Pulled the trigger on JTR Triple 8's

[jsulse]

Was waiting on the Aperion Verus review but could not wait, just missed it apparently by a few hours! Went and called Jeff to order up 3 Triple 8's for the LCR duties this afternoon. Also, same deal with the subs. Decided not to wait for the Hsu VTF-15 review. Heading down to SoCal tomorrow to pick up 2 VTF-15's to handle the low stuff.

For the rears will most likely get 2 Berhringer TRUTH B2030P or TRUTH B2031P for now unless other better options could be recommended.

Since this system is being built from scratch it will be at least 6 weeks (JTR lead time for custom finish, required per WAF) till I can post a review of the system. Hopefully, I can get all the other equipment before they arrive.

Choice for AVR and amp for LCR still being researched. Read some interesting things about commercial amps, Yamaha's in particular. Not really convinced I need to get a super high watt amp for the JTR's because they have a 98db sensitivity with 4 ohm impedance. RCA to XLR adapters etc. might be needed. Need to keep it simple so I don't open up a "can of worms" with hum noise. Would be nice if I can find a quality AVR around $500-$800 with XLR out puts with the correct voltage to interface with the commercial amps without a product like Art Pro Audio Clean Box. Emotiva 3 channel amp could/should be a good non-commercial choice instead? Oh, then there are the EQ's to consider, my brain has yet to process all the info regarding them.

My room is acoustically "bright". No soft surfaces what so ever just hard wood floors and large windows. Will soften the room as budget allows.

Thanks to all for putting up with my "newbie" posts with very informative replies over the last few weeks, sure learned plenty!

J

 

[jostenmeat]

RCA/XLR cables are cheap, look at Monoprice. However, a receiver might be perfectly fine assuming you buy a decent one, that you're not hitting reference levels from 20ft in a 8000 cu ft room, yada yada.

I'm not sure that Emo's amps are truly balanced, and if true, I have no idea what the purpose of having XLRs would be (there very well might be a purpose, but I don't what that is). IOW, with an Emo, I don't think you need to find XLRs on a receiver, and TBH, I can't think of a receiver that has them at ANY price. Did the 5308 have them? Off googling . . . Eh not even the 5308 . . .

IF you go with commercial amps, and want EQ for cheaper, look at Crown Xti amps. You can DL BandManager, and plug your laptop directly to amp with mini usb. You can have 20 presets, playing with all sorts of stuff.

There is a guy that I chatted quite a bit with in Socal who has Triple8s in the garage, behind an AT screen, and he gets plenty of volume with a receiver.

 

[jcl]

With 98 db sensitivity those will get pretty loud with a receiver at 100+ w/ch.

If you need to go the external amp route and want to go pro there are a number of prosumer amps that have unbalanced phono inputs to keep things simple. The Crown XLS drivecore and the QSC GX are two that I found with a quick google:

http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/xls_drivecore.htm

http://www.qscaudio.com/products/amps/gx/

Just remember that most pro amps have forced air cooling, so you may need to account for the fan noise - at least if you turn the volume down....

 

[KEW]

Depending on if you get much feedback here, you might inquire in a new thread about using Dipoles (like the ones Emotiva ERD-1's vs. the Behringers for your surrounds). Several people have commented that the dipoles are better as surround speakers. I think it is a matter of not having sound from the surrounds being localized.

 

[GranteedEV]

Choice for AVR and amp for LCR still being researched. Read some interesting things about commercial amps, Yamaha's in particular. Not really convinced I need to get a super high watt amp

Don't think you do either but 200 watts would get you all the power you could ever ask for.... I would consider it as it would get you to reference levels in pretty much any room for the rest of your life.. Just make sure the commercial amps have a low noise floor and that includes fan noise if it's gonna be in the same room.

RCA to XLR adapters etc. might be needed. Need to keep it simple so I don't open up a "can of worms" with hum noise.

I believe XLR can still transmit a ground loop... I would do some more research if that were my motivations.

