Pictures of your B&W Set-up

[sunshdw]

CHECK THIS OUT
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/vbcla...?do=ad&id=6973

Thank you for pointing that out

[sunshdw]

sunshdw

Interesting do you use the JBL to compensate for the 805? Being so close you must not need to turn up the volume much:T

805??

[audioqueso]

805??

Weeeeeeettttttoooouuuuu... wake uuupppp. Where in the world did you get 805 from? :B

[audioqueso]

Ash, I really love your setup. I keep wondering how that's going to sound. I don't plan on changing out my N805's until I jump to 800/802 as well. Must have been a huge jump. Congrats!

[wettou]

805??

Sorry I was looking at an other picture :E

[wettou]

Weeeeeeettttttoooouuuuu... wake uuupppp. Where in the world did you get 805 from? :B

As I said audioquesooooooooooooooooooo I was looking at an other set up any way :rant:

[audioqueso]

ha ha... ok wettouuuuuuuuuuuu... now we can see that. ha ha

[Ash]

Ash, I really love your setup. I keep wondering how that's going to sound. I don't plan on changing out my N805's until I jump to 800/802 as well. Must have been a huge jump. Congrats!

Thanks for the compliment audioqueso. I would have to say that a previous advice of yours did its part and made me head to the 800 direction. I have started a thread sometime ago asking for advice to go from 805 to 804 or 803 and your comments were as follows:

I'm going to throw my worthless 2 cents here and say that I'm going to continue to use my 805s, get the center, add some surrounds, and leave it that way until I jump straight to the 802+. At that point I'll just throw the 805s as more surrounds. lol Why try my way? lol

Honestly, I love my 805s combined with my Velodyne. I've heard the 804s plenty of times and they do have a smoother more balance full range response than my combo with mysuc, but to me I am very pleased with the 805s and really don't care for 'just' stepping up. They still make me smile stupid when I listen to music and movies are awesome with them. So even though the 804/803 will be better, I know I won't be completely satisfied. When I upgrade my fronts, it will be to the jump that I've always wanted, 800-802 range.

I almost bought 804s a few times but I would always think of what you said (I used red font to highlight the line that goes through my head) and guess what? now I have 800 instead of 804. If I bought 804, I would have been stuck with them for a much longer time. (see, it wasn't worthless 2cent).

The step up from 805 to 800 is significant in every aspect, really, you will love it. The bass, midrange, the soundstage, detail, everything! But it didnt make me think less of the 805, they are very good speakers and I would say stick with them until you jump to what you really want :T

[wettou]

ha ha... ok wettouuuuuuuuuuuu... now we can see that. ha ha

A bit childish I see, have a great day

[audioqueso]

Thanks for the compliment audioqueso. I would have to say that a previous advice of yours did its part and made me head to the 800 direction. I have started a thread sometime ago asking for advice to go from 805 to 804 or 803 and your comments were as follows:

That's cool. I remember typing that. I didn't remember that it was you who was asking. Well, glad my comment was of help. Yeah, it'll be about 1-2 years before I do get 802+ just because of where I live now. I've been moving once a year (home to home, not city to city), and I think moving a lot with those speakers would be a pain, right. Wouldn't you agree? The next time I move, it'll actually be for quite some time, so I can buy them then.

As I said audioquesooooooooooooooooooo I was looking at an other set up any way :rant:

Well, you did write it the same way. Same thing. But I don't think you caught on that you also wrote "As I said" as if you had mentioned this BEFORE I posted my wake up comment to you. You didn't, you wrote "As I said" four hours AFTER my wake up post. Sorry... no way I could have seen the future and seen what your next post would be. :B No problems though. Take care. :T

[Ash]

That's cool. I remember typing that. I didn't remember that it was you who was asking. Well, glad my comment was of help. Yeah, it'll be about 1-2 years before I do get 802+ just because of where I live now. I've been moving once a year (home to home, not city to city), and I think moving a lot with those speakers would be a pain, right. Wouldn't you agree? The next time I move, it'll actually be for quite some time, so I can buy them then.

