Monday 18 July 2011

Portable Boom Box - VAF Octavio - Part Two Continued -It arrived!!!

To read Part 1 Portable Boom Box - VAF Octavio + how to add battery and car use click here.


The VAF Octavio Arrived. I got it for a bargain price! I could not contain my excitement to get it out.

So I unboxed it all set it up on top of my center speaker and listened to my favourite testing track Sarah McLachlan using the Sansa Fuze + Electric Avenues PA2V2 (which I have both done reviews on).
The sound was simply amazing. The piano was so life like. I was extremely surprised. Next I put on some dance music to put it through its paces. For some reason the bass was lacking. I noticed there was a problem with the left woofer. The seller sold this item as new but the rubber surround has come away from the driver basket.

This is repairable but such a let down after being extremely excited for Octavio's arrival!
I have contacted the seller in regards to this. There is a 7day return policy the issue is I have to pay return postage so I will lose money on this. Possibly the seller will be happy to offer a partial refund to help cover the cost of the re-gluing of the surround.

In the meantime I have purchased one 12v 9800mah Lithium Ion battery for $35, have to order another.


The great thing about this battery is the inbuilt controller board. It allows the batteries to be charged while in use (that got me thinking about solar power but possibly more on that in later updates) maximum voltage output is 12.6v and the batteries cut out if it drops to 10.5v total output to protect the internal cells from over discharge.
Also I also bit the bullet and ordered the DC-DC booster converter.



This only cost in the end $10 delivered from Hong Kong, it will take at least 2-3 weeks to arrive which will provide sufficient time to resolve the isses with the woofer surround. It is capable if 120watt without upgrading the heat sinks. This is more than capable of delivering the maximum 90watt's that I need to power this baby. 24v @ 3.75amp (power = Volt x Amps).

Conclusion
So I am still extremely happy with this besides the required repair. Hopefully the seller will offer a discount for the obvious fault with the so called brand new item. Can't trust ebay these days! Who am I kidding I still love my fleabay! More updates as soon as things progress!

Now I am waiting on the batteries and boost converter to arrive. Also looked into finding a suitable carry case to hold it all. I'll leave you with a photo of what I am considering :)


Wildgame 6v external Hunting game camera external battery pack. Aluminium wound protection cover on the 3 meter (10 foot) power cable. The internal size will perfectly fit the 2 x 12v 9800mAh Li-ion batteries and the boost converter! Nifty case too. This shows you how much smaller the Li-ion batteries are, the Sealed lead acids in there are only 6v 4.5AH giving a total 6v 9amps. With the li-ions I can have either 24v 9.8Amps (in parallel) or 12v 19.6Amps (in series).

Cheers! I'll catch you on the flip side.






Friday 8 July 2011

Portable Boom Box - VAF Octavio + how to add battery and car use.



The highly regarded Speaker Manufacturer released the VAF Octavio 1 Speaker dock a number of years ago. If you haven't heard of it before well its about time you did! (no pun intended).
VAF Research have been creating and building amazing quality systems in Australia for over 3 decades.

A few years ago I was searching for a quality portable audio system to be the soundtrack for when we go to the beach (on christmas) or for our monthly firetwirling meets in a local park. I came accross the VAF Octavio. I have always wanted to own VAF speakers but could never afford the high (but reasonable) price that this quality equipment sells for. The Octavio was released at $799AUD so was still unfortunately out of reach.

For an excellent review on this item (as I haven't received mine yet) please have a read of the ZuneScene article http://www.zunescene.com/VAF/

Last week I found one on ebay(USA) selling for $125 + $35 postage. After some research and reading a mass of reviews I discovered even though it is somewhat portable (10kg) there was still no internal battery. Never the less I could not pass this for this price and snapped it up.

Time to make this portable - Battery time! (hammer time anyone?)
Upon further inspection the Octavio is powered by an unregulated 24v 3.75amp AC powerpack (wallwart).
This will make powering the device for any extended period of time at full power extremely hard.

Having said this most users would never use the Octavio at its near 100db quality output for an extended period of time, but personally I have a hankering for loud volumes specially when I am playing with fire and somewhat intoxicated. As shown below in this video. This is a very old video from 2008 so be nice :P



At full power draw finding a portable power source capable of 24v 3.75amps for even just a 3 hour session would require me to have a minimum 11.25amps of usable storage.

Types of batteries I considered.

