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Recommendations for upgrade from 5.1 to 7.1

Being still in the state of upgrade frenzy (I am finishing up improving my main stereo rig - see other thread I started about a month ago), I like to hear your suggestions for system changes and/or improvement for my den based HT system.

Please note:
Planned changes are marked between [[brackets]].
The mix of components are to blame because of regular upgrades in my other music systems, relegating older or less suitable components to the HT system.

Source:
Video: Sony PS3 for blue ray movies and DVDs, HTPC. [[Oppo BDP 103 after uprading my current Samsung 55" LED HDTV to a 3D model]]
Music: HTPC/Logitech SB Touch [[after market power supply upgrade]], Sonic Frontiers SFT-1 as transport, Benchmark DAC1 [[Eastern Electric MiniMax Plus DAC with DEXA opamps upgrade]].

Amplification:
Krell Home Theater Standard [[7.1 processor but which one?]]
Krell KAV250a/3 + KAV250a [[selling them and get a better value/money 5 ch amp?]]

Speakers/sub:
Fronts: Duntech PCL400 (Black Knights) with Cardas binding posts (used to have Snell B Minor as fronts)
Center: 2x Snell ICS1000
[[Snell AMC800 in wall planned for 7.1]]
Surrounds: Snell AMC900 in wall
Sub: 2x Snell PS10 [[Velodyne DD-10 or one Linn Sizmik on ASC bass base]]

Power Conditioning:
Shunyata Hydra 4

Cabling:
IC: Cardas Golden Reference for L/R/C, Transparent Music Link for SR/SL
NordOst Silver Shadow for digital
Sonic Wave glass optical cable from the PS3 to Krell HTS [[any need to upgrade this cable?]]
SC: Audience AU24e for the fronts and center, Belden in wall for the rest
PC: Shunyata Python from Pconditioner to wall, the rest on a mix of Cardas Quadlink and Shunyata Venom3

Isolation: Black Diamond Racing cones/pucks under most devices [[will try Aurio, Symposium]], hockey pucks under the front speakers and subs.

Room treatment: 6" thick 48"x 24" Bass Traps on the side and back walls, thick curtain behind the system and front speakers on the long wall (best placement for the Duntechs) for a 9' x 12' basement room with hard wood floor on concrete and a relatively low ceiling of 7'. Two 8'x 5' carpets to reduce the echo. [[corner bass traps, maybe an acoustic panel on the ceiling right above the listening couch]]

What is my weakest link?

Of course YMMV but appreciate any suggestion to improve this system and/or improve the synergy between components in general and for a 7.1 processor specifically, thanks!
polyglot

Showing 3 responses by vicdamone

vicdamone
850 posts
 
I strongly disagree with the idea that 7.1 needs a large room. My 7.1 using Triangle Comets and a 15" Earthquake situated diagonally in the corner of a 16'x16' space gets outstanding results.

The biggest gain came from the room correction within my updated 7.1 receiver.

The LCR speakers are on a flat plane with the display. The left and right speakers are just slightly toed by approximately 3 degrees. The side speakers are mounted high on the walls aimed at the listening position. The rears are behind the couch at the rear wall aimed up at the ceiling.

Compared the previous 5.1 setup the matrixed surround is excellent.
vicdamone
850 posts
 
Yes, Hififan, smaller speakers would be preferable. This guy's big Duntechs in that room as well as the mix of in walls he is thinking of using will definitely detract from the surround effect. With the right room correction software it could be acceptable.

I did a 7.1 room smaller than this using Gallo's. The Gallo adjustable mounting brackets were used to wall mount the sides and rears. The reasonably priced Onkyo 616 room correction did a terrific job.

Gallo's are an incredible choice for HT. They're not stupid expensive, they will work in all but very largest rooms, easy to locate, and acceptable WAF factor. With the left and rights on stands they can easily be moved out to a two channel location where they'll image like crazy.

I'm not going to argue that large dissimilar speakers in a small room is the way to go. With a set of seven appropriate sized speakers and a sub in a room that size, 7.1 and 7.1 matrixed 5.1 media will defiantly work.

My suggestion to the original poster is to not merge HT and two channel. Don't go overboard with HT speakers, a processor, and amplification. A modest but modern receiver, seven small speakers, Blue Jeans HDMI and speaker cable, high end subwoofer, and a plasma display, will do it. It's just TV.
vicdamone
850 posts
 
Bigger room? When I tried this integration the 60" Kuro in between the mains sucked the sound stage out of my Avalons which are so far out in the middle of the room the whole thing looked silly. The HT went in the den and optimized for HT.

Hope you have better luck than I did.
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