My home cinema

[andyblackcat]

Seating will be coming up in next week or so for re-fit with new seating platform and back row seating will be moved 20" away from back wall with front row more less same distance from back row with a few extra inches forward on front row.

 

[andyblackcat]

Multiple STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE laserdisc DVD-RW original DOLBY STEREO showing and black cat Sooty, digs captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. The "THX Cimarron" I have fitted on the start of the film, made my cat jump.

The surrounds level has been balanced down in level and whole arrays sound even more, far more immersive surround.

"I will feed him"
Worf

Aye, the surrounds have enough power now captain.

Jerry Goldsmith, score at the end unbeatable.

 

[andyblackcat]

Another AVR Denon AVR-1603, arrived a few days ago that will serve as (external 5 channel amplification) for part of the surround channels.

At present its not wired up as I need to get some leads/cables and speaker cable.

Packing was excellent this is how items should be packed.

It almost looks brand new.

Deon AVR-1603 is powered up and awaits cables/leads.

 

[andyblackcat]

Stripped the Hitachi LCD projector down for a clean up a few days ago.

Cleaned the lens and prism and decided to fully remove and clean all the x3 LCD panels and coloured filters.

Green Red LCD panel

Red, red LCD panel.

Visual inspection of the prism looking for dust/dirt that has attached itself to the optics over the years and needs to be cleaned off.

Needs blow and wipe with optical cloth.

The lamp still has thousands and few odd hundred hours left on it for little 6 years use.

Every time a change needs to be made to the LCD panels the whole topside board has to be unplugged its a long process.

Protected 1min on the kitchen wall and took a picture so I can use it to check each time. When I finally got the LCD panels aligned I didn't take a final picture as I was relived I lined them up and wanted to get some sleep.

Aligning three LCD panels up so the images of each one that is bounced around inside the prism and though the lens overlap has taken me 15 hours. Looking though the lens at really close up with eye against the lens and turning it around the prism attached and looking at the outer edges of each of the three primary colours to see if each are overlaying on the other.

Overall its proportional cleaner than it was before. Maybe I should do this once a year but I think I'll get a compressed can of air to blow the dust away next time as I given it thorough clean.

 

[andyblackcat]

My own affordable Dolby atmouse with UCI Overhead and Below surround so immersive I have to keep my cat out of the THX cinema.

 

[andyblackcat]

These JBL control 1, are great with provided bracket I can actually balance it for Dolby atmouse elevation height surround.

There I created Dolby atmouse enable elevation. This is centre enable I'll do the centre below one next so I can hear Fox Mulder peeing up against an ID4 poster in The X-Files Fight The Future as hearing him weeing 5.7 feet up in the air on the HF horns makes no sense unless he's arcing upwards?

The cat and atmouse.

TEX as THX approved the JBL control 1 Dolby atmouse enable plusII speaker.

 

[gene]

Andy the look on your cats face as he eyes the ATMOuSe speaker is priceless. You better watch out he doesn't eat it

Your setup is insane man. I'm still trying to figure out how your mixing all of those channels.

 

[andyblackcat]

Gene, your thinking about the AVR's? Simple. Just use the external input and you have 5 or 7 channels of amplification for as little as £100.00 or less.

Oh, reminds me to get some cable/leads on Thursday to get the other Denon up and running.

 

[gene]

Andy;

Please provide a procedure on how you use an old 5.1 receiver for floor channels. Do you use the analog ext inputs or toslink or hdmi? What input signal is the old receiver being fed? What decode mode do you have the receiver in? What delays do you set the floor speakers to? I'd like to better understand what your doing here. thanks.

 

[andyblackcat]

Gene, I use the Dolby CP45 sidewall surrounds to Ext input on one of the AVR's in the kitchen to power the speakers. It can be done in several ways, its easy.

Centre output on the CP45 goes to the ceiling and rear surround underneath the seating. I like to fit switching so I can swap the centre ceiling to underneath as and surround to ceiling. The trick to get the train scene form The Peacemaker (1997) to pass underneath the seating as you see the train leaving the nuclear facility, leaves the screen at below angle and then ends up on the surrounds phantom but draws my attention upwards and glancing all around. It sounds better when it pans underneath. But like matrix, and film mix, if helicopters suddenly appear on screen from upward angle centre of screen or corner-to-corner. Get the idea? This is where atmos fails as there just isn't enough channels to go in upper/lower corners side/rear walls and below the seating and 9 screen channel array.

