thaxphenomx Home Theater Thread

[thaxphenomx]

I have completed my second version of my living room home theater build. The pictures from each version are in my gallery. Enjoy and please provide any feedback/suggestions.

Version 2 changes:
Replaced bulky TV stand with Salamander Synergy 237 Black/Black
Wall mounted TV with Sanus XF228
Ultralink MX-2 Speaker cables for front three speakers
APC-H15 Power Conditioner
Moved the subwoofer to the right side of the soundstage
Logitech Harmony One
Integrated Cable TV into HTPC via HD Homerun PRIME

Sony KDL 55HX800 LED TV
Anthem MRX 300 A/V Receiver
Polk Monitor 60 fronts
Polk CS10 center
Polk OWM3 rears
HSU VTF2-MK3 subwoofer on an Auralex Gramma
APC-H15 Power conditioner
PS3
HTPC with Media server in my office
Ultralink MX-2 speaker cables
Salamander Synergy 237 Black/Black
Sanus XF228

Future upgrades:
GIK Acoustic Panels
Aperion Verus Grand speakers
Emotiva UPA-1 x3
HSU VTF-15H (two would be awesome but WAF is low there)

[lucv13]

Originally Posted by thaxphenomx

I am not happy with the location of my rear surrounds currently. The house came pre-wired for two rear channels but they're too far away from the listening position and too high in my opinion. I eventually want to go 7.2.

Great looking set up, I don't think that the rears are too far away or too high, I would think that with the Anthem that the position of the rear speakers would be compensated for after using ARC...

[thaxphenomx]

It's probably the speakers then. The surround sound just seems thin to me.

[thaxphenomx]

What if I place two surrounds to the left and right of the couch and two directly behind the couch? How far away from the couch should the surrounds be?

[HAMP]

This is a nice layout, I really like how you have space behind the couch away from the wall.

To fix your surround sound, I would suggest you look into some bi/di-pole speakers.

Those type of speakers do some amazing work with audio. The way they are designed to throw the sound around you, really brings you into the movie you’re watching. They can cost a little bit more then direct radiating speakers, but well worth it

[Fors*]

I'll play devil's advocate here and say I'm not so sure bi/di-pole speakers will work well in your room. They rely upon reflections from the side and back walls to properly disperse the sound and to envelop the listener. It appears they would need to be placed a bit too far next to and behind the couch, which in turn would lose some of the reflection points necessary for the ambient sound to be heard as intended. My set-up is similar in that I lack a side wall and no back wall was close to where I sat. I had bipoles and they sounded weak due to the lack of the proper reflection points and positioning. For my money, direct radiating speakers have had a more pronounced effect in creating the surround sound I wanted to experience.

You could always try bi/di-poles and see if you like what you hear. I did but went back to direct radiating speakers. Just my 2 pennies!

[thaxphenomx]

Originally Posted by Fors*

I'll play devil's advocate here and say I'm not so sure bi/di-pole speakers will work well in your room. They rely upon reflections from the side and back walls to properly disperse the sound and to envelop the listener. It appears they would need to be placed a bit too far next to and behind the couch, which in turn would lose some of the reflection points necessary for the ambient sound to be heard as intended. My set-up is similar in that I lack a side wall and no back wall was close to where I sat. I had bipoles and they sounded weak due to the lack of the proper reflection points and positioning. For my money, direct radiating speakers have had a more pronounced effect in creating the surround sound I wanted to experience.

You could always try bi/di-poles and see if you like what you hear. I did but went back to direct radiating speakers. Just my 2 pennies!

Yeah I agree, my room isn't ideal for bi/di-poles. The back wall is just too far from the couch for my liking and there's no side walls to reflect off of. The front stage overpowers the rears even with the MRX adjusting the sound in the back speakers. Like I said before, I'm thinking about doing four direct surround sound speakers around the couch. Can someone comment on that idea?

[bz1080p]

Welcome to the HT galleries
TGIF too!

[Johnny Vinyl]

Looks good and welcome!

[thaxphenomx]

Thanks guys. I look forward to building the perfect home theater. Hopefully you guys can help along the way

[DangeRuss]

Originally Posted by thaxphenomx

Thanks guys. I look forward to building the perfect home theater. Hopefully you guys can help along the way

Did you say PERFECT ????? Boy.... are you in for a long hard (but fun ) ride....... I hope your wallet is ready

[thaxphenomx]

Originally Posted by DangeRuss

Did you say PERFECT ????? Boy.... are you in for a long hard (but fun ) ride....... I hope your wallet is ready

I guess I shouldn't use the word 'perfect' so loosely with a hobby like this haha.

