800 Diamond series

[mpauline]

Speakers will be delivered to me tomorrow morning. Oh if I could only skip work for the rest of the day :-)

[mpauline]

You should love the HTM2Di, mine is crystal clear without being sharp and has excellent bass extention for a dedicated center. I have mine currently crossed over at 70Hz. Initially I had it set to 60Hz but I got some clipping when watching Tron Legacy on Blu-ray so I raised it up to 70Hz. That was the only title clipping occurred on and I haven't had a problem since going to 70Hz. I would prefer to be able to set the crossover to match my 802Di's but that can't really be done with the HTM2Di, I would need a HTM1D to handle the 50Hz crossover used on my 802Di's.
What surprised me the most about the HTM2Di is it's ability to blend so well and keep pace with the 802Di's on multichannel music, it does a wonderful job so mated with a pair of 803Di's I suspect you'll be grinning from ear to ear

When you say you have the cross over set at 70Hz does that mean that you set your mains and center as large?

Going to stop tomorrow and by some new CD's as it seems crazy to have such good speakers and not listen to two channel. Plus I am going to definitely play my U2 concert Bluray to test them out.

[Rod#S]

Speakers will be delivered to me tomorrow morning. Oh if I could only skip work for the rest of the day :-)

I "worked from home" the day my dealer brought over my 802 Diamonds :W

[Rod#S]

When you say you have the cross over set at 70Hz does that mean that you set your mains and center as large?

Going to stop tomorrow and by some new CD's as it seems crazy to have such good speakers and not listen to two channel. Plus I am going to definitely play my U2 concert Bluray to test them out.

No, all speakers are set to small so that the crossovers can be set thus allowing all frequencies below the crossover to go elsewhere. I say elsewhere because I have a Lexicon MC-12BV5EQ which handles bass management in a unique way. The way my system works is I have 2 subs set as stereo (they can also be configured as dual mono) and a dedicated LFE sub along with the mains, center and surrounds. I have the mains and surrounds crossed over at 50Hz and the center crossed over at 70Hz. Here is where the Lexicon is unique. Frenquencies in the center that are below 70Hz but greater than or equal to 50Hz get sent to mains and surrounds. The frenquences below 50Hz from the center go to the 2 stereo subs. For the mains and surrounds, frequencies below 50Hz go to the stereo subs. All information in hte .1 channel, regardfless of frequency go to hte LFE sub.

Let us know how things go and more importantly sound and post some pics

[mpauline]

I "worked from home" the day my dealer brought over my 802 Diamonds :W

Yes I am thinking of the same plan.

[Skyblue]

Yes I am thinking of the same plan.

I often work from home often. It so happens my laptop fits perfectly on the small table in front of my speakers

In case of emergency I have an excellent headfi setup at my "big" computer.

[mpauline]

Yeah baby they are here. Now to listen to them non stop for the entire long weekend. Will be tough to get them half a metre from the side and front wall though. Also I presume that I need to bring out the HTM2Di the same distance as the mains from the front wall. Now I have it a little closer to the screen.

[Rod#S]

Very nce. I really like the room and the screen. So do they sound every bit as good as they did at the dealers if not better? You have your speakers spaced very similar to mine by the looks of things.

They will continue to get better as they break in. I found mine started settleing in around the 300 hour mark.

[mpauline]

Well I cannot say they sound better than at the dealers given the high end equipment he was using. I am very happy with them thus far. They need to break in and my room really needs some acoustical treatment. So far though...AWESOME.

[Skyblue]

Well I cannot say they sound better than at the dealers given the high end equipment he was using. I am very happy with them thus far. They need to break in and my room really needs some acoustical treatment. So far though...AWESOME.

In my experience they will improve little by little for a couple of months at least! So enjoy.

As for distance to the wall, I had mine both out an close to the wall. They are actually not too bad close to the wall either (a feet or so)... Experiment a little..

[mpauline]

They seem very easy to drive.

Just listened to U2 360 bluray. All I can say is thank goodness I upgraded as I heard so many sounds that I have not heard and I have watched this thing many times. The sound of the drum cymbal....like I was right there. Can you tell yet that I am excited. Okay back to listening.

[Skyblue]

They seem very easy to drive.

Just listened to U2 360 bluray. All I can say is thank goodness I upgraded as I heard so many sounds that I have not heard and I have watched this thing many times. The sound of the drum cymbal....like I was right there. Can you tell yet that I am excited. Okay back to listening.

B&W 802's. Because you're worth it!

[htsteve]

Yeah baby they are here.

Also I presume that I need to bring out the HTM2Di the same distance as the mains from the front wall. Now I have it a little closer to the screen.

Excellent! I'm glad you are enjoying them. And it's a nice HT room as well.


I also agree with the center channel idea. That is the best solution if it can be done. Which certainly appears possible in your room.

And room treatments are a great way to improve the system performance without breaking the bank.

[ninja12]

Yeah baby they are here. Now to listen to them non stop for the entire long weekend. Will be tough to get them half a metre from the side and front wall though. Also I presume that I need to bring out the HTM2Di the same distance as the mains from the front wall. Now I have it a little closer to the screen.

