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My primary audio setup has consisted of a Klipsch Promedia 5.1 Ultra for the past seven years or so, and the amp finally started going out making loud hissing and electrical noises. It served me well, and continues to do so although in somewhat of a frankenstein setup. Around the same time was when I purchased my 2005FPW Dell 20.1 inch monitor. With my tax returns I decided to do two things. Put about 1k into my car which is in need of some maintenance and suspension upgrades and get my A/V setup upgraded to suit my desire for high quality media. Naturally, I turned to craigslist to see what deals I could muster while trying to make sense of reviews and opinions of those whose audio knowledge far surpasses my own. I can see how your average consumer who knows nothing about audio equipment might end up way overpaying for an average sounding system or be too cheap and end up with garbage. The only sources I output from are my PC and PS3, so when looking for a receiver I wanted HDMI passthrough but upconverting signals, codec processing, and the ability to pull audio from the HDMI connection weren't really necessary. I know everyone knocks on Sony's lower end units but I found an STR-DG720 for $120 and while I could have easily paid two to three times that amount for an arguably better sounding receiver with some features that are nice to have but just not necessary for my situation and budget. I kept the 5 speakers from the Klipsch 5.1 and although it's hard to tell because they haven't sounded quite healthy hooked up to the old Klipsch amp in some time I do believe that they sound better hooked up to the Sony receiver. I was inspired to dump my entire media collection and am slowly replacing it with FLAC and BD rips. I wasn't exactly thrilled with how everything sounded with only the five satellites hooked up, although they output decent high and bearable mids there are no lows whatsoever. Understandably so since most of the power in the original 5.1 setup was going into the dual 8" sub. Took me one day to find a Velodyne CT-100 for $150, which I jumped on and got for $100. This 10" woofer is plenty for my 10x14 room and even has some leftover bass for everyone around me to enjoy. It definitely sounds better with movies and hip hop as opposed to metal, but it sounds good enough with everything that I'm more than satisfied. Lastly, I've been looking at my faithful 20 inch Dell for quite too many years as it's shown signs of that dark blotching and increased light leakage over the years, overall though it's still quite usable but strains to be an adequate viewing surface if you are more than a couple feet away from it and even then it's just small compared to what you are used to seeing these days. Couldn't pass up the price and free shipping on this. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254043 I will most likely use the Dell in portrait mode next to the 28", which should make for a much better TV substitute and should make PS3 gaming that much sweeter. Once I get the monitor, and have a bit of free time, I'll arm myself to the teeth with wire ties and climb behind my jerker to attempt to tame the wild jungle of wires and snap some pictures of the new rig.
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# ? Feb 22, 2010 18:30 |
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# ? Jun 6, 2024 06:17 |
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ShaneB posted:I really, really want a new receiver with actual balls. My old NAD integrated 2-channel amp at 25w/channel pumped out more punchy bass (from the front 2 speakers, I mean) than my Onkyo 7.1 does now. Don't limit yourself to actual receivers. Just buy an amp. I picked up a Sunfire cinema grand for about $800 last year. ( 5x400 @ 4ohms ) Just check out audiogon weekly, they pop up pretty often in that price range.
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# ? Feb 23, 2010 15:13 |
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I posted my system a couple years ago, but have made some changes since then. Namely, I've moved, and then also "shrunk" my system somewhat to better suit my situation at home. Needless to say, it doesn't work real well to have all my components and speakers out with kids around unless you like to have speaker grills punched out. *sniff*.... Anyway, here's my most recent set-up and component list. Click here for the full 864x576 image. Click here for the full 864x576 image. Click here for the full 864x576 image. Click here for the full 576x864 image. Current set-up: Samsung HPT5034 50" Plasma Polk Audio Surroundbar 50 Infinity BU-1 Subwoofer Sony STR-DG810 7.1 Receiver Philips DVDR3575H/37 1080p 160GB HDD Recorder / DVD Player Sony Playstation 3 80GB DirecTV HR-20 HD Receiver Acoustic Research XSight Touch AARX18G Acoustic Research RF Extender Sennheiser RS-120 Headphones My set-up is based off a combination of having a budget along with trying to minimize everything as much as I can. As it stands now, the only things you see in the living room are the TV, Surroundbar, and subwoofer. Everything else is controlled by the RF remote. The wiring through the attic, the shelving in the coat-closet-turned-media closet, the new outlets and everything in between was accomplished by myself and my father-in-law. Needless to say, the money saved from doing the work ourselves was well worth it.
