Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

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tbessie
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Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by tbessie » Sun Sep 21, 2014 10:06 pm

I'm thinking about getting this - it's ridiculously high priced, but looks like one of the best out there in a quickly shrinking (or at least not growing) market. Anyone see/try one of these before?

http://www.steigerdynamics.com/products ... ngineering

- Tim

Telstar
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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by Telstar » Fri Oct 03, 2014 5:21 pm

Looks like a modified OrigenAE with custom software and some accessories.

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by tbessie » Wed Oct 08, 2014 4:40 pm

Telstar wrote:Looks like a modified OrigenAE with custom software and some accessories.
Yeah, that's what a bunch of people have said. The front panel display is made by another Korean company as well. I ended up buying the case from them, and have been having some correspondence with the guys who run the company. Sounds like it's mostly been outsourced (eg. the case was missing one of the fan screws, and they don't have any available - why would that be, unless everything they do goes through a third party? Also, the front-panel display on some chassis is pinched by the chassis, so its touchscreen capability doesn't work (or is "always on") unless you open up the case and loosen the screws on the front panel. Quality control issue that they should have worked out before this.

That said, I'm not going to send it back; it's pretty much what I want. I wish OrigenAE was updating their cases more; I have the S14V, and it's tiny fans are too loud, which is one of the reasons I'm replacing it.

- Tim

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by edh » Wed Oct 08, 2014 11:10 pm

I know it's not the only one but why would you want a screen on the front of the case? What advantage is that?

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by tbessie » Thu Oct 09, 2014 1:39 pm

edh wrote:I know it's not the only one but why would you want a screen on the front of the case? What advantage is that?
I dunno - 'cuz it's cool n' stuff? ;-)

I don't think I'll even end up using the screen, though there are a few uses for which I turn the TV on to modify something in the computer, which I'll be able to do on the screen, which could make it occasionally useful.

Even the OrigenAE S16V (the next step up from the S14V) has 92mm fans. I think it might still have USB 2 as well. I was looking at a couple of the Silverstone cases, but rejected them because they didn't have everything on the front panel I wanted. Probably would have been more what I need, though (and much cheaper).

- Tim

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by xan_user » Thu Oct 09, 2014 6:06 pm

ive never really understood why so many want media pc's that look and fit in cabinets like bulky old style stereo equipment, let alone want a screen or buttons on it... to each his own i guess.

but spending as much on a case as you would on a decent mobo/PSU/GPU/CPU? Thats straight up cray-cray! :o

if you want to show off your disposable income, buy a cheap case, hide it behind the cab, or TV and glue the leftover $700 on the wall.

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by Telstar » Fri Oct 10, 2014 3:00 am

You may NOT have the space to hide the case. And that "bulky old style" is still in vogue among audiophiles.

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by Pappnaas » Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:25 am

Maybe it's just the good feeling that things you have spend big money on do look like they cost a fortune?

'cause if you have a living room with designer furniture and stuff that cost more than my and your car together, you do not want to have the cheapo PC look?

YMMV

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by MikeC » Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:11 am

Telstar wrote:And that "bulky old style" is still in vogue among audiophiles.
Certainly not all audiophiles (a group I reluctantly admit to belonging). Small is in with many of them, judging by the number of pricey small class D amps, often integrated with DAC, & similarly pricey small speakers.

I'd personally never buy a case like this Steiger. I am running a NUC for my HTPC & a mITX in a 7l Silverstone case for my JRiver audio setup.

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by Telstar » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:09 am

in my rack I have an old DIGN, then rebranded OrigenAE, which was the model most similar to a (bulky) CD player that I could find at the time.
I have been asked by a few people what model of CDP/DVDP was ;)

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by xan_user » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:24 am

MikeC wrote:
Telstar wrote:And that "bulky old style" is still in vogue among audiophiles.
Certainly not all audiophiles (a group I reluctantly admit to belonging). Small is in with many of them, judging by the number of pricey small class D amps, often integrated with DAC, & similarly pricey small speakers.
as a closet audiophile (and professional home theater installer) I could not agree more. stereo cabinets, and bulky equipment are just not necessary any more. and it looks so weird with a wall mounted TV to have huge rack under, or even near it. im all about clean, full sound, AND the cleanest look I can achieve.

Dont get me wrong, its a cool looking case, that looks to be well made. but you asked if i would buy it. and ive got to say, hell no! even if i was a fan of stereo looking HTPC's, id still feel too guilty buying that and then walking past the guy trying to bum some scraps of food for his kids to eat. course it wont be long till they finally kick all the homeless out of SF to make way for the yuppie dot com $8 latte crowd...so no worries, right?

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by Telstar » Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:45 am

xan_user wrote: as a closet audiophile (and professional home theater installer) I could not agree more. stereo cabinets, and bulky equipment are just not necessary any more.
Necessary? No. Better? Yes (I still don't like class D sound, the switching frequency is too low that it ruins the HF - I guessed going techincal in the OT would be fine :D ).

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by MikeC » Fri Oct 10, 2014 9:01 am

Telstar wrote:
xan_user wrote: as a closet audiophile (and professional home theater installer) I could not agree more. stereo cabinets, and bulky equipment are just not necessary any more.
Necessary? No. Better? Yes (I still don't like class D sound, the switching frequency is too low that it ruins the HF - I guessed going techincal in the OT would be fine :D ).
This is way OT, but... I can't agree. I've listened enough to amps (and all kinds of other audio components -- was a high end audio dealer for years in another life) to know that the interactive effects among components is far to complex to make such blanket statements w/o truly extensive listening/testing with a huge array of gear. Good class D amps sound perfectly good, the switching freq is so far above what anyone can possibly hear (typically between 250kHz to 1.5MHz) that your comment doesn't make any sense. The vast majority of the time, when you can "hear" an amp that's well engineered, it's due to bad component mismatching, some form of overdriving (ie, overt distortion), or simple level mismatch (vs another amp) -- even a half dB louder, when the sound is otherwise the same, sound better.

