Audyssey DSX -- Should I even bother?

[jostenmeat]

Diy Subs are awesome, i'm running Danley DTS-10 subs, not completely diy, but these things were back breakers to put together at ~300lbs each assembled.

I so want one of those. I didn't realize it was 300lbs! I look at the comparison chart at the Danley website, and there are no specs next to the DTS10.

http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/tapped_horn_comparisons.asp

Is this ordered directly from Danley, or through an authorized dealer as with their other products? It's less than 1k, IIRC, not including an amp? Have an amp to recommend?

I suppose it takes up most of a day to put together? I can orient it in almost any fashion as long as the horn can breathe, or lengthwise against a wall, with horn up high is pretty much the WTG? Oh yeah, final question, is it a bad idea to couple this to a sealed sub like a JL Fathom?

Thank you! I realize this is a mega-hijack, PM is fine too . . . I appreciate it.

 

[Thetwinmeister]

Thank you! I realize this is a mega-hijack, PM is fine too . . . I appreciate it.

Lol, no problem, I'm interested too. Feel free to post reply here.

I haven't heard from my cousin yet which is strange. Normally he replies asap. Anyway, for now lets assume we can do it. What kind of stuff are we looking at here? There is about ~$400 for a sub atm, and we might be able to negotiate another ~$200 or so if it'll really make a huge difference. Otherwise just $400 for now on a DIY sub or two.

I'd love to have 1k or so to spend on a custom sub, but that'll have to wait for the next project, haha.

 

[jostenmeat]

I haven't heard from my cousin yet which is strange. Normally he replies asap. Anyway, for now lets assume we can do it. What kind of stuff are we looking at here? There is about ~$400 for a sub atm, and we might be able to negotiate another ~$200 or so if it'll really make a huge difference. Otherwise just $400 for now on a DIY sub or two.

Thanks for allowing the brief hijack. I received a PM, so we are good to go.

I'm pretty sure both of these should fall into 400-600 range, including amp. Probably closer to 600 with the amp.

A more conventional sub. It's possible you've never heard an HT sub that is this capable.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45528

Now here, it's the size of a modest fridge, but you'll blow away the whole neighborhood. Plans from B. Fitzmaurice is $15. This will be considerably more complex, but if your cousin is good with wood, then NP.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60906

However, I only know these because of this particular forum. If you start asking around in the DIY subforum here, I'm sure the experts can throw all kinds of possibilities at you. TLS Guy and annunaki are particularly helpful with DIY builds, as well as WmAx.

 

[Thetwinmeister]

Wow, that second one looks amazing!

20Hz: 114dB at 4.5% THD. I did not push any further, as the panes in my windows were moving about 1/16" at the time. I think they would have broken if I went further. Above 20Hz, you can get damned near as much as you want dB-wise, all clean. Basically, from 16 or so Hz on up, you have strong bass, from 20Hz on up, INSANE bass. I designed the system to give me great sound at -10dB from reference (with Dynamic EQ frequency correction to account for equal loudness curves), which it does with flying colors flat down to around 16Hz before dropping off. Useful output down to 12Hz. All at less than 5% THD. In a sweep and distortion test of a $9950 sub, the Genelec HTS6... the Genelec runs over 10% THD at 115dB. This is significant, in that a sub almost 20 times less expensive to build can seriously compare with one of the best subs available.

I got in contact with my cousin and he loves the idea of doing a DIY sub. The reason he didn't contact me sooner was apparently the classic "I sent it to the wrong David" (For my first name is David)
Thanks for the advice, my cousin is going to talk to a few people he knows and then I'll be heading on over to the DIY subforum.

Thanks to all of you guys the system got 567% better over the course of this thread!

Just to make sure we got everything straight:
We're going with the Onkyo 606 and an Ascend Acoustics CBM-170/CMT-340C/HTM-200 combo with a custom DIY sub.

Oh yeah, that reminds me, what kind of cable should I be using? I've heard a lot of controversy and different opinions out there. As far as interconnects and speaker cables, what should I and should I not be using?

