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Seen where a family not familiar with this area took the advised route on their remote access to directions device (whatever you call it) and got stuck in the snow on a mountain road. Results, vehicle ran out of fuel, they burned all the tires for warmth, husband died while trying to walk out and get help. Not all the roads in this area go completely through to another road whatever the computer driving instructions say. Your thoughts appears good on the surface. However I prefer to use my own judgement. I don't like Big Brother following where I go. I stopped keeping track of where I fill up for fuel years ago when I realized that it could be used to track my movements. Call me paranoid if you will. I probably am, I admit it. Not that I do illegal things or go where I should not. I just like my privacy. This automated driving might be OK IF can just switch it off when desired. Some of the features I could tolerate. Some I can not. It would be nice to be able to sleep while going on a long trip though. But only if I choose to use that function at that time. John

Ethan Winer's website is a good place to start for basics and some DIY construction details.

I have bought around 15pannels from ATS for two rooms and a few for a friend and they work great. People over think placement (what they said). Just getting the panels in the room on the walls is going to be the biggest upgrade by it self. Putting them in the very best spots will gain better results but it's small compared to the gain of getting them in the room on the walls. With are 5,7 and even 9 or 11 speaker set ups. Sound is bouncing all over the place. Unless you have a huge room your placement is going to be pre set based in where they will even fit if you get the 24 x 48 panels. The biggest upgrade to me is with the side and back speakers. They sound a lot better in a treated room. With no panels really loud parts of movies sounded really loud. With panels really loud parts don't really sound just loud but bigger, clearer, and more dynamic if that makes sence.

And when you go to mount the panels, I highly recommend these Z-Clips from ATS. They provide a very clean look and I don't have to worry about my panels being unlevel and they remain snug and secure against the wall.

I bought my DIY panels and bass traps from my neighbor. They are very simple in design. You can see them in my build thread here and my thoughts after adding them here. I agree with Scrappy, I think every room can benefit from acoustic panels. Reflections cause the sound to hit your ears at different times causing the sound to be not as clear as the sound just coming directly from the speaker. The first place I added them were the first reflection points. Sit in your main LP and have someone with a tall mirror on the side wall move it until you can see your speaker in the mirror. That's where you will want to place panels. I was explained why it's important to have panels at the first reflection point. Sound comes from the speaker directly to your ears but some of that sound hits the side wall, and reflects off and then hits your ears. Although this is a very slight delay, it is enough to "confuse" your ears and thus causes the sound to appear unclear. Not a very scientific explanation but it works for me because when I added panels, the main thing I noticed was added clarity and precision. In my student ministry building, sometimes I will ask my youth a question and they can be 15 feet from me and I'll have to ask them to repeat their question because of the echo in the room. It causes the sound to be muddy, unclear and my brain is definitely confused by the reflected sound I'm hearing. Other than where to place them, I left mine leaning against the wall because I was afraid I wasn't sure exactly where I should mount them. Without a laptop, software and a microphone, I don't know if there is a scientific approach to it. I added a panel behind each main speaker just because I had seen many others do it. LOL One along my back wall just because it's a very flat, hard surface. I've often seen people add diffusers on the back wall to help spread out the reflected sound. I was considering buying panels from ATS and really liked these Chameleon AT Panel Frames but as you can see, they get quite expensive. The DIY route is a lot more cost effective and you can easily add whatever fabric you want to match your decor. Before I placed them, I drew up a sketch in Photoshop of where I was considering mounting them. Here is the final results

Although it is perfectly possible to drive Klipschorns with 1 or 2 watts of power, that's not enough for some of us in larger rooms, with questionable taste and demanding program material -- mostly movies -- but also some very high dynamic range orchestral music. I have been running Klipschorns with 150 watts per channel, with a Belle Klipsch center (similar to La Scala), and Heresy II surrounds. The dynamics continue to amaze us. Here is my advice: You may need about 130 (or more) watts if your room is larger than 4,500 cu ft, and you listen from about 15 feet (or more) away from the Klipschorns. That's my situation. The Klipschorn has been measured to have anywhere from 105 dB @ 1 Watt @1 Meter, all the way down to 98 dB @ 1 watt @1 meter, depending on who is measuring it, and whether it is measured (probably inapropriately) using AES standards in an anechoic chamber, or, as it should be, in a corner, either in Klipsch's special anechoic chamber with a corner built in, or in a real room, in a corner. Even 98 dB is very efficient. But let's take the most conservative method, to build in a safety factor, and some headroom. 128 watts into a single Khorn, at 16 feet away, in my room, will provide a little more than 110dB sound pressure at the listener's ears. At Reference Level for modern movies, the loudest SPL from a single main channel is 105 dB, so 110 dB would give you 5 dB headroom above Reference, in case you unwittingly have the movie running at above Reference Level. So far, so good. But the movie industry may push the special effects (LFE) up to 115 dB, at Reference, from the listening position. That intense sound is meant to go to a subwoofer, and that's one of the many reasons to use a good subwoofer. IMO, this is much more important than bi-amping. The reason for getting a powered subwoofer is that the movie people assign astonishing loud sounds, without warning, sometimes reaching down below the bass extension of (even) Klipschorns to the special subwoofer output. You will either miss these Low Frequency Effects (LFE), or if your preamp allows it, pump them into the Khorns, conceivably causing damage. If you have a subwoofer, the LFE can go directly to it, with the effects (LFE) low pass filter (LPF) set fot the movie standard of 120 Hz. Meanwhile you can use bass management to send the lowest musical material to the sub also, to mix with the LFE, instead of having it go to the Khorns. Klipschorn owners often try various crossovers from the THX and Audyssey recommended 80 Hz, on down to 40 Hz or lower. Khorns are so good at reproducing transients that they make most subwoofers look sick, within the Khorn's relatively smooth range. Some Khorns have a little dip at 70 Hz, others do not. Most roll off at 35 Hz and below, although you can measure some response as low as about 25 Hz. A few people set the Khorns to LARGE on their preamp/receivers, and set their subs to LFE + MAIN. In certain rooms, with certain speaker layouts, from certain listening positions, this can provide intense, clean bass, without much phase cancellation. In most people's situations, though, it doesn't work very well, partly due to too much phase cancellation.

Another RF-5....

Although I never had the pleasure of conversation with you I can tell that you were highly respected for your input and steadfast convictions to what you believed to be true. As a Texan I was taught by my father that your word and handshake means more than an signature or contract, it sounds as if you are a man of his word, I am a man that knows not how to express himself in times like these so I give to you a saying that I grew up with in my adult word: Fair Winds and Following Seas to You on the Travels You Embark Upon; Your Guidance from Above Comes to Us Tenfold Since Your Depature. Rest easy shipmate, stand relieved from your watch. Michael Welch Chief Petty Officer United States Navy (Retired)