Time for an HT update. Jeff Permanian (JTR Speakers) offered me a “would you like to be a guinea pig for a new subwoofer” challenge back in April. He was calling the sub the Orbit Shifter and of course I accepted without hesitation. We set a date of June 12th as the delivery deadline and I scheduled a HT Meet for that day. He also built new Triple 12 LCR speakers for me with an “experimental” compression/midbass driver and crossover. Pretty exciting stuff but as always, the proof is in the pudding.
So last Friday at 1:30 am Jeff rolled into town (yes, he drove everything out from Chicago) and we spent Friday setting up for the Saturday Meet. To further complicate matters, I have Jeff Meier (Accucal) coming in Friday evening to calibrate my projector so time was tight and any problems would be disastrous.
Well everything came off fine and no problems surfaced except a missing power cable that required Jeff to do another 3+ hour round trip to Meyer Sound in Berkeley for a replacement PowerCon connector. Somehow, we got it all together in the nick of time so that we were ready for the Audio Video Calibration. Jeff Meier of Accucal arrived on time a spent the next 3 hours calibrating my JVC RS35 and then another 2.5 hrs on the audio calibration. Jeff is outfitted with the latest in AV measuring equipment (his
website has full details and prices) and does 200-300 calibrations per year. All that experience plus his meticulous approach made for an interesting few hours. He was able to dial the JVC in perfectly and his work on the audio produced a very pleasing a un-Audyssey like sound. After Jeff M left at nearly 11pm, Jeff P and I did a few quick demo runs then decided to call it a night.
The morning of the Meet gave Jeff and me a chance to put the system through its paces. Jeff wanted an all out stress test so we used War of the Worlds Bluray (CH 5 machine emerges). I had just received the disk but had not had a chance to listen to it. The relentless bass assault of that scene was like nothing I had ever experienced.
I believe 22 people attended the Meet and I took no pics
(a couple of people brought cameras and I will post any good shots of the group when I get them). Many made the 100 plus mile trek from the SF Bay Area and so these are some dedicated HT enthusiasts. IMO, the Orbit Shifter subs were the star of the show followed closely by the newly calibrated JVC RS 35 and the SeymourAV 126” AT Screen. The subs almost literally blew everyone away. They are a horn design (45”X22.5”X30”) with a custom 18”driver and an on-board 4Kw amp. These subs are far and away the best I have ever heard. They are flat to 7Hz in room and can put out close to 130 DB (@ the LP) along most of the covered frequencies. Why anyone would you want to do that is a valid question, but once you hear this level of performance it is addictive.
The experimental compression/midbass driver in my new T12’s has also been a nice upgrade. The clarity of the high frequencies regardless of volume is astonishing. Jeff is thinking about offering this in a ”HiFi version” of the T12 with a price point adjustment to cover the increased CD cost.
I realize that my comments sound hyperbolic, but if you read the responses of the HT Meet attendees (you can read them for yourself
here and
here), not to mention the private email’s I have received, you would know I am not alone in my praise of the JTR products.
Those responses were especially gratifying for Jeff P. He works incredibly long hours at his business and is essentially a one man band. Jeff is a shy and humble guy who does a fantastic job designing and building high performance, damn the aesthetics speakers. His approach fits my HT audio needs perfectly.
For me, this was a slightly stressful but ultimately satisfying experience. My HT hobby and hosting these HT Meets has allowed me to meet some really nice people who share my passion for all things AV. Since none of my “regular” friends share this HT passion, it has been very cool to be able to share what I have created with other hobbyists (everyone loves it, but these people get it
).
There are a couple of small things on the horizon that I plan to add. I ordered an XTZ Room Analyzer that will display the 16Hz and up FR and perhaps I will be adding the Audyssey Pro Kit as a FR tweaking tool. It is time for me to sit back and enjoy this massive attack HT system I have created. There are things in my life that require attention (like my very rusty golf game) and so I plan on spending less time thinking about the theater and more time enjoying it.
The Orbit Shifters:
