Decisions #1 - The Processor

Alright I'm getting serious about moving this thing along. And it's a welcome distraction lately. And the wife is wondering when this 'project' is going to be 'done'. I'm vulnerable to analysis paralysis, the perfect crucifies the possible, and I let the cascading effects of system design decisions prevent me from accepting otherwise reasonable compromises... so got to get some things figured out to get moving. And stop buying 'good deals' on ebay before I know what I'm actually doing... so here goes!

Decisions #1

The Processor

Obviously this old Lexicon needs to get replaced, but with what? I want at least 7.2.4, Atmos, DTS-all-the-things. I do not need to virtualize speakers, I really just need a decoder with a volume dial. (actually I don't even really need a volume dial). I don't really need ARC/Audyssey either as I can do my own EQ/alignment if I have to - but prettty much every modern processor comes with all these things nowadays, so I probably will end up with it. I do need HDMI switching, 4K60 (HDMI2.0) is fine for me for the foreseeable future. I could keep this external but would prefer not to.

The candidates:

The obvious choice would be a newer Lexicon/rebranded Synthesis. A lightly used MC-12 is surprisingly cheap, but no HMDI so I would need to pair with an outboard HDMI switch and - more imporantly - no PCM surround, no atmos. A 12HD is still relatively cheap and has HDMI, but still no atmos. For not much more I could get new. I think I need to just plan on a buying a new processor.

JBL SDP-75 (Trinnov Altitude) - WAY out of my price range, but...drool. This thing is basically a massive DSP attached to a computer. You can watch the Atmos objects fly around in the 3D space. It's what all the geekiest of surround freaks are using right now.

JBL SDP-55 Looks like it has what I'm looking for - wait that back panel looks awfully like an Anthem AVM70. Is this the same hardware? Sure looks like it from the back. Dante is intriguting, I use it all the time in my commercial designs. But I don't think I want to spend the coin on the rest of my system to make it worthwhile. 

Emotiva - I've heard enough ????s to be a little gunshy 

Monoprice? Just like Harbor Freight, I've learned my lesson to not buy things you can plug in.

Anthem AVM70- 17 channels, good selection of formats, HDMI@4K60- seems like it will give me everything I need at the right price. But, it's vaporware. Right? Oh well - Sold! Pre-order submitted, now just waiting. Not that I would be ready if it landed tomorrow... I know I'm taking a leap of faith with this one - release delays do not inspire confidence. But I think I can accept some flakiness if need be (I say that now, not with the kiddo waiting to watch another pixar movie before bedtime...)

The Unboxing - Part 2

The SUBS

There are TWO of these monsters - 12" in a wedge shaped enclosure, mirrored L/R pair. I was more worried about these than the mains, as the cones are paper and the surrounds are foam.

NO PRAHBLEM! They look gorgeous The foam feels fine, the cones move easily.

The EQUALIZER

One of the fun things about Synthesis is figuring out who makes all the other goods that JBL puts their name on. In 1997 one of the top signal processing makers was RANE and this is obviously made by them.

Obviously in 2020 we're going all digital so this thing is going away.

The PROCESSOR

It makes me sad that this thing is basically worthless. At the time the Lexicon MC-1 was THE THING to have. I have been told that even as a 2-channel preamp this thing is incredible, but you probably couldn't convince anyone serious about 2-channel that today. This thing was even pre-DTS. I still use an MC-1 in my theater, and it sounds good for what it is, but honestly I'm not sure who would even want this thing at this point.

So far so good!

The Unboxing - Part 1

I am a little trepidatious as the system has been stored in an outdoor shed, so hopefully several hundred freeze/thaw temperature swings have not done too much damage to the speakers. I assume the electronics are fine, but of course will put them all through their paces. If anything should come up bum, there are usually most of these units or parts on fleabay if I need to swap something in.

Here we go!

 The Fronts...

