Soldato
Post Your Home Cine & HiFi Kit...
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Soldato
Built me a valve amp. This one is actually the 3rd prototype which has now proven itself worthy of being rebuilt into a higher quality chassis along with a twin for stereo. (full build thread in the projects)
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Thanks.
Moving the rad was the priority to allow the right space either side for the chimney breast. It is something I'd also like to do but zero rush to make any purchases in this climate!
I have the Zensor 3s in my kitchen on stand mounts. Love them! They're only attached to a Sonos amp as well, they'd sound even better with a bit more power behind them (maybe another thing to buy when Covid-19 settles down).
Yes currently just 2.0 setup, literally just replaced the amp so I can add speakers later either as a complete package or one by one. I have run (through the chimney breast) ceiling speaker cables too. So I am hoping to go 5.1.4 eventually, but it will likely go from 2.0 --> 2.1 --> 3.1 --> 5.1 --> 5.1.2 --> 5.1.4 - If ever
Hi mate
regarding the fire can you have it on without it giving out any heat ? cheers
Soldato
Yup, and to be honest that it has it is used most of the time!
brilliant , are you pleased with it ? i have a gas connection but the heat concerns me
Soldato
Yeah I love it. Very much adds to the feel and look of the room. Would definitely recommend one.
Just do your homework as to how some of them are installed as "flush" and the work required to recess them.
Just do your homework as to how some of them are installed as "flush" and the work required to recess them.
For the last 18 months or so, I've been considering selling my B&W 60x S3s and replacing them with something a little more premium. The S3 is a cracking speaker and I've owned them in one form or another since I was 19 years old. Starting out with the 601, adding the LCR60 center and then in 2011, buying a lovely pair of 603s and moving my 601s to the rear. It's been a cracking setup and has handled everything I've thrown at it, and then some... but recently I couldn't help but want more, maybe my tastes have changed as I've matured (lol)
Since moving into my house and with the distance I sit from my TV, I felt that the soundstage outperformed the viewing experience offered by my 50" Panny plasma, so I added a projector. Then, I felt that my NAD integrated was struggling with the 603s at higher volumes, so I added a Rotel power amp. Drove the 603s beautifully but the sound still seemed a bit muddy in the midrange and something that I'd grown to dislike.
I'd been looking at the B&W CM9 S2 and a couple of weeks ago, took the plunge and advertised my current speakers for sale. Within 10 days, they'd all sold and so I've been sitting patiently for some CM9s to appear on eBay/AVF. I was expecting to wait a while as I specifically wanted satin white to match my furniture and subwoofer. What I didn't expect to happen, was for me to pretty much double my budget on the spot when some CM10 S2s appeared for sale in Germany. After thinking it over for a couple of days, and thanks to some badly worded Google Translated messages to the sller, I'd pretty much made my mind up. I don't upgrade often, I thoroughly research my purchases and when I really set my sights on something, I know it's pretty much a done deal. This was going to be a once in a lifetime purchase. I very much doubt I'll ever spend this much money on speakers again.
The speakers were sent last Saturday and I've been eagerly watching the tracking. They landed with Parcel Force in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Somehow, Parcel Force have pulled a blinder and between the speakers landing in the UK and being transferred to my local depot, there was some kind of internal shipping delay, and so this afternoon I took delivery of
I did demo the new 700 series but much prefer the looks of the CM with the kevlar midrange. The CM10 has the decoupled tweeter similar to the 702 S2, and from what I've heard so far, they are (it's?) stunning.
I'll hold off posting any more pictures until the other one arrives in a couple of days.
Since moving into my house and with the distance I sit from my TV, I felt that the soundstage outperformed the viewing experience offered by my 50" Panny plasma, so I added a projector. Then, I felt that my NAD integrated was struggling with the 603s at higher volumes, so I added a Rotel power amp. Drove the 603s beautifully but the sound still seemed a bit muddy in the midrange and something that I'd grown to dislike.
I'd been looking at the B&W CM9 S2 and a couple of weeks ago, took the plunge and advertised my current speakers for sale. Within 10 days, they'd all sold and so I've been sitting patiently for some CM9s to appear on eBay/AVF. I was expecting to wait a while as I specifically wanted satin white to match my furniture and subwoofer. What I didn't expect to happen, was for me to pretty much double my budget on the spot when some CM10 S2s appeared for sale in Germany. After thinking it over for a couple of days, and thanks to some badly worded Google Translated messages to the sller, I'd pretty much made my mind up. I don't upgrade often, I thoroughly research my purchases and when I really set my sights on something, I know it's pretty much a done deal. This was going to be a once in a lifetime purchase. I very much doubt I'll ever spend this much money on speakers again.
