System improvement suggestions plz

[JoeDam]

Hi all,

I'm not an experienced audiophile by any means, but I'm trying to learn First, let me outline my current system:

Marantz SR5200
Front - Mission M71
Centre - Infinity Kappa
Sub - Velodyne CHT10
Surround - No name crappy speakers

I'm looking to improve this system. Obviously the replacement of my surrounds are a priority, but I'm torn as to what to do. I've been toying with the idea of moving my M71s to be my surround speakers, and replacing them on the front with...ummm...(this is where suggestions would be appreciated). Or would I do better getting dedicated bi-polar surrounds? The room this system is in is not ideal, and the surrounds are somewhat offset from the rest of this system. (Crappy rough ASCII speaker layout below). I'm looking to spend about $500 CDN, but I'm flexible either way.

Any suggestions cheerfully accepted.

thanx

Joe

[John Holmes]

Welcome to the Guide, JoeDam.

I guess the first thing that we would need to know is, what are you unhappy with in system as far as it's sound?

By looking at the thumbnail you provided, a few questions come to mind.

1) Have you taken care to set/place (as best you can ) your speakers left, center, right and surround speakers according Dolby's guidelines?

2) Have you calibrated them using a sound level meter?

3) Are the proper delays for each speakers distance from the listening position set in the Marantz?

4) How close are your three front speakers to the front and side walls?

I ask these questions because, these are some of the mistakes that I made when I first started. I didn't understand how much of a difference these four items make in creating great sound. Not matter the level of system one is using. An entry level system can sound extremely good when proper setup and calibration is done.

If you have already done the above, then Di or Bi-poles may assist in creating the sound that you are looking for. Depending on your feelings to their sound. If you are equally into surround music as you are movies, di/bi-poles may not be to your liking as, they have a more diffused pattern to direct firing or mono-pole speakers. I have used both direct and diffused types in my system. Both have pro's and con's. For me, I tend to like the di-pole sound a little better. But again, it just a matter of choice.

Here's a link to the dolby site that may help: http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_e...oomlayout.html

[JoeDam]

Welcome to the Guide, JoeDam.

Thanks! Merrry Xmas!

I guess the first thing that we would need to know is, what are you unhappy with in system as far as it's sound?

Yes. Listening to basic CD audio is fine, but watching DVDs in surround is somewhat lacking.

By looking at the thumbnail you provided, a few questions come to mind.

1) Have you taken care to set/place (as best you can ) your speakers left, center, right and surround speakers according Dolby's guidelines?

Yes, best that I can.

2) Have you calibrated them using a sound level meter?

Yes. But somehow, I seem to have trouble with my sub. I think my test tones may be off, what do you use?

3) Are the proper delays for each speakers distance from the listening position set in the Marantz?

Yes.

4) How close are your three front speakers to the front and side walls?

Centre channel is about 2-3' away. Left and right are quite close, but on an angle. 6" at the back of the speaker, 1' at the front (from side walls).

Thanks again.

[John Holmes]

Hmmmm, well it seems that you have covered most of the basics. However, there are still a few things that could be contributing to your dislike of the sound you are receiving.

You states that your left & right fronts are within a foot of the side walls. Well, early reflections can muddy up any chance of getting clear sound from your mains. So I would do what I could to move them further away from those walls. You didn't mention if this is a dedicated room or not so, I'm hoping you have the option to do so. I think a min of 2 ft.

Another thing that we haven't covered is where you sit in relationship of your speakers. Here is some info that may help you in that regard as well as additional speaker placement: http://www.cardas.com/content.php?ar...ing=Room+Setup

As for the sub, that can be a bit of work. There are a few ways of getting it dialed in. None of which are any fun to me! :B The easiest maybe to place the sub at the listening position then while playing a test tone and using a sound level meter, find the spot in the room with the strongest response and place it there. Another method (and most common) is to just put it in a corner. This will (in many cases) excite the broadest range of feqs as well as bump your subs output. The corner application can also "excite" cetain freqs too much and cause your bass to be overwhelming for those freqs. Using an EQ can smooth things out nicely though. I use corner placement (without EQ) and it has worked out well for me.

As for test tones, I just use the ones in my recieiver. I have AVIA but notice no difference between the two in my system. But, not all receivers are created equal nor their test tones. Most people want the chain from the dvd player to the SSP (sorround sound processor) to be including in the test tone calibration. This approach makes a lot of sense. For my system though, I have many other sources and figured they should all be on the same playing field in this regard.