I can't matrix the fronts for heights what would be the point? What about sound images that can happen below the LCR stage channels? That is why PLIIz can't make agent Fox Mulder, peeing on ground next to ID4 poster in The X-Files Fight the Future (1998). Only way it can be done is discretely. But Dolby atmos and the others are just copying the others with overhead surround. Their thinking is so two dimensionally.

The current latest Denon AVR1602 is only PLII and I need two matched AVR of same with PLIIx to do the stereo overhead and below. At present its only mono overhead/below.

 

[gene]

Andy Let me see if I follow you.

Let's say your running a standard 7.1 speaker layout.

Are you suggesting to now use the preout of your primary processor to connect the line level side channels analog outs to a second receiver's multi-ch front L/R inputs. Then put the 2nd receiver in PLII mode and feed the floor speakers the matrixed side channels?

If this is the case, then those channels will in fact be mono.

Why not just run a separate digital feed to a secondary receiver so you can get discrete side channels for the floor? You can then add digital delay to compensate for the different distances relative to the listening position.

I don't see how this won't be a mess either way to be honest since your duplicating the same info for multiple speakers in a small listening space.

 

[andyblackcat]

Gene, not really duplicating more less subtracting the + or - signals.

The main AVR onkyo feed 8ch to Sony SDDS on AUX1 PRESET 6 via D-25 lead.

The Dolby CP500 has two non-sync inputs that are programmable. I have USER1 U1 for all players in the room and that input lead feed is coming from the Onkyo RECORD OUTPUT so what ever mode I switch to on AVR for...

Sony bluray (DVD HDIMI 1)

Philips bluray (VCR/DVR HDMI 2)

Toshiba HD-DVD (CBL/SAT HDMI 3)

Pioneer DVD multi-region (GAME/TV coaxial on one of coxial inputs)

Pioneer Laserdisc player Dolby AC-3 dts (AUX1 I have optical lead for dts and coaxial for Dolby AC-3 and I have to make manual switching on the AVR when playing Dolby AC-3 to make sure its on coaxial 3 and for dts I have to switch the DIGITAL INPUT to optical 1)

I have RCA leads for Lt-Rt all sent to each of the above so they sync up with Dolby CP500 where its 6ch outputs are sent Sony SDDS on AUX2 PRESET 7. I can switch PRESETS without any sound-breaks in the sound. If it was top notch AVR then it would have sound-breaks when comparing digital to analogue.

The Dolby CP500 6ch outputs are fed to Sony SDDS via D-25 lead to AUX2.

The 8ch from the Sony SDDS 8ch MAIN OUTPUTS are fed to the THX Sound System terminal block inputs.

LCR full range are divided up into two halves LF bass HF treble for the compression horns. The outputs...
Left Lo/Hi
Centre Lo/Hi
Right Lo/Hi
^^ those outputs go to kitchen by a long cable to one of the AVR's EXT INPUTS where it bypasses all surround processing. I only use the AVR as cheap means of low cost amplifiers. It feeds to a Yamaha RVX650 for HF horns LCR. So that leaves 4 other inputs that are all used up of all 7 internal amps. I have bass shakers on two channels for back row and front row seats and the feds are coming from its a bit complicated to explain, but it works believe me. I have I have one channel for BELOW SURROUND MONO that feed is coming form one of the Dolby CP45 for sidewall surrounds and I can switch it ON/OFF depends on the mood and the film and again my mood. If you treat me with £1.00 ice cream x8 flavors I might switch it ON.

You understand the BELOW matrix surround rear is feed from rear of the decoders matrix LCRS. The next input feed on the AVR is for rear sub bass extension so I given it a lot of thought to get as many channels on the EXT.

The LF outputs from the THX sound system
Left Lo
Right Lo
Those feeds go to Alesis RA300 one RA300 for L/R and second RA300 for centre Lo and LFE.1 is fed to the last channel on RA300 is plenty loud enough in small room.

The surround channels that are feed to THX sound system are
LS left surround
RS right surround
LC left rear back surround
RC right rear back surround

Yes I had to send the rear back surrounds to LC RC on the SDDS (re-wire re-plugging) I like that.

The surrounds are going to Denon AVR 3803 on EXT and feed outputs go to the surrounds around and around the room. The AVR is plenty power loudness for 85db where all surround each side is balanced to equal a single stage channel LCR. Otherwise it would be bloody LOUD!

The other Denon AVR 1602 that arrived two weeks ago I still have to get that rigged up as waiting for some thicker speaker cable to re-wrire the surrounds into a I hope but I'm, 1 channel shy so might need to get another matched Denon so I have equal amounts of channels.

The 1602 only has 5ch internal amps I would have liked to got 7.1 Denon, but I saw none cheap enough for budget at time.

