Least worst option for connecting existing speakers wireless for rear surround

[Linwood]

Now, what tools or toys could that MyT/1100 refer to? Gotta be tools or toys of some sort.

Well, MyT is the full name, but I did abbreviate the AP1100GTO a bit. Which will give it away. Actually surprised MyT and google didn't.

To save the trouble, I do astrophotography, and the MyT is a telescope mount. It's a quite good one, very mid-range. Considered "Premium" actually. I bought one, and fought with it for months and months. I sold it and got the best mount in the class and never had the least bit of trouble with it, it just works, all the time, every time.

I can't tell you how many astrophotographers did something similar, going on the cheap side then realizing how annoying it is to know your results would be so much better if you hadn't been cheap.

The big difference here is I know how to tell the difference in good and great in mounts; not so much speakers.

 

[Kingnoob]

Wow, we really got you into trouble with you bank manager, didn't we?

Seriously though, you have picked some nice gear. Let is know how you get on with it.

By the way, tell Crutchfield, I want my share of the commission on that sale!

Seems the new q series ditched all those passive radiators? I haven’t heard that brand at all , KEF looks impressive but they seem significantly pricier than what I’m using. I assume they are less bright, ..

 

[lovinthehd]

Well, MyT is the full name, but I did abbreviate the AP1100GTO a bit. Which will give it away. Actually surprised MyT and google didn't.

To save the trouble, I do astrophotography, and the MyT is a telescope mount. It's a quite good one, very mid-range. Considered "Premium" actually. I bought one, and fought with it for months and months. I sold it and got the best mount in the class and never had the least bit of trouble with it, it just works, all the time, every time.

I can't tell you how many astrophotographers did something similar, going on the cheap side then realizing how annoying it is to know your results would be so much better if you hadn't been cheap.

The big difference here is I know how to tell the difference in good and great in mounts; not so much speakers.

I did try and search for those but got nothing like that, nor was that even in an area of expectation!

I think there's far more choice in speakers than those specific types of mounts . Someone I know recently tried the Kef route with a similar setup and found it inadequate for his spl goals, but that's just his experience otoh.....

 

[ski2xblack]

...I'm leaning strongly toward just blowing my kid's inheritance on the KEF's, but have a question about a comment in a review someone named Erin posted (who is apparently well known). He said:

"This speaker sounds fantastic but does need the benefit of sidewalls to provide a more overall neutral tonality. If these are used in a room where there are no sidewalls then they likely will sound a bit too "dark" thanks to their intended design. They also work well placed against the wall behind the speakers as they are designed to get some additional boundary gain."

The last sentence is good as going near the wall saves space, but the first two sentences are a problem as my side walls are way, way away (not measuring but maybe 15' on one side and 25' on the other from the centerline).
He actually concludes "Should look at other options" if no sidewalls.

Should I worry about that or assume an EQ/Dirac/etc can adjust?

I don't think you have much to worry about regarding what Erin said regarding sidewalls and tonality. Sure, yes, in your setup you basically have no sidewalls, so they may sound "dark". But from the looks of it, your room looks plenty lively, so the KEF's more dark or warm voicing will pay dividends. And they'll take to eq just fine if you want to spice it up. Erin loved 'em, and I think you will too. You made a good choice.

Not sure where you're at, but you may want to do some astrophotography right now. The northern lights are putting on a show, visible in Colorado, which almost never happens here.

 

[TLS Guy]

I did try and search for those but got nothing like that, nor was that even in an area of expectation!

I think there's far more choice in speakers than those specific types of mounts . Someone I know recently tried the Kef route with a similar setup and found it inadequate for his spl goals, but that's just his experience otoh.....

Was it the speakers, or the amp/receiver? I would expect a receiver to run out of gas before the speakers. It takes an awful lot of power to get to concert hall levels. The db. law you necessitates you have to increase power 10 fold to double the perceived loudness and that really clips your wings. That is why the design of a system that will achieve concert levels is such a formidable task.

 

[Linwood]

Not sure where you're at, but you may want to do some astrophotography right now. The northern lights are putting on a show, visible in Colorado, which almost never happens here.

Yeah, I was busy with living room destruction (construction starts today), and did not even look. The forecast was not to come nearly this far south, but apparently it did. As soon as my back and legs un-stiffen from yesterday's work, off to buy parts.

 

[everettT]

And they'll take to eq just fine if you want to spice it up. Erin loved 'em, and I think you will too. You made a good choice.

This is what a good speaker will do allow the user add EQ to their liking without adding unwanted coloration.

 

[everettT]

I did get the center. This is what I ordered:

991Q6MWA KEF Q6 Meta Walnut each center channel speaker
991Q1MWA KEF Q1 Meta Walnut pair Bookshelf Speakers (Walnut)
991Q11MWA KEF Q11 Meta Walnut each Floorstanding speaker (Walnut)
580TXRZ50 Onkyo TX-RZ50 Dolby Atmos home theater receiver
:)
[/QUOTE]

You should have no problem getting peaks of 100-105dbs with the Q11s, my only concern/issue is with the Onkyo as it wouldn't have been my first choice compared to the Denon 3800, and that is based on 1) measurements and 2) concern about the company's longevity.


Hopefully it performs well enough to your liking and nice choice on the speakers!

 

[Linwood]

You should have no problem getting peaks of 100-105dbs with the Q11s, my only concern/issue is with the Onkyo as it wouldn't have been my first choice compared to the Denon 3800, and that is based on 1) measurements and 2) concern about the company's longevity.

Yeah, that was a recommendation (well the RZ30) from a friend, I spent very little time on the AVR as I was planning on keeping mine at first, until I decided on the KEF's which my old Yamaha really would not have supported.

