My Constant State of Change System...

[cube-tube]

I don't know how or why, but I totally vanished off of this forum for nearly 4 years! A whole heck of a lot has changed since the last time I was on here.

Anyway, here's the current state of my system as of yesterday.

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s4/v9/p2048368786-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v46/p2022470700-5.jpg

That little guy hiding back there is the Wyred 4 Sound Recovery USB Reclocker. Excellent bit of kit!
http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s2/v60/p1986088183-5.jpg

A mild attempt at cable management. It's really not as bad as it looks here. :D
http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v24/p2043149316-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v30/p2011851496-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v47/p1934750141-5.jpg

Even though this Ortofon 2M Red sounds good and is only 2 weeks old, I have the 2M Bronze coming in this week! :eyebrows:
http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s7/v161/p1965343126-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v29/p1909723950-5.jpg

[jandl100]

Great looking system, and I am sure it sounds good, too, Charles. :thumbsup:

Welcome back to AOS! :)

I've not seen those Sonus Faber speakers before - are they designed to match up with the subwoofers?

I'm particularly curious about the Q-UP automatic tonearm lifter --- does that work OK / safely?

[Macca]

I like the rack. What's the deal with the sub/sat set up? Are the subs powered or passive?

[Gazjam]

Nice looking system Charles, good vibe. :)

What's the doohickey in front of your Oppo 105?
Looks like its in the front HDMI port?

[Robprog]

How do you find the Lounge Audio LCR Phono? I have one and I think it is incredible value for money phono. Big leap forward in terms of sound stage and space for the instruments. Works well with my 2M Bronze by the way

[cube-tube]

I'm in a bit of a time crunch, but I'll try to answer the best I can...


Great looking system, and I am sure it sounds good, too, Charles. :thumbsup:

Welcome back to AOS! :)

I've not seen those Sonus Faber speakers before - are they designed to match up with the subwoofers?

I'm particularly curious about the Q-UP automatic tonearm lifter --- does that work OK / safely?

The Sonus Faber's have been out about a year or two now. Great sounding little monitors, punchy bass, sweet mids, detailed and smooth top end. The subs are Polk Audio, but they match up pretty darn good with the monitors thanks to the analog crossover in the Halo P5 preamp.

The Q-Up works great. Take a bit of fiddling to get it positioned right with the right amount of force to lift the arm without throwing the arm way up in the air.




I like the rack. What's the deal with the sub/sat set up? Are the subs powered or passive?

Subs are powered. Polk PSW505. Crossed at 70 Hz, the monitors crossed at 50 Hz.




Nice looking system Charles, good vibe. :)

What's the doohickey in front of your Oppo 105?
Looks like its in the front HDMI port?

It's the Ruko dongle thing. It is plugged into the front HDMI with a 90 degree angle adapter so it isn't sticking straight out.




How do you find the Lounge Audio LCR Phono? I have one and I think it is incredible value for money phono. Big leap forward in terms of sound stage and space for the instruments. Works well with my 2M Bronze by the way

It's excellent! I love it! I can't wait until my 2M Bronze comes in this week. It's going to be fun!

[cube-tube]

It's been a while since posting on here again, but the system has almost completely changed once again. Now being mostly vintage gear.

After the above setup, I went with some mint Martin Logan SL3's that I modded by bypassing the internal passive crossovers and vertically bi-amping with some modded vintage Carver gear, including two modded M-500t (MkII status) amps and a modded C-1 (BillD status) preamp. And of course the addition of a new dbx Driverack Venu360 for crossover duties as well as time alignment and room correction, and a new JL Audio e110 sub.

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2567662874-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-2/p2567662967-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

And currently with a fully modded 4000t preamp and a mint pair of Genesis Physics II's that I upgraded the crossovers in. Now the dbx is used just for room correction and crossover duty for just the JL sub. Believe it or not, this is the best sounding system I have had to date! These Genesis II's outperform every other speaker I own including the modded Martin Logan SL3's, bone stock NHT 2.9's, and GR-Research X-Statik's with fully hot-rodded crossovers.

