# My simple movie and listening room



## alvinh

Well, my room is fairly small and one that i would consider acoustically challenging but I guess that makes learning even more fun.:crying:

DIY panels and some locally acquired absorbers I used for room treatment...














































I decided to try the unorthodox 3-center channels paired with my HK PA2000 4 channel amp. Since my left and right mains (Jbl xpl200) were spaced far enough, I was surprised that the center-left-right channel separation was still well within normal range.









HK PA2000 amp for my 3 channel center...


















HT front main (jbl xpl200)...for music, Magnepan MMG




































HT sub amp...









HT fronts/surrounds amp...









Amp driving the maggies...





















































































































Speaker wires and interconnects...

















































































Other accessories for movies and audio...








































































My favorite chair...and cup holders...




























Thanks for viewing.


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## Sonnie

That doesn't look all that simple to me... very nice! 

I have yet to hear Maggies... and hope to one day hear them.


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## XxxBERRYxxX

I agree, thats no simple setup. The acoustic treatments make the room look like a very serious place to watch a film to me.


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## alvinh

Sonnie said:


> That doesn't look all that simple to me... very nice!
> 
> I have yet to hear Maggies... and hope to one day hear them.


Thanks Sonnie.

I would invite you to listen to this planar but you'd have to travel halfway around the world. hahaha.

I meant simple compared to the dream theaters I've seen here at the shack. I am getting more ideas from the gallery. Now, I am really excited to continue my DIY acoustic panels.


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## alvinh

XxxBERRYxxX said:


> I agree, thats no simple setup. The acoustic treatments make the room look like a very serious place to watch a film to me.


I've read that smaller rooms are better off almost "dead" when it comes to acoustic treatment.

Ever since I installed those panels, the movies became more enjoyable indeed.

I wish I had dual subs like yours...nice!!!


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## sabnzbd

Wow, this is really nice:yikes:


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## Prof.

Very impressive!.:T


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## alvinh

Thanks sab. Most of my gears are "years" old but they still satisfy my movie experience at home.


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## alvinh

Prof. said:


> Very impressive!.:T


Thanks Prof. I'm hoping that someday I can have a "real" home theater. My current room, because of its size is not ideal for a projector. This would mean that I will have to build an extra room so this might take a while...

I agree with you. HT is a never ending story. :T:crying:


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## Prof.

That's quite a variety of gear!! and some very nice interconnects :bigsmile:
Did you use silver wire in your DIY cables?


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## alvinh

Prof. said:


> That's quite a variety of gear!! and some very nice interconnects :bigsmile:
> Did you use silver wire in your DIY cables?


A couple were silver signatures i got from a friend who is very much into diy's. He even experimented with filling up the hospital grade tube of the diy cable with coconut oil which according to him filters some unwanted noise. I'm not sure how much of this is true but i thought it was very interesting.


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## Prof.

Coconut oil!!!!!..:yikes:..Now I've heard everything!! :whistling:


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## Andysu

Wow :Tvery nice and JBL as well the best of the best JBL was made for movie soundtracks right back as far as 1927.

I see they are the HT-1F.

I have only but x1 JBL HT-1F that I picked up second hand too bad the Hi-Fi home cinema store only had two. The other one got sold off to someone else a few weeks later, this was years ago.

It’s nice to see that they fit in nicely in your room.

JBL XPL200 those are from the 1980’s late 80’s if not too mistaken.

The JBL HT looks like the markI model that was produced early 1993 I think and for the markII a few years later where the subs had wagde angle for corner placement.

I use JBL Control 5 and 1 series myself as the room is small, being using JBL for 20 years now, well 19 years 2010 summertime will mark my 20th year using JBL.


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## alvinh

Prof. said:


> Coconut oil!!!!!..:yikes:..Now I've heard everything!! :whistling:


That's virgin coconut oil to be more accurate...hahaha. Yup, just when you thought you got everything covered...i'm not sure where this idea originated from but i guess there is some truth to it since they held numerous auditions using various "branded" interconnects and convinced themselves that the system delivered better clarity using this oil filled tube.

I used this cable in my 2 channel stereo and well, i can't really tell the difference. :foottap:
A microphone/REW might be a better judge...i have not tried it yet but sure is tempting.


