Quadraphonic Home

[Cai Campbell]

I've been waiting with baited breath for somebody to ask me about the media server and how it will work with DTS files. I'm very surprised it hasn't piqued anyone's curiosity here, especially with all the work that is being done on conversions and related stuff by our members. In any event, I'll volunteer the information.

Basically, I'm using Windows Media Player 11. I know people love to hate Microsoft and there are tons of competing solutions to WMP and yes, WMP 11 has some irksome behaviors and restrictions. But, overall, I think it is a really cool platform for managing music files and albums. However, like virtually every other software-based media player, it does not support DTS, either natively or via pass-through to an external decoder.

Enter AC3Filter. Despite its name, AC3Filter is an intelligent, transparent and configurable DTS/AC3 plugin module for WMP. It is an open-source project that is constantly being improved and updated. It works like a charm! You can configure it to do local decoding or pass through the DTS stream via SPDIF to an external decoder (which is what I do). It is still not perfect but it gets closer to perfection with each successive release.

So, the recipe is simple:

• Install WMP 11
• Install and configure AC3Filter
• Rip DTS CDs to individual WAV files
• Import WAV files into WMP library
• Play

Oh yeah, it is worth mentioning a serious pitfall to be on the lookout for for anyone who decides to pursue the SPDIF pass-through option: DO NOT USE A CREATIVE SOUNDCARD!

Successful SPDIF pass-through of a DTS CD signal (or a ripped DTS WAV file) requires that the signal be allowed through, unaltered, at 44.1 kHz. Creative soundcards notoriously resample all digital output to 48 kHz, thus destroying the integrity of the original DTS signal and rendering it useless. Even the newer Creative cards that support 96 kHz pass-through still do not allow for clean 44.1 kHz pass-through.

The moral of the story is to find a soundcard that that supports unaltered SPDIF pass-through at 44.1 kHz (for DTS CD), 48 kHz (for DTS DVD) and optionally 96 kHz (for hi-rez DTS DVD).

I use an M-Audio Revolution 5.1 soundcard and it works great!

 

[Cai Campbell]

It's been a while since I posted an update on the Quadraphonic Home. At this point, we are way, way, way over budget and almost four months past our initial completion target. There is finally an end in sight, but we still have a LOT of work to do. Anyway, here are some updated pics of the quadraphonic/surround zones:

- Kitchen (quadraphonic audio zone)
- Dining room (quadraphonic audio zone)
- Family room (5.1 A/V zone)
- Living room (quadraphonic audio zone)
- Recreation room (5.1 A/V zone)
- Master Bedroom (quadraphonic audio zone)

And just for kicks, here are some "non-quad" views of the place:

- "The House"
- Interior entryway
- Deck view 1
- Deck view 2
- Deck view 3

So, this is what's been keeping me busy for the past 15 months, and especially busy for the past couple of weeks, since I've been very involved with the finish work. More pics to come... I think you'll get a kick out of the electrical closet once it is complete, with all the amps, servers, and other goodies that will drive all those speakers!

 

[BananaSlug]

It's been a while since I posted an update on the Quadraphonic Home. At this point, we are way, way, way over budget and almost four months past our initial completion target. There is finally an end in sight, but we still have a LOT of work to do. Anyway, here are some updated pics of the quadraphonic/surround zones:

- Kitchen (quadraphonic audio zone)
- Dining room (quadraphonic audio zone)
- Family room (5.1 A/V zone)
- Living room (quadraphonic audio zone)
- Recreation room (5.1 A/V zone)
- Master Bedroom (quadraphonic audio zone)

And just for kicks, here are some "non-quad" views of the place:

- "The House"
- Interior entryway
- Deck view 1
- Deck view 2
- Deck view 3

So, this is what's been keeping me busy for the past 15 months, and especially busy for the past couple of weeks, since I've been very involved with the finish work. More pics to come... I think you'll get a kick out of the electrical closet once it is complete, with all the amps, servers, and other goodies that will drive all those speakers!

