JJ's Year 12: First Year of the New HT in a New House

[JJ]

Originally Posted by saprano

How many inches,and many watts is that dynamo sub?

10", 200W RMS

Originally Posted by silversnake

haha i saw that original picture with all the boxes a few days ago and i was hoping you would do a thread similar to this. Very nice setup my friend. Stop posting here and enjoy it !!!

By the way , those phillips back light are very nice, i didn't think i needed them either until i saw them at my friends house and i immediately saw that it was something i would be interested down the line. Once i finally move out of this apartment it's definitely a buy for me

And upset my fans?! Never! I've had my eye on their new Ambilight TV...it offers 2ms response time and a higher 29k contrast ratio (dynamic) - not on par with any of the Sony or Samsung offerings, but its that feature! Can't live without it!

[Johk]

Really nice setup JJ!

I was wondering why did you put the acoustical panels on the wall behind the TV?

I thought that you needed some on the sidewalls, ceiling and "floor" to catch the first reflexion. I'm just wondering if those are for the surround speakers.

Well enjoy your system!

[PS3-Playb3yond]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

I forgot to say I'm finally running it through its paces - starting off with my DD-EX and DTS-ES DVDs, though - podracing in Ep.I, the Death Star attack on Ep. IV, the T-Rex scene in Jurassic Park, the opening attack from War of the Worlds (ohhhh those LFEs...ohhh man), the Battle of Pelennor Fields from LOTR:RTK, the Colosseum scene in Gladiator...and now the Battle of the Heroes scene in Ep. III.

I know some find Philips' Ambilight feature nothing but a gimmick, but I've found I can't live without it (I can live with the gray bars! ) - I don't see myself upgrading my TV anytime soon (next video upgrade is a projector) - and if you can imagine this scene with the bursting red lava, blue lightsabers flashing, John Williams' powerful score filling the room and each lightsaber swoosh eminating from the subwoofer...I mean, I'm in heaven right now. It's so clear and distinct. I'm shedding a tear here.



I can't wait to get started on the Blu-rays.

Whoa! Set up looks good. Where did you get the light thingy behind the TV?

[aramis109]

It comes with the set. It's the Philips Ambilight TV.

[PS3-Playb3yond]

Originally Posted by aramis109

It comes with the set. It's the Philips Ambilight TV.

Oh, I was asking because I've seen some people have similar lights with blue. Thanks!

[T-Town Oil]

one question ive been curious about after looking at alot of peoples pics of their setups. do the lights from your receiver and/or player (underneath your tv) distract you? nice looking room by the way...keep up the good work.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Johk

Really nice setup JJ!

I was wondering why did you put the acoustical panels on the wall behind the TV?

I thought that you needed some on the sidewalls, ceiling and "floor" to catch the first reflexion. I'm just wondering if those are for the surround speakers.

Well enjoy your system!

I have some on the side and rear walls as well that I put up today. And more on the front wall. The floor I'm covering with rugs and so forth. The ceiling - well, I'm gonna leave that alone, I can't have the place (it is my living room, after all, not a dedicated HT) looking like the Bat Cave!

Originally Posted by PS3-Playb3yond

Whoa! Set up looks good. Where did you get the light thingy behind the TV?

Philips Ambilight. Shows you the colors on the sides of the TV - so say when the lightsaber is being shown on the right and the lava on the left, the right channel light is showing blue, the left channel red. Very cool feature. A gimmick, but one I've found I can't live without anymore!!

Originally Posted by aramis109

It comes with the set. It's the Philips Ambilight TV.

Oh. Well there you go,

Originally Posted by PS3-Playb3yond

Oh, I was asking because I've seen some people have similar lights with blue. Thanks!

All colors of the rainbow! But there are LED strips available from IKEA, say, to light up your system from behind (Giggety) when it is off.

Originally Posted by T-Town Oil

one question ive been curious about after looking at alot of peoples pics of their setups. do the lights from your receiver and/or player (underneath your tv) distract you? nice looking room by the way...keep up the good work.

Not in the least, lol - sure I notice them, but they aren't distracting at all! If it gets to that point, the simple solution is Black electrical tape to cover it up, but I don't think such a drastic measure is necessary!

[Pelican170]

Looks nice. Can I just ask you why you chose not to have your setup Voice Matched?

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Pelican170

Looks nice. Can I just ask you why you chose not to have your setup Voice Matched?

