The "I swear honey the room is essentially done now" room

[kaseaman]

Hey everyone,

Been too long since I have been active on the forums so figured I would try to start back up again with some pictures of my current system. The room itself was an "bonus room" we added to our original Floorplan of our new build. The room is on the second floor of our house, adjacent to our guest room and above our garage - all the remaining walls are exterior. I also had the builders add insulation on the walls adjacent to the guest room to further keep noise down. Obviously not as crazy sound proofed as Gene's room but this does mean I can typically play movies as loud as I want without disturbing the family TOO much..

having said all that, here's the current equipment list.. and as the title suggests this is always a work in progress (much to the wife's dismay)

RECEIVER:
Yamaha RXA3060 (getting a bit old and this will probably be my next item I update)

ADDITIONAL AMPLIFICATION:
D-Sonic M3a-4500 (this is actually my newest edition I purchased last year and it's a great amp - runs cool, built like a tank, and provides all the power and detail I could ever need)

SOURCES;
Oppo UDP-203 (still love this player and don't see myself ever getting rid of it)
Roku Ultra (my main streaming device in my home theater)
Amazon Fire TV Cube (I really only use this to stream Amazon Music HD at this point)

PROJECTOR:
Sony VPL-HW45ES (runs quiet and still provides a good image even though it's only 1080p)

SPEAKERS (okay i lied about the receiver - these are actually the very next things to go!):
Energy Veritas based Atmos system
Energy Veritas V6.3
Energy Veritas V5.2C
Energy Veritas VS Surrounds
Energy Veritas V-Mini BS (i currnrly use these for my atmos speakers - i thought they would be a little too under powered for my room but once i hooked them up and set the appropriate crossovers they work pretty great for heights)

SUBWOOFERS
2x Rhythmik audio G25HP

MISCELLENEOUS:
Minidsp 2x4HD (probably one of the most significant improvements I made to the bass in my current room)
APC G5 Rack Power Filter
Harmony Elite remote control
Philips Hue lightinacoustic treatments by GIK acoustics
2 dedicated outlets - 20A and 15A
All other outlets are on another dedicated 15A circuit

 

[kaseaman]

Alright folks - the upgrades have begun (but are not finished quite yet). Officially have taken delivery of a Sopra 3 based home theater system and absolutely love it! I was a little worried if the speakers were going to overpower the room but they sound great and i have been able to EQ the extra bass energy as necessary. I ended up installing the 1000 series in walls for surrounds and in ceiling for atmos (amd as you can tell i moved the atmos speakers so they are in the proper place). Definitely think it just makes the room look much more clean.. And yes I am still rocking my old center because the Sopra is on backorder due to supply chain shortages..

Welcome any feedback/suggestions!

 

[Pogre]

Hey, that's looking really good! I'm a big fan of Focal speakers!

Minidsp 2x4HD (probably one of the most significant improvements I made to the bass in my current room)

I would have to agree! That Mini has helped me dial in such a nice linear response and made things sound so much better! Almost as significant as the subs themselves!

 

[kaseaman]

Thanks Porge much appreciated! Yes before I bought the minidsp i tried to just manually use the PEQ built into the Yamaha but it was super clunky and never gave me the control I needed to really dial in the bass. Also the ability to quickly mess around with the delays between the two subs and run sweeps to really make sure you have the subs time aligned was a game changer for me!

 

[Eppie]

Wow, that's quite the upgrade from the Energy speakers. Would love to hear the Sopras some day.

 

[kaseaman]

Wow, that's quite the upgrade from the Energy speakers. Would love to hear the Sopras some day.

If you are ever in the Phoenix area I can totally arrange it! There definitely isn't a shortage of dealers in Phoenix area - I was actually able to listen and direct compare (A/B with same electronics and room) them to Paradigm persona, Sonus Faber (don't remember the model - maybe olympica or something) and Martin Logan Renaissance...obviously listened to all the other heavy hitters too and with each listen, to me, the Focals came out on top... and yeah quite the upgrade from the Energys but i really didnt want to mess around with incremental upgrades and I told the wife this would be the last speaker purchase for me.. unless we move.. ha

 

[Eppie]

If you are ever in the Phoenix area I can totally arrange it! There definitely isn't a shortage of dealers in Phoenix area - I was actually able to listen and direct compare (A/B with same electronics and room) them to Paradigm persona, Sonus Faber (don't remember the model - maybe olympica or something) and Martin Logan Renaissance...obviously listened to all the other heavy hitters too and with each listen, to me, the Focals came out on top... and yeah quite the upgrade from the Energys but i really didnt want to mess around with incremental upgrades and I told the wife this would be the last speaker purchase for me.. unless we move.. ha

Thanks very much for the offer. I'm up in Canada but if I make it to that area would be happy to meet up with some forum members. Sonus Faber is on my list to check out as well.

 

[Pogre]

I live in Mesa!

 

[afterlife2]

Beautiful setup. Reminds me to put up my 720 PJ. I have it on my dresser for now. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow. Enjoy!

 

[kaseaman]

I live in Mesa!

Oh nice! I am up in the Scottsdale area and always down for demos! We actually have a small Audio group that gets together monthly and our most recent meet-up was at my place (we post our monthly meets on AVS).. PM me in case you want more info about it!

 

[kaseaman]

Beautiful setup. Reminds me to put up my 720 PJ. I have it on my dresser for now. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow. Enjoy!

Thanks so much! If the true 4k projectors ever come down in price I may snag one up but given how inflation is going these days I may be waiting a while

 

[afterlife2]

Thanks so much! If the true 4k projectors ever come down in price I may snag one up but given how inflation is going these days I may be waiting a while

Yeah I want 4K PJ too, but way too pricey. Maybe this Christmas they will drop. I do wonder what is the cheapest budget 4K PJ available right now. Probably $1,500...

 

[kaseaman]

Yeah I want 4K PJ too, but way too pricey. Maybe this Christmas they will drop. I do wonder what is the cheapest budget 4K PJ available right now. Probably $1,500...

Full/real 4k I think is the Sony at like $5,500 msrp now... if you go 4k via pixel shift then there are much better deals through Epson and Optima

 

[3db]

Thats some sweet room and equipment you have their kaseaman. I'm a big of the MiniDSP2x4HD having two myself, one for each system.

 

[kaseaman]

Thats some sweet room and equipment you have their kaseaman. I'm a big of the MiniDSP2x4HD having two myself, one for each system.

Thanks 3db! And yes Gotta love those MiniDSPs!

 

[Alex2507]

quite the upgrade from the Energys

No kidding!

... I bought the minidsp ...

It's interesting that with all the high dollar upgrades, a modestly priced doo-dad also gets high honors.

That mini DSP thingy might end up being the next thing I buy that I don't know how to use.

Thanks

 

[kaseaman]

It really is! But I kinda think thst is why it gets such high praise.. you would expect the high dollar upgrades to provide significant improvements bit with the minidsp I had a nasty suckout between 40 - 50HZ in my room and with the minidsp I was able to place the subs properly and time align/EQ so the suckout is gone.. and really no upgrade in subs/speakers could have allowed me to accomplish that. Now having said that, I am trying with getting a 16 channel dorac live processor and seeing with DLBC can do. I few local guys have actually put their miniDSPs up for sale after they made that switch so we will see if I follow suit...

 

[kaseaman]

Just a quick update on a new development.. I have officially sold my DSonic amplifier and am anxiously awaiting an ATI AT543nc (it's been on order for three months now - they are saying mid-may ETA).. As a result, I have officially decommissioned my theater for the next few weeks...