New HT Room

[rmk]

Well I surprised myself and made a major move (for me) on the video front. I have a JVC RS-35 coming that will replace my HD-100 (RS2). I am hoping for a nice improvement in PQ (i.e. brightness, color accuracy and sharpness) plus lower noise level. The RS35 is only 19db in normal lamp mode and with my projector position it will be nice to have a nearly silent projector.

I’m getting it next week and will post pictures comments once I get it setup.

 

[adk highlander]

Wow! That is a heck of an impuse buy. What promoted the change? Good deal or good demo?

I'm sure jostenmeat will be very jealous when he finds out.

 

[jostenmeat]

rmk,

I hate you.

sincerely,
jostenmeat


j/k
Where did you pick it up? AFAIK, that unit is an upgrade in every way. Brighter, better contrast, quieter, full blown CMS . . .

 

[mike c]

hi again rob,

i think i asked you this before, but i can't find it in my inbox (500 messages)

do you think you could have "survived" with triple 8's up front? (i mean they were designed for much bigger rooms)

you think your LS and RS would have squeaked through with just slanted 8's?

can't wait for your height and wide surrounds

thanks
mike c

 

[rmk]

Wow! That is a heck of an impuse buy. What promoted the change? Good deal or good demo?

I'm sure jostenmeat will be very jealous when he finds out.

It was both a good deal and reading several excellent reviews that moved me to do it. I figure I can get at least three years out of this unit (no interest in 3D insanity) and that makes it worthwhile.

rmk,

I hate you.

sincerely,
jostenmeat


j/k
Where did you pick it up? AFAIK, that unit is an upgrade in every way. Brighter, better contrast, quieter, full blown CMS . . .

Thanks for sharing the hate ...

I purchased (NIB) from a JVC dealer and it was to be his demo unit but hard times forced the sale. He claims that the dealer Demo RS-35's receive "special" calibration by JVC and that it will not need to be professionally calibrated. I am a little sceptical of this and I'm prepared to have Pro Cal done if necessary.

 

[rmk]

hi again rob,

i think i asked you this before, but i can't find it in my inbox (500 messages)

do you think you could have "survived" with triple 8's up front? (i mean they were designed for much bigger rooms)

you think your LS and RS would have squeaked through with just slanted 8's?

can't wait for your height and wide surrounds

thanks
mike c

Hi Mike,

With a good sub (or preferrably subs) the new 2010 Triple 8's would have been great. They can handle 80Hz and up just fine.

That said, I really like the midbass slam the Triple 12's provide (I have them crossed @ 50Hz) and of course, I got a great deal on the T12's so that made my decision easy.

I already have the S8's as SB and height speakers. I am currently running a 9.2 and do not have the space for wides so 11.2 is out. I really like the height channel and having them has cooled my interest in an AT screen.

 

[mike c]

oh! i did not notice the height speakers there ...

what about your current triple 8's as surround left and right, you think those are just right, or overkill? (S8's instead?)

thanks!

 

[rmk]

oh! i did not notice the height speakers there ...

what about your current triple 8's as surround left and right, you think those are just right, or overkill? (S8's instead?)

thanks!

Overkill

Since I run mostly bluray with DTS HD-MA or Dolby TruHD the surronds get quite a workout and I like the T8's for that reason. OTOH the S8's blend very nicely withthe other JTR's and due to their 30 degree front baffle can be placed higher on the wall or even ceiling mounted like my heights and SB's. Bottom line is that in a medium to large size room T8 LCR's, S8 surrounds and good subs would give you a fantastic HT surround sound system.

 

[rmk]

Based upon a reliable local recommendation, I just booked Jeff Meier to calibrate the RS-35 and system when he is out my way in June. That will give me some time to play and get some hours on the lamp.

Jeff has already done a number of RS35's so I am very interested to see the difference pro calibration can make on a display like this one.

 

[jostenmeat]

Thanks for sharing the hate ...