-Sealed Lead Acid (SLA)
I looked into Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) which come normally in 6v or 12v iterations. SLA's are sealed so much better than standard car batteries as they don't leak gaseous by-products nor do they obviously leak any acid or chemicals. Unfortunately they can be somewhat heavy (1x 12v 10amp hour battery weighs on average 5kg, 2 would be needed for 24v @ 10amps in parallel) for a total of 10kg battery weight Plus the 10kg of the Octavio. Definitely not something I would want to contend with on a hot summer day!!
Lastly the cheapest price I found delivered on ebay was $42.50ea plus $26 for a 1amp slow charger and only charge one battery at a time. This total of  $111 made this not an option.


-Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH)
These are commonly used for electric remote control (RC) toys, they are much more compact than the SLA and weigh half as much. NiMH batteries unlike the old NiCAD batteries they do not suffer from memory effect and are best run completely flat.
The usual 12v RC toy battery capacity is 4.2Amps so 4 of these would be required in a dual series parallel combination coming to a total of 24v 8.4amps. The positive each battery is only 450grams for a total weight of around 2kg. Price each the cheapest was $40 delivered + price of a quality sensing charger and only be able to charge one battery pack at a time. Total price of approx $200!


-Lithium Ion (Lion) and Lithium Polymer (Lipo)
I decided to looking into higher quality batteries. Theres are commonly used in RC planes and helicopters due to being much lighter and offer a higher current to weight ratio.
Lipo's are really Lion batteries but not in a hard shell, they are the newer iteration of Lion batteries. After much investigation the price of the Lipo's was still fairly expensive and didn't offer the higher amperage hours that the Lion's that I found. Lipo's can support a huge current draw sometimes 10 times the amount but this is not required (as the Octavio is max 3.75amps).

I found 12v 4.8amp Lithium Ion batteries for $23each x4 = $92 delivered each with their own accompanying power pack charger. With a weight of 572grams per battery this would be a total of 1.2kg max. Next I came sourced 12v 9.8amp batteries for $36ea x4 = $72 also with a power charger each.

The solution has been found! I will be purchasing 2x 12v 9.8amp batteries total for $72 delivered no more to spend. Wire these in parallel and we will have 24v 9.8amps of reserve. Not quite the 11amps I was looking for but with moderate levels it will last a good number of hours.


Time to power this baby in the car! 12volt style.
The inherent issue of powering this on a long road trip in a car posses a number of issues. Firstly where will you put this thing due to its size and weight while travelling! It'll go in the middle rear seat of the car. Move over passengers. The hardest part is actually powering this beats. Due to requiring 24volts and the car power system is 12v (14.4 while car is running thanks to the alternator). A DC to DC (direct current) converter will be required. Sometimes called a Boost amplifier as it steps the voltage up from 12v to 24v DC.
The issue lies here. Many DC-DC converters can create plenty of noise in the DC signal. Just a side effect of the different technologies required to do this (car amplifiers all have step up transformers within them). But to find a suitable one will be the key.

Back to searching ebay. There are a number of items available from Hong Kong and locally.

Requirements:

  • Fairly Cheap (I don't want to spend more than $50)
  • Durable and will last a very long time
  • Be capable of easily providing the required 3.75amps at 24volts (prefer 4amps so that the load will be a little bit easier not max'ed out). So 100watts.
  • As little noise as possible.

Now to decide, An all in one pre-packaged device or a kind of kit/wired in model?
I will first say unfortunately for nearly all the items from Asia they do not provide indepth specifications of power output, only voltage and amperage, not the ripple amount (in mv or vrms).


I looked at a number of laptop 12v-24v power packs up to 150watt, for only $17USD Delivered from Hong Kong. They looked great, voltage selectable with multiple different power jack tips, so suitable for other items such as laptops and cameras. No lab tested specs were provided though which is making me err on the side of caution. Also I would be worried about someone changing the voltage and causing issues there. The documented efficiency is only 80%, yes efficiency doesn't matter a great deal in an auto environment but why put more strain on the system unless imperative. Efficiency is always good :)
The plus side this device is capable of max 4.5amps at 25volts. Also has a usb charger socket (5v) for charging your mp3 player while driving also!

DIY/wired in systems.
Two units were in contention in the DIY/wired catergory. One reputable well known company and another Asian Kit. I will start with the direct Asian import.


