OT - Stereo issues in the mancave

I think this will be instrumental to getting #1's on ALL the knives at the next Ganza. It's a small but cozy mancave. The only issue is I have terrible sound from the speakers. There is NO separation and the music sounds flat. Any suggestions on how I can improve the sound?

















Totally not my pic or room. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

My modest home setup...It may not have all the firepower on the walls (or even in the gun safe) but tucked under the desk and to the left are a pair of Spendor BBC spec powered monitors I got from a friend who worked at a post-production studio. They have XLR connectors so I have to run them through a little Spirit mixer. I'm in the basement and work from home so needless to say the music tends to blast out all day. The dog doesn't seem to mind...



Spot the hidden DFLE...

I like the chair. Good chairs are $$$

Took the chair and the desk out of our company office when they closed it locally. It was worth the hassle!

Ted, that DOES look cozy. Maybe try moving the speakers farther apart, that's really all I have to offer since I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about.

TED, you have me going. I was gonna say looks like you got TWO 50cals. But then again I said "In Kalifornia"! Just having trouble with it. But MAN would that be a nice Cave to relax in!

Haha,that pic kinda reminded me of the basement in the movie Tremors!

We have the .416 Barrett, since a .50 Cal is to dangerous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.416_Barrett

It's not my room though. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/paperbag.gif" alt="" />

BOHICA ARMS FAR 50.. made me laugh, Bohica arms! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

You DO know what BOHICA stands for don't you?

You may try shifting the speakers around the room until the sound stops overlapping, failing that, You could try acoustic tiling to change resonance. If that's too expensive, pillows nailed to the wall over boards work just as well, no joke.

I can't make more educated suggestions unless I have an idea of the speaker placement in the room and the size of the room.

My Dolby 5.1 is set up with the satellite speakers all equidistant from the TV to give best sound to the individual sitting directly in front of the TV. Depending on where in the room you are, the sound overlaps a bit, and sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish where the sound is supposed to be coming from. Hieght in the room relative to the floor also has an effect, the closer to the cieling they are, the less bass transmission you get, and more trebel bounced from the cieling. Lastly, even the carpet you choose in your mancave can have an effect on the sound transmission. My Woofer sits on a low density pile shag rug, and it has to be turned up much louder to get the same effect as when it was on the hardwood, but there was a lot of rattle with the hardwood floor. Remember, flat, non-porous surfaces deflect sound, while porous surfaces tend to absorb sound.

It's a PITA to set up a mancave, it took me nearly a year to optimize mine.

I did a few years setting up music studios and that kind of stuff so maybe I can help.

with that type of problem the thing to do is check your connections first. pull all (yes all) of your connections all the way out and make sure you push them all the way back in. listen for any signs that a cable or jack is going bad. if your system is older then you should take note of any cables that seem fragile.

next you want to check all your audio settings. this would include any software, driverware, or hardware that may be in your audio chain. may sound like its too easy but sometime an eq knob somewhere is all the way down/up.

if you don't eliminate the problem those two chains then you start to trace the entire chain from the power all the way to the speaker. also ask yourself if it sounded right at some point and what changes have happened since then. remember that everything in your home that requires outlet power is all pretty much connected at some point. sometimes i have had to unplug stuff in other rooms looking for a buzz.

I've had a guys calling me week after week about a buzz that only happened in the studio "sometimes". how about those somtimes were always the times he would plug his cell phone charger in. same thing happens with laptops and other wall wart and line lump power supplies. sometimes a power conditor (not just a power strip) can help filter out the crap that comes in but there are some cases that have been difficult to solve.

probably not a big issue and there are options to get you where you want to be. check it out and keep us posted.

Man that's one awesome cave, I don't know about sound, but there'd have to be more room for tools and such for me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I think Ted is on a Government "Watch" list. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

Good grief Ted... are you expecting Zombies or what!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

That's scary. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />


Peace.

It's funny that most of those rifles don't have optics...yet he needs such large screens to see when surfing SYKCO forums <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Ok, you guys did notice I said it's not MY room. It's running Windows for crying out loud. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

Pretty cool set up though. I'll bet he's waiting for the zombie apocalypse as we speak.

I found it funny that he would have the speakers so close together after putting such an awesome display together. I appreciate the tips for audio enhancements though. Good stuff. It's amazing how many talented people there are in the yard.

