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2003 Magna TV upgrade.

Yahoo Message Number: 109770
Hi All

I asked this question before but I can't find the responds that was sent. Has anyone upgraded the Tv & sound system in their 03/04 Magna with the drop down from the ceiling TV. The old plasma panasonic tv & bose av321 surround are just outdated. They do not HDMI connection make it hard to add blue ray, etc. Also the receiver cabinet is so tight that I haven't found a receiver that will fit. Any suggest will help.

Thanks Greg

Re: 2003 Magna TV upgrade.

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 109771
Greg,

Good question I hope we some great suggestions. Thanks for asking the question I have the exact same problem maybe not with the blue tooth?

Chris

03 Magna 42'

Re: 2003 Magna TV upgrade.

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 109773
Greg,

I replace the Panasonic plasma monitor with a 42" Panasonic smart LED TV. I ran four HDMI in cables back to the A/V cabinet and have attached them to a Bluray, a streaming box and a spare that I used to connect to my DirecTV receiver which I no longer use. There is an additional spare as well. I also ran coax to the TV for antenna and cable. I completely reworked the switch gear in the cabinet as most of it is no longer necessary. I also ran a an HDMI out to the AV cabinet in case I want to install a replacement for the Bose. I have also installed a DVR device for off air recording.

I removed the Bose but have not replaced it as my hearing is so bad that music just doesn't work for me any longer.

Everything I watch is either off air, park cable or streamed. Life is good when the cable is cut.

Replacement of the TV is pretty basic. All the trim around the TV must be removed when it is down. The hard part is measuring the mounting hole locations on the TV and transferring those measurements accurately to the metal mounting plate that is exposed when the trim is removed. Once that is done the cables described above can easily be run through the ceiling and the two access locations between the TV and the AV cabinet.

When you are done, and the trim replaced, there is no visual difference between the original and the new. My setup works perfectly and Jan and I are very happy with the change.

We also reworked the bedroom TV to a flatscreen, Bluray and streaming device. Used an articulating arm mount to install the LED flat screen and built new shelving and trim board to fill the space left over from the old TV. Easy project.

Good luck with yours.

George in Birmingham
'03 Magna 6298
George in Birmingham
2003 Magna 6298

Re: 2003 Magna TV upgrade.

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 109781
The industry is going through some major changes right now. The sales of 3D sets did not go over well and 4K is reaching a plateau sooner than manufacturers would like. And yet there are still significant numbers of standard definition TV's still being used, today. So some broadcasters have still not gone with total emersion into hight definition let alone accepting 4k. Movie producers in order to make capturing the best they can have requested the development of 8K that they can easily crop to 4K and they in addition have expanded the dynamic range of the picture by making the bits longer in length and making the displays brighter again for ease of viewing in the home. These benefit us greatly with brighter 4 K sets and in the very near future 8K sets. The issue is how will we receive programming. So as all of us face these changes with 8K becoming the standard by 2020 take care with your TV selections.

Just as a note 8k displays have been shown at CES show in Vegas for three years with 98" and 65" sets being available for the first time to consumers. The prices are even more horrendous than the first large screen Plasmas, but that will soon change. The question where will the source material come from. Well the Super Bowl this week will be using 8K cameras in the majority and the Nexrt Olympics will be totally 8K though transmitted via 4k. So the handwriting is on the wall. The pictures will be brighter, blacker, and be free of artifacts such as smearing grass and blurred objects as the cameras capture the action.

Sound in a motor home in the Stereo mode can be quite entertaining and enjoyable. But Home theatre sound in a coach is a challenge for sure that no one has conquered. That includes Prevosts. There's a company that now makes a 16 channel 200 watt/channel integrated processor amplifier, that can be configured into any set up. you could have 5 channel HT speakers and 11 subs if you wanted to or do a 7.4. 2 set as recommended for 4K and still 3 channels left over for a 2.1 system in the bed room. Who knows what the industry will decide for 8K. I,m just happy with 7.0 at home and 5.1 in the coach. And the coach is definitely a poor compromise to the home system. Its not the level, or the frequency response or the distortion, its the intelligibility of the coach system. And like all coach systems that it where they all come up very short. I could wire a book on the subject, and if I were 30 years younger, I might take on the challenge of designing and executing such a system., but, now is the time to have fun and enjoy life and not try to cure one of the RV industries short comings. TWI 2004 Intrigue 11731

Re: 2003 Magna TV upgrade.

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 109783
Thomas hit the nail on the head about all of the changes in play. And sure, seems like every three to four years, the industry has something else that lets the moths escape our wallets to have the 'Latest and greatest!'... (Though I usually wait to let things simmer, and for prices to drop.)

Probably the best bang for the buck on a replacement would be a 4K TV, after the Super Bowl when the clearance sales hit. Top end Samsung, and or Sony's are good choices. LG also has some good products at the higher level too.

Or spend just a bit more, and get a 4K HDR set, which is probably the current upper edge of useable technology in TV's. Price differences should not be that much, in the sales ranges.

We went with a 40" (Cabinet mounted, and replaced a 26", so a nice improvement.) 4K top end Samsung. At the 40" size, not all manufactures bring their best tech. This was before HDR was rolling out.

