Geez, look what I started…BloggingITGuy (would you be offended if I shortened that to "B.I.G.", like the famed hip-hopper), I tend to agree with you about influences, except when the music of the new band seems like a carbon copy of the old one, like Interpol/Joy Division. Can't really say that about Beck most of the time. In any event, at this point I'm pretty secure in my opinions, so I don't mind agreeing to disagree.

There's still the business of finding Doug some cool vinyl to break in his new system with.

LOL, no I wouldn't be offended, but if you prefer you can call me Alex.

And I think that music is one of those things where subtle differences can make a big impact to a particular listener.

I mean what is it that makes a band come out with a "one hit wonder" single off of an album? The other songs all sound similar, but there was just something "magical" about that one song.

Anyhow, I'm going to stop muddying the waters in this conversation now as I have nothing further to add. Not being a vinyl guy (I think the last record I bought was "Reach the Beach" by The Fixx or perhaps Eddy Grant's "Killer on the Rampage" (the one with Electric Avenue on it) in the 80s) I wouldn't have a clue as to what vinyl albums are good or not.

But I will say that the new Transformers movie is a great sounding movie for those of us into home theater. Oh wait...that's muddying the waters...my bad.

I can't f'ing believe this (excuse my french) but I just typed a 2 paragraph reply, only to have my wife's POS laptop close firefox because of it's crappy finger sensor (old lappy) and lost everything ! I hate this thing !

Basically what I said was (in a nutshell) that I didn't like the first few songs of unknown pleasures, but soon after really got into the rest of it,so my judgment was very premature. This judgment was amplified by the fact that the singer's voice grated on my nerves on those first few songs as well.

I also said I have no chipped shoulders when it comes to music or pre conceived notions...but that I understand what you mean about that genre and vocalists in general. I still stand by what I said in regards to melody. A lot of their riffs do have a certain melodic quality that often gets a bit displaced and winds up going somewhere else, whereas with Interpol, I get the feeling that the melody or theme of the song is often expanded upon and goes somewhere...

But again, those were just initial thoughts, and I have to really give the albums more than a couple listens ...

@Alex:

Which receiver or setup do you have ?

Oh and btw, my Rega TT wall mount as well as Blue Jeans Cables have arrived ! And I went to Ikea today, and picked up a very decent A/V thing for under $100, and it looks pretty good too ! I just have to figure out where to place it now.

One more question I suppose: For anyone familiar with carpentry... I need to screw the TT mount into the wall, so I really need to find the beams (studs) within the walls. I know how to knock of course, but I don't know if the beams would be wooden, or metal. Without the use of a stud finder, what's the best way to figure this ?

Is there a standard distance that beams must be set apart in an apartment type setting ? I'm going to visit the guy at my hardware store tomorrow and see if he has any good info for me as well.

Doug

Doug, the code distance between studs is 16" on center, measure out from adjoining wall to get to your first general area. Look for vertical row of nail heads or patches at that point.

The general contractors I've worked with around here tend to prefer wood frame construction for apartments over metal studs (wood apparently being cheaper), but that sort of thing can be very dependent on the region you are in - even if material costs are the same, labor costs and design factors such as floor-to-floor height could tip the balance toward metal stud. Screwing into the studs is only going to be useful if you have wood studs, anyway - otherwise, you would likely need to go with some sheetrock anchors of some sort since there's not enough "meat" to a metal stud to support that kind of weight without an anchor to assist. Like JimP says, 16" OC is the typical stud spacing. If you can find what you think are nail or screw heads, a very small drill bit can be a good way to test your hypothesis: run it in and see if it bites into wood (or hits metal). A couple of small holes can verify exactly where the edges of the stud are, and they would be minimally invasive - especially compared to running a big screw in, clipping the very edge of the stud, and having to run a second screw in an inch and a half or so away.

Hey Doug,

My system:

Sony 50" SXRD XBR (1st gen SXRD 50")
Integra Research RDC-7.1 prepro
Kenwood KM-X1 THX Ultra 6 x 100 watt amp
3 x Kenwood LS-X1F THX Ultra LCR speakers
2 x Kenwood LS-X1S THX Ultra rear surround speakers
Kenwood SW-X1 THX Ultra 12" passive sub
2 x Monster THX Tower Bass Module 200 sub woofers
Oppo DV-971H upscaling DVD player
Microsoft Xbox 360
Panamax Max1000+ power conditioner
Tripp-Lite 1500VA full online UPS
Monster AVL300 programmable RF remote
Salamander Triple 30 rack
All bluejeans cables except for one Outlaw PDO optical cable (which is how I'm still technically an Outlaw), Monster cable 5.1 THX prepro to amp interconnect bundle and Monster cable THX Xbox 360 cable bundle.

