surround settings for DCI?

[Ghost]

Edited February 26, 2013 by Ghost

[wvu80]

Locate a Bose outlet, save some more, find out when they're having a sale, and buy a Lifestyle V35. We love ours.

Thanks, I'll check that out as well.

In your opinion, what is the difference in your listening experience when you listen to drum corps with your sub, versus having the sub unplugged? I just don't have a good frame of reference, because drum corps recordings are not typically reference material for audiophiles!

[burgerbob]

I hate to get into a Bose argument, but I wouldn't look at Bose. No offense, but that particular theater setup is overpriced by... well, a lot.

I haven't listened to any recordings of DCI in surround. I would love to, but I'm a stereo guy! My pair of SPL Monitor 4000s powered by a Sony ES power amp (no preamp) plays my recordings as well as I could imagine. And as loud.

Personally, bass isn't a super important part of many drum corps recordings. Nothing is really digging down to the sub-bass frequencies (below say, 40hz) other than some bass drum stuff at times, and maybe modern synthesizer. Many speakers or earphones will reproduce too much bass, which isn't how it sounds.

In a surround sound setup, though, I would have it turned on but matched to the other speakers- it probably has it's own volume control on the back.

[drumcorpsfever]

I wanted to open this discussion back up because I have just upgraded to a 5.1 system, and I have a sub-woofer question.

I have the main components now in place; the heart of my system is an Onkyo TX-nr717 a/v receiver. Power is 110 watts per channel with all 7 channels driven. I have three matched front speakers, 2 main and 1 center which I built out of a kit from Madisound. I have two small KLH surrounds which I custom upgraded with decent tweeters $21 each and a cheap 4" full range speaker for about ten bucks. The system sounds pretty good as it is, with the two small surround speakers really cranking out some good sound with music, which surprised me.

I would like to pull the trigger on a sub, but I have no idea what to expect from subs when it comes to listening to drum corps. I do not want a "muddy" sound, and the system as it stands is plenty loud enough. What I think I do not hear is the tubas, which is not really a subwoofer sound, and all music is much higher in the frequency range than what a sub puts out. My reference piece is 2008 Phantom opener DVD connected via analog RCA jacks.

This is my most likely sub, a Klipsch Reference RW-12d 12" Powered Subwoofer.

Does anybody have suggestions, or can share your equipment experiences with playing drum corps? Or tell me what you hear when you listen to PR 2008 Sparticus opener?

I have experience with both the 10" and 12" subwoofers from Klipsch. Either one is great. Klipsch makes some really fine speakers. The subwoofer is fully adjustable to balance out your system.

Bigger is usually better when it comes to speakers.

Edited February 26, 2013 by drumcorpsfever

[garfield]

I hate to get into a Bose argument, but I wouldn't look at Bose. No offense, but that particular theater setup is overpriced by... well, a lot.

I haven't listened to any recordings of DCI in surround. I would love to, but I'm a stereo guy! My pair of SPL Monitor 4000s powered by a Sony ES power amp (no preamp) plays my recordings as well as I could imagine. And as loud.

Personally, bass isn't a super important part of many drum corps recordings. Nothing is really digging down to the sub-bass frequencies (below say, 40hz) other than some bass drum stuff at times, and maybe modern synthesizer. Many speakers or earphones will reproduce too much bass, which isn't how it sounds.

In a surround sound setup, though, I would have it turned on but matched to the other speakers- it probably has it's own volume control on the back.

I have that ES amp and I also have the ES Pre-amp that I replaced with the Bryston 4B's. That old Sony equipment is great stuff (the pre-amp lets you choose your seat in the stadium and ajusts the sound field accordingly - but who would want to adjust their seat to the 20 yard line? It's excellent for adjusting your seat from up high and back in the stadium to down low and close).

I'd make you a great deal on my Sony stuff if you're interested - it's just sitting in my study gathering dust. (PM me if you're interested).

BTW, I agree about the Bose stuff.

[garfield]

You don't have to convince me on Magnapans, I had them back in the 80's! I had the small ones, 5' tall and 3' wide. They loved power back them, and they were the most accurate speakers I ever owned. Chuck Mangione was big back then, so I played my "Feels So Good" LP at volume, then had my buddy play the same opening solo passage on his flugal horn, LIVE! With my eyes shut, they sounded the same. I bought the Maggies. :) They played drum corps records great!

