rplace

One other note I forgot to mention. I see myself using this room for about 50% movies 35% music and 15% HDTV (read super bowl parties, NCAA tourney, some HDHBO). So my primary focus is on movies, thought I am music freak I find when I have a precious 2 hours to spare it is more often spent with my wife watching a movie then digging through my life long collection of music. This room is in the basement, I have a smaller 5.1 system with a 37 CRT TV for every day TV. For now I think I am more interested in replication the best movie experiance I can rather then lots of TV programming.

Jay, I have been back and forth in my mind between white, brilliant white and gray screens. Not having much luck in my area seeing anything but 1.0 gain white screens. Sales people tell me that if you have light control and 1000 lumens projector white is my best option. I understand that the gray screens make the blacks blacker, but doesnt it follow that the whites must in turn be a bit duller or even the rest of the entire picture is a tad less bright? What am I missing here? As for viewing angle I don't think that comes into play much in my room as it is 16X13...pretty small by most dedicated standards or at least from what I read/see here with all the super nice rooms. Mostly two viewers centered about 12 of the 16 feet back. Keep those thoughts coming as I have to pull the trigger soon. Thanks, Rich

Thanks for the input Shawn, how happy are you with the material/construction of your Carada screen? I hear a lot of great things about Stewart, but hard to justify the 2X or 3X price. So the wider screen is the way to gono opposing points of view? Any HD projector owners out there using a HD aspect ratio screen and wish they had done differently?

I am sure this has been covered some where before, but I dont get much luck on my exact question searching through past posts. Sorry if this is redundant. I have an HD projector (Panasonic AE700). Currently I have my drywall up and 40 8 ½ X 11 sheets of copy paper taped together as a test screen. This test screen it fairly close to HD format and I have drawn corners on the paper for various sized I am considering. I am trying to figure out what screen size will work best. If I go the HD (1.78:1) route I am looking at 92inch diagonal which is roughly 45X80. However most of the DVDs I have purchased are in widescreen/letterbox format. My projector does have a zoom feature that switches between various formats. The down side is most movies I have tested with look best when the lens is shifted to make a smaller picture keeping the letterboxed format. In effect shrinking the size of the picture down in height. Check out the various formats with explanations at http://www.carada.com/criterion-series-screens.aspx. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to try and keep close to my 45 inch height but go with a wider format screen. Some options are 45.6X84.5, 45.6X93.5 and 47X110. My thinking is that when viewing HDTV I would have the projector projecting in its native format and have extra space on the right left of the screen but almost full top to bottom. If viewing a standard movie still space on left/right but less of it, and when viewing a Star Wars or LOTR type movie it would be even less space left/right, but in every case I would be close to the 45 inch height. Is my thought process all backwards? Should I just stick with HD format screen? Am I not doing something right on my projector to take advantage of the screen size? I have requested screen samples from Carada and Stewart to try and determine if I want a white screen or one of the grey options. I have total control of the light in the room. Anybody have this projector and feel strongly on white vs. gray? Any and all comments greatly appreciated, Rich

Longer ago then I care to admit I had KG4s and Carver separates (CT-17 preamp/tuner and TFM-25) The TFM-25 was more then enough power and they sounded fantastic. There are plenty of TFM-25s that pop up on ebay for around 300 bucks. If you go that route you wont be disappointed. If you are looking for something newI cant help you much. Good luck, Rich

I must admit my interactions with portable screens are the 30+ year old variety when my parents had a slide show and they pulled out the Kodak carousel and screen to show birthday pictures. Those screens were cumbersome and flimsy. Maybe those dark days in the basement planted the seed for my current HT obsession. The surround sound of my two older sisters laughing at pictures of me as a naked baby hardly compare to mega-watt, multi channel Klipsch sound. While looking for my HT projector and permanent screen Chris happened to show me the da-lite insta-theater as an option if I wanted to take my HD projector on the road for a super bowl parry or some other event. For me it was simple, solid, easy to use and well built. However I dont really need one. I for sure got a warm and fuzzy feeling and if I was made of money would probably get one just for the wow factor. On the other hand if I was in the business of taking my presentations on the road, I would have probably seen one by now and saidyea, that is nicewhat else ya got that I have not seen. Hope this helps, Rich

One more thing. While I was there he showed me this cool da-lite that you just set the "tube" on the ground and pull the screen up, it just sort of stays in place when up. I am used to seing the portable ones where you put some sort of telescoping arm up first then hang the screen on it...this one was very slick...but then I am easily amused.

