Can sombody explain what is going on

[Grandpaw]

I added this to the bottom of my other post and I think it just got missed.

The speakers I have sound excellent on music but just don't give me the effects that the Definitive Mythos Gems gave me when I listened to them at the store. My room at home is about the same size as the room I listened to the Definitives in at the store.

He used Pearl Harbor to demonstrate the speakers, so I rented the same movie so I would be listening to the same identical tracks with both speakers. The difference was very noticeable. With the Definitive Gems there was much more sound coming from all directions. I told my wife it sounded like I was inside something like a huge basketball with speakers on every square inch of the inside of the ball. I was hearing sounds coming from literally every direction. All of the speakers in the store were about six feet off the floor and mine at home are floor towers.

The speakers I have at home listed at the time I purchased them for.....
Fronts I have two Infinity Kappa 7.1 floor standing speakers MSRP $799 ea
Rear are two Infinity Kappa 6.1 floor standing speakers MSRP $699 ea
Center channel is a Infinity IL 36C MSRP $500
Sub is a Infinity SSW212 with built in 300 watt amp $1595

The Definitive Mythos Gems I was looking at were $249 ea four for mains & rears
The center was Definitive Mythos Seven $350 ea
And the Definitive sub

I give you this information only to show that the speakers I currently have are quality speakers but the just don't compare to the effects I was hearing with the smaller speakers setting much higher on a shelf and I cannot figure out why.

The main difference I could see was that the speakers in the store was elevated.

Can any of you help me understand what the differences are.
__________________

[GMichael]

Nice system Paw.
Is everything calibrated? This and positioning are big.

[Pat]

Are you using the same amp/receiver at home as what you heard being played in the store?

1. Both your home and the dealer may have carpet but are both floors wood or concrete underneath?
2. Did the dealer have wall hangings/rugs when you don't?
3.Drywall/plaster/acoustical or tile ceiling different than in your home?
4. Our dealer must have insulation in the walls because compared to our house his rooms sound acoustically dead. Another thing I saw at the dealer was he had tapestries and rugs hanging on the ceiling.

Differences in rooms are what I guess is part of the problem...as well as what GMichael said about set-up.

let us know ..............

[topspeed]

A couple of things come to mind that could be affecting the performance of your speakers:

1) Room acoustics/interaction
2) Front end
3) Calibration

As mentioned by GM and Pat, there's a very good chance your room is simply interacting with your speakers in a manner that smooths their perceived response. Combine this with a front end that may not have the same power characteristics as the dealer's demo system and you end up with limited dynamics, especially during transients. The Kappa's were pretty well regarded, the center in particular, so I really don't think it's the speakers. Still, I've always found DefTech's to excel in HT as they are voiced pretty aggresively. To be honest, I'd probably be happier with what you've got than the Mythos, but to each their own.

[paul_pci]

Positioning can be really key for what you are referring to. Ideally, you want a balanced and consistent sound field for movies and that means at least two things: placing speakers so that they are as close to the same height as possible all around and second, that that height is at or slightly above ear level to the listening position. I'd say, once you've got the positioning as ideal as possible, then you calibrate so that the same volume is being emitted from all the speakers. Then you can pop Pearl Harbor back in and fall back into the world of bullets, betrayal, and bombs. And I'm just talking about the women.

[Grandpaw]

all the settings were changed due to having it unplugged for about three months. I got out my trusty Radio Shack meter and couldn't find a 9 volt battery so I will pick one up this weekend and calibrate my speakers again.

When I get that done I will let you know how much difference (if any) that it makes. From what I remember they didn't need much adjustment. The speakers are all very near being the same height.

Somehow being up higher in the showroom is the main difference I can see, but I haven't calibrated the speakers yet. Somehow it is difficult to believe the speakers in the showroom were calibrated due to the fact that we were trying different speakers with the same receiver.

In comparing each system both were
matched speakers
each systems speakers were on the same level with all five speakers
same DVD was used
room size was very close to the same

The two differences that I could see was the height of the speakers and that the Definitive Mythos Gems also have the two 3 1/2 inch speakers tilted slightly left and right in each cabinet. Could the fact the are pointed slightly in different directions make that much difference?

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. And thanks again to those of you that took time out to reply and help me with my problem.

[Pat]

Grandpaw,
I find it hard to believe that a speaker tilted or toed in a little differently would make that much of a difference. If what you say about both systems sounding completely different is true, you better take another look at room acoustics and amps/gear.

[Grandpaw]

I'm headed over to the Hi Fi store right now and I will take a closer look at the room and the reciever. The reciever I am using now is a Onkyo 777. It plays my current speakers with no problem at all and the sub has its own 300watt amp. I would sure like to get this figured out.