Energy Owners Thread - Page 1145

That is too bad that Vann's is making their problem yours. You have done everything that you can, but Vann's is too stubborn or lazy to change anything on their end. Really short sighted on Vann's part, and also frustrating for you. I wonder if they ever thought about switching couriers
Hope you finally get your undamaged speaker that you paid for on this try. Good luck

That makes sense Hank.....

I was speaking strictly for home theater purposes where its important to have certain sounds coming from certain location to give the impression that sounds are moving or coming from a certain direction.


It has its good days.....but mostly bad days trying to meeting schedules and budgets like any other job......and it makes me be a little anal about angles, distances, etc.....

I have what i consider a "hard room" meaning i don't have a lot of furniture / wall decor to soften the room. I also have vaulted ceilings which don't help much either. I've gone through a few different types of speakers trying to find one that could mitigate the echo my room has. I've done some looking at those acoustic panels but they seem so expensive for what they are. What are reasonable prices for these things? Here are some pics of my room. Could anyone give me some suggestions on which ones to purchase or how to make them myself. Also suggestions on where to put them would be welcome also. I'm thinking i really need something along the back wall that has the steps leading upstairs. Let me know.

THX requires 45deg L to R, so at 12' viewing distance his spacing should be about 10', unless my math is off. I believe the 22-30deg spec is measuring from the center to the L or R. At least that's how I understand it. Not that I have that much space at my place, I'm in the same boat as the posted pic....

Man, I am so tempted by that RC-70 bundle!

You are not the only one, I recieve my veritas 6.3 from Sound Earphones both with dings I return the speaker and they give me a refund,now Im waiting on vanns for a second pair,they dont need to double box,they just need to reinforce every corner.

I cant help you with your question Kayvan, but those Veritas look really, really good in that room. Grats man!

kayvan -- I'm no acoustician but the general rule of thumb, if you aren't to invest in measuring gear to do real-time analysis and get all sophisticated, is to treat "first reflection points", that means the back wall, the side walls, behind the speakers, etc.

I don't think they are THAT expensive but if you can DIY you can definitely make them yourself for cheaper, check in the DIY forums as I'm sure there are threads about this. If you want to buy pre-fab you could probably spend a couple hundred and put panels on the front wall, the side wall, and the back wall.

BTW - why do you have the OMD-5's and the V-5.1's right next to each other? Are you using both or is one replacing the other? Can you compare the gloss rosewood finish (I wondered if Klipsch used the Mirage OMD finish for the new Veritas), are they the same color or is the OMD a bit darker?

Have you compared the omnipolar surronds (OMD-5) vs. the direct firing V-5.1's?

That is a really nice setup, the other positive is you get your LCR to the front edge of the stand so that you don't get reflections off of it and you have plenty of clearence from the wall and it gives the ports room. Right at ear level too which makes a big difference. I'm sure it sounds as good as it looks!

Bat, YES!! Ive been wondering what I could add to that wall to make it not look so bare! I was thinking a framed movie poster or something but wall panels sound like a great idea!

So something like this? http://www.htguide.com/forum/printth...page=103&pp=35

I'm horrible at matching up colors, that guy sorta has the same color walls as mine, do you think that color panel looks nice with that color wall or should I shoot for something else? black panels?

Amazon shipped my Yamaha RX-A3000 on Nov 25 and it was supposed to be delivered on Nov 29. The tracking number says it cleared customs on Nov 28 in Richmond, British Columbia. A couple days ago I phoned with some concerns, as I even had someone stay at my place so I didnt miss the delivery. DHL is now saying it didnt clear customs in Richmond, BC and they are going to check with Seattle DHL. Where the heck is it?

I don't think DHL is the most reliable carrier going ...I had some issues with them here locally when they cleared my sub but they couldn't find it for several days.... Just curious how are you able to order from Amazon and get electronics shipped over the border?

I've been looking into acoustic treatments and it doesn't look too hard. You have to look for heating and AC insulation distributers. This stuff is basically like the insulation in your house but more compressed into boards. There is a thread in the audio setup and chat that goes through which kinds to use and websites that will ship it to you if you can't find it locally. The benefit of using a known brand type from the thread is that the acoustic properties are known. The benefit of buying it locally is they're much cheaper without the shipping. This stuff is similar to that itchy housing insulation so you probably want to make these outside and use a mask gloves etc until you have these in the fabric. You can actually use the pink fluffy housing insulation as well it's just tougher to work with.

