Hello... about a year ago I setup my home theater gear (which had been boxed away for a couple of years) at my sister's house. Since then several of the Infinity Kappas failed, so I convinced her to purchase a full set of GoldenEars: Triton 7s, SuperCenter X, Aon 2s and an SVS subwoofer. They are fed by an ancient Rotel RSP-1066 pre/pro and an ATI-2505 amplifier (250 x 5).

Sandy's Setup Tips suggests toe-in to point directly at the listening position. My sister has a long couch which comfortably sits three people, with recliners on each end which is where we typically sit. Does it make sense to toe them in to the center of the couch? When I set them up originally that is how they were, but then I significantly reduced the toe in and the stereo effect noticeably increased. I'm thinking that the downside from this arrangement is a boost to the mid-range frequencies, or a decrease in mid-bass.

She now has a Marantz SR-7008 on order which I will be setting up this weekend. So, I would like to figure out what the best toe-in would be before running the Audyssey room correction.

I'm reclaiming the ATI amplifier and have an Anthem MRX-510 on order to use as a pre-amp. As soon as I can save up the money the plan is to get Triton Fives, SuperCenter XL, and SuperSat 3s.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sayer

Sayersweb,

Welcome to the forum. I checked out your web link. Pretty slick looking sound studio. While this may be a bit of a non-answer, I say trust your ears. Especially if you have a trained ear. Adjust the toe-in to what sounds best to the primary user.

Every set up is different. You have differences in equipment, acoustics, listener preferences, etc. I have a similar set up and have my speaker toed in directly at the center of my loves eat with a center console. It is usually the Wife and I sitting in the love seat so that toe in provides the best listening experience. 2-channel playback is obviously compromised if you are not dead center but for home theater, this is not a significant issue for us. I believe the sound in the side recliners is also great but not as good as in the PLP. This may be a case where you have to turn down your critical listening filter and make the best compromise for your Sister and/or her family.

Having a long sofa would actually be a benefit when you do want to do some critical listening, you could easily sit dead center between the speakers by sitting in the middle. This is a non-issue if the majority of the use for this system is home theater.

In regards to your system, the folks here are biased and will definitely steer you towards GET. I am no exception. Since you are clearly a music person, I would follow Wayne's typical advice here to purchase the best speakers you can afford. I would further add that you should probably focus on your towers first and foremost with the assumption that you will be using them for music a fair amount of the time. Maybe your studio is your preferred listening room for music and this will just be for theater use... Anyways, test a few models before you lock in on a decision. All of the Triton Towers are terrific, so you have a lot of choices and price points. If you ultimately decide on the T5s or T1s, I'd recommend the SuperCenterXXL with similar crossover technology. The sound is just that much more clear and open. Just my .02. Good luck and let us know how you get on. Of course, feel free to exercise your inner shutterbug by sharing some pics of your set up as you get it together.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Hello T Cobe,

Thank you for checking out my website. Not sure which photo you saw but if it was this one then it is a bit out of date. www.pbase.com/sayer/image/82793611/original.jpg

That was from back in 2007 before my divorce. I was also an early adopter for HD and had a 92" front projection HD system back then. That was the last time I had a surround sound setup.

I will start with my sister's Triton 7s pointed at the center of the couch and run Audyssey room correction and see how it sounds. She will use it primarily for Home Theater, but occasionally for music.

It will be interesting to see if GE does a version 2 of the Twos, Threes, Sevens and SuperCenters X & XL to use the new crossover technology. I've been trying to decide between the Fives and Threes. Seems the Threes are a better deal at $100 more for the built-in subs, but if the crossover noticeably improves the sound then maybe the Fives are the better choice. If I get the Threes then the SuperCenter XL with matching crossover would be a better choice than the XXL? That would make the Threes seem like an even better deal.

My studio monitors are near-field, so you sit right in front of them. One of the primary uses for the new AV system is to test my mixes/masters in a real-world situation. So, having accurate and room filling (lots of oomph) speakers that can take on electronic music is important to me. Home Theater is also important, I have a large ultra HD with 3D television, so I want the sound to be immersive. The setup will be in the family room and not a dedicated theater room and will be limited to 5.1 channels.

I have an ancient Definitive Technology Powerfield 1500 subwoofer that I hope to continue using for a while. Def Tech must be embarrassed by it since they don't even list it in there archived products section of their website.

Until I can afford speakers I am stuck with the Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-50 soundbar. For some reason this soundbar has never sounded good to me. Pairing it with the subwoofer leaves a gap between 100-120hz due to the subs 100hz highest crossover setting and the soundbar's 120hz suggested crossover. I tried setting the soundbars crossover to 100hz, but it sounded strained.

I'm now thinking of getting the Aon 3s for the surround channels. They would need to be mounted high up on the side walls slightly behind the seating position. Hopefully they can be wall mounted. I could buy them first, and temporarily use them as fronts, replacing the soundbar. Then add the center and finally the Tritons as budget allows.

Thanks again for the advice. I'm looking forward to having better sound again, it has been a long time.

Sayersweb,

Audessey is a bit of a mixed bag. Many of us here do not like the results it achieves. In my set up, XT32 always strips the bass and leaves everything a bit thin and almost tinny. I have achieved some fairly good dampening in my room and usually run with no correction; however, everyone's' set up and preferences are different. Trial and error is your best bet. Some people report better results with Audessey if they run the set up a few times.

Regarding GET speaker selection, I believe the SCXL and T7s are an almost perfect match for a front 3 set up. If you have a set budget in mind that you don't want to exceed, this would make a fine sounding system in all but the largest rooms and/or for the most spirited listeners (people that frequently listen above 100dB). The T5s would be my next choice, followed by the T2s and T1s. To my ear, the T3 is a bit too laid back but that is simply my preference. I only listened to them once and they may not have been setup the best. I have considered them for surround speakers.

Your best bet is to take some familiar music with you along with a sound level meter and go have a listen for yourself. The sound meter is to make sure you're listening to each model at the same dB level and not being fooled by louder models. GET really does a great job providing a solution for nearly every application while providing a near seamless blend of sound from model to model. It makes it easy to find the right mix for everyone. IMO, the T2s are the sweet spot and if you can swing it, the T1s are amazing!

When I started to put my new system together, I started with the Aon3s and the SCXL for my front three speakers. It sounded great but I have a large room, so the Aon3s struggled a little to really create reference level sound. I now have them mounted high on the wall for rear surrounds and they are great in that role. Doing the same in your system should net similar results. As an added benefit, the Aons are easy to move around and sound great for 2-channel playback...

Whatever you decide on, I think it will sound great. Happy hunting and keep us posted!

Cheers,

T Cobe

Hey Sayersweb, great to have a music professional among us.
T. Cobe offers great answers as always.
And as he said, you really can't go wrong.
Interesting question about GEt going with an upgraded version of the T 2s and 3s, etc.
Happy hunting, and listening,
God Bless,
Wayne

T Cobe,

Thank you for the info... I am now considering the Fives and Twos. Shame there is such a big price gap between the Twos and Ones, all of the others are much closer in price.

The setup with my sister's Marantz went well today. I ponted the Sevens directly at the center of the couch. After Audyssey I followed Sandy's Tips and turned off Dynamic EQ, and Dynamic Volume. Also changed the fronts to small and left the crossover at 40hz.

What did you use to mount the Aons on the wall?

While at my sister's I was looking at the SuperCenter X and started to wonder how I would ever keep my cats from walking on them. I'm afraid they might cause harm to the top mounted radiators. I will post the question in the SuperCenters forum.

Thanks again!