HT setup with AR9X

[jpk]

Hello experts !

Can someone help me in defining for my HT system a good setup for central & left/right speakers ?

I have the choice of using 2 AR9s for left/right with one or 2 AR9s or AR90s or AR91s for central channel(s)

My questions are :

- would 2 central speakers be OK ?

- If I use up to 4 AR9s with 8 side woofers, how would that interfere for low frequencies ? what would be the optimal setup in terms of relative distances (from walls, between speakers, etc ..) in other words, what would be the dimensions of my HT room (metric would be appreciated !)

- I think I would need to use a transonic screen ? if yes any idea of brands for such screen with approx cost ?

Thanks in advance

Jean-Patrick from France

[Guest Nigel]

>My questions are :

>- would 2 central speakers be OK ?

yes

>- If I use up to 4 AR9s with 8 side woofers, how would that

>interfere for low frequencies ? what would be the optimal

>setup in terms of relative distances (from walls, between

>speakers, etc ..) in other words, what would be the

>dimensions of my HT room (metric would be appreciated !)

The AR9X speakers are designed to be positioned against the wall.

>- I think I would need to use a transonic screen ? if yes

>any idea of brands for such screen with approx cost ?

I do not know what this.

Nigel

[jpk]

Thanks for the answer

Sorry for my bad English : with "transonic" I meant "acoustically transparent screen" (screen with microperforations). Obviously this was off-topic, sorry for that.

But going back to the relative positions of 2 AR9s : what is the minimum distance between 2 of them ?

Thanks in advance

Jean-Patrick

[Guest Barrydor]

>But going back to the relative positions of 2 AR9s : what is

>the minimum distance between 2 of them ?

Mine are six feet apart and it works great for me

Barry

[Guest Sean]

>But going back to the relative positions of 2 AR9s : what is

>the minimum distance between 2 of them ?

Jean-Patrick, i am running a similar system and i think that we've compared notes before. I chose to build a center channel to match the 9's that i have as mains and the 90's that i'm running as rears. I'm using two horizontally opposed OEM 8's and the "dual dome" plate set-up from the 9LS series. All of this is housed in a large cabinet sealed and stuffed cabinet. After playing with dozens of amplifiers in various bi-amp configurations and power levels, i've come to find that the Sunfire Signature works best driving my mains and the Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature drives the center, surrounds and two subs. This gives me a total power capacity of appr 6400 watts rms. This works much better than the previous set-up, which consisted of a Perreaux PMF-2150 ( 400 wpc @ 4 ) driving the top end and a Perreaux PMF-3150 ( 500 wpc @ 4 ohms ) driving the woofers. Quite honestly, it takes GOBS of power to really drive 9's and do it with authority. I would only add that quality is just as important as quantity and the Sunfire's are pretty decent amps in that regard. Not the best, mind you, but easily up to the task that i've put before them.

As far as speaker placement and spacing goes, my 9's are spread about 12.5' feet apart. I would NOT spread them this far out if used in two channel mode as the center image suffers somewhat. I can still get VERY respectable performance out of the 9's in stereo mode spread this far out, but as mentioned, it is not optimum.

I ended up with this spacing as i found it to offer the best combination of soundstage width and image stability. As you might guess, the large center channel fills in the center image and anchors voice reproduction for movies. Personally, i would NOT use a center channel speaker with 9's unless you can get them spread out to at least 10' apart with 8' really pushing it. Even for stereo use, 7' to 8' should be considered the minimum for a speaker of this size. Obviously, this will vary with room dimensions, amount of toe-in and your seated listening position though.

As far as running two speakers as a center channel, you will run into erratic radiation patterns and large amounts of lobing due to Comb filters. That is why i went the route that i did.

I hope that this helps and answers some of your questions. You might also want to check into my thread titled " AR 9 Schematic flaws". Sean

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