System #57 (Ascent i, Theater i, Descent, Script i)

[Robin]

New HT continued...

Positioning, mounting and installing all the wires was a challenge of which we were up to the task. I am using my Cerwin-Vega LS-12 speakers temporary as side speakers on VTI 13" heigh mount stands. I plan to replace the Cerwin-Vega's with Script i's in the next year or so. I also purchased a beefy welded VTI audio rack for my Anthem P5. The VTI rack I purchase hold the P5 which is amazing to me as it is so heavy.

I am purchased a Screen Innovations 100" 16:9 white screen, which is amazing for all my HT needs. I love it for 3D view especially.

I used special black plastic zip ties which had round eyelets so we could screw into the wall thus mounting HDMI cable to the ceiling projector. I bought a new Panasonic PT-AE8000U projector which displays all of my films especially blue ray and 3D so amazingly I am simply blown away. I used a Peerless universal ceiling projector mount which functions and adjusts to my every need, it's fantastic as a ceiling projector mount system. Naturally, I researched all of my purchases extensively but as you know that is the fun part.

 

[Robin]

New HT continued...

awesome job Robin - well thuoght out and looking good!

what are you going to do for seating?

Yes, coming right up, well I wanted to re-use some part of the very comfortable sectional sofa from my old HT for the second raised row of seating. I decided to added two Catnapper HT recliners for the front row of seating. The Catnappers are so comfortable. They are not the powered models, which is fine with me.

I used Black-out shades and install heavy duty 4" wide black rubber garage floor moulding around the edges of each window for additional light canceling. They cancel all light from a bright sunshiny day in Calistoga, so I can watch movies just like in a real movie theater. The shades are wonderful for front projection screen systems such as mine. I highly recommend them.

 

[Robin]

New HT continued...

I guess I can share with you all now, I finally bought a processor. I decided on the Marantz AV7005 processor. It was the best for the price and had all the bells and whistles for HT as well as music listening. I have found it to be just incredible sounding. It is responsive and has the timber and sound I was looking for at half the price of the Anthem D2 processor.

I purchased a Oppo BDP-103 universal player, which plays everything except my small HD-DVD (21 discs) collection. I have since sold my HD-DVD collection and will eventually replace those titles on Blu-ray someday soon. Anyway, the Oppo BDP-103 is excellent. plays and displays so clearly and accurately every impressive visual processing. It even is a metal body. Every cool.

Tom, I gave my Omni mount audio rack to my son. I purchased two Sanus AFAb audio racks, which are great. I got tired of the glass shelving my old audio rack. My son does love my old rack though...

As an audiophile I ask you does it get any better than this. I just love my new Home Theater. Their is so much more space. No more near field listening or viewing. I don't think you can see from the photo's but their is 10 feet from the front row to the SI screen. See How awesome it is.

 

[Robin]

New HT continued...

My son convinced me to use a Logitech universal remote control. It is the touch screen tablet model, which cost him $300.00 and was his gift to me for our New HT room. I love it. I push one button and four devices come-on at once and are ready to go. You can see it at the bottom of the Sanus audio rack in one of the above photos. Thank you son.

 

[Robin]

New HT a lot of work but definitely worth it...

All the hard work we did over the four months was definitely worth all the time and effort we put in to this project. :music: My ears and eyes are in heaven loving my new HT.

I will post my new second ML system soon. I wanted a dedicated ML stereo audio system in the entertainment area of my house. I will post with photos as well.

 

[MiTT]

WOW Robin!!! I'm envious of your new dedicated home theater. It looks amazing. I'd find it hard to leave the house. Good for you.

 

[Robin]

Watching & Listening in Fine Style.

WOW Robin!!! I'm envious of your new dedicated home theater. It looks amazing. I'd find it hard to leave the house. Good for you.

Thanks Tim,
It was a long time coming. I am enjoying the heck out of it.

I am really amazed at the sound detail and imaging of my Theater i speaker. I guess I am rediscovering just how amazing this ML speaker really is now that it is set-up properly in a large HT room as it should be. It does not have the brute force of dynamics that my front speakers Mackie SR1522z's but they provide the gossamer wings for the voices, which makes them stand out beautifully. I have the powerful Front speakers turned down to -10 dB and the center at +10 dB. This really show cases the awesome clarity and sweet sounds of the Theater i.

I have started re-watching all of my Blu-ray's and DVD's. The Oppo 103 up converts DVD's to a clearer resolution, which is great. Blu-ray's are the best especially 3D films like The Avengers, The Amazing Spiderman, and Top Gun. I found a lighter pair of XPAND 3D glasses with active shutter for my Panasonic PT-AE8000U projector. The 3D glasses are excellent. I hope someday soon they come out with 3D projectors which don't require glasses. Maybe Holographic image projections.:music:

 

[STV]

All I can say is WOW! The room and everything that you've done to it is just amazing! Easily one of the nicest dedicated HT rooms I've seen! Great job!