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by tbessie » Fri Oct 10, 2014 10:15 am

xan_user wrote:ive never really understood why so many want media pc's that look and fit in cabinets like bulky old style stereo equipment, let alone want a screen or buttons on it... to each his own i guess.

but spending as much on a case as you would on a decent mobo/PSU/GPU/CPU? Thats straight up cray-cray! :o

if you want to show off your disposable income, buy a cheap case, hide it behind the cab, or TV and glue the leftover $700 on the wall.
I have VERY limited space in my apartment; I want access to the box itself because I have to reboot it from time to time, access the BIOS and other pre-boot environment stuff, make mods to it, etc. There is no space for a standard sized computer in my apartment where I also have access to it but it's hidden but also near my AV equipment. I live in a small apartment in a building built around 1908, and which hasn't been much modernized, so stacking the HTPC like a piece of stereo equipment in the small AV rack below the TV is about the best option I've got.

- Tim

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by tbessie » Fri Oct 10, 2014 10:20 am

Pappnaas wrote:Maybe it's just the good feeling that things you have spend big money on do look like they cost a fortune?

'cause if you have a living room with designer furniture and stuff that cost more than my and your car together, you do not want to have the cheapo PC look?

YMMV
Just for the record, most I don't have tons of cash, and very little else in my living room looks like it costs a fortune. Mostly Ikea furniture. My car cost $12K (it's a pickup truck). :-)

- Tim

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by tbessie » Fri Oct 10, 2014 10:27 am

xan_user wrote:Dont get me wrong, its a cool looking case, that looks to be well made. but you asked if i would buy it. and ive got to say, hell no! even if i was a fan of stereo looking HTPC's, id still feel too guilty buying that and then walking past the guy trying to bum some scraps of food for his kids to eat. course it wont be long till they finally kick all the homeless out of SF to make way for the yuppie dot com $8 latte crowd...so no worries, right?
You're in San Francisco too? I'm in the Haight, and don't feel guilty not giving to most of the kids on the street around here - I don't think they're begging for their kids. But yeah, spending $700-$900 on a case and then seeing all the homeless folk around here *is* a bit... weird anyway.

Personally, I like this case because it's easy to work in and allows for big ol' fans and already has USB-3 and a card-reader to the front panel, but is otherwise understated. My other option was going to be a Silverstone GD09, which probably would have fit the bill fine and is just around $75 :

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.p ... 88&area=en

My current OriginAE S14V has made me happy, though, which is why I guess I got it. Build quality is quite amazing on those boxes. Silverstone build quality is good, too, honestly, though the two Silverstone cases I've built into have lots of little funky ways of fitting things in that haven't always made me happy.

- Tim

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by xan_user » Fri Oct 10, 2014 5:54 pm

45 mins north of SF. none of my old family/friends can afford to live in SF anymore. google/apple/HP/sysco ect have jacked up all the rents to more than what it cost to live in manhattan. rant over.

if you are living in a small apartment, and driving an old pickup, i really think you should find a more affordable case. there are plenty of HTPC/stereo style cases for under $100. thats just my personal opinion.

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by tbessie » Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:52 pm

xan_user wrote:45 mins north of SF. none of my old family/friends can afford to live in SF anymore. google/apple/HP/sysco ect have jacked up all the rents to more than what it cost to live in manhattan. rant over.

if you are living in a small apartment, and driving an old pickup, i really think you should find a more affordable case. there are plenty of HTPC/stereo style cases for under $100. thats just my personal opinion.
I luckily have rent control, though moved in 7 years ago so it's not all THAT low (I'm paying around $1700 now; my next door neighbors have been there 30 years, they must be paying something like $600). The building just got sold, and they had us fill out some questionnaires, so we're all worried they're going to try to start booting people out... not sure what or when, but it's a consideration. Market rate for my place would be $2500-$3000 most likely.

Too late, I already bought the case; I have a bit of a "buying nice things" problem when it comes to computer stuff (and bicycles). Heh. :-/ But I have a decent job, I just spend my money on things like this instead of cars etc.

I did a TON of research for cases, and the Silverstone I mentioned comes the closest to what I want. Actually, I'd be quite happy with the OriginAE I already have, or it's bigger brother, if they both had USB3 front panel ports (tho' of course I can upgrade it) and took 120mm fans all 'round, but they don't. So it was either the Silverstone or this one, based on form-factor. The big front screen seemed kind of fun - hey, I could watch movies on it if I didn't want to turn on the TV, though I doubt I'll end up doing that. The Silverstone that has a front screen has a hole in the back of the case that takes a VGA-cable in a U-Turn from the video inside the case to the front screen. The one I got uses DisplayLink (older USB 2.0 version), which I hear isn't all that wonderful.

But it'll be an interesting project. It's mostly ready, I just have to reassemble some bits now.

I'll post some photos when it's near done.

- Tim

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Re: Steiger Dynamics HTPC Case - $749 - would you buy it?

Post by tbessie » Sun Oct 12, 2014 10:29 pm

Well after I mostly built the PC (just needs some tidying up), I'm thinking "boy, it's massive, and what AM I going to use that front-panel screen for?". I feel kind of silly, since I wanted this super-expensive case, and now I'm wondering if it's the right one. Can't really return it, since there's nothing wrong with it.

I'm looking at something more subdued, the Silverstone GD08; I miiiiiight build the computer into that and, I dunno, sell this case at a loss to some gamer with money. I still haven't decided; feeling a bit stupid... :-/

- Tim

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