For fabric you can just get some GOM (Guliards of maine) and wrap the panels. You want it acoustically transparent so that high frequency sounds are absorbed and not reflected like your wall would do. I think GOM fabric is kind of the higher end option but they have tons of colors and work really well so it's the most used. There's cheaper stuff out there that would probably work just as well you just want to make sure you can easily breath through the fabric. (a good tip is to just let the WAF pick out the fabric)

The thicker the panel the lower the frequency they absorb or the farther the panel is spaced from the wall the lower they can absorb as well. Having thicker insulation is better than the air gap but the air gap is still really effective. The main thing is distance from the wall to the edge of the panel and the absorbtion of the insulation. The farther from the wall you are the lower frequency wavelength you can absorb. You don't have to worry about this too much as bass traps are used for the low stuff but it's good to absorb as low as you can.

Some panels come with a paper side, you want that against the wall or you want to get the insulation without the paper if you want an air gap. The reason is the paper will just make higher frequency reflect like your wall would which is the opposite of what you want to do with these panels. If you put it by the wall it doesn't make a difference but if you are leaving some space you want the panel to let sound pass through it so you get the benefits of the air gap. The tradeoff here is the paper helps it keep it's form if you put it on the wall but you get better performance without it and with some distance from the wall. So if you want an airgap and get the insulation with no paper you may have to make a frame so that it holds it's shape well and wrap tha fabric around the frame so that it's tight. Then you could use the frame to hang the panel.

Bass traps are basically getting something really far out from the edge so people will usually cut the panels into equal sized triangles and stack them. You would just wrap these in the acoustic cloth as well and put them in corners or edges wherever you could fit them. Corners are better than edges but anything can help and it doesn't matter if it's on the floor or ceiling or between walls etc. Even if you took a panel and spread it across an edge it would work as a bass trap but the solid insulation method works better but uses more insulation. You may not be interested in these for asthetics but just in case you could sneak them in anywhere they can really help. Expecially since audessy can't do anything about a null because no matter how much power you put into a sub it will not help with soundwaves canceling each other while bass traps can absorb reflections.

None of this is particularly tough to do or expensive but it will make a big difference. Besides mask and gloves for the fiberglass you would want one of those electric carving knives if you intend to cut the insulation. Batpig is right about treating first reflection points. A good start would be to put panels behind the front speakers which would make a big improvement. If you really want to get into it you have a friend walk around the room with a mirror and you sit in the listening position(s) and any point where you can see your speaker's drivers in the mirror you would want to put a panel.

The idea to the treatments is if you can get rid of these first reflection points the reflected sound gets to your ears so much later that your brain doesn't confuse it with the original. Any amount of absorbtion would help though so you can take it as far as you think fits the look of the room and it will be an improvement. You will actually probably get the most impact out of the panels behind the front speakers and bass trapping.

Amazon ships to Canada, just not some things
Shipping was very expensive though

Reinforced corners would have probably saved my last pair from Vanns. The one that was damaged today was actually dinged/scratched in the front though (probably from the grill). Both of the ones from HiDef were dinged in the corners; one was completely smashed and no amount of cardboard reinforcement in the standard box would have saved it. I agree though, they definitely need some reinforcement in the corners.

By the way, a little while ago, I got a promising email from the Vanns rep I spoke with today letting me know that the next replacement speaker has been "overpacked" so I'm cautiously optimistic that it will make it here safely.

Amazon might work differnt from Province to Province because they don't ship electronics to my PC...anyways good luck in dealing with DHL just remember to be patient and don't lose it....

Sweeeeet... got my RC-70's from Vann's today!!! Mint condition!!! These are really beautiful looking speakers. Got em all set up with my RC-30's taking over surround duty. I already notice a big difference in the surround fullness already. All calibrated as well. I'll take a few pics over the weekend for those that are curious

Awesome! By the sounds of it, they were worth the wait. Glad you're liking everything. Did you end up raising the 30's?
If you don't mind, what are the first four digits of the RC-70's serial numbers?

