-5100 SF Subwoofer x 2 - These subs add the foundation for the audio in my system. They play deep and hit hard when they need to.

*Other*
Panamax M5400-EX Power Conditioner - We have dirty and unstable power where I live. After a couple of outages and brown-outs, I decided to protect my equipment investment. When Sonnie alerted Shack members to a special deal on these units, I pulled the trigger.

That is it for now. I am happy to answer any questions about this gear so if you have a question ask away!

Mike


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