Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo I can't believe I didn't do this sooner. . .

Do you still have m40's? I know what your saying about the blue light, I can imagine. My HTPC has a blinding blue light as well, it should look cool when I get my two Khartago/Stratos Mono Super Duper specials.

Yes, I still have them. Right now they are on top of each other in the corner. They really like each other.

Thanks for posting pics. I love those tube amps . Have you tried toeing in your speakers a bit more so that they intersect about a foot in front of your nose?

Nice setup Sean, I see you finally broke down and got yourself that HD add on for the 360, how do you like the HD movies?

Thanks, Michael. I've only seen three movies on it so far--"Batman Begins," "The Departed," and "Hollywoodland." The first two I own (thanks eBay), and the latter I rented (slightly scratched, a whole lotta skipping). Honestly, I can't tell much of a difference. The sound, though, I have to crank way up. I'll tell you, it's the cost of the movies that have kinda curbed my appetite for HD. And with the horrible performance I had with my one HD Netflix rental, which froze and stuttered through three parts of the movie, I haven't tried another one.

I'll give it another shot, though. Since I have both versions of "King Kong" I can do a comparison--just a matter of switching between video inputs on the TV.

I have both a Toshiba HD-A1 and the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, and without a doubt the standalone player has a lot better video and sound. I couldn't believe the difference, really. I was hoping they would improve the quality with the last update they released for the HD DVD add-on, but I haven't been able to check it out thanks to my Xbox 360 dying on me. Have you already downloaded the update which came out earlier this month? There was the dashboard update, then another update. I thought it was primarily an update for the audio portion, but maybe part of it was for the video, too. I can't remember.

Anyway, size of screen would make a difference, too. I see a major difference between DVD and HD on the 60", but I was hard-pressed to see a difference on the 32" I had. The difference was there when sitting up-close, but it wasn't mind-blowing in the least.

If nothing else, though, that update for the 360 was supposed to improve the audio a lot, so I'd give it a shot, if you haven't already.

Haven't done the update. Didn't even know about it, really. I assume it requires Xbox Live, which I don't have. Not much of an on-line gamer.

Yeah, my tv is only 34", and I kinda knew the new format was beneficial for larger screens. All in all, my Denon 2900 gives me a great picture, and with a lot of standard DVDs dropping in price, I'm hard-pressed to find a reason to dive into the HD formats. Yesterday I bought "Munich," "The Constant Gardener," and "Capote," and spent less than the price of a single new HD-DVD.

Still, it's tempting. Once I start down the HD path, I'll feel the need to change. First the standalone player, then a reciever that can handle HDMI, then a larger TV that will support 1080p. Can't afford stuff like that now, especially when I'm still happy with what I've got. Hard to justify it. Besides, I pour most of my money into audio junk. Can't help it.

With the falling prices on the Toshiba HD-A2, I have to constantly fight the urge. Realistically, I know I should wait for a capable universal player, or one format to be crowned "king."

Well, you can still create a profile on Xbox Live and download updates. I'm not much for online gaming, either, but occasionally I'll play something with my nephew. However, I'm starting to think of going to a free Silver account, as I'd still be able to get the content I want. I just wouldn't be paying the $50 a year for online gaming. So yeah, if you can, hook up your 360 to the internet, if only temporarily, and you can get the updates for free. My Xbox 360 died before the dashboard update, even, but it sounded pretty cool. Even if I wasn't using Xbox Live at all, I'd still want my 360 networked so I could access music off of my computer's hard drive.