Which way does the deck face? West for the sunset? If so you'll need quad out there too

 

[Dylan Berichon]

Which way does the deck face? West for the sunset? If so you'll need quad out there too

With as much rain as we get up here I'd hope it's covered!

 

[JonUrban]

Sweet!

Hopefully, by the time you move in there will be some new stuff to play!

 

[phydo]

Cai:

Nice digs! How extensive is your "honey do" list?

Justin

 

[Cai Campbell]

Which way does the deck face? West for the sunset? If so you'll need quad out there too

The deck faces southwest. I thought about outside speakers, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I can always add them later though.

With as much rain as we get up here I'd hope it's covered!

Nope, no cover, so we'll get to enjoy the deck on the two sunny Seattle days of the year. Actually, the weather has been great this year. We had an awesome summer and we're still enjoying sunny skies here in October/November. Maybe I should thank global warming...

Sweet!

Hopefully, by the time you move in there will be some new stuff to play!

Gads, I have a ton of stuff to catch up on! It has been almost 16 months since we tore down the old house and that's how long all my gear has been in storage. It doesn't seem like much surround stuff has come out but when I look at the stack I've accumulated there has actually been quite a bit.

Cai:

Nice digs! How extensive is your "honey do" list?

Justin

I think I can sum that up in two words: black hole.

 

[berninahusq]

Very Kewl!

 

[phydo]

Cai:

How about an update when you have time?

Justin

 

[Cai Campbell]

Cai:

How about an update when you have time?

Justin

Dang, this house is taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R to finish! We're taking it month-by-month... We were hoping to move in October, then November, then December and now we're hoping for January!

It's getting close... but it's the old 80/20 rule. 80% of the house is completed in 20% of the time and that last 20% takes 80% of the time!

We are getting close though... interior is (mostly) complete and final paint is underway. We're scheduled for final electronics install on December 20th but I'm getting nervous that we might have to push that back. It depends on if our cabinet guy and painter can finish up by then.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[Cai Campbell]

I just got word from the electrical contractor that they've had to push my final installation job to January 2nd.

Probably for the best, actually... takes some of the pressure off to get final trim and paint completed this next week.

 

[Nachosgrande]

Looks great. I have never seen anything like this before. How is the bass reproduction in those in-ceiling speakers?

 

[Cai Campbell]

I can't believe it has been almost eighteen months since I undertook this project but we are finally reaching the end! The house still has lots of detail work left but it is livable. My family and I have been living there over the last week as we continue to work on the house. The big thing this last week has been installation of the electronics! I have new pictures! Sorry that they suck, but they are from my cell phone and I'm a lousy photographer anyway.

The two pictures below are of "The Rack". The equipment here is responsible for lighting control, music distribution/amplification and computer networking. From past messages, you might remember there are seven zones, four 4.0 audio zones and three 5.1 audio/video zones. The four receivers you see on the rack power the four 4.0 audio zones. However, audio from the music server is also routed to the other three zones. The three A/V zones have equipment local to those rooms, which is why you see four receivers instead of seven. The three computers include a two terabyte DTS audio music server, a Windows domain controller for the home computer network and a generic file server. Plus there's gobs of random pieces of equipment for all the home automation and A/V distribution and remote control. Mostly stuff from RTI and Lutron (if that means anything to you).

- Rack view one
- Rack view two

I've included pictures of most of the zones before (well, at least the ceilings to show the quad speaker layout). Here are some pics of my dedicated media room. Having quad throughout the house is nice, but for SERIOUS listening, here is where you'll find me. I've got pics of the room at the beginning stages of setup: first with no equipment and then with just the speakers. I'll include more pics as I get further along in the process.

- Bare room center view
- Bare room right view
- Bare room left view
- Speakers center view
- Speakers right view
- Speakers left view

In case you're wondering, the 90 degree side placement for the rear speakers is purposeful. Equidistant speaker placement with the rears at 90 degrees from center is my favorite surround layout and the room was designed specifically for this configuration.

