System #70 (Clarity)

[vrahh]

Member Name: Vinh Huynh

Location: Escondido, CA

ML Model(s): Clarity

Year Purchased: August 16, 2005

Mods/Changes: No Mods.

Associated Electronics:
Panasonic PT-50DL54, 50" HDTV DLP.
Pioneer VSX-52TX ELITE Receiver
Sony DVP-NS501P, CD/DVD Player
Panasonic NV-FJ620, NTSC/PAL VCR
Sony PS2
Microsoft X-box

Hi,
I'm new to Hi-End Stereo. I have purchase this system in August of this year and ever since I got it, I never want to stop listening to it. Currently, my receiver is capable of 7.1 surround sound, but I'm using it as a 2 channel stereo music only. I'm not sure if I want to setup surround because I really don't like the mess of running speaker cables.

Please feel free to give an advise, since this is my first pair of ML.

Vinh

 

[Spike]

Welcome

I'm new to Hi-End Stereo. I have purchase this system in August of this year and ever since I got it, I never want to stop listening to it.

Welcome to the ML club. Glad to see that you're enjoying your system.

Currently, my receiver is capable of 7.1 surround sound, but I'm using it as a 2 channel stereo music only.

Nothing wrong with stereo music only system. My suggestion is to take things slowly and explore what the ML speakers are capable of in the 2-channel setting before expanding into a surround system. Even in the stereo setting, there are lots of options to explore: source components, amplifications (integrated or separates), types of amplification (tube, solid-state, digital), cables, etc...

Good Luck
Spike (Member system #27)

 

[amey01]

The Clarity are a great system. Try pulling them out from the wall a little. Also, if you are not using the 7.1 channels, you may want to experiment with other amplification as suggested by Spike!

 

[sakhavi]

I particularly like the Hello Kitty center channel. LOL - great looking system, and I know it sounds great too!

 

[vrahh]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I would like to expand to tube amplication, but currently this is what I can afford at the moment.

One thing I don't like about my system setup is that everytime I watch movie the dialog coming from those speakers are very low, making it hard to hear. Should I be looking into a center speaker like the theater I to compensate for this problem?

Vrahh

 

[Spike]

I would like to expand to tube amplication, but currently this is what I can afford at the moment.

Like I mentioned before in my previous post, take time to enjoy your system before making changes to match with your preferences.

One thing I don't like about my system setup is that everytime I watch movie the dialog coming from those speakers are very low, making it hard to hear. Should I be looking into a center speaker like the theater I to compensate for this problem?

Here's something to check first before spending your hard-earned money on a center channel... Is your receiver set up for "phantom" center channel or normal 5.1 settings, expecting the center speaker to be present in your set-up? What you're describing is typical of not having the receiver set-up correctly to expect only 2 main speakers without a center speaker. The reason being that in 5.1 (movie) mode, the dialogue is encoded to focus in the center channel, with little information "spilling" over to the main L/R channels. In your case where you don't have a center speaker, you should look for the "phantom" center channel option in the set-up menu so that the dialogue data gets mixed into the L/R mains channel to make things more intelligible. If you don't have "phantom" mode (unlikely), the next resort is to force the DVD player to always select stereo PCM audio track instead of 5.1 Dolby-Digital tracks. Selecting the PCM audio track achieve the same thing as mentioned above in that it sends all data through the 2-channel set-up instead of expecting a 5.1 set-up. Another novel idea is to pump the center channel into your...TV speakers and use them as your "small" center channel. For this approach, you can either connect the center channel from the DVD to the TV audio in, or take the RCA center channel out from the receiver into the TV audio in. Now, if all things mentioned fail, then you have no choice but to fork out the $$$ for a center channel, but you have several choices ranging from Cinema, Logo, to theater. If you need more information or clarification, you can email me and I'll be glad to answer. It's not too often that I see a fellow VN on any high-end audio board.

Good luck
Spike

 

[vrahh]

Thank you for the informations. I will give all that a try when I'm return to San Diego. I'm currently in Japan for business travel.

Thanks,
Vrahh

 

[vrahh]

Hello,
Finally got back from travel. Thanks for all suggestions, I was able to corrected my receiver setting for watching movies in 2 channel setting. This actually saves me from getting a center channel.

Thanks
vrahh