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Spanky Ham
Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 5643
Location: Comedy Central
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Zebu Fellenz
Joined: 21 Dec 2006
Posts: 2567
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 4:27 am Post subject: |
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Wow...
Last edited by Zebu Fellenz on Sun Jul 19, 2009 4:37 am; edited 1 time in total
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stefuel
Joined: 07 Mar 2006
Posts: 3353
Location: Green Harbor MA USA
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 4:30 am Post subject: Re: An interesting thread at AVS!!! |
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| Spanky Ham wrote: | http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1163910
Another satisfied Gary Murrell customer!! |
It's the dentists fault 
_________________
Chip
A Barco is only a AmPro with training wheels
Card carrying member of the AVS chain gang.
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greg_mitch
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 5320
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 4:39 am Post subject: |
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Wow...how could you troll AVS for 5 years and think Gary was an honest guy?
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Tom.W
Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 6635
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 5:05 am Post subject: |
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Another episode of " As The Stomach Turns " 
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kal
Forum Administrator
Joined: 06 Mar 2006
Posts: 18114
Location: Ottawa, Canada
TV/Projector: JVC DLA-NZ7
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WTS
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 1276
Location: Calgary
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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WOW! So is anyone here surprised by any of this? Gary makes it sound like he has a team of people working in his high tech labs. And his shipping department lost the other box, yeah right.
My guess is he F--ked up the player while making the mods and couldn't figure out how to fix, obviously, because he doesn't have the first clue about electronics. And sure why not blame it on someone else. I would have thought by people on these forums would have known better than to trust his work or his ethics.
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Thanks
Walter
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Curt Palme
CRT Tech
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 24396
Location: Langley, BC
TV/Projector: All of them!
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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The poster emailed me at avs asking about Gary before he posted that thread.
I told him that he was a respected forum member both here and at avs.
<Kal, we need a puking emoticon> 
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Nashou66
Joined: 12 Jan 2007
Posts: 16171
Location: West Seneca NY
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 4:41 pm Post subject: |
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| WTS wrote: | | WOW! So is anyone here surprised by any of this? Gary makes it sound like he has a team of people working in his high tech labs. And his shipping department lost the other box, yeah right. |
No, I'm not surprised at all. I remember a couple of threads here where he kept yapping about how great SDI was and how it was superior to HDMI. From a DRM standpoint, yes... For use with professional video equipment, yes... But, I asked him to explain how SDI was superior between a (consumer) Blu-ray source and processor from a PQ stand point, and he could not. When he kept arguing it without any facts to back it up and just kept making sh*t up, I merely asked what credentials, education or background, or technical expertise he had to be able to make the claims he was making. I was then promptly accused of an "ad hominem" attack, presumably because I was questioning his education. The guy is totally immature and full of sh*t to boot.
I don't know (obviously), but my guess is this is the first SDI mod he's actually tried to do all by himself, and screwed it up royally.
On one hand, I feel bad for the Denon owner. OTOH, I have to wonder about the intelligence of getting all these mods done to an *SD* DVD player. I don't care how good that Denon is - it's still old DVD! I mean... Come on... Once you've seen a silk purse, you can only make a sow's ear look so good!
SC
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Nashou66
Joined: 12 Jan 2007
Posts: 16171
Location: West Seneca NY
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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I just read more of the posts, he did supposedly send it to JVB to "fix" a problem. I have one of his SDI moded Panny Rp92's it also took a long time to get but at least mine works. He should refund the guy all his money or buy him a new player. On the other hand how well is the DAVE guy's work as well?
And i agree about the SD DVD player SC, why waste your money on SD, Id rather have my BH100 analog outs upgraded cause at least its a BD player.
Athanasios
_________________
Don't blame your underwear for your crooked ass~ unknown Greek philosopher
"Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the Democrats believe every day is April 15." --- President Reagan
One Smart Dog!!!
Marquee High Performance Bellows now shipping!!
Marquee Modifications and Performance Enhancement
Marquee C-element and Bellow removal
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Spanky Ham
Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 5643
Location: Comedy Central
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:12 pm Post subject: |
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I am not surprised either, but I can see how he would may not know about Gary. Some of his negative feedback might have been whitewashed in his correspondence with Gary and other customers. Plus, one poster said the same thing happened last year and the thread was deleted. I blame Curt.
Walter,
I believe he did damage the player as he pretty much admits to doing. He stated that he changed something after he was told not to mess with any of the previous mods. This was a clear violation of the original agreement.
| Quote: | Dean, I did this because some fool decided to solder the power connectors to the power input on the rear, meaning I can't remove the rear panel to make the cutout for the SDI output without cutting those lines and/or resoldering them, how else do you propose I do the job you paid me to do? drill a hole in the rear whith the back panel on and short out everything in the player?
these connectors are a much more professional way to do power connections than soldering them, soldering power lines is a no-no anyway, every high-end manufacturer I know of uses the connectors instead of soldering |
Crabb,
I am pretty sure this isn't the first mod he has done. I believe their are a couple of forum members here who have had him mod their players. Matter of fact where are the white knights.
As for the owner and the old Denon, I got the impression that his first passion is audio. He even said that the modded player sounded better in a comparison he did with some other players. My guess is that he wanted to keep the excellent audio performance while getting an upgrade on the video side, however theoretical it may or may not be.
