Hello from Las Vegas, NV

[Marcus DiBenedetto]

Hi everyone,

It's about time I introduce myself as I intend on taking a more active part here.

About me: I retired from the USAF as a Major in 1994. This year I retired as a financial advisor. While I've moved all over the world, I settled in Las Vegas in 2002. My wife and I love it here. All along my journey I loved inching closer to music reproduction nirvana (within at least some cost constraints, of course). Over the past five years, I've assembled the system which works very well for me. This is it. So now, I sit back and enjoy because I am 69 years old and still blessed with good hearing. But, age will catch up at some point.

I enjoy classical (and some jazz) music. This is probably 75% of my AV system use. The other 25% is watching movies. My system is all SVS speakers (Ultra bookshelf surround, two SB13 Ultra subwoofers with the new amp upgrade, and elevation speakers for ATMOS/Auro 3D). Pre/pro is Marantz AV8805, Amp is Parasound A52+ and an older Outlaw amp for the elevation speakers. 4K projector is BenQ LK990 to a 160 inch diagonal Da-Lite screen. Also a Panasonic UB820 4K Blu-ray player and an older OPPO BDP93 SACD player. However, all of my SACDs and movies are ripped to my QNAP NAS and played using J River Media Center through my home built PC. Organizing music and fleshing out tags was quite a challenge but (with help from others on line) I finally settled on an organization scheme. Trust me, I have multiple library backups and have backed up the entire music library to separate hard drives. I also invested in some acoustic treatments.

Compromises: Our home theater is in our Livingroom which is part of a great room. Good news, it is huge. Bad news, it is HUGE. Pre Covid we would host several small parties a year. I wanted an entertainment center as well as a critical listening area. I think I have created such a space. The specific home theater area is 14 feet wide (front wall and projector screen) and 30 feet long (projector is 26 feet back). Vaulted ceilings are 11 feet to 14 feet high. Aside from the dual use compromise and the wide expanse in to the dining/kitchen area, my right surround and right rear elevation speakers are about 4 feet too far away from our seating area. Can't have it all, I guess. The huge volume does help with acoustics overall.

Movies: We just finished watching the 4K upgrade of Lord of the Rings. The new ATMOS soundtrack alone is worth the price of the upgrade. We also really like 4K Passengers, Aquaman, and Midway (2020).

Music: Regular favorites of mine, Vaughn Williams' Job (Davis conductor), Sea Symphony (Spano conductor), Schubert String Quintet (Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Tokyo String Quartet versions), Treble & Bass (Kleiberg).

Blu-ray Audio with Dolby ATMOS and Auro 3d: Reflections (TrondheimSolistene), Magnificat (TrondheimSolistene).

Thanks for listening.
Marcus

 

[mechman]

Good to have you here Marcus! I love the setup! And I just watched Midway again today. Still waiting for my 4K LOTR to show up. How do you like your BenQ? I had a W5000 before but the DMD chip went bad on it - in my mind it happened way too soon.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Thanks for being with us Marcus

Very nice system. I had an all SVS Ultra system at one time... one of the best sounding systems I ever owned. Still have 4 of the SB16-Ultras with all of my ML stats.

Are those GIK panels ... absorption/diffusion combos?

 

[Marcus DiBenedetto]

@mechman Personally, I like our BenQ a lot. I wanted a very bright PJ (26 foot throw) because when we had get togethers there would be lots of ambient light. My wife and I do not see rainbows. Works great for us. However, quite a fight on the AVS forum over this PJ because it is very difficult to calibrate.

@Sonnie Yes, GIK panels. Absorption with a scatter plate. My intention was to control front wall reflections. The scatterplate would hopefully create a deeper soundstage for orchestral music. I think it works. Behind the two subs is a GIK bass trap to help reduce SBIR. I had the room so I used it. Honestly, while I think it sounds better with the panels, I can't prove it. Heavy blackout curtains on the left sidewall are good enough to control reflections. Right wall is open so no reflections. I do have absorption with scatter plates on the rear wall.

For those who may be interested. All speakers are 3 feet from the front wall to the speaker baffle. Subs follow the 1/4 and 3/4 rule measured from the left sidewall. Slight toe-in for the left and right speakers (I've experimented with extreme toe-in but haven't made up my mind yet). I used the Audyssey app to run XT32. I limit correction to 500Hz. All speakers are small. Crossovers are currently 90Hz. REW shows a good response with a nice rising "house curve" from 80Hz down to 20Hz. MLP to the center speaker is 11 feet. Distance between left and right speakers is 11 feet. MLP to left or right speakers is 12 feet so I violated the equilateral triangle. I really want to stop fiddling with it and I am happy with the current setup.

 

[JStewart]

Welcome! Thanks for sharing the pics. Very nice indeed.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

@Sonnie Yes, GIK panels. Absorption with a scatter plate. My intention was to control front wall reflections. The scatterplate would hopefully create a deeper soundstage for orchestral music. I think it works. Behind the two subs is a GIK bass trap to help reduce SBIR. I had the room so I used it. Honestly, while I think it sounds better with the panels, I can't prove it. Heavy blackout curtains on the left sidewall are good enough to control reflections. Right wall is open so no reflections. I do have absorption with scatter plates on the rear wall.

I get it... lol... same here. I have lots of panels in my room... no idea if they really help, especially with all my electrostatic speakers, but I think it does and they are there. I am debating getting more scatterplate panels for my front wall. I have some diffusors, but a lot of absorption behind those that scatterplates might work better.

 

[phillihp23]

Welcome!

 

[tesseract]

Nice system. Welcome to AV NIRVANA!

 

[w_sizer]

Welcome to the forum, Marcus! Nice system, too...I don’t have any SVS speakers or subs, but I’ve long been a fan of the company and their products, and I’ve outfitted my system with their speaker cables and interconnects.
Like you, I’m a classical music enthusiast, with some occasional classic rock and blues rock thrown into the mix. I have everything from Bach to Vivaldi, but in general, I guess my favorites are the great Germans (Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert).
Happy Listening!

 

[NBPK402]

Welcome to the forum, Marcus! I bet you picked up some nice equipment overseas for great deals...I know I did when I was in the USAF. It is a shame IMO, that they no longer have the Overseas Catalog or the Audio Clubs overseas. I really picked up some nice equipment in the late 70, and early 80s while I was in the UK.

 

[PaulSmt]

Nice pics! Welcome to the forum.

 

[NBPK402]

Nice setup! Welcome to the forum!

 

[Marzen]

Hi Marcus