Stimpson's living room HT upgrades

[StimpsonJCat]

My new updated HT setup:
LRC: E70s
Surrounds: E60s
Sub: MFW-15

[StimpsonJCat]

Here is an article from 2007 on the E70s:

http://www.hometheatermag.com/compac.../707bostone70/

[StimpsonJCat]

I hear crickets in this thread....

My speakers are starting to arrive and I'll get some pics up soon. I'm thinking of mounting the side surrounds horizontally (the E70 is a LRC and should be fine that way) on the wall. I got approval from the wife for this although it was tough to get with the size of the surrounds (23 1/4" X 7 1/4" X 9"). I did give a little on the height of the mount (she wants them around 8' up). I think they will sound fine there if I angle them down a bit.

For the wiring of the side surrounds I have a couple of options. Her uncle may help us with the work. On option is to run the wire in wall up to the attic, over to the area above the AVR, and down to it through the wall. Or run the wire through the wall down to the baseboard and run it along the baseboard to the AVR. It will have to go over a door fram on one side and the fireplace along with several door frames on the other. I prefer the attic way, but it may be hard to get to the areas needed.

My only mounting option on the rear surrounds is on the ceiling and it is way up there. So for them I'm going to put together a cabinet (modular pieces from Lowes) and mount the speaker stands to it. The stands are around 28" and with the extra height from the cabinet they will be up high enough to give them a little breathing room. I'll try to get some pictures of the cabinet when I get it put together to show how it will work.

[aramis109]

Eh, you posted on a weekend. Pics will definitely help generate some traffic to your thread though.

[StimpsonJCat]

Update: I have received the three E70s. They are bigger than I expected and heavy. I hooked up one of them for my center and was really impressed with the sound (without even re-calibrating).

I've decided these will be too much work to mount on the walls so I'm going to go with a 5.1 system. I'll use the E70s for LRC and have traded in my E40s for E60s to handle the side surround duty. I'll move the VR2s into the game room which will make rock band really rock.

I'm going to start with the side surrounds on stands behind the couch, but still plan on hanging the E60's on the walls.

I'll post pictures at the end of the week when I have them setup.

[sinister184]

nice! looks like your collection is growing, time to get yourself a nice rack

[StimpsonJCat]

I'm adding some new pictures to the gallery, but I'll take better ones when I get a chance. The new pictures show the wire runner to hide wires from TV to the TV stand. With the Ikea dioders it was a must.

I've raised the sub up per the recommendations in Big Daddy's sub thread. I haven't had much time with it, but sounds good so far.

The E-series speakers sound great. They have so much more clarity and detail than my old speakers. Love them so far, but not enough time with them yet to give a full review. I use the system for 90/10 HT/music so I don't think going from towers to these will be an issue. I'll have to do some music listening (2.1) and see. But for HT it fills the room with great sound.

I still have a problem with the surrounds not located in the correct position, but when I get around to mounting them on the wall (w/ in wall wiring) they should be great.

[StimpsonJCat]

Originally Posted by sinister184

nice! looks like your collection is growing, time to get yourself a nice rack

Collection as in bds or equipmenet? I'm happy w/ the equipment in the TV cabinet, but if you are talking about movies I have many more than I've listed on this site..haven't had the time to add them all. I do need to find a better place for them. I'll upload a picture of them, but you can't see them all. My DVDs are in binders for the most part.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by StimpsonJCat

I'm adding some new pictures to the gallery, but I'll take better ones when I get a chance. The new pictures show the wire runner to hide wires from TV to the TV stand. With the Ikea dioders it was a must.

I've raised the sub up per the recommendations in Big Daddy's sub thread. I haven't had much time with it, but sounds good so far.

The E-series speakers sound great. They have so much more clarity and detail than my old speakers. Love them so far, but not enough time with them yet to give a full review. I use the system for 90/10 HT/music so I don't think going from towers to these will be an issue. I'll have to do some music listening (2.1) and see. But for HT it fills the room with great sound.

I still have a problem with the surrounds not located in the correct position, but when I get around to mounting them on the wall (w/ in wall wiring) they should be great.

Those Boston Acoustics are beautiful. I really like the set-up and the sub riser, what is that 10"? . You have a very classy and functional living room and your equipment is very nice indeed. By the way, are you going to paint the runner to match the wall?

[StimpsonJCat]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

Those Boston Acoustics are beautiful. I really like the set-up and the sub riser, what is that 10"? . You have a very classy and functional living room and your equipment is very nice indeed. By the way, are you going to paint the runner to match the wall?

Thanks. The legs on the riser are 8", so all together I bet it is 10" or so. I thought about painting the runner, but it matches the wall sockets and room trim so maybe not. Still haven't made up our minds on that one.

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by StimpsonJCat

I'm adding some new pictures to the gallery, but I'll take better ones when I get a chance. The new pictures show the wire runner to hide wires from TV to the TV stand. With the Ikea dioders it was a must.

I've raised the sub up per the recommendations in Big Daddy's sub thread. I haven't had much time with it, but sounds good so far.

The E-series speakers sound great. They have so much more clarity and detail than my old speakers. Love them so far, but not enough time with them yet to give a full review. I use the system for 90/10 HT/music so I don't think going from towers to these will be an issue. I'll have to do some music listening (2.1) and see. But for HT it fills the room with great sound.