Kal,
Did you know that he has a link to this website on his link page? If you and Curt want to disassociate yourselves from him, then you might want to ask him to remove the link. I do find it interesting that he doesn't have a link to the website that he does reviews for. Also, I think Curt should be banned from the forum for a week for giving Gary two thumbs up or at least give away five free pjs.
Last edited by Spanky Ham on Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:16 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Curt Palme
CRT Tech
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 24396
Location: Langley, BC
TV/Projector: All of them!
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:15 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, the Kewpie doll I made with the knob of a Denon and a blade of bluegrass really DID work!
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Spanky Ham wrote: | | I am pretty sure this isn't the first mod he has done. I believe their are a couple of forum members here who have had him mod their players. Matter of fact where are the white knights. |
What I meant was, perhaps this was the first mod he himself, all alone, tried to do - without assistance. Did he have help before?
Also, was the mod on the Panasonics that he used to mod a pretty simple mod? Perhaps there wasn't much to it, and perhaps the Denon was much more complex.
From his previous threads, the guy's a total hack, with no formal technical training and no real electronics background. I can't even fathom the though of touching somebody else's (expensive) gear if I didn't know what I was doing.
SC
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Curt Palme
CRT Tech
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 24396
Location: Langley, BC
TV/Projector: All of them!
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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I'm pretty sure Gary is a one man show, with zero budget. I know he takes people's money before he does the work, there was a thread on avs somewhere about him taking money for an Oppo player long before it was even released. I think it's in his profile, in the private notes to the avs member.
The pictures that he sent me of the balanced power supply/conditioner were horrendous, which is at the point that I asked Kal to remove his 'for sale'items from the site, I wanted no association with something that could potentially catch fire, was a shock hazard, and had no UL or ULC approval.
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Spanky Ham
Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 5643
Location: Comedy Central
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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| ecrabb wrote: | | Spanky Ham wrote: | | I am pretty sure this isn't the first mod he has done. I believe their are a couple of forum members here who have had him mod their players. Matter of fact where are the white knights. |
What I meant was, perhaps this was the first mod he himself, all alone, tried to do - without assistance. Did he have help before?
Also, was the mod on the Panasonics that he used to mod a pretty simple mod? Perhaps there wasn't much to it, and perhaps the Denon was much more complex.
From his previous threads, the guy's a total hack, with no formal technical training and no real electronics background. I can't even fathom the though of touching somebody else's (expensive) gear if I didn't know what I was doing.
SC |
Remember he is out in the middle of nowhere Kentucky. He might have some family members helping or some friends, but like Curt said he is a one man show. Like Curt, there is nothing wrong with being a one man show if you know what you are doing.
The original Denon may have been easy, but it was modded. When he opened it up and saw that he was going to have to change some of the previous mods, he should have called the customer right then.
I am almost positive that Gary has no formal training. He started on AVS when he was like 14 or 15. In all of that time I have never heard him say anything about taking any classes. I don't think he even mentioned taking any classes related to electronics in high school, but can't verify that since I haven't read all of his posts.
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Curt Palme
CRT Tech
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 24396
Location: Langley, BC
TV/Projector: All of them!
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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It's getting good over avs. I knew it would after I chimed in. 
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Spanky Ham
Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 5643
Location: Comedy Central
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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Curt,
You are bad. 
I should tell my story with Gary. I think the only people I have told are Bruce and Mark. I believe I told tse and Darin over lunch, but I can't remember. First, I must confess that I never particularly cared for Gary, but I softened my stance until I was pretty neutral about him.
Anyway, I had an XG that had black tubes and didn't want to spring for new tubes. So, I decided to part it out. Gary had purchased an XG and was having difficulty with it. I sent him a PM stating that I had some parts that I could sell him. He was interested and we agreed on a price of $300 for all of the boards from an XG LC. I boxed up the boards in bubble wrap and shredded newspaper. I used newspaper, because one of my suppliers found that his claims went to zero after using shredded newspaper. If you have ever received anything from my supplier, then you could see why.
I sent the box to Gary through USPS. When he received it, he emailed me saying that the boards where extensively damaged and that my packing wasn't that great. It is probably fair to criticize my packing as I am not a professional shipper. He decided that he wanted to send them back. This is where it gets interesting. His idea was to send them back and when I received them make a claim with USPS. In this manner, I could get some money for the damaged goods. I felt a little uneasy about this, but agreed. When I got them back, his packing was worse. I guess he was doing this so the parts could break easier. Upon inspection, I think two boards were damaged. One had some caps that were knocked off. The other I can't remember, but I think it wasn't to bad. I sent pics to Mark and I remember him saying something like "I thought Gary was a pro solder and electronics expert. He should have been able to put the caps back on in a couple of minutes.". I pretty much thought the same thing (Mark, if you don't want me using your name then I will remove the comment).
I ended up not making a claim with USPS, as I didn't think it was right to penalize the USPS. To this day, I still think either Gary tried the boards and didn't like them or more likely had something else lined up.
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CRT_Ben
Joined: 28 Aug 2006
Posts: 1684
Location: Northern Virginia
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:47 pm Post subject: |
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Aw now it's dead! Oh well, I read it through this morning.
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Spanky Ham
Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 5643
Location: Comedy Central
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:04 pm Post subject: |
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That is BS. If you want to know how Gary can get away with it, then there you go. Complain to AVS till the thread disappears.
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