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2774121185-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2767571005-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2733595548-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2733412299-5.jpg

[Yomanze]

Nice system; what's the foo on top of the amps? :)

[rigger67]

That picture of the LPs on the wall would drive me nuts :eek:

It's such a weird angle for when you're sitting listening to music .. I'd have to move it to another room, I think :D

[hornucopia]

'Foo on amps'?
Weights. You can use rolled roofing Lead - that's Lead the metal, not lead as in i/c!!. Helps dampen vibrations.
see also; Corks on speaker leads/ Cable lifts, et al......

[Macca]

Love those Carver amps. Although if it were me I'd put the weights on top of the speakers where they might stand a chance of having some effect. Fabulous system, lovely room too.

[hornucopia]

Metal weights can resonate.....who knows the consequences? Sheet lead was advocated in an article I recall on this subject, circa 1987! Or -for box speakers - a concrete slab?

Love the fact that, after all the big/pricy speakers, a 'basic' speaker like the (OK modded) Genesis sounds 'better'. same applies to 'old' amps as well.
Genesis rather USA, but we have equivalent ones in UK; ProAc, Leak from 60s/70s....etc..

[paulf-2007]

The " weights " look like cable lifters

[cube-tube]

Thanks everyone. The cable insulators on the amps were there to keep the cats off the amps, nothing more.


And...

"Love the fact that, after all the big/pricy speakers, a 'basic' speaker like the (OK modded) Genesis sounds 'better'."

"OK" modded? What do you mean by that? Those crossover mods are a LOT more than just okay.

[cube-tube]

Also, the room (location in general) and speakers have changed. At least, the speakers have changed just for now... For fun because I have them.

Sony SS-K90ED tower speakers, which sound amazingly good. Excellent sound stage width, depth and height. Very understated speakers.

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2804691798-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2801279459-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2801279453-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2804691879-5.jpg

[hornucopia]

Must be our UK versus US terminology!
I meant "OK, comma, modded' as in...they were upgraded, not that they were just OK-modded!
I have several bits of my equipment modded, for example, my Leak 3090s have 'new-improved' X-over bits, mydac is upgraded, etc..

BUT......you've changed-again!That room must echo a bit? Concrete floor....
Thanks everyone. The cable insulators on the amps were there to keep the cats off the amps, nothing more.


And...

"Love the fact that, after all the big/pricy speakers, a 'basic' speaker like the (OK modded) Genesis sounds 'better'."

"OK" modded? What do you mean by that? Those crossover mods are a LOT more than just okay.

[cube-tube]

Must be our UK versus US terminology!
I meant "OK, comma, modded' as in...they were upgraded, not that they were just OK-modded!
I have several bits of my equipment modded, for example, my Leak 3090s have 'new-improved' X-over bits, mydac is upgraded, etc..

BUT......you've changed-again!That room must echo a bit? Concrete floor....

That makes sense. Terminology is everything. ;)

And yes, I have some room treatments to do to this room. It's small at 3.6m x 4m, but it works and sounds pretty good already. After I repaint the walls an trim, then I'll lay down some carpet or a large rug, and possibly some wall treatments.

[hornucopia]

Brings back memories of listening to the latest 7" single in a booth, in NEMS store, Liverpool, 1960s ( run by Brian Epstein of Beatle manager fame!)
O.K., I'm teasing....it's not THAT small! My own system has been described as 'like having huge headphones' (!!) which I had thought meant the QUALITY!.
Maybe double-edged, as head-to-speaker distance is only 8 feet/250 cms!

I'd have your Oppo; would remove two pieces, as long as the dac wasn't a step back from my Havana (modded!). Always liked the idea of a Carver, but I only need a few watts these days-always did- I ran Klipschorns for years.

[Liffy99]

Can that DBX function as a multi- input preamp (digital only) ?
How would you connect an RCA SPDIF output to an AES input ?

[cube-tube]

Brings back memories of listening to the latest 7" single in a booth, in NEMS store, Liverpool, 1960s ( run by Brian Epstein of Beatle manager fame!)
O.K., I'm teasing....it's not THAT small! My own system has been described as 'like having huge headphones' (!!) which I had thought meant the QUALITY!.
Maybe double-edged, as head-to-speaker distance is only 8 feet/250 cms!

