Triad Owner's Thread - Page 106

BTW, I happen to love bananas. Sliced on corn flakes, they're DELICIOUS.

If we had some bananas we could have cornflakes and bananas... if we had some cornflakes.

Putting a banana in a horrible room is like eating cornflakes on glare ice...

What's up with you guys? I'm thinking 2012 can't come soon enough!!

BTW, I hate bananas! Give me two nice peaches..........one in each hand!!

Off topic........ can silver or bronze LCR speakers be used for surrounds? Craig john has me thinking Plats for the mains............thus, the surround budget crisis!

You could use Silver LCRs for surrounds with Platinum LCRs, but because they're fairly directional, I'd recommend four (or six), and avoid installing them where they will aim directly into a listener's ear. Listening position is more critical when using direct-radiating surrounds because they "hot-spot" more than dipoles.

So, you're a "peach man," eh?

With two rows.......one with four seats and one with two, I figured on using 6 monopoles for surrounds if I go that route. Placement is out of my hands.....leaving that to the experts.

How would Silver surrounds work with the Plats? I should have never talked to Craig john!

Yes, I'll take two peaches over one banana any day!

Hey everyone,

I am getting my basement finished soon and am looking at the Inwall Gold LCR's and the Inwall/4 silver surrounds.

Couple of questions:

-Are the silver surrounds a good match with the Gold's?

-I most likely will have to put the 2 side surround silvers in the ceiling due to room layout. I will most likely put the 2 rear surround silvers in the back wall. Does anyone see an issue with this setup, or should I also put the rears in the ceiling as well?

Thanks for your input-

Ronnie

Hello, we need a little more info.
Seating distance, room dimensions, seating distances to walls, etc.

There really aren't any issues with using ceiling sides and wall rears as long as it fits your room.

What that really means, is you should be buying Platinums.

Erskine takes the "Tim Allen" approach. Overkill = Good.

R-R-R-R-R!!!

Doc Brown was Tim "the Toolman" Taylor's hero after seeing Doc's speaker setup in Back the Future. Talk about your reference levels....

I used a single pair of Silver Surrounds with Platinum LCRs for a few years a decade ago. Because surround levels are far lower than fronts, they kept up...to a point. If you used six Silver Surrounds, you'd cover the room well. Just use a 100 Hz crossover.

I'll defer to your dealer, but four Silver Surrounds will work with Gold LCRs. (See my post above this one.) If the rears are farther back than normal, or far from the back seats, you could use InWall Silver/4 Sats for a little more directional excitement from the back of the room. That choice would depend upon how close you are to the rear speakers and how live the room acoustics are. In any case, I would still use Silver Surrounds for the sides.

Insert "bowing" emoticon here.........



So........I can surmise Gold Surrounds would have no problem with the Plats? Crossed over at 80 Hz rather than 100?

I'm planning 1/4 century budget for just speakers.........boy, that's not gonna happen!

You know, if the Plat's stretch the budget... the Gold LCR's are about 95% of the Plat's... for about 35% of the price. I have heard the Gold LCR's, and I felt they were very, very close to the Plat's. In a blind test, I'm not sure I could pick them out. I could certainly be happy with Gold LCR speakers for a long, long time. They are better than my AT's were, and they are better than the Klipsch THX U2 systems that I've heard. More dynamics, more output and better mid-bass.

Just a thought.

Craig

Gold Surrounds work great with Platinum LCRs. Our big CEDIA demo from 2009 used six Gold Surrounds with three Platinum LCRs in BaffleWalls. That's the system that also used twelve Silver DSP Subs. With a hefty 8" driver, the Gold Surrounds can handle an 80 Hz crossover frequency.

I think that might be true to a point. I owned the Gold LCR's prior to my current Platinum's. At reference levels (or beyond) nothing touches the plats. Massive dynamics and clarity without a hint of stress.

I guess it depends on what you are trying to achieve.

If you listen below peaks of 108 dB, I agree with the 95% statement. However, if you like to air it out, the Gold LCRs can't even come close to the effortless, massive dynamics and headroom of the Platinum LCRs. They are SICK.

Obviously, I agree. When I heard the Gold LCR's we were about -3 from RL, so they still had some headroom left... and they sounded unstrained, uncompressed... just loafin' along. If -3 is "enough" for dbw11, (and for most people, it is), the Gold LCR's could be a *lot* easier on his budget. That's all I'm sayin'...

Craig

Well, you have to understand that I traded in the 400 hp sports car on the 505 hp version, so...

