Need suggestions on improving/upgrading existing 7ch HT

[elangoas]

I thought there would be links to source the cabinets and other requirements as well

Enclosure, you can do it yourself by hiring a carpenter.. The advantage is customising the enclosure to your needs than making the regular cubes.. If it will be passive sealed subs, then even more easier..

Also, I felt that more than two would be an overkill to my living room, both acoustically and aesthetically

Depending on where in the room you would sit, more than two would provide better frequency response below 80/90Hz.. But two would be good..

 

[Love4sound]

Does encoded LFE actually get distributed to mains, if "no sub" option is chosen?
I know that sub can be set to "LFE + Mains", but vice versa is where the doubt lies.
Cheers,
Raghu

When no sub option is selected the front speakers is changed to large. It cannot be set to small so yes the LFE signal is sent to LR

 

[ktks1]

Enclosure, you can do it yourself by hiring a carpenter.. The advantage is customising the enclosure to your needs than making the regular cubes.. If it will be passive sealed subs, then even more easier..

Agreed with the sealed sub construction being much easier than ported. I'll speak to local carpenters who can understand what I'm trying to say..

If I get two separate enclosures, would the driver that you suggested be enough for my space?

 

[elangoas]

Agreed with the sealed sub construction being much easier than ported. I'll speak to local carpenters who can understand what I'm trying to say..

If I get two separate enclosures, would the driver that you suggested be enough for my space?

Ok great..Start with two..See how it is.. If you feel inadequate, you can add more..I feel two should be good, powered by Crown or other amplifier..

 

[ktks1]

Ok great..Start with two..See how it is.. If you feel inadequate, you can add more..I feel two should be good, powered by Crown or other amplifier..

Will see how it goes.. I'll keep you posted

 

[raghupb]

Kinda off-topic but interesting read about the .1 (LFE) and subwoofers.

The Misunderstood 0.1 LFE Channel in 5.1 Digital Surround Sound - HomeTheaterHifi.com

In 5.1 digital surround sound, the 0.1 channel is called the LFE or Low Frequency Effects channel. While in the commercial system it is referred to as the subwoofer channel, this is not necessarily true for home theater setups.

hometheaterhifi.com

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[ktks1]

Update: I had the privilege to borrow the Rythmik L12 sub for a couple of days to audition at my place.
Used the manual setup in my Denon 2400H and listened to a variety of tracks (both music and movies). I did not get the response that I was expecting; it was sometimes boomy and sometimes nothing at all!

I then did the audessey setup and there was a slight improvement in the SQ. But the sub wasn't performing to it's best.

And then, tonight, I came home from office and turned on the setup to listen to some music and behold - the sub is happily filling in the gaps that were present in the low frequencies. I don't know if this was due to burn-in, but the sub is now wide awake and the deep notes can be felt for movie tracks. I'll try it for another day if possible and then decide on how to proceed.

 

[ktks1]

Little off the topic, but I also noticed that multichannel stereo was the only dsp setting which provided more punch and dynamics to the speakers and this is not dependent on the sub. To top it off, I noticed that streaming content through Bluetooth via the Heos app gets very loud at low volumes! (Anyone has any idea as to why this happens?)

 

[prateekatasniya]

Kinda off-topic but interesting read about the .1 (LFE) and subwoofers.

The Misunderstood 0.1 LFE Channel in 5.1 Digital Surround Sound - HomeTheaterHifi.com

In 5.1 digital surround sound, the 0.1 channel is called the LFE or Low Frequency Effects channel. While in the commercial system it is referred to as the subwoofer channel, this is not necessarily true for home theater setups.

hometheaterhifi.com

Cheers,
Raghu

Very informative article.. thank you

 

[Love4sound]

Very informative article.. thank you

Too big for me to read. Seems like you read and understood. Could you please summarise?

 

[Nitin K]

Thank you all for the inputs. To sum it up, it seems that the lack of low end is the main reason for my perception of inferior sound.

For my budget of around 1 lakh INR, I can get a pair of any of the following with 220V support from the US without any shipping worries
Klipsch SPL-120, SVS SB-2000, Rel HT/1003, Rel T/5i. I'm not aware of BIC providing 220V support.