And Crutchfield had some wacky automation, because when I called them to talk, they somehow tied my inbound call to me browsing those on their website (I did not have an account there). He even started off the conversation with "were you just looking at the RZ30". Kind of creepy actually.

 

[everettT]

Yeah, that was a recommendation (well the RZ30) from a friend, I spent very little time on the AVR as I was planning on keeping mine at first, until I decided on the KEF's which my old Yamaha really would not have supported.

And Crutchfield had some wacky automation, because when I called them to talk, they somehow tied my inbound call to me browsing those on their website (I did not have an account there). He even started off the conversation with "were you just looking at the RZ30". Kind of creepy actually.

Yeah that would creep me out, lol. You absolutely didn't want the 30 and the 50 should be *ok* unless you put it in party mode aka all channel stereo as that will probably trigger the protection circuit at a moderate volume, FWIW.

 

[lovinthehd]

Was it the speakers, or the amp/receiver? I would expect a receiver to run out of gas before the speakers. It takes an awful lot of power to get to concert hall levels. The db. law you necessitates you have to increase power 10 fold to double the perceived loudness and that really clips your wings. That is why the design of a system that will achieve concert levels is such a formidable task.

A bit of both I think. He's reticent on adding a power amp to see if that's the difference, so he went to a higher sensitivity speaker instead. I've seen posts of broken coaxes on KEFs from high spl, tho.

 

[Linwood]

Yeah that would creep me out, lol. You absolutely didn't want the 30 and the 50 should be *ok* unless you put it in party mode aka all channel stereo as that will probably trigger the protection circuit at a moderate volume, FWIW.

Yeah, the house is old and frail not to mention the owner, so I do not expect to hit protection mode, as the cracking sheet rock is a pain to patch and paint.

 

[Kingnoob]

A bit of both I think. He's reticent on adding a power amp to see if that's the difference, so he went to a higher sensitivity speaker instead. I've seen posts of broken coaxes on KEFs from high spl, tho.

Don’t you gotta go above reference level or right at it for a while to blow the uni q? I rarely listen that loud with my Klipsch . But I already have ear pain issues so I doubt I’d ever listen loud enough to blow a kef. Hsu coaxials look decent but they don’t make towers but still higher sensitivity. I seem to have damaged a Klipsch surround speaker once but I never took it apart and checked out because I don’t know how to fix them . Prob not worth it.

 

[everettT]

Don’t you gotta go above reference level or right at it for a while to blow the uni q? I rarely listen that loud with my Klipsch . But I already have ear pain issues so I doubt I’d ever listen loud enough to blow a kef. Hsu coaxials look decent but they don’t make towers but still higher sensitivity. I seem to have damaged a Klipsch surround speaker once but I never took it apart and checked out because I don’t know how to fix them . Prob not worth it.

Reference level depends on what distance it is at and how long, 5 feet vs 16 feet is a huge difference, lol.

 

[Verdinut]

Reference level depends on what distance it is at and how long, 5 feet vs 16 feet is a huge difference, lol.

Compared to a distance of 5 feet from the loudspeakers with a SPL of 100 db, for the same loudness at 16 feet, the amplification would have to be 10.1 dB more, so ten times more amplifier power would be required.

 

[TLS Guy]

A bit of both I think. He's reticent on adding a power amp to see if that's the difference, so he went to a higher sensitivity speaker instead. I've seen posts of broken coaxes on KEFs from high spl, tho.

Interesting. Not sure what the order of the crossover is on those KEFs. I did blow a tweeter on a SEAS Coax in the center early on. They are a KEF design basically. The tweeter section was easily relaced. It was quite a simple repair. I did modify the crossover though, and redesigned a third order crossover on the tweeter instead of second order. So far there has been no repeat of the problem. I do not seem to be limited for adequate spl.

 

[lovinthehd]

Interesting. Not sure what the order of the crossover is on those KEFs. I did blow a tweeter on a SEAS Coax in the center early on. They are a KEF design basically. The tweeter section was easily relaced. It was quite a simple repair. I did modify the crossover though, and redesigned a third order crossover on the tweeter instead of second order. So far there has been no repeat of the problem. I do not seem to be limited for adequate spl.

Personally I'd probably be fine with adequate spl, this guy not so much otoh.

 

[Linwood]

 

[Linwood]

To say they sound better than what I had is an incredible understatement. I played some of the same movie intros as before (e.g. Stranger Things for the base, some of the new Star Trek just for the variety of sound types) and not only was it immensely better, but I heard obvious things with the new setup that were completely absent in the old, I think from the surround.

One item of interest. I was marveling at the base, and thinking how well they worked with the sub (as I thought it must be carrying a lot of the load in some of the deep rumbling) only to notice while I hooked up the RCA cord I literally had not plugged the power in for the sub.

I may have to start watching movies down there myself as opposed to my office, not just when I have guests.

Thank you everyone for leaving me poor, but quite happy.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

To say they sound better than what I had is an incredible understatement. I played some of the same movie intros as before (e.g. Stranger Things for the base, some of the new Star Trek just for the variety of sound types) and not only was it immensely better, but I heard obvious things with the new setup that were completely absent in the old, I think from the surround.

One item of interest. I was marveling at the base, and thinking how well they worked with the sub (as I thought it must be carrying a lot of the load in some of the deep rumbling) only to notice while I hooked up the RCA cord I literally had not plugged the power in for the sub.

I may have to start watching movies down there myself as opposed to my office, not just when I have guests.

Thank you everyone for leaving me poor, but quite happy.