Anyone using their video and sound calibration equipment? I am close to purchasing but am looking for feedback from current users. I do very few dedicated theater rooms as most of my customers are building vacation homes. I do however set about 4 or 5 plasmas a month and have a few big jobs coming up. I currently am using AudioControl 12 channel amps and am switching to the new model with the EQ for each set. I am thinking this will definately help balance out some of these lively rooms with hardwood and tile. Is their gear worth the $12K upfront expense? Is it reliable and easy to use? Any other insite would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

I have the VP403 signal generator the CP500 Color Analizer and SP295C Audio Analizer. I'm very happy with them as a matter of fact I just order the new ACP6500 Auto Calibration software and the DAG5161 Audio generator. You don't need to put all the money upfront; you can finance the gear. They are a great company to deal with. Speak to Jerry Palleschi at ext 216 he is a great guy. Let's suppose that you calibrate just one Plasma or a Home Theater's accustics a month that will cover the monthly payment of the gear. I'm not familiar with the Audio control gear but the only use of parametric equalizers for bass will make the difference.

I would give a serious look at Color Facts. As good or better equipment for less money. I own Sencore equipment and don't care that much for it. I wish I had checked the others before I bought. They are pretty much a marketing first company, technology and hardware are secondary. Kind of like the Monster Cable of Color analyzers.

I am of two minds. I spent a fair amount of money purchasing new test equipment at CEDIA and spent a lot of time looking at video calibration test equipment. I spent over an hour in their booth and an equal amount of time at a competitor's. I am not convinced that Sencore is worth the significant investment they demand. If you purchase a competitor's product that relies on your lap top and software the cost is less than 2k so what do you get from Sencore? 1. Experience 2. supposedly a data base than makes their automatic configuration software work. But ONLY Pioneer Elite and Runco(!) have signed on. No Panasonic, no Sony, no Fujitsu, no LG ( Zenith ), no Samsung. 3. Dependability. 4) Stand alone equipment ( don't need a lap top ).

I buy these arugments to a point. A 12k investment in a product that will NEVER pay for itself is hard to justify. I believe you need to perform video calibration if you want to play at high end instalations. I own CATV field signal strength meters, CAT5 certifiers, TDR tester, RF spectrum analyzer, all sorts of continuitey testers, 1/12 and 1/3 octive spectrum analyzers amoung others. I just purchased a satellite TDR meter. I believe in having tools. The only tool other than a color analyzer is an oscilliscope. But I think using your computer and software may be a better or more judicious use of cash flow than the Sencore solution. In short I believe Sencore is over priced. I only wish I had not spent $6500 on a CAT5 certifier last year considering the unit I purchased this time for $1100.00. In short, Sencore makes a supurb product and is a company with a long history in building test equipment. I do not think thair audio test equipment is any better than the Goldline units I already own. It is the best and it has the best reputation but I just think the price is too high for what you get considering you will not make money off of the investment. I am close to buying the competitor's software solution for 2k - which I can almost justify. If you have more cash than you know what to do with than go ahead I invest in Sencore. They are the best but boy, are they overpriced. want to bet that within 2 years the price comes down by half?

If you could share the costs with other firms than............

Alan

Here is my .02.

For a color analyzer I would consider Ovation's Opticone and AVIA Pro. It can read lower light levels and takes readings much faster than the CP-5000. Plus it is less expensive.
[Link: ovationsw.com]

For a signal generator I think the Sencore VP403 can't be beat but is expensive. Being able to use the RF to calibrate the whole chain on Cable/ SAT/ OTA is unmatched. Also, with opticone's software it can control the 403 as well take automatic reading with AVIA Pro. I don't own this one YET as we have a different signal generator and it gets expensive to constantly upgrade. But, it's on my wish list. Actually, I wish there was a cheaper version to just do the RF. Other signal generators can only calibrate the display and not the chain. But, if I were buying new today this would be it.
[Link: sencore.com]

For Audio I think the Sencore is a nice all in one unit. Goldline you will have to get the RTA and separate signal generators. Either will do the job fine though but make sure you consider all the extra costs no matter which unit you choose. If you are willing to go a little further in your audio calibration knowledge then I would get the Goldline-PMI TEF 20 system. It is in a another league for calibrating audio compared to the RTA. It is also a step up in price and education as well. The Tef 20 is what we use.
[Link: gold-line.com]
[Link: gold-line.com]

Either way I'd pick up the Goldline-PMI Audio Toolkit 5.1 DVD. It is a nice tool to have for the money.
[Link: gold-line.com]

An oscilloscope is a nice tool to have as well. Make sure you get one with enough bandwidth. Also, it is another device you need to learn if you have never used one before.

Hope this helps.

Bob

Thanks guys.

Any other insite?

This message was edited by oex on 10/06/04 23:07 ET.

bump

Sencore is more than a good marketing company, but like audible solutions mentioned they're expensive and in retrospect I would spend my money on test gear differently. However, at the time I bought my calibration equipment nobody had truely an equivalent product. I'm just having a hard justifying the upgrade price for the new VP403 when I haven't paid off or been able to completely amortized the old equipment.

Because of Sencore leadership in this field, we are now able to buy competitive equipment. They make good test gear, but it's still freakin expensive. Like buying a Fluke DMM, they cost more. Only you can decide if it's worth it.