Its ok, you can wait as much as you need, you already have amazing speakers that you will be happy with for a long time. The 800 was very hard to move, It took four men with myself to move a short distance. Wait until you are fully settled then buy them, trust me.

[audioqueso]

Wow... I didn't know it required THAT many people. I figured I could to it just me and my wife (she's strong as well). Thanks for the tip.

[emig5m]

Well I got my 683s, just forgot about this post, heh. Wound up with the dealer demos when my order became six/seven days late and got tired of waiting/playing the phone call game every day with no answer to where my order was (it was suppose to be fast two to three day shipping). But I'm kinda glad I got the showroom demos because I wanted to change to black ash anyway (plus they're already broken in/ready to go). The owner of the store said it was up to me, I could borrow the demos until mine came in or I could just keep the demos if I wanted.







I gotta say the sound is amazing! I was caught by surprise when I first fired up the system without any EQ/or bass adjustments, totally flat it sounds perfect to me! But I gotta give credit also to my new receiver which blows away my prior Sony STR-DE845 for sound quality - the Yamaha RX-663...



With the 683/Yamaha running in pure direct mode I'm hard pressed to touch a bass, treble, or EQ adjustment. It sound's pretty damn good running all flat which normally in the past I always had to mess with the EQ to get good tonal quality! I was actually so blown away by the 2-channel sound quality I never bothered to try the surround performance until a week later. I just couldn't stop listening to my CD collection! Within the first few seconds of my first song I was like....WOW...

Anyway, unto a little dilemma... I ordered the HTM61 in cherry to match the 684's in cherry. Now I switch to black and have a unmatched color for my center channel, lol. Well I decided to.....paint it! Paint a brand new $600 center channel! 8O









Krylon Fusion plastic paint (black satin) for the win! I was so freakin' nervous when I was shaking the can of paint thinking I was about to ruin a $600 speaker that pretty much only had one movie played through it! I gotta say it matches up to the 683s with the stock black ash pretty damn good! I cant tell the difference!

Fired up Batman Begins HD DVD....WOW.... I didn't even run the auto setup with the MIC.... All I did as far as adjustments go is set the crossovers of the speakers at 80Hz to the sub. I can't believe how much more clear the center/dialog is with the Yamaha! Fired up the Eagles Hole in the World 5.1 DVD and WOW... the system plays so loud and perfectly clear with great tonal balance without touching a bass/treble/eq knob/adjustment!! 8O I'm just freakin' blown away with this combo!

[beden1]

Nice setup, and great job on painting that center speaker. It does really look good! :T

[Ash]

Emig5m, Great system, you will enjoy those speakers alot. Takes guts to paint the speaker, glad it truned out ok.

[Ash]

Wow... I didn't know it required THAT many people. I figured I could to it just me and my wife (she's strong as well). Thanks for the tip.

Pushing the speakers indoors, for very small distances is ok because they have small rollers in the bottom. But lifting the damn things (each one is 270lbs) is tough. You will also need to keep the boxes, or it will be a much harder job. In the end its all worth it.

[ShadowZA]

Great setup & paintjob, Emig5m. :T

[cntlaw]

a more update photo of my setup

[robercy]

Diamonds from Brasil!

Hello World.

This is my new setup. Sounds Amazing !!!



I just put everything togheter, and now, its Tunning Time.!! :twisted:


Best wishes !

[Pedro]

Congratulations Robercy, You Rule Man!!!

The Rosewood finish is just perfect ;x(

[ShadowZA]

Great setup, Robercy :T

[Ash]

Robercy,

Excellent system man, I'm sure that you will love it.

[sg2]

Robercy

Nice setup, very much the same as mine

I see a tensioned screen here, what is the brand / model ? and is it really flat ?

Regards,
--
Stéphane

[robercy]

Thanks

Robercy

Nice setup, very much the same as mine

I see a tensioned screen here, what is the brand / model ? and is it really flat ?

Regards,
--
Stéphane

Hi Stéphane

Luck our !

It's a Artvision screen, model wrt 106. In fact, few minutes after screen goes down, become real flat. But until there, its only seen with lights on.

