Definitive Technology Mythos Series Thread - Page 82

Originally Posted by fuwa

Hi.


I just purchased some Def Tech ST floor demos from BB.

There are two issues. When there is a low bass sound such as the thunder at the end of Michael Jackson's Jam, there is a slight vibrating of the speaker grill. It is not as bad as before because Def Tech sent me the missing rubber hold cup for the grill prong. Is this normal or to be expected after some use?

The other issue is that when I connect the speakers LFE input and use the Pioneer 23 receiver test tone, I can hear a slight static noise when the tone goes to the sub. This does not occur when I use the Martin Logan Dymamo sub. I took the speaker back to BB and we tried the tone using another receiver and the noise was not as evident. Surprisingly when we tried a new STS there was a crackling poping noise which was much worse.

The BB speaker installer didn't think the noise was out of the normal and suggested sending the L and R pre-amp outs to the LFE of the ST and the subout from the Pioneer to the Martin Logan sub. This seems to work fine.

My question is has anyone else noticed a slight noise when running the test tone from a Pioneer receiver throught the ST sub? Is this something I should be concerned about?

Originally Posted by Mantis10

You do however have to tune the internal subs so they sound correct for music.

If you need help with that just ask. I have a technic that works great.

Originally Posted by Mantis10

1) This is not normal. I have Installed many pairs of Mythos towers with no problems. Now breaking the grill pins is another story, they seem flimsy and they break very easy. I suggested to DT to go all magnetic.

2) You should not have any static type sound. Check or replace your interconnects and Y splitter. I'm assuming there is a problem there.

As far as using line level out of the L R for the towers , thats just silly. Run speaker wire there and use your ML sub for LFE. You do however have to tune the internal subs so they sound correct for music.

If you need help with that just ask. I have a technic that works great.

Originally Posted by Kjiwani

Hi all,

I read almost all of this thread (took forever) and wanted to confirm/get opinions on one issue.

I ordered a pair of Mythos 2's off Amazon for the great price. I was looking at a Mythos 3 as a center, however, reading everything says the 2s and 3 are essentially the same speaker. Is there a reason to buy a 3 vs buying another 2 and using it horizontally as a center speaker?

I'm leaning towards getting another 2, but wanted to check.

Originally Posted by Mantis10

Many people get confused on how to use the ST or STS speakers. I will lay down a guide which all can follow to the letter for maximum results.

So lets get stared .
Home theater use , if there is no external sub in the system , run speaker wire and LFE to each tower speaker. Set your preamp/ receiver to large fronts and yes to sub. This will allow the internal subs to play the LFE direct from line level and allow the front channels be full range. You have to tune the speaker first without having LFE there , then you use the LFE line level control to tailor there output.
Steps to calibrate the ST or STS speaker before LFE.
1. Turn rear volume up to 12 oclock.
2. Use a SPL meter and meter the speaker at the listening area to 75db.
3. Turn sub level up until the DB goes above 75db then back it down to get 75db.
What you just did is "tune" the ST or STS for full range use. This will make the speaker appear to be full range passive sounding for 2 channel playback.

Adding in LFE.
1. Install Line Level LFE to each Tower.
2. Use a Y splitter RCA if your receiver or preamp does not have dual Sub outs.
3.Manually calibrate speakers with SPL and adjust line level LFE to 75db with all other speakers in system.
This now will give you the best of both worlds.

So this is a great guide line to follow when owning these speakers. You can set them up any way you like. I have Installed these speakers many times and I personally own them myself. This is what I found to work the best. I learned from Def Tech engineers how they are designed and what makes them work. I took that info and used it then added in my personal touch from experience.

Originally Posted by Kjiwani

Hi all,

I read almost all of this thread (took forever) and wanted to confirm/get opinions on one issue.

I ordered a pair of Mythos 2's off Amazon for the great price. I was looking at a Mythos 3 as a center, however, reading everything says the 2s and 3 are essentially the same speaker. Is there a reason to buy a 3 vs buying another 2 and using it horizontally as a center speaker?

I'm leaning towards getting another 2, but wanted to check.

Originally Posted by Kjiwani

Actually perfect. My center channel will be on the mantle which is pretty high. A slight downward tilt will have it angled better for listening.