Would be nice if I can find a quality AVR around $500-$800 with XLR out

Cheapest I can think of would be the Marantz AV7005 or upcoming Emotiva XMC. Beyond that receivers are not likely to have XLR out. It's not an issue though. If your amp has XLR-in, just get a simple monoprice RCA-Male-to-XLR-Male cable.

puts with the correct voltage to interface with the commercial amps without a product like Art Pro Audio Clean Box.

Even most receivers will have the pre-output voltage to drive a pro amp to full power without clipping. I would stay away from the Clean Box or even the (superior but still flawed) Samson S-Convert. You simply don't need this unless you've got a receiver with very poor pre-outs. Most decent receivers should do 4-5v RMS before clipping and most amps, including pro-amps, only require 1.5-2.0 v RMS to be driven to full power AFAIK. They just might need a bit more gains in the level trims is all, but that's countered by the sensitivity of your speakers anyways.

Emotiva 3 channel amp could/should be a good non-commercial choice instead? Oh, then there are the EQ's to consider, my brain has yet to process all the info regarding them.

Emotiva is a good no-nonsense choice. My personal choice would be a partially DIY hypex amp. It shouldn't too hard if you're willing to read up on it, and what it's got over the emotiva stuff is power efficiency.

http://www.hypex.nl/

A few other choices you might wanna consider would be

-ATI B-Stock from classic Audio Parts
-Behringer A500s

My room is acoustically "bright". No soft surfaces what so ever just hard wood floors and large windows. Will soften the room as budget allows.

Forget "softening" the room for now. First focus on diffusion at first reflection points.

 

[jsulse]

Briefly, how does one go about "diffusing at first reflection points"? Need to keep the treatments some what stylish.

I will research more on the commercial amps application and the partially DIY hypex amp in particular. However, if the HT amps like Emotiva can get me 90% there for a slight premium without any hassles then it may make sense for me right now, can always upgrade...

 

[GranteedEV]

Briefly, how does one go about "diffusing at first reflection points"? Need to keep the treatments some what stylish.

I can't help ya too much to be honest. I'm not an expert in room treatments.

What I can say is that I think you should contact a few acoustic treatment companies (Auralex, GIK Acoustics, and ATS) and get some opinions from them. They live and breath this stuff so they can really tell you what will help most. I can give suggestions but they'll be nowhere near as on-point (and practical) as you could get from a professional!

What I can suggest is

-If you've got leather or vinyl sofas, cover them with cloth. It really attenuates higher frequency reverb that can occur
- Have about 2 or 3 inches of Owens Corning 703 on the floor, and cover that with a rug. It can be very inconspicuous.
- GIK sells acoustic panels which you would place at first reflection points.
- Do whatever you can to the ceiling. It's the toughest part to aesthetically treat unfortunately. I think diffusor panels are the best way to go while still looking artsy but even they can raise an eyebrow. Again, focus on the first reflection points for the time being.
- Get measurement equipment to measure reverb
- Bookshelves, video shelves, anything like that!

So what is a first reflection point? It's where, if you placed a mirror, you would see the speaker from your seating position while looking at the wall or ceiling or floor. This is how you find it by the way.

With placement, I think 3 feet from any boundary is the best way to go, with about about 8-12 feet from L to R and the center in between. Some speakers do lack sufficient bass in this sort of placement but I think the JTRs should be fine. Discussing it with the manufacturer is always a good way to go though.

I don't really believe in heavy absorption. Sure, bass trapping in corners and maybe behind the speakers and behind you (if there's a wall behind you or the speakers) but not at key reflection points as it gives a "closed-in" padded room sound. The more absorption you need, the less consistent with on axis that the off-axis response of your speakers likely is.

But yes, I think getting the room right is a good bit of the end result.

 

[TheGovernment]

Good call man, I have the T12's and love the crap out of them (coming from studio 100's)

 

[KEW]

What I can suggest is

-If you've got leather or vinyl sofas, cover them with cloth. It really attenuates higher frequency reverb that can occur

True, but it is a lot easier to clean feces off of leather or vinyl after you've had guests who weren't prepared for the dynamic impact of the JTR's!