[Lopan]

Nice theater set up. I like how your rears were already pre-wired in the walls. I wish I could do that in my place but I'm just renting. That medi center looks kinda cool, how much for one of those and do you have to store all you Blus into that like a disk changer. I have no idea what a HTPC does or how it works.

[DangeRuss]

Originally Posted by thaxphenomx

I guess I shouldn't use the word 'perfect' so loosely with a hobby like this haha.

Good morning

Yeah ....... "Perfect" is a strong word but, it shows you have the same affliction as most of us here. It's called upgraditis and I'm afraid it can be terminal . Striving to get the best system one can (within their budget) is a never-ending journey ..... Lucky for you.. you've found a support group

[thaxphenomx]

Originally Posted by Lopan

Nice theater set up. I like how your rears were already pre-wired in the walls. I wish I could do that in my place but I'm just renting. That medi center looks kinda cool, how much for one of those and do you have to store all you Blus into that like a disk changer. I have no idea what a HTPC does or how it works.

Thanks. An HTPC is a Home Theater Personal Computer. I built that one myself and it cost about 600. I have all of my movies stored on a server and the HTPC streams the movies

[callas01]

I love that media server... I can't stream at my house, I live in the hills and we don't have high speed internet at home... but the way you have that is awesome. My buddy does that with his mac mini and music setup. Ive been jealous of his 2-ch setup for some time.

I think if you got a second VTF2.3(or 2.4 now) that it would be better then one vtf15h.

with the ascend upgrades, are you going to go with the NrT tweeter or the ribbon? Looks like youre setting a really nice setup. I like all my components on one unit as well. my pics need to be updated again, but you can get a general idea of what Im doing looking at my gallery.

[thaxphenomx]

Originally Posted by callas01

I love that media server... I can't stream at my house, I live in the hills and we don't have high speed internet at home... but the way you have that is awesome. My buddy does that with his mac mini and music setup. Ive been jealous of his 2-ch setup for some time.

I think if you got a second VTF2.3(or 2.4 now) that it would be better then one vtf15h.

with the ascend upgrades, are you going to go with the NrT tweeter or the ribbon? Looks like youre setting a really nice setup. I like all my components on one unit as well. my pics need to be updated again, but you can get a general idea of what Im doing looking at my gallery.

You don't need high speed internet to stream from your own server, just a Gigabit router. When I bought my house it came pre-wired with a network connection to each room so I'm able to plug into my router from any room and stream from my server.

Eventually the goal is to have two VTF-15H's

I spoke with Dave from Ascend and he thinks I should just stick with the NrT tweeter because of how I use the speakers (80% movies, 20% music which is mostly hip/hop, rock, alternative). The RAAL tweeter is quite an expensive upgrade and I would only notice an improvement with classical and jazz music. If I had money to just throw away I would get the RAAL.

Thanks for your comments!

I made some upgrades this week so when I get a chance to take more pictures I'll update.

[Lopan]

Originally Posted by thaxphenomx

Thanks. An HTPC is a Home Theater Personal Computer. I built that one myself and it cost about 600. I have all of my movies stored on a server and the HTPC streams the movies

Ok, so does that mean your movies are all digital downloads, or are they in a player? And since it's streaming, does it loose any video and audio quality? Is it still lossless audio?

[thaxphenomx]

Originally Posted by Lopan

Ok, so does that mean your movies are all digital downloads, or are they in a player? And since it's streaming, does it loose any video and audio quality? Is it still lossless audio?

No I own all the movies, I just create MKV's from them and store them on hard drives. There is no loss of video or audio quality because I'm streaming over Gigabit LAN which is plenty for 1080p. Yes, the audio is lossless.

[Lopan]

Originally Posted by thaxphenomx

No I own all the movies, I just create MKV's from them and store them on hard drives. There is no loss of video or audio quality because I'm streaming over Gigabit LAN which is plenty for 1080p. Yes, the audio is lossless.

Ok thanks, I will have to do more research on this if it's something I want to do. You recommend any websites or resources to look up for more information? thanks.