[rinzzlr]

Cool!  I'd be interested in your report on the sound without the ARC engaged. I'm also curious what your HT system would sound like without the G25HP's. In such a small room, the double troubles should be all the bass you'd ever need. Of course, you'd have to adjust the A370's to get them to sound like HT subs.

I definitely have some options and with time I will end up trying all the variations. I don’t like that ARC is rolling off the mains bass at 80hz. So I will be looking into that first. I want to set them as large and have them play full range while also letting the LFE go to the G25HP’s. The way it is right now its the most versatile “set and forget” way of running everything for music and movies since for music I bypass the Anthem entirely, but when the Anthem is engaged so are the G25HP’s. I’m relatively new to Anthem so need to poke around and see what options I have to override default ARC calibration.

[WGH]

The ARC surround and height curves look good.

You can roll off the L&R front speakers lower if the amp has the power. I adjusted my L&R curve to 50 Hz, the Salk HT2-TL go down to 34 Hz and 50 Hz gives me a little headroom with 225 watts per channel.

My sub curve is close to yours.

I also used the internal pink noise to check levels with a sound meter after ARC calibration. Then I double checked by playing pink noise from a Stereophile test disk, the reading were slightly different. I have 4 amps so pairs of speakers can be turned off for an accurate reading. I ended up boosting the level of the height and Atmos speakers to get everything reading 70 dB.

Finally Dune was playing at one of our best theaters and I was able to compare what I heard in the theater to a ripped Blu-ray I keep for demo purposes. After a little tweaking the surround sound and volume I achieved is identical to the theater sound.

[GeorgeAb]

Stunning accomplishment!

[rinzzlr]

I hooked up the Studio's as mains yesterday to give them a spin with the Double Troubles. I did not change the A370 amp settings from where I have them with the Otica's and realize I should adjust them a little to maybe blend them better but they did seem to take well to the current A370 settings. I did make a quick recording of a couple songs (i'll do more later).  I personally can hear the mid range being more condensed on the Studio's.. that's the biggest difference.  The midrange on the NX-Otica sounds more open, and they can play higher SPL than the Studio's.  There is a bit more texture and depth in the midrange on the NX-Otica's according to my ears.  But without A/Bing them, I would have to critically listen to hear the differences if bind testing.  The live drum track is probably the most obvious example of the differences.  Listen for the snare drum - the NX-Otica's make the drums a lot more life like to me, but the Studio's are not far behind.

Live Drums:
NX-Otica
https://youtu.be/z44vYaUUTOA?si=HKgqwZYQYU0a52xA
NX-Studio
https://youtu.be/wauaQBhEtog?si=bK-uUMnoPWSy3umL

Lorde - Royals:
NX-Otica
https://youtu.be/oIs8dy056Cg?si=NlfcSbfBilyxyMqe
NX-Studio
https://youtu.be/ToYcGZgIdLA?si=0NfiBbXlEEYkrZsf

The ARC surround and height curves look good.

You can roll off the L&R front speakers lower if the amp has the power. I adjusted my L&R curve to 50 Hz, the Salk HT2-TL go down to 34 Hz and 50 Hz gives me a little headroom with 225 watts per channel.

My sub curve is close to yours.

I also used the internal pink noise to check levels with a sound meter after ARC calibration. Then I double checked by playing pink noise from a Stereophile test disk, the reading were slightly different. I have 4 amps so pairs of speakers can be turned off for an accurate reading. I ended up boosting the level of the height and Atmos speakers to get everything reading 70 dB.

Finally Dune was playing at one of our best theaters and I was able to compare what I heard in the theater to a ripped Blu-ray I keep for demo purposes. After a little tweaking the surround sound and volume I achieved is identical to the theater sound.

I created another ARC profile and set the "Super Woofer" option allowing me to play the mains full range + the subwoofer.. I did some testing quickly being able to A/B due to the Anthem profiles and I felt that I preferred with the mains set to Large/Full range.  I am going to be running some REW sweeps soon so will have a chance to get some serious tuning done.

