neo33 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I am currently trying out different combination of heritages for my home theatre system. The current set up is: pair of La Scalas front, single Heresy II center, pair of Cornwalls rear. The La Scalas are 5.25 feet apart and 11 feet from the listening position. The Heresy II is 11 feet from the listening position (and placed with the top the same height as the La Scalas). The Cornwalls are 5.25 feet apart and 2 feet from the listening position. In this combination, the front speakers are overpowering the center; sometime I can hardly here the dialog. What is wrong with my setup? What would be the best combination? What subwoofer will I need to match these heritages? I currently have one pair of La Scalas, one pair of Cornwalls, one pair of Fortes, two pairs of Heresies I and one pair of Heresies II. The pair of La Scala also served as main speakers for my two-channel system. Inputs are appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 i would do away with the center speaker. i'm running 4 corns and a heresy center and can't hear the center either. recently have the center bumped up 4db i love my rsw-15 with my heritage the only answer is a scala center Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 My favorite home theater to date was 5 heresy I's and a pair of big sub. It was really great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I agree although it doesn't sound like you really have the space for one. If that's the case...what if you went the other direction and did some horse trading such that you ended up with say...5 Cornwalls? Three across the front and 2 in the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 I only have one pair of La Scalas and one pair of Cornwalls so I have to work with what I have. Of course I could do all Heresies since I have two pairs of Heresies I and one pair of Heresies II but the La Scalas / Cornwall front just sound so much better. What about using one of the Forte for center? What kind of sub do I need? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjcruiser Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Sounds like a great combination you got there. With the fronts overpowering the others, I guess you should really calibrate your speakers' levels. An SPL meter is handy with this task but trust your ears if you don't. I'd recommend a Velodyne HGS (could find them used cheap) or the newer DD 15" (or above) for your subwoofers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 You need to get the mains much farther apart than 5.25" feet you cannot create a wide image with them that close to one another. If space is an issue use all Heresy's and spread them as far apart as you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Have you run a speaker calibration program? Your pre/pro or receiver should incorporate a calibration program for you to properly set the attenuation of each speaker so they end up volume matched. The LaS, Heresy and Cornwalls will have different efficiencies and will cause the effect you are experiencing. There is also the chance that one of your drivers is bad in the center. What are your room dimension? Just curious since the dimensions you mentioned are rather close for the LaS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I have no problem hearing the center with the PLC-II setting. The 7.1 setting is reduced some. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 With proper level calibration, you should be able to hear the Heresy center just fine. Expect a 7 dB difference in calibration (you said you had only a 4 dB difference). Also, 5.25 feet apart? The room is too small... :-( They won't ever image, but i suppose that might not matter for HT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 The room is 10' X 16' and the home theatre system is placed along the narrow side of the room, hence the distance between the La Scalas is only 5.25 feet apart. However, they image perfectly well for 2-channel music listening. I am still trying to figure out how to do calibration with my HT receiver as I am not sure if it has such a function. The other thing I tried was using one of the Cornwalls temporarily as the center and it sounded quite incredible. Though I just don't have enough room to use the Cornwall or another La Scala as center. These speakers are way too big for the size of the room but boy did they sound good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BE36 Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 The 7 DB sounds about right, La Scalas are around 104 DB at 1 watt & 1 Meter, Heresy around 96 so a difference of 8 Db and you are the same distance away so 7 - 8 Db sounds about right. Distance away is huge factor, sound drops off with the square of distance. Do you have the same gauge Interconnects and Speaker Cables to your Center? If you have really small gauge wire or a long run to your center channel that could be a factor. Try the room calibration on your reciever or get a Sound Pressure meter from Radio Shack and manualy trim when out puting a test signal = sounds harder saying than doing. Some movies and even more music do not use the center channel hardly at all, but if the La Scalas working and being feed properly they should image so that it sounds like the Center speaker is doing all the work when this is done in the Mix. Good example is Jewel, Alice in Wonder Land, BluRay, OK bad example, nothing goes to the center in the acoustic part but you would swear the center is doing most of the work. My La Scalas are less than 5 feet apart, the image is amazing, only issue is that I have to sit 7 feet away or less. . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesV Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 With the speakers that you have listed you should try every combination that you can think of. Only down size would be time, also make of list of how each setup sounds to you for both pro's and con's. As Budman mentioned that if you change to Corns front with the Heresy you want to boost up the db by at least 4 if not more. Man I bet the La Scala front with the Corn center sounds great. I am working on an all Corn setup but need a bigger room to put them into and at the moment it's not going to happen. Good luck. Also what receiver are you running this off of, maybe someone can help you out with the calibrating issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 The room is 10' X 16' and the home theatre system is placed along the narrow side of the room, hence the distance between the La Scalas is only 5.25 feet apart. However, they image perfectly well for 2-channel music listening. I am still trying to figure out how to do calibration with my HT receiver as I am not sure if it has such a function. They all have such a function! I'm surprised you guys are getting proper imaging on a 10 foot wall. I could never acheive that with 11 feet. I would have thought they would sound much better on the 16-foot wall, toed-in to face you (like Klipschorns). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 Well, I figured out how to calibrate my HT receiver. I compensated for 7dB difference between the Heresy II and the La Scalas. In busy scenes, it is still a bit difficult to here the diaglog clearly. With the Cornwall as center uncalibrated, it still sounded much better with crisp and clear diaglog in very busy scenes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BE36 Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Cornwall it is, I do not understand why busy scenes would affect it. Good connections?, some thing off in the Processor? Someone that knows more about processors should chime in. Picture of my unique room that images well with 4.5' between La Scalas. Stucco walls, Open Walls, Open Rough Red Pine Floor Joists above all help? Tilted up slightly ala Craig NOS Valves. I would love to have a bigger room but until the kids move out that will not happen. If you are in Detroit bring a BluRay or CD and stop in for a listen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Well, I figured out how to calibrate my HT receiver. I compensated for 7dB difference between the Heresy II and the La Scalas. In busy scenes, it is still a bit difficult to here the diaglog clearly. With the Cornwall as center uncalibrated, it still sounded much better with crisp and clear diaglog in very busy scenes. What you are running into are the benefits of timbre matching. That is why the Cornwall sounds so much better. However, it should be still 'listenable' with the Heresey. Please double check the drivers in the Heresey. If at all possible, check the crossover for any problems. Keep at it, you will get it working properly at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Is there any way you can use a Cornwall as a center, perhaps on its side vs. vertically set up? That is your ideal setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 The Cornwall just take up way too much space as center speaker. Beside, I don't have a spare Cornwall. Maybe when I have a bigger room, I will build an all Cornwalls HT system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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