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Definitive Technology Mythos Series Thread - Page 13

post #361 of 5241
3/25/09 at 1:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by teebiz11 View Post

What does the (+/- 4.6 dB) mean in 161 Hz -18.5 kHz +/- 4.6 dB for the gems? I don't really understand the dB settings.

It's a measure of how much they vary from a "flat" response. It might help you to visualize this by looking at the Gem's frequency response graph.

No speaker is perfect in this regard, and even if one were, it probably wouldn't be in a typical real-world room. One problem with such measurements is that they tell you little or nothing about how a speaker actually sounds, especially in a given listening room which can greatly affect the sound.

As for the concept of dB's, it's way too complex to describe here. Suffice to say it's a logarithmic measurement of sound pressure. For some context, 1dB is the smallest variation an average human can detect, 3dB is noticeable, and 10dB sounds twice (or half) as loud. For more, try this discussion (the sound files are useful aids) or Google away. A ton of information has been published on the subject.
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post #362 of 5241
3/25/09 at 3:41pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by teebiz11 View Post

What does the (+/- 4.6 dB) mean in 161 Hz -18.5 kHz +/- 4.6 dB for the gems? I don't really understand the dB settings.

Hi, TeeBiz:

I will give you my basic understanding, and I invite others to correct me if I'm wrong (If I'm way off, I'll get rid of this misleading post--just let me know).

Bastically, the +/- dB response can be thought of as a margin of error in the measurement of the frequency response of the speaker. In other words, when they measure the frequency response of the speaker, the needle tends to oscillate around a "center point" or measurement. So, what they are telling you is that they were able to measure a given dB (or amplitude) of a tone +/- 4.6 dB at 18.5 kHz.

The reason why you see +/- 3 dB cited a lot is that is what some folks feel this difference is something humans are just able to perceive. If a speaker is quoted with +/- number higher than that means that perhaps the measurement wasn't so precise. In a practical sense the +/3 dB point tells you the lowest and highest frequencies the speaker is able to play. If only the frequency response is quoted, without +/- numbers, it's hard to know what to make of them. For example, one could report a frequency response of 10-40 kHz, which sounds amazing, unless you also report +/- 10.0 db--which means the measurement is not useful.

It's very much like amplifier power numbers. If you don't know the +/- distortion numbers, the wattage numbers don't mean a lot.

Finally, as you know, that frequency response in no way tells you the whole story about how a speaker might sound. That is, you theoretically have a speaker that has peaks in particular places, while another has a flat response--they can both have the same measured frequency response at the extremes, yet they would not sound anywhere the same. In addition, when only the frequency response is quoted, it doesn't tell you how the response was measured, how loud the speaker plays, etc.

You may wish to see: Understanding Speaker Frequencies

Does that help? (or confuse? )
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post #363 of 5241
3/25/09 at 3:43pm
Thread Starter 
Darn it, MacFan424--you beat me to it again!!
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post #364 of 5241
3/25/09 at 5:49pm
Thanks you guys. I understand. Good explanation.
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post #365 of 5241
3/25/09 at 8:02pm
What are your impressions with the dual subs?

Pop in Master and Commander, and tell me what you think.

P.S. I highly recommend one near field, and the other farfield, corner loaded if possible.__________________

Hey Fan Man

I just found Master and Commmander in our DVD collection...do you think I will get the full effects or should I go rent it? Also found a Bonnie Raitt DVD can'y wait on that one...will have to crank it!!!!
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post #366 of 5241
3/25/09 at 8:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scp2 View Post

What are your impressions with the dual subs?

Pop in Master and Commander, and tell me what you think.

P.S. I highly recommend one near field, and the other farfield, corner loaded if possible.__________________

Hey Fan Man

I just found Master and Commmander in our DVD collection...do you think I will get the full effects or should I go rent it? Also found a Bonnie Raitt DVD can'y wait on that one...will have to crank it!!!!

Blu-ray!

The DVD was pretty good, but the LFE on the Blu-ray is so clean, and digs much deeper.
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post #367 of 5241
3/26/09 at 2:55pm
What center channel does everyone recommend with the STS's?
DT seems to recommend the Mythos Three, but i feel something like the Mythos nine or ten would just be a better match. Opinions?
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post #368 of 5241
3/26/09 at 3:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigred7078 View Post

What center channel does everyone recommend with the STS's?
DT seems to recommend the Mythos Three, but i feel something like the Mythos nine or ten would just be a better match. Opinions?

DT started to recommend the Nine to go with the STS once the Nine became available. They were designed to match the STS.

I bought a Three to go with my STS's a couple of weeks before the Nine was announced which frustrated me a little, but have been very satisfied with the Three. It isn't a perfect match, but a horizontal speaker never will be with a vertical one even though they have identical drivers. I never notice a difference in actual use, though, only when I'm testing. Still, if I were starting over, I'd probably want a Nine on general principles, although paying twice as much (street) would be hard for me to justify.
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post #369 of 5241
3/26/09 at 4:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Macfan424 View Post

DT started to recommend the Nine to go with the STS once the Nine became available. They were designed to match the STS.

