Some new pictures of the Speakers

Some new Speakers, though they are hard to see in the dark theater. The Fronts are now Definitive Technology 7001's BiPolar towers, and the center is a Definitive Technology CLR-3000.

Some new pictures of the rack

The rack has now changed, but some of the same equipment remains. The projector is still currently the Panasonic E-700, the buttkicker amp is still pounding butts, a new Belkin PF-60 line conditioner was added. The Oppo was replaced with the RCA HDV-5000 HD-DVD player, and the HK-635 remains the workhorse of the rack.

A new toy

All that work I did re-arranging the center and sub...only to end up buying a CLR-3000 center the very next week! I love this center, it blends perfectly with my towers and has the clarity of strength that a good center channel needs. It did set me back a few beans, but it was worth it.

I moved the ProSub 200TL to the rear of the room and used it to supplement the low frequencies in the surround channels. I should be getting my matching sub back from the shop in a few weeks. Once that is installed, each surround will have its own low frequency sub, rather than sharing one.

The theater is alive now with teeth jarring bass all the way around the room. From the 10" SuperCubes in the two 7001 towers, to the matching10" sub in the center, to the 12" ProSub in the rear. If that doesn't shake your bones, the buttkicker will!

Now we wait for "300" to be released at the end of the month for the next big show. It should be quite a treat.

Twiddling and Tweeking

I did some rearranging, and moved the ProSub between the 7001's and connected the center speaker wire to the input and the C-25 to the output. I set the cross-over to 150Hz, the max that the ProSub would allow. I then connected the LFE pre-out to the pair of 7001's (along with the L/R speaker wires).

I re-ran my EzSet equalization on my HK 635, and as expected it now identified the center as LARGE rather than small (as it had with the C-25 previously alone). It also identified the 7001's as the sub channel. All the distances and cross-overs looked correct and when running the test tones I got a very good balance when measured with a RS sound meter.

I then checked out the speaker balances using the DVE HD disc and the 6-Channel output of the receiver. Everything was fine except for the sub. It was the same low 8-10dB that I have come to expect from using the analog outs on the HD player. I went back in and boosted the sub the required amount, and ran the all the tests again. I was very pleased with the results and was able to keep within 1 dB around the room.

The real test was playing the True-HD audio of the Matrix and finding out how it sounded. It was quite an improvement from my original un-powered center configuration. So after many, many hours of twiddling, I finally have a better understanding of what a sub enabled center channel can sound like. The towers seemed to handle the LFE without a problem, so I don't miss having the ProSub doing that function.

So I think I will stick with this configuration for a while and see if it grows on me. I can already appreciate the improvement in clarity of the dialog. Someday I do hope to have a matching set of speaker rather than what I have today, but I will just have to be patient and work with what I have.

More on Combo's

Well it has been a while since I added info to the blog. In that time, I have grown to like the Combo discs. They come in handy when playing them on SD players. As long as the price is right, and there are no glitches in playback, then I don't mind the purchase. I have had a few glitches with the Combo discs from Universal, but firmware updates have resolved them. Currently we are running firmware version 2.2 on the HD DVD player and it seems to be working well.

Most of my viewings are now through Netflix, although I will be purchasing "300" as soon as it comes out.

As much as I hate Combo's...

I am really not a fan of the HD Combo discs. HD Combo discs contain the HD version of a movie on one side, and the SD version on another. While the idea sounds great, in practice the cost of these discs is not. If they priced the Combo's at the same price as the regular disc's, or a couple bucks more, I would not be complaining. Unfortunately most Combo's are priced at $35, and the regular HD's are $25 or less.

Anyhow, I did finally break down a buy a couple of them, although it goes against my better judgment. I picked up "The Departed", "Jet Li: Fearless", and "Lucky # Slevin". The first two were Combo's, the last a regular HD. The only reason I did this was because there was a sale for buy 3 get $20 off. While it wasn't much of a deal, it was enough to entice me to pick them up.

HD DVD Titles

This is a listing of our currently owned HD DVD's:
Batman Begins
Chronicles of Riddick
Mission Impossible I II & III
Pitch Black
Serenity
Training Day
Troy
V for Vendetta

Updated the HD-DVD player

I updated the RCA HDV5000 player a couple weeks ago to the latest software version. This eliminanted some skipping issues I was having on scratched disc, AND added support for Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround. This was an extremely nice free feature, and it has added an even greater depth to the soundfield. Troy HD is coming out next week with the TrueHD soundtrack, and I look forward to checking it.

Audio Overhaul and HD-DVD

Well it has been a long time since we posted but there is big news at the SPOT. Last week we added an RCA HDV5000 HD-DVD player. The picture is fantastic! It also upconverts so well that I don't use the Oppo anymore. There are only two problems. First, it now means that I will be spending money on HD-DVD's because the SD versions just don't cut it anymore. We also joined NetFlix so that we could review the HD versions before we buy them.

Secondly, now that the video is so awesome it was time to upgrade the audio. The Infinity SM120's had served me well for 10 years, but it was time to upgrade. As luck would have it, Definitive Tech was having a warehouse sale this week. I was able to pick up a pair of BP70001SC front speakers and BPX surrounds for half the MSRP. It was too good to pass up and worth every penny. The fronts are in place and the room has been equalized, but the surrounds have not been mounted yet. I will do that next week. I still need to pick up a new center, probably the CLR2500, but that will have to wait for another day.

Last night we watched Chronicles of Riddick and Pitch Black in HD. I enjoy both of these films very much, with PB being my favorite of the two. Tonight will be our first showing with the new equipment to a couple of friends from Baltimore.

A customized Intro

I finally broke down and purchased a customized intro clip for the theater. I am quite impressed with it. I was also able to hack my Oppo firmware and change the startup screen with a screen capture from the CeRT intro disc.

