My Constant State of Change System...

[cube-tube]

A spicy pair of custom Odyssey Audio Stratos monoblocks for the Maggies!



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2315729214-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2315729281-6.jpg

Even Sir Bentley already approves of them!

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2315729676-6.jpg


And yes, I'm running them through a heavy duty extension cable my father made many many years ago. Stupid ground issues in this room/house (not 60Hz hum, but an annoying buzz). This is just going to put the dedicated 20amp runs to this room to the top of the priority list for this coming fall.

[Puffin]

Lovely room and kit....oh and the cat's not bad too.

[Wakefield Turntables]

That's one contented cat. Nice monoblocks as well!

[cube-tube]

Thanks for the kind words, gentlemen.

Little Sir Bentley is a good kitty. In fact, he was my father's kitty. He's my music listening buddy and my little boy now. He follows me everywhere, and when I sit down to listening to music, he gets behind me on the couch with his head usually next to mine (in the sweet spot). If I get up for a bit, he'll hop down and get in my spot on the couch and face directly at the stereo to maximize that stereo imaging and sound stage effect! Or he lays down on the rug, directly between the speakers and listens. Yeah, Bentley is a smart kitty!

[Wakefield Turntables]

"Little Lord Bentley"! Charles, he looks a real brusier!

[cube-tube]

"Little Lord Bentley"! Charles, he looks a real brusier!

He's a sweet boy who enjoys and appreciates good sound and music.

[cube-tube]

It amazes me how these amps alone make the Maggies and subwoofers sound larger and stronger. These amps also seem to make the integration between the Maggies and subs that much better as well.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2343612575-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Make-shift amp stands utilizing a couple shelves from my old audio rack and those white quartz slabs I had made some years ago. Just something to get them off the floor. I was going to buy a couple of Pangea amp stands to match the two audio racks I already have, but I think I want to go with something better, so these will work for now.



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2380225007-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2380225035-6.jpg



And my little music/audio buddy still approves!

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2380225845-6.jpg

[Macca]

Naturally, the cat thinks you're taking a picture of him.

[cube-tube]

Naturally, the cat thinks you're taking a picture of him.

Well that's a silly statement. What else would I have been taking a picture of in this room?! :D

Actually, I purposely took that picture because of him. I even made some noises so he would look right at me.

[Macca]

I seen the cat down the street posing for pictures with the Chinese students. When I say posing I mean posing, like Mick Jagger having his photo taken with a fan.

[cube-tube]

Now running a 30ft pair of Blue Jeans Cables LC-1 interconnects. These eliminated some noise I was getting with the XLR cables, which allowed me to plug the amps back into the front wall, hence why they're moved back a little further.



Sounds a lot better now because of the new interconnects, no noise, and because the amps are plugged directly into the wall instead of that extension cable.



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2415184131-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2415184065-6.jpg

A slight invasion. LOL
https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2415184474-6.jpg

[Gazjam]

Love your thread, a great System Sir. :)

In my experiece Charles,
clean power is Fundamental to, well, everything Hifi.
Kinda my realisation and thing for a few years now.

After recent power supply upgrades,
Seriously tempted to sell a kidney (perhaps both!) and go for the PS Audio power monoblocks to match my Pre.

Not surprised the better Mono's have made the Maggies sit up and behave.
IMO everything good in HIFI comes from clean power.


It amazes me how these amps alone make the Maggies and subwoofers sound larger and stronger. These amps also seem to make the integration between the Maggies and subs that much better as well.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2343612575-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Love your thread, a great System Sir. :)

In my experiece Charles,
clean power is Fundamental to, well, everything Hifi.
Kinda my realisation and thing for a few years now.

After recent power supply upgrades,
Seriously tempted to sell a kidney (perhaps both!) and go for the PS Audio power monoblocks to match my Pre.

Not surprised the better Mono's have made the Maggies sit up and behave.
IMO everything good in HIFI comes from clean power.

Thank you for the very kind words, "Cherrie". LOL

Since this is our very own house to do as we please, I always wanted to do dedicated power for my system and some sort of acoustic treatments for the room. And now that I have some "serious" gear finally that actually warrants such upgrades, it's definitely time to do the dedicated power as well as expand on the acoustic treatments.

