Systems Showcase

Gallery

The college life forces my home stereo to inhabit my 11'x11' bedroom where it keeps me company. The speakers are RT55's resting on Sanus stands. The system is also hooked up to my computer (barely visible on the right). While it looks like the right speaker is aimed off to the right, both speakers are actually aimed straight ahead with a very slight toe-in. I have my seating position marked on the carpet with a piece of white tape. When it's time for music, I just roll my chair into position.

My separates system consists of a Carver C-2 preamp, Yamaha M-50 amp, Sony 3200F amp, and a Sony CA80ES CD changer, all sitting on my hand built Flexy rack. The two amps are used to vertically bi-amp the RT55's.

Here's a shot of my whole home theater room, a whopping 11'x11' (same dimensions as my bedroom, which sits right above this room). Here you catch a glimpse of my notorious rear speakers....

This is a view from the couch, just under 7' away from the TV. The 27" TV actually doesn't look small at this distance. The front stage consists of RT800's and a CS400. Sitting atop the PSW150 subwoofer is a digital cable box, Sony 360D DVD player, and a Sony Playstation. My Sony DA50ES receiver is controlled by the touch screen LCD remote sitting on the coffee table. Next to the TV cabinet sits an unnamed "bass module" for my rear speakers....

Here's another shot of the home theater.

Here's a picture of my home theater in my dorm/apartment last year. It was a little tight to say the least. The listening area formed by the speakers was probably 6'x8' tops. The RT800's were toed in a lot so I could listen while sitting at my desk. The "huge" 19" display sits atop the wider CS400. The rear speakers are mounted on the wall out of view. The system used a Pioneer DVD-ROM with realMagic decoder card with digital output. The NASA Space Tiles (aka egg crate) worked great as acoustic treatment on the cinderblock walls.

This is my parents' home theater. Measuring 15'x25' with a cathedral ceiling, it's a pretty large room to fill with sound, but the Polks tackle the job admirably. The LS f/x surround speakers are visible hanging from the beams. Also notice the two cats, Nick (grey) and Toby (black)

This component arrangement does not meet the WAF or MAF (that's wife or mom approved factor), but they sit there anyway since mom won't settle for a component rack. The components consist of a Yamaha RX-V2092 receiver, Sony CA7ES CD changer, Sony 798HF VCR, and a Sony 360D DVD player.

Here we see the system in home stereo mode, just the RT12's and PSW150 subwoofer. Also featured here is the special acoustic treatment cat, Toby. He absorbs unwanted first-order reflections.

Open the doors and poof! It's a home theater. This shot exposes the drivers of the RT12's and CS225. Also notice that the acoustic treatment cat has changed into home theater mode as well.

Here's a close-up of the LS f/x surround speaker hanging from the beam. It's held by a threaded rod that's screwed into the beam. You can rotate the speakers on the rod and flip the phase switch to toggle them between bipole and dipole mode.