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02-27-2003, 02:51 PM | #1 |
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OT: Home theatre subwoofer heaven
It took a looong time, but I finally have the sound system I dreamed of over 10 years ago.
Last night I finished and installed my second (yes, not one but 2) subwoofer. They are NHT1259 12" drivers, each with their own 250watt amp. Cabinets are rabetted MDF with internal plywood bracing dadoed in -- my other hobby is woodworking. Finish is gloss black. I have carefully balanced the sub levels to the rest of my system to less than 0.5dB (using Radio Shack analog SPL). These subs are very musical, transitioning seamlessly from the rest of my system (all Vifa drivers). In-room with the corner reinforcement one of them has, they measured (to the limits of the RS SPL) flat to 23Hz! Beautiful, detailed reproduction of classical orchestral, close-mic'd jazz groups and female voice with excellent imaging. Of course, much of that has to do more with the upper frequencies I know, but what is being reproduced by these subs unobtrusively blends into the rest of the sound stage, just as it should. Tonight, before everyone goes to bed, I'll try Telarc's 1812 Overture with the digital cannons. But what about movies? I put in XXX and jumped to the avalanche scene. Even though I had the sound turned way down low (after 11 and the children were in bed in the next room) this made the whole house shake and made me believe the avalanche was about to land on me ... just as it should. I also tried the "building planet Bob" sequence from Titan AE and the journey home end sequence from Mission to Mars. Give me time and I'll try more movies from my collection. I probably bought the NHT1259 drivers almost a dozen years ago during the first internet group buy from the Bass list. I've had one built and running for quite some time, but now I finally have two. Why two? Partly because I could. Partly because I wanted to totally eliminate any nodal cancellation in the room. But mostly because I wanted something totally awesome! -- Bill
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02-27-2003, 03:03 PM | #2 |
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/continues gameshow voice
And SOOOO the next Tampa Area get together is at Bill's house. But instead of watching movies we can play some xbox racing games. Yes some games on the xbox are DTS. Nice Bill, sounds pretty awesome. |
02-27-2003, 03:53 PM | #3 |
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i really like your approach of using (2) smaller drivers instead of a mondo-sized single driver. and using the spl meter to balance them is a step many people don't do!
sounds like a nice setup! |
02-27-2003, 04:47 PM | #4 | |
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Quote:
Although the Yamaha receiver I have supports 6.1 I have it configured for 5.1 (no rear-center speaker). And games look great on the 51" TV! -- Bill |
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02-27-2003, 04:51 PM | #5 | |
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The family room that this is in is a moderate size but is also open to the kitchen. Without lots of support (which 2 seperately amped drivers give) the sound was being lost. As to the SPL meter, I'm a bit of a purist. Probably my music training background: vocal through the Royal Conservatory and classical saxaphone studying under Paul Brodie. My ears are getting older and losing their high-frequency discrimination, but I still can tell when a system is too bright or bass heavy! -- Bill |
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02-27-2003, 09:25 PM | #6 |
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Yay Vifa drivers. I got to know the audio engineering professor when I was at Georgia Tech, and all of his speaker cabinet designs used Vifa drivers. Being an audio design engineer, I love to see people build their own systems. Did you build the amps yourself? We should definitly invade Bill's house for a gathering! Who's got Best Motoring Vol. 5??
Yay Telarc's 1812 Overture. That's the one with the strong 10-15Hz tones it, right? Yay saxamaphone! I play sax. I'm not exactly classically trained, more like specializing in Basketball pep band! Yay Beer! Chris |
02-27-2003, 09:44 PM | #7 |
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want a third? i'll sell you my 15" kicker solobaric and a kenwood 210xt amp for $500. all it does is give me headaches, but really sounds great if you like feeling your music.
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02-27-2003, 10:44 PM | #8 |
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My best friend has two Defintive speakers at the front (750 watts apeice) and two Definitive speakers in the rear (250 watts each)... .let me just say... that .. well, there are no words to describe it. You know the THX subwoofer crossover test? good golly!!!!!! correct me if im wrong, but doest the crossover go down to 10 or 15 hz? All i know, is that the Defitives go down as far as the test does, maybe further. His front door is loble to come off the hinges one day
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02-27-2003, 11:06 PM | #9 | |||||
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One of the last brews I made was an awesome oatmeal cream stout. This was an all-grain (no extract) brew. Yep, I mashed. I made a cyser (cider-mead) that was unbelievable. And once a barley wine that was sooooo smooth but 12% alcohol! Mmmm... I'm getting thirsty! -- Bill |
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02-28-2003, 12:01 AM | #10 | |
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02-28-2003, 12:21 AM | #11 |
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Wow man, sounds like an awesome system. Congrats!
I love homebuilt systems that sound great... it's so much more satisfying to build it yourself and have it perform wonderfully. Well done. |
02-28-2003, 07:15 AM | #12 |
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nhluhr: OK, I understand what you mean. Yes, this (2 drivers) is a better way to satisfy the mixed requirements I have: excellent musical reproduction while still being able to deliver the punch-in-the-gut feeling required for major action films.
BTW, these are the same subs that were in the former top-of-the-line NHT speakers that sold for $3000 ea. Porter: thank you. I've heard some very poorly done DIY speaker systems. I've also had the opportunity to hear a few really well done systems. I've always wanted to do my own main speakers but wanted to do it right. I couldn't afford all the test gear that I needed to really do it right. I used to know someone who had what I needed, but he lives 1500 miles north of me now. A little far for tweaking the crossover. -- Bill |
02-28-2003, 08:28 AM | #13 |
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Right on.
Good call on the NHT drivers, those things are beastly. The only midbass/bass drivers that really compete in punch are the higher end Dynaudio units at significantly more money. Vifa and Scanspeak make great stuff, but I prefer their hand built tweeters over their bass units, except for the custom midranges they built for Sonus Faber. Those are unreal too. Speaking of subs, the craziest thing I've ever seen is the REL Studio. 6db down point at 9Hz... and capable of sustaining a 20Hz tone at 100db. You have to sign a waiver freeing them from liability for structural damage to your home before you buy one. I want to hear your system sometime! The next time I come to FL we'll have to get together. -P |
02-28-2003, 12:09 PM | #14 |
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Most people say "NH-who?".
Vifa made a lovely silk dome tweeter a few years ago. I've heard rumors that it was either discontinued or changed and the replacement is rather harsh. The REL Studio sounds insane! Right now the house is in such a turmoil from renovations (just finished installing the floor in my new office on Wednesday, install all the trim this weekend) that my wife refuses to let anyone set foot through the door. I can't say I blame her. If you are coming down this way drop me a line. Hopefully the house will be in one piece again and you're invited to drop by and see what I have: cars, motorcycles (until they are sold), a quite complete woodworking shop and the discussed home theatre system. Oh, I also have a wife and kids. -- Bill |
02-28-2003, 12:57 PM | #15 |
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Ya, the REL is nuts. We sell them at Tweeter (Sound Advice in your area)....
Below is the finest tweeter ever to come out of Vifa in my opinion.. it's a custom design for Sonus Faber, all hand dipped silk and it is one of the most tonally balanced, open, detailed tweeters I've ever heard, especially since it retains a very sweet silky character, no harshness at all unless the recording calls for it. A very balanced design. Photo by yours truly: |
02-28-2003, 01:58 PM | #16 | |
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Yep, those little Paradigm Titans have the vifa 3/4" silk tweeter. That's why they sound so damn good (for the money) - that and the relatively small baffle. |
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02-28-2003, 05:38 PM | #17 |
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Cool, I didn't know that. Ya, the Titans sound awesome for their size and construction... definitely a David to many Goliaths. Best purchase Mike ever made in my opinion. They sound great with a really hefty amp behind them too, seriously playing down into sub territory. People are often like, "where's the sub hiding?" ...lol...
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03-01-2003, 12:00 AM | #18 |
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Yes, I did know the Titans have Vifa tweeters. I don't know what kind of driver is in the Titan though.....
I didn't realize that the tweeters in the Sonus Faber were Vifa as well. |
03-01-2003, 12:53 AM | #19 |
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I have a Boston PV1000 sub. 10", wanna say 2000 peak watts, 1500 continious. About 12" cubed. Real small, but it will bust yer lungs if thats what yer after. Really fast response, great for tunes...thats why I have it. decent for movies, does not have the grunt for big explosions like a 12 or 15 does, but I listen to music mostly.
My problem right now is anchoring the little fella. I have 100 pounds of lead shot on top of it now, but if I get frisky with some Pink Floyd songs, it'll still roam around the room. Kinda off topic, but the VR-M60 monitors I have lined up with em, sound mighty nice too. Tiny, tiny little guys, but the sound they toss is truly amazing. If you have a chance to listen to Boston's monitors, be sure to do so. I really like my setup, small and powerful. |
03-01-2003, 08:16 AM | #20 |
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Where did you buy the Boston? I think we're the closest dealer to you here in Greenville... ??
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03-01-2003, 10:55 AM | #21 | |
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03-01-2003, 11:00 AM | #22 |
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Sounds nice, I use a Velodyne VA-1250x myself, beautiful sounds. I'll have to check out NHT drivers sometime in custom builds.
Incase anyone needs a goal to aspire to though, have a look at these: http://www.wisdomaudio.com/infinite.html |
03-01-2003, 11:26 AM | #23 | |
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-- Bill |
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03-02-2003, 09:42 AM | #24 |
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OMG I experienced the most kickass home theater I have ever seen last night... a buddy upgraded his HT from ultra high end ProLogic separates to very high end DD separates from B&K... OMG....
It literally exceeds THX reference in there. Twin Mirage BPS200 subwoofers in the corners of the room, Mirage M3si mains, Mirage MCsi center, and Mirage M5si rears. We're talking massive speakers here... All of it driven by a B&K Reference 2007 seven channel power amp and a Reference 50 preamp/processor. He has a Sony 3 CRT front projector throwing onto a Stewart screen with a 120" diagonal. In the intro scene to Star Wars Episode II where the silver ship flies down through the atmosphere towards Coruscant, the floor literally flexed as it passed. On 6db down from reference volume it makes the light fixtures in upstairs rooms dance around. He's seriously getting distortionless high output down in the 10-16hz range. Cool stuff. I'll post pics if you're interested. |
03-02-2003, 07:17 PM | #25 |
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Forget pictures. Post an MP3 file so we can all hear it.
-- Bill |
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