Ha.. are you kidding me? The "happier" I keep the wife, the more time I am "allowed" to spend working.... which (trust me on this one).. is good for all of youOriginally Posted by dae3dae3
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Ha.. are you kidding me? The "happier" I keep the wife, the more time I am "allowed" to spend working.... which (trust me on this one).. is good for all of youOriginally Posted by dae3dae3
I like the idea of using a TV mount for the center. That would work in my current room, but my current room is likely only temporary. If/when I move the HT downstairs, I won't be able to use a TV mount, and I don't want to take a step backwards in SQ. Currently, my 340 is on a shelf below my TV, and while not ideal, I can live with it. If I decide not to move the HT, I will look at a TV mount.
-Jim
does the center sound better being slightly higher than the front left and right compared to being slightly lower if it were on a floor stand?
powdered toast man away!
I don't think this has a yes or no anwser. The room has too much influence to say that one is inherently better than the other.Originally Posted by jeh
David
Hi all,
Not to take away from the cool new center stand discussion , but I finally got 5.1 all wired up. Tonight I played around with some discs, and I've decided that I like the the 340m phantom center better than the 340c on that 11.25" shelf - provided I sit dead center. The phantom image collapses rapidly as I move off center, but then I almost always sit center. With the low center, even angled up a bit, it's obvious vocals are coming from below the TV, and they don't sound as quite as "pure" as in 2.1 or 4.1 mode.
Anyways, this is my first foray into surround sound so I'll be playing around with things the next few days, but here are my inital thoughts so far:
- Wow, the surround channel effects are very subtle (yep, I calibrated via Avia). Not being used to it, I found the effects occasionally drew my attention away from the screen somewhat (did something fall off my shelf?). As a result, 2.1 provided the most immersive experience tonight. It could be the disc I used (Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex Vol. 1) or my speaker placement.
- Wow, the front 340m's + Hsu by themselves do a fantastic job of imaging and filling the room with glorious sound. I am more and more impressed by the 340m/Hsu as I finish tweaking their setup. Not at all upset about my center channel problems when I can get 2.1 or 4.1 that sounds this good. Now I'm wondering if I could do even better for the 340m's with something like a pair of the Outlaw Audio monoblocks...heh, and I had just upgraded my receiver, too.
- DLPII sounds terrible - to these ears, on the one 2.0 disc I tried, in my setup. The center channel got way too much signal to render - the result sounded 90% mono.
I could try that cool wall mount, but I'm not yet convinced it would beat my phantom center when seated at the sweet spot - I don't want to hear vocals above the TV, either.
Last edited by mulveling; 04-13-2005 at 08:01 PM.
Great stuff!
Myself, I am not a big fan of phantom center, although I have not played with it much. My Parents are running that way now, and dialog is not near as good as my place. Have you tried tilting the center channel towards your listening position?
I agree with DPLII.....I enjoy two channel music the way it is was meant....well 2.1.
DaveF's center channel mount would work perfect for me if my TV didn't have a shelf.....then again, my walls are plaster, so I am not sure I could actually mount it.
-curtis
Even plaster walls have to have studs behind them! The trick is having a wall stud right where you need it.
Feel Free to visit my website:
The Bailey's Home Theatre in Our Living Room
Equipment List:
Hitachi 57F59 HD CRT RPTV
Outlaw 990/7125 PrePro/Amp
Panasonic BD10 Blu-Ray Player
Mains: Ascend CMT-340M
Center: Ascend CMT-340C
Surrounds: Ascend CBM-170
Sub: SVS 25-31PC
I have 3 Outlaw Monoblocks running my front 3 340's. At sane volume, I really can't tell much difference between them and my Yamaha HTR-5790. The only reason I have them is because they will soon be going into a dedicated theater, and I want to be able to take it to the n'th degree if I want to. They are also a great way to get into separates, because you don't have to plunk down a couple of G's on a multi-channel amp all at once. Last, but not least, a big stack of 'em looks cool in an equipment rack!! Not that any of us purists care about such juvenile things.......yeah, right.
- EVH III
Thanks for the monoblock impressions, Eddie. The loudest I go is -11 or 12db below reference level (73db on Avia test tones w/RS spl meter), which admittedy is pretty loud. Is this what you'd consider a sane listening volume? I find the Ascends really start to open up and sound wonderful at around this volume level.
I played with surround positioning tonight and they indeed sound much better off to the sides, like Dolby recommends. When I had them in the back they sounded way too detached from the frontal soundstage - now the integration is much much, better. It's an enjoyable effect, though I think there is still room for improvement. For starters, they may not be high or distant enough - tweeters are only 1 foot above my head. I'm still using a phantom center for now. Anyways, the important thing is that tonight's DVD viewing was truly enjoyable
As a little background, I'm coming from the unusual (crazy?), little know world of hi-end headphones. My 'cans are the top-rated Joe Grado HP1000 and Sennheiser HD650 (each of which can cost more than a pair of 340m's, lol), and while these headphones win it for CD's with their almost unlimited refinement, accuracy, liquidity, and detail articulation (not to mention freedom from my nasty room effects), the Ascends/Hsu clearly rule for movies. Very happy with both of my setups, and especially impressed with the value of the Ascends - I haven't heard too many surround setups (I'm not counting HTIB jobbies), but this one is easily the best so far.
wow, i've never gone above -23db on my 3805 w/ Ascends. my ears are pretty sensitive and i prefer moderate volume levels. you must have spent a lot of time with those loud headphones on. there is a guy at work who talks really loud and i constantly have to ask him to lower his decibel level.
it sounds like you're close to finding the surround positions you like. remember to experiment with the distance setting.