It is. The front three are, all from the 600 series. That is the only important thing - L/C/R. The sub, rears, can be whatever.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Pelican170

Looks nice. Can I just ask you why you chose not to have your setup Voice Matched?

From his original post:

"A Wall-mount to give the top of my stand to my Bowers and Wilkins HTM62 center, a big ol' fun box of Monoprice cables/wires/accessories and a Philips DivX/DVD player (since not all my DivX play on my PS3)...

...and my crown jewels, a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 683s."

B&W 683 towers and a B&W HTM62 center. What's not voice matched here? If you're referring to the subs and the rears, they don't have to be.

*edit* JJ beat me to it.

[Pelican170]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

It is. The front three are, all from the 600 series. That is the only important thing - L/C/R. The sub, rears, can be whatever.

Was just curious, i know some people are determined to have their whole set up matched. Very nice though, very clean looking!

[JJ]

Originally Posted by aramis109

From his original post:

"A Wall-mount to give the top of my stand to my Bowers and Wilkins HTM62 center, a big ol' fun box of Monoprice cables/wires/accessories and a Philips DivX/DVD player (since not all my DivX play on my PS3)...

...and my crown jewels, a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 683s."

B&W 683 towers and a B&W HTM62 center. What's not voice matched here? If you're referring to the subs and the rears, they don't have to be.

*edit* JJ beat me to it.

Edit: No, no, aramis, this just means we're doubly-emphasizing this point across. B&W makes fantastic speakers, but you can do better for subwoofers.

Originally Posted by Pelican170

Was just curious, i know some people are determined to have their whole set up matched. Very nice though, very clean looking!

Thanks. I HATE clutter. I will have order!!! I couldn't deal with some of the messes I've seen pics of in the HT Pics thread! I'm not posting my pics in there until I'm completely 100% done with room treating, decor, and everything,

[Pelican170]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Edit: No, no, aramis, this just means we're doubly-emphasizing this point across. B&W makes fantastic speakers, but you can do better for subwoofers.



Thanks. I HATE clutter. I will have order!!! I couldn't deal with some of the messes I've seen pics of in the HT Pics thread! I'm not posting my pics in there until I'm completely 100% done with room treating, decor, and everything,

I hear ya on the clutter. Im moving into a house soon and im going to do it up nice and clean when i get a chance. Also, great choice on having towers for your surrounds! You dont see that toooo often, id do it myself if i had the cash...

[Johk]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

I have some on the side and rear walls as well that I put up today. And more on the front wall. The floor I'm covering with rugs and so forth. The ceiling - well, I'm gonna leave that alone, I can't have the place (it is my living room, after all, not a dedicated HT) looking like the Bat Cave!

Yeah, I know what you mean... I'm currently looking this up for a future upgrade to my set-up... (I'm not sure I'll get much support from my GF...)

Did you notice improvements when you added the acoustic treatment? Which location made the most impact to you (front, side or rear)?

Post some updated pics if you can!

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Not in the least, lol - sure I notice them, but they aren't distracting at all! If it gets to that point, the simple solution is Black electrical tape to cover it up, but I don't think such a drastic measure is necessary!

Most components allow you to dim the lights and/or turn them off... So there are some less drastic measures!

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Pelican170

I hear ya on the clutter. Im moving into a house soon and im going to do it up nice and clean when i get a chance. Also, great choice on having towers for your surrounds! You dont see that toooo often, id do it myself if i had the cash...

It's overkill, I know, but the room's situation and its design force the issue - I have no wall behind my couch to mount them on ((dang architects...)), and for the price of decent stands I might as well move on to floorstanders. You're upgrading your setup soon?

Originally Posted by Johk

Yeah, I know what you mean... I'm currently looking this up for a future upgrade to my set-up... (I'm not sure I'll get much support from my GF...)

Did you notice improvements when you added the acoustic treatment? Which location made the most impact to you (front, side or rear)?

Post some updated pics if you can!

Most components allow you to dim the lights and/or turn them off... So there are some less drastic measures!

You have Axiom M-series!!!! I was looking into those as well, but the 4-ohm resistance of the 80s ruined it for me! :grumble: How long have you had them?

In my old HTiB setup, I used to have ridiculous sound bounce. I haven't run the new system since I've added the latest panels, and I'm not going to until I finish the decor and rugs/carpets/etc. The bass traps have added a noticeable difference though (or maybe it's just the Dynamo over my HTiB, ) I used to have this INSANE problem of always having to have subtitles on because it was never clear, and now it's finally clear for me to hear dialogue, but again, this is probably the HTM62 and not so much the panels. And seeing as I'm too lazy to bring the panels down just to test it out...lol...we'll see when I'm done!

