[Lobster Astronaut]

Good afternoon,

My handle is Lobster Astronaut.  And why not?

I have an interest in home theater and often find myself envious of those folks who can build these "money is no object" killer systems.  My living room system is comprised of SVS towers and subs.  This is my family's prime entertainment room.  I have a second system comprised of B&W speakers and a single SVS sub.  This setup is more robust but used less often due to poor seating.  Meaning, one seat for me. 

I have a final system in my office.  This is also a B&W 700 setup with a Techniques receiver and a Martin Logan sub.  It keeps me company all day.  No complaints. 

I have been around the YouTube world watching lots of home theater and two channel audio experts, enthusiast, vendor videos, instructional videos, the stuff Danny puts out.  I also read a lot of articles and forums.  There seems to be an ocean of products, information, and folks evangelizing "the right way" of doing everything.  But, there is very little information on how actually do anything other than: Buy a speaker, buy a receiver, exchange a kidney for speaker wire, then relax in glorious audio nirvana. 

I want to learn more about why a crossover does what it does, what to look for in speaker construction, how to properly calculate room modes, what the hell is a room mode, do I need room treatments if I'm just using the space for home theater, and lots of other really important information that seems out of reach for lesser mortals such as myself. 

Well, that's me in context of this channel.  I hope to meet some good folks.

Thank you,

Lobster Astronaut

[FullRangeMan]

Welcome to AC 
Audiophiles dont like Room Resonance Modes disturb his Soundstage.
I prefer not dig in this lake, a regular room is OK to me.

Please note some Circles of interest you may like>
The Fullrange Driver Circle:
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=128.0
The Open Baffle Circle:
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=90.0
The Tube Amps Circle>
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=144.0
The Vinyl Circle::
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=32.0

[JLM]

Welcome Lobster Astronaut!

Read Floyd Toole's "Sound Reproduction" (either edition) to learn about room acoustics.  IMO the room is the most over ignored yet 2nd most important "component" of an audio system.  When we built 18 years ago I included my own 8ft x 13ft x 21ft room (audio in the front and office in the back) that is well insulated and treated with six 2ft x 4ft GIK 244 "wide-band" panels, four 2ft x 4ft "bass-trap" panels, and three tall bookcases on the side walls.  The room includes an insulated fiberglass exterior door with weather seal and insulated/flexible ductwork for the supply air vent.  The first few days seemed spooky quiet inside.  Come to find out Earl Geddes (respected audio engineer) has a similar listening room.

Also have a modest 5.1 AV system in another room that I tried not spending serious money on.  I watch mostly history, science, and Canadian football by myself.  Note that ideal audio rooms are different than ideal AV rooms.

Loudspeakers are the most important audio component.  For many years I considered crossovers "evil" and the 20-20,000Hz marketing mantra the root of all evil.  Nevertheless loudspeakers should "fit the room" (fill the room without overloading it).  In recent years I've switched to active monitors (low voltage crossovers feeding one channel of amplification per driver) like the studio professional use.  Nowadays consumer active monitors have gained in popularity and features, check out Buchardt A10 as a good example. 

[Phil A]

Welcome!

[ArthurDent]

Greetings & Welcome to AC 

[Lobster Astronaut]

Thank you for the welcome and the advice.  Considering you folks didn't start with, "your gear sucks because I said so," comments.  That's a good sign.  That has been my experience with some of the other AV forums.  Which is why I never post or ask for advice on those forums. 

I'll take a look at the full range driver circle.  And will also look up "sound reproduction."

I have been wondering for a while if my basement home theater needs any kind of treatment.  The space is limited in size and flexibility.  For example, I do not have the space for both my LCRs and subwoofer and corner bass traps at the same time.  The room is too narrow.  However, when I watch a movie with all 11 speakers and sub, the last thing that enters my mind is that I have room issue.  So, I am looking for techniques and/or math, that I can do cheaply to simulate my room and get a more informed decision before I start throwing money at the room.  The room dimensions are 11ft w X 18ft L X 6.5ft h.  So, I am not going to hang 4 to 6-inch thick panels for bass absorption from the ceiling if I hope to be able to walk around the room without bumping my head.   I also do not have the option to rebuild the room purposely for home theater. 

So, my goal is not perfect.  I am focused on what I can do, get to good enough, and hopefully learn some cool stuff along the way.  I also want to learn more about crossovers because it just seems like it would be fun to see what more I can get out of my gear without needing to go replace the gear.  For example, my B&W 705 Signature bookshelf speakers sound noticeably better than my B&W 705 S2 bookshelves.  But, other than cosmetics, the only functional difference between them are three little parts on the crossover that I think are resisters.  And the Signatures do sound better and are better behaved on the high end than the S2s and even the new S3s that I've listened to extensively at my local Best Buy.  So, it may be worth my wild to invest in an inexpensive upgrade to my S2s than waste my time building a whole new theater with another brand of speaker or even replacing with the S3s.  Unfortunately, my bank account does have a bottom.  Plus, I really like my S2s for both home theater and for the closeout bargains I got them for.

Thanks again for the advice.  I look forward to interacting with this community.