I must be stir crazy waiting for the next knife.

I noticed that too, it was a dead give away to me! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Yeah me too, I KNEW he runs Linux! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

We are all on a government watch list nowadays. The government fears its citizens more than ever. Why do you think they want to control the internet?

That is a heck of a man cave. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Ted you spoofed me!

A word that I rarely get to use.That is a scary room whomsoever it is!


Peace.

I failed to notice the sentence at the bottom of your first post, Ted. You got me.

So, whoever owns this room, and has the capital to throw at it, and he's running windows? He must not expect to need his computer when the SHTF.

Here's a rundown of what is in that room and approximately how much it might cost... if they were the ACTUAL weapons. All in all I'd say it's a pretty nice Airsoft collection! Because I'm pretty sure this individual would have a nicer room than THAT if they had that kind of money.


1 Barrett M82- no longer manufactured, replaced by the M107, pricey then and now, and the optics could be upwards of 2 Gs for all I know.

1 M2 .50 cal- probably $40,000 or so

1 MG42- almost an antique and easily 35 Gs

1 PSG1 sniper rifle- last one I saw was a well worn example, and they still wanted 10 Grand for it.

1 FAL rifle- assuming it is a select fire, I'd venture $20,000

1 M249 Para- $36000, plus multiple tax stamps for the Short Barrel and select fire.

1 LAW Rocket Launcher <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />- I'm under the impression that these are illegal for civilians to own under the destructive weapons act. So are the grenade launchers if I'm not mistaken.

Speaking of GLs

1 Thumper- I haven't the slightest clue how much one of these would cost.

1 M203 GL- once again, I have no baseline for cost. There is a 37mm Smoke
grenade launcher that you can purchase from Spike's Tactical, but it's definitely not an actual 40mikemike.

1 M60 LMG- The example they have at Dragon Man's Class III is about $65000

1 AK, Yugo Underfolder- the cheapest weapon to buy in select fire, probably still around 15Gs

1 MP5somethingorother, can't really tell from that angle- expensive?

1 SPAS 12- $1,500 or so, nothing really class III about it.

M16A1- expensive

1 P90-SBW, Full Auto, EXPENSIVE

M134 "Minigun"-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I don't think so.... BTW, the actual Bullet hose is longer than the one in the picture, it wouldn't fit on that shelf.

I see the reason for the one 60 inch plasma as a computer scene, but the second seems a little excessive. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

the electrostatic headphones are not cheap either.

i will post a pic of my little space when i figure out how to get the new iDisk hosting.

tagati, i want that printer.

I put down a rug in my mancave and hung a curtains on the walls to act as sound dampeners and eliminate reverb. You can see the edge of one of the curtains in the pic below. Since taking that pic, I have put in a much larger rug (covers nearly the entire floor). I have also mounted the center channel to the wall and hidden the wires (with the rug). There is a shelf right behind where the image was taken with tons of electronics and enough wires to network a small country.

I used Audyssey Installer Kit and MultEQ Pro Software for sound (got it pretty cheap on eBay, but they are way too expensive off the shelf for personal use) and a Datacolor Spyder screen calibration device for the screen. You can pic one up for under a bill. http://spyder.datacolor.com/products.php They are great for normal monitors as well and I highly suggest using one if you edit photos on your PC. Once everything is calibrated, I tweak the sound a little manually to compensate for my bad ears. I have high frequency deficiencies in both ears. Wear ear protection when firing weapons!

The only thing I need now is a darker paint job, but I don't want to repaint every time I get orders to move, hence the dark posters and curtains on the walls.

My screen is 2 inches shy of 10 foot diagonal. The projector I use is full HD and active 3D running a PS3, Xbox 360, Hometheater PC and an home built gaming PC. The image takes up more of your field of view than most theaters if you sit in the middle row of the cinema. My mancave is more expensive than my car.

I know only two of these paragraphs really addresses your question, but my boastful nature forced me to hijack your post a tad to show off. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Hey Mag,

I finally figured out the new scheme for publishing pix from the iDisk.

use this

http://web.me.com/membername/Pictures/picture.jpg

Then create a folder called Pictures in the Web/Sites folder and then put the pix in it.