My Updated Home Theater 1.1 (w/ pics)!

[Woochifer]

I thought I was done with my home theater last August when I completed my matched 5.1 surround speaker setup and added those insanely overengineered Sound Anchor adjustable speaker stands. In fact, I proudly proclaimed that Home Theater 1.0 was FINISHED!

http://forums.audioreview.com/html/audio/07/0EF9E35E.php
http://forums.audioreview.com/html/audio/07/0EF9D9D5.php

Well, my wife had her own ideas of what finished REALLY meant! Anyway, let's just call this Home Theater 1.1 -- WAF Edition. For reference, here's what version 1.0 looked like. What I had considered more or less a finished product has been reduced to a footnote, a "before" picture, an interim step, etc.

http://members.aol.com/sfwooch/images/theater1.jpg

Home Theater 1.0, with the wire rack on wheels, before its premature demise

All of our equipment was mounted on a wire rack, basically something that belongs in a kitchen. But, it was available and it served its use. Aside from audible rumble that got transmitted into the turntable, this was actually a decent (not to mention already paid for) way to put everything together. But, those cables in the back were very low on the WAF. I thought I was saving up for a HDTV, but my wife said no way we're looking at TVs until all that equipment found a new home (plus, she wanted to reclaim that rack for the kitchen). Plus, she wanted something that would store more of our living room stuff. But, more than anything, she didn't want those cables and wires SOOOOO visible.

So, I first went about looking for some low cost audio racks. But, the first thing that I noticed was that not a whole lot of racks our there have adjustable shelves, and with the number of odd-sized components in my system, adjustable shelves were needed. After a long search, I bit the bullet and started looking at the expensive modular systems. Went through a lot of options, and decided on the Salamander Synergy rack. It definitely was not cheap, but it's a pretty well built and versatile system. But, first and foremost, it looks pretty damn good and my wife is happy with it. Anyway, here it is ...

http://members.aol.com/sfwooch/images/theater10.jpg

Home Theater 1.1 WAF Ed., with all the components tucked away. Now I've got a dedicated space for the PS2, and better access to the turntable plus shelf space for at least some of my vinyl. The corner positioning creates some open space behind the rack, and I'm thinking about putting some triangular acoustic foam into the corner.

http://members.aol.com/sfwooch/images/rackopen

View of the system with the rack door open. The mesh metal screen on the door is great because the remotes will work even with the doors closed.

http://members.aol.com/sfwooch/images/rackopen2

Close up view of the components and CD rack

http://members.aol.com/sfwooch/images/theater11.jpg

View of the surround speaker positioning. This is about what 110 degrees off-center (the ITU reference standard) from the listening position looks like, with the right side of the sofa as the center point. The speakers are at 45" height and pointed directly at one another.

http://members.aol.com/sfwooch/images/rearview.jpg

View of the back wall. This is a good shot of the picture molding just underneath the ceiling that we installed last summer. The acoustic panels are homespun from inexpensive building materials and hardware, and suspended off of the molding, so no drilling or nailing is necessary and the panels can be moved around the room at will.

There you have it! NOW, it's time to start saving up for the TV upgrade... sheesh, it never ends, does it?

[uncooked]

looks much better now! great job, and well worth the money IMO.

would you mind naming your components? what yammy is that? looks like a 1400?

do you have your ps2 hooked up optically to? its awsome with good racing games and vice city, what games do you own?

[Woochifer]

looks much better now! great job, and well worth the money IMO.

would you mind naming your components? what yammy is that? looks like a 1400?

do you have your ps2 hooked up optically to? its awsome with good racing games and vice city, what games do you own?

This link has the equipment list, and some of my original comments when I thought I was done with my system!

http://forums.audioreview.com/html/audio/07/0EF9E35E.php

That receiver's actually a three-year old RX-V800. Yes, it's been a while since Yamaha updated their corporate design.

I do have the PS2 hooked up optically. I do have Vice City and enjoy the DTS track on that game, although I don't think it has any discrete split surround effects. My most recent purchase was True Crime: Streets of L.A., the controls are awkward at times, but I enjoy that game a lot because I used to live in L.A. and they digitized about 200 square miles of the L.A. street grid for that game so I know my way around! Most of my other gaming is just Madden football, and some old school stuff like old arcade games (Defender, SmashTV, Tempest, etc.). As a stocking stuffer, my wife got me a compilation of old Activision games for the Atari 2600 -- that was so cool playing those primitive stick figured games once again!