When I get around to matched AVR with PLIIx I'll redo the whole surrounds for my own diy cheap cost surround excitement, until such time atnmos and the others do discrete BELOW SURROUND for pysical placement underneath seating.

I have Marantz 1050 wow these vintage amps are bulletproof made. Still running. I have 1050 to run the overhead matrix centre + output from CP45 into left/right mono overhead. The second 1050 runs a JBL smaller 12" sub happily and enough lows boom balanced a shade below the LCR channels to extend the lows down a bit more without being OVERKILL LOUD like some do.

I can explain the set-up several other ways.

The sub bass shakers I get the feeds from THX or wired onto main inputs LCR SW and fed to audio mixer 6ch so I have 6ch line-input faders and set the pan pots to 0 so the levels are fed to each side and use output pan pot to adjust level for sub bass seat shakers so they are just noticeable along with in-room sub bass where it vibrates seat.

Oh the level outputs form the mixer feed to Haman Hardon AVP1a THX and set at 80Hz so I filter off the rest of the upper midrange bands and I have main fader level for in-room sub bass and the seat shakers.

The SW/LFE.1 can play ether as SW for analog and digital LFE.1 when switching on the SDDS PRESETS thou as you know matrix doesn't have LFE.1 its just a equal level of lows from LCR to extend but I trim the levels better than an AVR as the lows for matrix are set on Dolby CP500 and LFE.1 is set a bit higher though the Onkyo TX-SR875 with +10db and I have my eyes on the levels on SDDS meter outputs if its in red OVER all the time that is bad and there are only few films that are OVER MIXED FAR TOO LOUD. War of the Worlds (2005) STAR TREK Into Deafness (2013).

The bass shakers are fitted inside the seat buckets so they are hidden. The seats vibrate at different low frequency or random frequencies depends on the film mix? If its rumble track like EARTHQUAKE (1974) the armrests the seat back and seat bucket all shimmer, lol. So I can use less in-room sub bass that can damage ears if playing EARTHQUAKE at 120db that lasts 10 MINUTES!! That is not healthy for ears its mindless. I have suffered tinnitus due to SENSURROUND 70mm EARTHQUAKE and Battlestar in mono SENSURROUND since 1979, when I became aware of inner-ear noise white noise. Not nice and I have tried committing suicide a few times. I suffer depression, manic depression, I'm bipolar and I have a bit more sh!t in my life that I don't care for.

Playing ones home cinema at 120db or mindless idiots in cars at 150db I hope they get terminal hearing loss! They are aware of dangers yet they persist. I guess they can't read? You need only go over the threshold level of what audiologists say is risky dangerous.

Would you look at the sun though a telescope without the sub filer attached to eye piece? I forgot on time around late 1979 or early 1980 and I had temporary blindness for 8 mins! Reminds of that TOS STAR TREK when Spockm, is blinded and his, eyesight is restored at the end of the show. "We Vulcan's have an inner eyelid".

85dbA is loud enough I allow dbC for 100dbC today maybe 105dbC but I watch the dbA level that it says below 85dbA or peaks only at 85dbA. Its plenty loud enough in the room. If no else can't hear the highs above 8KHz then they have shot-away hearing.

I'm lucky I can hear above 10KHz to 16KHz that sounds narrow tiny wavelength. It sounds like tone is pinching my ear I feel it. if played at insane db level it would be PAINFUL!! if we were like robots we need only plug in new microphones. Its unfortunately not like that and those tiny inner-ear hairs is like mowing the grass only grass grows back.

That's my morning rant. Now I have to buy a few boxes of £1.00 ice cream lollies.


Oh I forgot that the THX sound system, you really should buy one they often show up cheap on eBay.

It has PROCESSOR monitor and AMP monitor that I can see frequency levels on the TrueRTA or Spectrum Lab or REW I can get levels so flat internally, but as you know the in-room sound is total opposite form the internal. But I can get sound levels better with the THX than any other way. The AMP returns I can match freq/phase and all up. Check if amp is failed or working and double check on PROCESSOR to determine the type of fail. No THX sound system on eBay at present and I brought x2 of them that had the original THX crossover cards that are normally sent back to Lucasfilm Ltd, as they are only leased to the cinema.

CP45 surround delay can be adjusted for delaying surround channel that is used for Below surround matrix expansion. 0 is no delay and turning it clockwise to 1 and so on changes the m/s milliseconds delay time.

 

[andyblackcat]

Playing a bit of an unstoppable creature drooling though the air shaft vents looking for a dinner? Its found Dallas, yummy. I think I'll have some dinner and cocoon him for breakfast tomorrow.

