# Yoda goes with the flow I tell you me...



## yoda13

Hi folks,


First off, congrats to all the great setups on here. Secondly, my setup is very modest compare to some of the awesomeness on this forum. I didn't post this in the "home theater room" forum has this is not a dedicated room per say. We do have a formal living room so I'm pretty free to do as I please here but it's not the room I'm going to spend money in. My wife has been warned that in our next and final house, there will be a dedicated room. The rest of the house can be a giant shoe closet for all I care but Yoda must have a lair just for him. 

Like many others, this is only the beginning of the pursuit of satisfaction...(yeah right, "satisfaction"). I still have quite a ways to go. A projector is a definite must, and new speakers are in my sight. But for now, it sounds pretty descent to me and my wife.

Anthem MRX 300
Cheap Haier 65" LED display
Sony BDP-S5100
Pioneer PD-F407
HTPC
Apple TV


Athena AS-F2 (front)
Athena AS-F1 (cntr)
Athena AS-F1 (srrnd)
Athena AS-B1 (srrnd back)
SVS PB12-NSD (2)
OSD PS12 (2) near field

*AT THE END OF THE THREAD, SEARCH MUST YOU. NEW PICS YOU WILL FIND*

Yes, feast your eyes out boys and girls, this is the very first "surround sound" experience Yoda as had. Notice the optimum placement of the speakers. Also, I have no clue why such a picture was taken. Please don't be jealous, I sold it to some millionaire. 









Some random pics of how I started to get into it more seriously. I didn't take pics of my RCA HTIB nor my powerful Polk PSW10 or Polk M20 I had briefly.

Bic F12









Pioneer VSX-921


















Old Yamaha amp.


















Got some new subs. Premier Acoustics PA-120









Did some work here, new paint on walls, new light fixture, new TV, new entertainment unit, new couch, new speaker stand for surround back. Yes, I monitor how hot the receiver gets. I have a laptop fan on top of it and another fan exhausting in the back. Even after a couple of movies, it's stays pretty cool.













































New SVS subs.









I've since towed in my towers by app. 15 degrees. Better axis response from my MLP.


















New remote...finally.









Results of dual PB12-NSD in a relatively small room. It was snowing filling compound...

























Later...


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## yoda13

reserved...


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## hjones4841

Yoda progress he has made


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## theJman

hjones4841 said:


> Yoda progress he has made


Now _that's_ funny... :clap:


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## yoda13

hjones4841 said:


> Yoda progress he has made


true this is indeed. . Thanks. I have such a long way to go still, better speakers, projector, measuring equipment... But for now, it's pretty awesome. 

cheers


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## billyM

Athena's, Pioneer VSX, symmetric dual subs, you and I must be related in some way...

BIC, PA, SVS! Quite a run of upgrades, but you've gotten me nervous seeing drywall-cracks involved with dual 12" subs in a semi-small room. *turns subs down 2db*

As for getting your dedicated room, I found it easiest to just mention some positive aspect of the plan every time we turned on the TV in the old house. 

"Just think how nice it will be when we have an actual theater room, no screen glare..." 
"Wow, you really can hear the neighbors mower, once we have that dedicated room..."
"It'll be nice once we have remote-controlled lights, no getting up and down constantly..."
"When I can integrate the wiring, it'll be so much cleaner looking in the room..."

...for better than 4 years. Once we moved in, SHE was the one antsy for the theater room.

--billyM


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## BD55

billyM said:


> "When I can integrate the wiring, it'll be so much cleaner looking in the room..."
> --billyM


Ha ha, I did this until I think my wife was just so sick of me asking her if I could hide all the TV wires in the wall that she just caved. It definitely looks much cleaner in the room, bless her...


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## yoda13

Got myself a REALISTIC STA-90 and a couple of Centrios speakers for $50. Not the deal of the century, but not bad. The tuner is in pretty good shape. No, I'm no a RS fanboy


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## theJman

Wow, jamming it old school. That brings back some memories; I had a Pioneer SX-780 for years...