I will tonight, if I can get around to it. Coursework has me pinned down solid.

[Pelican170]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

It's overkill, I know, but the room's situation and its design force the issue - I have no wall behind my couch to mount them on ((dang architects...)), and for the price of decent stands I might as well move on to floorstanders. You're upgrading your setup soon?

NO, i really do like the towers for surrounds. Im not sure if im upgrading but more of going to have to redo my setup for the move and i want to do it super clean like you have done. My biggest issues are wires, which i hate seeing and you did a great job with them.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Pelican170

NO, i really do like the towers for surrounds. Im not sure if im upgrading but more of going to have to redo my setup for the move and i want to do it super clean like you have done. My biggest issues are wires, which i hate seeing and you did a great job with them.

This pic from early yesterday shows some added ones. I still have a left wall to cover up. The back wall (all 6 feet of it) is already covered up. I don't want to do the ceiling - and I'm still toying with the idea of placing them above the TV and above the current ones. All that open space of tile has got to go too, but I can't just throw any ol' rug down there, it's got to look tasteful! So that's another quest of finding a nice 2'x3' carpet or so to lay down in 3-4 select places in the living room, behind the couch, and around the coffee table (heck that coffee table is a reflective nightmare too). You can also see what I mean by a lack of full rear wall to mount surrounds on (it should be where I took this pic from). Making this a 6 or 7 speaker setup would mean more Polk Monitor 50s!

All in all, acoustical treatments in a living room are a matter of balancing taste, sanity, decor, effectiveness, and style - I could easily go in many directions from here. Sure, I could make paste all the walls and ceiling in the stuff, but then it wouldn't look like a living room. It would look like Moria. (Ha, LOTR reference)

What you don't see here though, are the 2x2x4 bass traps in each corner of that wall. I've also been thinking of other places to put more, but it's more the bounce of mid-range sound I'm looking to control, not LFEs.

Argh. It's madness, I tell you. I'm about to get on my AutoCAD program and diagram up my LR so I can show you guys what I'm talking about, Perfection is fleeting!

[Johk]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

You have Axiom M-series!!!! I was looking into those as well, but the 4-ohm resistance of the 80s ruined it for me! :grumble: How long have you had them?

I got my Axioms in June but I had to wait until the first week of July to finally try them (like you, everything in boxes, I made a thread when I set up everything)! And they are really great! Like you I was looking at the M80s at first but due to the fact that they were 4 Ohms and that I didn't decided on a receiver when I was researching them I choose to get the 8 ohms M60s. Listening to music with the M60s I don't regret my decision they are really great speakers and I don't think they are a big step down from the M80s.

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

I haven't run the new system since I've added the latest panels, and I'm not going to until I finish the decor and rugs/carpets/etc. The bass traps have added a noticeable difference though (or maybe it's just the Dynamo over my HTiB, ) I used to have this INSANE problem of always having to have subtitles on because it was never clear, and now it's finally clear for me to hear dialogue, but again, this is probably the HTM62 and not so much the panels. And seeing as I'm too lazy to bring the panels down just to test it out...lol...we'll see when I'm done!

I will tonight, if I can get around to it. Coursework has me pinned down solid.

Nice, you're confirming what I've read, basically corner treatment as the most impact... Hum, what do your bass traps look like? This is definitely the next thing on my list! And after that, It will probably be a good amp to hook up to my current receiver!

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Johk

Nice, you're confirming what I've read, basically corner treatment as the most impact... Hum, what do your bass traps look like? This is definitely the next thing on my list! And after that, It will probably be a good amp to hook up to my current receiver!

It shows 1, but I have two of them in each corner. Thinking of adding a third.

And don't worry guys, I run them with grilles on, this was just a for-show picture I took during early setup on Saturday.

[kingofgrills]

Good work. Do you have any plans on covering the accoustical treatments with fabric or something, so they look less egg cratey? My wife wouldn't let me add anything that looked like that.

Accoustical treatments are probably the toughest thing to integrate into a room. I appreciate its function and form though, and I bet those wall treatments and bass traps help clean things up noticeably. I've got to figure out a way to use accoustical treatments that pass the spouse test.