Hello AoS!
For one of my first posts here I wanted to detail my system and create a working 'system blog' to journal the progress on my setup. Of course, I also want to share it with all of you.
This system is going to be what I consider my penultimate. Essentially, I will be incorporating everything I have learned about sound and hi-fi over the last four years into this system, to create what I consider to be the best possible sound I can achieve within my means. Hopefully through doing this I can learn even more, continue to progress my knowledge and improve the sound quality of my system.
Thankfully I have been blessed in that my partner (wife) has been highly understanding of my hobby and has always agreed to allow me to have a dedicated listening room for my stereo. I would consider this to be one of the most important components of an 'ultimate' system - a space in which you have free reign with to do as you please. This is a big part of why I am even bothering to go to this extent.
My listening space has gone through many, many changes over the past 4 years. I first started out with a fairly humble setup, comprising of vintage audio equipment, and basically kept swapping pieces out and buying and selling, attempting to find a sound that I really enjoyed at a low cost. For me, that's something that is important - keeping it within budget. I'm not a rich man and I don't have a ton of money to displace on a stereo, so for me I need to keep costs down in certain areas in order to achieve what I'm after.
Fast-forward to about 8 months ago. I found what I consider is going to be my ultimate set of speakers - a pair of RWOFostex LS/3V studio monitors (see here for more info: http://www.preservationsound.com/?p=7156). At this point in time I decided it was time to put together my ultimate stereo system, with these at the forefront. With these speakers and a dedicated listening space at hand, I knew I could put together something sensational. Unfortunately, when I picked up the speakers, one of the woofers was completely missing. I found one, non-working, and it took me 7 months to get it repaired. It was a long wait, but well worth it!
And that brings me to about a month ago. Once the speakers were working, I could start planning the stereo. Although my listening space was quite small (10' x 13'), I figured with room treatments, I could make them work. I purchased a UMIK-1 omnidirectional microphone and started measuring and addressing the acoustic issues inside the room. This was rather challenging, and I am still learning about this today, but I managed to achieve a pretty good sound in that little room.
Now, that brings us to about a week ago. For Christmas, my wife did something I would have never expected. She told me she was willing to give me the master bedroom for my listening space. In fact, she provided some pretty good reasoning for why it would make sense! There's a reason I married her.. anyway, this meant some big things. The stereo would finally be in a room that was more meant for its size - those 15" drivers need room to breathe! And, on top of that, small rooms have real problems with bass, something that is very difficult to overcome without spending a fortune. It was now that I could truly create my ultimate listening space, and so that is what this thread is all about.
Here are a couple pictures of where my stereo system is at:
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The gear in question is the following:
Speakers - RWOFostex LS/3V
Amplifier - Yaqin MC-10T, running Winged =C= EL34s, Mullard 12AX7s and Sylvania 12AU7As
Source - Audiolab M-DAC
Media - Customized music server
As well, as you can tell there are room treatments in the room. I have bass traps in all four corners, I also have the Primacoustic London 10 Kit, a pair of 60Hz tuned membrane bass traps and a custom made skyline diffusor.
I still have more work to do, as you can tell. This is my to-do list:
-Purchase a UMIK-1 microphone for measuring acoustics - DONE
-Order the Primacoustic London 10 Kit to start with room treatments - DONE
-Purchase a new listening seat to raise ear height to tweeter level (44") - DONE
-Move out extra gear from room - DONE
-Get rid of any extra gear/parts - DONE
-Decide on speaker location
-Purchase and install new drapes - DONE
-Purchase and install a soundproof door
-Install room treatments
-Remove large armoire in corner of the room - DONE
-Purchase an 11'x13' area rug to put into the room
-Look into room treatments for the ceiling
-Get rid of the rack, have amplifier on its own stand on the floor and move to a headless set-up
I would love to invite any feedback or comments, especially if anyone has any suggestions about something that could be done better. Although I have learned much over the past 4 years, I am certain there are others out there who know more than me.
Thanks for following along, I hope you enjoyed!