New House with "Theater Room" (1 Viewer)

[Josh Dial]

Anthem is also one of the brands I'm looking at for electronics. What do you think of the MRX-1140? Have the bugs been worked out with their room correction software on it?

So far the 1140 has performed well. It certainly sounds great and matches the neutral sound of my SVS system. It's also Canadian so it checks that box for me (and I got it locally at quite a good price considering it was brand new and virtually out of stock elsewhere in North America).

I did not encounter any of the bugs that were reported. In fairness the software and firmware were both updated about a week after my purchase, but even the "old" beta ARC worked for me the very first time. I ran the software a second time this past weekend and it still worked great (I ran it a second time because I moved a few things in the room).

The HDMI handshaking is a tad slow, but it could be that my projector is the "slow link" in the chain (though it was speedy when paired with my old Denon). I blame HDCP.

 

[DavidJ]

Another quick question for the esteemed HTF membership...

When using a bookshelf for a surround channel, how do you wall mount it?

 

[JohnRice]

Another quick question for the esteemed HTF membership...

When using a bookshelf for a surround channel, how do you wall mount it?

I mount a small shelf to the wall.

 

[DavidJ]

Thanks, John. They don't design bookshelf speakers to be mounted on or placed close to a wall unlike dipole surrounds.

 

[JohnRice]

Thanks, John. They don't design bookshelf speakers to be mounted on or placed close to a wall unlike dipole surrounds.

You simply can't make a blanket statement like that. Ideally, speakers shouldn't be close to a wall, but there are definitely plenty of speakers that are specifically designed to perform quite well when on a shelf. Typically by being sealed enclosures or front ported.

 

[DavidJ]

You simply can't make a blanket statement like that. Ideally, speakers shouldn't be close to a wall, but there are definitely plenty of speakers that are specifically designed to perform quite well when on a shelf. Typically by being sealed enclosures or front ported.

My comment wasn’t meant to be a criticism and was poorly worded. The “blanket” part of my statement was meant to be talking specifically about the fact that they don’t provide mounting points or keyhole slots on bookshelf/stand mount speakers.

 

[JohnRice]

My comment wasn’t meant to be a criticism and was poorly worded. The “blanket” part of my statement was meant to be talking specifically about the fact that they don’t provide mounting points or keyhole slots on bookshelf/stand mount speakers.

Some do, most don’t, which is why I attach a shelf to the wall when needed.

 

[DavidJ]

There’s a good chance I’m going to give the Elac Uni-Fi 2.0s a try, and if I do, I’ll be going the shelf route. I’m not sure what speakers I will use for height channels, if I go with them though.

 

[JohnRice]

There’s a good chance I’m going to give the Elac Uni-Fi 2.0s a try, and if I do, I’ll be going the shelf route. I’m not sure what speakers I will use for height channels, if I go with them though.

I will be upgrading my system with UniFi 2.0s for surrounds, shelf mounted, and Debut 2.0 in-ceiling for Atmos. I'll be doing a write-up on it all once it's done, but that will probably be a couple months.

 

[DavidJ]

I will be upgrading my system with UniFi 2.0s for surrounds, shelf mounted, and Debut 2.0 in-ceiling for Atmos. I'll be doing a write-up on it all once it's done, but that will probably be a couple months.

Interesting. That's what I am looking at for the height channels too, but I still don't know if I am going to be able to do in-ceiling speakers. I spent some time with the wife this evening going over the various options with the comparison spreadsheet I've put together. The ELACs are definitely the price-to-performance winners.

We are going to wait a few weeks until we both get done with school for the semester and then make some decisions regarding the final seating configuration and rack position. After that, I will know more about the number of speakers and type, but I may still wait until I'm in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area this summer where I hope I to audition more of the speakers I'm considering before making the final decision.

What do you have for your LCR speakers, John? My room is 1800 cubic feet so it's not especially large.

 

[JohnRice]

What do you have for your LCR speakers, John? My room is 1800 cubic feet so it's not especially large.

My L&R speakers are Thiel CS 3.6. I had to replace my center a few years ago, and since Thiel is gone, I looked for an inexpensive alternative. That brought me to ELAC, and an original UniFi. I'm starting a complete update of most, if not all of the speakers, including sub(s). The Thiels will be the last, and most expensive to go. I've had them almost 30 years and as good as they are, I might be approaching time to move on to something else, but that will be expensive.

 

[DavidJ]

Wow, Thiels. I imagine it will be hard to move on from those. How well does the ELAC work with those when when watching movies?

 

[JohnRice]

Wow, Thiels. I imagine it will be hard to move on from those. How well does the ELAC work with those when when watching movies?

It actually does fairly well. It's not quite the match it was when I had a Thiel center, but it's also not exactly like I sit there noticing a mismatch. I definitely use the EQ of the surround preamp to help. I have a general attitude about this stuff that doesn't necessarily work for everyone. I really dig deep into doing everything I can to make the system as good as I can get it, then I basically forget about it. I'm often criticized for how critical I am when I'm being critical, but what a lot of people don't seem to understand is I do that so I ultimately can just clear it from my mind and enjoy. So, short story long, the UniFi center works perfectly well to my expectations. If/When I upgrade the front, odds are it will be all three speakers, since the opportunity will be perfect to make that improvement.

 

[DavidJ]

They are significantly more expensive that the Uni-Fi 2.0s, but ELAC announced the Uni-Fi Reference line today and the initial reviews sound quite good. They also look better than the 2.0s to me.

https://www.elac.com/lp/uni-fi-reference/