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Questions about my RP system


iradrian

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Hello everyone,

 

I would welcome comments on the 3 questions I have regarding my current system (which I love btw): RP-150M fronts, RP-250C center, RP-250S surrounds and R-112SW subwoofer powered by a Denon X4200W AVR. Placement is:

  • Distance between LR is ~8 feet. LR's are on a speaker stand with tweeters approx ear level
  • Center is between them on a cabinet, pointing ear level
  • Surrounds are on side walls at ~100 degree and their tweeters are almost 2 feet above ear level
  • All this in an ~538 square foot rectangular open area. The actual living room is a bit less than halve of this, behind the couch and surrounds are the dining room and kitchen.
  • MLP is right in front of the center, 11 feet away

 

Questions I have:

  1. In movies, sometimes center feels too localized, like I can exactly tell where it is. Would upgrading to an RP-450C help in that?
  2. Sometimes the center feels too dominating in the front stage. The whole system is properly calibrated with MultEQ XT32 (Audyssey), and also calibrated on PC with MiniDSP UMIK-1 - same is happening. Is this normal? If not, what should I do? Is it a placement issue, or should I just reduce centers gain in the AVR?
  3. What upgrade paths you'd recommend strictly for movie watching? Like upgrading center to RP-450C. Would it fit the RP-150M-s? Any other AVR in this "league" which could be a better match for this system? Keep in mind I'm not interested in Atmos. I'm also thinking on upgrading the sub to R-115SW or an Ultimax 15" DIY build.

 

I do appreciate any constructive comments!

 

Thanks,
Adrian

Edited by iradrian
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Welcome to the forum!

Think your setup is alright now.

Just needs some tweaking.

Lately there has been discussion

here regarding Audyssey and other auto setup, room correction programs that almost invariably needs manual assistance in making a difference in your listening experience.If you want to include a picture of the room, that may assist in advice given. In any case, others here will help.

Thanks!

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24 minutes ago, iradrian said:

 

Questions I have:

  1. In movies, sometimes center feels too localized, like I can exactly tell where it is. Would upgrading to an RP-450C help in that?
  2. Sometimes the center feels too dominating in the front stage. The whole system is properly calibrated with MultEQ XT32 (Audyssey), and also calibrated on PC with MiniDSP UMIK-1 - same is happening. Is this normal? If not, what should I do? Is it a placement issue, or should I just reduce centers gain in the AVR?
  3. What upgrade paths you'd recommend strictly for movie watching? Like upgrading center to RP-450C. Would it fit the RP-150M-s? Any other AVR in this "league" which could be a better match for this system? Keep in mind I'm not interested in Atmos. I'm also thinking on upgrading the sub to R-115SW or an Ultimax 15" DIY build.

 

1.  The center speaker is supposed to be localized, its main job is to center voices on the screen.  The 450C is an amazing center and will match perfectly with your other speakers. 

 

2.  I would start by adjusting the output level and see if that helps.  Also, go in the menu of your receiver and turn off anything labeled Late Night Mode, Dynamic Sound, etc.

 

3.  You have an awesome receiver.  Spend some time getting everything set up with it.  

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4 minutes ago, wuzzzer said:

 

1.  The center speaker is supposed to be localized, its main job is to center voices on the screen.  The 450C is an amazing center and will match perfectly with your other speakers. 

 

2.  I would start by adjusting the output level and see if that helps.  Also, go in the menu of your receiver and turn off anything labeled Late Night Mode, Dynamic Sound, etc.

 

3.  You have an awesome receiver.  Spend some time getting everything set up with it.  

 

Thank you and billybob! Forgot to mention that I do not have Dynamic Volume, Dynamic EQ or anything like that turned on. It's only the MultEQ XT 32 at Reference mode. Crossovers are 80Hz all.

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1 hour ago, iradrian said:

What upgrade paths you'd recommend strictly for movie watching? Like upgrading center to RP-450C. Would it fit the RP-150M-s? Any other AVR in this "league" which could be a better match for this system? Keep in mind I'm not interested in Atmos. I'm also thinking on upgrading the sub to R-115SW or an Ultimax 15" DIY build.