Thanks for the help! At that price, it's pretty unbeatable.

Originally Posted by fuwa

I contacted Chet from Def Tech and he replied that the subwoofer was probably defective and should be returned to BB for an exchange or BB is to send the speaker out to repair.

I don't think BB will exchange a floor demo for a new speaker and they told me that their warranty is to send the speaker back to Def Tech for repairs and Def Tech said that they require their dealers to handle the repairs.

I made a mistake by buying a demo speaker from BB. It sounded great in the showroom but it's too noisy in there to adequately give the speaker a thorough demo. The fact that one of the screws on the subwoofer showed wear tells me that they did something to that subwoofer and I would think that Def Tech wouldn't be responsible for the cost of repair. Tomorrow everything goes back.

I will show BB the e-mail from Def Tech.

I bought a Carver amp, Carver Center speaker, and Sony DSP from Circuit City years ago and I still have them. If I had purchased this from Circuit City they most likely would have repaired it themselves.

Originally Posted by cnp112

i have the following for my HT setup...

2 x mythos one
1 x mythos three
2 x mythos two
1 x M&K MX-200

i was just curious if my sound will be affected that much more negatively because of the difference in size of the woofers between the mythos one and the mythos two/three...

essentially, is it a big deal that i did not opt for the mythos eights...the setup listed above was such a good deal....whereas if i had replaced the three and the two with the eights...the price of the HT setup would have shot up by more than 1200...

thanks...

Originally Posted by cdnbum88

Just getting around to reading this. This is good stuff. What are the steps if you do have an external sub in the mix for HT use?
BTW anyone combine these speakers with a Seaton Submersive? Saving my pennies to get one.

Originally Posted by fuwa

I contacted Chet from Def Tech and he replied that the subwoofer was probably defective and should be returned to BB for an exchange or BB is to send the speaker out to repair.

I don't think BB will exchange a floor demo for a new speaker and they told me that their warranty is to send the speaker back to Def Tech for repairs and Def Tech said that they require their dealers to handle the repairs.

I made a mistake by buying a demo speaker from BB. It sounded great in the showroom but it's too noisy in there to adequately give the speaker a thorough demo. The fact that one of the screws on the subwoofer showed wear tells me that they did something to that subwoofer and I would think that Def Tech wouldn't be responsible for the cost of repair. Tomorrow everything goes back.

I will show BB the e-mail from Def Tech.

I bought a Carver amp, Carver Center speaker, and Sony DSP from Circuit City years ago and I still have them. If I had purchased this from Circuit City they most likely would have repaired it themselves.

Originally Posted by Mantis10

I'm sorry to hear you have to go through all this but the speakers are worth waiting to go out for repair if thats what BB will do for you. Def Tech will repair and replace anything wrong. They are a good company and will help you with anything you need.

Good luck , don't settle for another speaker due to price or I can have it right now , wait it will be worth it.

Originally Posted by HD_Lantern

I'm thinking of purchasing the Mythos STS and as such, was thinking of getting a center channel speaker as well. I've read that reviewers generally mate the STS with the Mythos Nine. Is the Nine the best match? Or should I consider others, such as the Three, Seven, or even the Mythos Ten?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Originally Posted by kc8apf

Asked and answered numerous times already. The 9 is the preferred match for the STS. The 10 is not necessarily better or worth the extra cost for that configuration.

Originally Posted by fuwa

Thank you so much for your advice.

Fortunately I went to return the Mythos 10 at a Magnolia Only store first. The sales rep was very helpful. We tested their floor model STs and my ST. My ST made the noise and theirs didn't. He agreed to price match BB for their floor models. I kept the Mythos 10 and got a good set of floor model STs from Magnolia Only and returned the defective STs to BB.

I agree with you on Def Tech. Chet has been very helpful and responds very quickly. He sent me the owner's manual and some missing parts for the floor model.

Originally Posted by palmfish

Mantis10, please help me figure out how I'm going to do this...

I trying to understand how to incorporate listening to my SACD and DVD-A collection with the Mythos ST's and NO subwoofer.

I think I have a couple of options:

1. I can connect my SACD/DVD-A player to my receiver via HDMI and let my AVR handle the audio bass management like any other multi-channel source (it will send all freqs to my ST's through normal speaker wire as long as they are set to "Large" and my AVR is set to "No Subwoofer."