[Barry]

I have been using a dedicated power supply for my audio system for the last four years. Had it installed when the floor was lifted to do some plumbing and a new carpet fitted. In all there are 16 dedicated outlets available, all covered by a separate RCBO consumer unit.

To be honest, I can't say I have noticed an improvement, but I needed more sockets and this was the easiest way of doing the work.

[Wakefield Turntables]

I had my supply done so many years ago (16) it's hard to say what my system would sound like without it. I'm dreading moving to the old' folks home. I bet they don't have a dedicated spur !!??!!

[Barry]

It's not a dedicated spur, it's a completely separate ring main with its own RCBO unit connected directly to the meter.

[cube-tube]

I believe RCBO are for overseas, correct? I don't think they are used over here in the states. Which would make sense if that were the case as we never get anything good over here in the states.

[Barry]

Surely you have circuit breakers to protect the domestic mains wiring? Or are you still using fuses?

[cube-tube]

Surely you have circuit breakers to protect the domestic mains wiring? Or are you still using fuses?

No, definitely not using fuses. This house isn't that old. LOL

I was just wondering if the RCBO units are any different or better than our normal circuit breakers and/or GFCI breakers.

[Barry]

RCBOs (residual current circuit breakers, in the UK), also called GFCIs (ground fault circuit interupters, in the USA) monitor the difference in current flowing into and returning from an electrical load. If any difference is detected (because a fault condition has caused some current to flow to earth) the device will trip within 20 - 40ms.

A conventional mains circuit breaker operates like a fuse, and will trip when the current exceeds the rated value, and like a fuse the breaker will trip when the excess current is many, many times the rated current. Thus it is considerably slower to trip than an RCBO. However unlike fuses, circuit breakers can be reset.

[cube-tube]

Wasn't exactly what I was asking, but... Never mind.

I know how breakers and GFCI works.

[Barry]

I thought I had answered your question. There is no difference between what we call an RCBO, and what you call a GFCI.

[Macca]

I thought I had answered your question. There is no difference between what we call an RCBO, and what you call a GFCI.

I think it was a question about sound quality but the answer's the same - no difference.

[cube-tube]

I thought I had answered your question. There is no difference between what we call an RCBO, and what you call a GFCI.


I think it was a question about sound quality but the answer's the same - no difference.

Sorry guys. I apologize.

My last reply was rather rough and blunt, due to a nasty headache I had when I posted that. I shouldn't post when I feel like crap. Makes me look like a... Well, you know.

And yes, I was wondering if one was better than the other or if there were actual differences between the two. Both of you answered my question. Thank you.

[Barry]

No need to apologise - if anything it was probably my fault for seemingly talking down to you.

Anyway no harm done. :)

[cube-tube]

Nah, no worries. :thumbsup:

[cube-tube]

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2565433766-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Haven't used this old gem in a while. 44 years old and still works and looks like new when my father purchased it back in 1979.



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2880142628-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2880142687-6.jpg

[Barry]

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2565433766-6.jpg

Nice photo - I like the pose of the cat!

[cube-tube]

Now that I have the entire house all to myself (kicked the ex and her dumb son out a few months back), I pulled out my old faithful AV123 (GR-Research) X-Statik's with their fully upgraded crossovers and No-Rez, the Cambridge Audio CXN (V2) that I only used for a couple months before upgrading to the Auralic Altair G1 in the main system, the old faithful APC H15 that I've had for years, and a little S.M.S.L AO200 integrated amp (50w x 2 @ 8 ohms).



I got this little setup running in the master bedroom. Man, I forgot how good these X-Statik's sound tonality wise and how they image with a deep and wide sound stage. Will definitely be doing some tweaking as time goes on.



