Gotta share the latest blessing - home theater complete
burdette
Posts: 1,194
So... I've been an audio head since high school. Bought a good stereo before I bought a car. In the 80s, in college, my roommate and I created our "home theater" by tearing out the mono headphone jack in our 12" black and white TV and running that signal through his Yamaha 100wpc receiver and my kickass DIY speakers. We matrixed surround channels. We'd have 3 or 4 pairs of speakers all hooked up at once. The quality of my 3-head dual capstan cassette deck *mattered*. THEN, real life hit and even though my passion for audio didn't fade, my financial situation did. I always had a good stereo - bought my Polk Monitor 7Cs new in 1990 - but I watched the home theater revolution from the sidelines, in the pages of Stereo Review. I missed the Dolby Pro Logic home theater era completely, even though I helped my father-in-law pick out a very nice system; didn't buy a DD 5.1 system when they came out; waited until DVD players got cheap. In fact, I didn't own a DD receiver until about 5 years ago when my trusty old 2ch Onkyo died, and I replaced it with a very nice, very functional, but also inexpensive, Sherwood DD 5.1 receiver. Since then I've been picking away at a better AUDIO system... I have a pair of RT55i as main, CS400 center (all bought from my good friend, met right on these forums, HBomb (hey Henry!)), Monitor 5jr+ as surrounds, and I built my (flat to 15Hz Stryke) subwoofer. Always running Polks through the years, I always had great SOUND, but the weak link, even after finally getting a DD 5.1, was the TV.
What we have is a 26" Toshiba, new in 1993. A couple of years ago it started getting white lines across the top, the image was essentially "folded down" on itself. And, it almost fell over once but the only damage was all the audio and video jacks were ripped out - so for the past 4 years, even with decent 5.1 audio, the video has had to be run from the DVD's monitor out, through a VCR, to the TV via a composite 75ohm cable. But it wasn't actually BROKEN - and with a wife at home, homeschooling 2, and now 3 kids, even as selfish as I could be, a new TV just wasn't in the picture. It had become a running joke between me and my wife... I'd drop little comments about a new TV, she'd drop little comments about not having sex, you know, the usual loving husband/wife stuff. I really, honestly, wasn't fretting it. My passion for my kids had long overgrown my passion for audio/video... a bigger nicer TV would be nice.. but not a priority.
SO... this year.. we started the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Program to try to get our sorry asses out of debt and finally make some of the financial changes we've wanted to make. We really aren't in THAT bad of shape - enough food, and bills never late, but we are always cash poor and no 'extras' and still that paycheck-to-paycheck feeling. But we're making changes, and it's tax time, and I have kids, and the Republicans have been in office, and Plasmas and LCD TVs are hot, so we've been inching towards the reality of me actually paying $300-$350 for a new 32" standard TV (we don't have cable or satellite - we watch free TV and movies and if we someday have to buy an HD converter box, so be it). But time passes... I realize in horror that Costco (I love Costco) no longer carries a standard TV larger than 24". When I finally do get my hands on $350, I'll be forced to walk into Best Buy... or Sears.. or Walmart... no Costco for-as-long-as-yer-breathin warranty, no great customer service. Ho Hum. It is what it is.. I don't have the money yet, anyway. We're waiting on a small state tax refund and a larger Fed refund.
On a whim, on Monday of this week, I decided to take a look at the used TV ads on line from the local paper (the Kansas City Star). I'm thinking... with the cost of Plasmas and LCDs coming down.. and as much money as there is in this area.. maybe there is a new, vibrant market for used big old fashioned TVs that people just don't want anymore .... so I take a gander. $1200... $800... $1500... $600... $100... hey.. what? $100.. what's that? Ad says Philips 32" HD TV, $100. Brand new ad. So, I shoot the guy an email.