2. I can connect my ST's to my AVR with both speaker wire and LFE cables and set my speakers to "Large" and AVR to "Subwoofer Yes." Then I can connect my SACD/DVD-A player to my AVR via 6-channel analog RCA cables. This way, the LFE channel will simply go to my ST's via LFE.

Assuming I choose #2, how will the ST's internal crossover interact with the single bass management crossover setting in the SACD player (presumably 80Hz)? Isn't it likely that I will either have a gap in the frequency range, or possibly a crossover overlap? Also, when I watch movies, how will all the BD codecs react to this method of hookup? Won't my ST's get double bass information (normal bass going to the "Large" speakers through speaker wire + LFE freqs traveling through the LFE cable)? How will the ST's sort out all the different low freq information coming at them?

Originally Posted by Mantis10

Ok lets slow down and take one step at a time.
Please list your complete system and I can tell you how to set it up for best performance.

Originally Posted by palmfish

Panasonic TC-P58S1 plasma HDTV
Pioneer Elite SC-25 AVR
Oppo BDP-83 BD/SACD/DVD-A/CD
Direct TV HD DVR
XBox360
Wii
Mythos ST fronts
Mythos 10 center
SM450 rears

Originally Posted by Mantis10

Ok cool , your system is very close to mine , here's the best way to set it up for all listening experience.

1) Wire the Oppo only in HDMI. Forget about 6 channel in's. The Oppo can pass all audio over HDMI and is the cleanest way to do so. All digital is great.
2) Wire everything HDMI. There is no reason to use analog anything unless your using zone 2 and 3. Then you will need analog for listening in other rooms. Stupid receivers most do not have a DAC for zone 2 , just analog switching. Life would be much simpler if they would pull audio from digital and send it out Z2 and Z3.(Sorry pet peeve of mine)
3) For the ST's , run good quality speaker wire like Liberty 14-2 . You can use heavier wire but 14 gauge is fine for runs under 50 feet. Don't use cheap speaker wire as most degrade itself over time. many good companies make great quality wire so you pick what you like.
4) Run LFE to both Towers. use a high quality Y splitter like Tributaries or what ever brand you like as long as it's good built quality. It's a shame the SC models except the SC-09 don't have dual sub outs. If I had the extra money I would pick up a SC09 just to have this. It's nice to tune one sub at a time but I have a way to do some of that we will get there.
5) Set the ST's in large and Sub to yes. This is how DEF TECH wants you to set them up and it works great. No worries about double bass and all that other stuff. Not a problem as the ST's are designed to be Large main channels and Subwoofers in ones system. They have been doing this for a very long time and take care of the crossover points internally.
6) Use MCACC for all tuning of the system. This will calibrate the system damn close to correct. You can rely on it as I feel it's the best in the business built in. I prefer it over all other room correction systems. I get the best results when using a Elite receiver over all others in this area.Please read the manual for proper calibration, I can answer any other question on MCACC you may have after getting a basic understanding.

I use my system for SACD and DVD AUDIO as well as cd listening. I also have a Apple TV loaded with Lossless music which sounds exactly like the cd version . I find the internal DAC's on the Pioneer to be amazing for a receiver at these price points. I have the SC-07 and I love it.

Placement before all this and room correction is so important. You can make your speakers sound so much better with just proper speaker position and then calibration. Use the 3/4's rule when setting up the ST's. I have tried many positions and I find this to be the best. What that means is measure the distance from your screen to your seating position. Then take 3/4's of that measurement and space the ST's that far apart. Toe the ST's for the tweeters to meet just behind your head. Think of a Triangle. Make the point end just behind your head. This will align the Tweeters for the best sound stage and imaging. You will be amazed how good the ST's sound after tweaking and dialing them in. The distance from the side walls and back wall also play a huge roll on over all performance.

Go to the first page of this thread and there you will find my sub calibration technic. It works wonderfully and you will get the best musical performance out of your ST speakers. Most make the mistake of not balancing the subs before running room correction.

Do all that and report back. Ask any questions you like. You will notice leaps and bounds afterwards. Like getting new speakers again.

Good luck.