Home Audio

I have the AudioSource AMP100 2-Channel Multi-Zone Amplifier and, it amplifies.

It has auto switching between the two analog inputs.

Perfect for a simple living room setup, possibly with an apple tv as the audio source.

Okay… this is NOT a “multi-zone” amp. That label stamps it as being a stand alone unit with the ability to route different sound sources to different zones (e.g. FM in one room & say iPod in the other) with each room getting it’s own volume control. The description on amazon is a bit more accurate in that they term it to be a “second-zone” amplifier.

The Audio Solutions combination TV wall mount and speakers looks interesting. I cannot believe that you would get any sound comparable to a real home theater system, but it would certainly be better than the little speakers built into the TV, especially at low or moderate listening levels. If you turned it up loud I think it would distort pretty badly. But for the price you’re getting a lot of hardware.

Harman Kardon 7.1 receiver has some pretty troubling reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-AVR-2650-Receiver/product-reviews/B0054N9RQQ/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

I bought one of these from woot! back on March 5th of this year. Mounted it on the wall the day it got here. It actually sounds quite a bit better than the built-in speakers (on my TV anyway). This TV is a 40" model, which looks pretty good in the mount. It seems like TVs much bigger than this one might look kinda funny compared to the size of the side speakers. You could go a bit smaller and it would look fine as well; maybe down around a 32" before the back plate would start showing around the edges.

Anyway, I have a small PC hanging on the wall behind it. The mount itself is pretty thick, so the PC fits between the TV & wall easily. But this also makes the whole mess stick pretty far off the wall.

I run WMC7 on the PC with some network tuners and a file server holding movies & music. On the weekend, I blast music and it sounds good even turned up pretty loud. It has much better bass than I expected.

My setup has the audio coming from the HDMI out on the PC into the TV, then from the TV to the mount VIA an optical cable. You definitely won’t mistake this for a full surround system (I have one in the basement; HUGE difference), but for the spare TV in the living room, this unit holds its own. Overall, I’m really happy with all aspects of the mount.

Here are some photos of my setup in case anyone is interested:

http://woodenpickle.com/misc/sm_tv_mount_01.jpg
http://woodenpickle.com/misc/sm_tv_mount_02.jpg
http://woodenpickle.com/misc/sm_tv_mount_03.jpg

I got the AudioSource 80W Soundbar for my new refurbished turntable (Sony 1100), because I’ve had the damnedest time trying to find new or vintage RCA-jack speakers so I figure I’ll get over my mount-phobia and stick it on the wall.

The optical-audio looks nice for the tv too.