I loved that thing!


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## yoda13

Yup, there is a coolness factor with old school amp/tuners. Aside from the quality of contruction, those dials man, they're awesome. It's just a Radio Shack, but I'm assuming parts and manufacturing came from somebody else. I know those cheap Centrios speakers that I bought with the tuner are the same models as some Quest speakers which was manufactured by JAM Idustries.... they're still cheap though.

That Pioneer is sleek. Bet you wish you've kept it :doh:


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## hjones4841

I loved spinning the dial of a receiver with a big flywheel. Wheeee! from one end of the band to another


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## 86eldel68-deactivated

yoda13 said:


> Got myself a REALISTIC STA-90 and a couple of Centrios speakers for $50. Not the deal of the century, but not bad.


That's a pretty sweet deal! And I love the retro receiver. I bought myself a Technics SA-500 a couple of years ago for the stereo set-up in my main-floor family room. I'd been wanting a late '70s vintage receiver for years and I finally came across just the right one.


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## yoda13

hjones4841 said:


> I loved spinning the dial of a receiver with a big flywheel. Wheeee! from one end of the band to another


agreed:bigsmile: Last time I did that was on my parent's 1976 Hitachi system listening to Chubby Checker on 8 track



eljay said:


> That's a pretty sweet deal! And I love the retro receiver. I bought myself a Technics SA-500 a couple of years ago for the stereo set-up in my main-floor family room. I'd been wanting a late '70s vintage receiver for years and I finally came across just the right one.


that is one beautiful piece of machinery!!. To bad Technics/Panasonic didn't stay in the audio game. I definitely plan to get a tuner/amp of quality in the future. I bought this one due to the price with the speakers and how clean it was. Plus, it was cleaned and recapped I think. The dials are as smooth as a you know what :gulp:.


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## JonWJ

Did no one else find it amusing that he showed off his sweet setup by displaying video of someone doing bikini alterations on a manikin? Lol :heehee:


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## 86eldel68-deactivated

> Did no one else find it amusing that he showed off his sweet setup by displaying video of someone doing bikini alterations on a manikin?


And this is a problem...how?!


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## yoda13

JonWJ said:


> Did no one else find it amusing that he showed off his sweet setup by displaying video of someone doing bikini alterations on a manikin? Lol :heehee:


lol:rofl2:. Took me a while to catch on. If I remember, my wife was watching Project Runway. Now, you may choose to believe, or not believe this:neener:


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## pharoah

hjones4841 said:


> I loved spinning the dial of a receiver with a big flywheel. Wheeee! from one end of the band to another


haha i had an old kenwood that would do that.one good spin it would go all the way.


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## Owen Bartley

yoda13 said:


> Got myself a REALISTIC STA-90


Yoda, great evolution of your setup. Its funny though, it was the Realistic that made me reply.  I would like something like this for when I finish my garage. I love the nice warm glow of the dial and the analog meters.


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## yoda13

Owen Bartley said:


> Yoda, great evolution of your setup. Its funny though, it was the Realistic that made me reply.  I would like something like this for when I finish my garage. I love the nice warm glow of the dial and the analog meters.


thanks. I'm getting geared up to do some changes today to my main setup. Ditching my dedicated center channel speaker and replacing it with another tower.

I don't know what it is about it, but there is a coolness factor that is undeniable. Of course, when I was in my teens (late 80's), it was all about how many buttons and graphic equalizer lights I could get. 

I got this from eBay and my brother in law also bought one (Akai). We both bought it from the same seller (Canadian) and we were both impress with what we received. And well priced too. 

If you're interested when you're ready, you can PM me and I'll give you the seller's info. They seem to always have some low to mid end models in inventory.


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## yoda13

Well, did a few modifications yesterday. Got myself a couple of Infinity P252 'cause they were cheap and similar aesthetics then the Athenas. Took 1 of my AS-F1 and am using it as a center along with a couple of new tables on each side.

I'm liking it so far...

bad pics sorry I am, camera terrible it is.



















