The HiFi thread

link1896

Mr Greenfield
We have a BenQ Home Cinema W8000 in lieu of a TV for about four or five years; works really well if you don't need to watch TV in daylight hours. Pull down screen attached to a beam on the ceiling so it all disappears when not in use.

Over the years the fan has started to kick in noisily more often which is a bit annoying - I've replaced the bulb and cleaned out the dust - but other than it's been great. The only feature that would be neat is if it could skew the picture so it can be placed in a corner rather than straight on.
Bad things happen with the image when keystone correction is applied. It’s enabled for vertical correction on home theatre projectors, to aid in typical projector positioning at the top edge of the image, as this is often unavoidable.

Enabling both horizontal and vertical is typically only found on super portable presentation projectors.

High end projectors feature lens shift, where the lens is physically moved in relation to the light engine in both vertical and horizontal planes to achieve better projector positioning and avoiding the need for digital image manipulation to correct for keystone.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Yep, definitely wouldn't be up for any horrible digital image manipulation.

I have it placed on top of some shelves that are next to the couch, and don't want to mount it to the ceiling.

Any model in particular you'd recommend that features lens shift? Not about to replace it as I can deal with the current compromise, but when the time comes I'll be looking to correct that.
 

link1896

Mr Greenfield
Yep, definitely wouldn't be up for any horrible digital image manipulation.

I have it placed on top of some shelves that are next to the couch, and don't want to mount it to the ceiling.

Any model in particular you'd recommend that features lens shift? Not about to replace it as I can deal with the current compromise, but when the time comes I'll be looking to correct that.
Many of the benQ projectors do. It’s such a rapid product turnover in the consumer HT projector market that a model suggestion is pointless.
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
My Hiby R5 gen II arrived today and while I am still getting the hang of it I am somewhat in awe of what it can do and how it sounds.



Worth a google if you are in the market for a portable DAP that can also plumb into your home stereo.

Definitely can tell the difference in amp modes with class A much sweeter to my ear. You can set it up to be a dedicated line out source which I suspect just sets the volume to 100% (which can be reduced in settings). This runs full android so can run any apps that can run on an android device. Screen is pretty good, not amazingly good but for what I will use if for it is great.

It also allows you to take a digital out via the USB C to a digital input if you want to use the DAC in a hybrid amp or specific DAC, sounds good to me as is and no doubt the DAC in this is better than my wee amp in the study. 2.5 and 4.4 balanced out as well as 3.5 so four options which is pretty amazing.

Lots of learning to do but I think this is worth the extra $ over the R3 which I was already impressed with. Makes me wonder what the hell the portable DAPs that cost over $2k do, make the bed too? Very happy.

Sexy cable making is now necessary.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Dont have a need for a second router in this house, so the Apple Airport Express was sitting in a box. And the NAD 3020 is not in the computer room anymore so was pondering how to feed it tunes. Then remembered the APE has a headphone jack.

And then found out its also an optical out to feed the DAC and airplay even does lossless unlike bluetooth. Yes I know, old news to many but I was pretty pleased! Works like a charm.
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
I finally got the bits to make my own cable from the Hiby to the amp. It even works. Machined the pants out of some 6061. Was going to get all fancy but just cut a fine thread on the barrel.



 

Winno

Likes Dirt
Vinyl, moving coil cart, 4 box preamp, a streaming transport, Class A/B monoblocks, crazy silver cables and electrostatic speakers with built in DSP



It goes alright.

Then, there’s the car with a steaming source, older school Class A/B amps, DSP/DAC/preamp, wideband drivers and more crazy silver cables.






Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

link1896

Mr Greenfield
Vinyl, moving coil cart, 4 box preamp, a streaming transport, Class A/B monoblocks, crazy silver cables and electrostatic speakers with built in DSP



It goes alright.

Then, there’s the car with a steaming source, older school Class A/B amps, DSP/DAC/preamp, wideband drivers and more crazy silver cables.






Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sweet.

ML Montis? Imaging and sound stage width for days there
 

scblack

Leucocholic
Vinyl, moving coil cart, 4 box preamp, a streaming transport, Class A/B monoblocks, crazy silver cables and electrostatic speakers with built in DSP



It goes alright.

Then, there’s the car with a steaming source, older school Class A/B amps, DSP/DAC/preamp, wideband drivers and more crazy silver cables.






Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Is that a Macan?
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
hmm. was intended to pad out a pair of bookshelf speakers, so dont need to rock the world...
He took $120 for it and its in perfect condition, so I'm happy with that. In a smallish lounge room and fed from the preamp out of the NAD it very nicely gives the Usher bookshelves a helping hand. I'll call that a success :)
 

link1896

Mr Greenfield
He took $120 for it and its in perfect condition, so I'm happy with that. In a smallish lounge room and fed from the preamp out of the NAD it very nicely gives the Usher bookshelves a helping hand. I'll call that a success :)
Sweet.

When it’s time to start talking your lovely wife into a larger sub yell out and I’ll share photos for inspiration and sharing.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Sweet.

When it’s time to start talking your lovely wife into a larger sub yell out and I’ll share photos for inspiration and sharing.
I rate my chance there as somewhere between bucklys and none… But seriously, with the Usher s-520 and the modest NAD amp, this does just fine. Maybe once I get used to it I’ll find some reason to get a better quality one, but can’t imagine I’ll need bigger in this room.

I’m still quite chuffed with the airplay feeding the DAC too, it’s taking ALAC files off the iPhone with aplomb.
 
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creaky

XMAS Plumper
Hardly 'hi-fi' but any advice on good value tv soundbars? Nothing flash but probably with a small sub. It'd have to have boobs or make coffee to make me spend over $600.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
For those of us with half decent hifi setups, get this cranking loud. My dogs were fairly unimpressed...

 

MasterOfReality

After forever
Another soundbar request.

Will prob look at moving our stuff to the theater room soon (currently used as storage hah).

Briefly looked at a JBL 9.1 soundbar with a sub. Sounded pretty good. Then again so did the others.

Tossing up between something like that, or a scalable system like Sonos.

Is Sonos any good these days?
 
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