[tstewart]

* Amps: ~7 year old Panasonic A/V amp that seems to work well, Older Sony drives the subwoofer.
* Subwoofer: 12" passive Radio Shack (Optimus) ported
* L/R: Axiom W3 in-walls - very impressive!
* Center: Pioneer something - It just died. I'm planning on replacing with an Axiom M3 V2
* Satellites: Radio Shack (Optimus) cheapies. Going to paint them wall color.
* TV: Panasonic 50" plasma, 1280i
* DVD: ? I forget
* TV source: Dish Network w/ HD DVR
* Remote: cheap Radio Shack learning universal. Just ran out of memory when I tried to teach it from the dimmer remote.

I'll add model numbers when I am at home.

The biggest problem with my system is that my wife usually wants me to turn it down.

Looking to test frequency response for the system and probably get a parametric amp for the sub, maybe a sub amp, maybe put together a new sub with an 18" Dayton sub driver, ...
Seems like testing the system's frequency response is a good starting point. I plan on downloading the Room EQ Wizard and getting a Radio Shack SPL meter for that. Probably should wait until the carpet and curtains are installed! Other than the parametric amp for the sub and maybe new sub and sub amp, not sure what else I would do. I'm wondering if there is a way to hook a parametric amp into the main amp for the other speakers.

 

[tstewart]

I am building a credenza for my home theater room, and am adding a Microsmith Hot Link Pro Remote Control Booster System, so that I don't need glass doors to operate my equipment by remote. The Microsmith system relays IR signals from a receiver that you place outside the cabinet (they say even behind the TV works) to the equipment inside the cabinet. I'll let you know how it works when I am done.

 

[tstewart]

I also just got a Sunon cooling fan, model SP101A-1123HST.GN.
Specs: 120 X 120 X 38 MM; 115 VAC; 85/105 CFM; 50/60 HZ; 20/18 W; 43/48 DBA.

I read on some forum (don't remember if it was here) that a particular 120VAC Sunon fan was quiet. Couldn't find the one recommended, but this one was close in model number and had fairly low db numbers. I plan on mounting the fan in a hole in the bottom of my equipment cabinet. It will draw air from a channel in the cabinet base that is open at the far end of the room and will push it out through a long slot in the back of the countertop above the cabinet. I just received the fan, and plugged it in, and it sounds louder than I expected. It will be better in the cabinet, but I am going to try running it with a dimmer switch to slow it down. I'll also get an attic fan thermostat, so it will run as needed. A variable speed thermostat would be cool (ha ha). Any advice on any of this?

 

[tstewart]

Updated version:
* Amps: ~7 year old Panasonic AV Control Receiver SA-HE100 that seems to work well
Older Sony STR-VX250 receiver drives the subwoofer.
* Subwoofer: 12" passive Radio Shack (Optimus) ported
* L/R: Axiom W3 in-walls - very impressive!
* Center: Axiom M3 V2
* Satellites: Radio Shack (Optimus) cheapies. Going to paint them wall color.
* TV: Panasonic 50" plasma, 1280i
* DVD: Sony DVP-NS75H
* TV source: Dish Network VIP722 HD DVR with two tuners
* Remote: cheap Radio Shack learning universal. Just ran out of
memory when I tried to teach it from the dimmer remote.
* Gaming: Wii
* Dimmer: Lutron IR controlled dimmer switch. This thing seems frivolous
until you have one. Then it is indispensable.
* Lighting: 4" recessed halogen
* Heat: Wood burning fireplace insert. Very nice on a cold winter day or
night.

I am in the midst of renovating the home theater room. As mentioned before, I am currently building a credenza to house the A/V equipment. I'm going to cool the cabinet with a fan. I sent the Sunon cooling fan back. It was noisy. It was 120v AC. Maybe that had something to do with it. I am replacing it with a:
* Noctua NF-S12B ULN 120mm Ultra Low Noise Case Fan
which I will control with an 120v thermostat upstream of the 12v transformer:
* LV3 Lux Products Line Voltage Cooling Only Single Thermostat

Also have a:
* Microsmith Hot Link Pro Remote Control Booster System

And am getting something nice from Santa:
* Dayton RSS390HF-4 15" Reference HF Subwoofer
I'm going to build an LLT (9 cu. ft. qualifies as Large, right?) with it in the next few months. Have to get that credenza done first! I'll post a build thread when I do.

I used the Room EQ Wizard's Log sweep generator yesterday to tune my system by ear yesterday (no SPL meter yet). It showed me that my current sub really drops off below 70 hz. I was able to improve things a fair amount though with the limited controls available. There is too much overlap between my mains and the sub, peaking around 100 hz. Unfortunately, the crossover frequency is not adjustable. I turned on "loudness", turned up the bass knob and adjusted the gain on the "sub" amp. That improved things quite a bit. The LLT sub should be a huge improvement. It will be interesting to see how well the old Sony amp will do with it until I get a real sub amp. I had to turn the gain way up to get the sub to generate some sound below 30 hz. Created some room rattles that I'll have to deal with later.