I have been very quiet on the forums lately ... and that's because I have been hanging out in CAA's sister forum, Planet Audio. There are quite a few home audio nutters over there. I think that most people with experience in both will tell you that not only can home audio sound much better, it is also better value. A cheap home audio setup will absolutely slaughter car audio.

Anyone else a fan?

thats because the car is FAR from an ideal acoustic environment. whereas a large room is much easier to work with. four speakers pointing at the audience (you dont really need a 5th/centre channel...it simply helps to focus vocals at the point of the visual source), a sub and some heavy drapes & carpet and you have a very good sounding audio set-up.
this is part of the reason why a cheaper home audio set-up can sound MUCH better than a more expensive car audio set-up

I am building my own bookshelf speakers, and it's costing around $1k - not cheap, and these are budget jobs.

I anticipate the version 2 crossovers to be around $600 when I have the boxes built and start testing/fine tuning the design.

my current home system is a hodge-podge, but I know the limitations, and it's fine for TV or techno. I do all my serious listening in the car.

Same, hence why my home audio is very poor at the moment...

I'll be doing my home audio soon too but I like the challenge of audio in a car. Reminds me of a saying - 'you can live in your car but you can't race your house!'

I always wanted to purchase and build a Jordan TL kit but never get a chance to. Anyway, amf you have a very nice home setup, still thinking getting the Avantgarde??

just got a run of the mill panasonic 5.1 setup for the tv - watching movies and that

got a pair of bose 301's lying around not doing much but they dont really match the amp in terms of power and the tv, etc in regards to looks....anyone know if the 301's are any good?

I started out in home audio in the late 70's.

My home stereo system still comprises of equipment that I bought in the early 80's.

Vinyl is still my preffered sound source and I have combinations of both transistor and valve equipment

I'm thinking of building these for a few reasons 1: I have no real audio at home, 2: there cheap and will hopefully give me decent sound for the outlay, 3: it gives me something to do 4: I think it's a nice bargain point to begin my exploration into home audio. What do the more experienced Home audio guys here think?

http://www.zaphaudio.com/BAMTM.html

I am currently building a set of 3-way floorstanders.
Drivers are here, cabinet has been designed, will be getting all wood cut during the week hopefully
Also building rears and surround with cheaper drivers, so that I can enjoy the glory that is 5.1...

Ahh this glorious hobby never ends, if it's not the car, it's the home hi-fi.

i built a pair of floor standers for my D&T project in 2004 (was my major work) i made my own cabinets from 18mm MDF and used the speaker kit from jaycar which has the four 8" drivers and two tweets they were the vifa range when jaycar still sold them... they sound great.. if u do it right of course...

I am slowly learning more about home audio.
I currently have a set of DSE 3 way floor standers, running of a DSE 80WRMSx2 stereo amp. For the sub i have an old Alpine Type R in a ported box, running of a jaycar 80WRMS plate amp.
I will soon be upgrading the 80W plate amp to the 350WRMS version. Then i will be looking into buying/building a nicer set of floor standing cabinets. Damn it, i need more mid bass!

I love Home audio too, some are really expensive like I saw $30.000.00 pair of home audio speakers and I thought car speakers could be expensive.

I like the idea of the good old three way floor standing speakers and if placed in each corner of the room would give you more than adequate mid bass and a 10 inch sub would blend it really well.

Somehow I think it is hard to calibrate home audio for 5.1 etc.

At the moment I have a Sony 6.1 ch amp, Bose 301's and Jamo for centre and surround and a Kicker sub run by a 100 rms amp.

My problem with my home theatre is that one side of the wall has lots of glass so the bass just rattles it and since my walls are not insulated, I feel the plaster board vibrate to the bass when I crank it up.

So I turn the bass down.

ive run out of money...

