Klipsch HD 500 Compact 5.1 Home Theater System

On Saturday March 17, 2012 I purchased the Klipsch HD 500 Compact 5.1 Home Theater System from Amazon.com. I had been researching this speaker system for some time and finally made the purchase when the price fell to $299.99. For my home theater I had been researching and considering several speakers for about 6 months. I had narrowed my choices down to the Klipsch HD 500 Compact 5.1 Home Theater System, the Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home Theater System, the NHT Super Surround 5.1 and the Polk Audio TSi series.

This purchase will replace my current setup of front left, center and front right speakers from an old HTiB system, an RCA RT 2600. These current speakers are about 8 years old and really showed their short comings when I upgraded my AVR to the Onkyo TX-NR609. With no subwoofer in the current setup I am hoping to regain some of that low end punch that has been missing.

I really liked the compact style of the Klipsch HD 500. As a bonus I was really impressed with the mounting system that is included. I live in an apartment with small children so the only really option at this point is to mount the fronts on the wall. The mounting system included with the Klipsch HD 500 has a very clean professional look to it that I am hoping will look good in my setup.

In the short term I will have to hold off on the rear surrounds until we purchase either an entry table or book shelf on which I will place them. That phase will require Wife Acceptance Factor in order to be completed. My plan is for a book shelf with the surround speakers placed just above ear level, with the wife's approval of course.

I have Amazon Prime so I should be getting the speakers delivered by Tuesday. I will install the speakers during the evenings this week and post follow up information and pictures.

System Notes 03/06/2012

On Sunday February 25th, 2012 my brother-in-law handed down his original Xbox. I owned one of these back when they first came out but never really used it. I sold my original version to a friend because at the time I was a die hard PlayStation 2 user. The addition of the Xbox has some connectivity problems that I will have to address in order to connect all three consoles to the AVR.

Each console, PlayStation 2, Wii and Xbox, all have component cable connections. My AVR, the Onkyo TX-NR609 only has two component cable connections. I will have to research and find a component cable switch or install component cable extensions that let me swap out each console. I say swap out because of space limitations in the new component rack. I could not have all three consoles connected and stored in the component rack without creating a cluttered/stuffed look.

I am also researching window tint for the new component rack. The glass doors are clear and when watching movies at night I like to have a completely dark room. The trick will be finding a film that letting IR signals pass through and block out the LED lights from the components inside. Additionally I am looking at added a sensor that will light up LED strips inside the cabinet when the doors are opened. I think it would be a cool trick and add a custom look to the cabinet.

For now my next major purchase will be new front left, center, front right and subwoofer speakers. I have been spending a lot of research time in this category, and you can see from my previous posts that it has not been a clear and easy path for me. I have come full circle and now I am considering either the Polk Audio TSi series or NHT SuperZero 2.0.

That is all for now. Thank you for reading.

New Component Cabinet Installed

As noted on February 10th, 2012 I purchased the Techcraft SWD30 Tall Boy Component Stand from Amazon.com. I had been researching a new component stand for awhile and finally felt it was time for an upgrade. The stand that was replaced had been showing it's age for some time and was falling apart. At the end of this post are pictures of the new stand and room layout.

I was nervous about ordering furniture from Amazon because if the carton was damaged in shipping the cabinet pieces themselves might be damaged. To my benefit and surprise the package arrived 3 days after ordering (love Amazon Prime!) and in prefect condition. The reviews on this product stated that the door alignment needed some work. After full assembly I would agree but spending 20 minutes turning 4 sets of 3 screws you can get proper alignment on the doors.

The Techcraft SWD30 is very easy to assemble even if you only have modest handyman skills. At most you will need is Phillips screw driver, hammer, and box cutter. I did need a hammer on the shelf pegs because one of the holes was not drilled out completely. The stand also meets the all important Wife Acceptance Factor.

As you can see in the pictures below I also replaced the HDMI cable from the AVR to the TV and I replaced the speaker cable to the front left, center and front right speakers. Now all the cables running up the wall are white which helps blend in with the wall. I live in an apartment so in-wall cables are not a possibility for me right now.

The HDMI and speaker cables were purchased from Monoprice.com. This was my first purchase from them and my order arrived 3 days after ordering. The quality of the cables is excellent and for my needs at this time the price and speed of delivery cannot be beat.

The HDMI cable is 15 feet long and rated to meet Category 2 specifications. There is no Ethernet Over HDMI no this cable but for now I do not have a need for that because my TV does not have internet capabilities. The speaker cables are on the smaller side, 18 AWG, which I know I am pushing the limit at 20 feet per run. When I do eventually upgrade my speakers I will also upgrade to a large gauge.

For now everything is operational and I am enjoying the new look. I have already decided that I want to customize the cabinet on two elements. First I want to tint the glass so the LED lights on the components are blacked out as much as possible. Second I want to add LED lights that turn on when you open the cabinet doors. Both of these are not functional requirements but simply personal tweaks I want to make.

Click here for pictures of the old stand and room layout.

OBi100 Firmware Update

I was doing some research and discovered that my VOiP service through OBi100's firmware was behind in terms of the current version that is available. Before I upgraded the version that was installed was 1.20 with build version 2101M. After the upgrade the version is 1.30 with build version 2675. I installed the update on February 11, 2012.

There have been a lot of changes from 1.20 and 1.30. I would rather not list them here just due to the space needed to list them all. What I will do is provide a link to the information. I will also copy the information off to a soft copy for any necessary future reference.