Um. Anytime.

I purchased (NIB) from a JVC dealer and it was to be his demo unit but hard times forced the sale. He claims that the dealer Demo RS-35's receive "special" calibration by JVC and that it will not need to be professionally calibrated. I am a little sceptical of this and I'm prepared to have Pro Cal done if necessary.

I understand your skepticism. My guess is that either the dealer mistakes "hand picked optics on the RS35" for "pro cal", or that he did get special adjustments done such as convergence or something (or in fact that is standard procedure anyways for the RS35), or maybe in fact it was calibrated completely. Even if it was true for the last, the room, screen, and especially screen size might make it a good idea to go with a pro cal, besides the extra satisfaction that you will know for sure. I know that even some consumers actually do have some discourse with JVC engineers (like JapanDave from AH/AVS), but I don't know that I've never specifically read that they were working on their unit.

Based upon a reliable local recommendation, I just booked Jeff Meier to calibrate the RS-35 and system when he is out my way in June. That will give me some time to play and get some hours on the lamp.

Jeff has already done a number of RS35's so I am very interested to see the difference pro calibration can make on a display like this one.

Nice. I'm familiar with umr's posts. In fact, I'm quite certain there is an AHer who had his display calibrated by him. Might be a Texan, might be a Pio plasma owner.

 

[rmk]

Nice. I'm familiar with umr's posts. In fact, I'm quite certain there is an AHer who had his display calibrated by him. Might be a Texan, might be a Pio plasma owner.

A local AV buddy of mine had his RS25 calibrated by Jeff and swears by him. Considering the cost of the projector, having the calibration done is a no-brainer.

We watched “Up in the Air” BR last night on the un-calibrated HD100 (RS2) and the aerial cinematography was jaw droppingly beautiful. Honestly, I can't imagine the picture looking that much better but the deed is done and we shall see.

I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't a variation on the audiophile theme of last 5% performance costing 100% more .... Oh well, the 19db noise level (compared to the 24db of the HD100) is worth something .

 

[jostenmeat]

A local AV buddy of mine had his RS25 calibrated by Jeff and swears by him. Considering the cost of the projector, having the calibration done is a no-brainer.

I agree. The only other option is to do it yourself, after buying a nice colorimeter (maybe $1k). Otherwise, the CMS would be all for naught, and people were paying $4,500 for something like that just a year or two ago.

We watched “Up in the Air” BR last night on the un-calibrated HD100 (RS2) and the aerial cinematography was jaw droppingly beautiful. Honestly, I can't imagine the picture looking that much better but the deed is done and we shall see.

Thanks for the rec! I was hoping to rent that in the relatively near future. Thumbs up on the movie?

I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't a variation on the audiophile theme of last 5% performance costing 100% more .... Oh well, the 19db noise level (compared to the 24db of the HD100) is worth something .

I think it's a lot more than 5%. I've seen the RS25 (and yours should be at least as good, and perhaps even better) in action. The OTB colors seem to be more accurate, well particularly the greens (which is an issue with our RS1/2), the movement/panning is smoother, and well, finally, it's hard to put a % figure on truly increased contrast. So, better (perfect) colors, better contrast, quieter, and lastly it's even brighter, I think the overall improvement will be pretty evident to you. Congratulations. Oh, btw, did I mention that I hate you? Just checking.

 

[rmk]

I agree. The only other option is to do it yourself, after buying a nice colorimeter (maybe $1k). Otherwise, the CMS would be all for naught, and people were paying $4,500 for something like that just a year or two ago.



Thanks for the rec! I was hoping to rent that in the relatively near future. Thumbs up on the movie?



I think it's a lot more than 5%. I've seen the RS25 (and yours should be at least as good, and perhaps even better) in action. The OTB colors seem to be more accurate, well particularly the greens (which is an issue with our RS1/2), the movement/panning is smoother, and well, finally, it's hard to put a % figure on truly increased contrast. So, better (perfect) colors, better contrast, quieter, and lastly it's even brighter, I think the overall improvement will be pretty evident to you. Congratulations. Oh, btw, did I mention that I hate you? Just checking.