He has the remote, he has the manuals, but he can't tell me a model number. He's getting a new flat TV. I told ya, I'm a true audio head, I love model numbers, I *need* model numbers.. so I can search the net, read every review, read every comment, see pictures, see manuals. I can't understand how he CAN'T know the model number! I mean, it's your big TV, don't you have the model number memorized? Tatooed on our forehead? Monday, Monday night, and Tuesday morning, we exchange a few emails. I'm not pushing because we don't have our tax refunds yet and we are budgeted tight and we don't have the extra $100 in our checking account and I don't want to get too excited. Tuesday morning he wants to know if I can come over at noon. I say yes, but THEN I check the bank... no way... we've got outstanding checks for bills in the mail, I can't float myself $100 until one of the refunds arrives. I check online for our small state refund, and it says the money was issued direct deposit 'yesterday', which would at that time have been Monday.. but it isn't showing up yet at our bank on Tuesday morning. I send him an email Tuesday morning apologizing for wasting his time, telling him I have to wait a day for the refund to clear, and if he has other people interested, go ahead. I go to a staff meeting. When I get back from the Staff meeting, 10:30 Tuesday morning, I have this email waiting for me:
Hi Mark,
No prob. If the TV works for you, you can have it, no charge. I just need to make room for the new one. I've had several inquiries, whoever gets here first can have it.
thanks,
Skid marks. I left skid marks out of my cube after sending him a quick email and NOT waiting for a response, down the stairs, to the parking garage. On the way I realize I'm speeding.. in a suburb with more cops per capita than anywhere else I know (and those Beverly Hill's Cop *nice* cop cars)... so I slow down.. tell myself... "Look, if this is a blessing, a God thing, I don't need to speed to get there..." I slow down.. take a breath.. and prepare for whatever. COULD be great... the blessing I'm feeling like it is.. COULD BE nothing... I could pull up and see someone else loading the TV into their car... and this isn't meant for me.
It's one of those quasi-gated 'drive by' neighborhoods.. as in... "hey, look honey, we're driving by a bunch of houses we can't afford." I pulled into the culdesac and start looking for the house number. It most certainly is NOT where Yahoo Maps is pointing.. that house ends in "8".. the one next to it ends in "4"... I'm looking for the one that ends in "5". I catch in my rearview mirror a guy walking down his driveway in a bathrobe and slippers, bedhead, carrying a cup of coffee and a newspaper, waving at me.. me sitting there in my '93 Honda station wagon. He's smiling, waving, motioning me over. "You Mark?"
This thing is huge.. heavy... sitting above his fireplace in it's own alcove.. been sitting there 3 years. He's getting a new flat screen which will cover up the hole (too bad about the wasted space, he told me).. he just needs this set out of the way. Garsh, well, the back end of my car is certainly out of your way.
Well, he was wrong. It isn't a 32" HD TV. It is a 34" widescreen HD-ready TV. Philips 34PW850. Manufacture date Oct '03. If it had been even 1" wider it would NOT have fit in our entertaintment center... and if it had been 1" taller, it and my CS400 would not have fit in our entertainment center.
It wasn't completely free.... while carrying it out, I misjudged a step... I thought the step down was one more step away... it wasn't... I stepped... and went down.. in slow motion.. never letting the TV slip or wobble, but I landed and ripped the knee out of pair of dress pants - $20 on sale at Kohl's. And I had to buy a component video cable.
Here is the only decent online pic I could find.
http://www.bizrate.com/televisiontv/philips-34pw850h-34-in-flat-screen-tv--pid11304083/review__review_id--31821.html
God is good.
If you read this far, I hope you enjoyed the story. I'll try to post a pic from home later...
What we have is a 26" Toshiba, new in 1993. A couple of years ago it started getting white lines across the top, the image was essentially "folded down" on itself. And, it almost fell over once but the only damage was all the audio and video jacks were ripped out - so for the past 4 years, even with decent 5.1 audio, the video has had to be run from the DVD's monitor out, through a VCR, to the TV via a composite 75ohm cable. But it wasn't actually BROKEN - and with a wife at home, homeschooling 2, and now 3 kids, even as selfish as I could be, a new TV just wasn't in the picture. It had become a running joke between me and my wife... I'd drop little comments about a new TV, she'd drop little comments about not having sex, you know, the usual loving husband/wife stuff. I really, honestly, wasn't fretting it. My passion for my kids had long overgrown my passion for audio/video... a bigger nicer TV would be nice.. but not a priority.
