JBL Synthesis - Something BIG is on its way...

[Titanium Dome]

Speaking of cannon fire (and gun shots), wow, talk about a slap in the chest! They could literally be felt. Despite being loud, they weren't painful, though I'm sure they can still do damage to your ears. They were so clean and undistorted that volume was almost incidental.

Grumpy and I listened to the Dark Side of the Moon DVD-A, which contains a few bizarre moments, but overall is satisfying to listen to. Even the female vocals which are usually strident, shrill, and grating on most systems were completely listenable even at too much volume.

[Mr. Widget]

IT IS BY FAR THE MOST EXCELLENT SONIC* EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER HAD...

How will we ever extract you from your basement?

Very cool, glad to hear it was worth all of the effort!



Widget

[Mike Ronesia]

That looks like an awesome calibration tool. It makes me cringe to think how mine would look. Is there anything on the market for do-it yourselfers to use that would work better then just using the Audyssey on the Denon?

[boputnam]

Doug, Chris and Grumpy...

Those results look impressive. The filters seem intuitively sensible - and few in number. I am surprised a bit by the boosts at 1.0kHz, 1.1kHz, 2.2kHz and 2.4kHz (that may end-up wearing on you...), but as has been said, the proof is in the pudding. Otherwise, it all looks damned sensible.

Have you got a pic of the re-do on the subs filters? Just curious...

Well done, guys. I think I need to come for a visit...

And, Doug - you been on one health kick. Lookin' good!

[4313B]

I never in my wildest dreams expected to have such a spectacular sounding system in my life.

Simply outstanding Titanium Dome!

And kudos to Chris for helping make it happen.

[Titanium Dome]

Simply outstanding Titanium Dome!

And kudos to Chris for helping make it happen.

Thanks.

It's impossible to overstate the importance of Chris's role.

One of my keys to success over the years has been to listen to those who know more than I do, whether they're wonderful people or arrogant assholes. Learning is the key; liking the teacher is optional.

In this case, Chris Neumann is a truly down-to-earth professional. He's easy to talk to and his ideas are simple and do-able, especially because he puts things in the context of what's practical in the situation.

He was totally aware of the limitations I was facing, and though he pushed me a few times, he never condescended, made snide comments, or issued arrogant ultimatums. He simply gave me a path I could follow and provided a positive and supportive backdrop.

Now this is a guy who's done 800 or so calibrations, including four in one day in NYC for clients who were more well-heeled than I. This is a guy who's been around the globe and across the nation at the biggest shows with the biggest egos in the business setting up state of the art systems, including building entire rooms from scratch for thousands of people to visit. This is a guy who lead the Synthesis® line to 15 US and 10 international systems sales per month. This is a guy who knows it's not about one guy but about the team and the result for the end user. This is a guy who will pull out a couple of his favorite videos and demonstrate them to you after the calibration like it was his own system and be so excited about it that you can't help but be even more excited yourself.

Finally, this is a guy you can stand on the deck with and drink a beer (or two) and feel comfortable talking to about a lot of things--a guy with a real family and a real life just like the rest of us.

So, here's to Chris and everything he did to make this amazing dream come true!

[Titanium Dome]

It's important to point out the role of Phoenix Communications, an authorized JBL Synthesis® dealer in Memphis, TN. Owner Scott Fuelling is the guy who booked this journey for me, starting with an outstanding system, excellent communication, and great support when I needed it. Mark Morris also was a big help, handling the shipping and then the service after the damaged S5160 was discovered.

http://www.phoenixcommcorp.com/

These are the guys who started the chain of communication that led to Chris being the calibration guy.

Hats off to Phoenix Communications!

[JBL 4645]

Thanks.

It's impossible to overstate the importance of Chris's role.

One of my keys to success over the years has been to listen to those who know more than I do, whether they're wonderful people or arrogant assholes. Learning is the key; liking the teacher is optional.

In this case, Chris Neumann is a truly down-to-earth professional. He's easy to talk to and his ideas are simple and do-able, especially because he puts things in the context of what's practical in the situation.

He was totally aware of the limitations I was facing, and though he pushed me a few times, he never condescended, made snide comments, or issued arrogant ultimatums. He simply gave me a path I could follow and provided a positive and supportive backdrop.

Now this is a guy who's done 800 or so calibrations, including four in one day in NYC for clients who were more well-heeled than I. This is a guy who's been around the globe and across the nation at the biggest shows with the biggest egos in the business setting up state of the art systems, including building entire rooms from scratch for thousands of people to visit. This is a guy who lead the Synthesis® line to 15 US and 10 international systems sales per month. This is a guy who knows it's not about one guy but about the team and the result for the end user. This is a guy who will pull out a couple of his favorite videos and demonstrate them to you after the calibration like it was his own system and be so excited about it that you can't help but be even more excited yourself.

Finally, this is a guy you can stand on the deck with and drink a beer (or two) and feel comfortable talking to about a lot of things--a guy with a real family and a real life just like the rest of us.

So, here's to Chris and everything he did to make this amazing dream come true!

Now that sounds like a lot of GUY! Well if he happens to be in the Dorset area I’ll give him a real guys cup of tea with Dorset cream and sugar and a biscuit.

What discs did Chris bring over do you recall or is that confidential?



Penny for the Guy?

Hold on sec I recognize that guy with the hat?

That looks like an awesome calibration tool. It makes me cringe to think how mine would look. Is there anything on the market for do-it yourselfers to use that would work better then just using the Audyssey on the Denon?

Seems like Audyssey has been pissing a few consumers off? I can’t understand why if it works then maybe the average Joe is overlooking something. All I keep reading is its lacking bass. I’m sure the bass is still there maybe needs a few more tweaks or adjustment.

I’ve noticed recently that most AVR don’t support RCA phone outputs with this Audyssey well that’s turned me right off because I don’t like having my system powered by the internal AVR amplifiers.

[jblsound]

Great going Doug.
Over the years I've had many CE sale people try to tell me there is always something better than Synthesis, at a cheaper price. Of course they were the ones selling that something else.
My general reply to that was, "sez you" and then walked out.
I just wish I could have made it down there for a listen.

But once again, like when you first bought the PS, you had to deal with a dealer most of the way across the country!
Want gives with that?

[JBL 4645]

We started by unpacking and setting everything up again, including the new DACS that JBL shipped over. Everything worked first time out of the box.

Chris started over from the beginning, paying particular attention to each S1S-EX, then the pair together. The subs were canceling each other below 25 Hz, he did something (don't ask me what) with the DACS and suddenly the cancellation stopped and we gained over 5 dB at the bottomjust like that!

Grumpy might have a photo of the finished graph, and he can attest as to whether or not the subs' performance was out of this world.

During this process I noticed the SDEC units really come to life. Green lights were flashing all over the place in no pattern I could discern, but with each adjustment of the parametric EQ another LED would come to life or vanish as the case may be and the sound would coalesce even more.

There's a whole lot of processing going on in there.

It could only be one of few things I’m thinking off. Phase Polarity time delay?

Its magic, just like that.



Dome have you been fully briefed by Chris on your sound system so that you can maintain its operation?

[Fangio]

Congratulations Doug, outstanding setup and definitely a success story.

For comparison, and before it's totally forgotten, a pic of the "humble old system" below..

[Fangio]

...and a peek at the wonderful environment where this new Synthesis system will be enjoyed.

Note the decent distance to the neighbours.

[Titanium Dome]

One of the big surprises of this experience was the complete transformation of the room through the acoustical treatments, especially as Chris directed me to install them. Of course, the pieces themselves were critical to that success.