And it's interesting, I just ordered a Marantz AV8801. Your AV7005 is no doubt very similar, and they look identical. Great to know that the Marantz sounds really good. I hope that the AV8801 is a good match for my setup, which in many ways is similar (component and speaker wise), as we are both using a Theater i, Scripts, Descents, Marantz preamp processor, and Oppo BDP-103 (all region).

I can only imagine how awesome your setup sounds now.


Seth

 

[Robin]

Marantz Processors

All I can say is WOW! The room and everything that you've done to it is just amazing! Easily one of the nicest dedicated HT rooms I've seen! Great job!

And it's interesting, I just ordered a Marantz AV8801. Your AV7005 is no doubt very similar, and they look identical. Great to know that the Marantz sounds really good. I hope that the AV8801 is a good match for my setup, which in many ways is similar (component and speaker wise), as we are both using a Theater i, Scripts, Descents, Marantz preamp processor, and Oppo BDP-103 (all region).

I can only imagine how awesome your setup sounds now.


Seth

Hi Seth,

Thank you for the kind words.
Yes, I agree Marantz AV8801 and AV7005 are both excellent processors and both very similar. The specifications on these processors are excellent. What I really wanted in a processor was the ability to go with completely balanced XLR cabling for all my speaker connections. FYI - The XLR connections - PIN arrangement for the Marantz processor uses the European method, #1 Pin (Ground); #2 Pin (Hot); #3 Pin (Cold). The instruction manual for the Marantz AV7005 states, "in the USA method, #2 Pin is (cold) and #3 Pin is (hot)." Having said that, I found that USA - XLR microphone cables work just fine and do not have to be altered, which was a relief. :music:

Also the Marantz AV7005 works great with my Apple Airport Express audio connections and wireless via my Apple Airport Extreme router. considering I have over 150 gigs of songs to listen to on my new system I am extremely happy.

My Marantz processor becomes so empowered, literally when connected to my Anthem P5 amplifier / 1000 watts of Mackie SR1522z power.

I have found that the Marantz processor is so compatible and super user friendly. I can adjust and fine tune each speaker. I did not use the Audyssey (audio setup). I custom setup manually (measurement, calculation and distance) as per my listening preference. I love how the Marantz sounds to my ears. I think you will enjoy your AV8801.

Thanks again.

 

[STV]

Hi Seth,

Thank you for the kind words.
Yes, I agree Marantz AV8801 and AV7005 are both excellent processors and both very similar. The specifications on these processors are excellent. What I really wanted in a processor was the ability to go with completely balanced XLR cabling for all my speaker connections. FYI - The XLR connections - PIN arrangement for the Marantz processor uses the European method, #1 Pin (Ground); #2 Pin (Hot); #3 Pin (Cold). The instruction manual for the Marantz AV7005 states, "in the USA method, #2 Pin is (cold) and #3 Pin is (hot)." Having said that, I found that USA - XLR microphone cables work just fine and do not have to be altered, which was a relief. :music:

Also the Marantz AV7005 works great with my Apple Airport Express audio connections and wireless via my Apple Airport Extreme router. considering I have over 150 gigs of songs to listen to on my new system I am extremely happy.

My Marantz processor becomes so empowered, literally when connected to my Anthem P5 amplifier / 1000 watts of Mackie SR1522z power.

I have found that the Marantz processor is so compatible and super user friendly. I can adjust and fine tune each speaker. I did not use the Audyssey (audio setup). I custom setup manually (measurement, calculation and distance) as per my listening preference. I love how the Marantz sounds to my ears. I think you will enjoy your AV8801.

Thanks again.

Thanks for sharing that info on the pin configuration on the Marantz. Luckily, the XLR pin configuration on my Denon AVP-A1HDCI pre-pro is the same, as is my Sunfire Signature amplifier. So I can still use the same XLR cables that I'm currently using.

I am planning to use the Audyssey calibration on the AV8801, as it has the newest, and most advanced version (XT32). I have read so many glowing reviews praising this iteration of Audyssey, that I'm really looking forward to using it. And the main reasons for me changing from the Denon AVP to the Marantz, are the 3D pass-through, and the 4K pass-through capabilities.

The HDAM modules in these Marantz products are supposed to give exemplary sound quality, so I'm looking forward to giving it some serious listening.

 

[Robin]

My Second ~ ML Stereo Audio System

As promised, my second ML stereo audio system.