I bought a Three to go with my STS's a couple of weeks before the Nine was announced which frustrated me a little, but have been very satisfied with the Three. It isn't a perfect match, but a horizontal speaker never will be with a vertical one even though they have identical drivers. I never notice a difference in actual use, though, only when I'm testing. Still, if I were starting over, I'd probably want a Nine on general principles, although paying twice as much (street) would be hard for me to justify.

Ahh gotcha. Thanks for the info.

How do you like the performance of the Three? Has anyone compared it to the Nine?
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post #370 of 5241
3/26/09 at 4:12pm
Like I pm'ed you BigRed..............I would've picked up the nine but it wasn't available yet. I'm somewhat limited now since I had the Three custom built into my wall. Don't feel like tearing up the new slate just yet The Three sounds great......but like all hobbyists, we always want change and upgrades.

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post #371 of 5241
3/26/09 at 4:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigred7078 View Post

Ahh gotcha. Thanks for the info.

How do you like the performance of the Three? Has anyone compared it to the Nine?

As I mentioned, I'm very pleased with the Three. It blends very well with my STS's. A Nine might be subtly better on music, but the center channel generally doesn't carry much of a load there, the R/L's do the heavy lifting.

In theory, a Nine would be a better match with the 80Hz crossover I use, but, again, I don't ever notice this in actual use.

If the Nine didn't exist, I wouldn't think twice about it. I doubt I'd hear much difference between the two in anything other than a direct A/B comparison. Still, as DoingOK said, "like all hobbyists, we always want change and upgrades."
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post #372 of 5241
3/26/09 at 4:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigred7078 View Post

What center channel does everyone recommend with the STS's?
DT seems to recommend the Mythos Three, but i feel something like the Mythos nine or ten would just be a better match. Opinions?

Im using the Ten with my STS's ,and it sounds great.
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post #373 of 5241
3/26/09 at 5:18pm
haha good points guys, thanks for the feedback!
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post #374 of 5241
3/26/09 at 5:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoingOK View Post

Like I pm'ed you BigRed..............I would've picked up the nine but it wasn't available yet. I'm somewhat limited now since I had the Three custom built into my wall. Don't feel like tearing up the new slate just yet The Three sounds great......but like all hobbyists, we always want change and upgrades.


Wow! What a great pic--when did you pick up those other speakers in front of the Ones? Are they for music?

(Actually, your picture is going to shame me into photographing my system today--finally hooked up everything when the blu-ray player arrived)
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post #375 of 5241
3/26/09 at 6:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mvp2005fan View Post

Wow! What a great pic--when did you pick up those other speakers in front of the Ones? Are they for music?

(Actually, your picture is going to shame me into photographing my system today--finally hooked up everything when the blu-ray player arrived)

I decided to go ahead and set up a separate listening room in the front of the house. I love my DefTech/Epik setup for movie watching but wanted a very nice 2.1 setup elsewhere in the house. I was just breaking in the new gear in the living room whilst I finished up painting the other room. I have since repainted the "listening room" (3 times now) but here it sits awaiting the final acoustic treatments and a few pictures. Almost done:





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post #376 of 5241
3/26/09 at 7:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoingOK View Post

I decided to go ahead and set up a separate listening room in the front of the house. I love my DefTech/Epik setup for movie watching but wanted a very nice 2.1 setup elsewhere in the house. I was just breaking in the new gear in the living room whilst I finished up painting the other room. I have since repainted the "listening room" (3 times now) but here it sits awaiting the final acoustic treatments and a few pictures. Almost done:







Great pictures DoingOk!
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post #377 of 5241
3/26/09 at 7:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelman76 View Post

Im using the Ten with my STS's ,and it sounds great.

Regardless of what DT recommends, the Ten seems to be the best match for the ST/STS.
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post #378 of 5241
3/26/09 at 9:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fanaticalism View Post

Regardless of what DT recommends, the Ten seems to be the best match for the ST/STS.

Have you listened to the ten with both the ST's and the STS's ? I bought the ten last month because they hadnt started shipping the nine to Canada yet because its still fairly new, but even if they did I would have chose the ten for the extra $100 MSRP difference.
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post #379 of 5241
3/26/09 at 10:33pm
I used to own the Tens, and have demoed both the ST, and STS extensively.
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post #380 of 5241
3/26/09 at 10:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fanaticalism View Post

I used to own the Tens, and have demoed both the ST, and STS extensively.