Yep yep, I raised up the RC-30's on 12" cinder blocks and with the spikes they are almost exactly the same height as my RC-10's were. I am very very happy with the way everything is set up. I did not get any black cloth for the cinder blocks yet so it looks a bit ugly right at the moment but I will get to that when I can.

The first four digits of my serial numbers are 1138. What are you looking for exactly by these numbers?

I'll take some multi-angle pictures from a few different locations so you can see how the surrounds look from the sweet spot. Should be getting my little amp on Monday to hook my leftover RC-10's up to my computer for some desktop use. Should be quite awesome. The RC-70's have a nice fuller sound than my RC-30's which I thought were no slouches in their own right. I think moving them to surrounds is gonna work out so great. I haven't had major time with the new set-up yet but listening to Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon in 24bit/96KHz quadrophonic sounded pretty sick. I can't wait for these bad boys to break in and see if I notice a difference. I think a good surround movie is in order for the weekend.

Two thumbs up for the RC-70's and for Vann's getting them to me in pristine condition

First, thanks in advance for the advice. Second, I'm not a A/V expert or even remotely close to knowing what some of this stuff means when it comes to most of the A/V things here and on the net. Third, if this is the wrong forum or thread for my questions please let me know. Having said that, I have a 50" Phillips HDTV that only has 2 HDMI inputs in the back. I have a Tivo hooked up to 1 HDMI input and nothing in the other. I just ordered a Panasonic DMP-BDT210. I plan on ordering a receiver. Not sure what brand yet...hopefully, someone in the receivers forum will help me decide. I did learn that I can run my Tivo & the BD through the AVR and use it as a switch. (I just learned some of these acronyms so I hope I get them right) I've done a little research and am pretty sure I'll get a set of Take Classic 5.1 speakers. They seem to run about $400. Am I on the right track as far as speakers go? My speaker budget's a little flexible, but I'd like to stay under $500 if possible. Oh yeah, the room they'll go in is about 12x12. If you need anymore info please ask. And, if you have any advice I'd appreciate you sharing it with me. I know this is the speakers forum, but I'd appreciate ad advice on a receiver if you'd like to give it.
Again, thanks in advance for the advice & help.
Billy

Congrats,listening to Pink Floyd just got better.D.S.O.T.M sounds fantastic on my 70,s.

Fantastic! When I had the C-series setup, I had CF-70s in the front and CF-30s for surround duty and I too really enjoyed the fullness in a setup like that (towers as surrounds). If I can get my hands on RC-30s (or more like get money for when RC-30s come around), I want to do towers as surrounds again.

Thank you for sharing what the serial numbers are of your RC-70's. I have been curious of how these speakers were reappearing. I wanted to know if the stock was previously made, but scatttered around the world, or if they were newly manufactured speakers. By the serial numbers of your RC-70's, I would think that they are newly manufactured. Thanks.
I love my RC tower setup for music in SACD 5.1 channel listening. It is really, really good and it seems like one of the favourite albums for some (me included) are The Dark Side Of The Moon. (I have I Wish You Were Here on vinyl). It must just be amazing taste
Congrats on the new speakers and enjoy getting use to all the new details and clarity

You seem to be on the right track. In that price range you can also look at the Jamo (online) and the Pioneer speakers (at best buy) but for your size room the takes should do fine and come in better with your budget. You may want to consider the RC micro 5.1 though. It's also coming in at $400 and is higher quality but smaller speakers so maybe less sheer volume. In your room they should also do fine I'd think.

http://www.amazon.com/Energy-RC-Micr.../dp/B001RQ2CXO

The only other thing I would add is don't let best buy types rope you in with expensive cabling you can get HDMI cables for under $5 from monoprice that will work just as good as the overpriced monster cables from best buy and the same goes for speaker wire as well. You may also want to pick up some banana plugs for the receiver side of the speaker cables so it's easier to hook up but you can also use the bare wire just fine.

