u/Ste0803

Blu-ray / 4K Ripping.

Status update.

1 month in.

4 drives - 906 rips total roughly 40tb of data.

Fairly even results considering the drives were purchased at slightly different times. I’ve not had a better or worse experience from either the verbatim or the aftermarket enclosures all 4 drives are lg bu40n’s 1.03 firmware.

Tiny media manager used to scrape and create NFOs and download poster and fan art.

I’ve started building a media poster program to scan my library and display a rotation of movie posters. I plan to integrate with zidoo to display now playing automatically. This is an ongoing coding project of mine. Picked up a cheap 32” Samsung frame tv to use.

I searched for a decent multi bay external but non existed so ended up with this. Quickly mocked up out of some strip timber and a nail gun. 120mm fan to the rear pulling air through the drives. Connected to a Mac mini m1. Storage provided via a Terramaster D6 with 2 storage drives (20+24tb) and a working swap SSD with room to install another 3 drives.

I started with a single drive and very quickly decided that I wasn’t willing to do a single disc at a time so ended up purchasing some extra drives!

Top drive is a Verbatim 43888, 3 below are all aftermarket externals. All with BU40N drives flashed for LibreDrive.

I’m 120 discs deep so far with another 850 or so to go.

In the final touches part of the build now.

Big dark rug ordered, I’m currently waiting for a madVR to be delivered to handle my scope screen aspect ratios automatically. I thought I could handle zooming with the PJ but I just want automation here.

Second sub to add at a later date.

Overall I’m seriously happy with how this turned out. Doing it around work and started on the 19th of July so hasn’t taken me all that long to get this converted from the stereo room it was into the 5.1.4 scope cinema room it is now.

I still plan to add my turntable back into the mix once I’ve got everything else dialled in and totally finished so there is no more dust around.

Currently using:

KEF Ci5160RLM LCR
KEF Ci200RS Surround
KEF Ci160QR Atmos
Valerion Pro 2
Nad t778
Panasonic ub9000
Apple TV
Grandview 130” 2.35:1 AT screen

Had a bit time over the weekend to get more stuff done and also my screen arrived today so had to get it built and mounted.

Start to finish. The room is a room within a room in a garage conversion. You can check my old posts for the details.

100mm RW3. Soundbloc plaster board. 2 layers on isolation rails for the 2 exterior walls.

In addition to the original room I’ve used 4 100mm RW3 panels on the walls. At first reflection points. An additional 3 on the ceiling with a 30mm air gap.

Changed the room colour to a much darker blue and also matched the skirting colour and the ceiling.

The front wall is built from 6x2 studs spaced 200mm off the original rear wall. Willed with 200mm of RW3. Speaker enclosures make from mdf for the Kef LCR ci5160rlm x3

I have Ci1601Qr in the ceiling for atmos
Ci200Rs for the surrounds in wall.

Currently running an old NAD T778 while I wait on the new offering from Arcam for my AVR.

I made stretch fabric panels for the front wall to cover the speakers. The screen is then mounted in front of those.

It’s a grandview 130” acoustic transparent scope screen. Measuring just over 3m wide.

Using my Pro2 from Valerion as an interim projector until I either get a Max, or the TNM or wait for the next Chinese projector to come out.

Plan to add a second sub down the line. Currently running a SB3000 Revolution.

Gone are the Olympica Nova V’s. 😱

Transformation to multi purpose cinema / stereo room.

Kef Ci5160RLM front LCR
SVS SB3000 Revolution
Ci200RS rears
Ci160qr for heights.
Amp tbc. Currently running NAD T778

Spent the last few days of free hours after work building my ceiling clouds and finishing the front wall insulation.

Changing over from green fabric to black on my treatments. The room is going to be a very dark blue colour. I couldn’t bring myself to paint the full room black.

Quick snaps of my make shift work bench on my dining table. I had some black staples even though you’re never going to see them but thought I’d use them anyway.

If I were to do these again with the black fabric I would possibly overlay the front with another layer of fabric or paint the timber to match the insulation as in some light you can see the frame has a very small shift in colour vs the insulation.

Plan over the weekend is to wrap the clouds, fill some holes I made while running the extra cable needed and hopefully get a coat of paint applied.