This unit pictured above will cost $16 Delivered! Below are the provided specs:
  • Module Properties: non-isolated step-up module (BOOST)
  • Input voltage :10-32V
  • Output voltage: 12-35V (adjustable)
  • Output Current: 10A (MAX)
  • Input Current: 16A (MAX) (Please enhance heat dissipation if more than 10A)
  • Output power: natural cooling 100W (MAX), enhance heat dissipation 150W (MAX)
  • Conversion efficiency: 94%  (measured at Input 16V, output 19V 2.5A)
  • Output Ripple: 2% (MAX) 20M-bandwidth
  • Operating Temperature: Industrial (-40°c to +85°c) (ambient temperature exceeds 40°c, lower power use, or to enhance heat dissipation)
  • Full load temperature rise: 45°c
  • No-load current: 25mA typical
  • Voltage regulation: ± 0.5%
  • Dynamic response speed: 5% 200uS
  • Short circuit protection: None (Please Install fuses and protection circuits at Input port.)
  • Input Reverse Polarity Protection: None (Please Series diode at the input port.)
After a number of emails to the seller I have been advised this unit will not require any further cooling if used at 100watt output. What I didn't like about this item was the lack of input/output isolation also the quality control issues or sub par build quality is un-known. We don't want a voltage spike from the alternator or coils in the car blowing up the VAF speaker now do we. The voltage regulation is great and as is the conversion efficiency.

The only downfall for this is the requirement of having to buy a cigarette lighter attachment, cabling to and from the device and a suitable plug for the Octavio. Also possibly making a case to protect this unit.


Next I found Acon Inc who only produce DC to DC Converters! Someone on ebay was selling this baby.
MH150S3024 (TS chassis mount) Link to view indepth PDF specs here.
Firstly this unit is built into an all in one package! no having to build a case for it. Unlike the past options all the technical electrical and physical specifications are provided for us to look over. This version is the Chassis mount which is a shame because the MC Encapsulated version would of been perfect. But beggars can't be choosers.

Main positives:
  • Variable input voltage of between 10V-32V
  • Output voltage will always be between 23.76V-24.24V
  • Max Current 6.25Amps
  • Short circuit protection and full input/output isolation
Price on this second hand I found was $50USD. Yes much more expensive but for piece of mind definitely worth it! (Who wants to blow up something worth Current New price of $499 & $799RRP).

I am still pondering my next move but I am highly looking at the ACON Inc unit.


Current Conclusion:
As I am still waiting on the delivery of my VAF I will continue to "watch" these items of interest on ebay. 
I am extremely excited to receive the VAF Octavio 1. Purchasing of the first lot of 12v Lithium-Ion 9.8amp batteries completed soon. In the future I might possibly purchase a second identical pair to take with me for long burn sessions or for bbq's on the beach. As for the car adapter I haven't exactly decided on my next step but I am very intrigued with the ACON DC-DC converter.

Pricing: 
VAF Octavio 1 $155USD (sourced ebay.com) New $499 currently, RRP $799
Battery pack 24v 9.8Amp Lithium-Ion $72USD

Total Price for an amazing somewhat portable (weight) system?
Only $227USD now this is unbelievable! 

A more indepth review, photos and updates will be up within the next few weeks so don't forget to check back!

Monday 20 June 2011

Headphone Amplifier Review - PA2V2

A Portable Headphone Amplifier: Introducing the Pocket Amp 2 - Version 2 (PA2V2) - Joseph Kendall
Creator and owner: Gary Ali
Price: $60CAD delivered in Canada, Confirm with Electric Avenues as these prices might change with exchange rate and delivery location.

G’day follower and Welcome!

Preface:
I first heard about the the PA2V2 more than a year ago from a friend on the Australia Stereonet Forum (stereo.net.au).
Sometime later I had the chance to have a quick listen at a local Audio get together (GTG) which intrigued me greatly.

Since then as many of you know I have become somewhat of a nomad travelling the world, so I now had the calling to put together a decent portable rig.

I'll be honest normally I’m not huge on doing reviews since there are so many talented individuals out there, who do an amazing job but every once in a while something comes up that I must share.
Once I received my amp I decided to use it for a period of time before completing this review to ensure proper “burn in time” if you believe in such things for solid state electronics. So after approximately 100 hours of daily use its time had come.




Test system:
Audio-Technica ATH-A900 Headphones
Sansa Fuze 8GB + LOD w/ Gold plated Pailiccs 3.5mm
Panasonic 2600mAh NiMH Batteries.
All testing was done off battery without the power supply connected.