Thanks for the reassuring words. By all reports the RS35 should be very good and I'm anxious to get it setup.

Up in the Air is a winner. Great acting all around, timely story and Vera Farmiga is well, yum yum.

 

[rmk]

I setup the RS35 yesterday. My powered Stewart screen (StudioTek 130) is 12V trigger activated so I had an interesting couple of hours modifying the Chief RS2 mounting plate to fit the RS35. Once that chore was finished, I spent another hour trying to find the menus to activate the screen trigger, focus and to flip and invert the image while fuzzily displayed on my front wall with the plasma screen and treatments. I simply could not read the menus until I fumbled my way into the lens adjustment menu on the remote. The RS35 Manual layout is awful and IMO, poorly organized but eventually I got the image focused, centered and zoomed.

Once I got a focused image on screen … WOW! Any concern I had about the value of this “upgrade” faded quickly. I set projector to the THX mode that was recommended by several reviewers of the RS25-35 and did no other calibration or adjustment. In the normal lamp mode with my room darkened, the image was just beautiful. The RS-35 has amazing color accuracy and clarity with inky blacks and great shadow detail right out of the box. I only used bluray material as I wanted to see what familiar HD material looked like and I was blown away by the image. Admittedly, I’m no videophile but the image produced by the RS-35 is as good as any plasma display I have seen. To me, the RS35 image looked every bit as good as a SIm2 Lumis ($30K) I saw demoed at a dealer show room recently.

I still plan to have the unit calibrated in June by UMR and it will be interesting to see if I can see the improvement in PQ. Value is very subjective but considering the price I paid (don’t ask), this is one heck of a projector.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Good to hear it is a noticeable increase in image quality. I'll be interested to hear if you think the calibration was worth the money since you're happy with it now.

 

[westcott]

I setup the RS35 yesterday. My powered Stewart screen (StudioTek 130) is 12V trigger activated so I had an interesting couple of hours modifying the Chief RS2 mounting plate to fit the RS35. Once that chore was finished, I spent another hour trying to find the menus to activate the screen trigger, focus and to flip and invert the image while fuzzily displayed on my front wall with the plasma screen and treatments. I simply could not read the menus until I fumbled my way into the lens adjustment menu on the remote. The RS35 Manual layout is awful and IMO, poorly organized but eventually I got the image focused, centered and zoomed.

Once I got a focused image on screen … WOW! Any concern I had about the value of this “upgrade” faded quickly. I set projector to the THX mode that was recommended by several reviewers of the RS25-35 and did no other calibration or adjustment. In the normal lamp mode with my room darkened, the image was just beautiful. The RS-35 has amazing color accuracy and clarity with inky blacks and great shadow detail right out of the box. I only used bluray material as I wanted to see what familiar HD material looked like and I was blown away by the image. Admittedly, I’m no videophile but the image produced by the RS-35 is as good as any plasma display I have seen. To me, the RS35 image looked every bit as good as a SIm2 Lumis ($30K) I saw demoed at a dealer show room recently.

I still plan to have the unit calibrated in June by UMR and it will be interesting to see if I can see the improvement in PQ. Value is very subjective but considering the price I paid (don’t ask), this is one heck of a projector.

If you can find what light setting comes closest to 6500K (probably on the internet), I find that you can get really close with just a calibration DVD like the one from Digitial Video Essentials. It also provides audio test tones for speaker placement. Worth the price and is easy to do once you get the hang of it. Will work with all your video sources. It can make dramatic differences.

Congratulations, BTW. I am sure you will enjoy the experience. Nothing like a big screen.

Have you had to do anything to control the lighting?

