Definitive Technology Mythos Series Thread - Page 158

Thanks Joe.

If I decided to go with another pair of STs or even a pair of STSs as the rear surrounds instead, would you still recommend an additional, standalone sub?

If I ended up with towers with powered subs in all 4 corners, should I try to run LFE line-outs from the AVR to all of them? Do you think that would be possible with the SC-57? If not, maybe run LFE outs to the front towers and just speaker cables to the rears, and set the rear towers as LARGE in the AVR/MCACC?

- JD

Hi JD, Mythos ST or STS in the rear would sound awesome, and would help fill the room with bass for sure. It should sound great. You can use speaker wire and set them to large, as you suggest. I am a big subwoofer fan, and I am never one to tell someone not to purchase bass improvements. But of course we designed these speakers with the thinking that lots of folks either can't, or won't, purchase a subwoofer, simply for cosmetic reasons, or because there is no where to put subs. Ultimately of course you have to make that choice. I hope this helps. I am in England and Munich this week for the Munich High End show, but if you need to discuss further, feel free to contact Chet or Adam in customer service at Definitive (info@definitivetech.com). Best, Joe

I am building a Definitive system for my 15'x16' living room that will do double duty for both music and movies. The ceilings are 15' high. I compromised and went with the XTR-SSA3 soundbar for my front left, right, and center channels that will hang under my TV which also articulates on a wall bracket for when I'm watching it from the kitchen. I did this because I have 200 year old wood paneling I was not willing to drill into and I wanted the speakers to move with the screen when you turn it from viewing from my open kitchen. My sub is the Supercube 6000 and receiver is the Yamaha Aventage RX-A2010.

My main question is on the surrounds which I have not bought yet. They will have to mount about 10' up the wall and angle down. I don't know whether to get the Mythos XTR-20BPs or the Gem or Gem XLs. What do you guys think?

Thanks

So no opinion between the XTRs and the Gem's huh?

Looks like the Pioneer Elite Sc-68 is out of the bag with improve MCACC and OSD GUI. I can't wait to use them with the Mythos ST.

No experience with the XTR's, but I like both the Gem and Gem XL. The XL takes more wall space.

10' up for surrounds might be a bit on the hugh and difuse side. could you do mythos four or mythos five towers?

The XTR speakers are a solution designed speaker. They do not IMO sound as good as the Gem Xl's side by side. They are about 85% of them. If you have the room for the XL's go with them. If you want to perfectly match your sound bar , then get the XTR matching surrounds. I think you will be happy either way especially if you don't have the XL's to directly compare to.

Hello Rocket,
Sorry for the late reply - I was in Europe the past week. The Gem XL are a bit more money than the other two, but you have a fairly large room with big ceilings. So I would go for those if you can. Otherwise Gems and 20BP's are basically the same money, but the cosmetic is cool on the 20BP, so that would be the pick if it was me.
Best regards, Joe

Ok, that is why I asked. I had a feeling the 20BPs would be nice but not quite up to what the XLs can do. I had to go with the SSA3 soundbar in the front but since I have the room in the back I'll go with the XLs. Thanks for the feedback.

You are welcome Rock - enjoy. Thanks for buying Definitive! Best, Joe

Finally back to enjoy my new setup. I am working with Mythos One's as my left and right a Mythos Eight as my center and Mythos Five's as my rear's. I would like to do a 7.2 setup but not sure what speakers to add to the rear back surrounds. I was thinking about Mythos Gem XL's. So far I am really enjoying them movies and music wise.

Gem XL is a good choice. If you are looking for 7.2 to make a difference of night and day save you money. Yes there is a difference but it is not huge. There is also a limited amout of movies that are 7.1 TrueHD or DD EX surround. I went from 5.1 to 7.1 and now 9.1 only to fine slight improvements in sound. It also depends on the size of your room whether or not it is worth the investment.

Yeah I have been doing a lot of looking around about the Gem XL's and I think I will jump on these once I figure out where I want to place them. I had a 7.1 system before and understand about the limited amount of 7.1 soundtracks out there, but I am hoping that will change in the near future. I see you went 9.1 yourself are you using front heights or wide? Eventually I would like to do 9.2 front wide. My Room Dimenisions are 21'9"Length 11'10" Width 8' Height So I have some space to fill up hence why I went with dual subs. If I had taller ceilings I would go with Heights.

Here are a couple more shots


Rear shot


Center channel and left speaker with left sub

I have them set as height instead of wide.

I am still on the fence as to go height and wides as I would love to do wides but my room might be to narrow and if I get another set of Mythos Gem XL's I could go the height route myself. What speakers are you using for your heights?

I use Gems for sides, rear and height. STS for my fronts with a mthos 8 and 10 center. One Supercube Reference for my sub.

That sounds like a sweet setup my friend I would like to get a hold of some ST's but will hold off for now and make that a future investment

Hello Ski, nice Strat in the corner. Do you play?
Thanks for being a Definitive fan. Gem XL will make great side speakers. When you get your ST's you can use the Gem XL for height, and switch the One's to the sides. Sweet system for sure! Best, Joe

Can't say that I play lol I am in the process of trying to learn I bought that off a friend of my in Afghanistan and I haven't touch it as much as I would like. I am starting to get more free time since coming to the island and hopefully I will leave here with some skills under my belt.

