System #46 (ML Statement E2, Theater i, Monolith IIIx)

[dobyblue]

I must admit, I come to this site and look at this system almost every single time.

As do I!
Ha ha!

 

[wink]

WOW! What an amazing setup....where are you placing your Krell gear when you get your Casablanca? Do you have any pics of the surround section of your system?

I dream of being able to have a setup such as yours one day, with my ReQuests doing surround duty and a set of Statements up front.

Very, very nice!!!!

Dan

 

[Barbados]

Update

Hello everyone, I just wanted to give everyone an update as I have been out of hi fi for a little while. I'm currently casting the footings of my new house and everything is in cold storage. New room is 21Wx42Lx12H. Also unlike the previous room all 8" block walls will be clad with dry wall spaced with 2x4s. I am doing something a little different this time and will be using Teak for a hardwood floor.

New equipment to tickle you guys:

1. Krell EVO 707 Surround Processor :devil: (KPS 25SC for sale)
2. Krell EVO 525 DVD/SACD Player :devil: (will purchase when Krell updates it to accomodate Blu Ray/HD DVD play back)
3. Krell FPB 600 upgraded to FPB 700c (well since I had to send it all the way back to Krell to get it fixed in the first place might as well update it and get 100w/ch more of Class A and now it's all black at matches the front)
3. Theta Dreadnaught II with 6 channels :devil: (Krell EVO amps are priced ridiculously. Their KAV series cannot touch the Dreadnaught II)
4. RUNCO VX 2000D/Cinewide single chip DLP (1080P projector to replace my tired Yamaha VX-1) - really looking forward to this
5. Stewart 12' Cinewide retractable screen

All equipment will be recessed into the wall where I can get behing the units to make connections and hide components I don't want displayed i.e. Satellite receiver, Surge protectors etc.

So I'm now undecided on a few things:

1. Should I used dry wall and if not what?
2. Do I need to stuff anything behind it for sonics? Sound insulation is not an issue with concrete filled 8" blocks.
3. Keep Monliths IIIs in rear OR go with two pairs of Voyages for the rears and sides (btw I'm keeping my old Logos for center rear - emotional attachement)
4. Do I really need to upgrade the Theater to the Stage?

I'll be all moved in late February. Expect many high res pics.

Cheers,
G

 

[Joey_V]

*Speechless*

Now THAT is how one handles Joeyitis! Grab it and choke it down!

That's an amazing set of components.. WOW..... actually... WOW doesnt even begin to describe it.

Joey :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

 

[philox]

Barbados, can we see a photo of the rear speakers? I never seen Monoliths as rears By-the-Way vote yourself a 4 or 5 to boost up your rating. See the "rating" program in this forum

 

[Pcar928fan]

Now THAT is how one handles Joeyitis! Grab it and choke it down!

That's an amazing set of components.. WOW..... actually... WOW doesnt even begin to describe it.

Totally agree on this one! WOW is not even close! That room is HUGE! Nearly as big as my garage! Just amazing! Most folks do 2 layers of dry wall in part to isolate the room sonically but it sounds like w/ the concrete blocks that won't be a problem for you! I think dry wall will work fine, but it may require closer spacing of the studs so you don't get any vibration. There are also various types of insolation that go between dry wall and studs (again to eliminate sound transfer which won't be a problem for you) as well as between layers of drywall. I would probably go with studs on a 10" center for spacing and just use one layer of drywall. YMMV! best of luck and I can't wait to see the pics! Going to be AWESOME! Makes me want to do an addition even more than I have wanted to for the last year!

 

[Barbados]

Thank you all very much. 10 inch centers it is and no fill. I do not have pictures anymore of the system and we sold the house months ago. There may still be a picture of it on audioreview.com somewhere from a posting 2-3 years ago... I'll check sometime.

Was on site today really looking at everything and I think it's really going to turn out well. There is partition in the room 30' back with a 10 foot opening for custom 5 foot sliding doors. As I haven't decided on changing the surrounds, the Monolith IIIs will flank this opening giving me about 5 feet from the plane of the Monoliths (well towed in) to the back row of seats (5 large theater seats).

Right now I am really starting to eye those EVO 900 mono blocks for the dipole towers... but 40k is just ridiculous. Just envisioning having them upfront in black flanking the 650mc monos which would then drive the sub towers....