SO... this year.. we started the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Program to try to get our sorry asses out of debt and finally make some of the financial changes we've wanted to make. We really aren't in THAT bad of shape - enough food, and bills never late, but we are always cash poor and no 'extras' and still that paycheck-to-paycheck feeling. But we're making changes, and it's tax time, and I have kids, and the Republicans have been in office, and Plasmas and LCD TVs are hot, so we've been inching towards the reality of me actually paying $300-$350 for a new 32" standard TV (we don't have cable or satellite - we watch free TV and movies and if we someday have to buy an HD converter box, so be it). But time passes... I realize in horror that Costco (I love Costco) no longer carries a standard TV larger than 24". When I finally do get my hands on $350, I'll be forced to walk into Best Buy... or Sears.. or Walmart... no Costco for-as-long-as-yer-breathin warranty, no great customer service. Ho Hum. It is what it is.. I don't have the money yet, anyway. We're waiting on a small state tax refund and a larger Fed refund.
On a whim, on Monday of this week, I decided to take a look at the used TV ads on line from the local paper (the Kansas City Star). I'm thinking... with the cost of Plasmas and LCDs coming down.. and as much money as there is in this area.. maybe there is a new, vibrant market for used big old fashioned TVs that people just don't want anymore .... so I take a gander. $1200... $800... $1500... $600... $100... hey.. what? $100.. what's that? Ad says Philips 32" HD TV, $100. Brand new ad. So, I shoot the guy an email.
He has the remote, he has the manuals, but he can't tell me a model number. He's getting a new flat TV. I told ya, I'm a true audio head, I love model numbers, I *need* model numbers.. so I can search the net, read every review, read every comment, see pictures, see manuals. I can't understand how he CAN'T know the model number! I mean, it's your big TV, don't you have the model number memorized? Tatooed on our forehead? Monday, Monday night, and Tuesday morning, we exchange a few emails. I'm not pushing because we don't have our tax refunds yet and we are budgeted tight and we don't have the extra $100 in our checking account and I don't want to get too excited. Tuesday morning he wants to know if I can come over at noon. I say yes, but THEN I check the bank... no way... we've got outstanding checks for bills in the mail, I can't float myself $100 until one of the refunds arrives. I check online for our small state refund, and it says the money was issued direct deposit 'yesterday', which would at that time have been Monday.. but it isn't showing up yet at our bank on Tuesday morning. I send him an email Tuesday morning apologizing for wasting his time, telling him I have to wait a day for the refund to clear, and if he has other people interested, go ahead. I go to a staff meeting. When I get back from the Staff meeting, 10:30 Tuesday morning, I have this email waiting for me:
Hi Mark,
No prob. If the TV works for you, you can have it, no charge. I just need to make room for the new one. I've had several inquiries, whoever gets here first can have it.
thanks,
Skid marks. I left skid marks out of my cube after sending him a quick email and NOT waiting for a response, down the stairs, to the parking garage. On the way I realize I'm speeding.. in a suburb with more cops per capita than anywhere else I know (and those Beverly Hill's Cop *nice* cop cars)... so I slow down.. tell myself... "Look, if this is a blessing, a God thing, I don't need to speed to get there..." I slow down.. take a breath.. and prepare for whatever. COULD be great... the blessing I'm feeling like it is.. COULD BE nothing... I could pull up and see someone else loading the TV into their car... and this isn't meant for me.
It's one of those quasi-gated 'drive by' neighborhoods.. as in... "hey, look honey, we're driving by a bunch of houses we can't afford." I pulled into the culdesac and start looking for the house number. It most certainly is NOT where Yahoo Maps is pointing.. that house ends in "8".. the one next to it ends in "4"... I'm looking for the one that ends in "5". I catch in my rearview mirror a guy walking down his driveway in a bathrobe and slippers, bedhead, carrying a cup of coffee and a newspaper, waving at me.. me sitting there in my '93 Honda station wagon. He's smiling, waving, motioning me over. "You Mark?"
