System Notes 01/15/2012

For some time now my attention as been focused on what replacement speakers I am going to purchase. I noted previously that I was going to go with the NHT SuperZero's but after carefully consideration of budget and my overall system needs I am going to go with either the Klipsch HD 500 or the Energy 5.1 Take Classic. Making a speaker upgrade decision is so complex.

I finally felt like it was time to buy a Blu-ray player. On 01/14/2011 I purchased the Panasonic DMP-BDT210 from Amazon for $127.99. Not the best deal that I have seen but I was ready to make the purchase. This will retire the Panasonic DMR-ES10.

I will be connecting the DMP-BDT210 via HDMI to the OnkyoTX-NR609. I will be replacing the version 1.3 HDMI cable from the Cable Box to the AVR as well. The HDMI cables from the Cable Box and Blu-ray Player will be version 1.4 from BlueRigger. These are stated to be Category 2 Certified and provide 48-Bit Deep Color, 3D, Audio Return Channel, Ethernet, 4K, True HD Dolby 7.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio.

Other things I have added or reintroduced include:
I reintroduced a Sony PlayStation 2 to the system setup (01/14/2012). The PS2 was just hanging out in the closet and since we had several games for it the executive decision was made to see what the graphics looked like on an HDTV. I purchased a component cable (SCPH-10490) to get the best possible video quality. However at the time I was using both component connections on the OnkyoTX-NR609. Hence the tipping point on purchasing the Panasonic DMP-BDT210.

Another system tweak was the purchase of the Belkin Pivot-Plug Surge Protector (BP112230-08) (01/01/2012). This is used with the data network components and was necessary due to the purchase of a Sleep Number p7 bed. The bed requires a UL1449 surge protector and this protector should meet all my needs for the bed and the data network. I will be building a holding rack and cable management system for the data network components once the bed is delivered and installed.

My anticipated upgrade sequence is now:
1. Component rack or cabinet

2. Speaker stands for rear channel speakers

3. Home theater speaker package. (Klipsch HD 500)

4. Clean power (PS Audio Power Port Classic)

5. Surge protection (Tripp Lite HT10DBS)