I've had all the Kenwood stuff since September of 95 when I got them all on sale through Air Force Exchange in Korea. Good package for its time although the amp is starting to show its age. Amp is imparting a high frequency hiss through the tweeters of all my speakers. Friend of mine says this can happen as components in the amp start to degrade.

I actually had an Outlaw 990 prepro for 3 weeks about a year and a half ago, but chose to go with the Integra Research RDC-7.1 instead since I was able to get it with 40% discount. I liked the Outlaw 990 except for two things, lack of inputs (only has two digital coax ins) and it made a popping noise every time I changed surround modes. Sounded great though.

So pros for the RDC-7.1...you get to say you have just about the heaviest prepro on earth (weighs close to 50 pounds since it uses the same power supply as the similar receivers that Onkyo made), its modular nature and the wealth of inputs.

Having gone through all that, I wouldn't pay $2600 again for a prepro I don't think. When you get down to it, sonic improvement of RDC-7.1 over the Outlaw 990 is negligable to none...The only thing I noticed when I moved to the RDC-7.1 is that it seems to amplify the signal before passing it on to the amp as reference level on my system now is pretty much on the edge of unbearable (108db in the Matrix gatling gun scene).

I want to upgrade my Kenwood amp to the Outlaw 7700 and 2200 (need 8 channels to power 7 speakers plus the passive sub which I'm keeping), but don't have the money for it at the moment.

Will also probably "downgrade" my prepro to the Outlaw replacement for the 990 when that comes out. I figure that I will be able to get more for the used prepro than what the new Outlaw will cost.

As an ending note, Dr. Hsu recommends putting a sub behind or to the side of your main seating area pointing at the main seats. I did this with the kenwood sub and it works wonders. Really gives movies that nice punch that you come to expect from theaters without being boomy. The two Monster sub towers are in the front of the system and also act as the speaker stands for my LR speakers.

Oh as a final aside, I got the Monster stuff at significant discount or I would have gone with some Outlaw or Hsu subs.

By the way, one annoying thing about the sub towers is that they have a auto-on switch but no way to turn it off and no 12 volt trigger.

They are good sounding subs, but for that reason alone I'd probably want to go with something else eventually...although I do like the fact that they make nice speaker stands.

I am using the l/r interconnects that come with purchasing a cd/dvd player. All certified crap going directly from cd&pre outs to a 7125 amp. Sounds like a $%%%^ dream! Anybody heard the radio on this thing!

AAAaaaaah ! Somebody at Outlaw please pick up the phone ! I want to place an order !

Nothing, but nothing...will stand in my way of placing the order today ! If you guys can believe it, I almost withdrew myself from the plans because something MAJOR has just happened to me !

At this point, if I were one of you, I'd be thinking that I was a pathological liar, and never had any intentions on buying the receiver, but there's really something weird, almost karmic about this situation...

I can't say what it is (and please don't ask, but feel free to speculate on your own) that has happened during this past week, but it's something that if I were a religious man, I would have to believe is attributed to god's un-willingness to grant me the right to own the 2150 ! Every single time I wanted to pull the trigger, something happened at just the wrong moment.

I was actually going to order last week, seeing as how the Blue Jean Cables came in, as did the Rega table wall mount, but as perhaps fate would have it, something remarkably happened JUST at the time I was going to order ! But thankfully, my wife interjected with her oh so understanding soul, and assured me that I should go ahead and place the order.

I wasn't sure if she meant it or was just saying it, but her last words on the topic were to the effect that she wanted to hear the LP which she is on that was cut when she was a child in a choir in Hungary. It was recorded IN a big beautiful church, and it took her class several days to finish due to a demanding professor/conductor.

So, that was enough for me !

Now, if I can just get a hold of someone in the office.....

Ok, this time I left a message on the voice mail. Argh.

SCOTT !! Heeeeeeelllp Meeeeeee !