[Desertpilot]

My update on how I am using my system.  I use my X3s for both movies and surround music.  I tried living with my X3s positioned 5 feet from my front wall for both situations (using GAIA IIs with carpet spikes).  It works.  But, for both marital harmony and providing good sound to guests watching a movie with us, I removed the carpet spikes and put my speakers back on carpet sliders.

For music:  Either Stereo or Surround, having my speakers 5 feet from the front wall, no toe-in, sounds fantastic.  Soundstage and depth are wonderful.  Speakers (L and R) are about 8 feet apart (center of baffle to center of baffle) and 10 feet from the MLP.  Front and rear surround speakers are "distance" corrected in both JRiver and ROON.  All speakers calibrated to 75 dB.  Music server to DAC to Amp to Speakers.  See photo.



For Home Theater:  I repositioned my front speakers to about 2 feet from the front wall with extreme toe-in for the left and right speakers.  This provides a good listening experience across three recliners for me and guests (our 4th recliner is the "mother-in-law" seat).  Video goes from my server through my Marantz AV8805 pre/pro to my amp.  I use Audyssey XT32 to calibrate front and rear surround speakers.  How does music sound in this configuration?  Not bad at all.  Soundstage is still excellent but there is no depth.  See photo:



My rear surrounds (ITU positioning) are problematic.  I've repositioned them many times.  I would like them closer to the MLP but I just don't have the room.  So, they will stay where they are (ultimately I will mount on wall with equal height).  Using distance correction and volume, we have no issues (movies and music) with their current position.  See photo:



Am I happy?  Absolutely.  Music is critical for me and the X3s give me reproduction I've never heard before.  Movies are less critical but I do love "epic" soundtracks and the X3s deliver here as well.  In fact, we had a movie binge watch the past couple days.  Surround up through Dolby ATMOS all sounded great.  I do own several Blu-Ray audio discs (mostly by 2L) and I will play them (through my Marantz pre/pro).  I choose the Auro 3D codec.  Sounds good but mostly ambience, not object based like movies).

I would like to continue this thread to give my opinion on specific music and movies. 

Thanks for listening.
Marcus

[TomS]

Terrific setup 

[2Bad]

Lovely... thanks for sharing this with us. 

[Tyson]

Having them on sliders is nice because you can quickly and easily move them around for different purposes.  I keep mine on sliders too.

[Desertpilot]

Terrific setup 

Thanks Tom.

Lovely... thanks for sharing this with us. 

Thank you 2Bad.

Having them on sliders is nice because you can quickly and easily move them around for different purposes.  I keep mine on sliders too.

Tyson, I super appreciate your letting me know you use sliders as well.  Confidence booster for me.

Marcus

[Desertpilot]

Achieving my system setup goals was not easy and very time consuming.  I've spent the better part of the past year moving my new X3 speakers around.  I also had to put a lot of time into configuring my system for the best sound.  The good news is that technology has given us incredible flexibility.  The bad news is that with flexibility comes complexity.  I have learned a LOT about audio setup.  This is not "plug and play" stuff if you want to get the most out of your system.

Speaker setup:  I'm pretty OCD about speaker positioning.  My wife laughs at how often I have repositioned my speakers and used a tape measure to create a perfect symmetry.  Yes, she is pressed into service to help with measurements and tip the speakers so I can check the security of the GAIA IIs.  See this really hilarious blog written by a wife of an audiophile:  https://www.theaudiophileswife.com/

Home Theater:  My wife and I love our home theater setup.  Personally, I am way more interested in the soundtrack than my wife.  So????  Why not use my X3s as part of our movie sound system?  My system includes Dolby ATMOS/Auro 3D capability (5.2.4 system).  I want the music in the soundtrack to produce the best sound possible. 
-- Not all movies fully employ Dolby ATMOS.  In fact, Christopher Nolan (Tenet, Inception, Interstellar, etc.) only uses Dolby surround (5.1).  A good resource to determine if the ATMOS track is worthy, check out reviews on YouTube by Spare Change.  He employs a program to track all the sound objects.  Take a look at his analysis of DUNE on 4K disc:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLl2bVv3Ado&t=246s

Music:  I download a lot of classical surround music.  See my AC thread listing demo worthy classical music: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=177443.0.  Absolutely thrilling in my surround system.  For me, I prefer surround music recorded and mixed in a minimum of PCM 24/96.  Album releases come in a large variety of codecs.  My decision is to download the "original recording format".  Typically, DXD or SACD.  But, some labels still record and produce in 24/96.
-- Yes!  I also have a lot of stereo (2.0 channel) music.  In this case, I will typically upmix to 5.1 or Auro 3D using my Marantz AV8805 pre/pro.  Audioholics just released a video informing viewers of the best settings to convert stereo to 5.1 or ATMOS or Auro 3D:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QDy7_-TVd0
-- Most of my music is intended for serious listening (downloads and Qobuz, which seems to always come in 2 channel), I have a separate surround DAC by exaSound.  Music is played using JRiver or ROON.  ExaSound provides a proprietary ASIO driver.  I bypass my pre/pro and send music via USB to my DAC and then to my Parasound amp.  No upmixing or downmixing.  The DAC will play the file with no changes.  Stereo is stereo and surround is surround.

