| The Pod's Audio/Video Extravaganza! |
| Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages. The Pod proudly presents his AUDIO/VIDEO EXTRAVAGANZA! This page will entail all of my awesome A/V stuff, it will glorify my current setup, and it will show you my plans for the future. In short, I am an electronics nut, and I plan on having a real kick@$$ setup soon, depending on the cashflow. ON THE VIDEO SIDE: > A 20" Mitsubishi Stereo TV, model CS-20201. This TV is about 6 years old and it is still awesome. Even though it is not a very large TV, it has good features, good sound from the speakers, and the picture is awesome. I plan on upgrading it because of two reasons: 1.) SIZE and 2.) INPUTS. The Mitsu has one set of composite A/V jacks, one coax input, and one set of stereo outputs. > A Panasonic 4-head Hi-Fi Stereo VCR. This VCR was purchased at Sam's Club last year for about $100 and it is very good for what I need it for. This VCR has Hi-Fi Stereo output, auto tracking, and it has one set of A/V inputs. This VCR is not one of the most loaded units, but it is good for what I need it to do > A Sony PlayStation 2 Game Console. This unit is not overrated at all, it kicks some serious butt with the quality of the games as well as the DVD Player. The unit has a optical digital out for connection to a home theatre system and is Dolby Digital and DTS capable. I have used this as a DVD player hooked up and it sounds and looks just as good as a normal DVD player ON THE AUDIO SIDE > A Kenwood VR-307 AV Surround Receiver. This stereo is very good, I have been tremendously pleased with it. It was purchased at Circuit City in June of 1999 for about $300. The unit is capable of Dolby Pro-Logic and Dolby Digital, but not DTS. This unit has 3 sets of Video Inputs, one is coaxial and the other is optical for Dolby Digital playback. The unit also has a coaxial digital input for CD as well. It also has TAPE/MD input/output, TAPE MONITOR input/output, and PHONO input as well. I have not had a single problem with the unit and I swear by Kenwood to this day. > A Kenwood CD-203 Multiple CD Player. This CD player is a 5-disc carousel unit that was purchased off of eBay for around $110. The unit is ok, it is a basic model. It has no remote and does not have digital outs. The unit is contollable by my remote because it is hooked up to my receiver. It does it's job but I am planning on upgrading to a unit with a digital out. The unit has never given me a problem and is very reliable. > One pair of JBL HLS-610 speakers for my front outputs. These speakers are, in my opinion, a good buy for the money. They were purchased at Best Buy for around $220. They have a very clear sound and neither the bass or the highs overpower, the mix is perfect. These speakers have very clear output even at high volumes, and yes they have been driven. I would recommend JBL to anyone. > One HLS-Center speaker for my center channel. This speaker was purchased at Best Buy for $200 and is voice-matched to my front speakers. This unit as twin woofers surrounding a single tweeter and gives excellent output. > One pair of HLS-410 speakers for my surround outputs. These speakers are voice-matched to the rest of my speakers and provide good output as well. FUTURE PLANS: > Upgrading to a Panasonic CT-27D10 27" Television Set. This set has 3 A/V inputs, one S-Video input and one Video Component (Y/PB/PR) input. It does not have PIP on it, but I do not like PIP, so why waste the money on something I wouldn't use. My parents have a Panasonic 27" TV that was purchased in 1993. It has never given them a problem and is still an awesome piece of eqipment, so that was another reason to look towards Panasonic. The main reasons for the upgrade are that I would like to have a larger set, I would like a set with more inputs, and I would like a set with the higher quality video inputs. > Upgrading to a Kenwood 5-disc CD changer with coaxial digital outputs. I would like to have the digital outputs because there is no interference at all, it is completely digital. Because my stereo has the inputs for digital, I want to get a CD player that has digital outputs for maximum clarity. > Getting a Panasonic DVD player with Component Video Outputs. This is so that I can save the life of my PS2 by not using it as a DVD player and denoting its use as a game system. The PS2 only has an S-Video output. If all goes as planned, the setup would be the PS2 in the S-Video Input, the DVD player in the Component Video Input, and the VCR in Input 3. This way there is no jerry-rigging and the whole system will be state-of-the art and will be capable of being updated for future technology. TIPS ON CHOOSING EQUIPMENT: > Look around at different retailers and check prices. Do not spend more than you have to. > Test all equipment in the store. Listen to receivers and speakers, and watch the TVs. You wouldn't buy a car without taking it for a test drive first, and you should "test drive" A/V equipment as well. Everyone has different preferences on what looks good and sounds good, so browse as much as possible. > When purchasing equipment, some people get all the same brands and some people mix and match. Common myth: if I buy a Sony TV, then I have to get a Sony VCR otherwise they will not work...WRONG!!!!! The one advantage is that the remotes might carry over functions, and some people do it out of consistency. Mixing and matching components is not a bad thing, unless it comes to speakers. DO NOT MIX AND MATCH SPEAKERS! Speaker systems are voice matched to maintain clarity, and all speakers do not sound alike. When you purchase speakers, the brand name and series must match as well. Different companies make different series of speakers under the same brand name (example: JBL has a Northridge Series and a Studio Series) and even though they are all under the JBL name, they are different and you wouldn't want to mix and match them. Mixing and matching speakers is a NOTICEABLE FLAW and it will take away from the consistency in the sound. HOME COLLEGE PICTURES FRIENDS BIO LINKS AMIGO DODGE WAL-MART E-MAIL |