Pics of my HT

[L.J.]

Looks great, very well thought-out.

I like the way the speakers 'match' the cabinet perfectly. Usually the speakers absolutely the hardest to integrate. (Must be why my sister loves her lil' Bose speaker system)

Thanks. Yeah looks are very important. My C-9's are black, so I had to live with my front 3 not matching (maple center). To make a long story short after traveling 80or so miles to pick up my BLACK center, the last one in stock was MAPLE. I was told that a black center was on hold for me. I was pissed but had to take it or leave it since the line was discontinued and the C-C3 was no where to be found. I found the maple C-7's used in my area and here I am.

[L.J.]

They are usually in a cardboard display in the middle of the isle when on sale. Seem to come in two colors, blue and burgundy. Other black-out cloth' I've found are very expensive.

Well I could always go the cheap route and use foil

[GMichael]

Well I could always go the cheap route and use foil

Sure, that way you won't have to worry about the microwaves that the government is using to fry our brains. And the other aliens will no longer be able to read your mind. I'll still have no trouble with that though.

[bobsticks]

Great looking setup L.J.. Very clean and geometric, and as mentioned strong WAF. Congrats on the new toys and new home.

Cheers to ya

[jrhymeammo]

Yeah, that is pretty nice. Love and Happiness?

WAF is pretty nice. I got my foam in today, and dont even have the SAF. I dont even like it myself. I spent 50% more on color instead of charcoal. But now, I wanna spray paint it blackish, but dont think that's a good idea. Closing off all the cells and such. Sounds better though.

but you are sounding good while looking great. Congrats

[L.J.]

Great looking setup L.J.. Very clean and geometric, and as mentioned strong WAF. Congrats on the new toys and new home.

Cheers to ya

Thanks Bobsticks.

[L.J.]

Yeah, that is pretty nice. Love and Happiness?

WAF is pretty nice. I got my foam in today, and dont even have the SAF. I dont even like it myself. I spent 50% more on color instead of charcoal. But now, I wanna spray paint it blackish, but dont think that's a good idea. Closing off all the cells and such. Sounds better though.

but you are sounding good while looking great. Congrats

Thanks JR. Don't forget to post some pics when you're all done.

[Woochifer]

Awesome job L.J.! It's been quite amazing seeing your various equipment and room upgrades take shape over the past year, and how you put things you learn into practice. Hope that your persistent curiosity has paid off with greater enjoyment of your system.

I'm taking notes on how you integrated the 703 fiberglas panels with basic burlap, and created something that's as attractive as it is functional. Are those panels rigid enough to be suspended or do they have to be wall-mounted?

Terrence once recommended that I go with blackout curtains for a large window that I have along the side of my setup. He said that those heavy curtains do an outstanding job at taming the window reflections. My wife and I are looking into options right now (and since she watches a lot of interior design porn ... i.e., HGTV, DIY Network, Discovery Home, etc. ... you can imagine how those discussions are going!).

Also, have you done any equalizing on that 15" Titanic yet? I've been tweaking with my sub settings using the Room EQ Wizard (free Java-based application that's available through Sonny Parker's BFD forum), which deliver much quicker results than the old method of manually measuring test tones and plotting frequency points. I would be curious to see how your results fare in your room.

[L.J.]

Awesome job L.J.! It's been quite amazing seeing your various equipment and room upgrades take shape over the past year, and how you put things you learn into practice. Hope that your persistent curiosity has paid off with greater enjoyment of your system.

I'm taking notes on how you integrated the 703 fiberglas panels with basic burlap, and created something that's as attractive as it is functional. Are those panels rigid enough to be suspended or do they have to be wall-mounted?

Terrence once recommended that I go with blackout curtains for a large window that I have along the side of my setup. He said that those heavy curtains do an outstanding job at taming the window reflections. My wife and I are looking into options right now (and since she watches a lot of interior design porn ... i.e., HGTV, DIY Network, Discovery Home, etc. ... you can imagine how those discussions are going!).

