I live in a manhattan apt (ie small), and my home theater is on the south end of my apt, facing west, room is long north-south about 30ft but narrow east-west (about 10ft). NHT sub zeros on shelves have 10ft of room before hitting the wall behind my couch, only other spkr I have is a hsu research sub (beside my couch). Prob I have is sound is much louder at the north end of my apt (kitchen area) and quiet at the south end of my apt (around my couch, the listening area). Tried adjusting the angle of the speakers, but no luck. AV receiver is a low-end Pioneer elite, 2yr old model.

Has anyone had any listening experience with the Monster Cable Z4 or Z3 speaker cables. A friend of mine had another name brand of cable and tried the Z3 and said the left/right imaging was much better and the highs were more resolved. I currently use XLO ultra cable and do like them but I wonder if the Z3 or Z4 might be better? Apparently Circuit City sells the Z3 for $168/pair for 10 feet and the Z4 for $224/pair. Any opinions?? Thanks!

They're both pretty much done for the year by the end of September.

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How are Halloween and A Rod different?

People who like Halloween have something to look forward to in October.

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Sorry for being OT, just figured with Stereophile having so many staffers in NYC, I could take the shot.

very newbie - I *finally* bought a good system, I've been putting it off for too long. I got a Cayin 50T (tube amp) and DALI Ikon 6 speakers. I am using Lossless encoding from iTunes and an older CD player I have.

When I power the amp I can hear a slight hum through the speakers. Not too bad, but on some quiet tracks at volume I can hear it. Is that normal? It occurs even if I am not playing anything (no difference between CD player and iTunes).

Thanks for the help.

Great updates this month. Very insightful and chock full of ineteresting stuff.

Category A.

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The show blog was also killer diller.

Kudos on that, as well. I couldn't go, but you really lessened my pain!

Category A+.

(JA, yours was good, too. JVS just especially kicked ass!)

Hey all,

THanks for having me on your boards!

I've read a few of these "how do I start" messages on the Entry Level, but I thought I'd add my own post - every case is different and perhaps my own post will address my unique needs (even though I probably don't know what they are!)

Here's my basics:

1) Love music. Love love love.

2) Had the same stereo system for years - until, piece by piece, the damn thing fell apart (I've been pretty poor for the last 10 years or so - freelance writer/theater director so not a lot of $$$ to spend on a good system).