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NBPK402

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I just ordered 2 13'high x 12' wide sound stage curtains for the front wall. I will have them trimmed down to around 10' high, and then I am ordering an electric curtain rail for them. The curtains are a black/grey, and are used, but they should do the job for me if they are like the theater curtains I have had in the past. These curtains are also chain weighted, so they should stay straight to the floorfor good light blocking. This should also help my acoustics since they are heavy curtains.
 

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Great looking rack you have there!
 

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I just ordered 2 13'high x 12' wide sound stage curtains for the front wall. I will have them trimmed down to around 10' high, and then I am ordering an electric curtain rail for them. The curtains are a black/grey, and are used, but they should do the job for me if they are like the theater curtains I have had in the past. These curtains are also chain weighted, so they should stay straight to the floorfor good light blocking. This should also help my acoustics since they are heavy curtains.

Can you share some pics of that? Sounds awesome!
 

NBPK402

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I will take pics once I get them modified, and installed. First thing I want to do as soon as we get back from vacation is get the bass bins, and amp cases made. Then I hope to order the MINIDSP DDRC88M, but I will try and get the curtains, and my French cleats, and height channels installed before the MiniDSP DDRC88m arrives. Early next year I plan on ordering a bunch of Roxul for my wall treatments, and then start on the Synergy k402 horn copies.
I will keep posting updates, and pics (when I get far enough along).
 

NBPK402

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Just ordered another 100' of Monoprice 12gauge 2 conductor white sheathed speaker cable for my height channels (I also wanted about 20' of 4 conductor, but the smallest amount you can buy is 100'). I prefer the white as it blends perfectly with out or walls. I will use some 3M double sided tape that I have left over from running my flat cat6 cable. The tape is awesome, And is also white so my cables, and tape all blend perfectly (I purchased the 1" wide version)! I even used a couple of strips to hold my Dolby, and DTS pictures to the wall...they are so solid it feels like I used costruction adheasive!
 

NBPK402

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Update...
We just got back from our vacation, and see that it has been raining quite a bit, so I decided to postpone the speaker building until we have about a month of drier weather. So today I ordered a pair of electric curtain rods, and a tv mount for the wall. I will most likely see them about the end of the month, and hopefully I will be able to get them installed shortly afterwards. When they are installed I will also get the french cleats installed all around the room too.
Hopefully I will have enough cash to order the 2 8x8 minidsp crossover kits this month too.

The next item for me to work on will be the amp enclosures, and minidsp crossover enclosures. I am still debating on how I want to do the crossovers...both in one box or in 2 boxes. If I use 2 boxes...put one crossover by the center channel, and one in the rack, or both in the rack.The crossovers, and my amps will both be balanced XLRS.

Question on the height channels... The windows are 10' tall, and the curtains are 12' tall, and there might be a small gap possible between the curtains, and the walls(only if I install the speakers below the top edge of the curtains as the curtain rods go full length as the curtains do too), but the speakers are as wide as the wall area to the side of the windows so light would leak in. If I mount the speakers above the curtains, they will be 12' above the ground (no light leakage). The side channels in a 7.1 setup would have the heights the same height, but the rears would be 5' lower. Should I just save my money and do a 7.1 ground level setup with 5 height channels instead of 7 height channels since the height would be so drastic? If I forgo the rear height channels...should my rear surrounds go on the loft wall behind me or on the side walls? The loft wall is about 2 foot behind the couch. The other option is to put the surrounds where the rears would be in a 7 channel setup 14' behind me (front height channels would be on the wall 17' away...this is if they were ground level and is not taking into consideration being 12' above the ground, and angled downward).

Suggestions?
 
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NBPK402

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First bit of progress...Today we got the electric curtains hung on the front wall, tv mounted inbetween the 2 curtains, 2 rows of french cleats which will hold my height channels, conceal my wiring, and hold absorption panels when I make them. Lol
I was only able to get a couple of pics with the curtains open as the room is airing out from the turpentine the workers used on cleanup. I am very happy with the work, especially with how the wall looks when the curtains are closed. I will post up more pics tomorrow once I get the rest of the speaker wires up. I temporarily used conduit clamps held with 3m double sided tape to hold the wires up until I can get the acoustic panels made. As you can see in the pic, I have started my right height channel speaker run, but did not make it quite to the right channel position yet.

I hope to have my Dune Pro 4k player in before Xmas, and almost have my MyMovies database completed. I will be running CQC Home Automation Software to control my Dune, curtains, lighting, and all the Audio Equipment I use daily.