Give this a look. Ask for Chris if you call, the guy is nice and his prices are good. I bought my projector there. He had several portable screens. Projectors and screens are their main business. I have no connection to them other then satisfied customer. He shipps pretty quickly. http://www.ritzav.com/ Good luck, Rich

Been wondering since last weeks posts about how "Small" K-horns are when actually in place, can anyone give me the inches/feet they actually extend into the room when put in an actual corner? Also what would be the minimum size room to get decent performance out of them? Thanks, Rich

Olorin, interesting that you mention that. I dont have a table saw and cutting nice straight lines with my circular saw is not my Forte (Klipsch reference intended). I was wondering how one might go about getting somebody to make a cabinet. What sort of cabinet shop would you suggest? A place that makes kitchen cabinets, perhaps? Would they just take measurements of my current Academy or would they need to dismantle it? I have done some rough counter making with MDF, Laminate and rubber cement. Is putting on a veneer pretty much the same drill? Do wood working shops carry veneers in sheets? I have never tackled speaker construction, but since there are no baffles or ports on an Academy, would it be just a matter of making a wooden box to size, cutting holes to fit the drivers and swapping out the parts? Any magic dust Klipsch puts in the box to get that sweet sound? Thanks for any and all info! Rich

Yea, yours would be a little darker then the Oak, but to be perfectly honest with you my Chours are Walnut and my Forte is oak. I have an oak AND walnut set of heresys so I can use either set. I just figured I would never get all my Academys in Walnut to match my Chorus and that down the road I wold have a better chance of trading/getting/selling/buying oak over walnut . In a perfect world I would rather have all Walnut then all oak, but figured that would never happen. I am totally excited that you are open to a trade. I would be willing to send you mine first so you are not with out a speaker for several days and pay your shipping to boot. Let's try and see if we can work this out. PM me or shoot me off a message to rplace@mantistech.com Thanks for the offer

I was wondering about the price run up too. Guess that is the skeptic in my coming out. I am actually quite amazed that people always post about things they plan to bid on. I would surely like to play poker with these people as they keep their cards really close to the vest, dont they ;-) The evil part of my mind tells me that if I am trying to unload my XYZ brand of anything I would take a look around in forums and news groups to get a decent idea of price range. Next I would keep tabs on those spots and look for message traffic. If there is a lot of interest, I would be tempted to get a new ebay account or get some friend with an account to do some shill bidding. Against the ebay rules I betbut hard to enforce I would think. It is a nice thing forum members do to tip the others to hot itemsbut come on, if you are thinking of bidding on something what is to be gained by saying your really really have to have it. If the seller runs across such messages I think it would take the average Joe a lot of self discipline to not bid it up some. Maybe this is an unlikely scenario, but why take any chances with your hard earned money. Looks like I violated my own principal in my earlier post stating that: So now I REALLY need to get that cabinet What I meant was A cabinet, not THAT specific one. I was quite certain it would go for more then the 125 or so I was willing to pay for a wooden box. I was in fact shocked to see it at 300+, though. With the price that even broken ones are commanding maybe I will rethink my space needs, forget all about Academys and go with Choruss all around for less money and part out rather then sell in tact my various Academys.

Thanks guys for the lead on Linear Actuators. They seem to fit the bill nicely. Wide range of prices and lengths/force. I am not much of an electrical person so this is sort of fun to explore. I still have one question. Do you guys envision the set up to use the L.A. to still pull/push a cable attached to pulley system, or in some way mound the L.A. to the speaker directly or perhaps a shelf and raise/lower the speaker in a more direct manner? Do either of those scenarios make sense the way I described them? One other question - I see lots of motors for the actuators listed inches per minute would that be some function of the motors speed for lack of a better word or the actual inches the motor will extend/retract the rod. For example I see 8.4 inches per minute and 19.2 inches per minute. If it happened to be that the rod extends at a rate of 8.4 inches per minute and I want to move it over a foot that seems to be a long time to wait. I notice the Satellite movers tend to be slower and cost less then more industrial models? Is that because you need a more precise and thus slower movement to point the dish in the right spot? Thanks again, Rich

Wow, guess I could not be more wrong in my assessment that 300 was way high. I just looked at it and it is already over that. mandi, not sure if you were posting to me, but if so what are you suggesting? I looked at the KLF-C7 specs and it is close in size but not quite a match. All I want is the Academy cabinet...no parts at all. If you are interested in the guts of the speaker I will for sure go in on it with you...or anybody else that wants to for that matter. On a side note I have 3 black Academys one with a mangled corner that I am trying to get UPS to make good on and an OO academy that I have had since day one new in box. It is looking like I will ultimately only need 3 of my 4 Academys, 2 will be used as sides on my 7.1 set up due to space problems with Heresys in the Rear. The 3rd will be used in my standard TV area concealed by a custom built cabinet. My problem is that the 2 used in the 7.1 set up really need to be OO, to match my Chorus/Forte/Heresy. So being that I have an extra to play with but need to end up with two OO and the 3rd I really don't care about I am open to suggestions. Rich