Lots of boring things to do to get the room ready for the front fabric track system to go in before I can mount the screen.

Last image shows my in room response now with all the treatment in place and a quick Dirac run.

Sound signature is different from the Nova V’s in that these are very accurate and not as romantic sounding as the SF. The soundstage has expended exponentially with the new setup. A combination of the additional 200mm of treatment to the front wall and the impeccable off axis response of the KEF.

Spent the last few days of free hours after work building my ceiling clouds and finishing the front wall insulation.

Changing over from green fabric to black on my treatments. The room is going to be a very dark blue colour. I couldn’t bring myself to paint the full room black.

Quick snaps of my make shift work bench on my dining table. I had some black staples even though you’re never going to see them but thought I’d use them anyway.

If I were to do these again with the black fabric I would possibly overlay the front with another layer of fabric or paint the timber to match the insulation as in some light you can see the frame has a very small shift in colour vs the insulation.

Plan over the weekend is to wrap the clouds, fill some holes I made while running the extra cable needed and hopefully get a coat of paint applied.

Last image shows my 2 paint choices I decided to go with the blue over the green.

Lots of boring things to do to get the room ready for the front fabric track system to go in before I can mount the screen.

Last image shows my in room response now with all the treatment in place and a quick Dirac run.

I spent yesterday cutting holes into the walls and ceiling and running cable. Got the surrounds installed and the centre channel. Decided to do a measurement to see where I was.

Dip at 87~hz is a room mode, this needs fixing with a second sub installed slightly out of phase to add energy back into this null at my listening position. I believe Dirac ART would be able to solve this. However I don’t have an amp capable yet but my next one will support it.

Dip at 170~hz is a ceiling reflection. I’m going to need a ceiling cloud covering the front 3 channels to resolve this one. Plan to use 100mm RW3 for this I’m trying to decide whether to make a single 1800x1200 cloud to cover the front stage or 3 individual panels. The speakers are around 2.4m apart so the 1800 should catch all 3 channels in relation to the MLP.

Suck out at 520~hz is a cancellation from the rear of the speaker enclosure. These need some acoustic material added to stop this cancellation but I didn’t have any the correct thickness on hand so I’ll have to get some the next time I’m at the suppliers.

I got too excited to see what these sounded like so I put them in stereo and ran them from my ma352 mid build.

Ci5160RLM-THX from KEF.

The enclosures are just over a whisker under 100l 99.94. Kef recommend a minimum of 90 for optimum performance. Made from 18mm mdf glued and screwed every 100mm on all sides. Width of the framing exactly to the width and the enclosures are then screwed to the 6x2 frame.

Frame is sitting on 5mm acoustic rubber insulating it from all sides of the room.

I have a third speaker to go in for LCR duties and I have the surround and in ceiling to fit next week when they arrive (delayed in shipping)

First thoughts compared to the Sonus faber Nova V they replaced. They’re detailed edging on bright, forward sounding but have a fantastic bass response. I can tame the brightness with EQ but reviews have said they take some break in before sounding their best.

This afternoon after work I got my rough frame installed, 6x2 timber with the permitter pieces where meets the walls ceiling and floor have been de coupled with this rubber isolation strip to stop vibration transfer from the wall to the surrounding structure.

It’s not evenly spaced, I have the LCR positions so that I get the widest point of the acoustically transparent screen for the LR and obviously the centre is dead centre. I’m picking up the insulation tomorrow and will be filling all space not used by the speaker enclosures. I’m hoping to make a start on the speaker enclosures before the week is out. I already have the material. Just need to find the time.

My plans for the enclosure follow the volume advice from KEF. I plan to use 18mm mdf which will fit tight between the stud work for each bay and will mount them at a height that puts the tweeter just above ear level meaning the mid/woofers are just above the bottom of the screen area. They won’t touch the back wall again for sound transmission reasons.

The room I’m adding this to is a garage conversion room within a room, it already has 4x2 stud work completely free standing with 100mm RW3 and sound bloc plaster board. 2 of the walls, front and right also have an acoustic rail system with an extra layer of plasterboard with acoustic glue in between.

Hi all.

I’m in the process of converting my 2.0 room to a HT / multi space.