It looks like I am will be going the Gem XL's route and not only for the rear back surrounds but for the Heights as well. Once I ge back to the mainlands or better yet Texas I will be looking for the ST's to replace the One's. Though I have no major complaints of the One's as they kick butt and I can't beat the sound.

Very good Ski. Thank you for helping to keep us safe, we appreciate it. You will love those ST's. Best, Joe

Hi,

It seems you have a bit of experience with setting up DT sound systems. I was hoping to get some advice. I bought two open-box Mythos STS towers 40% off from Best Buy. I need to put the rest of the system together for a medium-sized room.

I was thinking a CS8080 vs XTR-60 for the center. Which of these would you chose, or perhaps would you consider another one for the center? The CS8080 has a good amount of bass which would make me feel more comfortable about not having a separate sub. On the other hand the XTR looks nicer and takes up less space.

As of now my wife wants to stick to 5.1 because she doesn't want too many speakers for aesthetic reasons. Does 7.1 sound much better than 5.1? I may be able to convince her if so.

Which speakers do I use for the surrounds? Nines, Gems, Promonitor 1000? Does it matter if they hang just above and just behind the seating pointed downward rather than truly behind?

Thanks,

Joe

Best Buy is trying to sell me the following items as part of a package deal for a system that includes 2 STS towers, probably a CS8080, and probably 2 Gem XL's:

AUDIOQUEST - CINNAMON 9-5/6' IN-WALL HDMI CABLE - BLACK/RED $110

PANAMAX - 2-OUTLET SURGE PROTECTOR $149.98

OEM SYSTEMS - 4-WAY SPEAKER SELECTOR $70.03

ADD ON UP TO 2 SPEAKER CONCEALMENT $99.99 x 2

ROCKETFISH„ $17.99


Do I need any of these? As you can see I'm pretty new to all this.

Thanks,

Joe

If you're doing 2 STS towers, a CS8080 and 2 GemXLs, it sounds like you'll be running a 5.0 or 5.1 setup. Most of the extras listed don't make sense for a typical 5.1 setup with an A/V receiver. You won't need a speaker selector since all 5 speakers will be directly connected to your receiver. I'm not sure which Rocketfish product you are referencing so I can't help there. An HDMI cable is unrelated to your speakers. You only need it if you need to connect something like a blu-ray player to your receiver and/or your receiver to your TV. You probably don't need a high-end HDMI cable even in those cases. Blue Jeans Cable or Monoprice will be much cheaper and just as good. The surge protector depends a bit on where you are (I rarely get surges in the San Francisco area) and whether you feel you need a high-end surge protector. Belkin or APC also make surge protectors that will work fine. Now, power conditioning which Panamax also offers is a whole different ball game and probably isn't worth worrying about for now.

Overall, STS fronts with a CS8080 center and GemXL rears is a fine setup. You'll need a 5.1-capable receiver and source (DVD, Blu-ray, HDTV) but not much beyond that to get started.

+1

Never IMO buy accessories at BB. They are sooo overpriced. All cables of any kind I would buy thru Monoprice or Blue Jean as mentioned.

The Panamax is a nice addition. You may be able to get better pricing online, but if you can bargain on the price I am sure you are not going to get taken to the cleaners.

You will love your setup.

What is going to be your .1?

Thanks for all your help, kc8apf and cdnbum88.

I was not going to have a .1. I figured that the bass from the STS's and the CS8080 would be sufficient. No?

I was thinking of going with a Yamaha 3010. Any thoughts on this?

I actually will have two other areas with speakers, outside deck, and on the other side of the house outside courtyard pool. There were speakers prewired in these areas in the home I purchased recently. Do I need a speaker selector then, for a total of three areas? Or does a good AVR handle this type of thing on its own?

I wanted to add a sub to the outside pool area. I was told this would be difficult to control independently from the inside media because most AVR's do not have a sub connection for zone 2. Is this correct? If I don't use a sub inside, is there no way I can assign the sub connection to zone 2?

So the panamax power conditioning--is that to increase the lifespan of the speaker or does it actually influence the sound?

Finally, which cables in particular do I need to buy from bluejeans? Do I need 10 or 12 G? Banana clips?

Thanks in advance.

Joe

I have the same speakers in my setup.

I wouldn't consider the bass from the CS8080 the same as a normal sub, that's just not it's purpose.

But the bass from the STS is very good. I do want to add a sub, but it isn't like the bass is a great hole in the system.

Anyone know of a good 9.2 AVR with airplay, XT32, and dedicated zone 2 subwoofer connection?

I am selling my Denon 4311ci. It definitely meets your reuirements. 9.2, xt32, 140w/ch, and 2 dedicated sub outs. I recently upgraded to separates and will be putting on audiogon soon. Was powering my 7.2 setup. PM me if you are interested.

The AVR-4311 is a great receiver. What did you upgrade to?