[roscoe65]

Well, I was finally able to do the planned changes to my system and I thought it would be ok to share it here.
It didn't end up aesthetically the way I imagined, but I am also not disappointed. The original idea was to make new cabinets for the subs so they appear like P3s big brother and put two pipes (like from the stands in the posts above to bind them), but...
The main thing is, I got the sound I wanted i.e. P3s which sound a tad bigger, and was also able to free them up of struggling to play bottom two octaves.

What you see is in pictures as a black box on top of LIO is a PC running Win + Roon + HQPlayer with Tidal and local library.
Everything is upsampled to DSD128 (max what current DAC supports, and this will be upgraded in June with new DAC module).   
It is a fan less Streacom F5 case which I modded a bit to accommodate Nocuta's 120mm ULN fan which blows the air in through a dust filter for some air flow. It's gonna need it once the new DAC comes in.

Under the PC, there is, of course, LIO with AVC/Tubestage, DAC and a 4 ch amplfier. Two channels are full range and two have HPF @100Hz 24 dB/octave. P3s are connected to those HPF outputs and are placed on Rythmik F8 subwoofers which are LPF @100Hz 24dB/octave. Subs are connected to line level out from LIO and through miniDSP so one can control bass response up to 100Hz and easy integrate them with the room. I actually had to add a small dip around 120Hz. When you look at the P3s bump in the bass region it all makes sense why it was there.

I place myself on a chair between the speakers, put a blanket on the TV (I actually move the TV back on the AC, all the way to the window to get deeper sound stage, but I also have to bring it back post listening to please my better half ), and listen in a near filed. There are some 3ft between the tweeter and my ears. Also, the speakers are bit closer to each other than in the pictures.

All in all, I must say I am very, very happy with this setup. I was at Axpona yesterday and left it with a big smile on my face.
There were many, many rooms which were not able to compete with my setup at all (this is only my opinion of course, many could/can disagree).
I liked Vinnie's room, but on some songs the bass was too strong. Obviously, the room was a small hotel room and one would expect some bass issues. Vinnie's room was surely in the top three rooms there imho (I liked Spatial's new M3s a lot too).
My point in this paragraph. Using miniDSP on F8s between LIO's line level and F8's amp helped me get rid most of the nasty bass issues one could have in a room. Combining miniDSP for lower two octaves, charm of P3s and near field placement brought a system in my living room I can enjoy for hours and hours.

I still cannot believe I was able to create relatively small system with huge sound, put it in my living room and get almost zero complaints from my wife. 








 
 

Looks great!

I have evolved a similar solution for my living room (I have a small, dedicated room as well).  I lucked into a number of key components second hand as well as new.  I'm using the F8 subwoofers from the line out of my preamp, crossed over at 12dB/octave at about 180hz.  Above that I have a pair of Omega Super Alnico Monitors running full range.  The F8's are perfectly sized (H x W x D) as speaker stands.  I used Herbies Square Dots between the F8's and Omega's.

The advantage of the F8 is that when used in stereo you can cross over as high as 200hz.  My Omega's have a slow rolloff below 200hz which can be counteracted by boundary reinforcement.  However, with the F8's, I can run the Omega's sealed and they will roll off perfectly to balance the subs.  This is very similar to the Salk Exotica 3.  The Omega ends up about 95dB in its frequency range and I don't have to worry about the rear port being too close (or not close enough) to the wall.

[mirekti]

Bravo! That is one beautiful setup you have.

Thanks!!!

Congratulations, mirekti!

Part of the success goes to you too, Vinnie. I really appreciate you patience and support throughout the huge amount of emails we exchanged.

Looks great!

Thanks!!!

  I used Herbies Square Dots between the F8's and Omega's.

I use blue tack. It isolates and keeps the speakers firmly on the stands.

This is very similar to the Salk Exotica 3. 

I listened to them at Axpona. In my opinion, what takes my system on a higher level (apart from huge impact of HQPlayer's filters and LIO's off the grid system) is the fact I listen to the music in near field and using miniDSP to cure some bass issues.
Given your speaker design, I bet they sound great in near filed as well.

My room is actually not so small. Also, there is a big open cut out window between kitchen and living room so it helps a bit as well.
Anyhow, near field helps a lot as I don't need to listen to the music so loud due to my distance to the speakers without overwhelming the room, yet it sounds loud to me i.e. less room more music.
Here is a quick sketch to give you some perspective.

[roscoe65]

Your listening space is similar in size to my own.  My LR/Dr is 15 x 22 with a vaulted ceiling.  The HT rig is in a 2' x 12' alcove that gets the rack and display out of the sound field.  I end up with the speakers about 2-3 feet off the front wall, about 8 feet apart, and about 8' from my listening position.  This also puts me pretty much in the center of the room.

Since the Omega's are single-driver (i.e., point-source) speakers, they work really well in the near field.  By sealing them and using them with sealed active woofer modules, they are pretty much seamless.

For what its worth, the Salk Exotica 3 runs about $12k.  My Rhythmik/Omega modular speakers cost me about $2,500 (I bought them second hand).  However, even at full retail they would have been less than $4,000.

[mirekti]

For what its worth, the Salk Exotica 3 runs about $12k.  My Rhythmik/Omega modular speakers cost me about $2,500 (I bought them second hand).  However, even at full retail they would have been less than $4,000.

Very nice, indeed. I made exactly the same comparison regarding the price tag between Exotica and my system yesterday, plus mine has more/better bass control.