And so it begins... Attic Reclaim (1 Viewer)

[CyFactor]

Picture is up! Now it's on to "Fun with Speakers".

 

[JohnRice]

That's very slick and thoroughly thought out. I'm glad to see you didn't fill the entire wall with screen and leave no room for speakers. I take it those speakers are partially open baffle. I suspect you'll give them room to open up by placing them away from the front wall.

 

[CyFactor]

That's very slick and thoroughly thought out. I'm glad to see you didn't fill the entire wall with screen and leave no room for speakers. I take it those speakers are partially open baffle. I suspect you'll give them room to open up by placing them away from the front wall.

Thanks! And, yes, open baffle. Right now, they are three feet to the center of the baffle from the front wall and two feet to the center from the side walls. That's probably about as good as I can get it without compromising the front seating position. The previous owner of these particular speakers added no-res to the drivers in the baffle section (top), so that may help. I also plan to treat the back and side walls. I've already ordered six 2'x4' panels (movie poster prints) for the side walls. I'm thinking gray rectangles behind the R/L and C speakers on the front wall.

The open question in my mind is what to do with the open-baffle subs. Three feet from the wall looks wonky and pushes them too close to the front seating position. I'll need to experiment with their placement. I'm also hearing through GR Research's channel in Audio Circle that I shouldn't run the LFE out on my receiver direct to the servo subs like I was planning. So I may take my existing SVS PB-2000 and put it in the back of the room on the LFE channel. Decisions, decisions.

 

[CyFactor]

Side note, I seem to have missed these pictures in the steps leading to carpet. I added a 6.4mm layer of vibration dampening rubber from AudiMute. I'm hoping it absorbs enough noise to prevent too much disruption to the rooms below.

 

[CyFactor]

For screen size, riser platform height, and rough speaker placement, I used the configurator at Audio Advice.

 

[JohnRice]

The open question in my mind is what to do with the open-baffle subs. Three feet from the wall looks wonky and pushes them too close to the front seating position. I'll need to experiment with their placement. I'm also hearing through GR Research's channel in Audio Circle that I shouldn't run the LFE out on my receiver direct to the servo subs like I was planning. So I may take my existing SVS PB-2000 and put it in the back of the room on the LFE channel. Decisions, decisions.

Distance from the wall with the subs should not be an issue. Normally, corner placement is ideal, but I've never seen open baffle subs before, except for infinite baffle, which those aren't. So, they're essentially dipoles. With absolutely no experience with this particular design, my gut feeling is the best placement is against both side walls, facing forward and backward. The question is, how far away from the front wall. Certainly not in the middle of the wall. Maybe diagonally placed in opposing corners? I think it's the type of situation where you simply must analyze it with REW at multiple locations.

Why aren't you supposed to use the LFE output? What would you use? With all you are investing in the system, a MiniDSP would certainly be in order. You certainly need to use a high-pass filter. OOps, I forgot they're servo controlled, so maybe that's not necessary.

 

[CyFactor]

Distance from the wall with the subs should not be an issue. Normally, corner placement is ideal, but I've never seen open baffle subs before, except for infinite baffle, which those aren't. So, they're essentially dipoles. With absolutely no experience with this particular design, my gut feeling is the best placement is against both side walls, facing forward and backward. The question is, how far away from the front wall. Certainly not in the middle of the wall. Maybe diagonally placed in opposing corners? I think it's the type of situation where you simply must analyze it with REW at multiple locations.

Why aren't you supposed to use the LFE output? What would you use? With all you are investing in the system, a MiniDSP would certainly be in order. You certainly need to use a high-pass filter. OOps, I forgot they're servo controlled, so maybe that's not necessary.

Apparently the open baffle design below 25 Hz can cause some problems with sustained input (star destroyer flying overhead was the example) if using the LFE Sub channel on my Marantz SR6012. The recommendation was to run the L/R channels of the amp to both the front L/R speakers and the servo subs or run from the L/R RCA pre-out from the receiver to the RCA low input on the subs. Then I should add a sealed sub or two attached to the LFE. Since I have a custom amp on order for the front channel (Odyssey Kismet 3-channel), I think I’ll move my existing SVS PB-2000 in there and place it at the back of the room To handle the LFE. This setup, according to the experts over there, should provide the best of both worlds for music listening and for movies. It will be fun to experiment with this. If it works, I’ll probably build one or two GR Research Servo Sub 2s (sealed 12”). I’ll probably start with one at the back of the room and possible upgrade to a pair of them embedded in the side walls.

