My set up is no league player comparing to the rest.. But no harm sharing.

TV Model : Samsung CRT 21' given by my brother

Amplifier : NAD T763

Front Speaker : Epos ES11 (made ?1990)

Center Speaker : Fostex FE167E with standard cabinet ported (DIY)

Surround Speaker : Jamo Cornet (made ?1991)

Subwoofer : not yet... (will be another DIY project in due course)

Interconnect/Cable : No Name. Centre speaker cable: Cable Talk 3, front speakers cable can't remember the name. Surround Cable = nameless.
Interconnect = Some DIY cable as CoAxial. Other average RCA, name cannot recalled.

Future project:
1. Projector DIY
2. Projector Screen - most likely DIY too, or maybe ScreenGoo paint.
3. Subwoofer DIY. Source unclear as yet.

I would welcome any good advice about subwoofer speaker driver and amp recommendation.



Here's the epos ES11. The front grill is gone which is good sonically. But my daughter has poked the speaker many times with her little finger, prompted me to DIY a grill, plastered at the side by black rubber tape. It works well !


Centre speaker - DIY Foxtex FE167E with its bookshelf cabinet. Painted black to fit the rest.


My rear surround with stands. A little bit of luxury I guess but thats what is fitting at the present house.


Another view of the rear speaker setup blasting the viewer.


Here's the humble brain of the HT system. NAD T763 bought in 2nd hand from one of the forumner here.


Finally here's my backup component, currently under cold storage until I move to a newer place in a few months time hopefully.
On top, a fully functional Marantz CD52 mkII;
The middle unit is a vintage Marantz 2252 receiver Amp circa 1978, bought by my father at my tender age of 11 ! After servicing, it still sings very well !!
The bottom unit is the first generation Kenwood Prologic Receiver, bought in year 1991 I think.


This post has been edited by peter32: Oct 2 2009, 01:21 AM

I like the front hifi 'rack' you have even at present. Its very simple, but also wonder about its weight carrying capacity . How heavy is your front speakers?

s6xs9x, great set up. What form of rack did you use for your hifi? It seems like an adjustable type. Mind sharing where did u get that?

Thanks.

Here's my old setup, been placed like this for almost 6 years:


... and the surrounds :



While other old components were being cold storaged :



**********


Finally we moved to another place, the old equipments (some almost 20 year old or more..) are being stacked up like this :


Note this TV rack has two separate section, where the left segment can be adjusted according to the intended width. For me I can place the subwoofer underneath but slightly off the centre. I still haven't calibrate the subwoofer placement though.

... while the surround speakers are being placed as recommended by the various guides even from the THX website, ie. about 2-3 feet above the listener's ear level :


Here's the equipment profiles :
list:
NAD T763 2nd hand stock
Marantz CD52 MkII - circa 18 years
Marantz vintage 2252 tuner Amp served as Power Amp here for the Front Two - its an old family heritage since 1978 ! I think it gives fuller impact for the front speakers.
Front Speakers : Epos ES11 - bought 2nd hand since 1994 ? or somewhere around there.



List Two:
Centre Speaker Definitive Technology Model CLR 2002- just acquired 2nd hand this year.
Subwoofer - Infinity 10" RS10 - also second hand. Cost me around RM400.
My Surround is also from Definitive Technology - Model BP-2X - 2nd hand




My dream now is to get something which can drive the Epos ES11 to the fullest with reasonable cost. Been eyeing at the Naim old set from time to time... we'll see..

This post has been edited by peter32: Jul 6 2010, 10:10 AM

Gilbert, thank you.

To be honest, this room need acoustic treatment, which is literally impossible for any living room. So its only good to look at, but not so acoustically.

______________________________

I think I should add the following things:

I have embedded two different speaker cables for the HT system. One is the generic brand rated at 14AWG 100ft from Pro-cable Direct from Ebay. Another one is 60ft of Monster Cable for the main surrounds, thats the one I am using now (refer pic below). The other two is a backup wiring at the back for possible future upgrade to 7.1 if necessary.