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p286360933-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p402708321-6.jpg

[bardley]

Now that I have the entire house all to myself (kicked the ex and her dumb son out a few months back), I pulled out my old faithful AV123 (GR-Research) X-Statik's with their fully upgraded crossovers and No-Rez, the Cambridge Audio CXN (V2) that I only used for a couple months before upgrading to the Auralic Altair G1 in the main system, the old faithful APC H15 that I've had for years, and a little S.M.S.L AO200 integrated amp (50w x 2 @ 8 ohms).



I got this little setup running in the master bedroom. Man, I forgot how good these X-Statik's sound tonality wise and how they image with a deep and wide sound stage. Will definitely be doing some tweaking as time goes on.



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p286360933-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p402708321-6.jpgThis is nice..Great looking kit too.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

[Wakefield Turntables]

Nice! Love the bedroom setup.

[cube-tube]

Thanks!

Currently, the room is way too lively, but that will change. That little S.M.S.L. integrated amp is pretty good too. It would be nice to have the newest version of it, but for the price of "free", I'm not complaining. It's just something to play around with. I'll probably bring my old Polk Audio subs back into play with this system as well, just because.

Since the X-Statik's have been sitting for several years, I've been letting this system run in constantly since Friday evening. Ever since I did the crossover upgrades, I honestly don't think I ever played the speakers long enough to burn in the new crossover components. I just went and listened for a bit and already hear some improvements from Friday evening.

[cube-tube]

I've had David Gilmour's Live at Pompeii playing since yesterday morning, and I have to say, things are sounding better. Treble is still airy, but smoother than a few days ago, midrange and mid-bass is fuller and more present, and the bass has opened up with a bit more "oomph" while still being tight and punchy. The sound stage has also opened up more with great depth and width. Quite surprising considering the X-Statik's are being powered by this little SMSL amp (no tone controls used either).

Part of this might also be due to the electronics burning in as well. I know the Cambridge streamer has been sitting for well over a year, the little integrated for more than that I think, and all of those Maze cables for a couple of years. Can't forget the old Mojo Audio 8AWG cross helix vintage Western Electric power cord that's powering the entire system through the APC.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p56739323-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p277012866-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p260207909-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p306639870-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Here's a major switch-up to my normal system... Chinese knock-off clone stuff!

A BRZ Hifi Mark Levinson JC-2 preamp clone, Tara Labs locking RCA ISM Onboard interconnect clones, Tara Labs The One power cable clones, and even a single Kharma power cable clone. Clone stuff one of my brothers likes playing around with just for fun in one of his systems.

The only REAL piece of kit here other than the streamer, conditioner and speakers is the NuPrime STA-9 amp. This is one of the two that I sold years ago to one of my other brothers. I now have both of them back (borrowing them) for a bit so I can play around with gear and such in this room/system.

Surprisingly, the preamp is rather solid and heavy, gets rather warm considering it's supposed to be running in Class A. It's a stout unit. And shockingly, all of the cables are quite decent and of actual quality. They sure do have all the details done down to a "T", that's for sure.

The important thing here is, the sound has vastly improved over the little SMSL AO200 integrated amp. An even deeper and wider sound stage, a lot more focused imaging, deeper, tighter, harder hitting, a lot better controlled bass, a fuller midrange, and a smoother yet still extended top end.

Of course, I'm sure 90% is due to the NuPrime amp alone. Though I do remember my brother swapping out a Rotel RC-1572 MkII preamp for this BRZ JC-2 clone and this little preamp sounding considerably better. Just an overall more refined sound throughout. And that's what I'm hearing now, so who knows.

Anywho, some pics...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p505105976-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p77945706-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p363131956-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p484477302-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p112659421-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p344325127-6.jpg

[Firebottle]

Sounds like you are having way too much fun, or is it that we are all jealous of having lots of kit to play with.
:eyebrows:
:cool:

[cube-tube]

Sounds like you are having way too much fun, or is it that we are all jealous of having lots of kit to play with.
:eyebrows:
:cool:

Yeah, I'm having a bit of fun with it. The jealous part however, I doubt that. I have to say though, there's a LOT more gear and loudspeakers than any one person should have the right to have. LOL

[cube-tube]

Now running a full loom of Chinese clone cables of Tara Labs power cables and interconnects, a couple of Kharma power cables, all very well built and do power cable things very well. The only "REAL" power cable in the mix is the Pangea AC-9 MkII that uses actual Cardas Grade One copper. That's like a $300 cable. I'm still using the Maze Audio 9awg Ref 4 braided speaker cables which are just fine.