Hmmmm I have a small interest in home audio and home theater
click here if you dare

2 pages of my little adventure in the 240v world

Hmm where do i start

Me too i love my home Theatre/WHDA(Whole Home Distributed Audio)/Automation the list goes on and on and working for a specialist Control systems company get to see everything from $100 speakers to Meridian $80,000 speakers per PAIR currently doing a HT with not one pair but 3 THREE PAIRS of these


Am on PA also

i consider myself a music lover before well anything else, i much prefer to listen to music in the home. i need music in the car but i'm not a car lover so i keep my budget for that very limited.

i don't have a dream set up as i'm renovating a house but i have considerations in mind while renovating to make sure my 'home theatre' is as best as it can possibly be.

i currently have a yamaha set up, all individual components of amp, cd changer, cassette deck, turntable and a massive set of floor 3 way speakers that my father built ages ago and still going strong. well actually i have two yamaha set ups..one in the bedroom as well with yamaha speakers. unfortunately only half of it all is actually mine but anyway.

the built speakers are very solid and deliver wonderful sound
my only complaint is currently the speakers are not in an optimal position for the clarity of sound without hearing the house vibration as there is a half wall in the way but its okey for now.

and i agree vinyl has a brilliant sound...it has more bandwidth than cd's...i've been collecting vinyl since i was a kid and i'd never part with any of them.

I've dabbled with home theatre over the years, no where near the scale of the guys on that forum though!

I remember when Dolby ProLogic came out, man just like a cinema in your own home LOL....... (pathetic by todays standards) Mine was a Kenwood mini hifi with centre and surrounds upgraded to the 40W instead of the 15W speakers! Whoah what an upgrade it was!

Ive moved on a little bit since then. Now I've got a Marantz DD/DTS 96/24 Reciever, Morduant Short floorstanders, centre, bookshelf surrounds and MS 12" sub. TV was one of the first HD sets (that displays true HD pictures) being the Sony 86cm KVHR CRT. To me LCD picture couldnt touch it for picture quality, until these latest 1920x1080 sets have come out anyway.

I'd love to go a full cinema but i dont have the room for it atm, so its just a dream for now.........

To get the best experience: bigger room, projector and huge screen

Hey guys. My Dad is really into the home thearte stuff. About a year ago he put in our thearte and he really went all out. I don't know a whole lot about it but i know it sounds f***ing awsome. I'll take some photos and post them up. The speakers are all whatmough, so that's two main, centre, and two rears, and a sub. The amp and dvd player are yamaha and the projetor is marantz. I'll put some photos up later

Yea that's where I started out. Home Audio is great because you can build and tailor most of the components yourself. But alas most of my stuff is off the shelf anyway.

Jamo 507a Floorstanders
Jamo 7.1 Centre (don't let anyone tell you that you don't need a centre channel if you are using it for HT. A good Centre channel will bring your movies to life - don't be afraid to spend at least half of what you spent on your mains, on your centre).
NAD T163 Preamp
Jaycar PRO series 3 Power Amp
5 x channel Ampslab Bi70MkII Power Amp
Jaycar 350W Sub amp
2 x Focal 27V2 Subs (although I am considering swapping them over for my Adire Tumult)
Pioneer DV-667 DVD player

Amongst other things...

Well here are the photos i promised:

That's the front... Two mains, centre, and sub


The back... 2 Rears


The front again


The projector


And mum's mask collection -

Steve

Nice and cosy . I like the projector housing.

Yeah, It's very cosy. It's nice when it's crap weather and there is nothing to do. or you get all the boys over and watch the footy, or a porno. lol

All I got in my room at home is a JVC MP3/CD/CDR/CDR-W amp with 2 140w (peak) home theater speakers with a DSE 10" subby. Good enough for the house. Spend the money on the car

I like the way you think

i have spent enough money on cars over the years to buy a house outright.... you never get your money back on cars