Introduction
I was in the market for a higher quality portable amplifier than the small Fiio E3 which I bought for $20 on fleabay. So I contacted Electric Avenues through their website and promptly received a reply from Gary Ali the owner and creator of the PA2V2.

After a few weeks of corroborating my interest through emails back and forth I ordered my amp.
I recommend purchasing your amp directly from gary through his website as it is cheaper than fleabay and definitely a lot easier. I must attest that he has hand built over 8400 units and delivered to more than 60 countries to date. If this doesn’t speak volumes then stop reading here and go back to hunting some kangaroos :)


Less than a week after payment was received by Electric Avenues I surprisingly received my package in the mail. Call that a fast turn around!
It arrived in a heavy duty Padded satchel which had inside a zip lock bag with all the goodies inside. The amp was then again protected within its own bubble padded bag.
A nice personal touch was the hand written sticker saying “Enjoy the Amp Joe” by Gary affixed to the ziplock bag.



Included items:
  • PA2V2 Amplifier
  • AC wall adapter with wire twist tied all packaged within an OEM box within mini headphone mono jack (US socket 110v)
  • A headphone splitter cable, Stereo 3.5mm Male to two 3.5mm Female adapter (Additional Purchase)
  • Gold plated 1' Male to Male 3.5mm cable to attach source to the amp

Amplifier Build:
The amp looks to be built into a DIY ABS plastic black case which is extremely rugged and sleek. After initial inspection it is evident that attention to detail and design have not been overlooked.
Over the past few months it has taken a couple of falls and not even a single mark is present. The only issue is after being dropped I found was the batteries sometimes became dislodged from the holder. I handle my equipment with uttermost care but with something so small and with my very long headphone cable, tripping on it or catching the cable on things unfortunatly happens.

Next  the connections and volume potentiometer are set into a clear red coloured piece of acrylic plastic. Personally I wish the power connector was located on the rear but due to the battery holder being on this side it was not possible.

The other reason why all the I/O’s and volume are on one side is for manufacturing simplicity and having the shortest circuit paths as physically possible.

Upon internal inspection everything is well laid out. By the look of it the components are surface mount and some extremely large capacitors which are high grade.

The volume potentiometer is Swiss made and extremely good quality as is the knob is of professional quality much like the ones found on professional a/v equipment. The pot moves smoothly but also with weight like a high quality motorized volume control on an AVR or Preamplifier.

Compared to many DIY and manufactured amps this is one a great size as it fits in the pocket of my dress pants with the Sansa Fuze mounted together. Definitely smaller than a number of mobile (cell) phones that I have used over the years.


Now to insert or change the batteries the amp has to be opened by unscrewing the two countersunk screws on the bottom. Only requiring two rechargeable NiMH AA batteries I thought was excellent (compared to popular CMOY amps that need dual 9v batteries)
Ease of use:
One of the strong points of this amplifier is the ease of use. With only two 3.5mm jacks for input and output, a smaller jack for power, a power switch and volume pot I cannot see my Oma (Grandmother) even having issues. Once all the connections and made you only need to turn on the amp and toggle the volume to your liking.

Many have spoken of having to set their Digital Audio Players (DAP) to around 60% or whatever works the best for them. I never had this issue as I am using a LOD which disengages the volume functionality of my DAP and bipasses the internal headphone section.




Audition Music List:
For many years I have been using a list of specific songs as follows:
Sarah McLauchlan - Angel
Andrea Bocelli - Con te partiro (Time to say goodbye)
Alison Krauss - It doesn't matter
Cascada - What hurts the most (Yanou's Candelight Mix)
Blue October - 18th Floor Balcony (Within hidden track at the end)
Coheed and Cambria - Wake Up
Princess Superstar vs Mason - Perfect Exceeder
IIO - Rapture (At the end)
Dirty Vegas - Days go by
Bass Hunter - Dota
Vivaldi - Summer

The headphones I am using for this review are the Audio Technica ATH-A900
These are rated at 32ohms which while not extremely hard to drive (Like the Sennheiser equivolent eg HD600) but it isn’t a 'walk in the park' either as lower impedance In Ear Monitors or standard earbuds. The rated output power is up to 200mw depending on the headphone impedance.

Volume was adequate and rather loud. Definitely loud enough for people passing by to hear my music even with the A900 closed backs. Although still not ear splitting levels like I am used to from a desktop amplifier but who am I kidding it's portable!

