AVRant #33: Christmas List 2007 part 2
Tom and Dina continue their Christmas buying guide. Dina has much more to say this time. Tom describes his Black Friday experience and Dina gives him a few hints for next year. What does Best Buy want you to impulse buy? You’re going to need a bigger cart. Dina spends a few minutes pimping Apple products. How to Dina and Tom feel about digital cameras? Listen in to find out. Don’t piss Dina off, she’s packing. We’ve got a Jonathan down! What test disc has a menu system designed by the Devil? Tom reveals all. Dina gives a great suggestion for your music lover. Thanks for listening and have a merry Christmas!
Tom’s Suggestions:
Fun clocks, watches, and gadgets
USB Rocket Launcher –
Gadgets and Calibration
Spl meter (digital – $50)
AVIA ($50)
HQV ($20)
Spyder TV ($230)
Oppo HM-31 ($99)
Games – Halo 3, Rock Band, Mass Effect, Bio Shock, Skate, Dirt, COD 4, Crysis, The Orange Box, Super Mario Galaxy
Projectors and Screens:
Optima HD70 ($800 after rebate)
Retractable 80″ projection screen ($250)
Epson Home Cinema 1080 ($2,200)
Carada Masquerade ($2500)
Speakers
Budget Bookshelf Speakers – Usher S-520s ($400) –
Small speakers – Energy Take Classic ($600) or Orbs ($1300)
Budget Towers – RBH TK-5C’s ($850)
High end Bookshelf – Dali Mentor 1 ($1800)
Room Correction
Room Treatments – DIY, Auralex, Ready Acoustics, GIK, RealTraps
Budget – SMS-1
High end – Audyssey MultEQ Pro
Transports
Oppo – 980h ($169)
Whatever cheap HD DVD or Blu-ray player you can find
Furniture – go for something reclining – make sure you sit on it. Removable cupholders are nice. Center loveseat preferable
Receivers
Denon or Onkyo – remember you don’t need to have internal decoding or upconversion – look for 7.1 inputs and outputs (for upgrades and amps)
Amps – Emotiva – bang for buck can’t be beat.
Subs –
Emotiva (1k, 2subs, room correct)
JL Audio (2-11k)
Servers –
Olive – Audiophile grade, easy on and off, good aesthetics… it all works,
Transporter to stream from computer
Music – what s/he likes or something from AIX
Movies – AVRant #20
Dina’s Suggestions (no links because she doesn’t love you like I do)
GPS (Tom Tom One)
iPhone (of course)
new iPod Nano
Creative Aurvana XFi Noise Canceling Headphones
Universal Remote (Harmony 1000)
Video or Digital Camera (Sanyo Xacti)
Pedometer or Heart Rate Monitor (I have a Polar heart rate monitor which I love)
Leatherman Pocketknife (I don’t care what Tom says, it’s cool)
Paste Magazine subscription
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Dina, I really loved your suggestions. I carry a pocket knife wherever I go and use it all the time. Also, I work in a very noisy enviroment and love to listen to music while I’m working. I’ve tried some active noise cancelers that work pretty well, but if J. hasn’t tried a good pair of IN Ear Monitors, he’ll be blown away. You hear NOTHING but the music, and they don’t use batteries!
Tom, what the heck? No Pocket knife? I have one on my key chain. It’s not as cool as a Leatherman, but I use the knife to open all those boxes of stuff I buy off the internet. I use the scissors a lot, too! Anyway, maybe you would be able to play Halo 3 better if you were packin’ a pocket knife!!
I do need to get a nice pair of in-ears…. Maybe a review early next year!!!
*cough*Westone 3’s*cough*
Dudes (and dudette) I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry christmas; thanks for all the podcasts this year, they were a blast.
Merry Christmas right back atcha!
Merry Christmas all! You guys are the best. Even if you are all knife-packing freaks 😉
Hey, I don’t carry a knife. Mostly.