Getting them both brand new through eBay proven to be cheaper than getting them locally, although just a bit.

Subwoofer cable is also a 12 feet Monster Cable Sub cable with THX rating. Just like the rest of the counter part, it's 2nd hand ! Thanks lowyat forum for that.

The wall behind the hifi system has been soundsproofed with Rockwool wthin the 3 inch partition.




Then..


By having a decent wiring embedded, at least I don't have to worry about changing the wire again for quite some time to come, unless I am poisoned by the 'wrong gang' - ie. the speaker-wire-the-size-of-my-colon gang.

This post has been edited by peter32: Jul 6 2010, 01:05 PM

Bass trap? Don't think so, unless its aesthetically favorable.

The reason I want to share is to remind all that making a setup like that may not be that expensive. I uses mostly old equipment. Embedding wires inside the wall, sound insulation layer to make peace with neighbours, and overlying paint job is surprisingly easy for the contractor.

*************

Htkaki, thanks for the sharing. I will look out for Exposure from now on also.

This post has been edited by peter32: Jul 6 2010, 08:05 PM

Thanks. The blog is mainly a record of what we did for future reference. It may help somebody too with regards to certain aspect of the process.

To handle rockwool, wear long sleeve, gloves, long pants, and cover up all the exposed area eg. collar, or else the fibre may get inside the shirt. If u can, wear a mask and eye guard as well. Trust me, the itch is harder to handle if u get one.

After that u can throw away the shirt and pant. The contractor usually works without shirt, so its their fault actually.

Can't we place all Three horizontal then? That should solve some problem

I think it maybe workable since most of us use bookshelf unit. And it won't elevate the position of the screen that much.

It is very easy to hide the wire if you are doing the renovation now. In fact, the hacking of wall to hide the cable is very easy for the contractor, just tell them you need it, they will hack just a 2cm deep groove which is easily hidden by either white cement. The overlaying paint will hide everything afterwards.

I hide mine with such groove and above the plaster ceiling.

Just remember to get better quality speaker cable for the surrounds in case your Acute Upgraditis set in, which is extremely likely in the hifi world.

Just read your message.

After installing, I actually can insulate my hifi noise away from my neighbours, and their Majong noise away from me
Seriously !

For sound insulation, I suggest that you may want to know this fact: Best sound insulation is vacuum, followed by air, then liquid, last is solid substance.

Since you can't create a vacuum, second best is to create a layer of still air, as suggested by Pierreye. Create a airwall helps a lot, as in double glazing windows. Using rockwool actually generate a layer of air-filled layer that hindered noise passing from one surface to another. So the thicker it is, the better the sound insulation.

Why don't you consider putting either foam on your wall if you just want to insulate your specific hifi room, and paste on some sound insulation material as in this ( Click the forsale link here )for your acoustic treatment?

I did not use foam because my wall is in the sitting room. My wife will kill me then fed my body to the dogs if I do that.

This post has been edited by peter32: Aug 10 2010, 06:53 PM

yonggoh, very nice room indeed !

From what I read, our country's law dictates that the owner on the surface own the land even deep underground. That is why KL LRT builder had problem getting around the law by building zig-zaging underground tunnel to avoid the house above the ground. They don't have that problem in Singapore.

Well it does sound as if you can build 10 storey underground bunker for all its worth

Answer is yes.

If you google diy subwoofer you will come across lots of diy project shared from all over the world in great details. Chances are they may perform better than your own purchased speakers. Its much more rewarding than buying a subwoofer yourself.

Don't forget that if you haven't done any diy before, you will need someone in your area that can cut MDF or other wooden board in great accuracy. Including digging a good round holes to hold the driver. if you don't have anyone to help you, you will need to get some wood cutting tools for the job. So that adds in the cost.

Where did you buy it from ? Authorised seller ?