Dynamics/resolution/staging/bandwidth:
Listening to my all time favourite audition song 'Angel' by Sarah McLauchlan was a blissful experience. It sounded as if she was sitting in front of me performing a personal rendition. The piano was lifelike and no discernable colouring was present. The low notes of the piano that dip down to to 30z are evident with minimal to no roll off.

Next I moved onto testing with male vocals by Andre Bocelli. After about 1 minute I slowly stopped analysing the equipment and was happily enjoying the performance. This alone speaks for itself. The treble was never shrill but definitely present possibly a little forward for my liking. The midrange is accurate I would have to say it is presented in a recessed or relaxed manner. Not too relaxed to be unrealistic or flat sounding.

For midrange testing I have always made use of the dance song Rapture (At the end) by IIO from 2003, in this song there is a constant melody line almost like an xylophone. The unique tonality of the xylophone usually creates oscillation in the midrange on most systems. The PA2V2 with Audio Technica ATH-A900 ROCKED MY WORLD! Better than eating kangaroo cooked on a campfire. Throughout this song it also has  the low bass note that rumbles every four bars is present and well defined.

I wanted to listen to a song that would put this little amplifier through its paces in the bass response.
After recently having the honour of visiting the annual Movement Electronic Music Festival 2011 (DEMF) in Detroit, Michigan I discovered an amazing artist who doesn’t hold back on his bass mixes. Song by artist is definitely hard work for the PA2V2 at high levels. I had to lower the volume a couple of decibels in order to have enough headroom to ensure the amp wasn't pushed to audibly distorting
.
Having heard this song live on a line array system sporting 16 separate 18" high powered horn loaded subwoofers I must say I am somewhat biased. Amplifier performed better at lower levels for the deep extension. Rolling off at around 30hz with my Audio Technicas in tow. I must clarify that many have said the A900's are bass light but I  digress that only major bass junkies would have an issue. Myself, I have never had any quelms with their bass capabilities.

I completed the rest of my audition list and then went through the same process with my home audio system. For most of the songs I actually preferred the sound of my headphones! They just felt so personal and close to the musicians. The PA2V2 only somewhat trailing behind when I turned up the wick on my Electronica music with bass hungry beats. The treble could benefit from a little bit of taming (aussies are used to taming things haha).


Conclusion:

Predominantly being from a purist Hi-Fi, High end Home cinema and money is no limit PA installation background my appetite is what you might call hard to please.

I have to admin I was surprised with this little guy. I cannot expect amazing SPL or drive capabilities from a portable amp powered with only 2 AA batteries that lasts so long. The clarity and honesty of this amplifier are excellent. A little on the large side in comparison to my Sansa Fuze but I have to commend Electric Avenues for being able to fit so much into such a compact device.

Now after a couple of months of daily usage (3+ hours of travelling) I am proud to say I do not have a dingos breath of buyers remorse. I absolutely love the fact that people ask me regularly what on earth is “that” and then I give them a listen. Even just with simple comparison tests a number of people have purchased their own from Gary!  The PA2V2 is an amp that just keeps on giving. I can honestly say I am proud to have this amp in my pocket and it has become my daily mate.

Home Audio Followup of the PA2V2:
I was looking for a good easy to use Digital Audio player for my home system. The Sansa Fuze just doesn’t have the oomf for line level input that my Outlaw 990 Home Theatre Processor/Pre Amplifier requires. So purely out of curiosity I tried it with the PA2V2 (Sansa Fuze V1, + LOD).

I went straight to my critical song, Sarah McLauchlan - Angel. All I could do was smile. I have found the digital audio player that I have been looking for. I have used Creative X-Fi, M-audio Audiophile and duo, E-MU, Edirol, plus many other computer sound cards. I enjoy the PA2V2 with the Sansa Fuze just so much more. Less clinical but never overly “warm”. I think I will have to purchase another one now to be permanently installed  in my listening room for the 2ch system.

For integrity reasons I must explain that I have not been endorsed, biased or coerced by Gary of Electric Avenues in writing this review.
With all audio components there are trade off's and compromises. Portability vs power output vs battery life are all aspects involved in the balancing act of headphone amplifiers. While there are downfalls with the PA2V2 I am personally happy as a whole with this piece of equipment.

I must also thank you for reading my review. I hope I have been a help in some way in finding your audio nirvana.

Keep those tunes spinning!
audiotechnica1sml.jpg

Thursday 16 June 2011

Websites I love to be a regular at!