A shout out goes to Acoustimac for excellent, affordable products that have quality far exceeding their price. I'm especially grateful to Sal who was great over the phone and quick to respond with a replacement panel for one that was damaged in shipping, no questions asked.

http://www.acoustimac.com/

Thanks as well to Steven Klein Sound Control Room, Inc. for making affordable diffusers and having them ready so quickly.

http://www.soundcontrolroom.com

Thanks to all the folks on the JBL Synthesis® team for the great support, including Ron Rouse who connected me with Chris. Also, I have to mention the incredible build quality of these systems and components. Outstanding achievement. I should also add in the engineers and designers, such as Greg Timbers and company for the Array horns and Chris Neumann and company for the S4Ai. Yes, there are lots of names I do not know, whose contributions are equally significant.

Thanks to all the Lansing Heritage members who extolled the virtues of the Arrays and who introduced the SAM units on the site. 4313B in particular gave me the first look I'd ever seen (and that's a case of me listening to someone who knew more about something than I did, and I learned). That started the inevitable journey to where I am.

Also, to all those who've goaded me from time to time for loving the new stuff more than the old, thanks for motivating me to really make the commitment to get the best I could afford.

Of course, I'd be remiss not to mention all those who make the site possible. It not only provides fertile ground for the seeds of dreams to be planted, but a place for us to actually watch those dreams grow and bear fruit.

One last thanks goes to forum buddy Grumpy, who took the time to show up twice to help record the culmination of the dream. All of my hyperbole is to be expected, since I'm a big fanboy of the current stuff and the owner in this case; I have to love it. Grumpy provides a nice reality check here on the forum and he takes better pictures. Plus, he actually understands the science, while I'm mostly just a fan of the art. His perspective on all this is invaluable.

So there you go. Over and out.

[JBL 4645]

10-10 catch you on the flip side [roger bleep]

So what was the trade-offs with the screen I take its micro-perforated? Was there any real hassles with the HF loss thou I’d imagine it would be tiny amount in db.

Did you have to move the left/right about to get the sound images to match up with the on-screen action effects etc?

[nlsteele]

One of the big surprises of this experience was the complete transformation of the room through the acoustical treatments, especially as Chris directed me to install them. Of course, the pieces themselves were critical to that success.

A shout out goes to Acoustimac for excellent, affordable products that have quality far exceeding their price. I'm especially grateful to Sal who was great over the phone and quick to respond with a replacement panel for one that was damaged in shipping, no questions asked.

http://www.acoustimac.com/

Thanks as well to Steven Klein Sound Control Room, Inc. for making affordable diffusers and having them ready so quickly.

http://www.soundcontrolroom.com

Thanks to all the folks on the JBL Synthesis® team for the great support, including Ron Rouse who connected me with Chris. Also, I have to mention the incredible build quality of these systems and components. Outstanding achievement. I should also add in the engineers and designers, such as Greg Timbers and company for the Array horns and Chris Neumann and company for the S4Ai. Yes, there are lots of names I do not know, whose contributions are equally significant.

Thanks to all the Lansing Heritage members who extolled the virtues of the Arrays and who introduced the SAM units on the site. 4313B in particular gave me the first look I'd ever seen (and that's a case of me listening to someone who knew more about something than I did, and I learned). That started the inevitable journey to where I am.

Also, to all those who've goaded me from time to time for loving the new stuff more than the old, thanks for motivating me to really make the commitment to get the best I could afford.

Of course, I'd be remiss not to mention all those who make the site possible. It not only provides fertile ground for the seeds of dreams to be planted, but a place for us to actually watch those dreams grow and bear fruit.

One last thanks goes to forum buddy Grumpy, who took the time to show up twice to help record the culmination of the dream. All of my hyperbole is to be expected, since I'm a big fanboy of the current stuff and the owner in this case; I have to love it. Grumpy provides a nice reality check here on the forum and he takes better pictures. Plus, he actually understands the science, while I'm mostly just a fan of the art. His perspective on all this is invaluable.

So there you go. Over and out.

What? No love for God or the Academy?

Good for you TD. Keep on rockin'!