The speakers were sent last Saturday and I've been eagerly watching the tracking. They landed with Parcel Force in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Somehow, Parcel Force have pulled a blinder and between the speakers landing in the UK and being transferred to my local depot, there was some kind of internal shipping delay, and so this afternoon I took delivery of
ONE B&W CM10 S2 
They travelled in a pair through most of Germany, but Parcel Force couldn't even keep two identical boxes going to the same address together during their own internal transport. The other speaker is due on Monday.
They travelled in a pair through most of Germany, but Parcel Force couldn't even keep two identical boxes going to the same address together during their own internal transport. The other speaker is due on Monday.
I did demo the new 700 series but much prefer the looks of the CM with the kevlar midrange. The CM10 has the decoupled tweeter similar to the 702 S2, and from what I've heard so far, they are (it's?) stunning.
I'll hold off posting any more pictures until the other one arrives in a couple of days.
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Soldato
Awesome. Great speakers, looking forward to seeing them set up!
I still have my 601s so have been running one alongside the CM while I wait for the other speaker to turn up. I know only running a single of each speaker isn't the usual way to compare speakers but it really highlights the difference between them. The 601 sounds flat and lifeless (that's just a single speaker, I still rate the 600 series as decent entry level speakers) whereas the single CM is lively, bright and really enjoyable to listen to. Maybe lacking a little in the mid, which I'm sure will even out with the 2nd speaker.
Itching to get the other one but PF still ******* about. No sign of it today, rang for an update, had no call back. Getting a bit concerned now. Going to be slightly less polite about it from now on.
Itching to get the other one but PF still ******* about. No sign of it today, rang for an update, had no call back. Getting a bit concerned now. Going to be slightly less polite about it from now on.
Soldato
Not the kind of thing you can just lose with the size of it either
They found it yet? I've got some CM9's and absolutely love them! The rotel should pair nicely with them
Soldato
Couple of updates at home. Bedroom got this as we couldn't put a TV anywhere, we're very happy with it!
Then outside we added a screen and projector. Lights were only on so you could take a pic
It's been so hot it's too hot in the house to sit and watch TV, so it's nice at 10pm when it's about 20c outside and a bit of a breeze!
Then outside we added a screen and projector. Lights were only on so you could take a pic
It's been so hot it's too hot in the house to sit and watch TV, so it's nice at 10pm when it's about 20c outside and a bit of a breeze!
Soldato
Yea nice Video you done 
Soldato
@agw_01
Great upgrade there. I looked at the CM9's for a while before settling on mine, mainly due to the size and like you i couldn't find any in white at the time. Annoyingly i'm now selling them and you could've been a potential buyer
Great upgrade there. I looked at the CM9's for a while before settling on mine, mainly due to the size and like you i couldn't find any in white at the time. Annoyingly i'm now selling them and you could've been a potential buyer
I'm about to knock through and create a bigger lounge in the house. At the moment, nothing is plastered and I could run cables as I see fit. I was thinking maybe about running speaker wire with 2x cables to the rear, 4x to the ceiling (for Atmos, as I understand it anyway) and then 2x for fronts, with the centre being located next to the amp. I like watching movies and TV, may sometimes be used for gaming.
I currently have a Yamaha RX-V373, which I plan to retire for a 4k and Atmos compatible receiver. I also have a 5.1 kit (Tannoy HTS101, not XP).
Is it worth the extra outlay for Atmos, and should I add to the existing speakers with 4x in the ceiling (if so, which speakers?)? I'm also looking for a cost effective but suitable future-proofed speaker wire that I can buy and would appreciate recommendations for this kind of application.
The final thought was that the front and rears are likely to be mounted on the walls, rather than stands, but ideally I want them high enough so children can't poke them, but I understand placing them really up high is probably not optimal either? Are you guys just mounting things halfway down the walls or using stands all round? Does it look weird?
Any other tips or products I should consider given it's currently a blank slate?
I currently have a Yamaha RX-V373, which I plan to retire for a 4k and Atmos compatible receiver. I also have a 5.1 kit (Tannoy HTS101, not XP).
Is it worth the extra outlay for Atmos, and should I add to the existing speakers with 4x in the ceiling (if so, which speakers?)? I'm also looking for a cost effective but suitable future-proofed speaker wire that I can buy and would appreciate recommendations for this kind of application.
The final thought was that the front and rears are likely to be mounted on the walls, rather than stands, but ideally I want them high enough so children can't poke them, but I understand placing them really up high is probably not optimal either? Are you guys just mounting things halfway down the walls or using stands all round? Does it look weird?
Any other tips or products I should consider given it's currently a blank slate?
Sorry guys... been so busy with work, and the week the speakers turned up I had my son so couldn't really get much listening time without him moaning about how I was taking him away from his beloved dinosaur shows 
Anyway, the other speaker turned after 5 (working) days! I was pulling my hair out. Parcel Force were absolutely useless as I was having to chase them all the time, countless false promises of return phone calls etc etc. I was even tempted to reactivate my Facebook account and leave some choice words on their FB page but I couldn't be bothered in the end. I had my speaker and I wanted to make up for lost time by getting them set up and listening!