New Infinity


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## 86eldel68-deactivated

Sweet set-up! :T


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## Owen Bartley

Very clean, tidy setup. I like it with the new CC, how does the sound match up across the front stage?


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## yoda13

Owen Bartley said:


> Very clean, tidy setup. I like it with the new CC, how does the sound match up across the front stage?


Thanks. It's really good so far. Could be placebo, but there seem to be a better front stage presence. The dedicated Athena center was really a mismatch for the AS-F2, but the AS-F1 keeps up no problems. I'm going to try crossing the front 3 at 60Hz tonight to see how it sounds.

JP


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## Owen Bartley

You should be OK with towers going to 60Hz I would think. With your subs up front and dead centre like that, a higher crossover shouldn't be noticable at all though (at least as far as localization) so if you do find that the towers are straining a bit more to reach the lower frequencies and your mids/highs are suffering for it, just experiment to see where the best blend is.


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## Owen Bartley

Yoda, you inspired me. I started looking around and found this little beauty (Pioneer SX-424) locally for $15.00! A little cleanup, a new fuse, and she's not in bad shape! This will be a project for me to tinker with for a little while.


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## yoda13

:yikes:$15.00! That's a score in my books. Loving the blue lights and the faceplate looks clean. Are you getting speakers for it or you already have something?


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## Owen Bartley

Thanks! It was listed as having one bad channel, and I figured I could use a project to work on, so I thought I'd give it a try. Turned out to just have one fuse blown. Quickly fixed and now I'm free to tinker. Next project is going to be replacing the lighting with LEDs.

Right now I'm using it with some old mini-system speakers, and even with them it sounds pretty nice. FM needs a better antenna, but I was shocked at how good the AUX sounded with an iPod plugged in. Eventually I'll build some nice small speakers for it, and it will go to the garage. I'm thinking maybe something like full range 4" or maybe something with a coax tweeter, since space will be at a premium on the workbench. Have to do some research on those.


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## DrPainMD

lddude::rant::hsd::sn::clap::huh::yikes::rofl::sneeky::flex::foottap: :boxer::R:crying:onder::blink::sn::coocoo::wave::whistling:


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## yoda13

^^^^^

I've been trying to decipher this code for a few days, just can't do it :huh: is it a code :scratch: 

thinking of selling my 2311, know anybody who would be interested?

cheers


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## theJman

yoda13 said:


> I've been trying to decipher this code for a few days, just can't do it :huh: is it a code :scratch:


Yea, I'm with ya on that one. I can't figure it out either.


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## kennypc

Nice setup yoda


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## yoda13

theJman said:


> Yea, I'm with ya on that one. I can't figure it out either.


must be a prescription code for Pain from the Dr.



kennypc said:


> Nice setup yoda


Thanks!!


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## hyghwayman

yoda13 said:


> Hi folks,
> 
> 
> First off, congrats to all the great setups on here. Secondly, my setup is very modest compare to some of the awesomeness on this forum. I didn't post this in the "home theater room" forum has this is not a dedicated room per say. We do have a formal living room so I'm pretty free to do as I please here but it's not the room I'm going to spend money in. My wife has been warned that in our next and final house, there will be a dedicated room. The rest of the house can be a giant shoe closet for all I care but Yoda must have a lair just for him.
> 
> Like many others, this is only the beginning of the pursuit of satisfaction...(yeah right, "satisfaction"). I still have quite a ways to go. A projector is a definite must, and new speakers are in my sight. But for now, it sounds pretty descent to me and my wife.
> 
> Denon AVR2311CI
> Panasonic TC-P50S30
> Sony BDP-S370
> Sony PS3
> Yamaha CDC-605
> 
> Athena Technologies,
> AS-F2 (front)
> AS-B1 (cntr)
> P253 (srrnd)
> AS-B1 (srrnd back)
> Premier Acoustic PA-120 x 2
> 
> ***Updated new pics at the bottom*
> 
> Yes, feast your eyes out boys and girls, this is the very first "surround sound" experience Yoda as had. Notice the optimum placement of the speakers. Also, I have no clue why such a picture was taken. Please don't be jealous, I sold it to some millionaire.