[uncooked]

yea vice city is probably my favorite game so far, you cant really get bored of it becuase there is so much stuff to do.

when i play vice city, i only get it in 4.1 is that normal? i have a yamaha amp as well. just thought i would ask you since its relatively similar. it does that warning switching to dts thing then the dts comes on the amp display but where it shows what speakers are playing the center is not lit up. "other dts encoded things work fine" maybe the game doesnt have a center encoded in?

how do you like streets of L.A is it worth buying? i was looking into that one a bit ago, but the graphics didn't seem to stack up against vice city. im saving up for GT4 "gran turismo 4" have you seen the graphics on that game ! and if your into cars like me its perfect. cars good, visual and dolby 5.1. does it get any better then that?

[Woochifer]

Having the center channel inactive is a judgment call. Actually, quite a few multichannel music discs are mixed without the center channel active. Some recording engineers just feel that it sounds more spacious without the center channel present. I just got a concert DVD a month ago with Pat Metheny, and it too was recorded 4.1. Compared to a concert DVD that he released a couple of years ago, the 4.1 mix did seem more like I was sitting in the audience than the 5.1 DTS track from that previous release.

I'm probably the wrong person to ask about True Crime! I grew up in L.A., so for me that game's a blast just cruising around the streets and neighborhoods where I used to live (plus a lot of landmarks like Staples Center, the Chinese Theater, and City Hall are digitized into the game grid). But, all told it is a pretty good game in its own right. It mixes fighting, driving, and mayhem in one package. I think Vice City and GTA3 have a better plot and a more wry sense of humor, but True Crime does take some things to the next level, like having a targeting system for firing while driving and having a branching plot that can change depending on some of the decisions that you make (like whether to arrest a suspect or waste him, whether or not to spend points on fight training and driver's ed or just blow it all on weapons, etc.). And since it covers 200 square miles of L.A., the game grid is MUCH bigger than the one used in Vice City. Maybe you should try renting and see if it's worth your while.

[uncooked]

yea i ll have to do that, maybe this weekend even. i ll get a review back for it after.

thanks for giving me the info so quick, and talking about the game, sounds alot more appealing now then it did before

[topspeed]

Nice Wooch,

Great cherry finish on the rack. It matches your speaks pretty well. I noticed all the remotes were gone now. Did you finally break down and buy a universal remote? Funny thing, my wife came into my office just as I was looking at your pics and I had to explain WAF to her. She gives credit to your wife because there is no way she would let me have the surrounds right near the entry door like yours.

Don't worry about the HDTV delay. CEA reported they are expecting flat panel and hdtv to drop up to 30% in price this year. Woodman thinks all tv's are going to drop that much. Methinks I'll hold onto those dead presidents a little longer...how 'bout you?

Very nice system. C clamps for the wall treatment are novel.

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[Worf101]

Lookin good. What mains are those and was it a conscious decision to go with Stand mounts over Floor Standing? I also have some Synergy stuff but I went with the AV Stand 3 that holds my 32-incher and all the gear in the bedroom. Salamander's good stuff but a little pricey to me for something I have to put together. I'm also glad you were able to reach a compromise with the "better half" so as to have an obviously outstanding system that sounds great and looks passable.....

Congrats....

Da Worfster

[recoveryone]

This is why we need wife's, sometimes they do come up with a better ideal...LOL

Very nice Woo, you have inspired me to give you guys/gals a tour of my stuff. stay tuned, the thread will be called the surrounded by surround

[46minaudio]

Looks great..

[chimera128]

Very nice. Great integration of all the wood pieces.

[Aldo WIngate]

Marginal quality, but not a bad LOOKING setup. TV size leave a lot to be desired, but I'm sure you're already aware of that and have a budget you need to stick to. When you are ready to get into something weith a decent picture, check out the HDTV setup that are on the market now. Not HD ready that most make the mistake of getting, but HDTV WITH a tunber, either built in or separate. It will make most small tvs like the one you're stuck with now look funny. Check them out and let us know. I bet you'll like them.