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# ? Feb 23, 2010 16:46 |
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Quicksand_Jesus posted:I posted my system a couple years ago, but have made some changes since then. Namely, I've moved, and then also "shrunk" my system somewhat to better suit my situation at home. Needless to say, it doesn't work real well to have all my components and speakers out with kids around unless you like to have speaker grills punched out. *sniff*.... I love your minimalist approach, I'm a big fan of drat-near-invisible HT setups. Good job!
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# ? Feb 23, 2010 18:36 |
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Quicksand_Jesus posted:
How does your subwoofer like being on a hard surface? I had my Klipsch Sub12 on a hard surface just to end up watching it try to run away.
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# ? Feb 24, 2010 18:03 |
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army_of_babies posted:How does your subwoofer like being on a hard surface? I had my Klipsch Sub12 on a hard surface just to end up watching it try to run away. Put something heavy on it. If it's too light, it's not doing its job.
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# ? Feb 24, 2010 21:47 |
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This is my bedroom/computer system. -B&W 625 Bookshelf Speakers -Pioneer Elite A-35R Stereo Amp The speaker placement is completely sub-optimal, but space was a huge factor. Someday I will get some stands and mount them correctly. The new home theater. - BenQ W1000 projector (1080p) - 85" High Gain Focupix screen - Onkyo SR605 - Polk R50 fronts - Paradigm CC190 center - Premier Audio PA-120 subwoofer - Denon DP-300F Turntable - HTPC Homebuilt(Blu-ray, HDMI, HDTV, 4TB media) - Xbox 360 (20GB, HDMI) - Beginnings of record collection - Awful mess of wires So far I've been really happy with the new projector. I had a 42" LCD before, and it has taken some getting used to the new set-up. The room has a lot of ambient light, but the projector has enough lumens to make it watchable during the day. At night movies look incredible (hopefully I'll get some screen shots soon). Even the OTA broadcasts of the Olympics come in nicely in HD through my cheapo computer tuner. Plans for the future include getting matching Paradigm fronts and surrounds. Other than that...for the amount I spent putting together the system, I think it kicks rear end. Also, I need more records.
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# ? Feb 25, 2010 01:15 |
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I know it's kind of sloppy looking but this is a temporary setup. I finally got a job and I'll be moving soon, so expect an upgraded version in the near future! TV: Samsung HL-S5087W (50" DLP) Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR606 Front speakers: Klipsch RF-3 (Bi-amped) Center: Klipsch SC-1 Surrounds: Klipsch SS-5 Sub: Infinity PS-10 (in back corner) Xbox 360 w/ HD-DVD player Wii Popcorn Hour A-100 Sony DVD player Logitech Harmony One Here's what the surrounds look like: sm3g4 fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Feb 26, 2010 |
# ? Feb 26, 2010 19:31 |
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orangetomato1469 posted:- Paradigm CC190 center Are you happy with the cc190 as your center channel? I am waiting on a set of Monitor 7's to come in for my fronts and considering changing my center out for a cc190. Thanks!
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# ? Feb 27, 2010 06:02 |
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One Arm Manny posted:Are you happy with the cc190 as your center channel? I am waiting on a set of Monitor 7's to come in for my fronts and considering changing my center out for a cc190. Thanks! Yeah, it's a great speaker. Compared to the crappy Onkyo HTIB center I had before, the Paradigm makes a huge difference, especially in dialog heavy movies. I also looked at the Monitor 7's and they are great as well. It's obviously best when you can have matching front and center channels.