Nice setup, from your early days to present!
My 1st venture into surround sound was a Curtis HTiB, funny how similar these two pics look.


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## yoda13

Wow, serious gears. Mine was a Craig, bought it at a hardware store. The sub was the amp, and it wasn't surround per say, just multi channel stereo. Although my Daytek DVD player had multichannel out, I don't think it was decoding anything.

Although on your pic, seems to be some kind of Sony ES receiver and any ES receivers are no slouch.

I went from that one to a RCA receiver based HTIB, then bought my some Athena speakers to go with the RCA receiver, ditch the RCA and bought a Pio VSX-520 and then, all **** broke loose:yikes: 2 more receiver before my current one, still Athena speakers but bigger, 3 set of subs before my current ones and all in a couple of years. Am I done?...nope :nono:

You are very resourceful as I would have never thought of the flower pot hanger (looks like that anyway) for surround mounting :T. I think I've seen it on the "other" forum.

cheers


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## yoda13

moved the subs to the outside....


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## yoda13

just sold the 2311 :crying:


















shopping for a new AVR on the other hand :bigsmile:


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## B- one

Got any candidates yet??


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## yoda13

^^^^^^
in particular order

1) Anthem MRX300. Local reputable dealer, ARC. 
2) Onkyo 818. No local dealer, would have to be online. XT32
3) Denon 4311 if I could find one that I could afford locally, but very unlikely

I'm in no particular hurry but suspect I will only go so long with the tv speakers:mooooh:

I have 0 utilities for all the apps and streaming stuff and such. 

opinion?

cheers


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## B- one

I had a denon 4800 that I bought as a demo unit got my money's worth out of it about seven years even after running all day as a demo. So I was glad it lasted that long we watch a lot of movies. Recently got a integra 40.3 and have really liked it. So not much of a opinion other than I wouldn't worry about the denon being used.


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## yoda13

After a few weeks of reflection, I decided on this 


















Also picked up an Apple TV


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## B- one

Congrats on pulling the trigger and enjoy it.


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## yoda13

B- one said:


> Congrats on pulling the trigger and enjoy it.


Thanks, so far so good. Did my first run with ARC and came up with what I kind of expected for graphs. I'm going to do the "quick measure" function for my subs tonight to determine the best placement for them as it gives me real time reading. Kind like a sophisticated sub crawl :bigsmile:


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## hyghwayman

yoda13 said:


> Although on your pic, seems to be some kind of Sony ES receiver and any ES receivers are no slouch.
> 
> 
> 
> You are very resourceful as I would have never thought of the flower pot hanger (looks like that anyway) for surround mounting :T. I think I've seen it on the "other" forum.
> 
> cheers


The receiver was an entry level Pio VSX-816 I believe.

Thanks, I got the idea from a poster over at the Cnet forums a long time ago. I'm just throwing this picture up for others who may want to see or in need of alternative mounting ideas(not trying to jack your awesome thread).
from this - to this -


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## yoda13

You're not highjacking notin', so don't even worry about it. It's a good idea and like you said, could help ppl who don't have the option of stands.

I was a little of with the Sony ES:yikes:


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## hyghwayman

yoda13 said:


> You're not highjacking notin', so don't even worry about it. It's a good idea and like you said, could help ppl who don't have the option of stands.
> 
> I was a little of with the Sony ES:yikes:


Thanks Yoda,

I appreciate your kind words and your thread. As for the Sony ES, easy mistake with the quality of that picture or lack of :thud: . I really need to get myself a better camera to take pictures of not only my gear but my almost 2yr old grandson.


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## yoda13

Picked these up for $50. A little bit of dusting, pledge and fabric paint on the grill and not bad results.

They sound pretty descent. Great bass, good highs, a little ordinary in the mids. Overall very acceptable. Where you see the dry glue underneath the tweeter, it's suppose to be a small piece of diffusing or absorbing material which I will replace eventually.




























cheers


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## B- one

Looks like you got a great deal pretty big for just $50.