[Woochifer]

Thanx for the feedback guys, the props and your sympathy with my situation are well spoken for!

topspeed -
After the flak I got the last time for leaving the remotes out, I decided to hide them from view. Believe me, those pics are NOT the "lived in" condition that you normally see in that room! My better half also was questioning whether she wanted the speakers right in front of the door, because when I was using those old Bose 301s as the surrounds, she (and I) hated looking at the back of those things when we got home. But, since the cherry finish on the speakers matches the floor, she doesn't mind them.

I'm counting on those HDTV prices to fall, since the infamous WAF forced me away from RPTV and towards plasma. I was looking at a closeout deal on a Mitsubishi RPTV, but my wife took one look at it and said no way. Then she pointed at the plasmas and said that's what "we" want. Of course, that was before the sticker shock!

Worf -
The speaks are the Paradigm Studio v.2 series. Their newer v.3 models have a slightly different look, but they sound very nice with probably the best imaging I've ever heard from a sub-$1,000 box speaker. I went with the standmounts because the floorstanding equivalents were about $200 over my price limit, and I knew that I would eventually add a subwoofer. Plus, aside from the bass extension, I felt that the standmounted version had better tonal balance and overall coherency in the midrange.

P.S. So, that's what a Klingon looks like after one too many hits off the Afrosheen pipe!

[46minaudio]

After the flak I got the last time for leaving the remotes out, I decided to hide them from view.
Home Theater Master MX 500..This is one of the best buys "for me" in a long time..I know you read claims all the time about products but I have really put all the other remotes away..Makes life eaiser...
http://remotecentral.com/mx500/index.html
Can be bought for around $100...

[r3Wind]

Looks nice! When I first saw "1.1" in the subject, i thought it was going to be a system with only a center channel and sub :)

[Worf101]

Worf -
The speaks are the Paradigm Studio v.2 series. Their newer v.3 models have a slightly different look, but they sound very nice with probably the best imaging I've ever heard from a sub-$1,000 box speaker. I went with the standmounts because the floorstanding equivalents were about $200 over my price limit, and I knew that I would eventually add a subwoofer. Plus, aside from the bass extension, I felt that the standmounted version had better tonal balance and overall coherency in the midrange.

P.S. So, that's what a Klingon looks like after one too many hits off the Afrosheen pipe!

Thanks for the speaker information... is it two way or three way? Ported I suppose? The reason I'm askin' is I'm doing my 4th system for someone and they're leaning towards standmounts. I'm collectin' information of goodies. All I know are old Epicure's and I think these folks want speakers from THIS century!!!! As for the afrosheen crack.....

eewwwww that was a goodie!!!!

Good thing for you I've an over developed sense of humor!!!!!
:D

[Woochifer]

Thanks for the speaker information... is it two way or three way? Ported I suppose? The reason I'm askin' is I'm doing my 4th system for someone and they're leaning towards standmounts. I'm collectin' information of goodies. All I know are old Epicure's and I think these folks want speakers from THIS century!!!! As for the afrosheen crack.....

eewwwww that was a goodie!!!!

Good thing for you I've an over developed sense of humor!!!!!
:D

I kinda figured you'd appreciate that comment since for the life of me, I can't figure out the correct spelling for jericurl (or jerrycurl? or gerrycurl?)!

As for the speaks, those are actually 2 1/2 way. You got a midrange driver and a dedicated woofer, both 6 1/2" but slightly different designs. The midrange driver gets the full range under 1.5 kHz, whereas the woofer only gets the frequencies under 400 Hz. The midrange driver is capable of handling the lower range, but the woofer provides an assist without having the signal fully crossed over at the frequencies where it kicks in. In theory, this helps with the midrange coherency, while avoiding the complexity of having to integrate the midrange driver and woofer. A lot of other companies like B&W, JMLab, PSB, and Mirage offer similar speakers. The updated Paradigm Studio 40s are well worth trying out, but if you want insane imaging definitely audition the Studio 20s. Short of panel speakers, I've not heard anything like those for under $1,000. For a 24th century starwarrior, you're sure old skool about some things!