Try this: http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=137

I have been keeping an eye on this since the day is showed up. I purchased a black Academy, though I sorely need an Oak one, and it arrived yesterday. My original plan was to swap out my black components into this cabinet. Unfortunately my black one arrived yesterday and the corner was damaged in shipping So now I REALLY need to get that cabinet. Hopefully my good Karma of not bidding on fellow forum member Lipinski when he was seriously in want of one will be repaid here. WFIW, I think the early suggestion of 300 is quite high, if the seller has damaged the driver and broken the binding post - my feeling is that you discount all the components and tell yourself that you are just buying a decent cabinet. If it turns out that the rest of components are working...then all the better. Guess that is the beauty of an auction, everybody has their price.

Looking for some thoughts on how to pull this off. In my previous post: http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=57756&sessionID={B616DEFA-788B-42F7-9808-BDEDF35A14B4} DrWho and others had some great ideas for my room. I am now kicking around the idea of how to raise and lower one or more speakers from a location recessed up between the floor joists down to listening level. The area between my floor joists will nicely house either my Heresys or Academys. I have purchased some stainless steel aircraft wire and some pulleys to play around with. I dont think it will be too tough to figure out the rigging, but I am at a loss for how to automate it. I dont know much about electric motors, but would think something like a smaller version of a garage door opener. Something that has a forward and reverse and a way to limit the travel. This motor would then act like a winch taking up or letting out the aircraft wire to raise/lower the speaker. I have already determined I cannot get a completely flush mount in the ceiling when retracted, but a small protrusion will do. Anybody got any thought on how to make this work or where to buy the equipment needed? I have seen some pretty slick set ups for lowering a projector so it cant be that hard. I also have a trigger output on my projector to lower a screen. I wonder if that could be used to lower speakers instead? Thanks, Rich

Give this link a look: http://dolbylabs.com/consumer/home_entertainment/roomlayout.html Does not address your exact concerns, but gives a good visual representation of speaker placement for various systems 5.1/6.1/7.1

I'll keep you in mind. I want to first get the new ones...try various combinations of Heresy and Academy in the back (6.1 and 7.1) before I decide if I will *need* 4 black ones. Assuming 2 heresys and 2 academys fit and work well in my 7.1 set up. I will keep the OO for my current TV area and be looking to get rid of one of the balck Academys.

The mystery bidder is revealed.me. Kind of funny story I was composing this very related message http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=58117&sessionID={0E7922A4-B5E1-4F87-BA01-A786920DFB8A} when I decided to check ebay for an Academy. I was shocked to see the 3 up for bid. Not a great price at allbut certainly market value as of late. I was very surprised at the OO one that went for 680, as I had requested pix from the seller and it is in way worse shape then the black ones up today. I currently have an exceptional OO and my plans are to use either 2 of the Academys for sides or all 4 (3 from auction and mine) for rears/sides of a 7.1 set up. If I go the all 4 route I will need to Trade my OO Academy for a black one as I think having on Oak one in a batch of four might look odd. Anybody have three OOs they want to trade for three black ;-)

Wondering if anyone out there has actually heard Academys used as surrounds? I remember when I bought my single Academy to compliment my Forte IIs way back in 1992, or there about, I asked the salesman when I save up some more money what would make good surrounds for that set up. He said my best bet would be two more Academys. I found that odd to use a center as surrounds, but he assured me it would sound great. Well I never did save up that money, fast forward 10+ years and two different houses and I am now building a dedicated theater. Drawing it out on paper and in mind I thought 4 Heresys for the rear part of a 7.1 set up would be the ultimate I could get in my room. However this weekend I actually put the equipment in the mostly finished room and I dont think it is going to be at all practical. As the framing gives way to drywall and speaker placementthe room just keeps shrinking. If you read any of my posts on ceiling mounts vs. speaker stands you know my dilemma with a set of double doors. I discovered that an Academy is the perfect size to fit above those doors and angle down toward the seating area. That got me to thinking not only cold I use them for sides of a 7.1 but also to rears to make the logistics of the room easier. So does anyone have any ear-time with Academys as surrounds in 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1??? What do you think? If not actual listening experience does anyone have an opinion on 4 Academys in place of 4 Heresys? I would really like to use the Heresys, but it is looking like at the very least I have to scrap my 7.1 plans in favor of 5.1 or 6.1 BTW, my current Academy is OO. I know they are getting harder and harder to come by in decent shape and more and more expensive for that matter. But just for arguments sake lets assume I could snap my fingers and have four of either Heresys or Academys As usual, thanks for the input.

