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Thats really cool. Its like those amazing bose noise cancelling headphones.

I have wondered if it was possible to do this in my house. Where I live there is a lot of people who like to scream at each other alot, and it rather gets on the nerves. It would be cool if you could record your neighbourhood noises, and instantly replay them out of phase into your living room. Presto. The beautiful sounds of silence.

Aircraft noise was the motivation behind Dr. Amar Bose, founder of Bose, to start thinking about noise reducing headphones and the rest is history.

Aircraft noise was the motivation behind Dr. Amar Bose, founder of Bose, to start thinking about noise reducing headphones and the rest is history.

Of course, those of us with the Bose Wave Radio have enjoyed ultra hi-fi purified aural utopia for years, but it's nice to see the rest of the world making a starter attempt to catch up. By next June I will have my graphite grey model almost paid off, and will almost certainly fix my sights on the white one!! And then I will be uber.

Has somebody actually tested their 3.2.1 GS system, or its predecessor? They claim these systems can create a 5.1 experience using only 2 speakers and a bass box. And the system doesn't seem to depend on reflection on the side walls.

Has somebody actually tested their 3.2.1 GS system, or its predecessor? They claim these systems can create a 5.1 experience using only 2 speakers and a bass box. And the system doesn't seem to depend on reflection on the side walls.

Vanu is the son of Amar Bose, founder of Bose, the maker of all of those great speakers. Another MIT wizkid.

Have you ever heard of ear plugs? They are really nice even now on flights, they help deaden the constant drone of the engines.

Anyway, the airlines will probably just install personal noise cancellation devices in each seat (like these active noice cancelling headphones. Then the real trick is just to charge you for the comfort of silence--you get to use your phone for free.

--jdan

Anyway, that's a roundabout way of saying that we can agree to disagree, but I wish the audiophiles would spend more time listening to the engineers and less time reading glossy magazines.

Actually I agree with just about every point you make. I don't have a problem with the technical description of the performance of a piece of equipment, nor do I find the fuzzy terminology used by many audiophiles to be offensive.

Maybe I represent a weird micro-segment of the market but personally I find both views informative. I do find slavish regurgitation of magazine reviews to be irritating no matter the topic. Especially since many of the magazines in the Audiophile scene are rife with inaccuracies and misleading "facts".

There is also a good deal of the classic "It's more expensive so it must be better" mentality out there. I do not need a $9000 pair of speakers to enjoy my music. But nor do I wish to have a $800 pair of consumer grade Bose speakers when I can get more sonically accurate Vandersteen's for about the same price (or for that matter pay half as much and have a pair of appealing Signet bookshelf units).

Still, as you so clearly demonstrated in your comment regarding your most memorable listening experience, music should ultimately be about the emotions and memories evoked by what you are listening to, not the hardware driving it. Any true music lover (audiophile or not) should appreciate that.

I followed the HeadWize project, but couldn't quite get the phase cancellation right; it was good to burn my fingers on the soldering iron again :-)

I tried Brookstone's NC headphones, found them to be OK but not very comfortable; I eventually splashed the $300 on the Bose QuietComfort and haven't looked back. They are fantastic, thoroughly recommended.

• SONY MBR-NC20
  Good cancelling. Excellent in machine rooms and labs. Comfortable and easy to wear on a flight.
• Panasonic (about 80$)
  Insurance company bought these as a replacement for the NC20's. Not impressed. The build quality is noticably worse and the cancellation is poor as well. These headphones do not sit well on your head and are uncomfortable in a matter of minutes.
• David Clark H10-13XL
  Big passive attenuation with ANC as well. Very comfortable. I can wear these all day, sadly, you can't really plug your MP3 player into these and you'd look a bit daft on the tube in these.

• SONY MBR-NC20
  Good cancelling. Excellent in machine rooms and labs. Comfortable and easy to wear on a flight.
• Panasonic (about 80$)
  Insurance company bought these as a replacement for the NC20's. Not impressed. The build quality is noticably worse and the cancellation is poor as well. These headphones do not sit well on your head and are uncomfortable in a matter of minutes.
• David Clark H10-13XL
  Big passive attenuation with ANC as well. Very comfortable. I can wear these all day, sadly, you can't really plug your MP3 player into these and you'd look a bit daft on the tube in these.

I would like to happily note that two high-class consumer electronic companies notice that people want mp3 playback from custom-mixed cds. one of which, already tried the SDMI route.

Sony
Bose

People want simplicity... not the ball-and-chain "digital rights management" approach of WindowsMedia.

