# My Living room set and dedicated 2 channel room



## specd_out (Jul 3, 2013)

These are my two rooms. 

HT/Livingroom

Polk RTiA5 Mains
Polk RTiA6 Center
Polk T15 Surround
Polk Micro Pro 4000. with blown plate amp. Currently powered by a Crown XLS1000 bridged.
Pioneer Elite VSX-32
Pioneer Elite BDP-52fd
Sharp 52le810
Monster Power 1650
Directv hr-24
Xbox 360
Harmony 900
AQ Forest HDMI

I am using an Ikea besta stand top and bottom. I have a 12v power supply running a 250mm fan above my Vsx-32 to keep air moving. My room isnt very large so I am limited as to what I can do, But I have some plans in mind. I am considering some inwalls for front heights, and some FSXIa6 for surround duty. 

Some of these photos have some older stuff in them. My Carvers and the turntable are now in the listening room, the Panny bluray has been replaced by the Pioneer, and the crown is now powering the sub.

























Added some spikes to the A6 to give is a slight angle 









Pioneers were an idea I had for 2 channel listening, before I setup my dedicated room. 









This is a project I did to get the speakers a mirror finish. I 3 step polished them out and bam pure awesome sauce

























2 Channel room.

Lsi9
Carver C-1
Carver M1.0t
Polk Dsw600
Dual 1257 Table
Panasonic Bd30
Aq King Cobra interconnects
Diy speaker Cables
Sanus NF30 stands- custom stain
Lack Rack with some mods
Safe and sound acoustic panels, and bass traps
Ikea Poang Chair
Custom Built PC used for lossless and Interweb radio

This room is were most of my money and alot of my time goes. Since its my little space, I can do what I want. The WAF does not apply in here. My room treatments are not complete but they have made a huge improvement. When I first setup that room I couldnt stand to listen in there. It gave me a headache and was very disappointing. The panels are all diy 2x4x3. The wife picked the fabric. 

The lsi9s that I got are first gen speakers that had the uglier (imo) cherry finish. It looked more like a bamboo placemat to me. So with some advice from a polk audio forum member I refinished them in a custom cherry cabernet color. I then sprayed numerous layers of clear high gloss lacquer and the buffed them out. The stands are also matched to the speakers.

Everyone who has heard it is amazed how good it sounds. I am very happy with it but I am always wondering how much better it could be. I only recently found REW and after some tinkering I dont understand how I ever listened to it not equalized. 

Immediate plans are to get a mini dsp to better integrate the sub

The pictures show some changes I have done over the last few months. The first one is the most recent and the best sounding by far.


















































Original finish









Refinished


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## Wardsweb (Apr 2, 2010)

Very nicely done! Good use of lighting. I'm glad to see you move the sub farther away from the turntable.


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## pddufrene (Mar 14, 2013)

I agree the blue lighting in the rear looks cool, gives it a really nice look.


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

Beautiful rooms! I know you enjoy them immensely


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## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

Nice work! Do you leave the blue backlight on when watching video?


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Both setups look fantastic - nicely done mate! :T


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## specd_out (Jul 3, 2013)

Thanks. The blue lights are on when watching movies or playing xbox. They dont look that bright in person. Its more of a subdued blue. I used to have it behind the tv but that just didnt flow as well.


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## david yurik (Feb 17, 2013)

what are you doing to finish off those speakers?? awesome sauce is a complete understatement. absolutely beautiful. do you have a step by step somewhere with pics i hope i hope!!

dave


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## tripplej (Oct 23, 2011)

I echo what everybody else here wrote. Very nicely done. I like the equipment as well as how you put it all together in both rooms. Very good. The lighting gives it that personal touch. Great job!


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## Nec (Oct 1, 2013)

Both setups look fantastic and solid.


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## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

Wow that's a sweet upgrade on the speakers!! Nice setups you have they both look great.


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## kevin360 (Oct 4, 2012)

Awesome sauce, indeed - the finish on those speakers looks like a million bucks! :TT

Many moons ago, I owned a Carver C1 (along with a pair of M400t amps). It's nice to see someone keeping a nice pair of classics on the road. Both systems look great and I'm sure you're delighted to have them separated, so that each may be more tailored to its purpose. Care to share details on the car collection?


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## specd_out (Jul 3, 2013)

Over the last few months I have made a few changes to my HT setup. I picked up two Carver Tfm-15cb from a local guy. One was working and one had a bad buzz in both channels. I paid $200 for both. Spent $45 on new caps and a few bucks on new rca inputs and speaker terminals. Got them both up and running and within spec. I installed new leds for the VU lights. I choose a warm white and tweaked the output with a resistor to get it to look more "vintage". I know the blue leds are popular but the warm light appeals more to me. I am running them bridged into my Rtia5's for now. I may switch them up to a vertical bi-amp setup and give that a try. They sound great now. Much more tactile bass when listening to music. 










































I also upgraded my power supply to a panamax 5300-pm from my older monster 1650. Cant say I noticed a difference but I feel more secure with a panamax and having 12v switching is great. 

I also designed and built a new HT sub with help (a lot of help) from the awesome members on this forum. I used a Dayton Audio Ultimax 15" sub in a ported 8cuft box. Its running off of a Crown Xls1000 bridged running 1100watts. I got a mini dsp and use rew to calibrate the sub for the room modes. 

















Recessed the ports and the sub into the the front face.

































Thats a Polk MicroPro 4000 box on top LOL :wink: 


























I have plans to fill the screw holes and give a it a piano black finish. It will be kind of a large end table 

These DIY projects have been a ton of fun to do, and give an awesome sense of accomplishment when you get them running. I would advise to anyone thats somewhat handy to try doing something on your own. I am hooked now and will be looking for other things to build.


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

First, the little listening room looks very cozy and inviting, I love the new colours and setup.

And second, great work reconditioning the Carvers. They look fantastic, and the warm white LED really does fit their character. I did some work on an old Pioneer SX-424 and I really appreciate your LED conversion. Keeps the character, but gives it a modern sharpness.


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## carodriguez1214 (Sep 12, 2014)

really cool like the look


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