Thanks Ash, Shadow and Pedro.



Greetings,

Robercy.

[wettou]

Hello World.

This is my new setup. Sounds Amazing !!! I just put everything together, and now, its Tuning Time.!!

Nice, You might want to move your speakers away from the front walls

How do you like your Denon AVP1

[robercy]

Distance from wall

Nice, You might want to move your speakers away from the front walls

How do you like your Denon AVP1

Hello Wettou,

Distance, was my primary target. In fact, both front speakers are about 1 mt from back wall and 70cm from the side wall, and center speaker is about 20 cm from back wall. Do you think this is enough ?

I'm a Denon Fan, since my first receiver (AVR5308). And this Master piece, for me, is nothing more than Perfection. Everything I need in 2 packages, and sounds amazing. Believe me!

Thanks and good luck.

Robercy.

[wettou]

Hello Wettou, Distance, was my primary target. In fact, both front speakers are about 1 mt from back wall and 70cm from the side wall, and center speaker is about 20 cm from back wall. Do you think this is enough ? I'm a Denon Fan, since my first receiver (AVR5308). And this Master piece, for me, is nothing more than Perfection. Everything I need in 2 packages, and sounds amazing. Believe me!

1m is good, if your room allows 1.5 m is better, here is what I would do: Front L?R 1.5m and Center 1m, the key is to avoid first reflection, also sitting no more that 2m from the front channels. The other thing is side wall avoid the first reflection. Experiment with speaker placement is the best way to upgrade your system.

Check this out these are great article commercial free.

http://www.audioperfectionist.com/pa...ejournals.html

[robercy]

I'll do it.

1m is good, if your room allows 1.5 m is better, here is what I would do: Front L?R 1.5m and Center 1m, the key is to avoid first reflection, also sitting no more that 2m from the front channels. The other thing is side wall avoid the first reflection. Experiment with speaker placement is the best way to upgrade your system.

Check this out these are great article commercial free.

http://www.audioperfectionist.com/pa...ejournals.html

I will try this tips, and ASAP post the results.

Thanks !

Robercy.

[wettou]

I will try this tips, and ASAP post the results. Thanks ! Robercy.

You are welcome let me know how it works :T

[Luke Skywalker]

Congratulations Robercy

:T

[robercy]

Thanks

Congratulations Robercy

:T

Thanks Luke. By the way, I love your Yagin. Is it sounds so amazing as his looks ?

Best wishes,

Robercy.

[cntlaw]

room acoustics

I reference Cardas's golden room rules and some interesting articles:

http://www.cardas.com/content.php?area=faqs&content_id=7&pagestring=Listening+Room+Design

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/roomacoustics.html

http://www.soundstage.com/noisy_3.htm

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/tuningtips.html

[Blindamood]

Our new place

We recently downsized, moving from a house to a condo (in Florida). Finally got the living room to a point that I'm ready to take some pictures of my system! See my profile for a detailed list of components.

Part of downsizing was to reduce the size of the components to fit in the existing cabinet (e.g., the Rotel RMB-1085 amp). Also modified the shelf above the tv to fit my HTM4S center.

[beden1]

We recently downsized, moving from a house to a condo (in Florida). Finally got the living room to a point that I'm ready to take some pictures of my system! See my profile for a detailed list of components.

Part of downsizing was to reduce the size of the components to fit in the existing cabinet (e.g., the Rotel RMB-1085 amp). Also modified the shelf above the tv to fit my HTM4S center.

Very nice job of planning and execution.

[esaleris]

We recently downsized, moving from a house to a condo (in Florida). Finally got the living room to a point that I'm ready to take some pictures of my system! See my profile for a detailed list of components.

Love the way you dealt with the center.

[Blindamood]

Thanks for the comments, guys. Yes, it did take a bit of planning, especially pre-move to get rid of some stuff. I no longer have the dedicated 'theater' room, so I had to integrate everything into the main living area. Also, since it's a condo, I had to get rid of my ASW-850, which I really loved. I purchased the much smaller Velodyne MiniVee (which you can see beside the couch in one picture), which provides a more-than-adequate punch for the smaller space.