Unfortunately, upon getting married I immediately discovered that apparently, unbeknownst to me, the Maganpans were "eye sores" so my newly minted WIFE put a PLANT in front of them, to hide their ugliness, and put them FLAT against a back wall so we had more ROOM in the living room.

Yes, I tried to explain that they need to be placed precisely, and that putting things in FRONT of them would ruin the sound, but those are FACTS. As most married men on here can attest, FACTS have NO PLACE in an argument with your WIFE. The speakers went, the wife stayed, 27 years now.

I still remember the sound those speakers put out, and I still miss them.

Don't tell my wife.

That's funny. I did it the other way - I told my wife for 20 years that I was going to one day get my dream setup, and took her to the tweak shop a couple of times to demo the Maggies (she rolled her eyes). But, by the time I was ready to spend the money, she was prepared for my "mid-life crisis", especially when I promised that no blonde nubile came with the speakers.

The Brystons are 250W each so each panel is sucking in as much as 500 watts. I never run them that hot (although the Maggies would love it if I did), but I usually get Christmas cards from American Electric Power when I buy the discs in November. :tongue:/>/>

I'm actually more in love with the Avid DSM-2's because I spend more time in front of the PC than in my listening room. As my EE "tweak" brother said, "You may like the DSM-2 more than the Maggies", and he was almost right. Nothing moves air and creates an accoustic soundfield like the big panels.

The DSM-2's are about $1500 a pair, and are driven by the PC. No amps needed, but they do take up a lot of real estate on my computer desk.

Edited February 26, 2013 by garfield

[gak27]

That's funny. I did it the other way - I told my wife for 20 years that I was going to one day get my dream setup, and took her to the tweak shop a couple of times to demo the Maggies (she rolled her eyes). But, by the time I was ready to spend the money, she was prepared for my "mid-life crisis", especially when I promised that no blonde nubile came with the speakers.

The Brystons are 250W each so each panel is sucking in as much as 500 watts. I never run them that hot (although the Maggies would love it if I did), but I usually get Christmas cards from American Electric Power when I buy the discs in November. :tongue:/>/>/>

My wife did something similar - I used to have Dahlquist DQ20s, which she referred to as "the ironing boards in the living room" - and she asked if there were speaker manufacturers that had models that mounted on the wall in some fashion. Unbeknownst to her, i had discovered the Maggie MGMC1 speakers that "hinge" in and out (lie flat when not in use) and are designed to be on the wall.....she was the actual impetus to spend money on audio equipment!!! I have them paired with an Onix Rocket UFW10 sub and am thrilled with the sound and soundstage...

[Kamarag]

Locate a Bose outlet, save some more, find out when they're having a sale, and buy a Lifestyle V35. We love ours.

Bose is the Starbucks of speakers. You're paying for the marketing and not for the sound. I used to sell home theater, and Bose was for suckers and emasculated men trying to make their "I don't want to see the speaker" wives happy.

As the saying goes, "No highs...no lows...must be Bose".

[deftguy]

You can when they're bi-amped. Dispersion shouldn't be a problem in most situations, with a typical listening room at 14 feet square or so. My room is 16x32 and, while there is definately a "sweet spot" to put a comfy chair, the sheer volume of air they move makes the dispersion not much of an issue. They are, however, finicky to place from the back and side walls. That much is very true in every listening room, and can't very well be modified.

Sorry, but I have measured enough Ribbon speakers in room to know they do not play very loud as the frequency drops. By the time we get to 40hz, Ribbons output has pretty much fallen below audibility. This is not a matter of having enough power, but reaching the excursion limits of the panel itself. A single panel cannot produce deep bass, and the extreme high frequencies without doppler distortion.

Edited February 26, 2013 by deftguy

[wvu80]

I think both sides are right here, as drum corps music does not get into the true sub-sonic range. The Maggies produce an accurate brass sound, so a contra has the depth of sound a live contra-bass does, and trumpets sound like trumpets. Drums "pop" and you can hear the bright attack of a ride cymbal, and the slower decay of a crash cymbal. I liked my Maggies (I was thinking it was an MG-1) because they were so accurate, and pleasing enough you could listen to them all day.

In my current system I just don't get that realism, but I still don't think I have the sonic source material to truly judge what my new system has. The problem is the new system is designed to be 5.1, and each speaker by itself frankly, just doesn't sound that good (maybe "live!) to my ears. That's why I'm wondering if a sub is going to produce some violence into my drum corps listening experience. Right now, everything is too smooth.