Spring 2007. Have ya noticed how prices keep falling? A buddy of mine bought this same set and paid about $500 more than I did. And in the year since I bought mine, I've seen similar models that keep getting even cheaper.
720p (768p native).
Wow!!! What a struggle it had been to finally get all black audio/video gear. The early half of the 2000s had seemingly nothing but silver gear on store shelves. At least for the cheap crap I was looking to buy.
Spring 2007. The receiver was a store display for a mere $150. It's a Denon AVR-1706 and I didn't have any really good reason to buy it other than the fact I liked the looks of it better than the AVR-1602 that I was previously using. As for the Harmony remote control? That was $125 off the Internet. It looks cool, but it turns out I'm not a 1-touch kinda guy. I'm gonna stick with my MX-500, at least for everyday use.
Spring 2007. After I bought the plasma, I wanted to get an upconverting DVD player; but moreso I just wanted to get a new SACD/DVD-Audio player that was black rather than silver.
Escient SE-80 Music Server
Here's the Fireball from 2006 that I used to have in my audio rack.
Nothing wrong with the Denon DVD-2200, at least not functionally. It's probably my best SACD/DVD-Audio player. It's just that I never should've bought it in silver just to save a hundred bucks. As for the Escient music server? It stopped working. It might be an easy fix, but given its small storage capacity, why bother? I'll just use a computer, instead.
Here's the rear view of the room. It was a nice room. Not perfect, but the heavy drapes in the back (and also along one of the sides) helped the overall sonics. On the table is my Home Theater Master MX-500 universal remote control. I was able to use it to operate that oscillating fan behind the sofa.
Very glad to be rid of that old behemouth. It was somewhat heavy, but moreso than that it was ackward to move. It was from 2001 or maybe 2000?
Around 2001? I read the positive reviews on this bookshelf speaker and actually bought four of 'em, plus a matching B&W LCR3 center speaker. However, I didn't use them as surrounds very long since the sofa was too tall for the stands, but I'll hopefully use them again someday. In the meantime, the JBL N24 makes a good temporary choice for surrounds.
The JBL N24 series speaker was sold for many years, and with good reason. With discounts on-line for as low as $80.00 per pair, it was an extremely good deal considering their sweet sound. I'm serious! They even come with their own wall-mounting bracket, which makes them ideal for use as surround speakers. I paid $99 for the outdoor version so that I'd have white.
I've been buying Boltz products since their early days. Maybe early 2000? Late 1999? I've even got a CD rack that has the old style "Boltz-USA" sticker on it. Yeah, I know I'm bragging; but it's what I must do when I'm this cool. If it makes you feel any better, I no longer need all my Boltz racks due to having lost most of my CD cases in a flood. It must've been due to some kind of karma, I suppose?
The receiver is a Denon AVR-1602. Bought in early 2002, perhaps? It was my first Dolby Digital capable receiver and it also included the 5.1 analog inputs so that I could begin my journey of amassing SACD and DVD-Audio players.
It was silver, yeah, which I hated. But it was also the first dirt-cheap universal player on the market. Plus it had bass management. Well... That is if you count a 200 Hz crossover for DVD-Audio and a 120 Hz crossover for SACD to be adequate bass management. No, it wasn't without its faults; but me and my 563a had lots of good times. Too bad Pioneer made you creep through back alleys just to update the flippin firmware.
This is the baby that got it all started! I got it maybe in 2002 or thereabout? The model # is DVP-NS500V, I think. It's very nice looking, though, I have no real need for it, anymore, seeing as how I've now got a couple of universal players. Still... I can't quite bring myself to part with the Sony.