I'd have your Oppo; would remove two pieces, as long as the dac wasn't a step back from my Havana (modded!). Always liked the idea of a Carver, but I only need a few watts these days-always did- I ran Klipschorns for years.

LOL! Yeah, I'm about 6 ft away from my speakers, and they're about 6 ft apart. Near-field listening which is probably why this room doesn't sound so bad. I'm so close to the speakers, their direct sound overpowers the 2nd and 3rd reflections in the room.

If the Havana you're referring to is the MHDT Labs unit, I'm sure it's better than the Oppo, just because it's a dedicated DAC with tubes. The Oppo is good though. I think I mentioned it before, it replaced a fully upgraded Schiit Bifrost.

I just swapped out speakers again a few minutes ago, and as with the Sony speakers, these too are rated at 90 dB @ 1 watt, so I really have no need for 390+ watts per channel. But I have it, and it sounds great. You can't go wrong with plenty of amplifier headroom. :D

I'll post up pics soon of the "new" speakers... Which I have used before, several years ago.



Can that DBX function as a multi- input preamp (digital only) ?
How would you connect an RCA SPDIF output to an AES input ?

The dbx only has one set of inputs, so no multi-inputs. And as far as I can tell, there's no way to use it as a preamp. As for SPDIF to AES, don't know.

[cube-tube]

Now running a pair of mint Monitor Audio Bronze BX6 towers on my custom quartz slabs...

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2809341213-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2818351457-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2818352034-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2818351494-5.jpg

http://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p2818539140-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

As has been the apparent theme of this thread, it has been a couple of years since being on here updating the system and such. I think that maybe my lack of activity on this forum is probably due to the "lack of activity" on this forum.

Anyway, here's the latest as it sits right now. All of the gear is listed in my signature below...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3916002046-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3916156319-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3916156320-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3918213336-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3918213339-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3918213340-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3918213393-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3918213379-5.jpg

[Puffin]

I think that maybe my lack of activity on this forum is probably due to the "lack of activity" on this forum.:scratch:

[Macca]

Love those tape decks.

[Marco]

Damn right - that 582 is one of the nicest I've seen, just gorgeous! The JVC's sexy too, with those iconic VU metres!:D

Major respect, Charles... I also love the look of your living space:cool:

Marco.

[prestonchipfryer]

The Nakamichi 582, a lovely example. I bought one in 1979 from HATV in Christchurch for £499. Sold many years ago now. I should, of course, kept it. 🙂

[cube-tube]

I think that maybe my lack of activity on this forum is probably due to the "lack of activity" on this forum.:scratch:

I was awake for over 38 hours straight when I wrote that, which is why I worded it wrong. I meant to say that my thread lacked activity due to some recent events, new (to us) house, new (to me) car that I've been devoting some time and money to, family stuff that's been going on, and a new career, not that the forum lacked activity. Things have been a little frantic the past couple of years... In a good way for the most part.

[cube-tube]

Love those tape decks.


Damn right - that 582 is one of the nicest I've seen, just gorgeous! The JVC's sexy too, with those iconic VU metres!:D

Major respect, Charles... I also love the look of your living space:cool:

Marco.


The Nakamichi 582, a lovely example. I bought one in 1979 from HATV in Christchurch for £499. Sold many years ago now. I should, of course, kept it. 🙂

Thanks guys. It's taken some time acquiring some of these decks, and for various reasons. Apparently, my father bought a 582 new back in '79 along with the KD-A8, but kept the KD-A8 and traded the 582 back a month later for the first of two Nak 680ZX decks. So eventually, he had the KD-A8 and two 680ZX decks in his rig, which I do remember, even though I was only a wee little kid at the time.

The DR-1 was purchased new back in the day by my oldest brother. And the Yamaha I purchased used a couple years ago because I wanted to try out a deck with dbx NR in it plus these were known to be pretty darn good decks. It's a great looking, beefy deck as well.

