Did I waste my money on unnecessary wattage?

[Danzilla31]

Would there be a way to configure my SR5013 to use the Mythos Nine speakers for movies and games and switch to a separate pair of L/R speakers for music if I did decide to get some floor speakers? I basically don't want to remove wires and patch holes on my wall and essentially undo an install I just completed a couple months ago. I would just live with what I have before I did that. So, my options are retain what I have, replace the Mythos with better on-wall speakers, or add additional floor speakers for music listening (while retaining the on-wall speakers).

Monoprice Monolith THX in wall speakers are your best bet for the same price as your in walls you get far superiour performance that's your refurb price they are way less expensive then your deftechs and way better performance

How is the quality of your sub a great sub is a must with in wall speakers and may give you back what you feel your missing with dynamics etc

If your reciever has enough connections and has a 2nd zone you can route the signal for floor standard for music listening only and just use the main zone for movies etc

Floor standers give you a lot of juicy options at good prices lot of good sales going on right now

 

[mossman77]

Monoprice Monolith THX in wall speakers are your best bet for the same price as your in walls you get far superiour performance

In-wall is not an option. It's an exterior wall and there are studs everywhere.

How is the quality of your sub a great sub is a must with in wall speakers and may give you back what you feel your missing with dynamics etc

I have an SVS SB1000, which sounds awesome.

If your reciever has enough connections and has a 2nd zone you can route the signal for floor standard for music listening only and just use the main zone for movies etc

Yes, it has a second zone. Didn't think of that. I could use the second zone and XPA-3 for driving a couple floor speakers and the SR5013 with driving the LCR speakers.

Floor standers give you a lot of juicy options at good prices lot of good sales going on right now

I'm currently looking at Martin Logan, Paradigm, and DefTech.

 

[Danzilla31]

One thing I'm big on and I know it's not a realistic option for you is big speakers the trend has been these slim sleek speakers soundbase in walls etc but like they say there is no replacement for displacement

It's why I feel most mind wind up wanting to crank there music volume up there missing dynamics that I feel are easier achieved with bigger speakers

I know that's not realistic for a lot of us though it's just my preference

 

[Danzilla31]

In-wall is not an option. It's an exterior wall and there are studs everywhere.


I have an SVS SB1000, which sounds awesome.


Yes, it has a second zone. Didn't think of that. I could use the second zone and XPA-3 for driving a couple floor speakers and the SR5013 with driving the LCR speakers.


I'm currently looking at Martin Logan, Paradigm, and DefTech.

What's your budget for Floor standers and do you have size or aesthetic preferences?

Info will help us offer you suggestions

 

[Pogre]

Why not just get good floorstanders and remove the wall speakers? If you're willing to go with floor standing speakers, just replace what do you have with good ones and you're set.

 

[mossman77]

Why not just get good floorstanders and remove the wall speakers? If you're willing to go with floor standing speakers, just replace what do you have with good ones and you're sick.

Because I just ran the wires, patched drywall, and painted, so I really don't want to undo everything I just did. And I'd really prefer not to have floor standing speakers, but I know they'd sound much better, which is making me indecisive. If I could find a relatively slim (no more than 6" deep) on-wall speaker with 6.5" or even 8" driver(s), that would be ideal. I'm seeing a few in-wall options with speakers this size, but nothing on-wall. Perhaps I could just get some in-wall speakers and make my own enclosures to surface mount them?

 

[mossman77]

What's your budget for Floor standers and do you have size or aesthetic preferences?

Info will help us offer you suggestions

I'd like to stay under $1,000 each. Nothing wider than 10" or deeper than 12". The shallower the better. I'd still prefer on-wall though. The Concerta2 S16's from Revel are getting close to what I'd like. If only they had dual 6.5" drivers and were taller. One of the reasons I like the Mythos Nine is because they are about the same height as my TV so things look balances/aesthetically pleasing.

