Post pics of your setup!

[Falloutboy]

My Setup:

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/6411/img032pm9.jpg

Display:
Panasonic Th50px80u 50" Plasma Display 720P

Receaver:
Yamaha HTR5560

Speakers:
Mains: Optimus LX8
Center: RCA CS550 (same series as the mains just rebranded by Ratshack)
Surrounds, RCA CS550 (just used center Channels turned on end)
Sub: From a JBL Sub150

ATT Uverse For TV
HTPC is an old 939 rig I thru together with extra parts
Xbox for Emulators mostly now.

 

[Ksyder]

Here's my pc setup which doubles as home theatre along with the tv (that is soon to be hopefully hooked up to the speaker setup also)

Text
Text


The second picture is taken from where the desk in the first picture is sitting. I just did this arrangement and I'm having some issues with signal attenuation on the satellites I think- the speakers on the 2nd picture are all ran around the right wall including the center channel which runs around the wall with the windows over to the right side and back to the desk where the amp resides.

I started a thread to get some advice about this setup:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2225875&enterthread=y

 

[Tiamat]

Cool to see everybody's setups! Unfortunately, my system is all boxed up in my parent's basement for a while. Master's degree in chemical engineering with 3-5 years experience is apparently not marketable right now (at least in the R&D materials industry)

I miss my speakers and my Grado SR-125 headphones are filling in for now. After 5 years of not being used, the ear cushion foam had failed leaving a ton of black powdery decay all over the place lol. I had to replace the ear cushions. They are as overly bright as the day I bought them. First and last blind purchase for me, although gently EQing out the 7-10k range seems to help immensely.

I guess now I have plenty of time to be neffing now


Krwilsonn: Unless the wire guage you are using is tiny (worse than 20 ga), there should be no problems with using different lengths. I would be more worried about the compromised non-optimal speaker setup that you have. With the speakers mounted and oriented incorrectly (check dolby standards), you have a ton of destructive and constructive interference across the frequency spectrum in addition to said interference that is due to speaker-boundary phenomena as well as general room acoustics.

Start by getting the front 3 speakers lined up horizontally on the same wall, firing in a similar direction (towards your listening position) and closer to ear-height.

 

[Ksyder]

Krwilsonn: Unless the wire guage you are using is tiny (worse than 20 ga), there should be no problems with using different lengths. I would be more worried about the compromised non-optimal speaker setup that you have. With the speakers mounted and oriented incorrectly (check dolby standards), you have a ton of destructive and constructive interference across the frequency spectrum in addition to said interference that is due to speaker-boundary phenomena as well as general room acoustics. Start by getting the front 3 speakers lined up horizontally on the same wall, firing in a similar direction (towards your listening position) and closer to ear-height.

Man I'm going to have alot of holes to patch if I want to redo that. Ouch. The problem that I'm having is that I tried to set it up so that the speakers could work for both the t.v. and the pc which are away from each other. I don't really care about pro-logic type sound in terms of center channel, surround effects, etc but I at least want it to sound good. I'll look into your suggestions to try to figure it out. if you have any links let me know. Thank you very much!

edit - found what you are talking about I think- http://www.dolby.com/consumer/...inment/roomlayout.html

Judging by the Dolby layout guide, wall mounting the z5500 satellites at the right angle pointed toward the couch or whatever is going to be tough as the stands are non-adjustable if you wall mount them. I'd have to rig up something to make that work. Somewhat disappointing.

Judging by the pics I have of my layout, what do you do so that you can have a sound system for the pc as well as for the tv? I do not want 2 separate systems in one room. Should I just hook the satellites up in Dolby recommended config relative to the t.v. and then just live with the fact that the pc speakers will be away from the monitor? Since my monitor is bigger than my t.v. right now I like to watch movies on the pc but long terms I plan on getting an hdtv to replace that old JVC so I'm trying to anticipate how it will be setup once I am able to get the hdtv.

 

[Tiamat]

Every decision has compromises. If you want a dual-purpose setup like you have now, it will do mediocre to poorly for either of the setups as is the case right now I believe from what you have described.

You can't beat physics. If the system is not set up appropriately, you will have undesirable acoustics.