I modified the shelf over the tv before moving as well. I think it is one of the better projects I've done, and worked out perfectly with the 37" tv below it.

[emig5m]

Hey guys, I was wondering, would buying a dedicated power amp and using my receiver as a pre/pro (it has pre-amp outs) take me to the next level in sound quality with the B&Ws? I'm looking at the Emotiva XPA-5 five channel amp. Basically what gains would I be looking at over using the Yamaha 663's internal amps if any? I know it will probably play cleaner at louder volumes, but what about sound quality at moderate levels (any more detail, more transparent, tighter bass, etc.etc.?)

Also for rear speakers since I still haven't purchased or made up my mind....

• 686 bookshelves (more affordable but only 84dB efficiency? meh..)
• 685 bookshelves (a little more money but still only 88dB....)
• DS3 (kinda out of my price range that I'm willing to spend right now for surround speakers but they're closer matched to my front end at 89dB)

I have the cash on hand to buy the 686s right now, but at only 84dB efficiency, will they be up to the task on keeping up to the 683/HTM61 front end? I know the rears handle mainly spacial effects, but still... I like to blast intense action movies like Batman Begins. Would I be better off waiting and saving up and getting the DS3s? Opinions on what I should get to compliment my existing setup?

But I'd definitely like to hear if the Emotiva power amp would be a worthwhile upgrade for use with my existing system? Or would the gains be so small it wouldn't be worth the price?

[Russ L]

Thanks for the comments, guys. Yes, it did take a bit of planning, especially pre-move to get rid of some stuff. I no longer have the dedicated 'theater' room, so I had to integrate everything into the main living area.

Your setup fits in seamlessly with your decor. No easy feat. Well done :T

[Sounder]

Emig,
I have B&W 9NTs and the matching center and surrounds. I had a nice Marantz receiver, and they sounded great. I added an Emo IPS, which is a slightly less powerful amp than the XPA. The difference is amazing. Overall, the sound became more clear and controlled. Tighter bass, more clarity and detail, regardless of volume. And I can play much louder than before with no distortion. For what those Emo amps cost, it's well worth it. You WILL notice the improvement.

One other comment I'd make is that it's worth investing in a matched set of speakers. I spent a lot of time trying to get a non-matching center to work. It just never felt that the sound was cohesive all around. Finally, I broke down and got the matching center (CNT) and surrounds (SNT), and the overall sound really came together nicely. You may not notice right away, but if you put the matching set together, you'd really notice the overall improvement.

[wettou]

One other comment I'd make is that it's worth investing in a matched set of speakers. I spent a lot of time trying to get a non-matching center to work. It just never felt that the sound was cohesive all around. .... if you put the matching set together, you'd really notice the overall improvement.

I could not agree more, I have three 802D in the front and it is amazing especially for Music on SACD multichannel and movie sound tracks:T

[emig5m]

Emig,
I have B&W 9NTs and the matching center and surrounds. I had a nice Marantz receiver, and they sounded great. I added an Emo IPS, which is a slightly less powerful amp than the XPA. The difference is amazing. Overall, the sound became more clear and controlled. Tighter bass, more clarity and detail, regardless of volume. And I can play much louder than before with no distortion. For what those Emo amps cost, it's well worth it. You WILL notice the improvement.

Thanks, but before I order, are the 683s 200 watt rms or peak? The B&W website and my 2008 catalog merely say 200 watt and don't say if that's peak or RMS. Actually today I had off work and was playing some R&B at -0 dB on the Yamaha receiver (starts out at like -70 and goes up to +16) and although it was sounding great with strong bass (woofers weren't moving that much though) it kicked into auto protection twice (the 683's spec in the catalog says they dip down to 3ohm). But is the 200 watt rating RMS or peak?

[Sounder]

It's probably RMS, not peak. The reason I say that is that even a 100wpc amp may have peaks way higher. The real issue is distorted power. My 9NTs are rated for 120wpc max, and the surrounds for 100wpc, but I'm running them on the IPS, which has over 150wpc high current, continuous. I've never had a problem. You won't be able to stand how loud it would be before those speakers are in trouble. You'll have clean power and volume to the highest level you want. If they are getting distorted, you'll know, and will naturally want to turn it down.

