The Insignia H2002 Home Theatre project by cleaverb
Funny how things happen by accident. We shall start with a short background story, and then we will get to the project.
The story begins
I had an Emerson EWR20V5 DVD/VHS recorder that was giving me dvd-r recording errors. So i was shopping on eBay, trying to find a bargain dvd recorder. As with anything, i bid low and just watch to see how much the winning bids are. There were many 'used' Insignia DVD recorders being offered by a company that, apparently bought the returned merchandise from some major retailers. Namely Best Buy. I watched several of these decks go for around $30-$40 , and that was much cheaper than buying a replacement at Walmart (the Emerson was $225.00 new). I probably missed out on (at least) 5 recorders before i won mine.I placed the first (opening) bid at one penny, but my actual bid was $35. The shipping was $20.00 for UPS. Then something remarkable occured - nobody else placed a bid on the Insignia - and i won it for 1 cent !! Effing A , i hurried over to Paypal and sent my payment in. The seller was doing large volume - over 100 items per day, so i expected a delay in shipping. But the next day (if recalled correctly) UPS sent me a 'shipping notification' , to expect a UPS truck to arrive at my house on friday.Won the auction on monday, receive item on friday ? Wow. This is going to be awesome.
The box seemed too large for a simple DVD recorder.
On friday, i heard the truck pull up and stop at my house. I was at the door before the driver. Only, he was carrying a huge box ; the DVD recorder i bought is about 3 inches tall, by 17 wide and 14 deep. The box he carried to my front door was over 12 x 24 x 24 . But it was a retail box, and i could plainly see the Insignia logo and the DVD logo, so i accepted the package.
Shit. This was a heavy box, too. The box said "Home theatre" . The box was still sealed; i don't think it had ever been opened, let alone returned as defective.
The Specs on the side of the box.
But i thought about it, while opening the box; whatever was in the box IS MINE. And it only cost me $20 . I fully expected to find a ton of packing peanuts inside. Instead, there was a molded styrofoam panel. On top is the remote control, batteries (for the remote) and a cheap FM antenna . WTF ? Pull out the styrofoam pakaging, and the next layer is the DVD deck itself. Keep in mind that this has never been opened, and everything is still in the plastic covers, all clean and neat.
I thought to myself, "I can set this up in the bedroom. Sending it back will cost more than the $20 i paid for it." It took me about 45 minutes to get everything hooked up, and i decided to play The Fifth Element DVD,because I really enjoy the background music in the movie. The tray opens, and after a few seconds, a Dolby logo lights up on the deck and the movie starts playing. The movie opens with a space scene, and this 'reverberating bass' kind of sound. Wow. But it's too quiet.On 2 channel stereo, i would equalize it and rumble the house.
Oh well. It is playing the movie, and making sound. Bet i could sell it for $20 and get my money back, easy. By now, i had forgotten all about the DVD recorder that never came. I spent the day watching movies in the bedroom. I left the seller a positive feedback, and i never complained or told them i received the wrong item. This was now mine. I did eventually buy other things from the same seller, and always received the items i purchased. So the home theatre in a box was just a mistake. But what really sold me on this 'cheap' player was when i tried to play a region 2 DVD , and it played. There was VIA-Gra music videos on my TV, in north america! And later, i discovered that when you play a music CD, the music plays through all 5 speakers; not the 2 speaker stereo you get from other DVD Home theatre in a box decks. This made for nightly falling asleep to music , which was keeping me awake because there is so much more depth in dolby surround sound.
Awesome. Too bad i only had a 19 inch CRT in my bedroom, but the sound was much better. As an ending, let us say that i eventually bought a Panasonic 5.1 surround system.The sound is incredible.
Now, on to the project -
This is the Insignia H2002 in silver and black. Very low profile at only 2" high.(Panasonic DMR-ES35V on bottom)
I installed the Insignia system in my computer room, and connected the computer sound to one of the inputs on the Insignia receiver. I placed the subwoofer to one side, and it gives the setup an unbalanced sound - all the bass is on that side of the room. What is worse, is the 5 inch speaker provides a full sound in the oh,say the 100Hz-300Hz bass. Anything below 100Hz is nonexistent. But it does sound good when you have it hooked up. Here i should explain that my usual bass level is BASS1, which is the quietest level of Bass1,Bass2, and Bass3. I have a pair of Nissan-America NHW-1035 10 inch woofers that are 8 ohm, 50 watt, and mounted in a pair of huge 3/4 inch plywood boxes. (The boxes are 19"h x 18" d x 15" w).
The back side of the woofer, already mounted in a box.It says 250 watt, but i'm sure it's only 50 watts RMS.
I hooked up one to the H2002s sub connectors, and the bass sound is much smoother. The factory sub doesn't actually thump; i would describe the sound more like a small woofer that is too close to a corner and sounding larger than it's actual size.
The 10 woofer,boxed,down firing and propped up on some 4' pine boards(for now), spreads the sound more evenly.
And if you select bass2, you can feel the bass under your feet.
But also it is fuller sound, and clean bass. It made a big difference in the satellite speakers too.
