louie3
23-07-2011, 20:37
Glad I finally discovered this forum.
I have been a committed (my wife says I should be...) audiophile for something over 40 years, going through all the typical growing pains systems and equipment.
For the last decade or so I have been able to enjoy a dedicated listening room which has allowed me to have a consistent sound baseline as I evaluate new or newly modified equipment.
The room is 20 feet square, which presents some problems, but I am happy with the sound after significant treatment....bass traps in all four corners, diffusion on the front wall and ceiling.
The walls are concrete block and the floor is a concrete slab which means the bass I get is pretty tight.
The only real issue is that the ceiling is low...a little over seven feet. This has created some "interesting" problems with top end "splatter" which I have been able to control with diffusion material liberally applied.
The system (today) is analog only. I have a Phillips LHH 500 CD player but it has even been plugged in lately.
Current record player is a MusicMaster .5 idler drive housed in a large, heavy multi layer plinth, SME 309 tonearm mounted on a VPI HW 19 acrylic arm board (Plinth designed for that), Nordost Frey tone arm cable to a Luxman EQ 88 tube phono stage to a Stereo Knight TVC and home brewed input switch box.
25-foot cables run from the TVC to a pair of Classe' DR 8's configured as monoblocks with either Synergistic Research or Kimber TC 8 (new style) short speaker cables to, depending on the phase of the moon, a pair of Mobile Fidelity OML-2's or a much modded pair of Magneplanar SMGc's.
I went through a period where I became convinced moving magnet cartridges were the way to Nirvana, so I have several, including a Clearaudio Maestro Wood with Soundsmith ruby/optimized stylus combo, a Signet TK 10 ML and a Grado G1+ with a "Gold" stylus.
Also in the box is a 20+year-old van den Hul MC 10, which I have gotten to sound right only in the last year, a 103 in an aluminum body, and a recently acquired 103R with Soundsmith ruby cantilever and fineline stylus, a couple of the 10X series Dynavectors and an AT OC 9.
When running a moving coil I use either a Hagerman Piccolo or a K&K SUT, loaded at the secondary with something close to the internal impedance of the cartridge.
As the Magneplanar modifications evolved, I was able to hear more of what the moving coils, if carefully set up, could do, which led me to the 103's, and sent the venerable MC-10 to Soundsmith.
I spent most of my formative years listening to rock and roll, but have gradually begun to spend more of my listening time with Classical, especially after exposure to the local symphony in a work-related way.
If you have questions after this long-winded thing, don't hesitate.
Louie3
I have been a committed (my wife says I should be...) audiophile for something over 40 years, going through all the typical growing pains systems and equipment.
For the last decade or so I have been able to enjoy a dedicated listening room which has allowed me to have a consistent sound baseline as I evaluate new or newly modified equipment.
The room is 20 feet square, which presents some problems, but I am happy with the sound after significant treatment....bass traps in all four corners, diffusion on the front wall and ceiling.
The walls are concrete block and the floor is a concrete slab which means the bass I get is pretty tight.
The only real issue is that the ceiling is low...a little over seven feet. This has created some "interesting" problems with top end "splatter" which I have been able to control with diffusion material liberally applied.
The system (today) is analog only. I have a Phillips LHH 500 CD player but it has even been plugged in lately.
Current record player is a MusicMaster .5 idler drive housed in a large, heavy multi layer plinth, SME 309 tonearm mounted on a VPI HW 19 acrylic arm board (Plinth designed for that), Nordost Frey tone arm cable to a Luxman EQ 88 tube phono stage to a Stereo Knight TVC and home brewed input switch box.
25-foot cables run from the TVC to a pair of Classe' DR 8's configured as monoblocks with either Synergistic Research or Kimber TC 8 (new style) short speaker cables to, depending on the phase of the moon, a pair of Mobile Fidelity OML-2's or a much modded pair of Magneplanar SMGc's.
I went through a period where I became convinced moving magnet cartridges were the way to Nirvana, so I have several, including a Clearaudio Maestro Wood with Soundsmith ruby/optimized stylus combo, a Signet TK 10 ML and a Grado G1+ with a "Gold" stylus.
Also in the box is a 20+year-old van den Hul MC 10, which I have gotten to sound right only in the last year, a 103 in an aluminum body, and a recently acquired 103R with Soundsmith ruby cantilever and fineline stylus, a couple of the 10X series Dynavectors and an AT OC 9.
When running a moving coil I use either a Hagerman Piccolo or a K&K SUT, loaded at the secondary with something close to the internal impedance of the cartridge.
As the Magneplanar modifications evolved, I was able to hear more of what the moving coils, if carefully set up, could do, which led me to the 103's, and sent the venerable MC-10 to Soundsmith.
I spent most of my formative years listening to rock and roll, but have gradually begun to spend more of my listening time with Classical, especially after exposure to the local symphony in a work-related way.
If you have questions after this long-winded thing, don't hesitate.
Louie3