I'll start off by saying, my room layout isn't great at the moment. I've been playing with speaker placement and have moved them a little further into the corners, which means my sub has had to come forward. Speaking of the sub, for music, it is now nearly always powered off. The CM10s are absolutely superb in the lower end and make my door handles vibrate just as well as the Monolith did! I'm currently decorating a couple of rooms upstairs and so will hopefully tackle the living room next year. I want to move the AV cabinet to the back of the room and wall mount the TV, meaning more room for speaker and sub placement along the front wall.
Current PJ screen placement isn't great either. I could just about wing it with the height of the 603s, and having the center speaker made it perfectly acceptable... the CM10s are a fair bit taller and so the screen blocks the top portion of the speaker. There's a noticable hit on the top end with the screen down.
I have some ideas on how to combat that when I decorate the room so it's not a big issue for now.
As for the speakers, the more I listen to them the better they become. There are still improvements to be had by playing about with placement, a better pre-amp and maybe trying some new cables but as an upgrade, I am so bloody impressed.
As you can see, the speakers are toed in slightly to the listening position and the imaging is sublime. They have such a wide soundstage but are so centrally focussed at the same time. Where my listening height was probably just in line with the 603 tweeters, with the CMs the tweeters are a little more elevated and the result being much more immersion in the sound.
Acoustic and vocal reproduction is superb, very clear and bright without being overbearing. Maybe still a little too much from the midrange (I've mentioned this before) but the tweeter is stunning. The top end was something that I think lacked in the 603s so I am very happy with what is offered by the CMs. I used to play the 603s quite loud to get what I wanted in terms of top end volume but with the CMs being so much more able in that area, I'm very conscious about the volume control now. Quite a substantial difference really.
Still some improvments to be made but I think I'll let my wallet recover a little before the next purchase. Overall though, very very happy
Anyway, the other speaker turned after 5 (working) days! I was pulling my hair out. Parcel Force were absolutely useless as I was having to chase them all the time, countless false promises of return phone calls etc etc. I was even tempted to reactivate my Facebook account and leave some choice words on their FB page but I couldn't be bothered in the end. I had my speaker and I wanted to make up for lost time by getting them set up and listening!
I'll start off by saying, my room layout isn't great at the moment. I've been playing with speaker placement and have moved them a little further into the corners, which means my sub has had to come forward. Speaking of the sub, for music, it is now nearly always powered off. The CM10s are absolutely superb in the lower end and make my door handles vibrate just as well as the Monolith did! I'm currently decorating a couple of rooms upstairs and so will hopefully tackle the living room next year. I want to move the AV cabinet to the back of the room and wall mount the TV, meaning more room for speaker and sub placement along the front wall.
Current PJ screen placement isn't great either. I could just about wing it with the height of the 603s, and having the center speaker made it perfectly acceptable... the CM10s are a fair bit taller and so the screen blocks the top portion of the speaker. There's a noticable hit on the top end with the screen down.
I have some ideas on how to combat that when I decorate the room so it's not a big issue for now.
As for the speakers, the more I listen to them the better they become. There are still improvements to be had by playing about with placement, a better pre-amp and maybe trying some new cables but as an upgrade, I am so bloody impressed.
As you can see, the speakers are toed in slightly to the listening position and the imaging is sublime. They have such a wide soundstage but are so centrally focussed at the same time. Where my listening height was probably just in line with the 603 tweeters, with the CMs the tweeters are a little more elevated and the result being much more immersion in the sound.
Acoustic and vocal reproduction is superb, very clear and bright without being overbearing. Maybe still a little too much from the midrange (I've mentioned this before) but the tweeter is stunning. The top end was something that I think lacked in the 603s so I am very happy with what is offered by the CMs. I used to play the 603s quite loud to get what I wanted in terms of top end volume but with the CMs being so much more able in that area, I'm very conscious about the volume control now. Quite a substantial difference really.
Still some improvments to be made but I think I'll let my wallet recover a little before the next purchase. Overall though, very very happy
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Soldato
Man they look beautiful. Nice work dude.
You may already be considering this, but when you decorate the room you could potentially move (or change) the PJ screen so it is mounted behind the beam? That way you'll gain some height to be above the speakers?
PS your poor fish
It is completely flush, but then it sits about 1 foot behind the (fake) wall too! IIRC it's a Gazco 135R.
You may already be considering this, but when you decorate the room you could potentially move (or change) the PJ screen so it is mounted behind the beam? That way you'll gain some height to be above the speakers?
PS your poor fish
It is completely flush, but then it sits about 1 foot behind the (fake) wall too! IIRC it's a Gazco 135R.
Soldato
That fish tank needs a new home. Bit too much bass and they'll be on the floor lol.