[brj]

Greetings all!

So... I'm finally on the verge of home ownership in Denver and am starting to research my high speed internet options.  I'd like at least 1.5 Mb download speed at my Littleton address and really don't care about any other services at this point.

If I have to bundle another service, I'd choose TV over local phone, but could live without either.  My AT&T cell phone works fine, and my only TV is a 15 year old, 21" CRT with a failing power supply.  I'll probably replace it next year with a flat screen 1080p set of some kind, but until then, the most basic TV package would be more than sufficient.

I'm open to DSL, cable, satellite, wireless, etc..  (Too bad FIOS isn't an option.)  I'll have everything behind a router, so all I really care about is a reliable connection at a low price.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

[mgalusha]

DSL is likely the cheapest. Quest offers a 1.5Mb down/768K up for $26.99 for life. Mine has been very reliable, only time we've had trouble is during a really bad electrical storm. And you know where I live, not exactly what you'd call a high tech area. Since DSL rides on the phone line I don't know if Qwest requires a regular line or if they will provide it without a number and just let you use the copper. They do offer TV service, mostly via DirecTV but my step son has Qwest DSL and his TV comes over a cable, so both are available.

Comcast is much faster for D/L, our's was anywhere from 3-5Mbs (before we moved) but their outbound speed is truly awful, about 128Kbs. If you live in a neighborhood with lots of folks it can come to a crawl. Ours was about $49/month.

I had satellite at one time, IMO this is to be avoided if at all possible. Even when it's working good the latency is horrible and most (all?) of them use a proxy to compress the data and prefetch it. Which works OK unless you are hitting secure pages such as your bank. Ours was so bad we would use the modem when hitting anything with https. I ended up getting an ISDN line and kept it for several years until Comcast wired our neighborhood. The ISDN was the most reliable connection I've ever had but not very fast and very expensive.

There are line of sight microwave providers as well. They can be very fast but you have to live in the right spot and last I checked they were fairly expensive.

I have no experience with the newer wifi type solutions such as Sprint.

Mike

I forgot to mention, congrats on the new home. Given the market I'm hoping you were able to get a good deal.

[sunshinedawg]

I agree with Mike. I also have the qwest 1.5Mb @ 26.99 per month. We have connections at home and the office if that gives you an idea of how much I like it. When we first moved in, only cable was available. The cable was reliable but about twice as much as the dsl. Mike hit the nail the head, the download on the cable was really fast, but slow on the upload. The dsl has better "acceleration" in my book. Things load faster, but pure download speed is definitely slower. We also have city wide wireless in Longmont, my neighbor has it and has had nothing but trouble. I also have cell wifi, but I don't think that is viable solution for home, I just use it here and there when I'm on the road.

Sean

[brj]

Thanks, guys!  When I lived in Fort Worth, I moved from a cable model to DSL due to cost.  (1.5 Mb DSL was $19.95 on top of $12.95 for basic phone.)  The problem is that you still have to pay for basic phone on top of DSL, which presumably brings the price up beyond the $26.99 point.  (Correct me if I'm wrong.)  So the catch is, is Qwest DSL + basic phone cheaper than Cable + basic TV?


Mike, thanks for the congrats.  To be honest, I had to settle far more than I would have liked because I was up against my relocation benefits deadline.  It's a nice neighborhood, but it is a fairly traditional home that will be a bigger moneypit than most due to a lack of updating and a lot of deferred maintenance on the part of the current owners.  The price was ok, but not great, for what it was.  I was trying to stay West, and the areas just in front of, or just into, the foothills seem to have resisted the price slide better than homes further East.  The charismatic house up in the pine trees with a dedicated audio room will have to wait until next time!

[arthurs]

Quit worrying about your internet connection and get your damn system up and running!  I'll be there in October and want to hear the Audio Logic singing through the Salk's!   

[mgalusha]

Quit worrying about your internet connection and get your damn system up and running!  I'll be there in October and want to hear the Audio Logic singing through the Salk's!   

I think Arthur has his priorities straight.

[Jerrym303]

I also use Qwest DSL in Lafayette.  You do have ISP charge in addition.  It has been very reliable.

[arthurs]

Quit worrying about your internet connection and get your damn system up and running!  I'll be there in October and want to hear the Audio Logic singing through the Salk's!   

