My New HT Setup

PolygonGTC

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 6, 2006
Messages
1,791
I just set up my new HT. I went from using a 360 to stream media and a DVD player to an HTPC with a BD drive. I went from a CRT to an LCD and from an SD sat receiver to and HD receiver.

This is my new TV which I barely got hooked up. It's a Samsung B550 40" LCD. For what I spent this TV is much better than I expected. The picture quality is very sharp and the colors are very vibrant. It even looks alright on SD stuff. I still need to test out some BDs once I get the software installed on the HTPC and I need to test the older video game system.

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Here's the main rig. It consists of a Yamaha RX-V659 receiver, Polk Audio TSi 300 (Front), Wharfedale WH-2 (Center), Wharfedale WH-2 Bipole (Rear), Dayton 120 (Subwoofer), a custom built HTPC, a DirecTV HD receiver, and a Samsung B550 40"

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This is the Yamaha RX-V659 receiver. It's been a very good receiver and I only spent $225 shipped from another member on Audioholics . Soon it will have to be replaced for something that has HDMI and can do Dolby True HD/DTS HD.

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I custom built this HTPC. So far it's been great. It just needs to be setup properly. I do have one problem right now and it has do with streaming over the network. Right now I'm using PoE and they're Netgear XE103s. They should be capable of up to 85Mbits/sec so I would think that I should be getting at least 7-11Mbits/sec. Instead I'm seeing about 2Mbits/sec. I need to figure out where the bottle neck is. Could be the PoE adapters, could be a cable. However, I've decided to turn the phone jack into a network jack. I had forgot it was there. I just need to get my hands on a toner to find the line. Despite the streaming issues it's great and it's nearly silent. I can't even hear it from my seating position with no sound on. Anyhow, here's the specs:

Case: Zalman HD503
PSU: Corsair VX450
MOBO: Asus P5QPL-VM EPU
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
HSF: Zalman CNPS8500
RAM: Muskin Black 4GB (2x2GB) XP2-6400 4-4-4-12
Video: MSI Radeon HD 4350 512MB
HDD: Seagate 320GB
BD-Rom: Plextor PX-B320SA 8X BD
Fans: GELID Solutions 80mm (Exhaust) 120mm (Intake)

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These are my consoles. I've never gotten rid of one over the years. I still have the original packaging for all of them. The consoles consist of NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii (Not Pictured), Genesis, 32X, Dreamcast, Nomad (Not Pictured), Game Gear (Not Pictured), Jaguar, Playstation, Playstation 2, X-Box, and an X-Box 360. There are still a few that I would like like a 2600, Turbo Grafx 16, and a Saturn.

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I went with some Polk TSi 300s. I was using some old DBX Soundfield Vs that sure could throw sound and shake the walls but weren't very clear. Considering the price these speakers are awesome just like the TV.

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I bought these Wharfedale WH-2s a while back to replace a set of KLH speakers that I bought for $50. There weren't bad considering they were about as cheap as they come. These might have been quite a bit more but I think they were a bargain. They are bipoles and they do a great job of throwing sound around and they're a great match with the Polks.

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This is a Wharfedale WH-2 center. I bought it to compliment the rears and it does nicely. Like the rear it was worth every penny.

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I decided on a Dayton 120 simply because I needed a sub and I didn't have a lot of money to spend at the time. For the price it's been a good sub but has developed a grounding issue.

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Here's everything all put together. Since I was changing so much I decided to redo all the cables too. It was a good chance to make the cable management even better.

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looks great man, Love the cable management you really have to look to see em. Must have taken forever.
 
Great work man! Especially like all the consoles you have :) Though you're missing a PS3 and Wii.....
 
Nice looking setup! I love your tower of retro gaming systems. If you're ever looking to replace the polks with wharfdales STO Sound and Vision always seems to have deals on Wharfdale towers (I've been looking to purchase new fronts).
 
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looks great man, Love the cable management you really have to look to see em. Must have taken forever.

Thanks, yeah, it took about four hours just to get through all the cable management but it was worth it.

Great work man! Especially like all the consoles you have :) Though you're missing a PS3 and Wii.....

Hehehe, thanks. Yeah, I'm missing a PS3. I'm just waiting for GT5 to give me an excuse to buy one. I forgot about the Wii. I have one, it's just in another room that has more space to flail about. :D

Very clean! Nice looking setup.

Looks good!

Thanks! :)
 
Sweet collection of retro gaming consoles. I got rid of all of mine years ago and now I miss having a Nintendo and Sega Genesis.
 
Sweet collection of retro gaming consoles. I got rid of all of mine years ago and now I miss having a Nintendo and Sega Genesis.

Thanks! That's why I have so many, I've never sold a system throughout the years. I know I would regret it.
 
I should of did the same setup as you because i also have almost every console and no room to put them.
 
my 20 month old would have a field day with your stuff!

He has it with mine as it is! :(
 
This is the Yamaha RX-V659 receiver. It's been a very good receiver and I only spent $225 shipped from another member on Audioholics . Soon it will have to be replaced for something that has HDMI and can do Dolby True HD/DTS HD.

Whenever you decide to replace it check out Accessories4less.com. You can get really nice deals on factory refurbished Onkyo's and Marantz recievers. You still get a one year manufacture warranty (as opposed to 2 new) and normally they are 1/2 the cost of new..

