AVS › AVS Forum › Other Areas of Interest › What's Your System Configuration › The constant evolution of my Family Room Home Theater
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

The constant evolution of my Family Room Home Theater

post #1 of 68
Thread Starter 
Bored, so thought I'd post some pics of how my family room had changed in the last 7 years!

First setup. 2002 to about 2006.

Toshiba 51HX82
Toshiba SD4800 DVD Player
Toshiba VCR
SA3250HD Cable Box
Denon 2802
Mirage OM-200 Subwoofer (dual 8" woofers)
Mirage FRX-7 Fronts
Mirage OMC3 CC
Mirage FRX-Rears (not pictured)




LL
LL
post #2 of 68
Thread Starter 
Added a Sunfire Cinema 7 200 w x 5 amp some time in 2005 if I recall.

Stand is a Salamander Walnut 20 + 30 extension with 2 drawers.


LL
post #3 of 68
Thread Starter 
Sold my Mirage FRX-7s and OMC3 and upgraded to Mirage OM9's and Mirage OMC2 in 2006...


LL
post #4 of 68
Thread Starter 
Replaced my OM200 with an SVS PB13 Ultra in late 2007. WOW, huge difference.

Also replaced my FRX-R back surrounds with 4 OM-R2's for 7.1 sound (honestly, the smallest impact any change has made).


Edit: I should also add that I purchased the Velodyne SMS-1 to EQ my PB13 for about a year ... no pictures unfortunately!



LL
post #5 of 68
Thread Starter 
My theater before the DIY subs (see page 2 for those):

Samsung 58A550 Plasma
Salamander Triple 20 Walnut Stand
Onkyo 876
Sunfire Cinema Grand 200x7 amp
Oppo BD83 Bluray Player
Panamax 5400-EX
Paradigm Signature S2 v2 Bookshelves
Paradigm Signature C3 Center Channel
Mirage OMR2 x 4 Surrounds
SVS PB13-Ultra
B-Tech BT77 speaker mounts for S2s

Best Deal Speaker Cables, Power Cables, HDMI Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables and other video/audio RCA cables
Audioquest RCA 1.5 foot Inteconnects (between 876 and Sunfire)




LL
LL
post #6 of 68
Thread Starter 
Other changes not pictured:

Went from the Denon 2802 to an Integra 9.8 before recently selling the 9.8 for the 876 (as I wanted to try the new Audyssey functions and get rid of the "Reon Colorspace Issue" that plagued the 905/9/8/885 series).
post #7 of 68
Thread Starter 
Oh, also had a Samsung BD-P1400 prior to the Oppo, and for a few months had a Cambridge Azur 640v2 CD player which I ended up selling after getting the Oppo and comparing the 2 for dedicated CD playing. The difference wasn't enough to justify keeping both.

Likely future upgrades:

SVS AS-EQ1

Two sealed subs to go up front instead of the huge PB13

Auralex Mopads to put my CC on (they are on order)
post #8 of 68
Hi pbc, That's one sweet set up there! Nice Ultra.
post #9 of 68
Thread Starter 
Thank you sir! A constant work in progress!
post #10 of 68
System looks great, I've always liked the way the Sunfire gear looks! I enjoyed seeing the transformation... The Ultra is a beast! Enjoy!
post #11 of 68
+1

Your system wasn't bad before the evolution! But don't get it confused, you definitely improved on what you had. And I do love the Sunfire amp. The system and setup looks great.

Regards,
post #12 of 68
Love your set-up!

2 sealed subs + the Ultra, or to replace the Ultra?? I'm currently running 1 pc13, but would like to eventually run 2.
post #13 of 68
Thread Starter 
I was thinking 2 sealed subs to replace the Ultra, though admittedly, the thought has crossed my mind to try and integrate 2 sealed subs + the Ultra. God, that's a heck of a lot of woofage for what is mainly Barney and Dora the Explorer on the TV though.

Finding a sealed sub in the 18 to 20" cubed size that puts out clean SPL below 20hz similar to the Ultra though isn't easy, and I'm not sure how good 2 "lesser" sealed subs + the Ultra would blend.
post #14 of 68
Thread Starter 
... cables run through wall (not the greatest of pics). Wasn't easy fishing into those little 3/4" holes!


LL
post #15 of 68
looks good, I'm considering the same type of setup, thanks for the pics!
post #16 of 68
Thread Starter 
Going to try out the SVS AS-EQ1 this weekend hopefully. Should be fun!
post #17 of 68
Very nice setup! I should be able to get some pics of mine shortly. I have ordered a new 120" screen that should be in sometime in the next week. For some reason I cannot cure my upgrade bug...it just keeps going and going and going...
post #18 of 68
nice setup,how come you went from towers over to small bookshelfs?
post #19 of 68
Are your main monitors sealed? I think they are... If so the sealed sub route would probably integrate better than ported. Would give you less bass 'overhang'. Pitch definition should be better too.
post #20 of 68
Thread Starter 
No, the S2's are ported. Not sure why that would matter re the sub though?
post #21 of 68
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AvGeek07 View Post

nice setup,how come you went from towers over to small bookshelfs?

