Back on April 18, 2024, I had joined a live chat with Audioholics and a few speaker companies. They had about 5 or 6 giveaways for whoever asked questions and got chosen. I am very thankful I was selected and won this
RSL 10e Speedwoofer. It is a small but mighty powerhouse. James Larson did a really good writeup on it
RSL 10e Review and I agree with all of his comments. It can get quite loud and relatively deep, (it had decent output in the mid 20's) but can't keep up with bigger subs, which is not bad for a small sub in this price point. Gene requested to see some pictures with this sub installed in the room, however, my room is not finished, which is why I hesitated even putting pics, but we all start somewhere.
Thanks again for holding the live chats and giveaways!!
My first theater room in my first house, I built back in 2006-2008 range.
Now in 2024, I'm still in the planning, experimenting, and building in my theater room in my current (3rd) house. Modest basement room size 19'6" deep x 13'6" wide x 8'9" high. So far set up as
5.2.front-height, but the front height sometimes sound strange/hollow/tinny, depending on the movie scene. Because the height sounds like this, I want to get a used inexpensive Atmos receiver (anyone have one for sale or free?) to experiment with ceiling speaker placement and settings before getting something newer and more expensive. I have my front towers positioned just right that I can get a great phantom center image, but I know when the room is finally finished, I will have to try positions and toe angles again. I've been happy with it so far, even though the room isn't finished and I know I will need room treatments later. However, unfinished walls make pretty good diffusers. Even with my fronts up front and surrounds in the back corners, I still hear stuff in the middle of the side walls and constantly have to check to see if I accidentally installed speakers there. It's a cool feeling when it sounds so real and nothing is actually there. I also plan on making a floating riser (it will have supports), rather than closing it off. It would be fastened to the side and back walls, just the side in the middle of the room against the front row will be open, kind of like a giant bass trap. I might put some subs in there or maybe not. If I don't like it, I would just close it off. So far the temporary riser "table/shelf" I built (see pic below) is doing well and doesn't seem to impact the sound negatively. Maybe someday I will get some 21" or 24" in here.
The kicker is, I have a bunch of wires everywhere and extension cords all plugged into one 15Amp outlet next to my breaker panel.
Eventually, I plan to run at least two dedicated 20Amp lines into the theater room.
I cranked the crap out of it with
Jazz Variants that Jay's Audio Lab recommended to "test" your system capability. My breaker did not pop, everything held up, didn't sound distorted, and I did measure 99dB in the middle seat of my second row which is 15ft back from the fronts and front sub (the Stroker 18 is directly behind this seat). It was way louder than I would typically listen, but cool to know I can crank it up to 80 on the Marantz SR7007. It might could handle a little more volume, but I don't feel like blowing a tweeter or mid. The MalX18 amp was only set to half and maybe could have been turned up a little more.
My current system consists of:
- Marantz SR7007 Receiver that I bought used for $225 including Audessy mic (looking for a used Marantz or Anthem with Atmos to play around with that before finishing my theater build.
- Also I have a Marantz 2265 Stereo Receiver and Mitsubishi turn table
- Sony Blu-ray UBP-x700
- Apple TV 4K Gen 3 128GB (the gift I chose for my 20yr anniversary at my job)
- Rotel RB-1090 380wrms/ch powering Paradigm Studio 100v3 towers
- Rotel RMB-1075 powering Paradigm CC-590 center and Energy RC-R surrounds
- QSC RMX 1850HD powering my Cerwin Vega Stroker 18D4 in a ported 7cuft internal vol tuned to 23Hz behind the second row
- BASH 300S plate amp powering a MaelstromX 18 in a sealed 13.5cuft internal vol box up front (maybe need a bigger amp soon, but it's already loud and deep with this 300wrms)
- I might add the RSL 10e back in the system or maybe move it into my office or workshop
- Aura Bass Shaker Model AST-1B-4 Tactile Transducer mounted on each seat powered by a small Dayton Audio 70wrms plate amp
- dialed down to about 55Hz-60Hz low pass and just subtle enough gain that they blend really well with the subwoofers and are not annoying or overbearing
- Epson 8100 3LCD projector onto a temporary 150" acoustic transparent screen $25 from Amazon
- (eventually I'll change to a 4k Laser)
- Watson's Aspen 3 theater seats (listed for $3200 for three seats), I got on Facebook Marketplace for $500 for five seats! There's a little bit of cosmetic damage, but they are comfortable, and operate properly and smell like real leather because they are.
The RSL 10e looks tiny compared to the Cerwin Vega Stroker 18
The sealed box for the MaelstromX 18 is huge! 49" wide x 24" high x 25.25" deep. I was debting making it ported to 12Hz, but I already have decent response that I can sense/feel down to 8Hz. Nothing is "flat" because I don't have DSP, I need to redo Audessy, and when my Radio Shack SPL meter cooperates with REW, I will try to take a few measurements just for reference, or even whenever I get a UMIK. Previous measurements showed overall response is overall pretty good, plus my preference of bumping the bass up 6dB - 10dB, depending on the content.
So far, I'm liking the Energy RC-R in the corners on angle like this. I'm not sure if this will be my final placement or even the speakers I end up using in the end, but I have been pretty happy with them.
The riser will be wall to wall and come out 8ft from the back wall. That would be up to the back of the first row in this pic.
Outer wall has 5/8" drywall
Offset studs
Inner wall will have 1/2" Homasote and 5/8" drywall
Spectroid app on my OnePlus 12 phone. I know it doesn't show super linear because I still need to rerun Audessy and I have no DSP capability at the moment.
Playing Edge of Tomorrow at the very beginning. You can clearly see in the waterfall, 30Hz, 25Hz, 20Hz, 15Hz, 10Hz. The subsonics pressure could be felt in the room too. I can feel it down to 8Hz, but even though it's dropped off by a few db, you can still feel/sense it. Someday, I will redo measurements with a UMIK and REW. My old Radio Shack 33-2050 analog SPL meter into REW just isn't consistent anymore.
You can see the spikes in the red trace at 30Hz, 25Hz, 20Hz, 15Hz, 10Hz. All were audible or could be felt/sensed. Could it be better/more in the lowest region, possibly, but so far, I'm pleased.
