9.4 surround system with Datasat Dirac

Heard a 9.4 system in a 7m * 3m room, with B&W 802Ds in the front, and a Datasat Dirac processor with Datasat power amps.

Source was just an Oppo 93

Absolutely brilliant. Room was heavily treated as well. Heard a lot of Mch SACDs, and also some 2CH. The good thing was it did not make me want to change anything - didn't think of how it would have sounded had the B&Ws been replaced by focal, wilsons, logans, etc. The set up kind of took the room and speakers out, and things just sounded nice. The guy who set up it up is quite an expert at it though. He actually has a 14.4, though 5 were switched off..

How well do Summits blend with rear speakers? I would assume that Logans are too powerful (superior) to their own centres and rears?

Though I have never owned or even listened to an Emotiva product, they have a Pre/Pro coming out that is going to have Dirac room correction. I have to admit, I am a little intrigued by the product but will wait to see the reviews.

http://emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/35391/expectations-emotiva-xmc-1-update

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/xmc1

bonzo said:

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How well do Summits blend with rear speakers? I would assume that Logans are too powerful (superior) to their own centres and rears?

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Bonzo, great that you got to hear such a well set up system. Mutichannel done right is an amazing experience.

Setting up a ML-based multichannel system is not for the faint of heart, it takes space, lots of room treatments and careful setup. A good room corrector (like Dirac) is almost required as well.

If your rear speakers are ESL, like a pair of Montis or such, then the blend can be great. I actually prefer the older GenI line, like a Sequel for rears, as their panels are placed higher (total speaker height is 72") and perfectly vertical, which lets them project better from behind the listeners. But with the right base (raise the height and tilt forward), a Montis can be rigged up as a great rear.

The center channel is where the real challenge lies. See my SL3XC project thread for my thoughts and solutions to that conundrum. Bottom line, none of the commercial centers get it done right alone, but maybe a stack of three Stage-X's might do the trick.

Room treatments are critical to getting a clean, stable front soundstage, and this where many can't get over the hump of totally damping the rear wave along the front wall and forward areas of the side walls. But once you do that, the soundstage becomes amazingly clear. Sounds are placed where the engineer wanted them, either well forward of the speakers of seemingly behind them. Soundstage is also huge and wide.

So IMHO, a set of Montis and a stack of stages would mate just fine with the summits, as long as the room and other gear was taken care of as well. But you have to really want to do it, and ideally, have a dedicated room for the system.

Good multichannel is hard under most conditions, but using dipole ESL's elevates the challenges to a whole new level. Been there, done that, but the results are spectacular and totally worth it to me.

Hi the Montis for a rear is too much investment. I was thinking more of a 1000 quid speaker - won't that work with the Summit?

bonzo said:

Hi the Montis for a rear is too much investment. I was thinking more of a 1000 quid speaker - won't that work with the Summit?

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I've always wanted to use a pair of Purity's as my rear channels. They seem like the ideal speaker to me. I'm not an expert though, and my interest in Home Theatre is flagging.

InterMechanico said:

I've always wanted to use a pair of Purity's as my rear channels. They seem like the ideal speaker to me. I'm not an expert though, and my interest in Home Theatre is flagging.

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I use a pair of Source for rears. I like it.