From Nothing to Something...

Couldn't miss a chance to talk about my new system...  And as I decided to respect the MOD's plea to shorten the signature, well it pretty much "forces" me to do that here.   And while I'm here, might as well go with the whole story (in brief) rather than with a simple description of the setup. 

This is my first Hi-Fi setup, in absolute.  Though in practice, I have had boxes able to display images or emit sounds before.  An Aiwa mini ghetto blaster when I was about ten.  An Aiwa mini stereo system when I was about fifteen.  Then a Panasonic 5.1 all-in-a-box system about six years ago.  Then a PS3 and a new TV set (Sony Bravia 40BX420) last year, running through the remains of the Panasonic... I disconnected the center and surrounds long ago, they were just idle boxes pitching disquieting noises.  The desert, Hi-Fi wise... Everytime I got or bought something, it always was just immediately outdated! 

Lately, I decided to sell the PS3... I was never a gamer, only used it as a universal player.  Also just sold the Bravia...  Meanwhile, I went for the good old compromise between music and movies : integrated amp, CDp, floorstanders and sub, dedicated BDp, brand new 3D TV set, brand new HD  box.  Oh, and wireless headphones.  Did not even keep the HDMI cable I had, sold it along with the PS3.  Everything is new, except for the TV stand that houses it all, which I like very much.  A new page of personnal history, which reads as follow :

Hi-Fi :

Marantz CD6004 - Audioquest Golden Gate Interconnect

Monitor Audio BX5 - Tributaries 14 AWG bi-wiring bulk cables (combined into single)

Sunfire SDS10 - Tributaries Series 7 Subwoofer cable

Yamaha A-S500

Sennheiser RS160

Cinema :

Pioneer BDP-53FD - Tributaries Series 7 HDMI 1.4

Motorola HD Box (made for regional cable company) - Maestro HDMI 1.4 (very basic)

Panasonic 50GT30

Yamaha A-S500 - BDp and HD Box through Tributaries Series 5 Interconnect

The HD box, sadly, is a weak link... Still way better than the standard box, of course, but nothing worthy of any investment, hence the basic Maestro HDMI.  It is also connected to the amp, but as the TV does the trick for everyday use, as bad as the integrated speakers are deemed to be, the possibility to keep the amp out of that loop as much as possible is a must.  I don't see why Dora would need Hi-Fi... Doesn't fit in the backpack, anyway! 

Switching on the Pioneer for Blu Ray entertainment is a whole other ballpark, of course.  Couldn't be more satisfied about picture quality there, and the analogue out works very well.  I had the Panasonic BDT310 for a week, not only it doesn't output analogue sound when playing 3D movies (cheers Panasonic, the former BDT *00 series could, and the BDT*10 series can't, that's thoughtful and quite logical... ), but it also provides for the most terrible analogue sound anyway.  The amp was totally out of control... even the Motorola HD box is better at it!  Only downside of the BDP-53FD is the initial loading time, Panasonic is way ahead on that, but it is still a minor drawback. 

Some pics of the setup to follow soon.  Thanks for any comment!