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## hyghwayman

yoda13 said:


> Wow, serious gears. Mine was a Craig, bought it at a hardware store. The sub was the amp, and it wasn't surround per say, just multi channel stereo. Although my Daytek DVD player had multichannel out, I don't think it was decoding anything.
> cheers


Hey there yoda...

It's been a while, was looking back and noticed I missed a very important piece of info in your reply (highlighted above).

Those shiny little silver mono speakers on top of our TV came from "The helpful place" , they were part of a Curtis DVD-5.1ss HTiB w/a passive 40w sub. Wife saw it on display during the 2005 Christmas holidays :spend: .
Thing is the playback part of the system was so terrible it was unusable (Xbox to the rescue). 1st upgrade was a true 7.1 receiver, never realizing the passive sub wouldn't work :yikes: . 2nd upgrade sub, for $25 buck I picked up a BassBite II 40w powered BOOM machine. It never stops, does it :help:

Nice find w/ those vintage speakers btw, how do they sound now?

hwy out


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## yoda13

Just pre ordered the PS4!! Now to tell my wife :yikes:


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## hjones4841

yoda13 said:


> Just pre ordered the PS4!! Now to tell my wife :yikes:


Sounds like the local florist will be getting a call very soon!


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## yoda13

Here's a few pics of some of my receivers. For some reason I can't explain, I have a fascination with receivers from the mid 80's to late 90's. I'm assuming that I'm compulsively acquiring what I couldn't afford in my teens :dontknow:

Technics SA-GX303 circa 1991







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Sony AVR-AV1010 circa 1989







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Sony AVR-AV970 circa 1991. I'm currently using this one.







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I would really like to get my hands on a JVC RX-1001V and a Technics SA-TX50


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## yoda13

This is what I had to do with my subs to get them "dialed" in properly. 










The right sub was giving me a good response pretty much anywhere on the right side of the room, the left one, not so much. When I measured both together, I was getting a pretty big dip between 80hz and 50hz. Followed a member's recommendation on AVS and it actually worked for me to. I was able to get a descent read (red line) and ARC was able to flat things out pretty good (green line):clap:


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## yoda13

mmmhhhh mhhh, oh yeah!


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## B- one

Where's the games? I will stick with my NES and Super NES. I can't recall if I still have a N-64.


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## Owen Bartley

Nice, yoda! Although B one is right, SNES was the best.


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## yoda13

Thanks guys! The SNES is mostly (ok, all) for my wife. She likes playing DK and SM of course


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## Owen Bartley

SNES is all about original Mario kart!


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## hjones4841

yoda13 said:


> mmmhhhh mhhh, oh yeah!


Christmas early at Yoda's lair, it did come.


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## mpednault

Lucky is he.


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## yoda13

Thanks guys! I've pre ordered it last July. Its the first time I do something like that. I bought my PS3 1 year after launch. No regrets though, the machine is performing flawlessly so far. There has been some reports of a few problems, HDMI issues and cooling fan problems causing the machine to overheat. 

I haven't game much yet but one of the biggest difference to me is the DS4. The little joystick have a better tactile feel (if it makes any sense). I don't know if its a fluke but the BD loading time is blazing fast. I tried 3 movies and all 3 loaded in less than 5 seconds, which for me is quite fast. I'll try some more and edit this if it proves incorrect.


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## yoda13

Sold the PS4 and awaiting the completion of my new HTPC and new 65" TV. The PC will go on top of cabinet to the left of the amp


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## B- one

What's the new tv gonna be?


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## yoda13

I already have it, the one in the pic. It's a very cheap 65" Haier LED display. $1200 @ Costco. It's no way near the Panny plasma I had, but it's adequate. The first few days, it was terrible but have gotten much better with time (could be my imagination or expectations?) I do enjoy the size though. I'm tempted to try a Darbee to see.


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## B- one

Glad you like it! The extra size is nice.


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