By toning down the bass, i can now listen to the 'flat' tone setting. and the satellites sound brilliant.
Not really. I hate the 'tiny' sound you get from the 2.75 inch ported drivers.
The original surround speakers have a 2.75" driver and a small port.
The second problem I had with the Insignia NS-H2002 is the 5 satellite speakers. They literally sound like a speaker in a Pepsi can. The 'flat' setting on tone is virtually worthless; all you can hear is the subwoofer. So i replaced the front speakers with a pair of Sony 4 inch car speakers using a plastic bowl for the mount and box for each one. Being 4 ohm, they clearly sounded louder and better than the factory insignia speakers. But running 4 ohm speakers would probably fry the amp, which runs warm enough on the 8 ohm factory speakers.
I also installed (temporary) a Sharp 4 inch ohm center channel speaker, and the sound was much fuller.More natural. Also, we should talk about Speaker SPL(sound pressure level). The factory satellites seem to be about an 85dB sound, which is quiet. I would guess the Sonys are about 92dB, the Sharp also around 92dB, with the factory sub around 92 it made a more even sound. I looked all over for specs on the 10 in woofers, but cannot find them. i am guessing about 90dB. It is hard to guess since, dropping from 4 ohm to 8ohm sub will halve the power output...I think anyway. The new H2002s list the subwoofer as 6 ohm
The tweeter in the Yamaha 3500 surrounds adds the finishing touch to the sound that the Insignia speakers lacked.
The Yamaha satellites i am going to install do not have any specs for SPL listed at Yamaha.com or anywhere else i could think of online. IF they are the average Yamaha stuff, i would guess the them at 86dB... Yamaha NS-AP3500 Surround Sound Speaker System Silver Alright, so right now I am using the 10 in subwoofer, and the 5 Yamaha satellite speakers. My usual volume is 15 with Jazz tone, Music surround mode, and Bass1 .But now i am listening to flat tone. And just for the record, the volume control operates from 0-40; zero being no sound, and 40 is full volume.
So now you know what I'm listening to in my computer room. By the way, the room is a very small, 8 foot by 10 foot, with an 8 foot ceiling height.
If you would like to read more about my former stereo systems,starting with .....the Akai AAR 32
The Specs
Insignia NS-H2002 Specs = (can be purchased new for less than $150 at major retail chain)
Sound Output Mode Surround Sound
Built-in Decoders Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby Digital
Digital Sound Processor (DSP) Yes
Surround System Class 5.1 channel
Output Power / Total 200 Watt
Amplifier Output Details 50 Watt - 6 Ohm - THD 10% - 1 channel(s) ( subwoofer ) 30 Watt - 5 channel(s) ( surround)
Equalizer Yes
Equalizer Factory Presets Rock, Jazz, Pop, Classic, Flat
Sound Effects Bass Boost
Connectors
Headphone Jack Yes
Coaxial Digital Output Yes
Speaker System Speaker(s) 5 x satellite speaker - external - 180 - 20000 Hz - wired | 1 x subwoofer - external - 65 - 5000 Hz - wired
Driver Details Satellite speaker : 1 x full-range driver - 2.75" | Subwoofer : 1 x subwoofer driver - 5.25"
Radio
Type Radio tuner - AM/FM - digital
Preset Station Qty 40 preset stations
AM Preset Station Qty 20 preset stations
FM Preset Station Qty 20 preset stations
DVD
Type DVD player
Media Format CD-R, CD-RW, SVCD, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD, CD, Video CD
Supported Digital Audio Standards WMA, MP3
Upscaling Yes
Output Resolution 1080p
Additional Features Progressive scanning
Digital Player (Recorder)
Type Digital player
Supported Digital Audio Standards WMA, MP3
Additional Features USB flash drive playback
Remote Control
Type Remote control - infrared
Connections
Connector Type 1 x headphones ( mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ) - front,
1 x component video output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - rear,
1 x composite video output ( RCA phono ) - rear,
1 x S-Video output ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) - rear,
1 x SPDIF output ( RCA phono ) - rear,
1 x audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ) - rear,
2 x audio line-in ( RCA phono x 2 ) - rear,
2 x composite video input ( RCA phono ) - rear,
1 x USB ( 4 pin USB Type A ) - front
10 inch Woofer Specs = similar to (mine is NHW-1035)(can be bought on eBay for $25 apiece)
One NWX-1044 AudioDrift 10" woofer
10" ribbed poly treated composite cloth/paper cone for great sound and response
1.5" aluminum voice coil
30 oz. magnet
Frequency response: 35Hz - 10KHz
Sensitivity: 89dB / W(1M)
Power rating: 300 watts max / 150 watts RMS
8 Ohm impendence
Yamaha surround speakers = (can be found online for $45 or less)
Yamaha NS-AP3500
Satellite speakers: 2-way acoustic suspension with 2.5" cone with rubber surrounds and 0.5" balanced dome tweeter
Magnetically Shielded
Frequency response: 90 Hz - 50 kHz
Sensitivity: 76dB/2.83. 1M
Power handling: 30 watt nominal, 100 watt max
Impedance: 6 ohms
Weight, surround: 1.54 lbs.
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