Did you notice much a difference between the ST's and the STS's?
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post #381 of 5241
3/27/09 at 12:00am
Hey ...How much would the aluminum speakers will come in sale?
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post #382 of 5241
3/27/09 at 8:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelman76 View Post

Did you notice much a difference between the ST's and the STS's?

i was wondering the same thing
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post #383 of 5241
3/27/09 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelman76 View Post

Did you notice much a difference between the ST's and the STS's?

Quote:
Originally Posted by otk View Post

i was wondering the same thing

I didn't when I demoed them. Thought I would, as the dealer had them in a very large room. I only auditioned them with acoustical music, though, and not at anything close to rock concert levels.
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post #384 of 5241
3/27/09 at 1:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Macfan424 View Post

I didn't when I demoed them. Thought I would, as the dealer had them in a very large room. I only auditioned them with acoustical music, though, and not at anything close to rock concert levels.

I demo'd the same CD's and SACD's at the shop when I got my STS's ans found both very, very similar. The ST's may have held a slight edge in dynamics but it could have been less than stellar acoustics in the showroom or the fact the STS had just arrived that day and were nowhere near broken in while the ST's had a lot of hours on them.
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post #385 of 5241
3/27/09 at 10:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelman76 View Post

Did you notice much a difference between the ST's and the STS's?

Quote:
Originally Posted by otk View Post

i was wondering the same thing

I sure did. The ST had a more neutral sound, with better overall fidelity in the lower regions and a larger presence. Not to mention how silky smooth the mids were. The ST handled womans voices a bit better (although very slight) to my ears.

Again, these speakers are truly amazing, regardless of which one, one decides to go with, but if I had to choose, I would choose the ST in a heartbeat, no comparison (to my ears)
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post #386 of 5241
3/28/09 at 10:08pm
Hi Everyone - I'm new to this thread but thought I'd jump in.

Ordered a pair of black STS's and a nine a few days ago and they should be here this coming week. CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!

For the back half of my room I'm using four UIW BP/A's. These have already been installed.

Joe
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post #387 of 5241
3/29/09 at 3:09am
I just wanted to post a few pics of my just finished basement media room. I designed and built the cabinets, did all the electrical and painting myself so I'm pleased with the results and wanted to share.

My setup:
Sony 46XBR4
Onkyo 876
Sony PS3
Mythos 2's L/R
Mythos 3 Center
Mythos Gem XL Surrounds
Supercube II

I added a 20 amp circuit for the media cabinets, the TV and the back corner where the sub plugs in. It is all protected by a SurgeX hardwire series mode surge protector. The speakers are wired with Belden 12awg. I have Leviton Zwave dimmers controling the lights and also interface with the Logitech 890 remote. (i'm still working on setting up the wired IR emitters in the cabinet and tweeking the remote).
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post #388 of 5241
3/29/09 at 10:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by boathik View Post

I just wanted to post a few pics of my just finished basement media room. I designed and built the cabinets, did all the electrical and painting myself so I'm pleased with the results and wanted to share.

My setup:
Sony 46XBR4
Onkyo 876
Sony PS3
Mythos 2's L/R
Mythos 3 Center
Mythos Gem XL Surrounds
Supercube II

I added a 20 amp circuit for the media cabinets, the TV and the back corner where the sub plugs in. It is all protected by a SurgeX hardwire series mode surge protector. The speakers are wired with Belden 12awg. I have Leviton Zwave dimmers controling the lights and also interface with the Logitech 890 remote. (i'm still working on setting up the wired IR emitters in the cabinet and tweeking the remote).

Very nice work. How do you like the Two/Three/GemXL combination? I still hope to get Twos someday to match my Three center. And I didn't see where your SCII is - maybe under the end table in the corner? How does the sub sound?
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post #389 of 5241
3/29/09 at 12:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barkingspider View Post

Hi Everyone - I'm new to this thread but thought I'd jump in.

Ordered a pair of black STS's and a nine a few days ago and they should be here this coming week. CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!

For the back half of my room I'm using four UIW BP/A's. These have already been installed.

Joe

Welcome and congratulations! I'm sure you'll love your new setup.
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post #390 of 5241
3/29/09 at 3:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by boathik View Post

I just wanted to post a few pics of my just finished basement media room. I designed and built the cabinets, did all the electrical and painting myself so I'm pleased with the results and wanted to share.

My setup:
Sony 46XBR4
Onkyo 876
Sony PS3
Mythos 2's L/R
Mythos 3 Center
Mythos Gem XL Surrounds
Supercube II

I added a 20 amp circuit for the media cabinets, the TV and the back corner where the sub plugs in. It is all protected by a SurgeX hardwire series mode surge protector. The speakers are wired with Belden 12awg. I have Leviton Zwave dimmers controling the lights and also interface with the Logitech 890 remote. (i'm still working on setting up the wired IR emitters in the cabinet and tweeking the remote).

Looks great !!! How do the gem XL's sound pointing straight ahead like that?
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