Cinema setup
A dedicated room for all video purposes. This way I can prevent having a TV in the livingroom that interferes with the audio system. The bonus is that the cinema is very well damped and feels more cozy than the large livingroom. Just what you need for intimate video viewing!
Also, the B&W N804's, which I had bought for the third time, (after the Martin Logans proved a bit too in-your-face for me) now actually have a proper use. Before they were set up incorrectly besides the big Magnepans. I think that I won't easily sell the Nautili again. There's something to their sound that it quite engaging, even though they ultimately don't have the airyness and low level detaling of dipoles.
Now that I live in a new house, I tried to make as little holes in the walls as possible. I mean, you should have seen the old house after I moved out: it was like an Emmenthaler cheese! But I couldn't help myself in the cinema room. I made huge holes behind the TV and surround system for all the cables to pass through. The next room houses the CV installation and washing machine area and thus makes for a convenient, albeit a bit large, cable gutter!
The screen is a 55 inch Samsung UE55B7020 LED-TV. That's an LCD TV with Led backlighting although in this case it is edge lighting, hence its thinness. This one has real blacks and amazing contrast. Even better than a regular CRT TV in this respect. And as long as you feed it 720 or 1080 material, it is also a lot sharper. Under the screen is the world-class B&W HTM-1 center speaker. All Nautili are powered by the big Yamaha DSP-Z7 powerhouse. This one is different from the older Yamahas in that it sounds much fuller, more fluid and less aggressive. I'd almost call it slightly too relaxed. In fact, for cinema use I prefer the older style forwardness and "loud" sound of amps like the DSP-A1000 which I sold some time ago unfortunately.
btw: this room (3x4 meters) provides a HUGE bass! I have never heard the 804's make this kind of bass before in my any of my larger rooms. Not only is the bass incredibly deep, it is also very full. It is amazing what comes out of the little-ish 804's. No need for a sub in this room!
Update jan 2010:
No subs needed? Not if we're talking about the amount of bass. But since the little REL Quake II subs became available after I bought bigger Stratas for the main setup, I tried the little Rels in the cinema room. At first it seemed like overkill but after I let the Yamaha do its measurement thing the sound was much more balanced than without the subs. Somehow, now the amp was able to provide cleaner bass!
How the search for audio nirvana led to the creation of this site
Info, Tips, Tricks and Insights
How to optimise your system
Streaming, USB, Firewire,
Computer Audio
Current and Classic CD players, Cables, Accessories and more
Jeff Rowland Info Database, Cool equipment, Classic CDP's