Mask on the wall is 106 vs 120 16:9 and on my existing 120” in the living room showing what 106 would look like.

I sometimes find 120 to be too tall and was debating going down to 106. I think I’m going to keep the 120.

Been messing with some measurements with my old NAD T778 and some Sonus faber Sonetto on walls I usually run in my bedroom to get an idea of acoustics with the sub in play as I’ve only ever had 2.0 in here before.

The sub literally shakes the walls but blends so well after a Dirac calibration. Graph is before and after calibration.

Going for 120” acoustic screen
Open front baffle wall with speaker enclosures for the LCR
KEF CI5160RLM x3 LCR
KEF R series in wall surround x2
KEF Q series for atmos x4
SVS SB3000 Revolution. I have 1 already and will likely add a second with DLBC to try get that lower end a bit flatter.
Arcam processor and amplification.

I’ll miss the Mcintosh / Sonus faber setup but I’m sure I’ll enjoy the new setup just as much. Plus we all do this for the journey right?

I’ve ordered the boring bits to start rouging out the front wall build. I’m just trying to decide if I want the equipment in a low unit at the front under the screen or a unit to the side of the room. Opinions?

I have already built a room within a room with a lot of acoustic treatment. So I’m slightly confused as to whether I should be building a rigid baffle wall or an open one.

I’ll be using an AT screen with KEF R series in walls.
My current room construction for the front wall is 4x2 studs, 100mm RW3, iKoustic clip and rail decoupling system. 2 layers of soundboard sandwich with acoustic glue in between.

I will use backboxes made for the LCRs which will be 600 wide and 1700 tall.

My 2 schools of thought were.

Option A -

Solid baffle wall rigid construction across the full face, i.e. a layer of ply/mdf and then acoustic glue with sound board ontop. My LCRs will be housed in sealed back boxes made to the spec provided by KEF. Full internal space of wall filled with RW3 rockwool.

Option B -

Open framing with the only solid structure to the front being the front of the sealed enclosures made for the LCR. The rest of the frame would be open and filled with RW3 and covered with acoustic transparent material.

Box set came in very early. It’s a stunning collectors edition. Reversible covers, pictures, booklet. The coin is very weighty and I love that the most.

Now the issue is I don’t want to display it Alphabetically as it will be in the 2nd bottom row on my rack and it deserves better placement than that.

In the design process of my cinema build and I don’t know the benefits/ drawbacks of mounting identical LCR’s all vertical or changing the centre channel to be horizontal.

For reference I’m debating between the focal 300 or dynaudio install studio 65.

The focal has 2 mid/woofers either side and a mid and tweeter mounted centrally.
The dynaudio has a tweeter mid with 2 mid/woofer off to one side.

Any advice on which way to mount them? Assuming that my tweeter will be near ear height regardless of orientation.

This is my room layout. Seating position in yellow and screen will be in the red area as it is currently laid out in the second image as it stands with my stereo setup.

I plan to sell all my stereo gear and build it out as a cinema room instead. I’ll be building a false wall, using in wall speakers throughout and using an AT screen. Havent decided whether to do 16:9 and mask for cinema or go 2:35:1 screen from the off.

My main issue is left surround / atmos speaker placement. I have an awkward cupboard where my central heating tank is so I’m asking for advice on how best to place the left surround speaker to get the best surround mix.

Looking to go 5.2.4 or 7.2.4.

Moving the seating position forward won’t work as I won’t be able to have as big a screen due to viewing distance.

I’ll be using Dirac for calibration.

Rewatching Ready Played One with the sub and realising how much i was missing without one. It’s crazy how much extension you get. The physical pressurising of the room is unbeatable.

I’m concerned my neighbours might take issue with the sub but for now I’m seriously enjoying the depth added to movies over standard speakers.

I’m seriously debating converting my stereo room into an atmos dedicated cinema space to give me the opportunity to play louder without disturbing the neighbours.

SVS 3000 Revolution sub added. Running focal 300 series in wall / ceiling.
My stereo room has Olympica nova V’s currently with Macintosh amp and turntable.

Didn’t think I was missing out too much when I had ‘extension down to 20hz’ from my mains but I was wrong and you all were right.

I bought the SVS SB3000 R|Evolution.