 

[Leemix]

In the meantime try a higher crossover, 80hz maybe 100 and 120hz also to see what you prefer. It might make a lot of difference, probably wont be a perfect solution but worth trying. 60 seems very optimistic for those speakers because that will require them to play well at 30hz, the crossover is gradual and not an abrupt change. (I use a 60hz crossover on my fairly big speakers with 4x7” woofers each)


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Edit: spelling

 

[mossman77]

In the meantime try a higher crossover, 80hz maybe 100 and 120hz also to see what you prefer. It might make a lot of difference, probably wont be a perfect solution but worth trying. 60 seems very optimistic for those speakers because that will require them to play well at 30hz, the crossover is gradual and not an abrupt change. (I use a 60hz crossover on my fairly big speakers with 4x7” woofers each)

I typically have them at 80Hz, but have been experimenting with lower cutoffs to get more low range out of them. I'm basically trying to make them sound like larger floor speakers. Haha.

 

[Leemix]

I typically have them at 80Hz, but have been experimenting with lower cutoffs to get more low range out of them. I'm basically trying to make them sound like larger floor speakers. Haha.

Ye but thats the subs job. A well set up sub will make your speakers sound bigger while making life easier for them so they do a better job higher up.

 

[mossman77]

Ye but thats the subs job. A well set up sub will make your speakers sound bigger while making life easier for them so they do a better job higher up.

Okay, so my sub is set to LFE with a crossover frequency of 80Hz. Should I turn off LFE when listening to music or maybe set it to 100Hz or even 120Hz? I believe this would require me to set my front channel to 100Hz or 120Hz respectively.

I just checked the manual. Looks like I can select LFE or LFE+Main. I don't quite understand the difference. Also, it says I can adjust the cutoff to 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 150, 200, and 250Hz. 120Hz is the default, but mine is currently set to 80Hz, which I believe was set automatically after running the Audyssey setup. I've since changed it to 80Hz, but I want to say Audyssey set my front channel to 100Hz. I'm confused as to why it would do that and leave a hole in my response. Room acoustics?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

My current living room setup is a 3.1 channem configuration consisting of three Defintive Technologies Mythos Nine wall speakers, an SVS SB1000 12" sub, and a Marantz SR5013 receiver. The speakers have an RMS power handling of 250W, and my receiver has an RMS rating of 100W per channel. I find myself turning up the receiver to -10dB while playing music and often close to 0dB. Even then, it left me wanting more volume. Therefore, I decided to purchase a Marantz MM7025 amp, which delivers 140W per channel. I was disappointed to find that there was no perceivable difference in loudness between powering the speakers with the receiver and powering them with the amp (understandable since only about a 1.5dB increase). So I figured I really needed to step things up and purchased an Emotiva XPA-3, which is rated at 275W per channel. However, again to my disappointment, the speakers still aren't much louder. Certainly not enough to warrant the $1250 price tag. I still have both amps, but am considering returning both because I can basically get the same volume out of my receiver. I'm wondering if the speakers just aren't sensitive enough and/or the drivers just can't physically give me the deep rich sound I want (each has dual 4.5" drivers with dual 4x8 passive radiators). What do you guys think? Have I reached the limits of my speakers? Should I return the amps and stick with my receiver only, or is it beneficial to have more wattage even though the perceived loudness isn't much different?

After connecting the XPA-3, I started looking through the SR5013 settings a little more closely and found I could adjus the speaker levels by up to 12dB, which made the speakers quite a bit louder (they were all set to 0dB). Does this mean I wasn't using all the available power or is it one of those things where it appears you are getting more power, but in reality it just decreases the main volume by the same amount? With all channels set to +12dB, it is pretty loud now, so I'm not sure I even need an amp. I believe when Marantz specs 100W, they really mean 100W off clean power, so turning the volume up to -10dB is probably fine. I want to say the speakers sound a little better quality with the Emotiva, but it could be a placebo effect. Sorry for the long post.

