Forums - Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater

mac5u Seasoned Member Posts: 100	Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater Reply #15 - 06/02/11 at 03:28:58 Yes, of course, the center can be the better speaker or the same as the L/R. My guess is that most often it is neither. And for those who employ large floorstanders as L/R, very few also employ a floorstander as the center.
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Pale Rider

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Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater
Reply #16 - 06/02/11 at 05:21:17

Quote:

The center speaker can be the best speaker (as per JB) and also be the same as the L/R speakers.
Any multichannel system that uses an inferior center speaker is...... well, inferior.

Lin, I think you are correct, and I have sure proved it. Although I have had center speakers that were "as good as" my L/R, it was only because my L/R weren't that great (Cambridge version of HTIAB and the Orb alternative to HTIAB). Otherwise, they have not been as good. The ERRs are going to be a new dimension for me, and the decision to use ERRs as the C speaker will be interesting.

Michael, thanks for all those links. I plan to start reading them ASAP. The Bongiorno was new to me. Interesting approach. Here is what I think I will be doing. I plan to set up AudioMulch on a Mac mini, and test out its ambiophonic capabilities using the Ultra's two-channel setup. Listen and make some notes. Then run the Ultra in 5 or 5.1/2 and make some more notes. Make some decisions. Because I ain't swapping them back and forth, and I ain't moving speakers back and forth or in and out every time I want to switch sources.

Greg

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opnly_bafld

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Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater
Reply #17 - 06/02/11 at 23:37:25

mac5u,

If the center speaker is the same as your front L/R, it is the "best" speaker even though they are equal. "Better" would make it something more. In every trade show that I'm aware of, SST has used 3 identical speakers across the front.

There are quite a few companies that make their center speakers with basically the same drivers as their floorstanding speakers, perhaps with the exception of the size of the woofer(s).
3-way center speakers with a vertical tweeter/midrange (even when paired with same company/voicing 2-way L/R) make a dramatic improvement over WTW horizontal 2-way center speakers IME.
Of course if it is possible to have 3 large floorstanders across the front....... Smiley

Considering the forum we are on I assume that if individuals are serious about their multi-channel system they are not going to mate a $200 or less center channel with high quality L/R speakers. Shocked

Lin

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mac5u

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Posts: 100

Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater
Reply #18 - 06/03/11 at 01:53:26

Lin,

You and and I are not in disagreement. And for James Casler or Brian Cheney (or whomever) to NOT demo the SST without three identical speakers across the front defeats the very purpose of the Trinuaral processor itself. I am thinking, however, of the common configuration of HT set-ups, some by individuals who are serious about their mutlichannel systems where the room serves a dual purpose of 2-channel and HT use AND there is a TV, not a projector, between the L/R speakers.

Sure, I could put another floorstander there but it would make for a difficult movie viewing.

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opnly_bafld Ex Member	Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater Reply #19 - 06/03/11 at 22:19:06 I have it, a custom speaker made of plexiglass, so only the drivers block the screen. Lin
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Pale Rider

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Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater
Reply #20 - 06/03/11 at 22:55:49

LOL. Funny you mention this Lin, because it ended up affecting what sort of flat panel wall mount I chose. I would have preferred a true flat mount that puts my screen as close to the wall as possible, but because the ERRs will "force" my screen a little higher up the wall, I have to get a mount that affords some tilt capacity. Hmmm. Maybe I should just buy my own movie theater.............. Grin

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Donnie Seasoned Member Why does it hurt when I pee? Posts: 577	Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater Reply #21 - 06/04/11 at 00:13:42 Pale Rider, Here is the nearst theater to you that I could find for sale. http://www.redding-real-estate.com/LargePhotoPages/cascade-theater-redding.html
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Pale Rider Seasoned Member Posts: 1271	Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater Reply #22 - 06/04/11 at 04:18:40 ROTFLMAO! Thanks for the good laugh Donnie!
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mac5u Seasoned Member Posts: 100	Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater Reply #23 - 06/04/11 at 23:54:54 Lin, Donnie -- you guys are killin' me.
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Pale Rider

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Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater
Reply #24 - 01/07/12 at 18:10:12

Been a while since I visited this thread. As you guys know, I have the Ultra preamp driving both my 2.0/5.0 system (the sub build is just about to start). I have three pairs of ERRs, with the front L/R and the rear L/R being standard ERRs, with the center channel being reproduced by two ERRs built with their ribbons firing toward the TV screen on the wall, i.e., firing backward. The center channel effect works very well, with actor voices and sound placement cues well-localized, while sounding as big as the screen. I was always frustrated by the visually and aurally-discernible effect of small point source center speakers. The screen is a 65-inch Panny plasma, so correct sound placement is discernible.

I am having servo subs built to roughly match the ERRs. I am still experimenting with placement options and how best to integrate. I recently came across the DEQX line of products, and I confess I am fascinated by their possibilities in an Ultra-based system.