 

Sounds like you've gone to great lengths to set everything up according to Dolby recommendations, which is great. As for the upgrade path, the center speaker is your most important, so I'd go with the best center you can afford. If it's the RP450C, then great. Next I would look at a second sub (and as big as you can afford), so R-115/SPL-150 or any other 15+ inch sub that fits your budget. Unless you have seriously lacking bass, then you might consider going second sub first and then center.

 

I don't have personal experience with your receiver, but it should be perfectly fine for these speakers. 

 

As a matter of interest, why aren't you interested in Dolby Atmos. I found Dolby Atmos to be an incredibly worthwhile upgrade to my system. 

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3 hours ago, inMotionGraphics said:

 

Sounds like you've gone to great lengths to set everything up according to Dolby recommendations, which is great. As for the upgrade path, the center speaker is your most important, so I'd go with the best center you can afford. If it's the RP450C, then great. Next I would look at a second sub (and as big as you can afford), so R-115/SPL-150 or any other 15+ inch sub that fits your budget. Unless you have seriously lacking bass, then you might consider going second sub first and then center.

 

I don't have personal experience with your receiver, but it should be perfectly fine for these speakers. 

 

As a matter of interest, why aren't you interested in Dolby Atmos. I found Dolby Atmos to be an incredibly worthwhile upgrade to my system. 

 

Thank you! Them I will be def. in the market then for an RP-450C. Second sub is still in question because of the available real estate for it. Replacing the current one to a 15" could work though.

 

So as for the Atmos, I believe that with living room conditions you don't get that much, a properly set up 5.1 or 7.1 can be almost as good (especially with bipole surrounds placed above ear level). In my system I can clearly have "height" information produced as well.

 

The second challenge is, in Hungary where I live is typical to build a house from brick and concrete. My ceiling is monolith concrete, which is stuffed with pipes (ceiling heating and cooling with heat pump). So it's practically impossible to install a speaker in it, nor it is possible to create a "fake" ceiling from drywall because the concrete ceiling would lose it's heat transfer ability.

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4 hours ago, billybob said:

Welcome to the forum!

Think your setup is alright now.

Just needs some tweaking.

Lately there has been discussion

here regarding Audyssey and other auto setup, room correction programs that almost invariably needs manual assistance in making a difference in your listening experience.If you want to include a picture of the room, that may assist in advice given. In any case, others here will help.

Thanks!

 

Thanks. Attaching a picture:

IMG_6881.thumb.jpg.3484a8fc638e9cc71e9ce000b5210578.jpg

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10 hours ago, iradrian said:

So as for the Atmos, I believe that with living room conditions you don't get that much, a properly set up 5.1 or 7.1 can be almost as good (especially with bipole surrounds placed above ear level). In my system I can clearly have "height" information produced as well.

 

Well if you're happy with 7.1, then that's great. Now you can focus on getting the most out of your 7.1 system that you can afford. I just looked up your receiver, and of course it does already have Dolby Atmos and DTS-X etc, so you are already getting Dolby Atmos if you listen to a Dolby Atmos source. Even if you don't have the in-ceiling speakers or Atmos up-firing speakers, it still decodes in Dolby Atmos and does the best it can with the speakers you have available, which is why you can still hear the height information with your 7.1 system... Dolby Atmos, DTS-X and Auro3D are brilliant technologies... 🙂

 

10 hours ago, iradrian said:

The second challenge is, in Hungary where I live is typical to build a house from brick and concrete. My ceiling is monolith concrete, which is stuffed with pipes (ceiling heating and cooling with heat pump). So it's practically impossible to install a speaker in it, nor it is possible to create a "fake" ceiling from drywall because the concrete ceiling would lose it's heat transfer ability.

 

Yeah, I totally understand. I also have a concrete slab ceiling and went to great lengths to build a fake / drop ceiling, but living in South Africa, I don't have the heating/cooling issues that you have. At best you could hang speaker boxes from the concrete slab, but this probably won't look very nice, and as you say, you don't need it.

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