Anyway, I think I'm just going to splurge for the Stage front center and use the Theater as the surround center, from what I hear, the new Xstat panels really help with the dynamic range in small panels. Dreadnaught II is ordered with 3x225 watt channels for Monoliths and (Stage?) and a double channel card (2x100) for the Theater surround center.


Will keep you guys posted.

Best regards,

G

 

[Pcar928fan]

Thank you all very much. 10 inch centers it is and no fill.

If this room has walls to the outside then I would put some insulation batting in there. Concrete is not a very good insulator for keeping heat or cool INSIDE. I was not really thinking about that aspect of the room. It is easy to add when in frame, just put in the batting, but it will make running wires in the wall more difficult after everything is buttoned up so be sure you have blue tubes or some other passages in place at locations where you might think you will want to run wires later, or just put everything in you can imagine before the sheetrock goes in! I look forward to pics! :bowdown:

 

[Peter Hogan]

Hi.
My thoughts are that for this caliber of setup, especially if you're going to custom build the room, you should employ the services of a professional soundman. For instance, you could space the sheetrock walls further from the concrete in places to act as a bass trap for room tuning. Building the room properly will add significantly to ANY listening room, particularly with top end gear.

My .02,
Peter

 

[Barbados]

Thank you Peter. I did consult with a professional for this room. The reason why we did not opt for permanent bass traps ala your suggestion is because of the complex and somewhat unpredictable nature of the Statements. It was difficult (speaking to several pros) because it produces bass in both a dipolar and bipolar manner from two different locations in the room. Rather we opted to design a well behaved rooml on using computer generated dimensions for a system with considerable acoustic power. The rear wall flanking the sliding door are angled such that they are non parallel to the front wall. The concrete wall is flat but the dry wall panels are secured further out at the side walls than they are at the sliding door in the middle. This acts as broad band bass trap as there is quite a bit of space behind it. It can be tuned by adding more mass to the dry wall. It is a given that we will use a good mix of hard and soft surfaces. According to him I won't really be able to know how much bass absorption I need until everything is relatively in the right position and the response is tested.

 

[Barbados]

This is just an alternate view of the system in the new room.

 

[C.A.P]

That is just pure beauty ! They are so awe inspiring ! Love the KRELL power too.

 

[Barbados]

Thanks for the kind words C.A.P.

 

[amey01]

That's a mighty mess outside that window!!

The system is looking great though - I love just looking at them - how about some high-res piccies?

Also, I liked your musicians better between the speakers - are you going to be moving them back?

 

[Barbados]

Hi,

If you could suggest an easy way to host them I would upload high res pics when the system is finished.

The pile of stuff outside is the packing materials I used to store and move the system. Ridiculous.

With respect to the musicians I found that they blurred the imaging ever so slightly when they were along the front wall. At least in the previous room, they sounded more coherent and focussed with the musicians at the sides provided you avoid the first reflection point. There's an interior decorator in the family and she thinks they'll look alot better once I get some better stands. I thought they were ok

The room was custom designed by a specialist but I could not meet his exact requirements for wall construction. Only the ceiling is dry wall between the beams. ASC has designed a room treatment solution. There are 4 16" full round tube traps the full 12' height of the room for the four corners of the first room and several of those soundplanks panels for the side walls. From there I'll start playing the dipolar towers sans subs moving the speakers around inch by inch... oh boy.

 

[Cherian]

Just beautiful!!! Monoliths for rear channels just awesome!!!!:bowdown:

 

[MiTT]

Simply awesome! I can only imagine how truely wonderful it must sound.

How about some shots of the source equipment?

 

[Barbados]

We're still building the rack into the wall right now so it looks built in. Hopefully I will have the rest of the Krell gear next month.

I am also painting the mahogany trim on the statements a semi gloss black. Pics of that sometime next week.

As I write this the system is leaps and bounds ahead of the last room in terms of bass transparency, definition, and naturalness. This is even without a single piece of room treatment in the room. It is just unbelievable how effortless the dynamics are in this very large room. Wow.

 

[johnwa]

Wow--amazing set up and system!

 

[Pete]

Unreal!!!!!!!

Barbados................how would you descibe the sound of those statements to a blind person,........no pun intended!!!!!!!!!