Also, have you done any equalizing on that 15" Titanic yet? I've been tweaking with my sub settings using the Room EQ Wizard (free Java-based application that's available through Sonny Parker's BFD forum), which deliver much quicker results than the old method of manually measuring test tones and plotting frequency points. I would be curious to see how your results fare in your room.

Thanks Wooch. I think you guys are starting to rub off on me.

I glued my panels to a 1/4" board using spray adhesive and hung on the wall using saw tooth picture hanging hardware. Not sure what you mean by suspended

No, I have not done any sub EQing. It's still on my list though. I am a bit overwhelmed by all the info, but I gotta start somewhere I guess. Very interesting link. I'll have to spend some time reading over there.

[Woochifer]

Thanks Wooch. I think you guys are starting to rub off on me.

Oh no! Not again!

I glued my panels to a 1/4" board using spray adhesive and hung on the wall using saw tooth picture hanging hardware. Not sure what you mean by suspended

Actually, you answered my question. By suspend I meant whether it the panel was rigid enough to stand on its own like a picture frame (I suspend my acoustic panels using picture hooks and picture moldings). With a solid backing, that will definitely work with a picture molding. Thanks.

No, I have not done any sub EQing. It's still on my list though. I am a bit overwhelmed by all the info, but I gotta start somewhere I guess. Very interesting link. I'll have to spend some time reading over there.

That stuff is VERY technical, but most of the regulars on that site are very helpful. Here's the home page for the Room EQ Wizard.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/

If you want a basic primer on the Behringer Feedback Destroyer (which is a commonly used and very inexpensive parametric equalizer), here's the link to Sonny Parker's website. This was the site that I used to equalize my sub. The improvment that the EQ made to my bass response was absolutely staggering. (although if you use the Audyssey EQ on your Denon receiver, it already incorporates some bass equalization)

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/bfdguide/

And some information (and download files) for doing your own subwoofer measurements, if you want to try the tried and true manual measurement method (just make sure that you have a Radio Shack SPL meter).
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/bfdmeasure/

The REW application will basically save you about an hour's worth of time by not having to manually play test tones and plot response curves in Excel. You just need a microphone (the Radio Shack SPL meter will suffice since the REW includes a correction file to calibrate those results) and a computer with a sound card. It will run the frequency sweep and give you the settings that you should use for the EQ. You can even attach a MIDI cable and completely automate the setup process.

I found the settings using my manual measurements subjectively sounded better, but that's because I took 90 minutes and dialed in 14 EQ filters which is probably overkill. The REW honed in on the 3 most problematic frequencies, and they still greatly improve the quality of the bass and it took less than 30 minutes once I figured everything out.

If you think your bass is good now, just wait 'til you hear it after the peaks have been flattened out (although like I said, your receiver might already do that to some degree).

[L.J.]

What are your thoughts on the SMS-1?

I know you can acheive the same results for far less money going the BFD route, but do you feel the diff in price is worth the ease of use that the SMS-1 provides?

[jrhymeammo]

Thanks JR. Don't forget to post some pics when you're all done.

I would but it's too ugly. Sounds better but there are still some nulls or whatever the audio nerds talk about. Too many holes


I think I meant nodes

[Woochifer]

What are your thoughts on the SMS-1?

I know you can acheive the same results for far less money going the BFD route, but do you feel the diff in price is worth the ease of use that the SMS-1 provides?

If the SMS-1 works as well as the reviews say it does, then it's a very nice and well-designed subwoofer equalizer. It comes with a calibrated mic and on-screen programming that looks very easy to use from what I've seen. Plus, you don't need a computer to work with the SMS-1.

Whether it's worth the extra money ($600 list price) depends on whether how much you value the convenience. The BFD is a pain in the butt to use and time consuming (if you're manually plotting the response curve), plus there is a learning curve involved. But, it's very inexpensive ($100 for the unit, plus $40 for the Radio Shack SPL meter) and once you get the hang of it, it's fairly routine. Even if you want to automate the BFD by using the REW application with a MIDI interface and calibrated mic ($60 for an external USB soundcard, $50 for a calibrated Behringer ECM8000 mic, $50 for a microphone preamp, and $15 for a microphone cable, and $40 for a MIDI interface), the total cost still comes out to only ~$365. For me, the SMS-1 is probably not worth the extra money because I've already invested in the BFD and the REW.