Click here to OBi firmware update history.

I updated the firmware to keep with my personal opinion that you should have the most current version of firmware installed on all your devices/components. The update was very easy to preform.

Obi provides several methods for applying a firmware update. I elected to update manually through the web interface. This requires that you download the firmware update file and then using the Device Update option under the System Management section in the web interface upload the update to the device. The entire process took about 15 minutes to complete.

For those who don't know, Obi100 is a VoIP Telephone adapter that allows you to use a traditional landline phone with Google Voice, SIP and other telephone interfaces. I use Google Voice on this device and highly recommend it. I have not paid for a landline phone for about 9 months.

The calls and voice quality are very clear. There are two things to seriously consider about using an Obi100. First there are no emergency services provided with the phone. Meaning that 911 calls and other emergency service calls are not allowed. If you have a cell phone this should not be an issue in most cases. The second item to consider is the device is attached to your network and an internet connection must be available to work. If you have a power outage or your network goes down for any of a variety of reasons you will be without phone service. A battery backup power supply would help eliminate the power outage issue.

The device is extremely easy to use and setup. I have some issues with having to reset the device. Over the course of about 3 months I had to reset the device about once a week. This has not happened since the firmware was updated. For the price and savings you can realize I highly recommend this product to anyone looking to cut their landline phone costs.

Panasonic Blu-ray Player DMP-BDT210 Firmware Update

Today when I started up the Panasonic Blu-ray Player DMP-BDT210 there was a screen message that there was a new firmware version available. After some online research I found the following information on the update:

Version 1.80
Released 02/06/2012
VIERA Connect update
Playability of 3D Blu-ray Disc
(At the time of this post I only found information on the firmware update on Panasonic's Japan's website and not North America's. Click here for the details I found.)

Keeping with my belief that it is always best to have the most current firmware version loaded to your components, I went about processing the update. Panasonic has made this process very easy with the DMP-BDT210 when it is connected to your LAN. You simply go through the Setup Menu to the "Other" section and select Firmware Update.

The player then connects to the Panasonic servers and downloads the new version. The entire process is self contained once started and no user interaction is required. The player will reset and start up again once the firmware has been downloaded and installed. This time around the entire process only took about 10 minutes.

It should be noted that I have my Panasonic Blu-ray Player connected via the integrated wireless connection. The connection point is my D-Link Xtreme N Gigabit Router DIR-655 located about 20 feet away in another room. The wireless signal passes through one interior wall at a 90 degree angle. As good as it will get at this location.

This is the second firmware update that I have installed on the Panasonic DMP-BDT210 since I purchased it. The first one was for version 1.70 which came out after the date of manufacturing on the unit that I purchased. That update was just as easy as this one.

New Component Cabinet

Today, Friday February 10th, 2012, I purchased a Techcraft (SWD30) credenza style component cabinet. I had been looking for a new component cabinet for some time. This purchase will allow me to relocate my current component cabinet from the corner to under the window in the living room. The current cabinet is something I purchased over 15 years ago and is definitely in need of replacing.

To make this conversion possible I have also purchased several cables from Monoprice.com to accommodate the new cabinet location.

Specifically I purchased:
Coaxial Cable - 6 foot RG-6 Quad Shield (Color is white to blend) (From wall outlet to Cable Box)
HMDI Cable - 15 foot 24 AWG Category 2 (Color is white to blend)
HDMI Relief Cable - 8 inch 28 AWG (From TV to main HDMI Cable)
Power Cable - 3 foot 18 AWG Right Angle Adapter (From TV to power cable)
Power Cable - 20 foot 16 AWG (From TV adapter to surge protector)
Speaker Wire - 18 AWG (Color is white to blend) (For FL/C/FR speakers)

The new component cabinet will serve as a cabinet an end table by a chair. Since the current cabinet is run down and not display quality it was tucked in the corner. I live in an apartment and I cannot run the cables through the wall. My hope is that white speaker wire, HDMI cable and power cord will help these cables blend in better with the wall. The current cables don't blend very well because the HDMI cable is black and the speaker wires are copper.

Later posts will have pictures and descriptions of the installation process. I plan on putting everything together during the evenings next week and I figure it will take about 1 week to get everything setup and configured correctly.

Cables that have to run up the wall:
Front Left Speaker Wire
Center Speaker Wire
Front Right Speaker Wire
HDMI Cable from AVR to Television
Power Cord to Television

Current cables that run up the wall:
Coaxial cable to Cable Box (New cabinet location does not require long coaxial cable run.)
Front Left Speaker Wire
Center Speaker Wire
Front Right Speaker Wire
HDMI Cable from AVR to Television
Power Cord to Television

Component "Feet and Legs"

Today, Sunday January 29th, 2012, I purchased some black ABS plastic connectors and pipe to make feet and legs to give the components ventilation in the current cabinet. I used 8 connectors and 2 three inch pieces of pipe to make the feet and legs. This gives spacing of about 1 1/2 inches vertical between each component in the current cabinet.

I had some trouble getting stability with this setup but after playing with several arrangements I was able to get something close to prefect given the current setup. I have 3 connecters directly under the Blu-ray player and the Cable Box. I then have a connector attached to 3 inches of pipe under the back side of the Cable Box. I have it in this arranagement because the Cable Box is about 5 inches deeper than the Blu-ray player.

When I get the new component rack these spacers will not be needed.