 

[jostenmeat]

Wow, that second one looks amazing!

Doesn't it? It IS BIG. I've drooled over that one before for sure. I think your excitement is re-whetting my appetite for it.

Just to make sure we got everything straight:
We're going with the Onkyo 606 and an Ascend Acoustics CBM-170/CMT-340C/HTM-200 combo with a custom DIY sub.

If you're going to do a 340 center, just get 340 mains as well. If it's a budget thing, then please forget the HTM200s for now.

I'd also take a look at Primus bookshelves, for less money, or Salk bookshelves for more money.

Oh yeah, that reminds me, what kind of cable should I be using? I've heard a lot of controversy and different opinions out there. As far as interconnects and speaker cables, what should I and should I not be using?

You can pretty much one stop shop at Monoprice. That includes tv mount, hdmi switcher, etc, and oh yeah, cables out the yin yang at a fraction of the price. Over the last few years, I've also bought Blue Jeans, Monster, Tara Labs, Acoustic Research, some generic Radio Shack and Home Depot, and if I only got to have one store, Monoprice would be it. Oh, btw, I just saved you hundreds of dollars. I particularly find the speaker wire and HDMI cabling to be of extremely good value.

 

[Thetwinmeister]

Doesn't it? It IS BIG. I've drooled over that one before for sure. I think your excitement is re-whetting my appetite for it.

Nice!
Yeah, I told my cousin about it, but he was like

that guy used a lot more wood than I would. Wood vibrates too much and has a double bass effect. Meaning that if sound hits the surface of wood it vibrates and sends it back in another direction. So the bass might last longer than wanted because the sound is still bouncing back and forth inside the sub. Now if we made the sub box a little bit larger and added insulation then when sound hit the insulation it would disaspate, providing a good clean bass sound.

Then I like quoted that quote from the site again, lol. Idk what he was saying is true about the "wood" but I know the bass sound does do that in general. I thought they designed the box in a way that it wouldn't mess with the bass in a bad way like what my cousin said... But idk everything there is to know about custom subs, at this point he knows more about them than I do.

If you're going to do a 340 center, just get 340 mains as well. If it's a budget thing, then please forget the HTM200s for now.

Roger. I'll try to see if we can upgrade the mains...

I'd also take a look at Primus bookshelves, for less money, or Salk bookshelves for more money.

I liked the "Salk for more money" option, haha. I found their site, but what series do you recommend from Salk? Edit: Woah, all of those are way too expensive, nevermind. lol

You can pretty much one stop shop at Monoprice. That includes tv mount, hdmi switcher, etc, and oh yeah, cables out the yin yang at a fraction of the price. Over the last few years, I've also bought Blue Jeans, Monster, Tara Labs, Acoustic Research, some generic Radio Shack and Home Depot, and if I only got to have one store, Monoprice would be it. Oh, btw, I just saved you hundreds of dollars. I particularly find the speaker wire and HDMI cabling to be of extremely good value.

Alright, thanks for the tip! I'll defiantly look there for stuff first... But I was referring to more of the quality of the cable. In other words how nice of a cable should I buy for speakers and interconnects? I've bought Monster in the past but I don't know if it makes that much of a difference tbh... I guess I'm primarily worried about getting the right kind of speaker cable. I think I know enough about HDMI cables to get the right kind. Its the analog cables that I'm unsure of.

 

[jostenmeat]

Nice!
Yeah, I told my cousin about it, but he was like

Then I like quoted that quote from the site again, lol. Idk what he was saying is true about the "wood" but I know the bass sound does do that in general. I thought they designed the box in a way that it wouldn't mess with the bass in a bad way like what my cousin said... But idk everything there is to know about custom subs, at this point he knows more about them than I do.

I'll let you ask the experts, yourself. Yeah, there is at least one or two AHers who deaden the cabinet with lots of concrete. However, I would be extremely wary of changing ANYTHING with certain builds, as far as volume, horn/port length, etc. The experts will let you know, with any given driver, how much leeway you have.

Roger. I'll try to see if we can upgrade the mains...