Frankly, I would do what I did (lol). I got a 37" 1080P screen and plugged my computer into it. Unified my "area" into one and optimized everything based on standard room acoustic principles that can be found in many resources such as realtraps.com or FA Everest Master Handbook of Acoustics.

While there are different equipment for different budgets, if you work with room acoustics rather than against it, you will have optimal results from your budget level. If you choose to work against room acoustics, you will have a very difficult time getting "great" sound.

 

[ZetaEpyon]

My current setup

Display: Samsung LN-46A650 46" LCD
Receiver: Pioneer VSX-D510 (old)
Speakers: Old cheapo Sony bookshelves & sub (2.1)
Sources: Playstation3, HTPC, HD cable box (not shown)

I'm currently transitioning from the cheap, but workable stuff I had in college to a better overall system. The next up is likely a new receiver; my current one has done me well, but it's sorely lacking in digital inputs (1 coax, 1 optical, no video) and processing (DTS at best). It's also starting to make an intermittent mechanical buzzing sound, but at least the sound is still decent. I'm hoping to catch the VSX-1018AH-K on sale sometime. Following that will be speakers, of course.

 

[g8wayrebel]

NFL Central:

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/g8wayrebel/DSC00163.JPG

This is my living room during football season.

I have 2 DVR's and 3 receivers as well as cable.
If worth the effort , the Big screen in center splits into 2 31" screens and I have another
TV to bring in for a total of 7 games live.
Generally we just stick to 5 games.

Surround is just a cheap Onkyo 7.1 for now until we build the living room in the basement.


EDIT: added for explanation.
Before you ask , the covers on the fronts of the receivers are super thick card board and duct tape since I was in a hurry and didn't have time to get anything do it tastefully.
It actually took 3 layers of tape to block the signal from the remote so I could control one at a time.

 

[gplracer]

I will have to get a pic back up. I have the following:
Onkyo 595 5.1 reciever
Polk Audio speakers (6.5 inch drivers)
Dual SVS 20-39 subs with Samson 1000 watt amp powering them
65" Toshiba rear projection tv (ISF Calibrated)

 

[g8wayrebel]

Originally posted by: eflat

Originally posted by: cinder

Originally posted by: eflatmajor
jesus christ you guys have bad taste.

Let's see your setup!

Well I have a projector upstairs with big speakers and stuff but that is the guys' rooms not for family and guests.

I'll post a picture of the 58" plasma in our living room when I get a chance.


It's not so much that these setups are ugly it's that you can tell these people are actually trying to make things aesthetically pleasing and it's just appalling.

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/g8wayrebel/DSC00163.JPG

Not everyone!!
Mine is for function , aesthetics may be a concern once the room in basement is built.
Besides , we're mostly guys , what do we know about fashion , or care for that matter?

 

[maziwanka]

Originally posted by: zoiks
Here's my setup.

http://i67.photobucket.com/alb...arkster/img_0376-1.jpg

Pioneer PDP-5080HD plasma.
Onkyo TX-SR805
Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player
Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu ray player
Custom (BE-2400) HTPC
Dish Network VIP-211
Roku Netflix player
Athena Point 5 speakers
Velodyne DLR-4000 sub.

All hooked up via HDMI with the exception of the Roku that is hooked up via component and toslink.

any extra details as to what stand you purchased for the tv and various components as well as the speaker stands seen in the pic? i need to get some stuff when i move into my new apt this fall/winter

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: zoiks
You guys have pretty awesome setups. I guess I'll get one when I have a house.

I don't know what you are talking about. You're set up is very nice and maybe even more importantly, very tasteful. I think I've only counted like 5 posts in this thread that fits in the last category.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: zoiks
You guys have pretty awesome setups. I guess I'll get one when I have a house.

I don't know what you are talking about. You're set up is very nice and maybe even more importantly, very tasteful. I think I've only counted like 5 posts in this thread that fits in the last category.

Just like sound, taste is very subjective

Just because something looks good doesn't mean it sounds good. Different people have different priorities. With finite resources, you can only make so many choices to excel

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

The lights are out whenever I'm watching something, so I didn't try very hard to make things look nice

 

[Tiamat]

Well, my stereo is all boxed up making me very sad. In the meantime, I have been using my Grado SR-125 headphones. In their original form, they are uncomfortable and have overeccentuated treble in the region between 5khz and 12khz.