G'day followers.
It's been a while since an update. I have developed a web surfing habit now that I'm far from Downunder.
I wanted to share with you some excellent websites that I drop by regularly.


BigPictureBigSound.com
This site has been around for many years and has built a solid reputation for bringing 'up to date' reviews and articles on the cinema and home entertainment industry.

Facebook for the latest updates! www.facebook.com/bigpicturebigsound


THX LTD.
Many know this logo and many have no idea who they are. THX was developted by Tomlinson Homan at George Lucas's company Lucasfilm in 1983. This was because the master Lucas was increasingly let down by the quality of presentation in cinemas of his first two Star Wars movies.
THX is now a world re-known company for their innovation and long standing industry presence. I highly recommend frequenting this site and keeping up on the latest news!

Facebook THX!! www.facebook.com/pages/THX-Ltd/181603076929

Froknowsphoto.com
If you are a Pro photographer, Hobbiest like me, or ever take a photo with a camera (or smartphone) then you have to check out this website. An extremely educational and interesting resource. Charming, well presented and always entertaining. This is not just a website but a community of people who all love photography!

This is one site you have to join on FACEBOOK!
Daily updates, live video photography critiques with users and Jarred!
www.facebook.com/FroKnowsPhoto

I hope this has been somewhat helpful and will help you waste many hours at work.

Cheers Joe

Sunday 15 May 2011

3D Home Cinema Resources - Different types: Shutter, Linear and Circular Polarization

This article is an extract taken from my Home Cinema Build
Finding useful relevant guides and equipment links has been fairly difficult. I have spent numerous hours expanding my understanding of 3D technology and would like to share the articles and websites with you. 

3d Projection - Different types: Shutter, Linear and Circular Polarization

Three dimensional movie rendition and gaming is becoming the new ultimate upgrade in commercial and home cinemas.
The most common iteration of 3d in the home is by using shutter glasses as new tv's and projectors can now support 120hz.

I have come across a large number of sites while researching building my own 3d home cinema system. I won't attempt to explain all I understand and some of which I don't about 3d projection. There is no use in "re-inventing the wheel" as some others have explained it better than I will be able to. If you would like to learn more please read these following links.

Useful Learning Resources:
  • http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/3d-polarized-projector,2589.html 
    A complete start to finish article on 3d polarized lens projector setup. Excellent read.
    Article centered on 3d Computer gaming but can be applied to 3d movies also using a Personal Computer as the source (No need for external 3d Demultiplexer or video processing).
  • http://www.scec.org/geowall/index.html 
    An older article but still an excellent reference.  An extremely well documented journey to achieve 3d with dual projectors and polarizing filters. (2002)

Shutter glasses, shutter processors, 3D Demultiplexer, 3D computer software

Polarizers (Circular, linear)

Further Resources 

After much research I have definitely learnt plenty and am left  undecided with which route I will be embarking on.
Shutter glasses with a VIP 3d processor from Consigna is the easiest and cheapest manner to take 3d content (be that bluray or computer) from HDMI 1.4 output and make it usable on a HDMI1.3/DVI projector. As my PJ is only 85 frames it will not be as good as a 120hz 3d "ready" (capable) projector. The positive I must point out of shutter systems is the fact that if you are using say an anamorphic lens in 2.35:1 for true cinema wide screen then this is the way to go without having to purchase dual lenses, dual projectors so forth. I also must remind you that shutter glasses with a single PJ cut down 50% of the light output that you see (as half the time each eye is closed).

On the contrary I must preffer a polarizer setup with dual projectors but the price is substantial.
A hardware 3d Demultiplexer is required (if not using a computer). Dual projectors, Polarizer projector filters, A Projector stacker and all required cabling, A 3d (eg PS3 for bluray and 3d gaming) and lastly a polarizing compatible screen as the normal screens (specially high gain) do not bounce back the correct polarization 100% so a specific one needs to be purchased.

 A mis conception I must point out is that you need to have a DLP projector, this is true in most cases but not all. I have linked above SilverFabric filters and specific filters by them are made for LCD also!

I am on the constant lookout for another Optoma EP749 projector as you require identical PJ's.
So for the time being I will keep my finger on the pulse and watching for the technology to mature somwhat.
Fincancially I don't have the cash flow to lump all the money into a project like this all at once. So I will be slowly acquiring equipment and hopefully soon have a system together, I will keep you posted.