So why don't you still have Platinums?

Craig

I've spent some time with the Gold LCR......very neutral, but did not get a chance to open them up. Demos tend to be that way as I was never offered the controls!

Actually, I've always preferred the Gold Monitors, but Paul has mentioned several times he recommends a room no bigger than 3500 ft^3.........mine will be approximately 4500 ft^3.

Good to hear................but 6 Gold Surrounds and a trio of Plats puts me over budget! I'm not giving up my three chip!!!

That is the million dollar question for me.................and why I'm pestering Paul constantly.

As I'm nearing retirement in 2-3 years........my eyes and ears are failing.......maybe I need to have a few things opened up! lol That doesn't sound good!!!

I've never really had the controls of an acoustically engineered system..........well, I'm actually looking forward to it! Call it post mid-life crisis!

I respect your opinion/knowledge here at this forum...........your enthusiasm for the Plats has me second guessing myself! A good thing............no more "Man Card" needed!

I used to own a 78 "Silver Anniversary Limited Edition" Corvette..........now I own a 2010 Prius! For crying out loud!!!! I want to hop on the saddle again and ride a thoroughbred! The Plats might serve that purpose...........

I love Platinums, and I may do them again, but my room is smallish, and Gold Monitors can pin me to the wall in there. And in a 1,900 cubic foot room, 4,400 watts is *almost* enough.

I have a 32'x13' room. The first 17' will be for home theater and the back of the room will be for a pool table. I've attached a really ugly drawing to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.

Should I put the rear surrounds in the ceiling slightly behind the couch or should I put them all the way back on the the back wall. (Speakers 6&7)

I was thinking about putting the sub where the two couches come together. Is that going to be a huge problem? Do I need to reconsider and put it in front by the TV?

Should I use dipoles or not?

I haven't finished framing this room yet and I'd like to do it right the first time so thanks for your help.

Sorry if my questions seem stupid, I'm pretty new at this.

The drawing was actually very effective. I may print it out and color it.

By your drawing, the best place for the rear surrounds is where you have them drawn in, in the ceiling. You can actually have them a few feet farther back than in the drawing. Use dipoles for the sides (narrow room), but I'd use InCeiling Silver/6 Sats for the rears. Silver Surrounds will do a nice job for the sides.

I would put the sub in the front by the TV, otherwise you'll be able to localize the bass too much. And in that large room, consider two subs, or at least one of our Gold DSP Subs.

BTW, those were good questions; not dumb ones.

Buddy of mine has the exact setup. Using the second half of the room for a pool table as well. He did have surrounds on the back wall for 7.1 and it was a complete waste. I would go with Paul's suggestion of going with in ceiling a few feet behind the the listening position or even monitors on stands a few feet behind the listening area if that type of layout would work for you.

Paul & adidino.....

I'm curious why you both recommended the closer placement of the rear speakers in the 7.1 set-up of funkapotomus? I've been wondering about this same issue myself. It seems as if the more distant location would allow for lower placement of the rear speakers. Wouldn't the combined effect of the lower placement and longer distance result in the sound hitting the listener closer to ear level (rather than coming from above)? Couldn't volume levels and timing be compensated for? Just curious as to your reasoning......
Thanks
-Digs

From the posters description, the rear surrounds are going to be ~15 ft away from the listener, minimum. You would need a flame thrower for it to be effective.

Although this may seem to be ideal, the room becomes much more interactive with the speakers at the back wall and so far away.

Using directional in-ceiling speakers placed 5-6 feet back from the couch will give the best outcome. The brain has a hard time judging height when the sound is coming from behind the listener and actually your brain tries to place the sound in relation to what is on the screen.

eg. In the movie Master and Commander, you hear creaking and footsteps when you are in the ship and your brain tells you that the sound is coming from above even if your surrounds are at ear height. The same can be said for the other way around.

I also recommend Paul's suggestion.

Yes please print and color my drawing. Then, mail it to me and I will put it on my fridge. I promise.

Now, a few more questions. Others have suggested that I put in 9 speakers and have a 2nd zone on the rear wall. When I listen to music, is it going to matter that the music is coming from 25 to 30 feet away? I'd rather use the 2nd zone for my deck.

I've been looking at an Integra DTR 30.3 or 40.3 and the bronze series speakers (my budget isn't as large as I would like it to be), will that receiver drive those speakers effectively?

When do you recommend a rack amp vs. a plate amp on the sub?

Thanks for your time.