They are a big reason I'm so excited for this system. At the time, JBL believed that music and movies were different things. One of the uniquely cool features of the system is switchable speaker modes. Not just signal processing presets, I mean the speakers actually change drivers and crossovers via electro-mechanical activation. This front main speakers uniquely are equipped with both a horn-loaded HF compression driver as well as the famous 1 inch titanium “TI” tweeter, in addition to dual 6” butyl-surround mid-bass drivers. In “Movie” mode, the tweeter is disconnected and the horn-loaded compression driver and both midbass drivers operate. In “Music” mode, the lower midbass driver and the horn-loaded compression driver are disconnected, and the tweeter kicks on with its own crossover circuit, forming a marvelous 2-way top cabinet. In conjunction with the 12” woofers that form the base of the let/right stacks, it makes a killer two-channel system that approximates the legendary L7 speaker. But biamped and I get to have fun with the crossover.

I forgot how BIG these are! Pictures do not do it justice. 

The 'Mode Control' input is where a control voltage is applied which actuates the crossover switchover. The processor and amplifiers are all interconnected by these 5-pin DIN cables which control power and mode. Something I get to reverse-engineer as it will probably be handled by my Crestron now.

These speakers are in fantastic condition. Only slight wear on the corners, the grilles are in excellent shape. I'm really getting excited.

The Center...

Configured horizontally (they also made a vertical version)

Pretty similar with the exception of the tweeter and the addtion of an adjustable leg to set the correct angle. Which I believe is very important due to the horns. It does NOT switch modes, I guess JBL assumes that music is a two-channel affair only.

Still have the registration card. Should I send it in? The system was never technically sold to an end-user, so I think JBL would have to honor the warranty!

The Surrounds...

Now HERE is where it gets interesting... these are some of the best Dipole speakers of the day. Even borrowed down from the huger Synthesis 2 system. But 'apparently' Diploes are dead- everyone uses monopoles, or bipoles, or well maybe still dipoles because they have these really great ones already built into their theater, or they are too close to the MLP. Crikey. Do I try and find two more of these? Get rid of these? Reconfigure them somehow? I have thought about this A LOT and will write more about it tomorrow. (hint: I've been studying the crossover diagram) It's late.

same divers on the opposite side - none on the flat side facing the listening area. These fire along the walls towards the screen and rear walls. In case you aren't hip to the lingo, dipoles are set up with opposing speakers facing 90 degrees from the listener, and wired in reverse polarity from front to back creating a diffuse 'null' area towards the listener. This is from back when Pro-Logic surrond content was a lo-fi narrow bandwidth mono signal that sounded best smeared around the sides of the room. No longer what you want with 5.1/7.1/11.4.6???

Next... Electronics unboxing? Or Subs? Probably subs!

D-Day

Well the gear landed. I forgot how many boxes there were. Holy crap what have I gotten myself in to?

But on the upside, there's a bonus 5-channel amplifier! That makes 10 x 125, 2 x 200, and 12 x 60 with the ATI (Crestron) amp. Of course I'm going to use them all. Yikes I might need two racks.

Moving them downstairs was a workout by myself. I am not looking forward to the day we eventually move.
 

You're going to need a bigger rack...

My whole life I've wanted to have a real rack of my own. I've put in or designed hundreds of them full of shiny black boxes that I would mentally contort into absolutely needing for myself because why wouldn't a house need a 32x32 matrix switcher?

So for years I've been on the lookout and quietly letting people know - "hey - if you come across a rack send it my way". Finally this year I've acquired not one but TWO racks and boy did I think I had it made.

Rack 1: 18 space (thanks Andrew!)

Rack 2: 28 space (thanks Mark!)

Both have casters, doors, removable sides, rear rail. The works!

Then I had this crazy idea to resurrect this monster audio system. And you know what? It takes a TON of rack space. Not even all the gear is in there and I'm minimum 35U with only a few empty spaces including required minimum airflow specified in the JBL manuals. Sh!t.

There was this perfect 44U rack that I had a line on, then my team completely let me down. Thanks a LOT Dylan.

So, if anyone has a 35-45U enclosed rack on wheels, I'm interested.

Soon.

Because the gear is on the way.