Even so, I can see though how the SMS-1 is attractive, because it works right out of the box and has a dedicated function with clear instructions on how to use it. Plus, it has some utility (such as the phase adjustment, subsonic filtering, and ability to control up to 3 subs at once) that the BFD lacks.

Either way though, parametric EQs are well worth the investment no matter how much you're willing to pay for convenience features. IMO, it's almost like buying a totally different subwoofer, because you're bringing the performance back to where it should be.

[westcott]

Great Job!!!!

I figure that with a new house and new equipment, you could afford to adopt me and my wife!!! Its a package deal though.

Black out linings and curtains can be expensive but they are well worth the price in light control and the added benefit of reducing utility bills, as I happily found out!

I am sure you will be grinning from ear to ear for some time to come so avoid riding a motorcycle any time soon.

[L.J.]

If the SMS-1 works as well as the reviews say it does, then it's a very nice and well-designed subwoofer equalizer. It comes with a calibrated mic and on-screen programming that looks very easy to use from what I've seen. Plus, you don't need a computer to work with the SMS-1.

Whether it's worth the extra money ($600 list price) depends on whether how much you value the convenience. The BFD is a pain in the butt to use and time consuming (if you're manually plotting the response curve), plus there is a learning curve involved. But, it's very inexpensive ($100 for the unit, plus $40 for the Radio Shack SPL meter) and once you get the hang of it, it's fairly routine. Even if you want to automate the BFD by using the REW application with a MIDI interface and calibrated mic ($60 for an external USB soundcard, $50 for a calibrated Behringer ECM8000 mic, $50 for a microphone preamp, and $15 for a microphone cable, and $40 for a MIDI interface), the total cost still comes out to only ~$365. For me, the SMS-1 is probably not worth the extra money because I've already invested in the BFD and the REW.

Even so, I can see though how the SMS-1 is attractive, because it works right out of the box and has a dedicated function with clear instructions on how to use it. Plus, it has some utility (such as the phase adjustment, subsonic filtering, and ability to control up to 3 subs at once) that the BFD lacks.

Either way though, parametric EQs are well worth the investment no matter how much you're willing to pay for convenience features. IMO, it's almost like buying a totally different subwoofer, because you're bringing the performance back to where it should be.

Thanks Wooch. All this arm twisting is really putting the pressure on me

All joking aside, I'm looking foward to eventually getting this done. Thanks for your thoughts and putting up with all my questions as well.

[L.J.]

Great Job!!!!

I figure that with a new house and new equipment, you could afford to adopt me and my wife!!! Its a package deal though.

Black out linings and curtains can be expensive but they are well worth the price in light control and the added benefit of reducing utility bills, as I happily found out!

I am sure you will be grinning from ear to ear for some time to come so avoid riding a motorcycle any time soon.

Definitely on the to do list.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Bringing this back up top because there's a lot of useful info that I'm about to make use of, RE: Acoustic panels. And I think some of the newer newbies will find this useful as well.

[L.J.]

Well since it got bumped I guess I should update. I picked up some black out curtains, nothing fancy but they do the trick. I also picked up a set of these to get a better downward angle for my center channel.

[dgjr]

sweet looking setup.

[musicman1999]

Very nice set up,nice and clean.About your glare problem,I don't know your television so i don't know if it has an outer protective screen as my crt had,but when i remover my screen protector the glare went away and picture quality improved as well.

bill

[L.J.]

sweet looking setup.

Thank you!

[L.J.]

Very nice set up,nice and clean.About your glare problem,I don't know your television so i don't know if it has an outer protective screen as my crt had,but when i remover my screen protector the glare went away and picture quality improved as well.

bill

I was able to cut down on the glare considerably by putting up some cheap black out curtains and I also put some dark film on one of the skylight windows that was causing the most problems.

Not sure about the TV thing. With a 1 year old running around, the TV needs all the protection it can get