Also running both NuPrime STA-9 amps in bridge mono mode. And I also have another Pangea Volcan audio rack that I need to get over to the house so I can get that darn dresser out of here and put it in the spare bedroom. The rack is actually made from leftover parts from the four Volcan racks I purchased 7 years ago when Hurricane Irma was headed our way.



Over time, I'll start getting back into designing and building some large format open baffle loudspeakers and subwoofers.



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p820856000-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p543200662-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p539698066-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p982593798-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1035448734-6.jpg

[Rush2112]

Now running a full loom of Chinese clone cables of Tara Labs power cables and interconnects, a couple of Kharma power cables, all very well built and do power cable things very well. The only "REAL" power cable in the mix is the Pangea AC-9 MkII that uses actual Cardas Grade One copper. That's like a $300 cable. I'm still using the Maze Audio 9awg Ref 4 braided speaker cables which are just fine.



Also running both NuPrime STA-9 amps in bridge mono mode. And I also have another Pangea Volcan audio rack that I need to get over to the house so I can get that darn dresser out of here and put it in the spare bedroom. The rack is actually made from leftover parts from the four Volcan racks I purchased 7 years ago when Hurricane Irma was headed our way.



Over time, I'll start getting back into designing and building some large format open baffle loudspeakers and subwoofers.



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p820856000-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p543200662-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p539698066-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p982593798-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1035448734-6.jpg

Hi Charles, great system and love the “clones” !


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cube-tube]

Thank you, sir!

Changed things up a bit...

Back to using a single NuPrime STA-9, a pair of Magnat Signature 503's, and a single HSU STF-2 subwoofer, getting its high-level signal from the amp. Oh, and of course, my 3rd Pangea Vulcan rack that I bought years back. Everything else remains the same.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p875347046-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p825103061-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Drove 150 miles round trip yesterday to pick up something I've always wanted...

Finally found a near mint pair at a extremely good price. Bose 901 Series V with Series VI EQ and tulip stands.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p649634980-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p941779721-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p851110383-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p584876340-6.jpg


I've heard the 901's several times before, a few times in Circuit City, and once or twice at the PX at MacDill Airforce Base. I have to say, they sound much better in my room. A lot more natural than in the showrooms. In the showrooms, they probably had the EQ jacked all the way up as well as the tone controls on the gear used with them.

I have all of the controls on the EQ set to "flat", and I really see no need to adjust them as the 901's sound pretty darn good in this room, the master bedroom. This room is roughly 13' x 16' x 8', and I'm powering them with one of my NuPrime STA-9 amps which puts out 120 watts @ 8 ohms... More than enough power for this room and these speakers. I have the 901's center part of the rear "V" about 31" out from the front wall. This distance also helps in the fact that I'm getting a much more balanced overall response out of them than what I remember in the showrooms.

The bass is quite punchy, detailed and extends a lot deeper than I expected, easily down to the low 30's, possibly a little lower from listening to a few of my very familiar pipe organ recordings. Midrange seems to sound good, though not quite as full as my Maggies in my main rig. And the treble seems fine to me as well. Obviously, not super airy, but open and extended enough for a pleasant, smooth sound that's non-fatiguing. They're definitely not lacking in either extremes like all of those clowns claim (no highs, no lows, must be blah, blah, blah). I really have no complaints with them honestly. However I do wish those tulip stands were a bit taller.

I have always been attracted to the 901's unique looks and design, and even more so, their use of multiple 4.5" drivers producing that kind of sound. I mean, I wasn't even playing them loud last night, and not only were both windows in this room rattling, but so were the sliding closet doors and the main door!

The above was when I was playing Boz Scaggs' Thanks to You. Boz's voice came through loud and clear, and all of those deep bass notes came through effortlessly and with authority.