Hopefully by February, I will also have 4 Belle bass bins with amps ready too.
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20181208_204713.jpg
 

NBPK402

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Here is a pic with the curtains closed. We will eventually be having a cover made that will cover the top of the curtains too. I hope to get my speakers hung this week.
 

NBPK402

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I have 4 more 7' electric curtain rails enroute now. Two will be for the left and right sides next to the front wall, and will get black curtains. The other 2 rails are for a window that is above the first row of French cleats. The third window is about 12' above the loft. Both of these will get room darkening curtains that match the acoustic wall panels. The lower curtains will all be black velour, and will get black boxes to cover the curtain rails, and hang the speakers from.

Hopefully I will be able to start the speakers soon. I have moved on to the curtains since I am waiting still for my friend to get a table saw, and to source Baltic birch plywood for the bass bins, and maybe the synergy horns too. I am debating on using real hardwood for the synergy horns as it is much less expensive than plywood down here. I also do not think wood expansion will make as big of a deal on a horn as it would in the area behind a woofer. One thought is to just get 1/2" plywood, and then get 1/4" real wood, and glue it to the outter shell of the synergy horns, and just the outer of the bass bins, or maybe the inside too.

I am currently have the front 3 channels tempirarily hung (I still need to get the side curtains, and the wood cover made for concealing the tops of the curtains and hanging the JBLs in the proper positions). I am using the JBLs as mains from the height positions...I know this is not proper, but it allowed me to get the wiring run for the heights. I should have the 2 surrounds mounted this next weekend if I am up to it.

Here is a pic of the front 3 speakers mounted.

Any thoughts?
 
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NBPK402

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Update...the Dune Player, and my Nelson Pass amps never made it. I got a full refund, but I am delaying their part until I get the curtains, and speakers made. I also have decided to skip the MiniDSP 8x8 crossovers, and step up to the Xilica 3060, and 4080 crossovers I will cost me much more, but I know it will be the best I can afford, and should last for many years. Another reason is my friend who has a pair of k402 synergy horns will be able to give me the exact settings for the Synergy horns.
 

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So can the Xilica use one input for 3 outputs?

I assume they all can be routed to do whatever but was curious.
 

chrapladm

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Well thats good to know then. I assumed but wasnt for sure. Look forward to seeing more progress on your future MEH. Still have to work on mine when ever I actually get time and funds.
 
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NBPK402

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This month I am going to have the rest of the electric curtain rails installed, and hopefully next month get the rest of the curtains made. If I manage to sell my Oppo, I might be able to afford the plywood for my DIY Klipsch Bass bins. I have 2 minidsp 2x4 crossovers I can use until I can afford a Xilica 3060 for the front 3 channels (I might keep the 2x4s for the surrounds instead of buying a Xilica 4080, as this will save me over $1k. I do not think the surround s will make that much if a difference in crossovers as the mains will). I can't wait until I get the bass bins made so I can listen with 4 main channels, and 4 height channels. For the center channel synergy horn I need to make the cabinet, and get the Xilica so that will most likely be the next upgrade after the bass bins are made.
 

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Update: I purchased a new Dune HD Pro 4k streamer, and a Dune HD Pro 4k Plus streamer too. I have one here now, and the plus should be here tomorrow.
I have tested the DUNE on my setup with my Unraid NAS, And have the following comments...
1: It is a very nicely made product with a nice case made out of metal with a clock display on the front panel. It is about the height of a 3.5" HDD, and the width of 2 hdds. Depth is about the same length as a hdd too.
2: The remote is ok... pretty light, and feels like it is empty inside. The range is not very good, and often I have to repeat the command.
3: The Dune streamer is a hybrid box with Androin, and Linux...with Linux being the main Gui. The Linux GUI is very nice (reminds me of XBMC), and I will be using it strictly for my HD Movies, Music Videos, and TV shows. The Android portion has Kodi, and I am running v18 of Kodi. The interface is great, but a little awkward to manipulate the remote in Kodi. I will be using Kodi on the 2nd box strictly for my music (at a future date I might move to ROON for audio only). I am doing it this way as I like to keep my videos, and audio seperate. The one negative about Dune is it is a video streamer, and can stream audio very well, but there is no nice graphical interface included. I would love to have a Roon interface or something similar that gives me graphics, and artist, and song info too.
3: I have been watching movies pretty continuously for the last week on it, and I am impressed in the quality of the images. I cannot really comment on the audio as I am listening to 5 channels mounted as height channels for my main speakers until I get my horns made. If you buy a Dune... I would advice you to buy directly from Dune as the prices have skyrocketed to as much as $500 for the unit I bought on EBay, and other locations.