Point is, those B&Ws will love the extra power, and won't be damaged... unless you put Rambo on full blast and leave the room for an hour.

Playing the music at +0 will definitely not clip that amp. The problem you have is that your amp is unable to drive those speakers at the high volume. Check the specs of the Yamaha and you will see that it probably only delivers 40 wpc with ALL CHANNELS DRIVEN.

So, try the Emotiva. They have a 30 day return policy, so if it doesn't work, you return it. That's what I did, and I kept it! In my case, I got the 7 channel IPS, and bi-amp the front two channels. It's a huge step up from my marantz sr8200.

[emig5m]

It's probably RMS, not peak. The reason I say that is that even a 100wpc amp may have peaks way higher. The real issue is distorted power. My 9NTs are rated for 120wpc max, and the surrounds for 100wpc, but I'm running them on the IPS, which has over 150wpc high current, continuous. I've never had a problem. You won't be able to stand how loud it would be before those speakers are in trouble. You'll have clean power and volume to the highest level you want. If they are getting distorted, you'll know, and will naturally want to turn it down.

Point is, those B&Ws will love the extra power, and won't be damaged... unless you put Rambo on full blast and leave the room for an hour.

Playing the music at +0 will definitely not clip that amp. The problem you have is that your amp is unable to drive those speakers at the high volume. Check the specs of the Yamaha and you will see that it probably only delivers 40 wpc with ALL CHANNELS DRIVEN.

So, try the Emotiva. They have a 30 day return policy, so if it doesn't work, you return it. That's what I did, and I kept it! In my case, I got the 7 channel IPS, and bi-amp the front two channels. It's a huge step up from my marantz sr8200.

I emailed B&W and this is what they said: "The 200 watt rating is peak performance. The speaker can handle 150 RMS easily." I went to the Emotiva site and they're out of stock on the XPA-5. I called and they said they where expecting a shipment either today or tomorrow. The Yamaha shut down in 2-channel mode so I guess it's 95 watts isn't enough. Probably because I was playing some music with strong bass and where the speakers dip down to 3 ohm is probably what sent the receiver into protection mode, just doesn't have the current when the flood gates open, heh. Otherwise it's a damn fine sounding receiver for the price, blows away my previous Sony. I just hope the pre-amp outs are good enough to take advantage of a quality power amp...

I really really hate B&W speakers, I really do, lol. I had no intentions on keeping the 684s. I was just bored one day and wanted to try them out see how the higher end brands actually where. Once I A&B'd with my old speakers there was no way I was taking them back. Next thing you know I'm ordering center channels, new powered sub, and then upgrading the 684s to the 683s. Then it's a new receiver and now a new amp....when will it end? lol.

Next thing you know I'll be selling some kidneys on ebay to buy some diamond series B&Ws, lol. Damn speakers, I hate them! I should of never stepped foot in the B&W dealer, lol. Bringing a pair home to try was definitely a mistake, lol. :rofl: But the sound quality difference from big box store speakers....wow. Never believed a loudspeaker could throw so many fine details in your face from across the room like a good set of headphones does right up to your ear! :T Not to mention have such good sound without touching any EQ or tone controls... Eh... why am I wasting my breath... you all know what B&Ws are all about, heh... :W

[Briz vegas]

EQ and tone controls.............what are they? :W

[emig5m]

The Emotiva was delivered today (and thankfully my cables from monoprice did to!)





Jeez I work construction and I went to pick it up and it didn't budge. I had to put some real effort into it to move it. It's way heavier then it looks, lol! I couldn't place it where I wanted to for tonight because the power cable is about two feet short then I need.

I didn't get to listen to the system with the Emotiva for very long tonight since I didn't even get home from work until after 8pm, but the biggest difference I could notice was that the bass had more weight to it. Not louder bass, just more weight and dynamics. Hopefully tomorrow night I'll have some time to sit and listen to it carefully on recordings I'm really familiar with.