Weighing my options

[Steve81]

Wait a minute.. I thought we had been through with this before, that you had found out the 99dB/m/2.83V thing was not supported by some lab measurements or something, what changed your mind?

Nothing changed my mind; in terms of buying an amplifier and how hard I push things, I prefer to be conservative, ie safe vs sorry. When it comes time to brag, that's a whole different matter

Of course, it's worth noting that the lab measurement is quasi-anechoic, so effective in room sensitivity could well be around 99dB w/ 2.83V. AFAIK, that is why there is in fact a difference between Klipsch's spec and lab measurements; they add 4dB to the number they achieve in their anechoic chamber to come up with an in room estimate.

 

[Steve81]

Congratulations regardless !!

Thanks!

You can always add a XPA-3 in your next upgrade and move this little guy to the back, in order to hear the real DNN difference...

There's always that possibility Will that make it seem like my subwoofer is turned on???

 

[PENG]

Thanks!



There's always that possibility Will that make it seem like my subwoofer is turned on???

Nope, unless you opt for the XPR-2, I can't afford that one but hope you can.

 

[Steve81]

Just finished a big undertaking of wire management.

Step 1. Put the cables to the TV and the subwoofer in raceways so they're not giant eyesores.
Step 2. Cleared out my cabinet.
Step 3. Took a hole saw bit and opened up a few new spots to better run wiring. Before the cabinet only had one real opening for running wires. Now it has 4, one for the upper two shelves, and two where the receiver resides.
Step 4. Put everything back as neat as possible.
Step 5. Enjoy a few tunes and try to convince yourself you didn't waste the last couple of hours

 

[Steve81]

Evolution

My room circa 2 years ago:

Stylish, no?

My room, currently.

Some marginal improvements...

 

[Adam]

Where did the doggie toys go? What kind of subliminal anti-pooch campaign are you running here?!



Nice sub, btw. I also like the addition of somewhere to sit down.

 

[Steve81]

Where did the doggie toys go? What kind of subliminal anti-pooch campaign are you running here?!

"Cleaned" for the pic; no kid toys either

Right now, there's a bunch of boxes laying around (wife's organization project), kid toys, a Kong, and one of those no stuffing foxes laying around the area...

Nice sub, btw. I also like the addition of somewhere to sit down.

Seating does have its advantages!

I'm shocked at the lack of comment on the beautiful styling of the room before, what with the high quality wood paneling and beautiful tiled floor

 

[avnetguy]

I'm shocked at the lack of comment on the beautiful styling of the room before, what with the high quality wood paneling and beautiful tiled floor

Looks like a much cleaner version of my basement though my wood paneling is much lighter in color.

More importantly .... how's the difference in the sound with the changes?

Steve

 

[Adam]

I'm shocked at the lack of comment on the beautiful styling of the room before, what with the high quality wood paneling and beautiful tiled floor

I actually like the wood paneling. The tiles...not so much. 70s, right? We had similar ones in our basement growing up.

 

[Steve81]

More importantly .... how's the difference in the sound with the changes?

The amp didn't change much of anything that I really notice, but I didn't really expect it to either. I haven't let it stretch its legs yet though to see what happens when I push things to -5dB from reference either.

 

[Steve81]

I actually like the wood paneling. The tiles...not so much. 70s, right? We had similar ones in our basement growing up.

Indeed; the house is older (built in the 50s), but it was remodeled in the 70s. Suffice it to say the wife wasn't fond of any of it, not that I was either...

 

[avnetguy]

The amp didn't change much of anything that I really notice, but I didn't really expect it to either. I haven't let it stretch its legs yet though to see what happens when I push things to -5dB from reference either.

How about the other changes, sub change (and corner loaded placement), toe in on the speakers, carpet?
Not sure if paneling -> drywall would affect much but I'm sure the center channel addition really helps with movies.

Steve

 

[Steve81]

How about the other changes, sub change (and corner loaded placement)

Going from the PC12-NSD to the PB13U was huge in terms of visceral feel. That's one move I don't regret at all. Corner load I can't claim to have noted much of a difference.

toe in on the speakers

Can't claim a huge difference, but it's not entirely surprising. Human hearing isn't so hot in the top octave where this helped boost output.

carpet?

The carpet is a huge plus. I remember just before the carpet got in with all the furniture removed, I could yell down the stairs into the room and it was literally an echo chamber. We're talking decay time on the order of several seconds. After the carpet got in (with a pretty thick pad too), it tamed things considerably.

Not sure if paneling -> drywall would affect much

It certainly looks nicer!

but I'm sure the center channel addition really helps with movies.

Less than you might think, but then again, the wife and I are in the prime seating, and we don't entertain at home often.

 

[avnetguy]

Not surprising the carpet was a plus, not just for the sound either!
That is a pretty big step up in the sub class and now you really get to "feel" the movies .... probably my next upgrade.

It is nice to be able to control the prime seating sweet spot, keeping it limited to a smaller area. I did notice a difference with toe in my room (mostly with music) and it didn't really affect the less than prime seating areas as much as I thought it would.

Steve

 

[j_garcia]

It depends on the speakers and the room, but I've always found I've needed to toe my A/V-2s because their sweetest spot is somewhat narrow despite good off axis performance. Things sound best when sitting in the sweet spot in my setup because that's how I intended it, but most anywhere (certainly on the couch) still sounds good.

New room looks a LOT better

 

[Steve81]

Finally have had some time to let the new toy stretch its legs a bit. Pushed Star Wars Episode III all the way up to full reference level last night: nothing but clean, clear output I'll have to do that with a couple other movies just to verify it's not totally my imagination or that ROTS isn't a relatively quiet movie, but it does seem like the system is straining much less at those levels.