Home audio is where its at I had a Cambridge Audio amp and some DIY'ed floorstanders and a sub running off a Behringer Power amp and a hand wired (by me) sub bass controller kit (variation of a kit you can buy from jaycar). I sold the cambridge amp to my brother in hopes of getting the new 740A or maybe a Rotel Pre/Power setup so for the moment I'm just using a DSE amp to get by. Also got my eye on some very nice ELAC speakers if I don't go DIY again. I find it ironic how in home audio we've been using vifa/scanpeak drivers for ages and then for a while they became all the rage on here

heard Winno's setup a few weeks back.....no idea what it was but for the size of the woofers i was very impressed.....the ribbon tweets were fantastic too

Well I've decided on a project to build finally, http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/PMS.htm , I'll just power it off the old Sony receiver/amp I have here but eventually I'll probably build a SKA amp most likely I'll just get the GB150D stereo amp kit http://www.ska-audio.com/diy/index.html people rave about them so should be a good amp. Of course I've got to get these 8" midbass in my doors first, so the start of construction is a few weeks of yet.

Luke

hmm...i'd like to start getting into the home audio side of things....just at the moment not sure where to start with the source unit/amp lol

i plan to run a htpc, so i guess i'll be looking into what sort of connections i'd need to run that best (ie: soundcard) would be a starting point

head over to planet audio for a recommendation???

the amp and the front floor standings would be the most first things (as for the mean time i'd be able to plug my el-cheapo dvd player into it)

currently i have an old Pioneer amp and the above mentioned dvd player, hooked up to a set of Peterson floorstandings, 2x12" woofers with 5 and 3" mids, then a tweeter...in each.

so......DIY or off the shelf for mains?

o no......

55 or 100 watt AKSA amp and LoudSpeakerKit F6.MKIIs

seems to be a nice combination that i stumbled upon thanks to Keith over at SNA. the aksa amps especially seem to get raved about in the reviews i've found.

both DIY jobs. the amp will require some bits and pieces from the local jaycar, and finding of a nice case (which, may the the hardest part). thankfully i can solder, and my girlfriends dad is an electrical engineer who LOVES to tinker with things so would probably jump at the chance to build this. and the speakers, well my uncle (finetune) might give me a hand if/when i need it with those if i ask nicely.

i'll have to speak to my uncle about these before anything progress', but i think i might be heading towards a nice 2.0 system (having my HTPC and Xbox 360 as the sources.....this also might mean i need a Nirvana upgrade kit for the Aksa amp, this im still sussing out).

Looks good "enzo" have you considered a SKA amp kit though http://www.ska-audio.com/diy/index.html (look at the GB150D stereo kit), since it comes complete with case etc... with a similar price to the AKSA by the time you buy a case etc... and it's rated @ 2 x 150rms into 4 and 8 ohms, so you get more power, and an amp that is considered to be great quality, although I'll admit to not knowing alot about the AKSA other then recognising the name.

yeh, had been pointed to the SKA amps, havent really gotten the chance to hve a look yet. pretty hectic with uni stuff till friday night.

just having a quick look at the SKA amp, looks....very very good .....though....no volume or source control is a little worrying

for the moment, open for suggestions of 2 channel amps for $800-ish.....thinking an off the shelf one might be fine (just a clean looking amp) with atleast 2 source inputs and a main volume control for the sake of it.

http://www.ccslightsound.com.au/cgi-bin/ci...me=new_products

I bought one as a sub amp, but after playing with it I'm getting four more of the 2500 (bridged for L,C,R - and two in stereo for surround) and two-four P7000s for subs.

Tonnes of clean, great sounding power.

Phil

pics phil?

i'm not sure if thats quite what im after though...like the power of it .....i'll look into it a bit more i guess.

Cambridge Audio 640A. Would go great with any of the LSK speaker range. I wouldn't get a PA amplifier, great for subs and maybe if you have a decent pre-amp setup before it but even then if you are going with a pre/power amplifier setup I wouldn't get something which is more targeted for PA style setups like the afor mentioned yamaha.

I'm using a 7.1 Rotel preamp/processor with the Yamaha in my home cinema. It's a great combo for that app.

Phil

yeh, looks the good.

