Home Cinema Build with XTZ Spirit 6s & Cambridge Audio Aero Surrounds

[Pepperamip]

It's been a while since I posted anything aos as I've been busy turning my living room into a mini home cinema.

It started when I bought an Epsom projector for the kids room and painted a black widow screen directly onto their bedroom wall.

One day the old boy (my dad) joked about drilling a hole through the wall the projector backed onto, which is the dividing wall between the living room and the kids bedroom, and watching the PJ in the living room. So that's what I decided to do.

Little did I know at that point that behind the stud wall was solid brick much denser than a breeze block and it took a few weekends to get through and start making it good.

Here's some pics.....https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200210/dcb4b59777e08bdd95a4ebc51cef74f7.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200210/bfc2b4bf37779fd271d77e6b8e4af5f5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200210/469ce359e7309576470d3c9141fe8237.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200210/df99bae589f84dbcecdcc6ce155411a3.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200210/76b83d05b79a4a39cdb57d7dfc9eb72b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200210/c3b18a095e5cd7b5acf9b3876d33a485.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200210/7129ea8d6e5fef4504af10b844ece883.jpg

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[Pepperamip]

Once the oversized glory hole was finished off I bought a cheap pull down projector screen.

I wanted a grey one really to enhance contrast and black levels but for some reason grey manual screens are few and far between especially at the modest size I wanted (80in)

Ended up buying an 80in white screen from sapphire and bolted it the ceiling with a couple of plasterboard anchors.

Here how the screen looks with my big old klipsch speakers still in place.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200210/666c4594cd80d2b8239da089fc8c0e88.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200210/dd517ea4424449f205f2b0a3af69d6be.jpg

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[Pepperamip]

At this point I realised I needed more than just 2 channel stereo so I started selling off my existing kit and bought a pioneer SC LX57 AV amp.

Initially I wanted an atmos amp and I would've installed some in ceiling speakers for the atmos effects but i soon realised you get so much more for your money with an older used model.

I needed av amp that could send an independent hdmi signal to a second zone so Marantz, Denon, Onkyo were all in the mix. In the end I picked up the Pioneer locally for £280, a £920 reduction on what it would've cost new in 2013. AV amps don't seem to hold their value at all which ideal if your happy to take a risk on a used one.

Out went the wide low level oak cabinet and in came a cantilever tv stand.

I'm still getting used to having everything on show. The central stem of the new stand meant the av amp being off to the right. This does nothing for the symetry but the extra feeling of space it brings is worth it I think.

Heres how used to look compared to now. A daylight pic for the new look would've helped. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200211/6a5893391789985334cf97ab06ebbf66.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200211/6e1b93afb0de9cbe1b2f7ad96a93af0e.jpg

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[Pepperamip]

This is when I started looking for speakers for the centre and surrounds. I came close to buying an older model Klipsch centre from the states, which is the only place you can get them from now. The condition of them were average at best and the shipping cost was almost double the speaker's value so I binned that idea.

Finally decided I wanted some discreet on wall speakers. I wouldve tried in walls if the deph behind the plasterboard was sufficient but it wasn't with a measly 3cm so on wall's it was.

Knowing nothing about on wall speakers I spent hours investigating Dali Oberon, KEF KT range, QAccoustics 7000s, Cambridge Audio Minx, M&K (out of my reach) I settled on xtz spirit range. I'll admit I've never heard of them but they are excellent value compared to speakers of a similar design. I ordered 3 white Spirit 6s as these were the only ones in stock at the time. I wouldve preferred 2 white and 1 black for the centre but patience is a trait I have little of when wanting new gear.

Whilst I was waiting for the XTZs I noticed Cambridge audio were selling their Aero Bipole Surrounds refurbished for £100 a pair albeit in a dark wood finish. I took a punt and bought these too and then sprayed them the colour of the wall they would be on.

I also managed to hide the wires behind the plasterboard with the help of plumb line and some Gaffer tape. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200211/a3737c7249fc5f99b3be89d8277af4aa.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200211/ae3195f5b23d1c12c84571a2d3872e62.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200211/e35de208375ba393251b6d40343e104a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200211/f6d660063ed13d7b3b28ca814748b25c.jpg

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[Pepperamip]

This is turning into a monologue! .....never mind.

With the aeros painted and up, I moved onto the front three. The build of the Spirit 6s are impressive given that they are made from MDF. They are rounded off at the edges/corners and the white ones have a pleasing two tone look with the covers off. Just a shame the covers aren't magnetic as this would remove the 6 black holes on show.

Although labelled as a centre speaker it seems many users have 3 of them for left / centre / right so this is route I took. They are compact at cm 48h x 20w x 14d but in no do they disappear or become unnoticeable once up. They have 2 pre bunged rear firing bass ports and a high frequency jumper that can be removed to give a boost in the treble. How this works I have no idea but its clever idea and makes them tunable.

Here's a few more pics. I chased the wire for the L and R so made that good last night and repainted.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200212/a2c632b0cd8753bd3e34c312a2f5ece6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200212/584288ac2804fc83d7385f8868e37666.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200212/4efc2b798ba6d2e230369bb6edf7810b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200212/3c91fa563e0143f3364a4e4c93fba1c0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200212/2421ee80244b73a073439743bdb85acf.jpg

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[Pepperamip]

Walls have now been made good and I've painted a black widow screen onto my retractable screen.

Just wasn't happy with the image onto the matt white. Gotta say I was not sure about doing this given the screen will be rolled up most of the time but with a good primer and 3 weeks curing I'm hoping it stand the test of time.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200217/43d4c82ad689af0253ae6fc7defa9ed3.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200217/32c6d1055b6c45bb1feaad4e57821942.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200217/26ded2c5c172ef0acc5004597885b44e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200217/223f09b349bbd44bb036990eac7ab3d5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200217/27c24ba3cbf8f9d823a0f39e915fc58f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200217/fb4808732bf031a837dad61af7fea132.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200217/8683a5a0ca0917d74696c350130edd28.jpg

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[Gazjam]

My kinda thread...

Good to see the progress and your thinking behind every decision.
Looking forward to the next episode!

[Macca]

Really impressive - you don't fancy coming round to do mine do you? ;)

Looks like a good picture on the telly, what's it like with the projector?