So here are my initial thoughts on my new setup. But a little background, my system was moved from my living room to a spare bedroom basically to reclaim living space and to get rid of some of the compromises of a mixed use room. Since a few of you have asked, my system comprises of:
· ACI Panoramas X 6 (on custom stands by Brian at Rutledge Audio Design)
· ACI Essence Center
· ACI Titan II X 2
· Maestro
· Lexicon MC12 V4
· Lexicon LX7
· Denon 2900
· InFocus 7200 (in a Hushbox by Whisperflow)
· 90 inch screen
· ASC pieces throughout the room
Maestro
I have problems adding to what Craig has already said about this sub and he is a tough act to follow but here goes; the Maestro is awesome. It adds weight to the bottom end to the point that I believed that the Star Destroyer from the opening scene in Star Wars was actually flying over my room and not just on the screen as the room shook. The shock wave from Alderan blowing up caused either the low frequencies or the air being moved by the 15 inch driver to washed over me. This type of bass presence just was not there with a single Titan. What is also great to discover that with all this brute force available, it still sounds controlled and crisp (dare I say musical) as the Titan.
I also listened to the famous Telarc 1812 SACD with the Canon warning… what warning? I listened at reference level and the Maestro seemed to take it all (I’m still covered by warranty right Mike?)
Dual Titans
I have the two Titans set up directly on each side of the listening position. These subs are set up for Lexicon Bass Enhance that extracts stereo bass to eliminate the “middle of the head” effect of low frequencies, this is why low frequencies seem to be non directional, but it is unnatural, Bass Enhance is designed to get rid of this phenomenon. For me the bass enhance seems to work well and I’m glad I did it.
Room Correction
The Lex allows you to have four levels of room correction and to quickly toggle between them. All I can say is that the impact is not subtle. It is like when you're at the eye doctor and he is swapping out lenses quickly, "better or worse" or "blurry or not blurry". All the voices and instruments seem to snap into place when room correction is on. Lexicon Room Correction works on the lower frequencies as they are more predictable and targets things such as decay instead of trying to flatten the response curve as some room eqs do. I’m glad I did this upgrade as well.
Overall
I am completely blown away by my system now. I have always gone away from demo rooms at some high-end dealers feeling that there is room for improvement in my system; thanks to Mike, the engineers and software designers at Lexicon, I don’t think my results give up much to them now at all. So in the confines of my current living arrangement, other than taking down walls, I don’t think there is much left for me to do… now that is a scary thought…