This thing is huge.. heavy... sitting above his fireplace in it's own alcove.. been sitting there 3 years. He's getting a new flat screen which will cover up the hole (too bad about the wasted space, he told me).. he just needs this set out of the way. Garsh, well, the back end of my car is certainly out of your way.
Well, he was wrong. It isn't a 32" HD TV. It is a 34" widescreen HD-ready TV. Philips 34PW850. Manufacture date Oct '03. If it had been even 1" wider it would NOT have fit in our entertaintment center... and if it had been 1" taller, it and my CS400 would not have fit in our entertainment center.
It wasn't completely free.... while carrying it out, I misjudged a step... I thought the step down was one more step away... it wasn't... I stepped... and went down.. in slow motion.. never letting the TV slip or wobble, but I landed and ripped the knee out of pair of dress pants - $20 on sale at Kohl's. And I had to buy a component video cable.
Here is the only decent online pic I could find.
http://www.bizrate.com/televisiontv/philips-34pw850h-34-in-flat-screen-tv--pid11304083/review__review_id--31821.html
God is good.
If you read this far, I hope you enjoyed the story. I'll try to post a pic from home later...
Post edited by burdette on
Comments
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Congrats on both the TV and the family first attitude. Karma can be a great thing.
Enjoy,
MichaelMains.............Polk LSi15 (Cherry)
Center............Polk LSiC (Crossover upgraded)
Surrounds.......Polk LSi7 (Gloss Black - wood sides removed and crossovers upgraded)
Subwoofers.....SVS 25-31 CS+ and PC+ (both 20hz tune)
Pre\Pro...........NAD T163 (Modded with LM4562 opamps)
Amplifier.........Cinepro 3k6 (6-channel, 500wpc@4ohms) -
Mark:
Great story! Congrats on a fine score!
Now...get that thing home, plugged in and start watching all of your DVD's again. Crank it up and enjoy!
Let us know how much time you're now spending watching your collection all over again. Trust me, you will!
JohnNo excuses! -
I'm suprised you didn't call me to help you move it.
Congrats bud!! -
Nice! Patience pays off. I'm sure that's a nice picture, even though its a few years old. Now you need to look for someone that's practically giving away an off air ATSC (HD) tuner. Now that most TVs have integrated HD tuners, and/or people are using cable/satellite, you might be able to find one reallly cheap. Some of the Directv HD boxes allow OTA only. I think the Hughes HTL-HD is one, that goes cheap very often.
I read that thing weighs like 165lbs! I hope you had some help moving it!For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore... -
WOW. A 34" Widescreen HD CRT is an excellent HDTV by any standard; and for free??? Congrats!Tannoy Dimension TD10, SOTA Star Sapphire, Heathkit W4A's, McIntosh MC2100, Eddie-Current Zana Deux, Singlepower SDS, Sennheiser HD650, Audio-Technica L3000, Sony Qualia 010
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Mark, where the hell have you been, and what did you do with Henry!!!!Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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RuSsMaN wrote:Mark, where the hell have you been, and what did you do with Henry!!!!
I'm still hear broham... I have just been wrapped right around the Axel with my new roll at Sprint Nextel. It is extremely challenging at this time with all the new technology being deployed. I'm actually glad I left the engineering game and am knee deep in operations.
Mark, I'll loan you a Direct TV box that has a off air ATSC tuner in it with a remote if you want. This should at least get you into the off air HD game which is fantastic IMHO.
Over time and "if" you like it we can discuss a sale but of course no pressure.
HBomb***WAREMTAE*** -
billbillw wrote:Some of the Directv HD boxes allow OTA only. I think the Hughes HTL-HD is one, that goes cheap very often.