I have made some modifications to the grado sr-125.

Notably, I have installed a VST plugin for Foobar2k and a free 8-band digital PEQ software called IIEQ. After a lot of work with graphical PEQ software (Electri-Q), graphs (manual eye-balled data points into excel), and FR plots (headphone.com); I created a set of PEQ filters to counter the brightness. After a long listening session comparing Grado without filters to grado with filters against a pair of Sennheiser HD555 for contrast, I tweaked the filters to produce what I consider more accurate reproduction.

The filters:

Filter #1
GAIN: -8.0 dB
FREQ: 6901 Hz
Q: 4.79

Filter #2
GAIN: -10.0 dB
FREQ: 8971 Hz
Q: 4.79


I've also modified the headband to make it much more comfortable. This required me to call Beyer Dynamic and cost about 16$ (half of which was shipping). The Beyer Dynamic DT770 (non-pro) snap-on headband replacement fits the Grado SR series headphones perfectly. The part number is 340502 and must be ordered directly from Beyer Dynamic. PM me if you want a direct email address.

Grado SR-125


I am confident that both of these changes have made the Grado SR-125 a much more competitive headphone. The final much needed upgrade is my source. Since I cannot use my Rotel pre, I have to use a laptop's internal onboard soundcard which is giving me about SNR of only ~30 dB right now. That's not a typo. With every CPU Spike, I get a cursed rise in hiss/buzz with a fundamental frequency centered at about 247 Hz according to my ears.

 

[Koing]

dude!

I may not be able to get floor standers for my rear speakers because my L sofa is taking quite a lot of space in my lounge

I may have to get some book shelves or I could raise the floor standers? I may have an issue with clearance from the speaker position because my l sofa is quite large so basically blocking most of the sound from my dam speakers! I may have to end up with the wall mount dipolar ones . We'll see how it pans out.

Koing

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Koing
dude!

I may not be able to get floor standers for my rear speakers because my L sofa is taking quite a lot of space in my lounge

I may have to get some book shelves or I could raise the floor standers? I may have an issue with clearance from the speaker position because my l sofa is quite large so basically blocking most of the sound from my dam speakers! I may have to end up with the wall mount dipolar ones . We'll see how it pans out.

Koing

You will be fine. With the extra time you have, maybe you can audition other speakers...

 

[The Boston Dangler]

this space reserved for when i clean, and re-do cables (yet again).

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: maziwanka

Originally posted by: zoiks
Here's my setup.

http://i67.photobucket.com/alb...arkster/img_0376-1.jpg

Pioneer PDP-5080HD plasma.
Onkyo TX-SR805
Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player
Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu ray player
Custom (BE-2400) HTPC
Dish Network VIP-211
Roku Netflix player
Athena Point 5 speakers
Velodyne DLR-4000 sub.

All hooked up via HDMI with the exception of the Roku that is hooked up via component and toslink.

any extra details as to what stand you purchased for the tv and various components as well as the speaker stands seen in the pic? i need to get some stuff when i move into my new apt this fall/winter

Whoops. Sorry. I didn't see this at all.

The TV stand is this one.
http://www.sanus.com/us/en/pro...tPanel/modelCode/PFFP/
I got this from Ebay since I couldn't find any stores that carried this. It's actually pretty hard finding a stand that can house all your components adequately. I think this was for 299 or so. I got the extra shelf for 50 bucks or so.

Note that this is a stand that has very little opening for wires. I had to run the wires before I put the tv on since the shelf bracket has to slide down beforehand. I read the reviews on it on Amazon before ordering it.

The speaker stands are the Sanus EFSatb stands.
http://sector29.com/PRODUCT_PAGES/314/314-69684D.html

I got those for $43.99 from ebay as well.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: zoiks
You guys have pretty awesome setups. I guess I'll get one when I have a house.

I don't know what you are talking about. You're set up is very nice and maybe even more importantly, very tasteful. I think I've only counted like 5 posts in this thread that fits in the last category.

Just like sound, taste is very subjective

Just because something looks good doesn't mean it sounds good. Different people have different priorities. With finite resources, you can only make so many choices to excel

I think it sounds good enough for my apartment. I'd like to invest in some nicer speakers later on but I was thinking that I'd do that when I'd have my own house. The Athenas are really good sounding for their size and price. I think I only paid 150 for the 5 speaker set.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: zoiks
You guys have pretty awesome setups. I guess I'll get one when I have a house.