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# ? Feb 28, 2010 01:34 |
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orangetomato1469 posted:Yeah, it's a great speaker. Compared to the crappy Onkyo HTIB center I had before, the Paradigm makes a huge difference, especially in dialog heavy movies. I also looked at the Monitor 7's and they are great as well. It's obviously best when you can have matching front and center channels. Sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. My current center leaves something to be desired, and I agree matching fronts are the way to go. Thanks again.
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# ? Feb 28, 2010 01:58 |
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Made some great finds in the retro section. First, for $80 on Craigslist I found a Pioneer SX-780 in good condition (some cosmetic damage, knobs need to be cleaned, otherwise works great). Then, I found a pair of Sansui S-520U speakers at a Salvation Army. They didn't have a price, so the guy at the register let them go for $11! Right now I have them hooked to my computer, with an M-Audio Delta 2496 as the soundcard. All this wood grain is looking really tacky. I feel like my desk is slowly turning into an 80s Mercedes... Click here for the full 816x612 image. This desk was not meant for this. I'm considering getting a nice bookcase for the amp and future equipment. Click here for the full 816x612 image. Speaker Porn: Click here for the full 612x816 image. Some of the cosmetic damage on the SX-780: Click here for the full 816x612 image. Retro music for a retro setup (yes it was the first thing I played on it): Click here for the full 816x612 image.
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# ? Feb 28, 2010 13:06 |
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I just wanted to thank you to all the contributors to this thread for giving me so many great ideas. I've scanned this bad boy front to back and I think I finally have a decent idea of what to do (and what not to do) with my living room. Can't wait to take my new TV off my 7-year-old Jerker desk and get it set up properly.
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# ? Mar 2, 2010 18:05 |
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sm3g4 posted:I know it's kind of sloppy looking but this is a temporary setup. I finally got a job and I'll be moving soon, so expect an upgraded version in the near future! Hey HL-S5087W buddy! I think that's the first other one I've been on these forums. Still have and love that TV. I also have a nearly identical setup in other regards (Onkyo 607 instead of 606, Polk speakers instead of Klipsch). I've had a hell of a time finding a space for that center speaker with a DLP TV. Sadly can't use a TV stand like you have due to a crazy baby crawling around.
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# ? Mar 3, 2010 19:48 |
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You're going to think I'm a crazy person. I just added some new equipment to our never-used living room / spare toy room (we have a family room with my primary HT setup and a toy room upstairs for the kids) so that the kids would have their own decent tv to watch HD content streamed from our media server. 46" Pioneer Elite plasma Acer Aspire Revo for the HTPC Add-on Pioneer Elite speakers crappy LG DVD player until I bring in a decent blu-ray setup Wii, etc. I might buy a second 360 to throw in here, though we never use the other one. The Revo streams HD content from the server, and is controlled by a lenovo qwerty remote/keyboard. We use a DiNovo mini in the family room, but the lenovo is more kid friendly, and at $50 is a lot cheaper to replace when the kids break it every 2 months. All contained within and on what is now the most expensive god drat piece of furniture in my house. Click here for the full 1024x768 image. Click here for the full 1024x768 image. Here's the family room setup from about a year ago. The only real changes in that time are a 360 elite, and an additional 350 or so DVD's that I've ripped to my server. I have a solid 400 or so discs to rip from my DVD collection, but I'll honestly never get around to doing all of them. I just bought 2 more 1.5TB drives to give some much needed capacity, so at least I won't have full red bars on all of my drives now. 52" Sharp LCD HK 347 Samsung 1500 BluRay Athlon 5000+ HTPC running XBMC (win7 now) Klipsch Reference 3 all around Elemental Designs A3-300 Click here for the full 1024x768 image. [ Click here for the full 1024x768 image. Click here for the full 1024x768 image. Alternate View: Click here for the full 1024x768 image.
