Here’s the new bedroom setup in a 10x13x8 room. The display is along the long wall due to room layout. I have 2xM22s, 1xVP150, 2xQS8s for now but I may try the EP500 later.
Ran the Denon auto calibration which worked perfectly this time. Set speaker distances to the inch, mains to large (no subwoofer), QS8s and VP150 to small w/80Hz crossover. Verified everything with Avia and SPL meter and all speakers levels were within 1/2 db.
FRONT SOUNDSTAGE:
The VP150 blends perfectly with the M22s In this room. I had timber issues with it in the other room no matter where it sat but here no timber problems under, up against or out in front of the TV. Getting the M22s away from the front wall and more evenly spaced between the side walls has crystallized the front soundstage. If they sounded fantastic in the other room they are incredible now. Imaging is precise while both depth and breadth of the sound field are expanded.
The horizontal center does create a “wall of sound” effect which is great for movies but does smear some 5.1 audio tracks. Despite having the speakers so far out in front of the TV they are not noticeable. The sound field emanates from that direction without the speakers calling attention to themselves.
SURROUND & REAR SOUNDSTAGE:
With about 1/2 foot (taken up by a pillow) behind me vs 6 feet in the other room I lost some ground here but not nearly as much as I expected.
Ambient sounds are still perfect. The creaking of the ship at the beginning or “Master & Commander,” orcs running around the “Mines of Moria,” and the glass/concrete fragments flying around at the beginning of “Appleseed” all sound just that same as the bigger room, even in there distances. However, directional sounds are more hit or miss.
Full 360 degree pans lack some of the depth having 6 feet behind me gave but they still work great. Objects passing behind me sound like are, and if I hadn’t known what the other room sounded like I wouldn‘t be missing anything.
0 - 180 degree side pans lost the most. Things that use to sound like they were passing right over my shoulder and off into the distance are now passing off to the side and most importantly don’t continue fading as far into the background, but rather end more abruptly. Again had I not known what it could sound like this would probably sound great to me but now it’s just ok.
AUDYSSEY:
I tried it again hoping it was just the other room confusing it but the same problem is back though not as bad. It’s still EQ’ing out much of the 125Hz to 250Hz range and making male voices sound nasal and hollow. One positive I didn’t notice in the other room is that it’s making directional cues sharper. This improvement is quite noticeable but far outweighed by the hollow voices.
BUTTKICKER:
Not as good running alone as I remember it. Funny how upping the bar (EP500) on your equipment resets your baseline for what’s good. If I do recommend it to anyone in the future it will be with the caveat that it won’t be that impressive if your use to a good subwoofer.
BLACKOUT:
Was more than worth it. I can get this room dark eliminating all direct light sources except the TV but with no curtains and highly reflective walls there is ambient light and I hate it. Blacking out that room cost less that $100 and was the single best tweak for both video and audio I made. Taking away all visual cues makes both the visual and auditory presentation more immersive.
HEAT:
WOW! It’s hot! Damn hot! Ok I know it’s Arizona but it does cool down this time of year and we are actually having a couple of our 40 or so days w/o sunshine we get a year but with all this equipment running in a smaller room it’s HOT!