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## alvinh

Andysu said:


> Wow :Tvery nice and JBL as well the best of the best JBL was made for movie soundtracks right back as far as 1927.
> 
> I see they are the HT-1F.
> 
> I have only but x1 JBL HT-1F that I picked up second hand too bad the Hi-Fi home cinema store only had two. The other one got sold off to someone else a few weeks later, this was years ago.
> 
> It’s nice to see that they fit in nicely in your room.
> 
> JBL XPL200 those are from the 1980’s late 80’s if not too mistaken.
> 
> The JBL HT looks like the markI model that was produced early 1993 I think and for the markII a few years later where the subs had wagde angle for corner placement.
> 
> I use JBL Control 5 and 1 series myself as the room is small, being using JBL for 20 years now, well 19 years 2010 summertime will mark my 20th year using JBL.


Thanks Andy. It's nice to meet another lansing fan. I tried other speakers in the past and for some reason, my ears just got used to the ht sound of jbl's...and so now, i'm happily stuck with it.

I also used the control series a while back together with the htif...as a matter of fact, i even had the control sub and a diy enclosure with a jbl 2242 driver.

Here's an archived pic of my previous jbl driver...










Can't complain about the xpl200's...they are still one of my jbl favorites.


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## Prof.

alvinh said:


> That's virgin coconut oil to be more accurate...hahaha. Yup, just when you thought you got everything covered...i'm not sure where this idea originated from but i guess there is some truth to it since they held numerous auditions using various "branded" interconnects and convinced themselves that the system delivered better clarity using this oil filled tube.
> 
> I used this cable in my 2 channel stereo and well, i can't really tell the difference. :foottap:
> A microphone/REW might be a better judge...i have not tried it yet but sure is tempting.


Sounds more like "snake oil" to me!! :rofl:


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## alvinh

Prof. said:


> Sounds more like "snake oil" to me!! :rofl:


Anything for entertainment Prof. If I get a chance to do more tests on this oil thing, I'll let you know.


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## bigvag

Love those panels on the ceiling.


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## alvinh

Updates:

1) New stands for my Monitor Audio RS1
2) Finally acquired a full hd projector (Epson 8350) and DIY screen


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## H_Roark

Great room!! I always love seeing anyone using Monitor Audio speakers. I use them in my room and I love the sound. The new stands are very nice. And an Epson, great choice. Again lovely room, jealous of the tube amp.


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## HTFanboi1200

Great looking setup! Looking forward to learning more about room treatments available when I do my HT.


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## alvinh

H_Roark said:


> Great room!! I always love seeing anyone using Monitor Audio speakers. I use them in my room and I love the sound. The new stands are very nice. And an Epson, great choice. Again lovely room, jealous of the tube amp.


Thanks. I used to have the MA RS6 with the RS1 but decided to exchange the floorstanders with the Maggies for a different kind of flavor. To be honest, I do miss the SQ of the RS6. Yup...Monitor Audio speakers IMO are value for money speakers.

But the Maggies also offer a great listening experience.:bigsmile:

Am now thinking of designing an audio rack to match the stands of the RS1.


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## alvinh

HTFanboi1200 said:


> Great looking setup! Looking forward to learning more about room treatments available when I do my HT.


I haven't been active on this forum (more like a lurker the past year) but recently decided to pick up where I left off in learning REW. I'm still a newbie at it but what I'm discovering is that it really helps to use the tools/software available out there to improve the acoustic properties of my small movie room/system. You might want to give it a shot...it will help you when you start on your first HT build.


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## H_Roark

Yeah the maggies are nice but I'm running the MA RS8's both front and rear. I fell into a good deal on them. Also have the matching RSLCR for my center duties. Love the sound and seemed even better when I bi-amped the fronts. Can't edit to hear with a real amp and not an AVR.


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## alvinh

H_Roark said:


> Yeah the maggies are nice but I'm running the MA RS8's both front and rear. I fell into a good deal on them. Also have the matching RSLCR for my center duties. Love the sound and seemed even better when I bi-amped the fronts. Can't edit to hear with a real amp and not an AVR.


Wow! I'm already pretty content with the RS1...(now I'm missing my RS6) I could imagine how the RS8s sound like! Someday...
If you weren't so far I'd say let me know when you are ready to upgrade and I'll take those...hahaha.

Cheers,
alvin


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## HTFanboi1200

Thanks for the tip Alvin, definitely looking at trying the REW software, noticed also on Ethan's site about some software available at another site,software called "ETF"??? I'm guessing it's like the REW stuff? Always hear good things on those Maggies, they love the big amps


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