But, yes, a high-end mini-DSP is definitely getting added to the wish list for future upgrades. I sunk so much into the construction that I’m having to make some trade-offs on the equipment. That’s why all but the ceiling speakers are DIY. Fortunately I saved some time by finding the X-Static and X-Voce pre-assembled second-hand. I’m still waiting on the kits for the surrounds to show up.

 

[JohnRice]

OK, I think I get it. They’re not technically designed to be used as subwoofers so much as external bass modules. Then you can add subs for LFE and extreme low frequencies. Is that basically it?

 

[CyFactor]

OK, I think I get it. They’re not technically designed to be used as subwoofers so much as external bass modules. Then you can add subs for LFE and extreme low frequencies. Is that basically it?

I am brand new to open baffle and actually had to look it up when I started this a year or so ago, so I’m guessing they are more ideal for music as subs than for movies because how fast they are. Danny has a four part video series talking about open baffle. Here’s part one:

 

[CyFactor]

Here’s a video specifically about the subs:

 

[CyFactor]

I would swear I mentioned somewhere that I mistakenly ran 18awg wire, but I was pleased to discover as I finished adding the wall plates for the low-voltage stuff yesterday that it is actually 16awg. Still not the ideal 14awg, but hopefully it works. Worst-case, I'll need to pull out those cables (fortunately I ran the front channel through conduit) and run a quad 14awg to each of the front L/R channels and a dual 14gawg to the center.

Side note, painting when it's 100+ degrees with the heat index sucks. And note to self, don't try to sand before the paint cures, which takes a lot longer in those weather conditions. Thankfully, so far I only primed the underside that will never see the light of day. I'll sand it again before adding a lacquer top coat to the base. The outer panels (tops and sides - not pictured) will be walnut veneer to match the front L/R/C speakers.

 

[CyFactor]

Mail call! Woo hoo!

 

[CyFactor]

 

[CyFactor]

Alright, I bit the bullet and picked up a pair of SVS SB-2000 Pro sealed subs, so between those and the quad open-baffle subs, bass should be ridiculous. Not as much wattage as Dave, but more than enough to annoy the neighbors (and the wife).

Open-baffle sub inner cabinets are almost ready for assembly and sound check (aesthetics will be a ways off since I'm sending the outer cabinets to a shop to have a walnut veneer put on them):

I'm having to temporarily use my old Klipsch speakers for the surrounds since Danny Ritchie is backlogged on his A/V-1RS speakers. I suspect those will arrive within the next few weeks.

 

[CyFactor]

Finally in the home stretch. All that remains is to finish decorating the hallway and concessions area and to install the QRD diffusers that are on order for that slant in the ceiling. I still have an Odyssey amp on order, but that will be primarily for music listening.

 

[CyFactor]

 

[CyFactor]

It's amazing how time flies. I've been enjoying this setup for close to a couple of years now, although the projector went in for repair a couple of times, and the second time they didn't have replacement parts, so last month I got a "B" stock projector. At first, I was disappointed that they didn't upgrade me to the laser based lamp projector, but the outgoing projector had over 3000 hours on the lamp and was due for a lamp replacement anyway, but the replacement projector had only ~115 hours on it, so it was like getting a free lamp and brand new projector since everything is still under warranty for a few more months. My original projector was open-box anyway, so this is a reasonable compromise. Hopefully this one lasts another 2-3 years and 3000+ hours where I will be ready to upgrade it to a laser-based light.

So, as it sits today, I still have everything that was installed in 2021, but now I have a pair of SVS SB-2000 Pro subs in the room with one front and one back. I also ditched the 2.35:1 screen and went 16x9 because more and more of the content I was watching and enjoying wasn't wide-screen. I am still debating on automated masking as the next project, but for now I am content. And then I will upgrade those front speakers again by building something even more bad-ass (GR Research NX-Otica, perhaps?).