I'd also suggest looking at refurbished receivers or receivers from a couple years back. If you don't have 3d you can get some nice savings on a receiver and not give up much usable performance or get more performance if you move up to a higher model for the same price. Look at dakmart for denon's I don't know the other manufacturer refurbished retailers but that's a good start. The way I figure it if you get a normal model that just came off the assembly line with no testing but if you get manufacturer refurbished you have had that thing tested by the manufacturer to meet specs. It's almost an advantage if you think about it and the savings is huge. The downside is you get a shorter warranty though so it's up to you. I find if these things work for the first year they tend to be fine but to each his own. If it's really important to you you can always get a square trade or mack 3rd party warranty with your savings and still come out ahead.

I will say it again, if you are on the fence about the RC70, get off the fence and buy. You are getting such value and quality for the money. If you already have some of those speakers, sell the ones you dont need or want to bring the price down. It doesnt get much better than that bundle.

Update on My Yamaha RX-A3000 that was lost or stolen by DHL

I emailed Amazon last night and they were awesome. They said if I dont get it by the end of today that they will arrange for another to ship. They also gave me $100 back just for the inconvenience...how cool is that.

Hello
It seems like you are going the 3D route, by the decision to buy your Panasonic. So your receiver and tv should also be 3D, if you meant to do this.
I would first check to make sure your Philips HD television is 3D for starters. If it is, then your next step is to get a 3D capable receiver that is within your budget. I don't know what your receiver budget is, but here is an example.
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-1911.../dp/B003IPC5FW
How many other electronics are you wanting to hook up to the system? Any XBOX, Sony Playstation or satellite etc? Just make sure the receiver that you choose also has enough inputs for what you need.
Assuming we are on track, you will need to buy the proper HDMI cables that support 3D signals. Not any cable can be used for full HD 3D, you will need HDMI 1.4 cables, but as Karn mentioned, don't sell your first born to get some. Just make sure you get ones that are capable of doing what you want.

I had the Takes for surrounds with towers for the front main speakers and I liked how it turned out. Hope this helped you and Good Luck

That is an amazing deal for a wicked setup.
It sounds like Amazon is really taking care of you, and also making things right. $100 is very generous, too bad not all sellers are as professional.

Good lord it's such a love hate relationship with ups tracking lol. It's so close yet so far!

Does anyone know if the tweeter on the RC-10 is identical to the tweeter on the RC-50?

The same tweeter is spec'ed for the RC10, 30, 50 and 70. The part number is Z5DR//53118.

The woofers are not interchangeable between different RC models using the same size (mini included), however, as different windings are used / different impedance. Exception being the RC50 and RC70 which share the same 6.5ohm 6.5" woofer.

Thanks for the response Bat. I just thought they were expensive for what they are. Looks like they are basically fancy cut foam, or some soft material wrapped around a wood or metal frame.

As for the OMD-5's. Well i had them lying around not being used so i thought i'd give them a try. Mirage and Energy are sister companies sharing similar components from what i can gather. I have them wired as rear surrounds. I know they should be behind the listening position but i haven't got a pair of speaker stands for them yet thus they are sitting on the coffee tables for the time being. Since they are surrounds they don't have to be the same brand...also with running Audyssey they blend in very well. I've tried monopole, bipole, and dipole speakers for rear surrounds. In my opinion Mirages' Omnipolar design is the best at creating a wide dispersion. As for their finish they are Rosewood vs the Veritas Rosenut. The OMD-5 are a tad darker but unless you have them right next to each other you can't really tell. Lastly the design of those are beautiful and unique.

In comparing the 5.1 vs the OMD-5 i'd say the 5.1 is certainly a better speaker. I've used the OMD-5's as mains before and i really liked how the sound was exactly the same while panning from far left to right. They sound the same no matter were you were. It's this quality that i like when it comes to using them for surround sound. They would work great for small to medium sized rooms as mains paired with a sub. They don't go very low so a sub is definitely needed. If you can get them on sale for $120 a piece they are a great value in my opinion. The finish on all the OMD line is spectacular. If anyone is looking for a smaller rear surround with a very wide dispersion pattern I'd recommend the OMD-5 whole heatedly. If anyone is getting the Veritas in piano black Mirage also carries the OMD line in piano black. Vanns is the exclusive seller of them. Take a look.