Stunning accomplishment!

Thank you.

[Rocket_Ronny]

I’ll bet if you were able to roll off the Studios higher, say 120hz., I bet the congestion would clear up.

Rocket Ronny

[Early B.]

I’m bet if you were able to roll off the Studios higher, say 120hz., I bet the congestion would clear up.

Yep. You ain't hearing the Studios properly until you dial them in with the A370s. Your perception of their midrange depth relative to the NX-Oticas will likely change. 

[rinzzlr]

I’m bet if you were able to roll off the Studios higher, say 120hz., I bet the congestion would clear up.

Rocket Ronny

You think roll them off earlier vs rolling the subs off lower?

I would need some type of DSP for that wouldn’t I? Current for music I just have them into a TS120 stereo integrated without DSP capability. I do have a mini DSP I could dust off.

Yep. You ain't hearing the Studios properly until you dial them in with the A370s. Your perception of their midrange depth relative to the NX-Oticas will likely change. 

I need to run REW sweeps of everything independently in my room to get a better understanding of where the Studio’s are rolling off. Do you know how low they are typically go by themselves?  You said you have your doubles crossed at 80 with your Studio’s. What are the other settings that you use? Next time I have time I’ll try all settings on the amps like I did with Otica’s and see what sounds best with the Studios.

[Early B.]

You said you have your doubles crossed at 80 with your Studio’s. What are the other settings that you use?

I don't have Studios, so my amp settings will be of no value to you. 

[rinzzlr]

I don't have Studios, so my amp settings will be of no value to you.

Oh sorry, got mixed up.

[rinzzlr]

Update: Still on my way towards total completion. Most recent updates is got some No Rez cut for the bracing. Traced the bracing holes to the bottom of the pieces and my 5-1/2 hole saw arrived yesterday so will be cutting those out tonight. Another thing I did was wrapped the loose twisted solid core in a cloth tape because of rattling.

I hope to have all the No Rez cut by the end of the week and before I apply it I would like to take some measurements with REW before and after the No Rez install. I have the software and a u-mik. Is there anything in particular.. any particular REW setting or measurement I should focus on. Are measuring techniques discussed in any of Danny’s video’s? I’ve watch a lot of them and can’t recall if he’s ever covered a stand alone measuring tips.  I feel like Danny pretty much explains it in every video (Spectral decay, on/off axis, vertical/horizontal.)

My plan is to measure the speakers by themselves, before and after No Rez, one at a time and together, with and without the Double Troubles integrated. Studios and DT by themselves
Etc.. Just wondering if there is a common setting that gets overlooked or anything like that or a general guide someone has found to make quick work of the important aspects of the measurements.  Thanks to everyone in the circle, appreciate the advice and continued discussion.

[Tyson]

Looking good!

[rinzzlr]

The hole saw came through and much like just about everything with this project, was slightly more difficult than I anticipated. My drill was locking up as soon as it made it through the backer and hit the foam. Had to keep a high RPM to keep it clean. 5-1/2” was the perfect size.

[Danny Richie]

That looks cool, but it isn't the braces that need the No Rez. It is the panels that need the No Rez.

[rinzzlr]

That looks cool, but it isn't the braces that need the No Rez. It is the panels that need the No Rez.

Oh yeah, I’m aware. I was just starting with the bracing so I could get the correct measurements for all the paneling. I’m doing the bracing because I didn’t like what I was hearing when I knocked on it. I had some extra work to do on the bracing because of an issue I noticed with them. It’s why I grabbed an extra 4 sheets of No Rez in the last sale. If I have enough I’m also planning on putting sheets on the bottom of the bottom plate of the Otica’s and Subs between the feet. It’s probably over kill but I don’t mind.

[Danny Richie]

Oh yeah, I’m aware. I was just starting with the bracing so I could get the correct measurements for all the paneling. I’m doing the bracing because I didn’t like what I was hearing when I knocked on it. I had some extra work to do on the bracing because of an issue I noticed with them. It’s why I grabbed an extra 4 sheets of No Rez in the last sale. If I have enough I’m also planning on putting sheets on the bottom of the bottom plate of the Otica’s and Subs between the feet. It’s probably over kill but I don’t mind.