I think Arthur has his priorities straight.

Thanks M!  Although it is a sign of the apocalypse when I'm the voice of reason....

[zybar]

Quit worrying about your internet connection and get your damn system up and running!  I'll be there in October and want to hear the Audio Logic singing through the Salk's!   

I think I might have heard that combo...to much gear to really be sure though.   

George

[sunshinedawg]

Thanks, guys!  When I lived in Fort Worth, I moved from a cable model to DSL due to cost.  (1.5 Mb DSL was $19.95 on top of $12.95 for basic phone.)  The problem is that you still have to pay for basic phone on top of DSL, which presumably brings the price up beyond the $26.99 point.  (Correct me if I'm wrong.)  So the catch is, is Qwest DSL + basic phone cheaper than Cable + basic TV?

Yes, you do have to have a qualifying phone line for the 26.99 price, but we already had the line, so it was a no brainer. It is possible to get a 'dry loop" or "naked" dsl, but you won't get the 26.99 price, that's what we have at the office. The price for that is $47, but keep in mind that it is for our business and I know they charge differently for home and office.

[arthurs]

Quit worrying about your internet connection and get your damn system up and running!  I'll be there in October and want to hear the Audio Logic singing through the Salk's!   

I think I might have heard that combo...to much gear to really be sure though.   

George

George - how dare you have that opinion about the AL / Salk combination...oh wait, wrong thread!   

[zybar]

Quit worrying about your internet connection and get your damn system up and running!  I'll be there in October and want to hear the Audio Logic singing through the Salk's!   

I think I might have heard that combo...to much gear to really be sure though.   

George

George - how dare you have that opinion about the AL / Salk combination...oh wait, wrong thread!   

Don't make me come down to Texas, listen to your system, and state my thoughts!!   

George

[brj]

Yes, but without an internet connection, I won't have access to Audiogon and therefore no ability to buy an amp/pre-amp to feed the Salks!  (I sold what I had before I moved.)  See how that works?

Given the house down payment, I'm going to have to "settle" on an interim amp/pre-amp solution for a while until the funds recover.  Then again, maybe I can impose on Art's famous deal-sniffing skills!

Anyway, it is sound like Denver is a DSL kinda town... Comcast must not be well liked...


George, you need to hear Art's system... whether it involves thought or not!

[arthurs]

Quit worrying about your internet connection and get your damn system up and running!  I'll be there in October and want to hear the Audio Logic singing through the Salk's!   

I think I might have heard that combo...to much gear to really be sure though.   

George

George - how dare you have that opinion about the AL / Salk combination...oh wait, wrong thread!   

Don't make me come down to Texas, listen to your system, and state my thoughts!!   

George

My system sucks George, but you should hear it to confirm that for the masses.   

[Wayne1]

From a slightly different point of view:

I had Qwest DSL a few years ago and had nothing but problems. Not a good thing when you are an Internet based business.

I switched to Comcast and have not had anywhere near the problems. It is more expensive than Qwest, but for me the reliability is more important than the price.

I think Jerry might have a few amps and pre-amps he might let you borrow/audition.

[brj]

If prices were almost the same, I'd lean toward cable rather than DSL for the chance of higher bandwidth and the fact that I'd rather pay for basic cable than basic phone service.  If DSL without basic phone is available, that might work, but I haven't seen it before.

Too bad that FIOS doesn't seem planned for the Denver area anytime soon...

I think Jerry might have a few amps and pre-amps he might let you borrow/audition.

How is Turk these days?  I haven't seen him post in a while.  I hope all is well for him.

I'd certainly welcome the chance to experiment, but I don't like to impose.  My initial plan was to buy something used at a reasonable price that I could resell for little to no loss later when I can make audio a somewhat higher priority again.  Ultimately, I'd really like to play with a modded DEQX HDP3 in an active tri-amp setup, but that is probably a very long way off.

[Jerrym303]

Hi brl,

Wayne's comment is the first I have heard of cable being more reliable.  I have had exactly the opposite experience.  Probably just goes to show that it is location-specific.  Maybe the best advice you can get is to not agree to any long-term commitments.  If one or the other offers a shorter commitment period, go with them first and see how it goes.

I can't remember the last time my DSL went out.