Info and forum posts by 'Richard Webb'

This user hasn't used our main site yet, so has no main account at present.

Joined on: Monday, 19th November 2001, 10:41, Last used: Thursday, 1st March 2007, 08:40

Access Level: Mostly Harmless

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This user has posted a total of 22 messages. On average, since joining, this user has posted 0 messages a day, or 0.02 messages a week. In the last 30 days, this user has posted 0 messages, which is on average 0 messages a day.

Recent Messages Posted:

RE: Speaker advice pleaswe

Thanks very much for all the replies that have been given, it has certainly given me food for thought.........I quite like the look of the KEF KHT 2005AV setup, as it ticks all boxes in terms of size and has a pretty good review, and is cheaper that the BOSE system. Thanks again......

RE: Speaker advice pleaswe

No problems whatsoever, thanks for taking the time to help.......

RE: NEW YORK - Who`s Been - Recommendations Please!!

Hi Chris,

We went last last Christmas, and stopped at the Hilton New York on 6th and 53rd. Good hotel, but like everything else in NY, it was big. Great views from the restaurant (one side looked over Central Park, the other side looked upon teh Empire State.

On 7th avenue, very close by is the Carnegie Deli. Don`t b eput off by the outside, as the rich and famous have all eaten here, as is displyed by the photos on the walls. It was always pcaked when we were there, and the sandwiches were gargantuan in size. Highly recommend it.

We ate a lot in and around Greenwich Village......very nice.

There is an Irish bar called O`Sullivans I think close to 6th Avenue and 53rd St which was very nice.

If you want to see the Statue of Liberty and don`t want to pay the fees involved, get the Staten Island ferry, across to....you guessed it Staten Island, as it is free, and it goes as close to the statue as any of the paid excursions (unless you actually want to go up inside). When it gets to Staten Island, simply disembark and get back on to come back. And it is FREE! We actually walked straight down 5th Avenue as far as we could (until we were knackered once we had got to the Flat Iron building whereupon we got the Metro down to the ferry terminal)

Ice Skating in Central Park is a must, and is better than skating at the Rockefeller Centre. We debated about going to ground zero, as I wasn`t sure if I wanted to go out of morbid curiosity or not. We went in the end, and in the end we were glad that we did, very eerie to say the least.

That is about it.....we were only there for three days, but had a great time. I really wanted to go to a baseball game, but didn`t have the time.

Have a great time, you will enjoy it.
(if you are flying into JFK, get a yellow cab into Manhattan, and agree a fair up front - actually I think it is a standard fare, but it is best to confirm it. Don`t get suckered into a private driver, as we did, as it cost a small ransom, even if it was a limo, driven by a very nice driver!!!!)

RE: Speaker advice pleaswe

I currently have a Sony DTS DD5.1 amp, which although I would like to upgrade as well, I can live with for now. I am just looking for speakers at the mo.

I can probably go up to £1,000 if necessary.

Having said that I would also like to get a DVD HDD Recorder as well, but that`s another story :)

Cheers

Speaker advice pleaswe

I have been told in no uncertain terms by "she who must be obeyed" that she no longer wants to live in a batchelor pad :( . Therefore I need to replace my speakers with some that can be discreetly tucked away. Can`t see her problem really :)

They need to be good for both music and dvds (so will need to hook up to my 5.1 amp). I have looked at the BOSE Acoustimass 15 series, but have noticed some very mixed reviews on t`internet, and when coupled with the asscoated price tag, have made me wary.

I am not a serious audiophile, but I know what I like in terms of sound quality, but more importantly I know what I don`t.

As I have not upgraded my speakers for a while, I am a little out of touch with what is good and what is not. Does anyone have any comments on these BOSE speakers (good or bad), or indeed does anyone know of any speaker systems that are better (but still staying with the "small" theme)

Thanks for any help you can give.

RE: John Lewis Price Match

Interesting.......like you say no harm in asking....cheers

RE: John Lewis Price Match

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the reply, I thought that would be the case, I do take your point about overheads being more for a bricks and mortor store.