This system is by no means a replacement for my mine rig, but it's just about as enjoyable to listen to. I'm glad I finally got my hands on a pair of these little suckers!

[Pigmy Pony]

I have always been attracted to the 901's unique looks and design, and even more so, their use of multiple 4.5" drivers producing that kind of sound. I mean, I wasn't even playing them loud last night, and not only were both windows in this room rattling, but so were the sliding closet doors and the main door!



I remember one of Bose's magazine ads from the 1980s where the '901' was inverted and 'db' added, so that the headline read '106db'... Sounds like they weren't far out then :)

[cube-tube]

I remember one of Bose's magazine ads from the 1980s where the '901' was inverted and 'db' added, so that the headline read '106db'... Sounds like they weren't far out then :)

I don't remember those ads as much as I do the ones with Matthew Polk surrounded by his loudspeakers. One day I'll get a pair of SDA loudspeakers.

[cube-tube]

Just threw in a JungSon JA-1 preamp. Quite the solid unit.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p356031286-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Just replaced the stock Bose Series VI EQ for the 901s with my dbx DriveRack Venu360. Dialed in a quick and dirty rough version of the stock Series V EQ curve, and wow! What a drastic improvement over the stock Bose EQ with this literal 10 minute tuning via PEQ. I have barely scratched the surface with this obviously. When I get more time, I'll do more tweaking in the 8 band PEQ as well as the 31 band GEQ. I'll also try out the AutoEQ (basically room correction) via the included RTA mic. More to come!



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p634058063-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p133129220-6.jpg

[hornucopia]

Another Boz Scaggs fan! Was just looking at a DVD I have ,’In concert’. Takes me back to 70s…….

[cube-tube]

Another Boz Scaggs fan! Was just looking at a DVD I have ,’In concert’. Takes me back to 70s…….

It sounds even better now with the dbx doing EQ duties. Powerful, clean, effortless.

[cube-tube]

More pics of the bedroom system... Now sporting my father's vintage Kenwood GE-770B graphic EQ (just for show, not in the signal chain) and my trusty Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2 amp for some real power to the 901 V's, a solid 300+ watts per channel.



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p521515988-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p480696501-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p480745411-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

And for fun out in the main system... Removed the Odyssey Stratos monos and Maggies, and put in the little NuPrime STA-9 amp and GR-Research X-Statik's. Still excellent sound with the rest of the system remaining the same.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p727731019-6.jpg

[Barry]

Just replaced the stock Bose Series VI EQ for the 901s with my dbx DriveRack Venu360. Dialed in a quick and dirty rough version of the stock Series V EQ curve, and wow! What a drastic improvement over the stock Bose EQ with this literal 10 minute tuning via PEQ. I have barely scratched the surface with this obviously. When I get more time, I'll do more tweaking in the 8 band PEQ as well as the 31 band GEQ. I'll also try out the AutoEQ (basically room correction) via the included RTA mic. More to come!



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p634058063-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p133129220-6.jpg

The Bose 901s always were good speakers. I remember a record shop in Manchester which had a set of 901s suspended from the ceiling. Obviously not ideal for any sense of imaging, but frequency wise, they had extended and well controlled bass and treble.

I can believe that modern equalisation units are an advance on Bose's original design.

Well done. :)

[cube-tube]

New house, new room, and a downscaled version of the same system. Currently using my 18 year old AV123 (GR-Research) X-Statik hybrid open baffle loudspeakers with fully upgraded crossovers and the original felt damping material replaced with No-Rez.

Moved in last Saturday and had the system up and running within a few hours. Still have to put the isolation bases under the subs and either the stock spikes back on the speakers or get some IsoAcoustics footers for them which is preferable. Also need to figure out where to mount my GIK Acoustic panels. With that said, getting great results already, shockingly enough!

The system consists...

Pass Labs XP-20 preamp
Auralic Altair G1 streamer
NuPrime STA-9 amplifier
Monster HTS-5000 power conditioner
SVS PB-1000 Pro subwoofers
AV123 (GR-Research) X-Statik loudspeakers
Wireworld power and signal cables

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p301165902-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p397697516-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p158856170-5.jpg

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