Yeah, I would increase the SPEAKER CHANNEL LEVELS and return both amps.

You have "discovered" something that many people have not discovered - manually increasing the Speaker Channel Levels.

I think I manually set mine to around +5dB. My volume knob is usually around -30.0.

 

[Leemix]

Okay, so my sub is set to LFE with a crossover frequency of 80Hz. Should I turn off LFE when listening to music or maybe set it to 100Hz or even 120Hz? I believe this would require me to set my front channel to 100Hz or 120Hz respectively.

I just checked the manual. Looks like I can select LFE or LFE+Main. I don't quite understand the difference. Also, it says I can adjust the cutoff to 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 150, 200, and 250Hz. 120Hz is the default, but mine is currently set to 80Hz, which I believe was set automatically after running the Audyssey setup.

Set to LFE
You want the sub to do the job so keep LFE

“LPF over LFE” should be 120hz as is the default. Its just a filter that cuts off frequencies above 120hz so can be increased if you set a very high crossover. Auto setup doesnt change that one.

LFE+Main sends the bass to both main speakers and to the sub so you get double the bass. Some like it but its not considered a good setting to use unless you really know what you are doing or just want fun but not accurate sound. It will also put the stress back onto the amps and main speakers.


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[PENG]

Okay, so my sub is set to LFE with a crossover frequency of 80Hz. Should I turn off LFE when listening to music or maybe set it to 100Hz or even 120Hz? I believe this would require me to set my front channel to 100Hz or 120Hz respectively.

I just checked the manual. Looks like I can select LFE or LFE+Main. I don't quite understand the difference. Also, it says I can adjust the cutoff to 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 150, 200, and 250Hz. 120Hz is the default, but mine is currently set to 80Hz, which I believe was set automatically after running the Audyssey setup. I've since changed it to 80Hz, but I want to say Audyssey set my front channel to 100Hz. I'm confused as to why it would do that and leave a hole in my response. Room acoustics?

For future proofing, and since you like your music loud, you may consider trading in the 5013 for the 6013/14 or even the Denon avr-3600h, assuming you are keeping the xpa-3.

 

[mossman77]

For future proofing, and since you like your music loud, you may consider trading in the 5013 for the 6013/14 or even the Denon avr-3600h, assuming you are keeping the xpa-3.

I guess I shouldn't have said "louder" because they really are pretty loud. I guess I meant "fuller", which probably isn't achievable with dual 4.5" drivers. I'll fiddle with the crossover frequencies to see if I can get the sound I'm looking for. I think I'll be keeping the XPA-3 regardless.

 

[Gmoney]

Try the tone controls, or set L/R mains to Large or full.

 

[mossman77]

This is along the lines of what I'm looking for (on-wall with dual 7" woofers). Not sure if I can get them here in the US though.

Atelier 700

Elegant OnWall installation Thanks to their slim design, at less than 10 cm deep the loudspeakers of the Atelier Series can be hung perfectly…

www.canton.de

 

[Pogre]

Because I just ran the wires, patched drywall, and painted, so I really don't want to undo everything I just did. And I'd really prefer not to have floor standing speakers, but I know they'd sound much better, which is making me indecisive. If I could find a relatively slim (no more than 6" deep) on-wall speaker with 6.5" or even 8" driver(s), that would be ideal. I'm seeing a few in-wall options with speakers this size, but nothing on-wall. Perhaps I could just get some in-wall speakers and make my own enclosures to surface mount them?

Well, you can still use the same wires for floorstanders. Either way though, I think you need to make a decision and go one way or the other. Doing both doesn't really make any sense if you don't like the floorstander aesthetics because you're still putting floorstanders in your room! It just adds unneeded complexity in my opinion. If you're going to get floorstanders, then do floorstanders.

 

[mossman77]

I'd like to stick with on-wall speakers. Just need to find some larger ones with 6.5" drivers. Not having much luck.

 

[ryanosaur]

Some great information here. At least half of it seems to be getting lost!