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# ? Mar 7, 2010 01:09 |
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Not a photo of my setup (in the middle of moving from PA to UT) but did want opinions of the Yamaha RX-V765. Will be using it for a living room/zone 2 (outside) setup. Seemed like a good deal at $391 shipped (after bing and newegg).
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# ? Mar 7, 2010 06:22 |
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Click here for the full 640x480 image. I'm a horrible photographer, The wall in the background should be grey. Pictured: Sony Bravia KDL-40V3000 Sony STR-DG920 A/V Receiver Silverstone HTPC Sony SS-F7000 front speaker Sony SS-CN5000 Center channel speaker Not Pictured: Sony SS-B3000 rear surround speakers SVS Sound PC13-Ultra subwoofer Sony Playstation 3 Metal Gear Solid Edition Kabel Deutscheland Digital Cable
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# ? Mar 7, 2010 20:43 |
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Mr.Peabody posted:
Please don't take offense, but I'm just wondering how you decided on that height for your TV.
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# ? Mar 7, 2010 21:46 |
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It's a bit tall, but the room actually extends back about 38 feet and I can watch it from the dining room over the couch at that height. Also, my couch is an L shape so when I'm in the living room, I'm typically watching it while laying down.
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# ? Mar 7, 2010 22:10 |
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Is that just the angle of the picture, or is it really that crooked?
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# ? Mar 7, 2010 22:22 |
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Looks really crooked to me.
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# ? Mar 7, 2010 22:22 |
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The whole image looks fisheyed.
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# ? Mar 8, 2010 02:40 |
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Can someone tell me if there is any conceivable reason this could not support a 47" television without the stupid rear panel? http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/20117674 Supports up to 143lbs, TV weighs 50.7lbs with the stand. Stand is 66"Wx19"D, TV is 45"Wx13"D. My guess is that it should be absolutely fine, but I can't help but wonder why Ikea would only list the TOBO with the rear panel for TVs above 37". I figure it's probably just a mistake, or they're trying to upsell, or they just don't think it would look all that great, but I can't stop this suspicion that it is dangerous for some reason I am unable to fathom.
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# ? Mar 8, 2010 04:49 |
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man thats gross posted:Can someone tell me if there is any conceivable reason this could not support a 47" television without the stupid rear panel? I would guess that the point of that stupid rear panel is that you should throw out your TV stand and instead mount the TV on the rear panel. That would let you put other stuff on top of the bench, I guess. I wouldn't bother with it, myself.
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# ? Mar 8, 2010 11:10 |
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Hippie Hedgehog posted:I would guess that the point of that stupid rear panel is that you should throw out your TV stand and instead mount the TV on the rear panel. That would let you put other stuff on top of the bench, I guess. I wouldn't bother with it, myself. Well, they're supposed to go together, like so: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/S59850471. But frankly, that looks more likely to fail catastrophically to me. I just wanted a second opinion in case I was missing something patently obvious.
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# ? Mar 8, 2010 14:38 |
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Most likely they list it with that size limit because the back panel would dwarf the television and it would look odd otherwise. Large TV's also become progressively less stable freestanding, so it makes sense to push it as an accessory even if it isn't really needed.
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# ? Mar 8, 2010 15:07 |
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Juriko posted:Large TV's also become progressively less stable freestanding, so it makes sense to push it as an accessory even if it isn't really needed. Good point. If the rear panel is sturdy enough to hold the weight, it would surely be less prone to tipping than a regular TV stand for a 47"-er.
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# ? Mar 8, 2010 15:33 |
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Mr.Peabody posted:It's a bit tall, but the room actually extends back about 38 feet and I can watch it from the dining room over the couch at that height. Also, my couch is an L shape so when I'm in the living room, I'm typically watching it while laying down. What the hell kind of room extends 38 feet? Do you live in a warehouse?
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# ? Mar 8, 2010 21:57 |
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bEatmstrJ posted:What the hell kind of room extends 38 feet? Do you live in a warehouse? Probably a finished basement in a massive house in the burbs. I have seen some huge rec rooms in new construction.