Next update. We might not be doing the Klipsch Belle bass bins, but instead making 4 more k402 horns from scratch, and making a 5 channel k402 Synergy horn setup. I have thought about this for quite a while, and just recently started pricing out the wood, and it might be about the same price except that I need to spend $400-$500 on 4 more Emminence woofers. The end result though should be much better sounding, and at the same time take up about the same amount of of space. We now have plenty of EV DH1A drivers to do a 7 channels setup with a spare driver too.

I am currently waiting for my new Blue ray cabinet to be completed. It is being bade our of MDF with 2 bi fold wood slat doors, and my center channel will rest on top of it. I plan on veneering it in the future with a nice veneer, as well as with the k402 boxes too.

I also should have my 4k computer drive this next week so I can start ripping my 4k movies to the NAS too.
Hopefully sometime (during this project year) I will have some extra cash to buy 2 SATA HDDs (1 for each Dune Streamer) so I can use my NAS as a true backup instead of as a streaming setup. I think it might even perform a little bit faster by using HDDs hooked up directly to the DUNE boxes.

I will post up pics when we get the cabinet in. Next will be getting the 4 more electric curtain rails up, and buying some curtains for the remaining windows. We will be getting 2 more black curtains for the side walls, and 2 curtains for the 2nd floor windows.

I also am waiting for my framework for my 2 bass traps to be completed. A friend of mine might have 10 pieces of 2" Roxul for me to use for the bass traps too.
 

NBPK402

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I also now have the Dune HD PRO 4k plus. It is a bit taller, and narrower, and has a drive bay for a hdd. It also comes with athe same remote plus a Bluetooth remote. The bluetooth remote is just what I needed too. I have this one on the 2nd floor loft with the rack, and I can control the Dune with it. The other Dune is right below my tv, and the remote supplied is adequate. Performance appears to be identical. Other than the size they appear to be identical functionally, and performance. I have had no problems streaming 4k movies with either one so far.
 
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NBPK402

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I might have been wrong on the Dune being a hybrid...not sure now, as there is a separate section for Android apps than the rest of the menu.

A feature that I am having some trouble getting configured properly is to use MyMovies to supply the movie info to the Dune. The feature makes Dune look like the old XBMC used to look. I will be posting online to get it configured properly as I really like the way it looks over the plane Jane look of the normal Dune setup. I could use the Kodi on Android, but I really like the simplicity (while still having nice graphics, and all the info I want) without getting away from Dunes main interface.

These are mainly for video streaming, and I wish someone would come out with an interface that would be like Dune has for movies, but for music. Currently I still need to use Kodi for my music... even though Dune handles all the formats for audio (as far as I know).
 

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A little progress... I had an electrician come over the other day to install my Insteon switches and outlets... I had 12 installed, and it cost me 900 pesos! In California it was $50 per switch! I also have found a person with a CNC machine that said they can cut my wood for the horns Too. I also have found someone who can make a mold, and make them out of fiberglass. I am thinking plywood would be the nicest looking, and possibly the least expensive too. I am thinking if we use 1/2" plywood with cuts on the rear side we can bend it tot he required angles too.
Hopefully I can get all 4 horns made over the next month or 2.
I should be getting my bluray cabinet in the next week or 2 also. I will post up pics as I receive the pieces.

One last thing... I might have found a place to buy Owen Corning Acoustic materials in Mexico City. I need to find out if they also make them in Mexico as it could be cheaper then...other wise it will most likely be much more expensive than in the USA.
 

NBPK402

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Thanks Brian for the link (I will def be using it when I order the rest of the acoustic material)! I helped a friend of mine that was making a dance studio out of a large 4 car garage, and I talked to him about the Roxul he had left. He is selling me 38 pieces (not bundles). This should give me a nice start on my acoustics. I will have around 28 or 30 2" panels left after the front 2 bass traps are made. Should I concentrated on first reflection points first or just start putting them up on the front wall above the wibdows?
 

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Thanks Brian for the link (I will def be using it when I order the rest of the acoustic material)! I helped a friend of mine that was making a dance studio out of a large 4 car garage, and I talked to him about the Roxul he had left. He is selling me 38 pieces (not bundles). This should give me a nice start on my acoustics. I will have around 28 or 30 2" panels left after the front 2 bass traps are made. Should I concentrated on first reflection points first or just start putting them up on the front wall above the wibdows?

With a room width of approximately 19' and 30' to the kitchen bar, I would not worry about the left and right reflections much yet... Base traps/absorbers and front wall corners and front wall would be my first place to deal with... Wide band absorption and diffusion would be the last of my worries... And REW is your friend...
 
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