Mirage, Polk, Infinity or...?

January 27, 2005

To Doug Schneider,

My new bride and I are building a house that has a 12' x 17' bonus room which will be used for our home theater. I'm being "encouraged" to use as small and inexpensive (<$1000) a speaker system as possible for surround sound. I read and enjoyed your review of the Mirage Nanosats. I have also listened to them at a dealer and was impressed. The issue I see with the Nanosats is that they will need to be hung on the wall, more than likely upside down as they will be at a 6'+ elevation. Is wall mounting a speaker of this type (Omnipolar) an issue in terms of sound quality and effectiveness? I've also read reviews on the Infinity TSS-750 and the Polk RM6800, which are both in my price class. Do you have a recommendation out of these three for my application or advice on a completely different direction?

Seth Taylor

I have no experience with the Infinity and Polk speakers you mention; I do have considerable experience with Mirage's Omnipolar speakers, though, and the fact that you heard the Nanosats and liked them is a good start. In terms of the Omnipolar technology and placing them in your room, the flexibility of doing so is really one of their strengths. The speakers disperse sound very evenly over 360 degrees, although they are deliberately "biased" to put more energy to the front. That even dispersion, though, means that the speaker operates like a sound-emitting "pulse," meaning you have wide variety in terms of horizontal and even vertical placement. I know that you can place the Nanosats lower than normal, and even quite high, with the usual orientation of the tweeter in the top position. For your needs -- about 6' high -- you might want to try flipping the Nanosat upside-down, so it directs more energy downward and not toward the ceiling. This is documented in the Nanosat's owner's manual that you can find online at www.miragespeakers.com....Doug Schneider

Ceiling-mounted center

January 25, 2005

Editor,

What are the available options for ceiling-mounted center-channel speakers? We’re building a new house and the wife doesn’t want to see any speakers.

Troy

I don't know what your price range is, but I'd look at the Mirage Omnisat or, for a bit more, a Thiel PowerPoint. Both of these options offer true high-fidelity sound and will disappear into the ceiling of your home. Better yet, they are both engineered to work in their specific application. Some ceiling-mounted speakers just don't sound good -- but I can assure you these sound great....Jeff Fritz

Which Klipsch?

January 21, 2005

To Wes Marshall,

Do you think it's wise to go with a Klipsch RF-3 in combination with RS-7s and RC-7s? In addition, should I go with two RS-W12s or one RS-W15? I'm trying to find a cheap way out with Klipsch speakers without buying the RF-7. You know Klipsch speakers -- what do you think?

Tung Nguyen

These are all good speakers and you'll be happy with them. I assume you know the RF-3s are a discontinued product. The recommended matching speakers were the RC-3 and RS-3. The currently available recommended speakers are RC-35 and RS-35. Klipsch recommends using a RS-W12. I think you'd love this setup and it would cost a lot less than the setup you're talking about.

Here's the best solution: Ask a local dealer if you can borrow the RC and RS in both the 35 and 7 series and also borrow two 12" subs and one 15" and see what you like in your own room. Every room is different and everyone has different tastes.

Let me know what you finally choose. But you're on the right track. Any of the choices you've outlined is going to give you excellent sound....Wes Marshall

InFocus 7205 still the one?

January 18, 2005

To Wes Marshall,

It's been over a year since I wrote to you asking about the InFocus 7205. Instead of building our home theater back then, we ended up doing a one-year remodel. So now, finally, the home theater is being assembled.

So I thought I'd write to ask you for your latest best price/performance leader with Mustang/Faroudja chips. I'm looking at the Toshiba MT800 from Beach Audio for $4510. Anything else I should consider or maybe wait for?

Scott

The 7205 is a great projector (full review is coming shortly), one that you would love. In terms of waiting, there's always something coming that's better and/or cheaper, but you have to jump in some time. I think the next big jump will be to 1080p, and that is a year or three away and will cost quite a bit when it arrives....Wes Marshall

Power conditioning for HT

January 14, 2005

Editor,

How important is it to address your incoming AC power with home theater? I see products from the likes of Monster Cable with surge protectors and "clean power" technologies added to them with ratings from one to four. Each clean-power rating adds another $100 or so to the price. Is the price difference justified? Also I see "line-conditioning" products that keep the AC power at 120V and prevent fluctuations. What kind of differences are you going to see in audio and video performance with these products? Is it worth a $500-$2000 investment?

Pete

The effect that power conditioning will have on your system is dependant on many factors. First, the present quality of the AC coming into your home. I've heard from readers who have tried power conditioners and found no effect at all, regardless of brand or cost. Perhaps their AC is clean to begin with. Second, the components in your system and their electrical properties make a difference. Some products are designed so that power conditioning, in effect, is already accounted for. Without knowing these variables as they apply to your system, I can't give you a recommendation except to say try one and see what it does. I've always had a least a modest power conditioner/surge suppressor in my system because, at a minimum, it provides some protection against component-damaging electrical spikes. Lastly, I'd take a look at the Shunyata Hydra products. They are the best I've used in the power-conditioner genre....Jeff Fritz

Screen questions

January 5, 2005

To Wes Marshall,

I recently purchased a BENQ PB6200 DLP projector, and I am now in the market for a screen. I have two questions.

First, all of the websites I have visited regarding screens recommend a gray-backed screen to improve color contrast and black levels. Does a gray screen really look that much better than a white screen, and will my whites look gray on a gray screen?

Second, in reference to the gain reported on screen. I cannot find on any manufacturers' websites what the gain is normalized to.

Zach

Regarding how the gain is specified, there is no ironclad meaning that is used by every screen maker. In general, a gain of 1.0 means that the amount of light coming from your projector and the amount of light coming from your screen are the same. A figure of >1.0 means the screen has robbed some light by either diffusion or using gray material. A figure of <1.0 means the screen has increased light, and since it is impossible to actually increase the light, what they do is refocus the light to a smaller area to increase the amount coming back to the viewer. The corollary of this is that you lose light as you move off of the line that is perpendicular to the center of the screen....Wes Marshall

B&W to MartinLogan?

January 3, 2005

Editor,

I am thinking of changing speakers from B&W Nautilus 803, HTM2, and 805 to MartinLogan Aeon, Cinema, and Clarity. I am driving my B&W speakers with a B&K AVR 507. Does this receiver have enough punch to make the MartinLogans sing or will I have to add an external power amplifier? And if I did add an amplifier, would it be best to get a two-channel, three-channel or five-channel amp?

David Jaffe

The B&K is quite powerful for a home-theater receiver. I think it would work just fine for your proposed MartinLogan system in most listening environments. Adding an external amplifier, in any channel configuration, could be a good upgrade option, however, depending on your tastes and room size. A powerful amplifier would add more dynamic headroom to your system and likely yield more effortless sound. If you're prone to listening at loud levels and enjoy really bombastic soundtracks, and/or have a huge room, it might make sense. As always, listening first with the B&K is a sure-fire way to know. Perhaps even borrowing an amp from a friend or dealer is warranted; then you could compare the two. Having both options side by side would allow you to hear exactly what more power buys you....Jeff Fritz

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