It is not a problem.

[rinzzlr]

It is not a problem.

sorry for being vague. It’s not a problem with the design I noticed.. it was a problem with the way I built them that I’m attempting to overcome by adding the No Rez to the bracing.

[rinzzlr]

Took me two days of prep and cutting the No Rez for the NX-Otica's and DT's.  My initial plan was to cut everything with 45 angle full bevel but my first attempt on the table saw resulted in a partial bevel which I ended up liking the look of so stuck with it throughout. 

The hardest part by far to cut was the open wing of the NX-Otica's.  I ended up wasting a sheet of No Rez on this because I was trying to cut it  with the table saw, then jigsaw, and then attempted to put the bevel on it with the jigsaw and it just came out looking like a squiggly mess so ended up redoing it with a high speed but slow moving jigsaw which came out great and beveled the outside edge at the bottom only.



The pieces I cut for the Double Troubles were 5-5/16 x 12-3/4. I would dry fit this as I had to cut more off than my initial measurements would suggest. I did full 45 bevel on 3 sides and partial bevel on the front.  I initially wasn't going to bevel the inside edge but found it to be a lot easier to work with due to the woofers being in the way. I also cut 45 degree edge off where the sub wires were routing through the frame. 







I took some REW measurements in room prior to the No Rez to get a feel for how my room was reacting with the speakers.  I may have a 70hz null in my LP as I spent a lot of time with sub adjustments and couldnt get rid of that dip which shows up in the NX-Otica's room response as well without the subs playing. It may be a room mode, or may be my tube amp, either way I have a lot of options for filling it in and I'll get to the bottom of it.  I have a lot more measuring to do and will now that the speakers and subs are in their final form.

These REW measurements are just the NX-Otica's off a TS120 tube integrated with no EQ and without No Rez as well as a 90 degree mic orientation at LP.  I did take about 30 different measurements with different toe angles to get a feel of how the FR was being impacted.  I'll post my updated REW room response with the No-Rez later after I measure.

[BrandonB]

You have been listening to your speakers for awhile without No-Rez.   Without measurements did you hear a difference and how much did you notice when you added NoRez to your speakers?

[rinzzlr]

You have been listening to your speakers for awhile without No-Rez.   Without measurements did you hear a difference and how much did you notice when you added NoRez to your speakers?

I've had them built for a while but I dont get to listen as much as I wish I could.  That being said knowing that there was going to be a "before and after No-Rez" I took mental notes on how the room sounded.

There was a noticeable difference after the No-Rez.  I was able to capture the measurements which reveal what im hearing as well.  The first thing that stood out was I needed more amplifier volume to hear at the same dB. Lower volume felt more lively without the No-Rez - I listen loud in general, like really loud about 85-98dB so that wasn't a concern and don't consider it a "bad thing" I just noticed it. It mainly revealed that most of what I was hearing at lower volume was harmonics prior to installing the No-Rez.  When listening at levels I typically listen at I noticed just a cleaner presentation, a little more precision in the transients mainly. 

The REW Decay graph really tells the story best.  Not a lot of difference in the decay from 0-100ms but after that there is a faster decay rate pretty much across all frequencies.

Before No-Rez 20-20k hz

After No-Rez 20-20k hz


Before No-Rez 20-2000hz

After No-Rez 20-2000hz


Before No-Rez 20-2000hz 140ms and 160ms isolated

After No-Rez 20-2000hz 140ms and 160ms isolated

[Danny Richie]

You aren't going to see a lot of differences in No Rez from a room response decay. Just a slight change in volume from one to the other will override everything.

A room decay rate shows how long it takes for a signal to stop after reflecting around in the room.

The No Rez will tighten up the cabinet wall resonances. So that the coloration that the cabinet contributed is reduced or eliminated. Out of band harmonics from the cabinet resonances are reduced or eliminated as well.

So a cleaner and more musical presentation is the result.