For home 13 months earlier, we replaced our home TV. We went with the top quality Samsung 55" (Again a space constraint on where we have this set up.) 3D TV. Not for the 3D, we've watched maybe 5-6 movies in 3D just to say we did it:)!. But because the processor was superior in the 3D, which trickled down to a better quality 4K picture too.

If shopping to day for either home or RV, I'd go with 4K HDR unit. I helped a friend a month ago, and we both liked the Sony 4K HDR, his is 65". Though the top dog Samsung 4K HDR was about $850 less expensive, and had an outstanding picture too.

For Bluray, I'm a fan of Oppo with the Darby chip.

I'll do a second update later today on my approach to replacing the Bose 3-2-1.

Best to all,

Smitty
04 Allure Sold to a nice new owner! Now enjoying a 07 Magna Rembrandt 45' ISX600 #6775
"We're ONDROAD for THEJRNY!" (Toad and Coach license plates, say Hi if you see us!)

Re: 2003 Magna TV upgrade.

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 109792
My approach was to take the Bose system out and throw it away. I installed a NAD combo DVD/CD/tuner AV receiver for the control unit and installed 5 M&K satellite speakers with a M&K dual 8" self powered sub. At least you can aim the speakers in the correct direction. Ceiling speakers are just not the answer as they spread the sound everywhere with very little reaching the listing position. Whose M&K? They are the speakers Industrial Light and Magic used to mix all their famous movies . Star wars, Indiana Jones, etc. NAD is a famous British sound manufacturer whose electronics are famous for the smooth non fatiguing sound they produce, unlike most Asian electronics. TWI 2004 Intrigue 11731
 

Re: 2003 Magna TV upgrade.

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 109793
As far as sound is concerned, I break this down into two kinds of sound: 1) TV/Movie/Concert viewing Surround Sound like listening. 5.1/7.1/11.2/etc.)

As mentioned, very difficult to obtain very good Surround Sound in these sardine cans we call rolling homes:)! Was just not a real priority to me, but for those that want he full surround sound experience. You can get close enough to fake you out, via a good quality sound bar. Or better, a L/R/C enter speakers, and then look for an AVR that allow simulated surround sound. (Usually these include a speaker that you set up and then run a series of adjustments that automatically tunes for the room.)

2) HiFi Stereo sound. This is what was important to me, and the DW was nice enough to just shake her head and let me do what I want.

We had Matin Loagan ElectoMotion R's installed into the ceiling.

http://www.martinlogan.com/architectural/electromotion/em-r.php

These are designed to be ceiling mounted at home, with a built in angle of the woofer and ribbon like tweeter towards the sitting area. Due to the lower ceiling height in the coach, we had worked with the installer and used two soni tubes (Used concrete footings.) cut at about a 15 degree angle from straight up/down. We mounted these in the ceiling, and then the ElectroMotion R's into them. The extra 15 degree of angle, along with the already existing angle built into the speaker, gets the sound dispersed back and at a good angle for listening, especially when sitting down, getting our ears 5' below the ceiling. We have a two slide drivers side only coach. The living room slide is the deeper version. We have two recliners that we slide our from the side slide wall, but our heads are just about flush with where the side of the coach is when the slides are not extended. For this reason, we had the speakers turned in that direction. The speakers have about 5' separation, not ideal for HiFi, but what we could do with our environment.

We went with the Marantz NRxxxx series, because of size (Would easily fit our existing stereo cabinet, not as deep as many AVR's.). And it also had great reviews on the two channel sound reproduction front. We used their room correction system, and set up two different zones for listening. Zone 1 is with the microphone placed at our average ear level, and between where the two of sit. (Our primary listening arrangement.). Zone 2 we set the microphone at a compromise in the middle of the coach, at about 5' from the floor (5' is closer to the average 4' of some one sitting in the chairs and or couch. And say 6' of people standing. We use Zone 2 when we're in cooking mode, as we're both standing.

Took about 300-350 hours for the Martin Logan's to break in, and relatively pleased with the sound reproduction they're capable of. The Marantz NR AVR does a great job of driving them. 8' woofer, so I waited to see if we needed a stand alone sub to augment them. Three years later, have not added one. Maybe 5-10% of any music we're listening to is impacted from missing lower base presence.

We have a mix of lossless ripped Red Book and SACD. Probably 45 DVD concerts. And stream Pandora/Spotify (Really miss Mog!), at the highest quality level settings. (Streaming is augmented by a stand alone Musical Fidelity V-Link 192 DAC, in bypass mode thru the AVR. Our hard drive is fed into our Oppo BDP-95 Darby, which has a better DAC then the AVR has available.

===========

I think if someone is just looking for a simple solution to provide a mix of HiFi and simulated Surround Sound. I'd recommend the Marantz NRxxxx (They come in different power outputs, but frankly even 50W is more then enough in an RV.) And probably the Panorama sound bar series. Before we made the final change of our entertainment, I'd been very pleased with the mini looking Meridian F80. Not really a sound bar, but we had this mounted upside down for about two years, and it produced amazing sound from such a small package.

Best to all, and for sure, many ways to skin this sound cat:)!

Smitty

04 Allure 31017
04 Allure Sold to a nice new owner! Now enjoying a 07 Magna Rembrandt 45' ISX600 #6775
"We're ONDROAD for THEJRNY!" (Toad and Coach license plates, say Hi if you see us!)