Sierra-1 Nrt vs CMT-340 for DEDICATED Home theater

[j0nnyfive]

Hey Dave!

Thanks for all your helpful emails! I know I probably seem like some kind of major OCD nut. lol

The primary reason I've been shying away from a center channel is because of an experience I had walking into a home theater store in a nearby town. They had a room set up where all the speakers were below the screen, and I remember walking in and feeling odd while watching the screen. I could too easily localize the sound as coming from below the screen and not from the picture. Kinda felt like there was a narrator standing down below narrating what was happening on the image above. lol This bothered me.

As of now, my speakers are to the left and right of the screen. The tweeters are even with my ears and about a third of the way up the screen. I'm afraid if I place a center channel below the screen (my only option currently), I'll get that weird narrator below the screen effect, and have panning issues from left to right, as my center will only be about a foot off the floor, if that.

Is this something that someone can easily get used to and "forget" about? Are the benefits worth it? I'm just not sure. (thinking thinking)

Thanks!

P.S. My screen is 110" diagonal, and I sit about 11 feet away. There is about 19" of clearance below the screen. My left and right speakers are to the sides of the screen, toed in toward my center seat, and about 1.5 feet from the wall. Not sure what I would set the center on either, or how I would orient it. I'm definitely open to the idea though! Lots of people seem to be a fan of the center. I'm beginning to wonder...

[scape]

i'm going to chime in again with my own experience: I find the issue more prevalent if the speaker is above the screen, mostly because ear-level is typically lower than you'd think (most people tend to slouch on the couch). I try to keep the tweeters within 1-2 feet of eachother; and about -1 to +2 ft relative to my ear level. since you have a projection screen (unless that's some crazy plasma [please invite me over then haha]) you can purchase an audio transparent screen-- to me that is the absolute best choice when it comes to theater since the speaker can be placed upright and positioned perfectly (behind the acoustically transparent screen that is.)

check out dalite, they have great screens for this reason. the only thing you might have to account for is room dimensions and seating distance, since you'll want some distance behind the center, you may have to move the screen out a bit. i'd seriously consider doing this

[j0nnyfive]

Hey Scape!

The AT screen is something I would really like to do at some point. I picked out some woven fabric from Chris Seymour's website, and ordered a sample. Great stuff. My main problem, and the reason I decided against it was this small living room. If I move my screen out that far, I would be shrinking the size of the room pretty dramatically. Too much floor space would be gone, and I would be forced to watch a smaller picture as well. But, I'm not totally against the idea of a center. I may try it when I build my funds back up from my last big purchase.

P.S. If I ever get a plasma that big... I can't think of anything clever to type here. lol

[scape]

there is a recommended viewing distance vs screen size; this website happens to have a calculator http://myhometheater.homestead.com/v...alculator.html

there are other ones out there as well. if you use a q plug on the center channel you could probably flush mount it within what you already have setup. or you could move the screen in 1 ft and have a 1.5sh ft space behind the speaker then-- which should be 'enough'. i know what it's like to have difficult setup for a room; every place has it's ups and downs

just to reiterate: recommended thx viewing distance parameter: 10ft is 78" wide of image projection, 11ft should be 86" wide at 16:9.
but then again, who made thx boss!

[j0nnyfive]

Hmm... I'm gonna try out that THX viewing distance. I've thought about looking up a calculator but I just never got around to it. I forgot about my Q plugs! Gotta go pick those up from parents' house. Sweet. What to watch, what to watch... having a theater is so nice. Will tell you how it went!
Gotta go pick up those plugs first.

[ronbo]

Honestly, you should really find a way to integrate a center channel into your system. It will make a HUGE difference

Agreed, some receivers will engage dynamic compression on 5.1 soundtracks if you elect to use a phantom center.

[DavidD]

Agreed, some receivers will engage dynamic compression on 5.1 soundtracks if you elect to use a phantom center.

Is that what Dave was referring to? I wasn't sure.

[j0nnyfive]

Hmm... dynamic compression without a center huh? Never thought of that. I wonder why.

Either way, I've been satisfied with my 2 channel setup simply because these speakers are GALAXIES ahead of what I was used to hearing (my computer speakers. haha!)

Anyway, I know this thread was called CMT 340s vs Sierra-1 Nrts, but I've just taken advantage of the Memorial day special and am trading in my Nrts for the towers. I should have just saved up for the towers from the very beginning. Now that I've heard the Sierras, I feel I must go all the way. I need MOAR. More sensitivity, more imaging, more bass, more sparkle, more power handing, more midrange, more money (I know I know), but... here's the experience I recently had that made me decide this:


A couple days ago I went to the local cinema. I haven't been to the movies in almost 6 months. I was expecting to be blown away by BIG sound and BIG picture and.... it was a good movie (Captain America was very enjoyable), but I wasn't impressed by the sound. I was SHOCKED. It sounded very.... mediocre. And, (get ready to point and laugh at me)... too loud. Or, at least too loud for THAT level of sound quality. I was thinking... if it's going to sound like this, the least you could do for me is turn it down a little to save my precious ear drums. It didn't sound "bright" or "warm" or whatever... it just sounded meh. MEH! But, this was a revelation. The Sierras have accustomed me to a new level of sound expectation. I'm ruined for life. Spoiled.

Thanks Dave.

[DougMac]

A couple days ago I went to the local cinema. I haven't been to the movies in almost 6 months. I was expecting to be blown away by BIG sound and BIG picture and.... it was a good movie (Captain America was very enjoyable), but I wasn't impressed by the sound. I was SHOCKED. It sounded very.... mediocre. And, (get ready to point and laugh at me)... too loud. Or, at least too loud for THAT level of sound quality. I was thinking... if it's going to sound like this, the least you could do for me is turn it down a little to save my precious ear drums. It didn't sound "bright" or "warm" or whatever... it just sounded meh. MEH! But, this was a revelation. The Sierras have accustomed me to a new level of sound expectation. I'm ruined for life. Spoiled.

Thanks Dave.

My wife and I went to a new cinema in the area and I was pleasantly surprised the sound didn't blow me out of my seat like it does at other theaters. I was so impressed I sought out the manager to express my gratitude. He was glad someone had noticed and taken the time to thank him. He said that just before they opened, the audio engineers came in and tuned the theaters. When they were finished, he went to each to audition. At the end, he told them to turn down the volume. The audio engineers protested, saying that it was standard procedure to set up that audio to reference levels. He overrode their protestations and made them turn down the sound level.

Also, my wife has remarked that she no longer enjoys going out to movies. She said: "The sound quality and picture quality of our home theater is so much better, why would I want to go to the trouble and spend the money? Besides, they don't serve wine!"

[j0nnyfive]

Dougmac: lol nice!

I'm hooking my Dad up with a pair of CMT-340s and a Rythmik FV12 subwoofer w/ a Denon 1712 receiver and Panasonic 210 blu ray player. Replacing a **** 321. This new system will rock. Oh yes. Dad is all about the home theater too. Woohoo!