The reasons why I wanted to begin another system:

1). I have may requests from friends and family to set-up a ML system which many people could enjoy at once.

2). I wanted to the purity of the stereo sound signal path elements through the ML Ascent speakers.

3). To have the future options of stereo phono, tube amplification and cable connection to my main computer's musical files.

4). Expanding beautiful ML audio into the main living / family area.

5). The Pro's out weighed the Cons.
The major Cons being that my audio equip. would be exposed to my two cats. However, I have trained them to stay away from this part of the room. Still with cats I clean my Ascents at least every month.

Currently, I have my Ascent's connected to my Pioneer Elite VSX-59TXI receiver with Audioquest cables. The audio rack is Sanus. The system is directly cable connected to my main Apple MacBook Pro computer and the 500 gig solid-state hard drive. I now have access to the 150 gig plus files of songs.

The system sounds expansive and musical. My ears love the pure direct stereo sound. The highs and lows of the ML Ascent speakers are amazingly show cased in this stereo set-up, which trills my ears. I just love listening to music through ML speakers. In point of fact I am listening to my beautiful ML stereo system as I write this.:music:

The photos below show the completely set-up second ML system in my home.

 

[Robin]

Second ML Stereo Audio System

The space for the Ascents to do their thing is what I suspect makes the stereo sound so wonderful. The sound they make is music to my ears.

 

[edwinr]

Very nice system, Robin. Anyone would be proud to have that as their main system!

 

[asindc]

Nice, clean setup, Robin! I used to have the 49TXi but sold it. Sometimes I wish I still had it.

 

[Robin]

Very nice system, Robin. Anyone would be proud to have that as their main system!

Thank you for the kind words. I am so happy with how everything came together. The sound is so clear and accurate in the detail and nuance, you can hear a pin drop and it sounds perfect. I am so pleased.

 

[Robin]

HT and Music Stereo ML Systems

Nice, clean setup, Robin! I used to have the 49TXi but sold it. Sometimes I wish I still had it.

Hi Anthony,

Thank you for your feedback. I means a lot to me. I wanted to be able to have the most dynamic sound system with the best possible picture in perfect harmony and I am happy to say I have archived that goal. I spent all I had budgeted for my HT project and then some... and I have to say it was worth it.

Regarding my second ML Ascent stereo system I am happy to report I have been throughly enjoying the beautiful sounds. My Pioneer Elite 59TXi in stereo mode with my ML Ascents in my living room is wonderful. I now can share the beautiful ML sound with friends and family so much more easily. I love it! The 59TXi is dependable and has excellent sound. I baby all of my audio gear so it is in pristine condition. :music:

For my HT system, I had to add back into my system my Xbox 360 audio / video component, as I wanted HBO GO and my cable company Comcast does not have a contract to allow HBO GO with any other type of device other than Xbox. Once we set up the Xbox and re-calibrated the device with the assistance of the Xbox customer service dept. now it works great.

 

[Brad225]

Congrats Robin. The HT project looks wonderful, great job.
It seems like a long time coming when talked about a new house with a bigger theater room. Now a 2 channel system also life is good.
I guess the days of flying speakers is over.

 

[Robin]

Building for the future...

Congrats Robin. The HT project looks wonderful, great job.
It seems like a long time coming when talked about a new house with a bigger theater room. Now a 2 channel system also life is good.
I guess the days of flying speakers is over.

Hi Brad,

Thank you for the kind words. Yes, I think the days of flying speakers is quite over. The two channel system is a new dream to build on as well.
My son now has his own beautiful ML system. Maybe someday he will share his ML system with this august body.

 

[Robin]

Hi Everyone,

I missed your guys

My Big Beautiful Theater i, center channel had stopped functioning a few months ago. So, while I had a ML Technician on the cell phone with me and my son, I opened it up to see what was wrong. We determined, I should send my non-functional Theater i back to the ML facility. $400.00 in UPS shipping costs later, I send my Theater i back to Martin Logan in Lawrence, Kansas.
The result was after 2 months, the problem turned-out to be, a fried power source. Funny though, when looking at the power source, before I sent it to ML, the power source looked fine. Nothing visible looked burned-out.
When the ML Technicians went over everything inside my Theater i, they said everything was in excellent / like new condition. The only thing, which failed was the power source. The new 2020 power source, which they repaired my Theater i with, ML told me was much better, than my older 2003 model power source.
I am not sure exactly what they meant by that but my Theater i has never sounded better
Martin Logan Technicians and Service was just fantastic!
I love the sound of my repaired Theater i. My Theater i is singing again.

 

[tsmooth]

From flying scripts to two beautiful systems, welcome back and thanks for the ML service story. Any big changes in the last few years?