Epoman's Extension

[Epoman]

Been on these forums for a while and have pulled inspiration (aka stolen) from many a members gallery.

Lets start with a few pictures of my old setups. I've been through a lot of changes but the main upgrade paths are as below.

 

[Epoman]

I've been a stereophile for yonks but latterly with family commitments the opportunity to listen to music has became increasingly rare. It therefore all started with bits left over when I sold off my 2 channel setup.

Heres my mad Mana Reference turntable rack For those of you who don't know it it should only have supported my turntable but I ended up using it for all my equipment to save space. To this day I still regret selling it but SWMBO hated it with an absolute vengeance.

Linn LP12 turntable with Ekos II and Troika, Marantz something or other DVD player. Naim NAP250 driving the front stereo speakers from a Denon 3802 receiver, which ran the centres and rears.

 

[Epoman]

My first real screen was a third generation Pioneer 433MXE plasma. I rather foolishly paid £4.5k for the privilege of being an early adopter.

In case you’re wondering how I, rather imaginatively, came up with my user name, speakers were Epos ES14 front, ES11’s rear side and centre with Mission 77DS rears. Sub was a gigantic 15” Velodyne CHT15. DVD player upgraded to a Denon DVD-3800. For power the Naim was joined by 2 Denon T10’s one for the centre and the other for the rear sides. Rears were powered by the Denon receiver. Complete power amp overload!

Mana stand replaced by a boring Stands Unique job.

I left the speaker connected beneath the screen for casual viewing.

The, inherited, wallpaper added it’s own colouration to the sound.



I never got around to hiding that damn cable from the screen in trunking.

 

[Epoman]

Shot of the rear side Epos ES11’s and Mission 77ds rears

 

[Repton]

Great equipment! Wow that wallpaper is something.
Looks like a "classic Hi-Fi listener's gear" tweaked for home cinema.

 

[Epoman]

Yeah, I couldn't make my mind up whether I wanted to stay 2 channel stereo or go multi channel AV.

The wallpaper was very, very hard on the eyes.

 

[Epoman]

I then upgraded the fronts speakers to B&W's HTM9, the centre to a monster B&W HTM1. A B&W ASW750 sub brought with it less but better quality bass.

The room was too small and was completely dominated by the speakers.

 

[Epoman]

Following a house move we decided to refurbish and extend. I moved my gear to the main lounge temporarily.

Cheapo Mission speakers replaced the B&W’s which had been sold off in preparation for the new setup.

It seems that my life has been plagued by hideous wallpaper! Again, inherited

 

[Epoman]

The Pioneer 433MXE was replaced by a Panasonic 50PHD8.

When placed side by side the size advantage of the 50” is clearly evident.





The Pioneer is now my bedroom set (see later).

 

[Epoman]

Another temporary setup whilst experimenting.

After viewing Urban T’s setup when I went to buy something off him I decided that a projector was the way to go. Having never used one before I decided to experiment with this 6ft screen before splashing out on an 8 or 9’ screen to go inside the alcove.

 

[Epoman]

Amps now replaced with a more sensible Arcam AVP700/P1000 combo. I also added a Pioneer DVD recorder coz I was too stingy to pay for Sky+!

I used the Panasonic projector to play with throws and screen sizing before selling it.

 

[Epoman]

Current setup

I decided not to place the av gear in the main lounge so have gone into the new extension room instead. I'd had enough of speakers taking over the room so M&K SW85's in-wall's were the way forward.

Having family around all the time meant that I could notreally play movies or music at any great volume so sound was less important than aesthetics. I needn't have worried though as they sound fantastic with movies.

50” Pioneer 508XD looks tiny on this wall.

 

[Epoman]

View through the French windows from the main lounge.




See that slot in the ceiling above the screen.......

 

[Epoman]

....this is what its hiding, an 8’ tab tensioned Owl screen.

 

[Epoman]

Still need to paint that filler around the centre speaker and find a low light fitting that won’t foul the image from the projector.

 

[Epoman]

Clearer shots of the screen slot

 

[Epoman]

The all important equipment rack.





PS3 and Claritas HTPC join the team. I‘ve shoved the printer in there until I need the space for a dedicated blu ray player. Just don’t see the point however given that the PS3 is so damned good.

The cable attached to the front of the amp is for my Speakercraft IR thingy that allows me to control the amp whilst the cabinet door is closed. The receiver is the first black thingy from the left. Next is the dock for my Harmony remote.

 

[Epoman]

View of the rear from the hall.

 

[Epoman]

Rear wall with my Infocus IN76 projector and my rear M&K SW85’s.

 

[Epoman]

Media Centre with the My Movies plug in – my htpc is very much a work in progress, and I’ll update as I go along. Currently got 500 odd movies over 4tb’s of hard drive

 

[Epoman]

Some screen shots to follow when I work out to take better pics from my camera.

I've also got to post pics of the plasma setup in the main lounge.

 

[mallet]

Nice series of pics - especially like the "hidden" projector screen.

Good to see the interior decorating improved with the kit too

 

[DAK ATTACK!]

Smashing setup you have, nice to see the journey in pic format

Have you thought about trying something else rather than my movies such as media browser or open library manager....more to tweak and play with!

Amazed with the projector install, very, very clean well done mate!

 

[Epoman]

Thanks Mallet.

I can't take any credit for the previous décor however, they were the choice of the previous occupants. Having to live with it for a while contributed to the decision to priorities aesthetics over the equipment.

Only problem with the new colours is light control. The walls, curtains and sofas all reflect a lot of light, but this is the compromise I'm happy to make as we wanted to the wall colour the same throughout the house. I did have the option of converting an outhouse into a dedicated home cinema but didn't really want to cut myself away from the family.

I'm really pleased with the hidden drop down screen. No one ever notices it until I point it out to them.

 

[Epoman]

Thanks Dak Attack. The HTPC will be a journey all of it's own. I've backed up a lot of my SD DVD's but need to get the front end sorted. I'll try both programs you mention.