System #45 (Monolith IIIx, SL3XC, Sequel II)

[ScottG]

Wow... Jonathan... your room is looking great!

 

[JonFo]

Jon, am I seeing right or are you listening to all that amazing ML sound while watching your movies on a 4:3 screen??? If you are, time to upgrade!:music:

Heh I’ve thought about it, as most of my content is 16:9 these days. But remember, there is a 4’ tall x 2’ wide center channel back there, so an 80” wide 16:9 screen would not be ‘tall’ enough for my needs.
So It will be a while before I change screens. When I do, it will be a big’un, that’s for sure

Wow... Jonathan... your room is looking great!

Thanks Scott. Hope you can see it in person soon.

 

[Waboman]

But remember, there is a 4’ tall x 2’ wide center channel back there...

That is just awesome!!:rocker:

Very cool, Jonathon!

 

[avhomedesigns]

Beautiful System Setup!

 

[JonFo]

Been a pretty quiet summer. No major changes.

ScottG came and visited in July, and was suitably blown away

I had been meaning to redo the Audyssey measurements just for the heck of it, and as part of that, decided that I'd go ahead and reconfigure the DBX to be a bit more flexible in my crossover setup.

I had configured it using a 3x7 configuration for the three front channels and outputing 2 channels per input (for bi-amping) + 1 sub out.

This was so I could continue to dispense with bass management in the preamp if I wanted to.

But after research and education from the Audyssey CTO on inner workings of their process, decided that I'd be better served letting the AVP do all the bass management for the sub. Audyssey uses 8x higher resolution on their sub channel. Therefore if bass XO occurs prior, it benefits from that additional accuracy.

So, I reconfigured the preamp to have the following XO's:
L/R 60hz - Center, sides and rears 80hz.

In the DBX, reconfigured it as per the pic below.
basically a 2x4 for the L/R and a 1x2 for the center to support bi-amping the fronts. And since I've decoupled the L/R, I can now pick separate crossovers for the Monolith and SL3XC.
Monoliths are now at 250Hz, 24dB/oct LR, and the SL3XC is at 400Hz 24dB/oct LR.

The sub and the tactile transducer each have their own XO and effects queue.
The Sub has no XO set, and that element basically controls polarity. It does have a limiter set so we don't bottom out the IB and fry the drivers (I have about 2x more power than required to toast those suckers).

The various outputs have their delays and phase settings tweaked to two decimal places based on the precise measurements made with R+D.

 

[JonFo]

The result is pretty good, it was already great, but I believe that the bass is indeed just a tad tighter.

The particular mic pattern I used was a pretty tight 8 position run right around my main seat, and while image focus is amazing, the result is a bit bright (relative to what I was used to from the last run).

I'll be re-doing a 12 position Audyssey Pro measurement next week (it takes almost 2 hrs to do that in my system).

Plus, I just received the 3.1 version of the Pro software, so I'll be playing around with target curves. Which BTW, one can have a unique target curve for each of the 12 channels or any combo of them.
Very slick.

 

[ScottG]

The result is pretty good, it was already great, but I believe that the bass is indeed just a tad tighter.

I will say I was blown away with the visit this past summer. The room/rig and especially the company was simply amazing. :bowdown:

But I'm glad to hear you are still tweaking, still turning the knobs and dials to the never-ending pursuit for Eye and Ear (Brain?) candy. :rocker:

 

[DanielAdler]

And a better view of the handmade yarn hanging my wife made for the theater.

This is 40+ hours of work and yards and yards of high-end yarns. Looks pretty cool in person and the acoustic properties are appropriate

I think its great that the Mrs. gets involved! I am fortunate that my fiancée plays harp- she's used to large musical instruments laying around. She has no bias against me getting requests or anything else that large.

Gorgeous hanging there!

 

[JonFo]

The system is really performing well, as I've not really done much to it since last fall.
Just enjoying the awesome sound and great video.

I've yet to hang a couple of additional absorbers on the ceiling. They are sitting in a hallway outside the theater. Got to get to that soon, but its too much fun to just use the system.

 

[FOUNTAIN]

The system is really performing well, as I've not really done much to it since last fall.
Just enjoying the awesome sound and great video.

I've yet to hang a couple of additional absorbers on the ceiling. They are sitting in a hallway outside the theater. Got to get to that soon, but its too much fun to just use the system.

I tell you what Jonathan, I'll come over and remove those panels from your hallway and hang them on a ceiling. (My ceiling!!!) I can definitely attest to the great sound and video you have, and completly understand why you would rather just listen and watch.:rocker:

Glen

 

[JonFo]

Finally got high-rez multichannel audio feeds from my HTPC into my Denon preamp going.

I wrote it up over on the AVSForum in this thread.

Cool thing is I can now listen to all my favorite DVD-A's (ripped to my network server) and downloaded high-resolution multichannel audio tracks with perfect fidelity AND great convenience.

 

[RUR]

Jonathan, what are you using to rip the DVD-A's - DVD Audio Extractor?

 

[JonFo]

Jonathan, what are you using to rip the DVD-A's - DVD Audio Extractor?

