EV's little abode

[GranteedEV]

Played around a bit with the camera's Panorama pic function:

Panasonic TH-PZ85U 46" Plasma wall-mounted
Sony PS2
Sony PS3
Marantz SR6003
Nintendo Gamecube
Nintendo Wii
MiniDSP Balanced 2x4
Tapco J2500
Lacie External HDD
EMP e5CiB
EMP e55TiR

And a few older video game systems I took away because there were too many wires

My sister's rock band stuff, some movies, and some games, and some CDs. I'd say this corner is for diffusion but really it's to shove random crap.

My Sealed 8.5 cu ft Exodus Maelstrom-X A.K.A. The Cyclops. The random sweatshirt is either there for the sake of being there or in order to help with diffraction as the sub is right next to the left speaker. I dunno if it actually helps. I plan on getting a proper finish in place next summer... if I don't decide to scrap the idea altogether and make a tapped horn or two Haven't really messed with placement yet. Once I can do some measurements I'll play around with a few things involving real treatments that aren't Army & Navy foam shoved against the wall.

My two wall-mounted EMP e5BiB surround speakers and an ugly monoprice cable.

 

[dkane360]

Your sub is too small. You need another one.

Nice setup

 

[GranteedEV]

Your sub is too small.

What can I say, I like women who like big things, so the sub is a test.

 

[its phillip]

Nice. I really wanted to buy that panasonic plasma back in the day.

Why don't you put away the gamecube? The wii plays gamecube games too.

 

[GranteedEV]

Nice. I really wanted to buy that panasonic plasma back in the day.

Why don't you put away the gamecube? The wii plays gamecube games too.

it's really just there to fill space on a huge shelf until I buy something new

 

[STRONGBADF1]

"diffraction"

 

[just-some-guy]

nice gear

let me ask :
what do you think of those EMP's ?
what do you think of the finish on them ? i understand they are vinyl, which is fine at that price point.
how does your receiver handle them ? i understand they are 6 ohm.

i ask because a guy at work asked me to recommend a system, 5.1 and receiver for under $2000 . and i recommended the EMP's and a yamaha.

 

[GranteedEV]

what do you think of those EMP's ?

I don't know if it's room acoustics or what, but in source direct mode they can sound somewhat distance and a bit warm. Once I implement Audessey MultEQ FLAT on the receiver music just plain comes to life. The first thing it does is a cut near 1khz where the speakers do have a bit of a peak and it seems to boost the extreme high end too. I guess with all that foam, carpet, and open space this room is a bit on the dead side. But anyways With Audessey Flat it's really a sweet experience, never mind what I paid for em. Very precise imaging, wonderful instrument separation, crystal clear voices, and these things can go extremely loud without strain. Any strain I may hear at super extreme volumes is the limitation of a 100wpc receiver... the drivers are still going. The soundstage is wide and deep.

Where they're held back is probably the MTM horizontal center channel. The couch seen on the side doesn't get the best vocal clarity during movies unless it's loud.

what do you think of the finish on them ? i understand they are vinyl, which is fine at that price point.

Forget price point or bias. The finish is just plain beautiful to look at. Way better than the ugly 1970s cherry veneers you see from other speaker manufacturers. The L/R mains are the Red Burl and it's plain elegant. The C and surrounds were B-stock Black Oak and it blends extremely well with the high gloss finish of the baffle. If you look closely you may see a bit of orange peal on that high gloss so I can't call it a piano gloss but it's still very nice to look at. I've gotten many complements on the way they look.

how does your receiver handle them ? i understand they are 6 ohm.

It handles them well. Obviously separate amps would give me more headroom and more surround capability but it sounds really good as is. I think I got a bit of an improvement when I added a sub and ran them small crossed at 80hz, which takes some effort away from the receiver's amp channels. Still, I'm really skeptical I would hear any difference driving these with an Emotiva XPA etc.

 

[just-some-guy]

thanx. i feel better about my recommendation now. not that i felt bad about it before.

the guy is kind of a cheap a$$, like me . he is "hummin and hawwin" on what he is going to do. i saw him looking at some junk on craigslist, perhaps "white van" speakers.

he has money, that isn't a problem. but i think he is thinking that he just doesn't "need" anything that good. i told him that he is probably buying speakers that will last him the rest of his life, DON'T BE A CHEAP A$$ !!!

but i have no idea what he will do.

 

[GranteedEV]

It was a bit messy, but I took some quick pictures this evening, considering i've been running Philharmonic 2 speakers for a while:

 

[brianedm]

And the game cube is still there! Looking good!

 

[GranteedEV]

That gamecube is hiding the flashy LEDs on the Crown XLS2000 behind it

Here are the EMPs in their new home, the upstairs family room:

 

[fuzz092888]

And a few older video game systems I took away because there were too many wires

It was a bit messy, but I took some quick pictures this evening, considering i've been running Philharmonic 2 speakers for a while:

Hmmmmmm..............

 

[Alex2507]

ugly 1970s cherry veneers

That's like saying Beethoven's 5th is a low rent disco tune from the 70s.

 

[GranteedEV]

^ wtf!

Hmmmmmm..............

Yeah, when I put the crown into the system and moved stuff around, I never got to "tidying" everything up. It'll get there sooner or later.