Cheers

John Lewis Price Match

I have read on a few threads about John Lewis price matching. I am after a Samsung LE32R74BDX, and have seen it on the internet for a lot less that what JL have it as, but I am drawn to the 5 years warranty, and te fact that they are on teh high street.

Does anyone know if they will price match internet prices?????

Thanks for your help.

Richard

RE: LCD TVs

Thanks for the reply......I will give it a look

I guess this is a "how long is a piece of string" type of question, but are there some makes and models that much better than the rest?

Thanks again

LCD TVs

:/ I have not kept up with the TV market and am now wanting to buy a 32 or 37 inch LCD TV. Does anyone have any advice on which are the best. I am looking to pay up to £1500, and would like it to be HD ready and have an integrated Freeview decoder.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Micro Hi-Fi`s connecting to more than one pair of speakers

Not sure if this has been asked before (and I apologise if it has), but I am looking to buy a micro hi-fi for our bedroom and connect two additional pairs of speakers to it via a speaker switch (one pair to be put in the bathroom). I don`t want to spend vast amounts on the system, as was looking at £200 for the hi-fi (obviously cables, speaker switch, and additional speakers will be extra).

First of all, is this possible, and secondly does anyone have any views on which hi-fis will allow this, and which should I be looking at?

Thanks for any help that can be given.

RE: Region 1 DVD playback problem

David,

I had the same problem with my Hitachi. If I played R1 they came out B+W, yet R2 were fine. It turned out that one of my scart sockets accepted S-Video only whereas the other accepted RGB input. My DVD outputs in RGB. Simply by switching the scart lead from the DVD to the socket that accepts RGB cured the problem.

Hope this helps.

RE: Advice on a centre speaker

Dave,

I have recently bought the Miss M72 including the rears and the centre you speak of.

The centre is a good speaker but I wouldn`t call it discrete in that it is quite wide. I am not too popular at home since buying it. If you were to sit it on top of your tv then it would stick out like a sore thumb. It is very difficult to find a TV stand that will take it (unless you go for a TV ench from IKEA). Other than that downside it is, as I say, a very god speaker.

Hope this helps

Richard

ITV on Sky Digital

Is it just me or has anyone else been experiencing problems watching ITV through SKY.

I live in the Granada region and after a while the sound goes out of synch with the mouths (its like watching a dodgy vid!). It doesn`t happen on any other channels. Also sometimes the picture breaks up and I get noise interference. Again this does not hapen with other channels.

Just when I thought that all channels were available through Sky, this happens.

Cheers

RE: Philips 32PW6515 - Techie Question!!!

Mitch,

Thanks for that. What do you think of the set. From what I have seen of it Currys, it looks good. Couldn`t tell the sound though because there were loads of people about. But am not too bothered as I have a surround system anyway.

Thanks again.

Philips 32PW6515 - Techie Question!!!

Does anyone know if the scart sockets on this tv will accept RGB input. The reason I ask is because I currently have an old Hitachi with an RGB scart and an S-Vid scart, when I play Region 1 DVDs through the S-Vid scart it is black and white but ok when played through the RGB scart. Is this because my TV does not accept NTSC?

I am looking to buy this Philips but do not know whether the scarts will accept RGB input from a Region1 DVD. Obvioulsy I don`t want to get this set and find that all my Region 1DVDs can only be played in B+W

Does anyone know if this set accepts both PAL and NTSC? When I asked this of the guy in my local Currys he tried to fob me off by saying that as RGB is a new technology, he was not sure? Can you believe that?

Although I hate places like Currys, the set is on offer at £850. This is only bettered by QED but I prefer to have a shop that I can cause a fuss in if things go the shape of pears. Call me old-fashioned I know.

RE: Panasonic Or Phillips??????

Thanks for all the replies. I have looked at the IKEA range and was going to visit the Warrington store.

I will let you know if Index are true to their word.

Thanks again

Richard

RE: Panasonic Or Phillips??????

Thanks Richard and Vormulac for your replies.