I liked the "Salk for more money" option, haha. I found their site, but what series do you recommend from Salk? Edit: Woah, all of those are way too expensive, nevermind. lol

So you know, I haven't heard any Salk or Primus either, but I have read enough that they would be on my short lists for either price point. However, with Salk, I highly doubt you can afford anything but the "entry" level.

Alright, thanks for the tip! I'll defiantly look there for stuff first... But I was referring to more of the quality of the cable. In other words how nice of a cable should I buy for speakers and interconnects? I've bought Monster in the past but I don't know if it makes that much of a difference tbh... I guess I'm primarily worried about getting the right kind of speaker cable. I think I know enough about HDMI cables to get the right kind. Its the analog cables that I'm unsure of.

It doesn't make any difference, I mean, outside of a total POS HDMI cable. Mon$ter is pure marketing hype. EVEN IF THEY performed better (which they don't), they have exercised despicable business practices.

In the meanwhile, keep your eyes out for AH specials on APC stuff too. I use two Monster power centers, but if I could do it all over again, I can guarantee you they wouldn't be in my racks.

Blue Jeans Strikes Back
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43259

Monster Cable Lawsuits
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45706

Monster Cable is Back! Sues Mini-Golf Company
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44459

Monster Cable Sues Baby Clothing Store MonsterRepublic.com
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45609

Monster Cable Sues Blue Jeans Cable
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43065

Monster Cable: Not With a Bang but a Whimper
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43962

As you can see in this AH 50 HDMI cable shootout, more money does not necessarily buy you better performance.

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/long-hdmi-cable-bench-tests/hdmi-cable-testing-results

 

[Thetwinmeister]

I'll let you ask the experts, yourself. Yeah, there is at least one or two AHers who deaden the cabinet with lots of concrete. However, I would be extremely wary of changing ANYTHING with certain builds, as far as volume, horn/port length, etc. The experts will let you know, with any given driver, how much leeway you have.

Oh wow, concrete sounds intense. Yeah, I'll defiantly ask them about it, thanks.

So you know, I haven't heard any Salk or Primus either, but I have read enough that they would be on my short lists for either price point. However, with Salk, I highly doubt you can afford anything but the "entry" level.

http://www.salksound.com/speakers_hts.shtml
^I believe that is as "entry" level as Salk gets... But its $999 a pair, lol.

It doesn't make any difference, I mean, outside of a total POS HDMI cable. Mon$ter is pure marketing hype. EVEN IF THEY performed better (which they don't), they have exercised despicable business practices.

As you can see in this AH 50 HDMI cable shootout, more money does not necessarily buy you better performance.

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/long-hdmi-cable-bench-tests/hdmi-cable-testing-results

Hmm, thats interesting... Thanks for the links. I'll defiantly buy stuff from monoprice in the future.

 

[afterlife2]

Bump for a 3 year old thread. Anyone here have this setting? or Pro Logic IIz? Seems like a cool idea to try.

 

[JonnyFive23517]

I played with DSX heights and Dolby heights in a 7.1 system. One thing that's important to note is that your choice my be restricted by layout options. Audyssey DSX heights are supposed to be wider than your towers, Dolby heights are supposed to be in line with them, directly above. For me, this meant I had to do Dolby heights.

In my opinion it's much better to first optimize a 5.1 system then later worry about fluff like heights or wides. They do add an effect, yes, but I will say that at a given volume level the 5.1 system is hands down clearer and more accurate. If you want to crank the volume and just want a larger wall of sound hitting you, then the matrixed wide/height channels can do that. To keep the neighbors happy I stick with 5.1.

 

[GlocksRock]

Bump for a 3 year old thread. Anyone here have this setting? or Pro Logic IIz? Seems like a cool idea to try.

I have a 9.1 system and I much prefer PLIIZ over DSX, as the DSX uses info from the front channels to play on the height channels, and PLIIZ uses info from the surround channels to play in the height channels. DSX creates a smeared sound from my own personal experimentations, but it also depends on the source material, it sounds better with some stuff than others, but I choose to just leave it on PLIIZ all the time.