 

[Steve81]

Like the new setup with the Phils and the big monster sub. How is that treating you for HT versus your 5 channel EMP setup? Don't remember if you tossed in your 2 cents on my 2.1 channel vs 5.1 channel HT, but I've tossed the idea around, and a speaker like the Phils would be a contender for the wide open sound and added ambiance versus a more conventional design. Only drawback is the relatively low sensitivity versus what I'm used to, although a good 2 channel amplifier can remedy that easily enough.

I'd say this corner is for diffusion but really it's to shove random crap.

Just stick with the diffusion story I've got a shelf for crap on the rear wall to hold dog stuff, kids toys, books, etc... But it's first job is diffusion!

 

[GranteedEV]

Like the new setup with the Phils and the big monster sub. How is that treating you for HT versus your 5 channel EMP setup?

All the Blu Ray Rental places are gone, and Streaming... sucks. So we don't watch that many movies these days. Most sources we do end up watching end up 2-channel not by lack of want though.

Even before though, the center was quickly disconnected as I just wasn't satisfied with the sound when the center was on. Pulled the sound to between and below the TV. I preferred the phantom image of the E55Tis, which was / is perfectly believable.

And the Phils do an amazing phantom image that's well behind their plane. The surrounds are still hooked up (all four of them) so technically it's a 6.1 right now. Not that the surrounds get much run.

I can't say I really want a center as even 30+ deg off-axis I am never distracted. If I do get a center, it will probably be the Salk Soundscape Center - which is by no means inexpensive.

but I've tossed the idea around, and a speaker like the Phils would be a contender for the wide open sound and added ambiance versus a more conventional design.

I don't buy that stereo can do what surround can do for ambience. At least not in my place. I can always sense that the sound is in front of me, as great as the open back Philharmonics are. The EMP E5Bi bookshelves are not expensive, but they definitely do something positive - especially the rear surrounds moreso than the side surrounds. I'm convinced that the EMP E41 - this speaker - is as good a surround as anyone could want. I'm not sure I would even bother with side surrounds. Two fronts, and two rear-surrounds set up as side surrounds.

But don't get me wrong. The Phil 2s in stereo sound perfectly ambient and engrossing. And since most of the stuff I end up watching or listening to is in stereo, I'm of the belief that great stereo will trounce good surround.

Only drawback is the relatively low sensitivity versus what I'm used to, although a good 2 channel amplifier can remedy that easily enough.

The Phil 2 is just under 3db more efficient than the Phil 3, which is something people focused on the lowest F3 overlook. That makes them a better match for the Maelstrom woofer. I didn't have any SPL issues with the 100W Marantz, but with the 300 watt Crown XLS 2000 I suspect I simply won't be able to run out of headroom. They sound great at any sane level.

 

[Steve81]

Appreciate the thoughts!

I don't buy that stereo can do what surround can do for ambience.

Stereo can't by any means; running a test of my surrounds, in spite of their less than optimal placement, they can still throw a very effective phantom rear center which I find impressive. No 2.1 setup I'm aware of can match those kinds of effects. At the same time, a 2.1 setup can energize a room in a whole different way which is still enveloping IMO. Then again, the general consensus of my thread was that I'm a weirdo

The Phil 2 is more efficient than the Phil 3, which is something people focused on the lowest F3 overlook. I think the 8" driver alone has around 5db of efficiency advantage over the big revelator. That makes them a better match for the Maelstrom woofer.

I'm also not terribly interested in deep extension out of my mains at this point; I'd much rather trade for sensitivity since I've got my SVS to fill in the bottom octaves.

Of course, in terms of sensitivity, my current standard is fairly high, with Klipsch RF-5s. Just for reference, the speakers I brought to compare with the Philharmonics when I visited Dennis needed to be boosted 3dB for a level match (yeah, they're pretty inefficient). They needed over 15dB boost to match up with my RF-5s per Audyssey (and confirmed with a meter). Still, power is cheap, and even my receiver running in stereo mode delivers a decent amount of juice into 8 and 4 ohm loads.

Like I said though, I'm just tossing the idea around in my head for kicks and saw your setup and figured I'd inquire.

 

[hjustin]

I guess you can bring the speakers in the family room back down when the mothership returns for the ones you borrowed downstairs. Those things are crazy looking. I spent some time at bestbuy.com trying to figure out which HTIB you took that sub from. Still looking...

I notice you have your PS3 hooked up to your plasma. I bought my first plasma about four months ago and have been afraid to hook up my consoles due to burn-in. Have you had any issues?

Thanks for the pics!

 

[GranteedEV]

I guess you can bring the speakers in the family room back down when the mothership returns for the ones you borrowed downstairs. Those things are crazy looking. I spent some time at bestbuy.com trying to figure out which HTIB you took that sub from. Still looking...

It's a samsung.

I notice you have your PS3 hooked up to your plasma. I bought my first plasma about four months ago and have been afraid to hook up my consoles due to burn-in. Have you had any issues?

Maybe some image retention here and there. Pretty much goes away after a few minutes.

The only "real" issue I had was that video games have a really low gamma, so you have to put the TV into "Custom" or "Game" mode to see dark stuff clearly, and it's easy to forget to put it back into "Cinema" for everything else.