All the setup is in a state of flux right now and there is so much to do! But, I have reached the point where I've FINALLY been able to listen to some surround music on my systems! Having quality surround music piped to all the main living areas is AWESOME! I almost cried as I walked from room-to-room when I fired it up for the first time. It sounds really, really good. Even if you don't pay attention to the surround elements and it's just there as ambient or background music, it sounds so much more distinct and involving than a stereo-based music distribution system. I actually laid out the individual surround sound fields so that even when you're walking "between" two zones, you're in the middle of a surround sound field. For example, when you leave one zone, you might pass under the back left and back right speakers, but the closest speakers in the next zone are front left and front right. This way you never get stuck in a "double stereo" half-zone. It really came out nice and it is a pure joy to walk around the house with DTS piped music.

As for the media room, I've got SACD and DVD-A capabilities up and running. The room is still sparse and acoustically is overly lively. But that will change as I continue to mass-load the room with media, furniture and equipment. But the important milestone here is that I was finally able to sit down for some serious surround listening on my own equipment for the first time in 1.5 years! What's the surroundophile equivalent of blue balls? Let's just say it was sonic release that has been long overdue. I was one happy camper!

Okay, sorry for the rambling report, but those of you who have been aware of this project and the length of time I've been "out of the running" will appreciate this. I am so happy to be back and I'm having a ball!

:banana:

 

[zabble]

Wow, That is too cool.

I don't know how you lasted so long without surround, but you're going to have one sweet honeymoon!

 

[Old Quad Guy]

That’s totally futuristic! Way cool… Thanks for sharing the photos.

I was in a fancy Doctors office the other day that just redid their office and they put stereo speakers in the upper parts of the wall on each side and I immediately thought about your house. I can’t imagine how great your new home must sound.

Congratulations on all your hard work!

 

[phydo]

Cai:

Wow! The pictures look like they were taken in a high-end electronics show room! When you have your house warming are we going to be allowed to eat chips and dip in there?

Justin

 

[JonUrban]

Very sweet! I love the lighting in the room. Man, you're close now!!!

:wave

 

[deepsky4565]

Wow, that's nice Cai. Could I come by and see it this Summer? Thanks

 

[Cai Campbell]

Yeah, I'll definitely be ready for guests this summer. I'll try to organize something formal but if any of you guys are "in the neighborhood" over the summer drop me a PM and we can probably arrange a visit.

The media room is at 87% right now. I'm having some custom record racks built and they're not in, but all my digital media is in place. As you may have read elsewhere my Russound QT-1 went tits up on me but thanks to member "deja vu" I should have a working replacement soon.

The room is a complete mess at the moment, with boxes and wires scattered all over the place. As soon as I get it cleaned up I'll post some more pics. In the meantime, I've been catching up on a 1.5 year backlog of surround material. There has been more released than you might think!

 

[Cai Campbell]

Here's a recent development of my distributed audio system that you guys might find interesting. As you know, I can play DTS audio files from the media server through up to seven zones in the house. At first I was going to limit myself to only DTS audio, but the obvious limitation here is the selection of titles. Even if I include DTS conversions of legacy and recent hi-rez material, there is just not enough variety to whet my whistle.

I could just rip my stereo CDs to the server and let the receivers' built-in surround modes do the job, but what fun is that? Instead, I've put a vintage QSD-2 Variomatrix decoder to the task.

So, my media server can output two ways: digital SPDIF (for DTS material) and analog stereo (for anything else). The analog stereo output goes into the QSD-2. The QSD-2 inputs into a Creative DTS-610 encoder. Digital output from the media server also inputs into the Creative DTS-610 (through a pass-through connector). The Creative DTS-610 then connects to a digital signal distributor/amplifier which feeds the seven zones.

This way I get the best of both worlds: discrete DTS-encoded surround and QS Variomatrix for stereo material! It works great! The only downside is that the Creative DTS-610 must be manually set to bypass mode. I wish it was smart enough to automatically bypass when there is no analog signal, but it's not that big of a deal really.