Just got tired of the existing speakers and decided to try bookshelves given the goal was to go with dual subs. Don't see much point with large floor standing speakers with dual subwoofers, especially in a room under say 2500cuft.

Plus, dual subs would not have fit up front with floor standers.

BTW, I don't miss the floorstanders at all. The bookshelves fill up the room just as well!
post #22 of 68
so are you getting a second ultra? or is there still one next to the sofa in addition to the one in front. That would be a lot of woofage for what looks to be a fairly compact space.
post #23 of 68
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gelinas View Post

so are you getting a second ultra? or is there still one next to the sofa in addition to the one in front. That would be a lot of woofage for what looks to be a fairly compact space.

Going the DIY route for now. Dual sealed boxes with 4 AV15H woofers (two per box) powered by a 5000 watt pro amp. I figured, heck, that should be more than enough for a 1700 cubed room right?
post #24 of 68
Thread Starter 
Someone asked me to post a pic of the "jigged" wall brackets I used for my rear OMR2s.


LL
post #25 of 68
thanks Steve. i now get exactly what you were trying to say......it really does look like a PIA
post #26 of 68
Thread Starter 
That's what I said!
post #27 of 68
Thread Starter 
For those of you interested, my front S2's are mounted on B-Tech BT-77 stands:

http://www.btech-usa.com/bt77.html

... that I had to modify by removing the side clamps and affixing this metal plate from Monoprice (via some screws and nuts):

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

which I spray painted gloss black using Rustoleum gloss black spray paint. I made a cardboard cutout of the metal plate, then put it on the bottom of my S2's and put holes where the mounting holes are on the bottom of the S2's. Then affixed the plate to the mounting bracket (again, via small 10-32 x 3/4" screws with nuts), glued a piece of dark grey foam underpad from Homedepot and then screwed the S2's onto the plate (after affixing the BT77 to the wall with the plate).

As for the OMR2 rears, I honestly can't recall what mounts were used, but they look similar to these from Monoprice (except I'm pretty sure the ones I used were rated for 30lbs each):

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

I bought a couple of 1" x 4" (or so) metal plates from Home Depot, some 8 or 10x32 machine screws (fine thread - just makes sure the head of the screw will fit into the speaker bracket), matching nuts for the screws (2 per screw). Attached the metal plates to the existing metal back plate on the wall bracket using some screws and nuts. Then made a cardboard cutout of the back of the OMR2's and marked where the screw holes needed to be and drilled the appropriate holes into the metal plates, attached the 8x32 screws (one nut on the back and one on the front), mounted it, and voila, jigged wall brackets.

Yes, both of these were extreme pains to jig, but manageable. Of course, jigging any wall mount is not advised by the manufacturer, so do at your own risk!!
post #28 of 68
PBC...
How do you like the OMR-2s with your Paradigms?? Kinda looking to replace my rears, but not sure if I want some ADP type surrounds. I was thinking an omni-polar type speaker might be a better way to go.
post #29 of 68
I'm a bit curious about the paradigms as well. I know both Mirage and Paradigm are great brands -- you don't notice any drop off in quality in switching from the floorstanding to the bookshelf speakers? Don't get me wrong, I use booshelf size speakers myself now. In fact, I may eventually go to in wall speakers and I hear paradigm makes some of those as well.
post #30 of 68
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Briguy65 View Post

I'm a bit curious about the paradigms as well. I know both Mirage and Paradigm are great brands -- you don't notice any drop off in quality in switching from the floorstanding to the bookshelf speakers? Don't get me wrong, I use booshelf size speakers myself now. In fact, I may eventually go to in wall speakers and I hear paradigm makes some of those as well.

Oddly enough I just posted this yesterday in another thread ....
Quote:
Originally Posted by pbc View Post

I went from a large Mirage OM9 floor standing speaker:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...rs-6-2001.html

.. to the S2s. Now, the OM9's while they have 2 1" tweeters and 2 6 1/2" woofers, were still a 2 -way design. But I can honestly say that I don't feel I've lost anything whatsoever in terms of dynamics or SPL. The only thing i feel I've lost is some low end if I play 2 channel for music, but crossed at 80 or 100 with my PB13 in sealed mode I have no need to do so and IMO the setup sounds better.

Note, however, my room is only 17x12x9 and not hard to drive. I recently sold my Sunfire Cinema Grand 200 x 7 amp as well and am just going with my Onkyo 876 AVR. After going back and forth I simply couldn't tell the difference with amp and without and needed the rack space.

Admittedly the one area I'm not as impressed with is the timbre matching of the S2s and the C3, I find when I'm doing level checks there is a distinct tonal difference between the S2s and C3, though I guess this is always dependend upon placement and room and of course the fact the C3 is a different orientation than the S2. But my OM9s and OMC2 CC seemed to blend much better. Admittedly I still think the OMC2 is one of the finest CC's ever made (well, under $2k) and while it didn't quite have the clarity of the Be tweeter, I think it had an unmatched ability to provide the SAME sound even when sitting off center which was quite a feat for a relatively small (in comparison to say the C5!) CC.

Thankfully outside of listening to test tones I don't notice the tonal difference between the C3 and S2s.
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
AVS › AVS Forum › Other Areas of Interest › What's Your System Configuration › The constant evolution of my Family Room Home Theater