 

[rmk]

If you can find what light setting comes closest to 6500K (probably on the internet), I find that you can get really close with just a calibration DVD like the one from Digitial Video Essentials. It also provides audio test tones for speaker placement. Worth the price and is easy to do once you get the hang of it. Will work with all your video sources. It can make dramatic differences.

Congratulations, BTW. I am sure you will enjoy the experience. Nothing like a big screen.

Have you had to do anything to control the lighting?

The THX mode is supposed to be 6500K. I own and have used DVE on my previous JVC (HD100). The Pro Calibrator uses a $25,000 radiospectrometer to measure color and greyscale. He has done a number of the RS35's and will also be taking audio measurments so it should be a valuable learning expierence and very worthwhile.


The room has two windows and I have blackout shades and heavy curtains but that still doesn't provide absolute control in the daytime. Last week I ordered two custom sized 2" acoustic panels that will fit in the 3" deep window sill wells and give me complete light control in the room. That will be nice in the summertime when it stays light until 9pm.

 

[MidnightSensi]

I was searching for JTRs new sub and somehow came across your home theater thread on AVS, saw your new speaker setup. Come'on, hook us up here!

I see you buckled to lowering your screen.

How's the new subwoofer placement? Side by side like that you probably get a few extra dB of output.

 

[rmk]

I was searching for JTRs new sub and somehow came across your home theater thread on AVS, saw your new speaker setup. Come'on, hook us up here!

I see you buckled to lowering your screen.

How's the new subwoofer placement? Side by side like that you probably get a few extra dB of output.

Well since you asked

Yes, I wanted the screen lower and my experiments with AT fabric were not good. There was a significant loss of brightness and I found the perforations and to a lesser degree fabric weave would be visible from the front row (<12' away) due to having to move the screen closer to accommodate the speakers. The new screen height gives a better viewing angle for the front row. It did force me to move the mains outboard few inches and place the Center on the subs. I am using silicon door bumpers as pads for the center and have it angled up a few degrees aimed directly at the front row head height. That combined with the height speakers makes for a very nice front sound stage. I’m sure it would be better if the LCR speakers were directly behind the screen but I believe the trade off in image quality isn’t worth that slight audio advantage.

As for the subs, they were essentially within 2 feet of each other before so already collocated so, no noticeable change there. I haven’t had time to re-run Audyssey and take a look at the SMS-1 graph so I’m flying blind at this point but it does around and look very good.

Speaking of looking good, I picked up the euro version of the BBC “Life” bluray and we watched some of the first disc last night. WOW is all I can say, it is narrated by David Attenborough and is a must own for hobbyists. Much better than the US Oprah/Discovery channel version.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Well since you asked

Yes, I wanted the screen lower and my experiments with AT fabric were not good. There was a significant loss of brightness and I found the perforations and to a lesser degree fabric weave would be visible from the front row (<12' away) due to having to move the screen closer to accommodate the speakers. The new screen height gives a better viewing angle for the front row. It did force me to move the mains outboard few inches and place the Center on the subs. I am using silicon door bumpers as pads for the center and have it angled up a few degrees aimed directly at the front row head height. That combined with the height speakers makes for a very nice front sound stage. I’m sure it would be better if the LCR speakers were directly behind the screen but I believe the trade off in image quality isn’t worth that slight audio advantage.

As for the subs, they were essentially within 2 feet of each other before so already collocated so, no noticeable change there. I haven’t had time to re-run Audyssey and take a look at the SMS-1 graph so I’m flying blind at this point but it does around and look very good.

Speaking of looking good, I picked up the euro version of the BBC “Life” bluray and we watched some of the first disc last night. WOW is all I can say, it is narrated by David Attenborough and is a must own for hobbyists. Much better than the US Oprah/Discovery channel version.

Off-axis is really smooth with the JTRs, a few degrees you for sure won't be able to notice.

You see the new JTR Growler Duo? Just curious if you heard anything about it. I haven't even seen a picture, I've been meaning to call Jeff and ask about it. A pair of those might make my room explode though.

I wish I could hear your system. :/