Very nice, and yes, room treatments will make your setup sound even better. You can start with Bass Traps for the corners and about 3" to 4" panels to cover the first reflection points. Looks like your back row of seats are close to the rear wall. You will need some thicker absorption, maybe 6" to 8" to put on the rear wall to have tame the bass that will be reflecting from the rear wall. Anyway, take your time and enjoy your system. Congrats!!!!!! :T :T

[mpauline]

Very nice, and yes, room treatments will make your setup sound even better. You can start with Bass Traps for the corners and about 3" to 4" panels to cover the first reflection points. Looks like your back row of seats are close to the rear wall. You will need some thicker absorption, maybe 6" to 8" to put on the rear wall to have tame the bass that will be reflecting from the rear wall. Anyway, take your time and enjoy your system. Congrats!!!!!! :T :T

Thanks for the suggestions. Actually the back row of seats are about 7 feet from the back wall.

How do I figure out the first reflection points? Is there any good websites to review?

[htsteve]

Actually, you can check your reflections yourself, although I'm sure there are websites that help.

It's a two person job, plus a mirror. One person sits in the listening position. The other person holds a mirror where they think the reflections are. When the person sittting in the listening position can see the midrange driver in the mirror, that's the reflection point. Same process everywhere else.

Reflections are on the side walls, floors and ceilings (in order of importance). Since you have carpeting, the floor reflections are handled. Start at about three feet in front the speakers on the side wall.

After first point reflections are dealt with, the next area are the bass traps (one in each corner behind the 803's will be quite good). Then the back wall, upper corners and side walls.

I use mainly Real Traps. There are other good products as well. I recall someone on the forum found a good set of products in Canada. Do a search to find that thread.


I hope this helps.

[mpauline]

Did a search and saw that Stuart did a fantastic job of building his own. I am not that handy. Will try and find some bass traps and some for the side walls.

[stuofsci02]

Mark,

Those were really easy to build.. They cost about $25 each to build with OC 703. I have four more sheets of OC 703 and enough wood to finish up 4 more 2' x 4' panels which would do first reflection points on the side walls. If you want 'em I'd let them go at cost. You would still need to wrap them in a fabric of your choice...

Cheers,

Stuart

[htsteve]

You would still need to wrap them in a fabric of your choice...

An excellent WAF opportunity........

[ninja12]

Thanks for the suggestions. Actually the back row of seats are about 7 feet from the back wall.

How do I figure out the first reflection points? Is there any good websites to review?

You can figure out the first reflection points by doing the following:
1. Get a mirror preferrably one that's about 4'.
2. Place the mirror up against the wall located by your main speaker
3. Sit in your listening position
4. Slide the mirror to the point that you can see the front of your speaker. For example, slide the mirror until you can see the front of your LF.
5. Take a piece of painter's tape and put it on the wall in the location of the mirror
6. Repeat this for the Center Channel and the RF Main.
7. Now move the mirror to the other side wall and repeat steps 2 thru 6
8. You want to repeat the above steps for every listening position
9. When you are done, you want to place panels on the side walls that covers the tape. Remove the tape before you put up the panels.

You can look at GIK to get some ideas of acoustic treatments. http://www.gikacoustics.com/index.html

Normally, GIK recommends 242s or 244s for the first reflection points. I believe you can get by withe 242s.

As for the corners, you can get some tri-traps to cover the corners from ceiling to floor. If your ceiling is 8', you will need 2 Tri-Traps per corner because each one is 4'. You can also try 244s or Monster Traps straddled in the corners. My preference is the Tri-Traps. They look better to me.

GIK is one of many places that you can look for acoustic treatments. Real Traps is another.

I hope this was helpful. Good luck to you. :T :T

[mpauline]

Just had to add another comment. The diamond tweeters on the 800 series are absolutely fantastic. Just listened to Hilary Hahn's recording of Vaughan Williams "The Lark Ascending". Never heard the triangle with such authentic detail. Spectacular. Thank goodness I did not get the 802's in my house for an audition because these 803's sound great. If I had brought home the 802's and listened to them like this I am sure that I would have wanted to buy them. As it stands with the amount I spent that would have been over my budget.

I think my two channel days are just beginning!

[Gremal]

Just had to add another comment. The diamond tweeters on the 800 series are absolutely fantastic. Just listened to Hilary Hahn's recording of Vaughan Williams "The Lark Ascending". Never heard the triangle with such authentic detail. Spectacular. Thank goodness I did not get the 802's in my house for an audition because these 803's sound great. I think my two channel days are just beginning!

Yes, there is something magical about that diamond tweeter, especially with treble/percussive sounds. The 802 of course brings it to another level with that marlin head assebly. Does just as well in multichannel setups.

[mpauline]

Mark,

Those were really easy to build.. They cost about $25 each to build with OC 703. I have four more sheets of OC 703 and enough wood to finish up 4 more 2' x 4' panels which would do first reflection points on the side walls. If you want 'em I'd let them go at cost. You would still need to wrap them in a fabric of your choice...

Cheers,

Stuart

Hi Stuart,

That sounds excellent. Will set it up with you via PM.

Thanks,

Mark

[mpauline]

Mark,

Those were really easy to build.. They cost about $25 each to build with OC 703. I have four more sheets of OC 703 and enough wood to finish up 4 more 2' x 4' panels which would do first reflection points on the side walls. If you want 'em I'd let them go at cost. You would still need to wrap them in a fabric of your choice...

Cheers,

Stuart

PM sent. I will take you up on your offer.

Thanks,
Mark