Marco, here's a better and a little closer pic of those VU meters. I have to agree, that JVC is a damn fine looking deck, one of the best look decks ever as far as I'm concerned.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3918213338-5.jpg


And one more of the 582 for good measure...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3918213399-5.jpg

[Puffin]

I was awake for over 38 hours straight when I wrote that, which is why I worded it wrong. I meant to say that my thread lacked activity due to some recent events, new (to us) house, new (to me) car that I've been devoting some time and money to, family stuff that's been going on, and a new career, not that the forum lacked activity. Things have been a little frantic the past couple of years... In a good way for the most part.

No problem. You have a great system there.

[cube-tube]

Went ahead and added my dbx 224 to the stack. I purchased this first about 11 years ago when I had the Teac A-3300SX, then shortly after purchased the 224x. Sold the 224x when I sold the Teac.

As you can see, especially in the close up shot, this unit (like all of my gear) is absolutely mint. You may also notice the pile of Pig Hog XLR cables sitting up top, waiting for the Rane Balance Buddy to show up later this week along with the dbx 400x. I'll finally be able to start listening to these decks again.

Very nice, beefy and flexible cables I might add. They also make regular RCA cables, which I'll get eventually to wire all of the decks as the four cables I'm using now are rather stiff.

Anywho...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3924960437-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3924964978-5.jpg

[Gazjam]

LOVE the old school tape storage units at the bottom, memories of my Folks having very similar.
Giving me the warm fuzzies they are.

The Naks are wonderful.

[cube-tube]

There's lots more where those came from, and all loaded with top quality recorded cassettes from my father and all three of my brothers.

That Nak 582 is a beast!

[hornucopia]

Should inspire me to get my Yamaha TC-800 fixed up!
I recall that Nakamichi made a similarly-slope fronted hi-fi that must be worth a bit now?

[cube-tube]

Should inspire me to get my Yamaha TC-800 fixed up!
I recall that Nakamichi made a similarly-slope fronted hi-fi that must be worth a bit now?

You should. I think everyone who has a worthy quality cassette deck should get them back up and running. They bring back memories of days gone past, and other that turntables and reel-to-reel decks, cassette decks give you something to handle and watch as it plays. Streamers are boring because they just sit there. CD players are almost as boring as they only give you a counter to look at, though there are a few that give you a view of the spinning disc, but those are rare.

I don't know about Nakamichi having a system that was sloped like that, but they did have a series that all looked alike and was rack mounted.

And for another little update... Introducing the Rane Balance Buddy BB 88x (44x upgraded to 88x) and the first of two dbx 400x units.

I promise that I will have this corner looking really good once I get a proper rack for all the gear and have everything organized. Right now, I'm just stacking the gear just so I can get it all connected, tested and listened to. In fact, I've been listening to cassettes for the past four hours now. Ahhh...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3927164004-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3927164005-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3927164007-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

And a couple of cozy night time shots...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3927204750-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3927204748-5.jpg

[Macca]

Should inspire me to get my Yamaha TC-800 fixed up!
I recall that Nakamichi made a similarly-slope fronted hi-fi that must be worth a bit now?

Nak 600:

https://i.ibb.co/51W9k8g/nakamichi-600.jpg (https://ibb.co/df0ct2w)

[hornucopia]

I had one of those! But the Hi-Fi was multi-item, similarly sloped-fronted.

[Barry]

Nak 600:

https://i.ibb.co/51W9k8g/nakamichi-600.jpg (https://ibb.co/df0ct2w)

Nice styling, but I always preferred the look of the Yamaha 'wedge':

https://specialistdivision.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/yamaha-tc-800gl.jpg

[hornucopia]

Yamaha 'cheese wedge' !! That's the one!! I still have it,though it needs a belt.I used to have both versions ( one had battery op option) If someone is interested....

[cube-tube]

The Nak looked like it belonged in a rack, and the Yammie looked like a telephone/answering machine. Not fond of either honestly.

[hornucopia]

The Nak looked like it belonged in a rack, and the Yammie looked like a telephone/answering machine. Not fond of either honestly.

Design Awards non-withstanding?Nicer than black or silver boxes?
Anyway, each to his own.
The Nak system i recall was all a bit like this Nak 600, slope fronted, with Pre/Amp/Sliders(?) all in a line - can't find a pic afer brief search.
Maybe Mr Beobloke will recall?