I phoned John Lewis in Cheadle and they said they wouldn`t price match the internet. Index has the Phillips and their catalogue says "we will not be beaten on price" When I phoned to make sure they said that they will not price match, but I have to buy the TV at the higher price and then inform them that I can buy it cheaper whereupon if it is the same model and the terms of the sale are exactly the same they will refund the difference. Bizarre I knopw. The girl I spoke to assures me (after repeatedly checking wih her supervisor) this does include the internet. However call me a sceptic but I think they would use any excuse not to price match the internet.

I will phone the head ofice of John Lewis to see if this is the case and will post the result.

Being able to manually switch the Panny DK1 puts a whole new spin on things, as I wasn`t aware that this was possible, and was the main reason for looking at the Phillips. I would be interested to find out what you think of the Panny.

I am still not sure about Qed though. I would prefer a bricks and mortar place to be able to go and kick up a fuss if I am not hapy with the service. However from previous posts this is not always the answer either. Having said that a £200 saving is still £200.

I did look at Ikea for a stand but none suited. I was thinking maybe of going to Habitat?!? As I said it is important in that it will keep "she who must be obeyed" off my back if I could get my AV Receiver/DVD/Vid/Sat/Mission M72 Centre all under the TV. Even the Phillips stand may not suffice, but I know the Panny stand will not even come close.

Would appreciate your thoughts and will let you know what JL head office say. Does anyone know any other high street vendors that will price match the internet

Panasonic Or Phillips??????

Thanks to all those that replied to my earlier post. I have seen the Panny 32DK1 for sale at Currys for £599, but the stand is crap (believe me it is important because I have to get my amp/vid/sat/dvd/centre speaker in it). Whilst I was there I spied a Phillips 32PW6515 for £949 (good stand!)

Does anyone know how these sets compare????

I have since seen the Phillips at QED for £749 and am finding out if Index would price match on the internet as they also have the model at £949. I am loathed to buy from the internet because I am always unsure where you would contact them if there was a problem....but £200???? (it`s tempting). Has anyone bought from QED? What was their service like?

Are there any stores that will price match the internet. I know Apollo200 will not (I vaguely remember someone posting something about John Lewis or Debenhams)

At the moment I am swaying towards the Phillips as you can play about with the picture format (something that the Panny seems incapable of - I might be wrong)

Any help would again be appreciated. Cheers

RE: Help.. Advice needed widescreen TVs

Thanks for all the input, definately food for thought.

One more question, is there a big difference between 50Hz and 100Hz scan, and can you still but 50Hz scan tvs? Is is worth paying the extra £000s.

Thanks again

Richard

Help.. Advice needed widescreen TVs

Could someone please help me....

I have just purchased a Sony STRDe875 amp, and NS400 DVD player with the Mission M72 Surround speaker package (with a Kef sub). My tv is an 8yr old Hitachi 4.3 ratio, so obviously I have a letter box appearance with DVDs so I am looking at upgrading it to a 32 inch widescreen and would appreciate some advice.

I have looked at the Sony KV32FQ75 but have ben put off by some recent posts. I don`t want to spend a fortune on a Tv that comes with extra speakers that I wouldn`t use because I have got them already, I basically need a really good monitor. Also Does anyone know when they are going to start phasing out analogue transmissions, because it is pointless spending £1250+ on a tv that will become obselete when digital tv is prevelant. Having said that digital tvs that are available now seem hideously expensive and after having spent £1200 already I cannot justify it to "she who must be obeyed".

So is the FQ75 good or are there other makes models out there that are better. Ideally I need one with a large stand so that I can fit all the differnet components underneath (amp, dvd, vid, sat and M72 centre spkr).

Any help greatly appreciated.....Cheers

Richard

RE: sony str475 a point in the right direction please.....

Peter,

I have just bought the STRDE875 for £350 from a local HiFi shop When connected to Mission M72 Surround Pack it sounds great. However you have to play around with the sound fields. I know you can get this amp cheaper on the internet (try techtronics.com or richersounds) I bought the whole lot form one shop because they gave me a 3 yr warranty. Like you I couldn`t justify the 1070. The 875 is virtual 6.1 so that you don`t need a sixth speaker (whether this is good or not will depend on whether you are a HiFi buff or not - it does the job for me).

Hope this helps

Richard