I think i'm in love

[Kev]

http://us.creative.com/products/product ... mc_id=8866

+

Pandora One Radio ( www.pandora.com )

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[:D]

after years of being on a laptop, i forgot how good music can actually sound. wow. anyway, just sharing the joy. you can go back to your other off topics now.

What are you using for headphones/speakers?

[Kev]

It wireless transmits to my home theater system.

Ah nice. What kind?

[jayman]

that is SUPER extra cool! truly awesome .. for now.. lets see what happens in a week or two.. http://www.pandora.com/stations/4b9aeb8 ... 44ffb27d24

pandora is great! i have techno channels on there! good stuff! wish i had some good speakers though.

[Kev]

Originally posted by Freddie

Ah nice. What kind?

right now, i just have a cheap phillips surround sound system. after this, i might have to get something a bit more upscale. still though, it sounds better than my crappy laptop speakers. lol

that is SUPER extra cool! truly awesome .. for now.. lets see what happens in a week or two..

uh oh. lol what do you know that you're not telling me? is my wireless receiver gonna explode in a couple of weeks? lol

pandora is great! i have techno channels on there! good stuff! wish i had some good speakers though.

yah, i've been listening to quasi techno lately too. just discovered vnv nation. LOVE most of what i've heard from them so far.

[jayman]

i cannot believe my ears .. so far it has not picked one thing that does not suit my tastes,including things that i never heard before..much better than drugmusic.com all i can do is keep my fingers crossed and hope i don't hear modest mouse . great find

[jayman]

that is SUPER extra cool! truly awesome .. for now.. lets see what happens in a week or two..

uh oh. lol what do you know that you're not telling me? is my wireless receiver gonna explode in a couple of weeks? lol

noo, i meant lets see if it keeps picking cool new stuff.. it looks like it oughta,

[Kev]

^ ahh. okay. yah, pandora is pretty cool. if it plays something you don't like, you can give it a thumbs down and it won't play it anymore.

I'm not really a fan of Pandora, but I've only tried it once. I prefer last.fm's way of recommending things, though I couldn't tell you why. Maybe because I like to listen to whole albums at a time and I've already heard most of what it recommends so it's pointless to me, but I dunno.

Anyway, not to steal your thread, but here's my baby:
These

or these


depending on my mood at the time, driven by

(though I'd like to replace it soon with this for a dedicated 2 channel music system) with

as my source.

More gear/pics here. Get in touch with me when you're building your new system, I like following that kind of stuff.

Holy crap....this is awesome.

[Kev]

^^ cool pics Freddie. Is Cambridge Soundworks the brand you would recommend? At this point, I've just been looking at what is out there.

I recommend Fluance since you can get a good set of them for cheap and they have a sound equivalent to that of more higher end systems. However, if cost isn't a problem, KEF is my personal favorite since the sound quality is superb.

Yeah, Fluance seems to be a highly recomended brand for budget HT systems. It all depends on your budget though. I don't know that I'd still recommend Cambridge as they stopped making the "hifi" stuff to focus on satellite/sub systems, and my taste lies in large full-range standmount speakers right now.

I'm really loving my Wharfedales (the maple speakers) at the moment. This is a very detailed speaker that isn't harsh and has respectable midbass-bass, and doesn't absolutely need high end electronics to shine (though since you said you like techno, you might need a sub with them). The MSRP on them is something like $900 a pair, but these guys bought up a bunch of maple and have been selling them for $299 (and they have the other finishes for around $400).

If you're looking for a full home theater package, this would probably be hard to beat and the Diamonds are highly respected with music too (and again, they probably wouldn't need more than a $250 Onkyo/Denon to drive them). It really all depends on your taste and what you're looking for though, this is just a brand I myself am really interested in at the moment.

^Nice avatar, btw. I love Isis. Are you a fan of Godspeed You! Black Emperor as well?

Slash, Dynaudio is a good brand to look into as well. But, like Freddie said, you'll want a good subwoofer as well as an EQ to really bring out a good, heavy sound.

Not really a fan of GY!BE but I love Mogwai. I saw Isis with Pelican a few weeks ago in Boston, great show. I have Celestial playing right now.

Dynaudio is very pricey, and I've read their entry level stuff has some mechanical issues. Paradigm would be worth looking into, their Monitor series is great although I think the bass is heavily exaggerated (although that would probably be to the liking of someone who likes techno). The Atom is a kickass little speaker.

[Kev]

a wealth of information from you guys! i appreciate it. i looked at the fluance website earlier, and google searched a few reviews. seems to be a good choice for me considering the money is kind of tight right now. the wharfedales look good too though, so I guess i will do a little more research.

thanks again!

[Kev]

I took the first step yesterday in building a new home theater system. I bought a new receiver to replace the "theater in a box" system I had before. This one is a 'theater in a box' too, but it actually comes with a real A/V receiver. Some of the reviews for it are negative, but mostly due to lack of audio HDMI slots.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 8070095121

It sounds pretty good. I bought a pair of cheap Sony floor speakers to go with it for now. Later on, I will look at replacing the speakers with something a little better.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 2277278079

As for the future, I've looked mostly at Polk, Infinity, and the Fluance brand you guys mentioned before. Any thoughts on Polk or Infinity, and how Fluance measures up to either?