The Before times

So here’s the ‘before’ pictures. Honestly a hodge-podge of gear, audio is all from the same era.

The "Media Room"

Notice the bunny ears because like HELL I'm paying Comcast for the privelege of watching TV. And the picture is way better... when it's a clear day

My 'outgoing' pile of gear on the right. The sharp eye might notice a 12-channel Crestron amplifier which I thought I didn't have a need for until I realized people are cramming oodles of speakers in their theaters these days. So, that's what inspired me to say 'fuck it' and go fullly immersive with this audio project.

The famous 4410 monitors, which I am a little sad and nervous to pull out of my main listening area. I LOVE these speakers. I've been through a lot with these speakers. I will be pissed if I go through all this effort and regret pulling these babies out. I don't think I'll ever bring myself to get rid of them. …and no sub. The low-end on the 4410s is so tight and deep (enough) that I never actually got the nerve to try and blend in a sub for fear of muddying it up. 

 

The center speaker - M&K 150 - still sounds crystal clear even with some toddler-provided modifications to the dust caps. Still rocking a Lexicon MC-1, which I picked up years after it was surpassed by the MC-4, from a home theater client that I used to calibrate CRT projectors for. He said it stopped working one day and he went out and bought a different one, and gave me the broken one in exchange for a video touch-up. Some google-fu and a $50 power supply later, and to this day It does the job beautifully. I actually made a few bucks buying dead MC-1s and re-selling them after swapping in new power supplies. The Xbox is the only thing in my photo less than 20 years old.

And the industry's little secret.... monoprice. 4 input 4K60 4:4:4 HDMI switch with RS-232 control for $50? Yespleez. Had to upgrade my video switch and add an audio extractor when I went 4K, because, well, Apple. Two generations of Crestron handheld remotes, because I'm a hoarder.

And some weird ball speakers for rears… The projector is a Sony 295ES and I love it.

OK here's the ugly underbelly... on the other side of the screen wall is the storage room/electronics pile. On display for the world. I can't wait to clean this up into a proper rack.

I’m also a little sad about pulling out this amplifier. It is a BEAST and a unique little animal of its own. A bridgeable 4 channel 100/150 watts, the HK Citation 5.1 THX. Usually these run in packs powering uber stacks of speakers, my little lonesome guy is using three channels for my front three speakers. I’ve never wanted for more power for my mains. Rears powered by a little Parasound ZAMP which doubles as a headphone amplifier when the family goes to sleep and I need to blow some shit up in call of duty.

Black box on the left is a Crestron CP2E currently running my sprinklers, and on the right is an MC3 running my lightig and theater controls. MC4 is here and will replace the MC3 because I'm a glutton for punishment.

Network is gonna get a new home too :)

A 1KVA UPS I'm refurbishing, so the internet will NEVER go down.

OK - inventory complete - now for the plan...

Home(less) Theater

Can a surround-sound system be considered "vintage" at this point?

For interesting reasons, I am about to acquire a complete JBL Synthesis Three system, circa 1999, that has been languishing in storage for almost 20 years.

It was the first generation of the Synthesis line to incorporate digital surround sound decoding (Dolby Digital “AC-3” and the "OG" DTS) in addition to old-school matrix surround (“Pro-Logic”).

This system was my first exposure into real high-end home cinema, and has always since been top of mind for admittedly as much nostalgic as objective reasons.

My goal is to resurrect this gem and bring it all the way into 2020 with the latest object-based audio formats, and hopefully unlock some potential hidden by the highly compressed digital formats of the early 2000s. (Remember? ALL 5.1 channels of Dolby Digital had to fit in HALF of the ANALOG audio track of a laserdisc!)

Well, at least as much audio as I can realistically jam into my basement. And without spending $10K on the latest top-of-the-range Synthesis processor (which seems to be a rebranded Trinnov, instead of the Lexicon like back then).

Basically I'm going to take this thing from 5.1 to 11.2. It's going to be quite a journey and I'm going to tell you all about it right here.

Jeesus I can't believe I am going to have thirteen speakers in my basement.