A picture of the new startup screen is shown below.

Time to play Catch-Up

It has been a long time since we updated this blog, but here is a quick rundown on what we have been up to. We are in the process of adding bass traps and equalizing the G-Spot. Luokui is also busy working on his recording studio. We have watched a few movies during the construction phase.

King Kong: Really enjoyed this movie. The picture was crisp and the sound was awesome. It was about an hour too long though, and should have had some of the scenes deleted. The face of Kong was very well done, but the dinosaur scenes should have stayed in Jurassic Park IV.

Crash: We had a group of about 5 friends over to watch this "Oscar Winner". We all agreed, too contrived, and gave it a thumbs down. What were they thinking when they picked this movie? It would be a waste as a rental, and even more so as a buy. In short, it crashed.

We have watched a few others, but the titles escape me. I guess they weren't much to write about!

New Harman Kardon Remote

After many long weeks of waiting, my Harman Kardon TC-30 arrived. This remote (OEM from Logitech) has the electronics of the Harmony 880 in the shell of the 520. All my devices are now controlled from one remote, rather than six! One chair was usually reserved to hold all the remotes, now that is no longer an issue. So far everything works great, and I am happy with the purchase.

Serenity

Last night's feature was Serenity. We had two couples over for dinner. The weather was so warm, we decided to have grilled pork loin and fettucini with shrimp cream sauce. Even after this hearty meal, we managed to polish off 2 kettles of popcorn. After the movie, we broke out the propane tank and had creme brulee and creme puffs for dessert.

The movie kept everyone's attention. A fight broke out over who would get to borrow our Firefly series, so we knew they liked the movie. We won't mention the argument over whether or not Jayne was a Baldwin boy or not. Even though Adam is a Baldwin, he is not related to Alec, Stephen, Daniel, William, or Joseph.

Underworld

Last night we presented "Underworld" to 3 friends of our coven. The movie was a Superbit version, and although dark it was extremely crisp and clear. The soundtrack is DTS and gives the amp a decent workout with sporadic explosions and excessive gunfire. The movie was enjoyed by both Vampyre and Lycan alike, though I still prefer Blade 3 and Van Helsing. Plenty of action to sink your teeth into and keep the sleep deprived zombies awake.

This was our first showing after completing some work on the underside of the platform. We had re-seated the buttkickers and added more insulation between the joists. I also readjusted the input levels to the kicker amp through the dvd sub out. I did not hear the annoying "rattle"in the platform that we have been experiencing, but I did not sit on the platform seating.

Not so "Fantastic Four"

Last night we had a mixed group of friends over for authentic homemade pizza and movie. The pizza's were delicious, especially the artichoke, anchovies, mushroom and pepperoni ones (others may have differing opinions).

The movie did have some decent sound effects, but the story didn't seem to go anywhere. Even for a short movie, it took forever for some resemblance of a storyline to develop. By then it was too late, and the movie was over. Oh well, we still had fun channel surfing after the movie ended.

Battlestar Galatica 1 & 2.0

We finished the last of the BG season 2.0 discs a few nights ago, in preparation for the continuation of Season 2 on Comcast. We had watched the first two seasons on dvd. Much to our disappointment, watching this series on the Sci-fi channel is hard on the eyes. We were spoiled by the no-commercial 16:9 DD presentation on dvd. The SD, 4:3 presentation on Comcast is like watching the series through a small dirty window. As anxious as we are to continue watching the series, we may decide to wait for the discs again. Sad, but why can't they broadcast these shows in HD!

The Island

We watched "The Island" over the weekend. It reminded me so much of Logan's Run, to the point that it was almost predictable. There were a few good action scenes, but for the most part I would have to give this a thumbs down.

Krieg der Welten

Tonight we watched "Krieg der Welten" with my friend Christian. He is the distributor for our products in Germany. We started the evening with a selection of beers; bud select, Old Dominion Winter Ale, Pete's Wicked Red Ale, and Amstel Light. After some goat cheese, apples, brie, and crackers, we sat down to some mutton stew and dill noodles that my roommate prepared. Our stomachs full, we headed down to the theater to relax in the soft leather recliners. This was his first experience with ButtKickers, and I think from his comments he liked them very much. We ended the night with discussion of motorcycles. In the end, a good time was had by all.

WotW with our friends in Middleburg/Arlington

WotW is now my favorite movie to show off the sound system (Chronicles of Riddick previously). I was happy to have eliminated some 'rattling' that plagued the first showing of this movie last week, and none was noticed this time around. I am not sure what was causing it, but happy that whatever we did fixed the issue, and the sound was tight and crisp. This movie definitely tests all components in the audio stream. Any misadjustments, and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Since the first showing, I had upgraded the 635 firmware and recalibrated the EQ. We had also added more sound insulation to the platform.

While others may complain of the lack of sharpness in the picture, I like the effect it gives. It makes the picture more 'eerie'. Chinese Take-out from P.F. Changs was provided by our company and it was extremely tasty. (Wonton soup, lettuce wraps, fried dumplings and calamari for appetizers. Peking Duck, Mongolian Beef, Sweet &Sour chicken, Spicy chicken, and BBQ ribs for the main courses). The lemon cookies were a nice finishing touch. This was the first time that we didn't fire up the popcorn machine, so you know the food was plentiful.

This was the first time that our guest had watched a movie at the recently completed G-SPoT, and from the enthusiasm and request for the next showing, I would venture to guess that they thoroughly enjoyed it.

Equipment Pics

Gold Medal Retro-4 Popcorn Machine (Above)


Panasonic AE-700 Projector
AccurianHST 6000 HDTuner
ButtKicker Amp
Oppo H971 DVD player
Harmon Kardon AVR635