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Pale Rider

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Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater
Reply #25 - 01/07/12 at 20:01:16

And I am looking hard at the Trinaural Processor. It is very interesting, all-analog, and can be integrated into a multi-channel HT setup. The question is, do I have the right kind of speakers for this, or are the ERRs all wrong for this appoach, or maybe I already have all the imaging I need. Probably the only way to find out is to try them and make sure I have return privileges.

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mac5u

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Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater
Reply #26 - 02/01/12 at 01:22:14

Hey PR, it's been awhile since I've been on this forum. Interesting to see you thinking about trying the Trinaural Processor. I wish I could give you an answer to your question as to whether adding it would be a benefit or not with the ERRs. Every post I have read by anyone using it has always involved a conventional speaker with a forward-firing tweeter.

Speaking of the ERRs, I was hoping to read more about your experience with them and the Ultra in an HT /MC set-up. I'm just going to have to figure out a way to get over the the West Coast.... Wink

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Pale Rider

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Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater
Reply #27 - 02/01/12 at 13:49:37

Hey mac5u, good to hear from you again. The Trinaural Processor remains interesting to me, but I need to find a way to audition it or be able to return it.

The Ultra, the Toriis, and ERRs remain wonderful and just seem to get better. Lately, I have done much more 2-channel listening with the PerfectWave DAC. But probably 2-3 times per week, we either watch BluRay or play a surround disc. The sound is just amazing. Even without subs, six ERRs can pump out some serious sound. I am having some subs built using the Rhythmik subs and GR Research amps in downfiring cabinets designed to closely resemble the ERRs.

In addition to looking at the Trinaural, I am considering the DBQX processor. I think it could have a significant impact on my system. We shall see.

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Steven Nolan New Member Posts: 0	Re: Ideas for Tube-based Home Theater Reply #28 - 02/14/12 at 11:16:29 Home theater is always best of its quality. There is no need to do changes or modifications in it.
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Coherent Sound

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Dealing with hum
Reply #29 - 04/08/12 at 02:27:04

Hello to all,

If you have a cable box hooked up in any system, this could be the most important thing you can do for a purer sound.

A cable box commonly will introduce some degree of hum into a system, and will completely ruin your listening experience. This may be why some avoid having a cable box in the same system as their higher-end components, since cable box hum can literally spread to those components like a disease. But why does this happen?

In my system I had a hum that drove me nuts. The hum was present with input from both my cable box and my bluray player (but not from an iPod), all going through a decware switchbox.

** What was really weird was that even when the bluray player was NOT PLUGGED IN it still sent hum to the amp! **

I didn't know the source of hum until I realized there was probably a difference between the input cable ground potential and the AC ground potential.

I finally figured out that the hum from the unplugged bluray player was actually from the cable box, because the hum from the cable box went via HDMI to the flat screen, and then from the flat screen via HDMI to the bluray player, and then from the bluray player via analog cables to the amp. Tricky.

Then after some internet searching I discovered the ISO-MAX VRD-1FF Cable TV Ground Isolator, made by Jensen Transformers.

It is a small ground potential matching device that attaches to the cable itself, and it works wonders. It's not that expensive for what it does (about $60 as I recall), and all you do is put this little bit of magic between the input cable and the cable box and it automagically eliminates the hum. What a HUGE difference when the hum goes away.

Unfortunately, the ISO-MAX does NOT work with a satellite-based cable system - it only works with standard cable.

In general, I would say if you have a cable box the ISO-MAX is a MUST in any non-satellite system, even if there isn't a noticeable hum, and whatever else you have in the system. A very low, minor hum your ears will hear but your mind may not notice, and this can distract a lot more than you may realize; kind of like the sound of a refrigerator at a distance that you don't notice, until it goes off. Then all of a sudden your ears say, "Ahhhhhh...".

After the ISO-MAX, my ears said "Ahhhhhhh...". And it's not really a quantifiable thing - it's more a "feeling" of depth and clarity, more of a "punch" that wasn't there before. It's hard to describe. And it sounds like more power now from those two little watts.

And my flat screen looks better too, clearer and sharper with more depth, since AC hum is not going into it.

Thanks, and happy listening,

Gary

Decware SE84C+ (with cce)
Decware switchbox
EVS modified Sony BDP-S570 blu-ray player
Audio Nirvana 15" Alnico full-range drivers in open baffles
Home-made speaker cables from Belden top line CAT5 cable
Paul Speltz Zero Anti-ICs

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« Last Edit: 04/08/12 at 18:42:36 by Coherent Sound »

Forget about distortion-free sound. All sound is distortion. If one seat at a live performance sounds different than another, what is the "original" pure sound? There is no such thing. In the end all that matters is, what kind of distortion makes you smile?

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