If local dealers have issues with servicing, I'll have to settle for a single sub purchased locally in that budget.

To take a slight turn with my initial query, should I purchase a pair of bookshelf/stand-mount speakers for pure stereo music listening? Or should I buy a stereo amp and use my existing polks?

If your preference is sealed then not sure a single SB 2000 which fits in your budget may be able to pressurise the room. You may need dual. If sealed is your preference then the SB 3000 is a better option. Best way out is to put in a mail at the SVS customer service from their website with your gear & room specs & you will get the right advice. They won't recommend more than what you need.
If you feel 2 subs are an overkill, then you may have to go for a ported subwoofer for your large room.
Also pls consider XTZ , Rel & Rythmik options too.

 

[ktks1]

If your preference is sealed then not sure a single SB 2000 which fits in your budget may be able to pressurise the room. You may need dual. If sealed is your preference then the SB 3000 is a better option. Best way out is to put in a mail at the SVS customer service from their website with your gear & room specs & you will get the right advice. They won't recommend more than what you need.
If you feel 2 subs are an overkill, then you may have to go for a ported subwoofer for your large room.
Also pls consider XTZ , Rel & Rythmik options too.

I did post my update on the Rythmik a couple of days ago but still playing around to figure out what it is I actually need. I've spoken to SVS folks and they already recommended the SB3000 but I can't afford it.

 

[Nitin K]

I did post my update on the Rythmik a couple of days ago but still playing around to figure out what it is I actually need. I've spoken to SVS folks and they already recommended the SB3000 but I can't afford it.

Then I would say blindly go with the Rythmik's. If your usage is for both music & movies then ported is a good option otherwise their sealed subwoofers are highly regarded. I also don't understand the logic of SVS pricing here, its almost 50% more than the price paid in the US.

 

[prateekatasniya]

Even with USA pricing rythmik outperforms Svs.

 

[Nitin K]

Even with USA pricing rythmik outperforms Svs.

Both the brands have their pros & cons, depends for what purpose you want.

 

[prateekatasniya]

Both the brands have their pros & cons, depends for what purpose you want.

Main benefit of svs is the app the company made to integrate the sub.
I'm genuinely interested in knowing the pros and cons.

 

[ktks1]

Main benefit of svs is the app the company made to integrate the sub.
I'm genuinely interested in knowing the pros and cons.

Agreed with the app convenience.. some content need more bass and some get boomy with little bass.

 

[ktks1]

Then I would say blindly go with the Rythmik's. If your usage is for both music & movies then ported is a good option otherwise their sealed subwoofers are highly regarded. I also don't understand the logic of SVS pricing here, its almost 50% more than the price paid in the US.

Yet to try ported Rythmik. Will try to get hold of it

 

[sijusid]

Update: I had the privilege to borrow the Rythmik L12 sub for a couple of days to audition at my place.
Used the manual setup in my Denon 2400H and listened to a variety of tracks (both music and movies). I did not get the response that I was expecting; it was sometimes boomy and sometimes nothing at all!

I then did the audessey setup and there was a slight improvement in the SQ. But the sub wasn't performing to it's best.

And then, tonight, I came home from office and turned on the setup to listen to some music and behold - the sub is happily filling in the gaps that were present in the low frequencies. I don't know if this was due to burn-in, but the sub is now wide awake and the deep notes can be felt for movie tracks. I'll try it for another day if possible and then decide on how to proceed.

.

Rythmik is a great choice and is highly recommended sub.
After the audyssey setup, it's very common for the sub trim level to be set low by audyssey. You can very well increase the sub trim level in your AVR by 4-5 db.
Personally I keep dynamic eq ON (and dynamic volume off).

The difference you heard probably is because of some settings, which you may have enabled or disabled before switching off the AVR.

All the best for your purchase.

 

[sijusid]

Main benefit of svs is the app the company made to integrate the sub.
I'm genuinely interested in knowing the pros and cons.

App is only available from 3000 series and up.
App is a really nice feature. Setups can be done at your seating position and changes can be heard real time. Multiple settings can also be saved which can be selected by a drop-down list.