After playing around with fans and such in my rig, I finally gave in and bought a set of bose noise cancelling headphones. They work well; the only problem is that you've got a well-sealed headphone on your head (leading to warm sweaty ears!), and they are somewhat spendy ($300). When I put them on, I can still hear the computer, but it's at a reasonable level. When I take off the headphones, I am consistently amazed at how loud the computer is! My comfortable music level I usually less than the computer!

(Just FYI, it's a dual athlon, 3 hard drive computer in a room with a lot of hard surfaces in an otherwise quiet house) Also, sony has two noise cancelling headphones, but the open-ear design one seemed ineffective, the closed-ear version seemed to add to much 'hiss' of its own.

Well, it is difficult to decide from your post on what system is "the best" because it depends on personal taste (does a lot of "Kawumm" Bass make a good system for you?) and the room situation.
You should try and go out to respected dealers like Magnolia Hifi and go into their test rooms.
But, since I don't wanna make this a stupid "go figure it our for yourself post" let's try it anyway.
1) you have a limited budget of 1500$ which rules out a lot of Receiver options like BK or high class Denons. Good quality for the buck is delivered by Sony. You should try to look out for special deals on Sony "ES" (elevated standard) Receivers like the Sony STR-V333ES . You should be able to get a deal at around 700$. You really should go for the ES standard components here because of better parts used in the system.
2) Speakers. Hmmmm, this is a real personal taste question. I, personally, made good experiences with Bose systems like the Acoustimass 10 which sells at $999 and gives you the freedom to hide the middle and lower frequency module anywhere in the room while putting up only stylish little speakers. JBL is also a good choice and, usually, slightly cheaper. So, I hope this helps a little.

The basic Bose home theater cube system comes with 10 cubes and an impressive horn subwoofer....has absolutely EXCELLENT sound quality, and its volume output will really surprise you. They are quite inconspicuous and very easy to mount. The only downside is that they must be used with a Bose amplifier.....of course, thats built into the subwoofer. Oh - and this 10 cube/subwoofer/tuner&amp costs approximately $1300 (US) - within your budget - and still leaves 200 for the tuner of your choice (i recommend the Bose one of course). If there is a Bose store anywhere near you (I know a couple in the Southern California area) DEFFINATELY stop by and take a look.....when you're making a $1500 investment its wise to shop arround a little and experience the products for yourself. Bose webpage

The basic Bose home theater cube system comes with 10 cubes and an impressive horn subwoofer....has absolutely EXCELLENT sound quality, and its volume output will really surprise you. They are quite inconspicuous and very easy to mount. The only downside is that they must be used with a Bose amplifier.....of course, thats built into the subwoofer. Oh - and this 10 cube/subwoofer/tuner&amp costs approximately $1300 (US) - within your budget - and still leaves 200 for the tuner of your choice (i recommend the Bose one of course). If there is a Bose store anywhere near you (I know a couple in the Southern California area) DEFFINATELY stop by and take a look.....when you're making a $1500 investment its wise to shop arround a little and experience the products for yourself. Bose webpage

Home control systems should be in distinct separate parts, all networked (home crash anyone?)...

System 1 (Home Functions):
Sprinklers (w/ auto rain sensing)
Lights (timed exterior/interior lights)
Burglar System
Toaster (?)

System 2 (Entertainment):
Am I the only one who doesn't want the big black stack of components sitting out in the open?
I love the Bose sound systems- how the major componentry is in the subwoofer (behind the couch/tv/console), and the only visible items are the small cube speakers. Then comes the DVD... why can't they integrate that into the cd player? (I even emailed them about that).
So, that takes care of the sound/dvd (if they integrate it).
Manual switch to turn on/off sound to other parts of the home (including back patio)

System 3 (Communication):
I want the home networked, but I want to get away from the computer sometimes- but if my computer could IM the tv (or monitor) when the phone rings with the caller ID, then I'd know whether to let the machine get it, or pick it up during "important" movies.
Another thing I want is a "smart" answering machine that gives specific messages to specific callers- ie:
Mom: I'm busy and I'll call you back!
SigOther: I'm in the middle of a big project
Friend: dude- I'm fraggin- join my quake server!
Everyone else: Leave a message

In other words, I'd rather have total control over my home, but NOT in ONE INTEGRATED BOX.

Have a look at www.bose.com, some very small speakers and the sound is great for something so small, even got some bass !

Have a look at the Acoustimass®-3 Series III for example, about USD 300.

If you want half decent quality it's worth getting a seperate power amp and real home/sterio speakers rather than the evil PC ones with built in amps. If you got the above you could add a little amp and still be under you USD500 budget with great sound.

Cheers,
R.