I still have a problem with the surrounds not located in the correct position, but when I get around to mounting them on the wall (w/ in wall wiring) they should be great.

Looks great!!! Seems that this forum has a case of upgraditis!

[Digiti]

"I've raised the sub up per the recommendations in Big Daddy's sub thread. I haven't had much time with it, but sounds good so far".

The raising of your Outlaw Sub on its Gramma caught my eye. What are the benefits in doing this? Thanks.

[blu_world]

move the sub woofer out close to your sitting area then having it facing the front with your speaker,seems too close to the tv.


would just be a better move to have out of the way

[StimpsonJCat]

Originally Posted by Digiti

"I've raised the sub up per the recommendations in Big Daddy's sub thread. I haven't had much time with it, but sounds good so far".

The raising of your Outlaw Sub on its Gramma caught my eye. What are the benefits in doing this? Thanks.

This thread will explain it better than I could :
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=74527

Aside from the theory behind it (covered more in the thread):

YMMV, but those that have done this seem to like the results. I won't know for sure how I like it until I spend some time with it, but after calibrating with Audyssey it sounds tighter. I've had trouble with the windows to the right of my HT rattling. Some people want the house to shake, but I'm more about the hit you in the gut low end without the rattles. The Gramma helped with this as did moving the sub inside the right speaker. I think the riser helps it further.

I had to really tweak the sub levels when I had it on the ground and now it seems to be fine right out of calibration. I'll have to see if sounds good in all my listening positions this weekend. It is a pretty cheap tweak if you use something you own already or build it. Worth a test to see how it performs for you.

[StimpsonJCat]

Originally Posted by blu_world

move the sub woofer out close to your sitting area then having it facing the front with your speaker,seems too close to the tv.


would just be a better move to have out of the way

Not sure what you are suggesting. I would move it out more, but with the riser it would block the right speaker's dispersion to my sweet spot. I really want to move the L & R out more, but I need to re-wire because the wires were for my old speakers and didn't have to go up through the stands before. The placement of the speakers and sub will probably change when I re-wire, but I'm not doing that until I move forward with the in-wall wiring/ mounting of the surrounds.

[blu_world]

Originally Posted by StimpsonJCat

Not sure what you are suggesting. I would move it out more, but with the riser it would block the right speaker's dispersion to my sweet spot. I really want to move the L & R out more, but I need to re-wire because the wires were for my old speakers and didn't have to go up through the stands before. The placement of the speakers and sub will probably change when I re-wire, but I'm not doing that until I move forward with the in-wall wiring/ mounting of the surrounds.

No i take that comment back,i guess its fine the way it is,Just thought for a moment it would be more simple to have your sub woofer closer to the seating area like this...


only because my sub woofer shakes the screen of my tv when its close,guess you don't have that problem to worry about...my bad....plus i like the feel the bass since its closer to me



What is the best place to put a subwoofer?
Due to certain principles of acoustics, the corner of the room is almost always the ideal location to place a subwoofer. The next best location to place a subwoofer is along a wall. Home theater aficionados may like to place the subwoofer to the side or behind the seating, near the listener, as this will provide better upper-bass impact. For the best experience, avoid placing the subwoofer or your seating in the middle of the room, because there is a bass void there.

[JJ]

Stimpson, what you've done with your subwoofer is genius. I can't believe you just gave me another money-creating idea. Just get a cheap end table, put the isolator on it (I have a SubDude) and put the subwoofer on that. Genius. Inspiring. And since I'm too lazy to build a BigDaddy (TM) riser, I could set that up and make it look real nice. Thanks.

And, gorgeous speakers, by the way.

[StimpsonJCat]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Stimpson, what you've done with your subwoofer is genius. I can't believe you just gave me another money-creating idea. Just get a cheap end table, put the isolator on it (I have a SubDude) and put the subwoofer on that. Genius. Inspiring. And since I'm too lazy to build a BigDaddy (TM) riser, I could set that up and make it look real nice. Thanks.

And, gorgeous speakers, by the way.

Thanks. I got a chance to run Audyssey with the new speakers this weekend and I'm really happy with the results. The E70s for L & R sound better than the VR2s (total surprise) and the E70 as a center blows the VRC away (never thought it kept up with the VR2s in my old setup). With some more listening time I've decided the sub riser is the way to go. I still might mess with the sub's placement when I re-wire the surrounds.

I'm glad my riser idea (inspired by BD's risers) works for you. I just thought I'd try it because I already had the gramma and wasn't using the stand for the surrounds anymore. I was also lucky that it passed the WAF. But, to my wife's credit she hasn't said no to any of my crazy ideas yet.

[StimpsonJCat]

I have some pictures of the new game room setup. I moved the VR series speakers in there and moved some things around. I'm very happy with the sound in that room now.

Also, I uploaded a picture of one of my E60s used for Surrounds in the main HT.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by StimpsonJCat

I have some pictures of the new game room setup. I moved the VR series speakers in there and moved some things around. I'm very happy with the sound in that room now.

Also, I uploaded a picture of one of my E60s used for Surrounds in the main HT.

That looks much better, especially from an aesthetic point of view. I really like that game room too....