Building my first cinema room

The Dali's are F**KING AMAZING. Best decision ever. Everything just sounds phenomenal.

I kept the XTZ Spirits I was testing - and there's just no comparison. The Spirits are sadly just an expensive, poor quality speaker (distorts at low volumes, sounds lifeless). I wish I'd sent them back to be honest :(

I was going to ask how you have been with the Dalis, but i think the first line says it all! 😎

I don´t know what to think about the Spirits cause the feedback has been way different, apart the fact that they are lot more neutral and top end might seem toned down compared to Dali`s and also Monitor Audios as one review mentioned.

You didn´t sent them back, what?

Monolith making you happy? Adding second soon? 🤓
 
I can't comment on the MA; but I fell in love with the Dali's the moment I heard them.

If you like bright and wide - they are perfect. I use the Oberon On-wall's and they are brilliant. They really pack a punch and can go to volumes far higher than I can possibly listen to. Detail is crisp and accurate.

You didn´t sent them back, what?

Yeah, I kept them stupidly as I was going to use them in the kitchen/living room. But I paired them up with a really nice Cambridge Amp (and a Yahama amp and a Denon amp ...) and they always sound rubbish. They start clipping at incredibly low volumes and sound rubbish.

Put it this way, on my workstation, I've got a set of Presonus Eris 4.5 active studio monitors (and a set of Mackie CR-X 4's) - and at £100 - they absolutely wipe the floor with the ~£600's worth of amp/speakers (XTZ's) sat next to them. They are clearer, have a superb stereo image, don't distort, play louder, dig deeper for bass.

Genuinely, I love the appearance of the Spirit 6's - but that's where it ends. They are hugely disappointing to listen to; I get better sound from my budget desk speakers.

Monolith making you happy? Adding second soon?

Me and the Mono get along much better now. For the size of it, I'd still expect it to pack more of a punch - but its more than adequate for the overall sound. I did wire the room for 2x Subs (one in each corner) - so I can add another in the future if I want (I do keep my eyes on Ebay to see a grade-B one :) )
 
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The on wall’s look great, I showed my wife a picture of your room but she just won’t have speakers on the wall at the front. I have considered in walls but I’m not keen on cutting a fairly large hole in my plasterboard just in case I don’t like them. It’d be a right pain to repair.
 
The on-walls are pretty discrete to be honest. I made mine into a feature with the oak edging on the speakers to go with the oak feature wall.

The surround speakers I have are all white, so apart from the grille, they blend in pretty well.

Patching holes is plasterboard is easy peasy. I cut my freshly plastered room to bits to run the speaker wires, see Building my first cinema room
 
Great room @bennyav

Did you end up with a leftover Oberon speaker ? I'm considering them for my room but one thing that puts me off is that they're only sold in pairs.
 
No spares I'm afraid. I'd installed them in pairs.
 
No spares I'm afraid. I'd installed them in pairs.

It's ok @bennyav, I wasn't after a spare speaker !

Just wondering what Oberons you have and how you got round the odd number issue if you have a 5 or 7 channel setup.
 
Ah, having reread the thread I'm guessing you're using an Oberon Vokal as your centre speaker @bennyav
 
Ah, sorry, that's what I get for replying early in the morning when I'm half asleep.

I have the Vokal as the centre; its a fairly compact unit (as far as full depth centre speakers go). I used the false wall to recess the majority of the speaker, so the grille sits flush with the wall itself.

I'm currently 5.1.4 - but pulled enough speaker cable for 7.2.4 if I ever decide to do it. To be honest, the room is so filled with sound, its just not necessary though - I'm so happy with the end result; its a real pleasure to watch TV, Movies and listen to Music.

There's still some wall art, curtains and maybe some sound treatment to come, but its exactly what I wanted it to be right now.
 

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