Right now you can get the TX-SR806 for a great price. If I had the cash I would totally drop it on that reciever.
 
I should of did the same setup as you because i also have almost every console and no room to put them.

Eventually I'm going to split them off and have a rig just for the older systems. One with a CRT. They don't look quite as good on an LCD which is to be expected. However, my light gins don't work on an LCD which I didn't even think about. :(

my 20 month old would have a field day with your stuff!

He has it with mine as it is! :(

When my nieces and nephews come over I seal the room off. I'll let the older ones in but the younger ones aren't allowed. I leaned my lesson the first time. It was back when I had a 10 band EQ. One of them had gone in there and messed with all the sliders on all the frequencies.

Among other things. :D

Whenever you decide to replace it check out Accessories4less.com. You can get really nice deals on factory refurbished Onkyo's and Marantz recievers. You still get a one year manufacture warranty (as opposed to 2 new) and normally they are 1/2 the cost of new..

Right now you can get the TX-SR806 for a great price. If I had the cash I would totally drop it on that reciever.

Wow! That's an awesome deal. I'll have to take a look there when I do. I was tempted since they came out with a passive cooled 5xxx series ATI card but alas, I decided I want to sleeve my cables and get about $350 worth of stuff from Lian Li for my main system.
 
nice clean install. I like the look of that room as a whole. The wood doors look great.
 
I was tempted since they came out with a passive cooled 5xxx series ATI card but alas, I decided I want to sleeve my cables and get about $350 worth of stuff from Lian Li for my main system.

Trust me I understand. I have a 4450 in my main rig which goes via HDMI to my reciever. I am looking at the 5450 and kinda drueling since all I want is DTS bitstream from my main rigs blu-ray player. Unfortunately my reciever in the bedroom is rather old and does not do HDMI audio, so I am going to be purchasing the Onkyo TX-SR606 or 607 (prefer the 606) for my bedroom.

Anyone think that ~90 watts x7 is too much in a 11x15 bedroom? I dont ;)
 
nice clean install. I like the look of that room as a whole. The wood doors look great.

Thanks. It makes a great HT/Gaming room. It's not quite perfect but it will do for now. :)

Trust me I understand. I have a 4450 in my main rig which goes via HDMI to my reciever. I am looking at the 5450 and kinda drueling since all I want is DTS bitstream from my main rigs blu-ray player. Unfortunately my reciever in the bedroom is rather old and does not do HDMI audio, so I am going to be purchasing the Onkyo TX-SR606 or 607 (prefer the 606) for my bedroom.

Anyone think that ~90 watts x7 is too much in a 11x15 bedroom? I dont ;)

Nope, that sounds good to me. :D

I wish I had the money right now to upgrade the receiver, even though those are some killer deals. The video cards are cheap at least.

Holy console games, batman!

Here's a better shot. That doesn't include the slew of PC games either.

Video%20Games.jpg


Really nice and clean... good job on the wiring.

Thanks. :)

I can still see some which bothers me a little, since I'm a tad bit OCD. Eventually it will built into a wall with a room behind it and then I will see no wires, period.

No sega master system?!

Nice setup though

Yeah, there are a lot of consoles I still want to get. My parents bought me the Genesis for Christmas when I was 11 and it was my first console. I've just never sold one over the years. The Master System is on that list. I just need to find one mint in the box. I'm sure that won't be cheap.
 
Amazing setup, I definitely want to have something like this someday :p

Just wondering if you still play your GameCube or PS2, and how do they look on your TV? I can't stand the SD resolutions even on my 32" 720p.
 
Amazing setup, I definitely want to have something like this someday :p

Just wondering if you still play your GameCube or PS2, and how do they look on your TV? I can't stand the SD resolutions even on my 32" 720p.

It's not bad, but I will certainly be building another rig for the older systems with my old CRT when I have the room for it. For now I would call it acceptable.
 
Sorry, it's been a long time since I've been in this thread.

The Saturn is on my list of systems to buy. It's more complicated since I need to find a PAL one as most of the great games are imports.
 
Wow. Thats a sweet setup you have there. Then you showed the room. Even better!!!

That rack works well.
 
Wow this is a very nice setup. Do you run your cables to your rear speakers under your carpet? I can't see any wires going to those speakers.
 
How did you wire the back speakers? Through the carpet and then back up through behind the couch?
 
I'll be posting an update soon. Been a few changes.

Wow. Thats a sweet setup you have there. Then you showed the room. Even better!!!

That rack works well.

Thanks!

Yeah, I love the rack with the audio equipment on it. I got it and the TV stand at Wal Mart for $80 a piece. I tried finding another one for the game systems recently, with no luck.

Wow this is a very nice setup. Do you run your cables to your rear speakers under your carpet? I can't see any wires going to those speakers.

How did you wire the back speakers? Through the carpet and then back up through behind the couch?

The speaker wires are stuffed under the base board so you can't see it running along the wall. The it comes out from under the drawers with my alarm clock on it. So, you can see the wires once they come out from there.

It's not ideal, but the best I could do with this room. In the next place it will be wired into the walls.

No coffee table?

Nope.

Used to have one ages ago and I got sick of it. Just clutters up the area to me.
 
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