I checked Ebay and the HTL-HD is usually selling for less than $50 these days. FYI: The HTL-HD is essentially the same as the LG-LSS3200 and the Sony HD300 boxes that everybody used to go crazy over. I have an HTL-HD that I'm still using in the bedroom (I sold my LSS3200 and got the HDTivo). Its still has one of the best OTA tuners out there. I'm positive it has OTA only mode, which many of the Directv boxes don't have. This is important because most won't let you do squat without an active account.For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore... -
billbillw wrote:This is important because most won't let you do squat without an active account.
I did not know this... I just assumed it would work. I should do some checking and thanks for the heads up.***WAREMTAE*** -
HBombToo wrote:I did not know this... I just assumed it would work. I should do some checking and thanks for the heads up.
What model you thinking about loaning him? I might be able to tell you off hand.For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore... -
For that price you should have punched him in the jaw when you left.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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What a great story with a good ending! You totally intended to get that HDTV and you did. Well done,God Bless.
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Congratulations! And it goes to show what can happen when you aren't greedy and get your priorities straight.God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8
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Here's a quick pic. I didn't bother "cleaning house". I had to take off the vertical wood trim on both sides of the 'tv hole' in the entertainment center... after doing that there was JUST enough room to slide it back JUST far enough so it wasn't hanging off the front - I can't push it back any further from where it's sitting in the pic.
It's funny... my wife even commented... she said "do the speakers sound better??" (meaning the Polks, not the built-ins). The speakers sound the same, but just that fusion of sound and sight.... we're having a pretty good time.
Thanks for the responses, for taking the time to plow through the verbage. -
I took the time to read the whole story....nice, real nice. I love those kind of stories. Congratulations!
JoeAmplifiers: 1-SAE Mark IV, 4-SAE 2400, 1-SAE 2500, 2-SAE 2600, 1-Buttkicker BKA 1000N w/2-tactile transducers. Sources: Sony BDP CX7000es, Sony CX300/CX400/CX450/CX455, SAE 8000 tuner, Akai 4000D R2R, Technics 1100A TT, Epson 8500UB with Carada 100". Speakers:Polk SDA SRS, 3.1TL, FXi5, FXi3, 2-SVS 20-29, Yamaha, SVS center sub. Power:2-Monster HTS3500, Furman M-8D & RR16 Plus. 2-SAE 4000 X-overs, SAE 5000a noise reduction, MSB Link DAC III, MSB Powerbase, Behringer 2496, Monarchy DIP 24/96. -
Great story man. Congrats.
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Nice story. I'm new here and don't post much...but I had to chime in. Looks like another example of good things happening to good people.McIntosh MA252 Integrated Amp, LUMIN D2 Network Music Player, Yamaha Aventage RX-A840 receiver, Emotiva XPA Gen3 2 channel amp, Polk LSiM 703 speakers. Oppo UDP-203 Blu-Ray player, Polk LSiM 705 speakers. Polk Signature S20 speakers.
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Congrats! Wow talk about a tight fit!Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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Cool! Free stuff rocks!:DSharp Elite 70
Anthem D2V 3D
Parasound 5250
Parasound HCA 1000 A
Parasound HCA 1000
Oppo BDP 95
Von Schweikert VR4 Jr R/L Fronts
Von Schweikert LCR 4 Center
Totem Mask Surrounds X4
Hsu ULS-15 Quad Drive Subwoofers
Sony PS3
Squeezebox Touch
Polk Atrium 7s on the patio just to keep my foot in the door. -
did you at least offer to mow the guy's lawn?
POLK SDA-SRS 1.2TL -- ADCOM GFA-5802
PANASONIC PT-AE4000U -- DIY WILSONART DW 135" 2.35:1 SCREEN
ONKYO TX-SR805
CENTER: CSI5
MAINS: RTI8'S
SURROUNDS: RTI8'S
7.1 SURROUNDS: RTI6'S
SUB: SVS PB12-PLUS/2 (12.3 series)
XBOX 360WiiPS3/blu-rayTOSHIBA HD-A35 hd dvd
http://polkarmy.com/forums/index.phpbobman1235 wrote:I have no facts to back that up, but I never let facts get in the way of my arguments.