I connected it up and did a quick demo without DIRAC and then with, the integration is perfect with Dirac but I got it fairly close by ear but I wouldn’t have been able to get the time alignment as good as Dirac did. Also this is the flattest I’ve ever had bass response in any room I’ve had. Consider me a convert!

I’m using the SVS Soundpath wireless adapter and the sub is placed on the rear wall behind the camera in the last photo. and I’ve got between 20-24ms of delay on my mains via the AVR.

I’m running -10db on the AVR and -10db gain on the sub and it’s matching the mains and goes incredibly loud, possibly too loud I’ll likely get some complaints from the neighbours but I’m really enjoying hearing things I’d not heard before. It’s really lifted the detail and range of the whole system.

I currently subscribe to various streaming platforms which are included/reduced price because of either phone contract/tv subscription to Sky(SAT TV) etc but I’m increasingly frustrated with what they offer.

I mainly use the streaming service for TV Seasons and new content not/yet available on disc.

1. The quality difference is present and that’s my main reason for purchasing the physical disc. I have a decent tv/projector/surround system and want to get the best from it.

2. Second to that is availability / owning the thing that can’t be taken away or modified. Stripping scenes that people find offensive or warnings about such content really bug me.

3. Third is advertising even though you’re paying for a service you still have adverts.

Are there other benefits you get from collecting and is your order of preference the same as mine or do you prioritise other benefits?

Had my solar installed last year in October. My previous 2 bills for energy (Electric & Gas) have been negative figures. EDF 15p export and using the Sunday Saver to get 16hours of Free energy every Sunday is also helping with that.

Since January I've been able to get £370 of peak energy every Sunday for absolutely nothing. Been charging the car, doing the laundry, using the electric underfloor heating in the winter months to keep the house toasty. All very nice benefits of having a PV and Battery setup.

The 'Savings' by having the system installed will be greater this winter as the peak rate has gone up significantly since the previous fix I was on. I'm running 7kWp South Facing in the North East area. 15.6kWh battery which is nowhere near enough for the winter months, I wish id saved up and did more research on an expandable system. I have. SolaX IES so can only add another 5kWh but at a cost of just over £1k plus someone to move my inverter doesn't seem worth it to me.

Doesn’t really compare to some of the setups on here but through id cross post this anyway as it may interest some of you.

Mac mini with some external hdd’s for media storage and running homebridge for things with no dedicated Apple home support.

I run Hue lighting throughout the home, have a living room with AV gear and also networked to a garage conversion which is now a dedicated listening space.

Built a rack myself as a normal server rack wouldn’t fit in the space. It’s a UK understair cupboard and the door is too wide and depth too shallow to fit a rack in of this height. The one I built allows it to be pulled from the cupboard for swapping components when needed.

Airflow from 2x200mm noctua fans in a push pull config at the bottom / top of the cupboard. Generally keeps the space 2-3’c above ambient. Temp monitored and automated fans depending on ambient temps.

Recently added the projector to the setup and re-made and organised my rack. I can’t fit a full size dedicated rack into this space (under stair cupboard) so building one was the only option. Routed shelves with cut outs to the sides also. I run a push pull config of 200mm Noctua fans for airflow into/out of the space. I run my kitchen TV / sound from this rack and also my bathroom sound. Also running a Mac mini (server) for downloaded content / home automation duties.

It’s a UK living room and I’ve made best use of the space without it interfering too much with the overall minimalistic look of the room. I have thought about boxing in the screen but I’m still undecided on that as I have a roller blind behind the screen to cover the TV when using the projector so you’d see most of the underside of the case from underneath even if I were to box the front / sides.

It measures pretty well considering it’s not a dedicated space. Reverb is fairly low sub 500ms across the full frequency range and the frequency response isn’t too bad either.

I’ve painted the ceiling the same colour as some of the walls in a dark green colour. Realistically this is about as dark as I dare go without making the room so dark for normal use.

Equipment for this room:

Focal 300IWLCR x3

Focal 300IWC6 x2 for surrounds

Arcam AVR31

Magnetar UDP900

PS5

ATV 4K

Sapphire Woven 120” Acoustically Transparent screen

LG OLED 83 C2

Valerion VisionMaster Pro2