I don't know what you are talking about. You're set up is very nice and maybe even more importantly, very tasteful. I think I've only counted like 5 posts in this thread that fits in the last category.

Just like sound, taste is very subjective

Just because something looks good doesn't mean it sounds good. Different people have different priorities. With finite resources, you can only make so many choices to excel

I think it sounds good enough for my apartment. I'd like to invest in some nicer speakers later on but I was thinking that I'd do that when I'd have my own house. The Athenas are really good sounding for their size and price. I think I only paid 150 for the 5 speaker set.

Your TV is raised, it almost looks like it is on the center channel, but I think I see a special stand for the TV? Am I wrong?

Also, you may get improvements if you put something under the front edge of the center speaker so it points to your face when you are seated. (also, experiment with the height of your front speakers as well).

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: zoiks
You guys have pretty awesome setups. I guess I'll get one when I have a house.

I don't know what you are talking about. You're set up is very nice and maybe even more importantly, very tasteful. I think I've only counted like 5 posts in this thread that fits in the last category.

Just like sound, taste is very subjective

Just because something looks good doesn't mean it sounds good. Different people have different priorities. With finite resources, you can only make so many choices to excel

I think it sounds good enough for my apartment. I'd like to invest in some nicer speakers later on but I was thinking that I'd do that when I'd have my own house. The Athenas are really good sounding for their size and price. I think I only paid 150 for the 5 speaker set.

Your TV is raised, it almost looks like it is on the center channel, but I think I see a special stand for the TV? Am I wrong?

Also, you may get improvements if you put something under the front edge of the center speaker so it points to your face when you are seated. (also, experiment with the height of your front speakers as well).

It's one of these.
http://www.sanus.com/us/en/pro...tPanel/modelCode/PFFP/

It looks like its sitting on the center speaker but actually that's a wireless keyboard (for the htpc) on the speaker.
I took the picture at an angle but the couch is facing the tv and center speaker dead-on. I'll probably lower the height of the speakers though.

 

[NaOH]

Text

Mine

Took these last nights after I cabled everything up. And I'm going to move that air purifier btw LOL. What do you guys think of my placement?

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: NaOH
Text

Mine

Took these last nights after I cabled everything up. And I'm going to move that air purifier btw LOL. What do you guys think of my placement?

It looks like you did the best you could with the space you had, but your imaging will suffer.


You and your gf make a cute couple. The pic with the laptop made it move.

 

[NaOH]

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: NaOH
Text

Mine

Took these last nights after I cabled everything up. And I'm going to move that air purifier btw LOL. What do you guys think of my placement?

It looks like you did the best you could with the space you had, but your imaging will suffer.


You and your gf make a cute couple. The pic with the laptop made it move.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: zoiks
You guys have pretty awesome setups. I guess I'll get one when I have a house.

I don't know what you are talking about. You're set up is very nice and maybe even more importantly, very tasteful. I think I've only counted like 5 posts in this thread that fits in the last category.

Just like sound, taste is very subjective

Just because something looks good doesn't mean it sounds good. Different people have different priorities. With finite resources, you can only make so many choices to excel

I think it sounds good enough for my apartment. I'd like to invest in some nicer speakers later on but I was thinking that I'd do that when I'd have my own house. The Athenas are really good sounding for their size and price. I think I only paid 150 for the 5 speaker set.

Your TV is raised, it almost looks like it is on the center channel, but I think I see a special stand for the TV? Am I wrong?

Also, you may get improvements if you put something under the front edge of the center speaker so it points to your face when you are seated. (also, experiment with the height of your front speakers as well).

It's one of these.
http://www.sanus.com/us/en/pro...tPanel/modelCode/PFFP/

It looks like its sitting on the center speaker but actually that's a wireless keyboard (for the htpc) on the speaker.
I took the picture at an angle but the couch is facing the tv and center speaker dead-on. I'll probably lower the height of the speakers though.

Oh wow tricky! Thats a nice stand.

Yeah if your center speaker is lined up, then your fronts need to be lowered. Its best when the front speakers are lined up horizontally. This helps on-screen panning to be very smooth.