Date: 29 March 24, 02:43 AM
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 Expanding audio



Bill


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Since I have all this fancy stuff I'v decided to complete the system with surround speakers. These will be rears (but actually on the side) requiring wiring under the house.  Luckily I found a local little company that does all things "electronic" who has agreed to do the wiring and install the speakers.

I've been searching for "rear speakers" at places like Crutchfield's etc.  What I found amazed and flabbergasted me.  Speakers by Bose, Polk etc. start at several hundred dollars, some in pairs but mostly for singles. The guy I hired for the wiring suggested I look at KEF. Their rears are $500 MSRP.
Finally I went to Best Buy and found some in the wall Yamahas  That are more reasonable.
Speakers set to arrive on 12/27.      https://tinyurl.com/ycmxgdek



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scuzzy


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  • In an emergency, 9-1-1 calls ME.

I learned long ago that quality speakers do not come cheap and are often the most expense part of the system. My JBL XPL-160 speakers, which are now 25+ years old, sell used for well in excess of $1,000. On occasion I'll see a pair on sale for $2,000.

Hopefully the Yamaha speakers pay off for you.

Bill


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My experience with surround sound is that very little actually comes from the rear speakers short of "special" effects.  When I built my first system, the rears were not only inexpensive but cheap and worked fine. Maybe the quality of the content has changed but at this point I am committed.
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scuzzy


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  • In an emergency, 9-1-1 calls ME.

I know cheap speakers were okay with early surround systems where the rear speakers were strictly for special effects, but things have changed. I'm no expert, but if the surround speakers are of any decent quality then I'm sure it will work out fine. I'm using a 7-channel Sony amp with low-cost JBL speakers on 5-channels (I skipped the side setup) and it sounds great as-is.

Bill


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The other reality is I have nothing to compare the finished system to, so it will sound great.  I am simply trying to add some immersion to my listening experience.  The biggest change was the switch from the bookcase sized fronts to the floor standing towers.
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Bill


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The Yamaha surrounds went up yesterday, and while he was here he also ran cable for the heights.  I have decided on full range speakers for the heights/atmos channel. 

I had ordered "Sony Atmos Enabled" units from Best Buy to sit on top of my towers.  After I ordered I discovered the reflective sound will not work with my vaulted ceiling, and they were limited strictly to the upper ranges.
This morning I took them back to BB for a full refund via  PayPal.  By the time I got home the refund email was waiting for me.

Arriving on Tuesday is a set of these:  https://tinyurl.com/y6w44lm8  They are wall mounted with a nifty built-in bracket and have a rear port which is why they stand proud of the wall.  They also can be mounted on the side walls which is what I am going to do.


The addition of the surrounds had an amazing improvement.  I watched "The Last Jedi" and the effects and sound in general were impressive.  I'm hoping the addition of the heights enhance the audio as well.
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scuzzy


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  • In an emergency, 9-1-1 calls ME.

All very nice. Looks like you're pretty serious about doing this right.

I'm not really all that up-to-date with the current terms, including Atmos. Next time i'm in the north end of the nearby big city, I'll stop in at one of the home theater shops to see what's new.

I stopped going to theaters many years ago, as I find them an extremely unpleasant experience. I made an exception last week to take my SIL to watch They Shall Not Grow Old. The movie was very good, and impressive, but the theater experience was not (at least not for me).

Bill


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I can appreciate your feeling about "the movies".
I watched the YouTube link and read most of the comments.  Did you stay for the commentary after the credits?

There have been a couple of WW1 and WW2 docudramas on Netflix using original black and white footage, all of them depicting the brutality and the horror of the 2 wars.
Maybe if this winds up on Netflix, but I think I won't spend the money for the movie theater version.
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scuzzy


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  • In an emergency, 9-1-1 calls ME.

We stayed to watch the commentary, but only got about half way through because we had to meet the rest of the family for dinner. I think we missed the last 15 to 20 minutes. The movie was only available in theaters on Dec 17th and Dec 27th, and then only if you reserved seats. Most screenings sold out, including those in our local area. Hopefully it will come to Netflix, Blu-Ray, or something. I would very much enjoy watching it again.

I've watched multiple WW2 docudramas on Netflix, but not so much of WW1.

Bill


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If I can find titles or links for you, I will look.
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Bill


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This morning I received a UPS delivery notice for my speakers delivered to the wrong address in a town 25 miles away.  I called UPS, 25 minute wait to talk to CS rep.... Filed a claim on line, it wasn't acknowledged.
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scuzzy


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  • In an emergency, 9-1-1 calls ME.

That sucks. If they accepted and kept the package on the other end knowing it's not theirs, then it's theft. I arrested a few idiots for that offense.

scuzzy


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Bill


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Not really. UPS customer service told me yesterday the package had been recovered from the wrong address and that it would be delivered by "end of day".  It wasn't.  I just sent them an other email and CS reacted as if this was a new case and assigned a new case #, sent by a machine from a no reply email address.   
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scuzzy


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  • In an emergency, 9-1-1 calls ME.

So in essence, UPS doesn't have any actual customer service. That's just wonderful. USPS has among the crappiest customer service in the world, and I hear FedEx isn't all that great either.

I hope it gets resolved very soon. I can only imagine how frustrating this must be.

Bill


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The vendor called me this morning with UPS update. UPS says they are returning the package to the vendor, a company in VA.
Vendor agreed to over night (with FedEx) another set of speakers directly.  Fingers crossed - I should have them tomorrow.
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scuzzy


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Bill


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I don't know, maybe because the folks at the wrong address told the pick up driver "we didn't order this"?
The vendor doesn't understand either. He told me he tried to get UPS to redirect to me but they wouldn't, makes no sense.

Would you look at the new thread up of down one about Missing emails please?
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Bill


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Final update second set of Speakers arrived last Friday as expected. Had some difficulty connecting with installer but project finished on Wednesday. 
System is awesome.  First test was Jurassic Park, the roaring T-Rex and hissing Raptors were really impressive.  Worth every cent.
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scuzzy


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  • In an emergency, 9-1-1 calls ME.

That's great news. I'm glad it worked out for you, especially with the unwanted UPS drama. I am nowhere near doing squat about my own system.