Psychopasta's Build Thread (1 Viewer)

[Psychopasta]

Hi Man,

I have a separate ATV, Samsung Frame TV and Sonos Arc system and it works just fine with Atmos, so I don't think the concept is wrong. The cable lengths are longer with a projector, true, but they are correctly rated.

I have an HDFury Arcana arriving tomorrow so we'll see what that does...

- Mark

 

[JohnRice]

I hate to repeat myself, but ARC is somewhat electronic voodoo. This only reinforces that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Worse yet, sometimes it works and then inexplicably stops working.

 

[Psychopasta]

Come now sir! In the hi-fi world most things are voodoo!

 

[Psychopasta]

Well, the HDFury Arcana arrived and worked straight out of the box. AppleTV in, video out to projector, sound out to Sonos Arc with Atmos. I'm really pleased with the final performance.

One of the nice things about the Arcana is that there's no guessing what it's doing. The little OLED screen shows what is on the input, what is on the video output and what is on the sound channel. No nonsense. Sonos app confirms Dolby Atmos, and...my ears do too!

 

[Psychopasta]

Here's some photos of the room itself now it's finished.

The soundbar is central and below the screen, obviously. I chose the put the sub below it so it could radiate into the room most easily. I know that low-frequency sound is less directional than mids and highs, but it seems like a good place for it, and I don't find its looks objectionable.

The Arc does the front left, center, front right and Atmos height channels. For the rears, I have Sonos 1s:

and the overall room layout is

Nothing is more subject to confirmation bias than your own choice of AV equipment, but I am very happy with both video and audio. I'm going to get a slightly larger screen as the 100" I have is slightly overfilled by the projector at its smallest operating width. A 106" will correct that, and still fit within the wooden structure of the room:

I'm going to have to think about how to get a really big screen in.

I'm very happy with the sound from the Sonos system. At about 60% of max volume it's too loud, so it seems well sized for the room. The Atmos sound is great. We watched episode 3 of House of the Dragon last night, and the scene where Daemon's dragon buzzes Rhaenyrs' ship had everyone flinching and moving away from the dragon. Other than that the Atmos sound seems truly immersive and you don't find yourself listening to the audio system as much as swept up in the story.

Sincere thanks to everyone who answered my various question threads, you've helped me pull together a system I'm very happy with.

- Mark

 

[John Dirk]

Congratulations and beautiful room! I love the nice clean look. My walls are covered with velvet fabric, not only to help acoustically but mostly to conceal all of the various cables. Since its a dedicated room as opposed to multi-purpose, I modeled it as close to a commercial theater as possible, minus the glaring "EXIT" signs of course.

 

[Psychopasta]

I’m going to need to get some acoustic absorbing panels to tame the ringing in room. Any suggestions?

 

[John Dirk]

These guys are supposed to be among the best. I believe they offer consultations but are usually booked well into the future. There's a wealth of good information on their web site you might want to check out.

Acoustic Panels | Bass Traps | Sound Diffusers - GIK Acoustics

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www.gikacoustics.com

 

[Doug2000]

Agreed - for sound treatment GIK is excellent. Used widely in pro recording studios. I'm using them for a new home recording studio in a standalone garage bay in my new house.

See attached pics.
Only got two panels hung so far. The rest are still in boxes stacked in the garage.

 

[Doug2000]

I’m sure you’re right @DFurr! I’m in SoCal too, Rancho Santa Fe. Once I’m finished we can have the battle of the theater rooms!

Hey, I'd enjoy hearing your Sonus system. I'm right up the road from you in Bonsall.