ALIEN (1979) THX Laserdisc
70mm Dolby Stereo AC-3 / Lucasfilm Ltd THX Sound System / JBL professional

1080p 60Hz upscale

The above scene with the Dolby CP500 levels on back-up analog mode playing below.

There is format 11 on the CP500 I like to connect up again with dtsCAD-5 but its rather tricky with dtsES on so few titles I guess doesn't matter since 5.1 is such a common and widely used format.

The SDDS is set to PRESET 6 for digital and I can switch to PRESET 7 analog where levels will be a bit diffrent as its Dolby matrix mix, only the digital has the exclusive 70mm mag master for laserdisc only not on bluray.

Levels for the surrounds for analog are set down a few db with equal levels so they sum up and surround the sidewall arrays evenly around the seating.

The rockets firing on surrounds sound cool here in Dolby AC-3 THX sound system JBL. Direct reading on TrueRTA peak hold.

 

[andyblackcat]

The THX leaflet was given to me at Empire Leicester Square, when I was invited into the box Friday 14th February 1992 when STAR TREK VI was playing in 70mm Dolby Stereo SR SS (THX).

"From this chair to yours its audio that surrounds you"

Its rare and never seen one show up on eBay. These where likely handed out to THX cinemas but doubtful for the public.

 

[andyblackcat]

A quick shuffle around a few nights ago moved the tv stand out and slipped one of the smaller JBL subs GTO1202D underneath centre and placed the LG LCD on top. Now if that was a CRT the colour would be messed up within seconds and would take a day or too get the colour sorted.

It may appear low but from front row its eye-level from back row viewable as the seats are rockers anyone sat in front would be at lower slanted back angle.

I like to get a bracket and mount it back up higher within 1/2 of the top of the stage and get it all finished with a baffle so the flat screen will be covered and baffle covered with dark fabric to absorb reflections and speakers all flush.

 

[andyblackcat]

I was going to move the 18" JBL sub up onto the stage but even with driver removed 32Ilbs didn't lighten it all that much it feels like its 80Ilbs and I don't have HULK sized arms. It takes two lift it.

No matter I tried slipping in brace between the back and front with a bit of cut to size wood that should have been 18 years ago when the cabinet was made, but me and my friend had no inside plans to work with expect a tiny picture and dimensions to work with.

I need to get some counter-sink screws to fit them flush with extra millimeter sank in at the front and little dab of No Nails cover it and sanded down and a new can of spray paint Saturn black, to give it a light coating.

I tapped on the baffle before noted the sound and placed the wood between tapped again, much better.

I need to get some more foam glue it down cover the sides and front.

All was made with 18" MDF cut to size and hole cut out by my friend at school at the wood work shop, put together at his home and sanded down glued together and screwed with batten inside and all screw fixing was done from the inside so no screws are visible on the outside.

Another friend finished the fabrication paint work spray paint x1 can of primer and x3 cans of Saturn black around July 1997, as I just got STAR TREK FIRST CONTACT on THX AC-3 Laserdisc then.

 

[andyblackcat]

A minor repair to ALESIS RA300 relay circirt with a brand new one of x2 low profile types that a close friend ordered and dropped of this afternoon and has taken me about 1 hour from taking apart desoldring the older relay that is expected of some common faults been reported by many in group forums. The new relay has been soldered into placed and pins checked to see if they are firmly in place. Tested with short lead to make sure it turns on. The new relay has different click ON sound after a few seconds when switching amp ON.

De-soldered the older relay.

Got watch don't touch the capacitors 63v wouldn't be nice.

Soldering up the new low profile relay.

Finished soldering.

New relay low profile and board ready to be fitted back in the amp.

Alesis RA300 fitted back and tested with some SW pink noise form CP500 as I'm using the amp in bridge for the 18" JBL sub. All appears to be working and since fitted back as been running fine now for 30 mins.

 

[KEW]

I've got to say, your ambition and dedication to this project is amazing!

 

[andyblackcat]

I've got to say, your ambition and dedication to this project is amazing!

Cheers.

 

[andyblackcat]

Started fitting up the JBL Control 5, at 2:30am for overhead surrounds and removing the JBL control 1 for more BELOW SURROUND EXPANSION for today's new film, Interstellar (2014) dtsHDMA 5.1 rehearsals early around 8:45am or 10am I'm guessing when it arrives today.

Fitted up the hardest part the boxes that had a few run in troubles as doing all by one self. All screwed up tightly good ceiling this is. I should have this finished by 7:30am and start pink noise testing alignment.

Update the when the baffle drivers are all fitted in place a little later on before 7:30am.