Yep, highly recommended.
http://www.castudio.org/dvdaudioextractor/


the latest version is pretty much a one-pass process of putting in the DVD-A, selecting the titles/tracks you want and select FLAC, multichannel, same bit depth and sampling as original, and bingo, a bunch of FLAC audio tracks.

A quick run through your favorite tagging app, and you don't even need to type in all the track details when ripping.

It's so nice to be able to create and run a playlist of my favorite high-rez multichannel tracks.

 

[RUR]

I've used it a couple of times to rip DVD-A/HDAD to .wav, since the PS Audio PWT won't play those formats in their native habitat. Latest FW update on the PWT now allows FLAC, so I need to give that, as well as this latest version of DVDA Extractor, a try.

 

[JonFo]

Remote control of Foobar

Man, totally getting my geek on this weekend.

I just got my Foobar2000 audio playback setup with full iPhone Remote display and control of the playback of my songs.

This is stunningly nice!

I can sit in my chair and whip out the iPhone, launch Apple's own Remote app (usually used to control iTunes and AppleTV devices) and see all the libraries, playlists, etc. that Foobar2000 has loaded.

I can then select a playlist, see the tracks in it, select one, and it starts. After a bit, it shows the album cover along with transport controls.

If I want to explore my 1300 disc library, no problem, it's super-fast and I can start up an album quicker than anything I've seen yet.

All the neat features of the Apple Remote app are available. Super cool

So how to?

Just download this Foobar2000 component:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t79988.html

Enjoy FooTouchRemote

 

[JonFo]

Wow, it's been over a year since I posted an update!

I've been really busy with my company, but I did have to perform a small change recently when the BluRay drive in my PS3 died. So I purchased a Panasonic BD210 BluRay to be able to continue watching movies. Works like a champ.

Otherwise, system has been rock-stable and the few hours I get to hear it each weekend, I'm constantly amazed by the quality of reproduction.

 

[STV]

Hi Jonathan,

Great to hear from you! Like you, it's been a while since I posted an update. Not much has changed with my setup either, other than the addition of an Oppo BDP-93 a few months ago. About the only big change was the room, as it has been completely renovated (new paint, carpet, etc), giving it all a whole new look.

That is too awesome that you're really enjoying your system. I'm still loving my Denon AVP-A1, and everytime I listen to either music or movies, it always brings a smile to my face. I am really looking forward to the AVP upgrade later this year. To have Audyssey xt32 and 3D passthrough is going to be awesome.

Bummer that your PS3 finally bit it, but nice to see that you got a good player as a replacement. I hope that my Denon A1UD player lasts a long time as its been an excellent performer, and is a perfect match for the AVP.


Seth

 

[JonFo]

Bummer that your PS3 finally bit it, but nice to see that you got a good player as a replacement. I hope that my Denon A1UD player lasts a long time as its been an excellent performer, and is a perfect match for the AVP.


Seth

Thanks Seth, still loving my AVP-A1HD as well. It's an amazing piece, and also can't wait to upgrade to Audyssey XT32 this fall.

I'm looking for a 4010 player, as my 2930 is getting flacky. I believe the 4010 does most of what the A1UD provides for DenonLink guys like me.

Can you believe my old (12+ years) CRT projector is still going strong? Adding that HDMI input card sure extended its life-span. But I'm due to replace it later this year as well. Been holding out for a decent LED/Laser projector, but none really worth it right now. I'm a 'black must be black' kind of guy. Maybe after CEDIA this year.

 

[STV]

Thanks Seth, still loving my AVP-A1HD as well. It's an amazing piece, and also can't wait to upgrade to Audyssey XT32 this fall.

I'm looking for a 4010 player, as my 2930 is getting flacky. I believe the 4010 does most of what the A1UD provides for DenonLink guys like me.

Can you believe my old (12+ years) CRT projector is still going strong? Adding that HDMI input card sure extended its life-span. But I'm due to replace it later this year as well. Been holding out for a decent LED/Laser projector, but none really worth it right now. I'm a 'black must be black' kind of guy. Maybe after CEDIA this year.

Hi Jonathan,

The 4010 should be an excellent universal player for you. And as you said, it provides most of what the A1UD does, so it should do everything you need it to do.

12+ years on your projector and still going strong! Amazing!! Most display devices don't go that long, so yours going that long is awesome. A new projector will no doubt give you the latest technology. I'm with you on the blacks must be black. While I'm not going for a front projector, I am looking to replace my Sony 70XBR2. I want a flat panel that's over 70", offers passive 3D, and has excellent black levels. No such thing is available yet, but I hope that something will make the scene by CES 2012.

Yeah I'm pretty jazzed about the upcoming upgrade for our Denon AVP's. I am a little nervous about sending it all the way across the country though. I hope it arrives there safely, and gets returned safely. I will miss it while it's gone, but I did keep a good back up pre-pro to use while it's out getting upgraded, my reliable old Sunfire TGIII.


Seth

 

[JonFo]

Just to note that the CRT PJ is now 15 years old, has over 10,500 hours on it, and still throws a nice enough image that movie nights are a real treat.
Built like a tank was an understatement, these behemoths are impressive.

However, a new JVC DLA-X55 4K projector is likely to displace it shortly (mid-2013 at the latest), as I really want to get the additional seating space.