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# ? Mar 8, 2010 22:39 |
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bEatmstrJ posted:What the hell kind of room extends 38 feet? Do you live in a warehouse? Everything to the balcony is the length of the room.. it's 10 meters which apparently is closer to 32 feet. I also noticed in the picture the TV was crooked. I had to pull it off the wall mount and tighten the bolts, one side had slid since it was installed. Mr.Peabody fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Mar 9, 2010 |
# ? Mar 9, 2010 23:25 |
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My entertainment center looks like 5 lbs of poo poo in a 3 lbs bag at the moment. I bought the speakers and amp with the intention of not upgrading for the next decade, so I know it doesn't fit the current space very well. I am just renting at the moment. To the immediate right is the front door entryway, which is the cause for the cram. I know the speakers deserve to be positioned better, I just can't do it at this house. I also need to get some black pegboard and hide some of the wire-mess. The white device that you can see to the left of the amp is a "tricklesaver" - it powers off the amp and the powered front subs when the TV isn't pulling a charge. This makes it so I cannot run just the receiver and the speakers, with something like an ipod for input, but the receiver itself doesn't use enough power for the tricklesaver to toggle the big stuff on/off - has to be something beefy like a TV. Mitsubishi 65" DLP Marantz SR4002 Polk LSi everything - LSi25 fronts, LSiC, LSiX surrounds Sunfire Cinema Grand 5x400w (at 4ohm) amp xbox, wii, AT&T uverse ugly box Popcornhour C200 Random cheap rear end/free decorations and strange stuff in the foreground of each picture.
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# ? Mar 10, 2010 17:10 |
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Nija posted:My entertainment center looks like 5 lbs of poo poo in a 3 lbs bag at the moment. I bought the speakers and amp with the intention of not upgrading for the next decade, so I know it doesn't fit the current space very well. I am just renting at the moment. Hey man, say what you want about speaker positioning, tricklesavers and whatnot, but your place looks downright comfy.
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# ? Mar 10, 2010 21:24 |
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Put some floor lighting in that corner behind the couch and I could live on that couch for weeks.
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# ? Mar 10, 2010 21:54 |
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dissss posted:I'm going to go for smallest television: Now its all properly set up: As you can see its rather bright in there during the day must get some proper curtains to block out the view. Also sub and surround speaker placement is a problem (at the moment one of the surrounds is sitting on the arm of the couch) System is now: - Pioneer VSX-915 - Polk Monitor 50 front, 30 surround, CS1 center, PSW-111 sub - No name 32" SD plasma - on the plus side crappy quality shows look as good as DVDs - No name DVD player that allows skipping normally unskippable stuff - Oblig. XBox 360 - 8 year old Acer laptop handles HTPC (remember, no HD in this setup) - Crappy Telstra cable box that requires an external modem for the EPG (extra messy cabling)
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# ? Mar 11, 2010 00:58 |
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I will murder you for your view. Have fun trying to sleep.
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# ? Mar 11, 2010 01:05 |
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Juriko posted:I will murder you for your view. Have fun trying to sleep. Seriously. I would turn the couch around if I were you.
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# ? Mar 11, 2010 01:29 |
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dissss posted:about a TV or some poo poo... Now I will never be happy in life...
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# ? Mar 11, 2010 16:55 |
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Nija posted:Mitsubishi 65" DLP Is that the WD-65C9? I bought that exact TV not a week ago and I am in love with it.
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# ? Mar 11, 2010 21:28 |
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dissss posted:Now its all properly set up: I agree, nice view. Why does it look like your doorknob is at face level?
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# ? Mar 11, 2010 23:39 |
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# ? Jun 6, 2024 06:17 |
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monkeybounce posted:I agree, nice view. Never noticed that before but it is quite high. Weird old house I guess. As for the view don't worry that's where the other couch is facing.
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# ? Mar 12, 2010 01:29 |