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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!


millercarbon
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,451 posts
 
Home Theater done right means that your serious music listening system is in another room.

That is all......

Oz



millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon OP
12,531 posts
 
I don't even want a dim pilot light near the screen as any extraneous light affects the picture.
 
Yeah that's covered in my System description. When watching a movie the vast majority of the light in the room is coming from the screen itself. The movie lights up the whole room. I have never in a dozen years been aware of any light other than the movie itself. Of course if you stare right at it you will see it!

This light scatter problem is one reason I chose the Stewart Grayhawk screen. I found an installer who let me do a beautiful side by side comparison. We hung different screen materials so we could see the same video on the different screens literally side by side. A white screen is only a teeny tiny bit brighter. Barely noticeable. Whites are a shade whiter, but you would never notice any other way than side by side. Contrast however is a LOT better with the Grayhawk. Light control with a white screen is paramount, as any stray light- any at all- washes out the image.

The walls are painted a neutral gray. Deliberately, because yes background colors around the screen affect your perception of colors on the screen. I did my research. Distance, geometry, the works. Its a first-class professional level installation in every respect- including lighting.

What you can't tell from the pictures, and this is almost impossible to photograph, is the one time light can be a problem is watching when its really sunny outside. The shutters aren't air or light tight, and even stray sunlight coming in is distracting. But this almost never happens, as its just not used much when its sunny outside.




millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon OP
12,531 posts
 
Home Theater done right means that your serious music listening system is in another room
.
So then I would have two rooms, each one exactly like the same, with the stereo exactly the same, only one would not have the screen on the wall.
Brilliant. Its this kind of thinking that has kept people from discovering just how awesome music AND movies can be.
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,451 posts
 
Well there's this.

Let's not even consider the electronics, which is also a factor.

But if you position your speakers so that they are optimized for two channel listening, they will NOT be optimized for HT. Now as long as you know that one or the other will suffer to some degree,  you can combine the two.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon OP
12,531 posts
 
Okay. Good one. Or if not good, then at least valid.

So, speakers optimized for two channel listening. What does that mean? Well for one it means awesome rock solid imaging in a 3D wide and immersive sound field. Which is what I have. Check.

So now help me out here- how is that any different with a picture?
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