Accomplishing this goal was a challenge.  But, I figured it out and now we sit back to enjoy the movie or music.

Marcus

[Desertpilot]

Now that I have decided to keep my X3s on sliders, I moved my carpet up to my front wall so it is easier to slide the speakers closer (for home theater) and further away (for music).  See photo:





I've shifted the speaker positions back and forth a few times now and it is working well (wife is very pleased).  I have speaker position measurements written down to make sure I move them to the correct position.  Sometimes, I will watch a movie with the speakers pulled out to the music position (5 feet from front wall).  I'll do this if I am watching a movie with a great soundtrack or a BluRay opera.  I've run Audyssey calibration with the speakers in each position using the Audyssey MultEQ Editor app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dmholdings.AudysseyMultEq.  It is simple to upload the correct calibration (movie position, 2 feet, or music video position, 5 feet) to my pre/pro. 

When I play High Resolution music, I do not use my pre/pro so Audyssey is not involved.

My primary music and movie player is JRiver Media Center.  I can easily tag music files (important for my classical music collection) among other useful tools.  I have the JRiver2 remote.  But, now I prefer a privately developed remote called MO 4Media, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dancingtree.mo4media.  I also have ROON but I'm not sure I want to keep it.  I've looked at HQ Player but it looks complicated and its claim to fame is upscaling which I never do.  I discovered that JRiver has a facility called "zones".  This is a lifesaver and allows me to use one server for either movies or music.  I created a zone for movies and set it up to play a movie via HDMI to my pre/pro.  I created a separate zone called music which employs the exaSound ASIO driver via USB to my DAC.  There are a lot of different settings for each zone.  Zones will store these settings.  Switching zones makes this process easy.  In order to implement this system, I had to buy a highly recommended "input" switch the Coleman 7.1SW (http://www.colemanaudio.com/swtchr.htm).  One input for my pre/pro and another for my DAC.

I learned that 2 feet from the front wall is the minimum distance with the X3s.  Any closer, even by a couple of inches, creates an "echo" quality to dialog.  It's as if the characters are speaking in a tunnel or something similar.

Side cancellation is a big help if you are using a room with a side wall on only one side.  My left speaker is 20 inches from my left side wall.  Side cancellation needs 18 inches or more.  On the right side, there is no wall.  Side cancellation eliminates symmetry issues (in my opinion).

I'm settled in now.  Watching movies or music videos is great.  Listening to hirez music is also great.  Nirvana.

Marcus

[Tyson]

It's so nice when things settle in to a level of excellence and you can stop futzing with things.  My downstairs system is like that.  Congrats!

[Desertpilot]

It's so nice when things settle in to a level of excellence and you can stop futzing with things.  My downstairs system is like that.  Congrats!

Thanks Tyson.  I always appreciate your encouraging comments.  My wife and I are spending today watching the 4 hour extravaganza:  Zack Snyder's Justice League (4K Ultra HD).  OMG!  Yes, the X3s can handle it.  Great soundtrack as well.

Marcus

[Dana]

Marcus, This is a little off your Home Theater topic, but I am about to buy some Gaia's for my X5s.  I am wondering what carpet sliders you chose to use with your X3s, and also what you think you lost (if anything) going from Gaias with carpet spikes to the sliders.  Tyson, you said you are using sliders, too.  I'd appreciate hearing what you are using, too.  Thanks!

[Desertpilot]

Hi Dana,

The GAIA II feet are still attached to my X3s.  I simply replaced the carpet spikes with carpet sliders (the kind you can purchase from Lowes or Amazon).  Works just fine.  The GAIA IIs continue to provide me with resonance protection as they isolate/eliminate resonance from the top of the GAIA foot to the bottom of the GAIA foot.

I know the Herbies sliders are well thought of here.  But, I didn't feel the need to use them in my situation.

Marcus

[Dana]

Thanks Marcus.  I have berber carpet and padding on concrete, and had assumed I'd need the IsoAcoustic carpet spikes, but I think I'll give sliders a shot first with the Gaia II's, especially since I need to occasionally move my speakers closer to the wall when grandkids, etc., are visiting.