Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Jerrys Theater Pictures

Thanks again guys.

Actually I was thinking more on this and I think youre on to something. Sadly most of my music listening is in the car in the traffic after dropping my daughter off at school- I get a good 35 minutes to just sit and rock out/ or the gym on my little iPod- not exactly audiophile settings- been listening to the new Foo Fighters album btw- its AWESOME- if you are into their music which I think everyone should be of course

My listening in the room is probably 90% movies. When I go in there its really for a movie. And as such the sight line to the screen is correct at the first row. I will say that sitting in the second row makes the screen occupy less of ones field of vision but the extra distance adds to a cinematic feel. Given that you want your eyes to hit about 1/3 up from the bottom of the screen when you are seated you have to elevate the seats if one is going with floor standing speakers. Which brings me to another thought- if I were doing this from scratch- I would certainly be investigating the new in wall speakers from Meridian and seeing if it made sense to do them behind the screen along with an acoustically transparent screen. While it was relatively easy for me to redo the projector and screen, the room itself, being mostly sonically isolated from the house, means if I start opening up walls, there are several layers of stuff that I would have to make substantial changes to- and I wouldn't want to live through that.

When I listen to music, I use Trifield.

So as it turns out I think I have the exact right setup for video but for audio I think there are some compromises. Also, the music I like: studio recorded guitar rock music and progressive rock, does not really lend itself that well to a high end system- it often sounds more cohesive on a less high end system or even an iPod. Its simply the nature of the beast. Movie soundtracks on this system sound incredible. Nearly every movie theater Ive been to since I put this system in my house sounds flat by comparison.

John,
I really did design it. My installer helped me to know what the right sight lines for my eyes would be and I communicated that to my architect and I worked with an electrical engineer to do the electric isolation and a lady who has a PhD in acoustics from Harvard- basically I brought together people who knew what they were doing but I said I want to have XYZ equipment and I don't believe in subs if one avoid them- this is partly because of my own experience in that I seem to be able to pick out where the sub is in most systems- and also that I read Bob Stuart's comments to the effect that he thinks full range sources at each location is preferable. My experience only confirms this- the sound of the system is really incredible. Its engulfing. A good friend who is not an audiophile but has always appreciated good sound and has heard some very good systems in other peoples homes came over a few months ago and we watched the Casino Royale BR. He remarked to me that he was blown away by the video and what he could not believe is that the audio was even better than the video- he could not get over the sound. Neither can I- at the risk of sounding like an advertisement- the 8000s can do it all IMHO. They can thump and move air, be delicate and detailed, whatever you want and they can do it all at the same time too.

So anyway, I really did say "this is my vision" and got the people together to help execute it. I actually did the initial setup and calibration of the speakers and the video system. Meridian sent some people to install the V4 upgrade on the spot and help me calibrate the system a few weeks in and they gave me some more knowledge and worthwhile tweaks. They will remain nameless to protect their innocence unless they want me to divulge their identities. Originally, my setup was all 8000s to large- all 7000s to small with a xover I think around 65hz. I didnt know the speakers had boundary or corner modes... and of course I did not have the MRC because they brought that with them. They suggested I put the 7000s to large. I was worried if they could handle it and they told me the speakers have very advanced protection circuits. So we went all large and then we ran the MRC and I was impressed but they thought the bass was still to much out of control so they showed me that the speakers could be put into boundary or corner mode- they chose boundary. I think I impressed them with my logical thinking when I said we should re-run the MRC since the boundary will affect it. So we did- WHAT A DIFFERENCE- the sound was so much clearer and more detailed and the bass was still there but not over powering. We listened to some DSOTM. It was a great day. I learned a lot from them. Then I learned here that you can set up each speaker independently if you do them one at a time while making sure the other speakers are disconnected or powered off. So I decided to run MRC with all speakers set to boundary and then to corner and then again to free and I compared the MRC charts to discover that my corner speakers are best off as corners and my center and sides are best off at boundary. I made those changes and ran MRC again.

I'm very happy with the results and clearly I cannot take credit for all of it but in terms of the overall vision and what I wanted- I think in a way I was a combination nightmare and dream client for the people I worked with. On the one hand I would really challenge and push them- on the other, I knew what I wanted and understood what it would take to get there and understood them when they talked with me. My theater is really that of an enthusiast who just happened to be a lucky guy to have the budget to do it- hence no fancy ornate this and that on the theater. Thats not my style. John, I can't believe you would be serious, just saying a nice compliment which I really appreciate, but if you ever want to just bounce things off someone, Im always around for a fellow Hitchhiker.

best regards,
Jerry