2. misc-audio
  3. 154361-121242

Home Theater Done Right: Millercarbon's System

Dual use, should probably be the title. Oh well. Finally posted my system. Someone’s always asking about how to do a dual use system. Well, here’s how its done.
Cinephile or audiophile, movies and music are the two things I have loved for as long as I can remember. I want my music to sound as good as possible, and I want my movies to look and sound as good as possible. Everything is a compromise and yet when it comes to these two the compromises are remarkably few. If any. At least that is what my system shows. Because it is a first-rate audiophile sound system, AND a top level home theater.
Whether music or movies an immersive experience is the goal. To lose yourself in the experience. To be carried away.
Studies show viewers consistently rate video quality higher when sound quality is high. Unfortunately the Home Theater industry has chosen to pursue quantity over quality. Which cannot ever work. No amount of surround speakers will ever make up for poor quality. Everyone knows this perfectly well. Being able to convince anyone otherwise is a testament to marketing.
But that’s not my main point here. Rather it is that everything matters. Seemingly minor little things like cryogenic treatment, HFT, ECT, Total Contact, fuses, cable elevators, etc when added together actually make so much difference it is almost impossible to build a truly good system without them.

Removing those tweaks from my system would lower it down to merely average.

Anyway, the system is posted. Enjoy the pics. I am not that good a photographer but Steve Clarke was busy. Tried to get the tubes go glow- how’d I do?

The system evolves. Here for reference are some pics from 16 years ago. https://www.theanalogdept.com/c_miller.htm
Comments welcome. Enjoy!


128x128millercarbon
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
12,964 posts
 
mijostyn

I get your point and you are right for sure...Minor physical changes can affect astoundingly the perception of sound...Same experience here...

But the changes affecting my system in the last 2 years were a cumulative increasing transformation in minors and not so minors improvement, one at a time, that culminate in a final S.Q. without any comparison with the original S.Q from the same electronic components...

One of my great discovery is contrary to most audiophiles I know for sure that the relative quality of electronic components is not the first and most important factor in audio, but the controls in the triple embeddings, acoustical, mechanical and electrical, are... :)

The rule is simple: Buy good electronic components and after that forget any upgrade, but look for the right controls of the 3 embeddings... And you will lived a peak audio experience on all counts even at a very low cost...This is my experience....And you will forget to upgrade for a very long time indeed even if you have the money... :)

I apologize for repeating this mantra and i know that you know that already i think but no so much people know that....My best to you...

"God smoke cigars and listen to music, why not? " -Groucho Marx


" Harmonics of sitar cannot lie" - Ravi Shankar


"Truth manifest itself musically " - myself
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,540 posts
 
Oz, I could make an incredible combined system with absolutely no compromises. I would just turn off the theater stuff for serious listening.
Steward Screens are extremely well made and are well dampened. Hung correctly they do not buzz, rattle or affect the sound in any way. You could do a retractable screen but I am sure mc will tell you that there is no way you can get a retractable screen perfectly flat leading to some distortion of the picture. 
The only problem is that doing it in a manner compatible with a high end Hi Fi system is very expensive and I feel no need to spend that money. My Hi Fi system is in no way compromised by the screen on the wall or the projector hanging from the ceiling it is just another sound source on the inputs of my preamp. The last guest I had over to watch a movie wondered where I had hid the surround speakers.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,540 posts
 
Mahgister, I must have missed something somewhere. What do you mean by the "controls in the triple embeddings?" 
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
12,964 posts
 
mijostyn

The 3 embeddings of any audio system :

1-mechanical environment of the audio system (vibrations-resonance controls methods)
2-acoustical field of the room treatment with varied materials and resonators (Helmholtz one and others), reflectors, Schumann generators etc...
3- electrical grid of the room and of the house


Rightly done these embeddings are the key to audiophile experience, not buying costly engineering gear "per se"... Any already good electronic components will be so much transformed by that triple embeddings controls that it will perform at a level of S.Q never known possible before...


The audiophile marketting industry is not built on this truth, but my experience is a confirmation of this disturbing truth for some...



millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon OP
12,531 posts
 
mijostyn-
Oz, I could make an incredible combined system with absolutely no compromises. I would just turn off the theater stuff for serious listening.
Steward Screens are extremely well made and are well dampened. Hung correctly they do not buzz, rattle or affect the sound in any way. You could do a retractable screen but I am sure mc will tell you that there is no way you can get a retractable screen perfectly flat leading to some distortion of the picture.
The only problem is that doing it in a manner compatible with a high end Hi Fi system is very expensive and I feel no need to spend that money. My Hi Fi system is in no way compromised by the screen on the wall or the projector hanging from the ceiling it is just another sound source on the inputs of my preamp. The last guest I had over to watch a movie wondered where I had hid the surround speakers.
Right. No compromises. Whatsoever.

Meanwhile, like Mike implies, if I tried to have five or 7 or 7.1 or whatever instead of 2 that would definitely involve a whole slew of compromises. 

In fact, my system actually got better as it evolved over time, even with the big screen. Look at the old system, back when most of the components were on a rack with the TV on top. The rack was big and high, and I had to drape a thick blanket over the TV to damp the reflection off the screen. Yes you could hear the difference.

Oh, interesting story. Someone said you need a center channel. Ha! I had a guy over one time get up and look under the blanket. Why? "I was sure you had a speaker in there." Safe to say you do not do that unless you are really convinced there’s a speaker in there. So yeah you do not need a center channel. Not if you know how to do stereo right.

Anyway when the screen replaced the TV that was huge. The rack went off to the side. The turntable did have to move a bit further to the side but it already required a long interconnect so no compromise there. The equipment in the center went on the floor which being spread out and low improved the acoustics. Big screen. Big sound. No compromises. Just like Mike said.
More to discover