New Toy -- Samsung SCH-a930

Our cell phone contract was up for renewal and my provider gives a $100 credit towards a new phone. I wanted a phone with cool features and one that also looked good.

After looking at all the phones available and looking at reviews for them, I chose a new model by Samsung, the SCH-a930. The black on black really caught my eye. I call it my Darth Vader phone.




This model has features such as a 1.3 megapixel camera phone, camcorder, and WMA player (Microsoft's version of mp3). It uses TransFlash technology so I can easily transfer songs and pictures from computer to phone and vice versa. It also has Mobile Web so you can get news clips and other information quickly.

I have been using Audacity to take existing mp3's and cutting them down to make my own ringtones.

Overall, I am really enjoying this phone.

Polk Audio FXi3 Surround Additions

I finally got my new surrounds earlier this week -- a pair of Polk FXi3's. YEAH! Now my 5 main speakers all match. All I can say is "WOW!" I have never heard so much detail in the rear channels before. Simply amazing.

After intially installing them, I had to turn down the level to them. My old Sony's were set at +6 in relation to my other Polk's which are all set at zero. After playing some movies and the built-in test tones on my receiver, I changed the surrounds to zero as well.

My next thing to do it run the new speaker wire to the rears. I already have the holes in the ceiling and the walls to fish the wire through. So once the wire is in place, drywall is repaired, and walls painted, I will take pictures of my entire setup and post them. I will also run the SPL on them to make sure all levels are set correctly.

Until then, its back to listening to my new speakers and waiting until the next upgrade -- an SVS subwoofer. Maybe by Christmas.

Polk Audio RTi4 and CSi3 Impressions

NOTE: This is not a full review. The following statements are simply my thoughts and impressions of the speakers in my home theater.

Okay, I've had my new speakers (RTi4's in front and a CSi3 for the center) for about four weeks or so. I can't believe the difference these speakers have produced over my old ones.

I guess I need to digress and talk a little about what I had before my Polk Audio purchase. I had the Sony SA-VE525 5.1 Satellite speaker package. It consisted of 5 satellite speakers that each had two 2" full range speakers. The Sony subwoofer included in this package is a powered 8" ported enclosure. A Sony STR-DE675 receiver powers the entire setup.

Since I have only upgraded my front sound stage, my surrounds and subwoofer are still the Sony's from the above mentioned package. They will eventually be upgraded with Polk Audio Fxi3 surround's and an SVS PB10-ISD box subwoofer.

When I first installed the speakers, I immediately noticed a difference in the sound. It was much more full. There seemed to be a frequency range that I was completely missing previously -- the entire mid range. Over the past couple of weeks, I noticed another difference, the midrange that was previously missing is really coming into its own. It seems to be getting fuller. I am not saying that the speakers were bright before this change, but they are just becoming even more warm than when I first installed them.

Since I have a smaller room (15'x11'), I did not feel that I needed larger speakers. After searching online, visiting many home theater forums, and listening to many, many speakers, I decided on the above configuration. I think with this configuration, my front sound stage is phenomenal.

Since the RTi4's are wall mounted using the B-Tech BT77 wall mounts, I was able to flip the speakers upside down so the tweeters would be closer to the same level as the center channel. I listened to the speakers both ways and feel that the upside down configuration gives the best sound. When the speakers were in their "normal" configuration with the tweeters at the top of the speaker, I felt that I could hear them more. When the tweeters are on the bottom, I feel that they blend in with the center and disappear.

The RTi4's are equally satisfying in both a 5.1 and 2.1 configuration. The CSi3 performs extremely well with everything I have thrown at it. I used an SPL to calibrate my setup and actually found that my receiver's left side is about 4-5db lower than the right side. Unfortunately, my receiver cannot modify the right and left separately. They are seen as fronts... period.

The main reason I chose the Polk speakers was for the warmness that I heard during my previews in the various stores I went to.

In the end, I have been completely pleased with this purchase. I cannot wait until my next upgrade... will it be a receiver... a subwoofer... or surrounds...?