Do you have a copy of Steve Martin's "King Tut" on 45 to play on that turntable?

Thanks for all the input, DrWho. I think I am going to explore 6.1 with one Heresy on the closet/shelf and the other Heresy and Forte mounted on the ceiling from a suspended platform of aircraft wire or threaded rod. These platforms will be in the same plane as that of the speaker on the shelf (read same height and distance from back wall). My thinking is that with some sort of platform I am not locked into a fixed location. Yes a fixed distance off the back wall, but I can rotate or change the angle a bit. Sort of a shelf but up from the back wall if you will. Also with this setup I could swap the forte out for my other heresy for checking performance. This will also spread out my two rears more then if I put all 3 on the back wall. Not to limit myself I think I will still run a set of 7.1 wires in the walls before I drywall. This way when I am looking for a project in the years to come I can give that a go. I am assuming I should put the heresys and forte upside down so woofer is closer to the ceiling, right? If I go with the heresys on their sides to give me more head room while moving around the room (that one is going to be close to the pocket door entrance) then I will put them with woofers toward the walls. Either way I think I will try and keep the single centered forte upside down and not on one side.

Hmmm, I must be missing something here. In my past two homes I have had 5.1 and due to the room being used for a lot more then just a theater I had my surrounds mounted on the rear wall (mostly because I was missing all or part of a side wall). But it was my understanding in a perfect world you would want the surrounds mounted on either side or to the side and slightly back of the listening area. Even though most setup you see have the surrounds in or on the back wall I thought ideally they should be on the side walls. Is this not necessarily true? More or less as I am construction a HT from the ground up, yes I am stuck with the double doors and the space allotted but I dont have to worry about additional use. So my thinking was that even if I went the 5.1 route the first choice would be to have the two surround speakers on the side of the listening area at ear height. Next I thought if I went the 6.1 route I would just take the 5.1 optimal in my mind setup and add a rear center. If I went the 7.1 route I would just add two speakers in the rear instead of the one rear center. While it might be fun to say I have a 7.1 setup what I am really looking for is the right sound. I am totally fine with 5.1 or 6.1 if that is in my best interest. Currently I have 8 speakers to work with - more if I pirate some from my current upstairs system. In the heritage line I have Chorus, Forte II, two set of Heresy and an Academy. Again my thinking (flawed as it may be) was that if I went the rear wall method (read no side speakers) I would be losing a few feet of separation do to the closet/stairs in the back. That is why I reduced the height and made a shelf to widen the area in the back. How about one speaker on the closet shelf and another in roughly the same area on the other side suspended from the ceiling? For the sake of argument lets take the sides at ear level out of the equation and stick with 6.1. Do I want the three rears (LS, Rear Center, RS) to be on the same plane? Do I need them to be the same height? Do I need them to be the same speaker? To that final question consider that when I was thinking 7.1 I had 4 Heresys and 2 Forte IIs. My use of one Forte (center) would leave me with and extra Forte. If I put 3 Heresys across the back then I will still have the extra Forte, but will also have an extra Heresy. Might a better choice be to go with Heresy/Forte II/Heresy across the back? That leaves me a full set of Heresy to play with elsewhere in the house. For the time being I dont think I want to use the Fortes as surrounds a put a Heresy in the Center. I believe Chorus/Forte/Chorus up front will work nicer together then Chorus/Heresy/Chorus, but will probably experiment once the room is done. BTW, I totally like the idea of the some pulley system that raises and lowers the side speaker excellent wow factor! However, this morning I stood and looked at the room for a long time with my current heresy on the shelf and the fake in the ceiling. That puts two powerful speakers within a few feet of each other (overkill perhaps?). So if I dont really NEED the surrounds to be on the sides I think it might be best to use fewer speakers and move them back. Question now is completely on the back wall (cant with the one on the closet unless it is in front of the other two or I forgo the closet and put it next to wall created by closet) or put one on the closet/shelf and put the other two inline with the closet. This would mandate some way of ceiling mounting or suspending from threaded rods or cable. I am open to any and all ideasso keep em coming Many thanks for all the ideas and advice, Rich

Oops, forgot to mention that seating will probably be two rows of 3 seats just about where the text "Heresy's in question..." are. I plan on finishing the ceiling in drywall with a large PVC pipe and access door to area where the projector will be mounted.