Well, almost. They're not stained yet, but I had to listen to them anyway.
I disconnected my Mission V60 bookshelves and set up the AV-Os in their place, setting them about 3 feet from the wall and about 7 feet apart. Being so far from the wall, the listening position was about 6 feet away. I started listening to various types of music, and was immediately struck at the clarity and... bigness, i guess... of the sound. Classical sounded great, sounded like I was in an auditorium. Rock was pretty much the same, but something strange happened when I put on close-miked jazz singers like Diana Krall or Holly Cole. It was echoey, like it was being piped into the room instead of the initimate feeling like they were standing in front of me from direct radiating speakers. I chalked it up to something I'd need to get used to, turned off the music and started playing Call of Duty 4 on my Xbox360. Here the sound dispersion was far more annoying - bullets and grenade blasts could no longer be pinpointed and were far more distracting. Slightly discouraged, I was aready making plans to relegate these to surround duty and build some A/V3's for mains.
Them I tried something; I moved then closer together a foot to 6 feet, and moved them back to 1 1/2 feet from the back wall, toeing them in slightly.
Wow - that was the magical transformation I needed. Vocalists were once again front and center, with more clarity and life-likeness than I've ever heard. And, while I've never been a huge classical buff, Beethoven's 5th at rediculous volume levels literally brought tears to my eyes. I've never heard such a huge sound from a pair of speakers! System of a Down and Kid Rock all had new life brought into them. While listening to Kid Rock, I swear I had to get up and check the surrounds to make sure they weren't on - no lie.
I know it's suggested to keep these omni-directional speakers farther from the wall, but I don't know what it is about my setup that I think they sound better where they are. Maybe it's the 9 foot cielings, or the shape of the room. Whatever it is, the moral is to try different placement options.
I absolutely love these things, and I cannot believe I built my own speakers. It's quite a good feeling of accomplishment, and even my wife is impressed! I'll try to post some pics as soon as I download them.
Thanks Danny for an awesome speaker! Next is a sub, then maybe I'll replace the surround setup in my theater! I've gotta make some more use of all these tools I bought