I only plan to be running a 2.0 system, so yeh, after an integrated amp (if i've got my terminology right)

thats also the second recommendation for the 640A thanks kev

Enzo go dedicated pre and power amps - you'll never look back and its HEAP more flexable

Nice amp phil the Yamahas use a nice clean layout and have oodles of clean power.
I'd love a set of Crowns - But I dont think my neighbours would appreciate it. As it is powering my old Pioneer 3way floor standers off 100 x 2 playing Tool is pretty loud out side. Just wait till I add subs...

Enzo try www.essentialaudio.com.au email Scott tell him your a memeber over at SNA and that you know me hopefully he can hook you up with a slightly better deal on the LSK kits. I go to church with him he's a top bloke!

Id also suggest looking at the transmission line towers - I'd back them up with a sub though.

i sort of am into home audio.

really need to find some time to tune my gear.

TV - Samsung 50"P9
Speakers - Klipsch Synergy 5.1 package
Amp - Onkyo 875
Other - PS3

what are some good home audio tuning discs? if they also had stuff to tweak my tv, that'd be good too

EDIT - shoulda grabbed this https://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/222730 while it was $10!

cheers

- Stooge007 out

yamaha AX-497B ($699...i like this one)
Marantz PM6002 (retails $799....not srong enough though)
NAD 325BEE ($600)
Denon PMA-2000IVR ($$...?? (too much im guessing)
Cambridge 640 A ($850)
Classic 6.0 ($750)

any opinions?

is this stuff you've bought or about to buy?

- Stooge007 out

I believe its what he is looking at buying/auditioning

In my personal opinion:

The yamaha is good, not the best sounding, not the worst. I've know a few people with yamahas who have had their caps die after a few years so I'm not that fond of them but still I know others who have theirs cranking for near on decades.

The marantz, overpriced.

The NAD, good solid amp, people either seem to love em or hate em.

Can't say much about the Denon but once again I've know people who swear by them and others who can't stand them.

Cambridge, my personal favourite. I've owned a 540R for years, played a lot with the 640A, have a mate who just got one and he has tried a lot. Simple and clean with more than enough power on tap. And yeah its sexy as hell. You can get them for cheaper than $850 too.

The classic 6.0, dunno much about them at all.

If I were you I would be looking at the NAD and the Cambridge but then I've looked at both of them side by side and look what I ended up getting.

thanks kev (these are amps i'll be trying to audition in the next little while stooge btw)

i agree that both the marantz and the denon ones are quite exxy. the classic 6.0 looks a little home-brand for me

i guess i'll be trying to have a listen to the NAD, Cambridge and the Yamaha. also keeping an eye out on the ForSale forum in SNA at the moment too.

....aesthetically the Yamaha would go the best with the HTPC case i've been admiring.


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After I finish my car, I'm planning on building a kit system, comprising of.....

a preamp
http://www.transcendentsound.com/preampkit.htm

and either a two channel, or two monoblocks
http://www.transcendentsound.com/BeastOTL.htm

http://www.transcendentsound.com/T16OTL.htm

added with my current JBL 2268HPL's (probably horn loaded) with some BMS4592's in some Tractix horns (hand built and designed).

All handmade by me, all the while learning the tips/traps and a heap on something I want to know more of!!

This thread needs more analogue!

Mine:

Old 70s Sansui AU217 amp, TU317 tuner, some old Marantz floor standers (12" woofers!). Yum cha high torque direct drive tt (it's actually very good). I've since acquired much more vinyl (now arranged vertically), an Ortofon Super OM10 cartridge and dug out my old dvd player for cds (though it's hardly used). I bought the turntable around 6 months ago and never looked back! The rest i've had for many years.

I've been pondering over building a 12AX7/ EL84 based push-pull valve amp. Mmm valves!

my dad hated it when i got my Pioneer amp as he complained it sounded nicer than his harmonkardon lol......but then, he found a sansui....and's been proud of it ever since (and at $40.......)

i'll have to get a pic of my speakers tomorrow.....i have two 12"s in each of mine

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pics