[Barry]

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4c/3d/92/4c3d9283b8d2ffacd16aeef44a7d6edc.jpg

The vertical rack arrangement IMO looks hideous. A horizontal arrangement with sloping fascias would look far better.

[hornucopia]

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4c/3d/92/4c3d9283b8d2ffacd16aeef44a7d6edc.jpg

The vertical rack arrangement IMO looks hideous. A horizontal arrangement with sloping fascias would look far better.

That's them! I could use the lot as i use a big slab of wood to hold my system, rather than a rack! (You're right about the rack!)
Though, in reality, I'm contemplating simplicity these days..

[Macca]

I think the rack looks super-cool.

[Opti-cal]

I think the rack looks super-cool.

Me too, Line-Magnetic do a similar looking stack of amplification and it's nothing short of bond villain volcano-opening-rocket-control room levels.

Uber expensive though.

[Macca]

Me too, Line-Magnetic do a similar looking stack of amplification and it's nothing short of bond villain volcano-opening-rocket-control room levels.

Uber expensive though.

This is the one I think you mean? 'Zer are men in zee crater! Men in zee crater!'

https://i.ibb.co/Ks7rydg/e2470716c45821a78ff2d2027b977e07.jpg (https://ibb.co/VCDqBRG)

[Barry]

Me too, Line-Magnetic do a similar looking stack of amplification and it's nothing short of bond villain volcano-opening-rocket-control room levels.

Uber expensive though.

If these are typical of the units used in the stack, then it would look like some of the equipment we had in the electronics research laboratory where I worked:

https://www.line-magnetic.eu/images/line-magnetic/home/LM-studio-04-AudioDesignLab-720web.jpg

[Barry]

https://i.ibb.co/Ks7rydg/e2470716c45821a78ff2d2027b977e07.jpg (https://ibb.co/VCDqBRG)

I've seen that before. Is it the driver electronics for a radio transmitter - made by either Western Electric or Siemens? Or maybe an amplifier for a 1930's cinema sound system?

[Opti-cal]

This is the one I think you mean? 'Zer are men in zee crater! Men in zee crater!'

https://i.ibb.co/Ks7rydg/e2470716c45821a78ff2d2027b977e07.jpg (https://ibb.co/VCDqBRG)

Exactly

Probably enough to annihilate a small army.....

[Opti-cal]

If these are typical of the units used in the stack, then it would look like some of the equipment we had in the electronics research laboratory where I worked:

https://www.line-magnetic.eu/images/line-magnetic/home/LM-studio-04-AudioDesignLab-720web.jpg

Serious, serious gear.

Unstoppable old skool power.... Soviet undertones to some of the kit too.

[hornucopia]

...and, here I was, looking at Hegel's 'Rost' amp!
https://www.hegel.com/products/integrated/rost

[cube-tube]

As MY thread is drastically going off topic, I would like you guys to take all of this to a new thread please...

[hornucopia]

Sorry! Might have been my fault? Inevitable to get a few 'me-too' sidetracks.
Great to see Cassettes still fully used! (AS seen in Lexus LS400 cars!)
We await your next addition.

[Macca]

As MY thread is drastically going off topic, I would like you guys to take all of this to a new thread please...

Sorry Charles I can delete it all if you want. People go off on tangent on my thread too, it sort of goes with the territory.

[cube-tube]

Sorry! Might have been my fault? Inevitable to get a few 'me-too' sidetracks.
Great to see Cassettes still fully used! (AS seen in Lexus LS400 cars!)
We await your next addition.

No worries. I'm not blaming anyone. And also, cassette decks in the LS430 as well (mine came with one) behind a wooden door in the dash under the head unit.

[cube-tube]

Sorry Charles I can delete it all if you want. People go off on tangent on my thread too, it sort of goes with the territory.

Again, no worries, but deleting would ultimately be up to you. Maybe move them to a new or different thread?

[Wakefield Turntables]

As MY thread is drastically going off topic, I would like you guys to take all of this to a new thread please...

Thread drift, an unfortunate side effect of hifi forums.

[Gazjam]

This is the Way.

[cube-tube]

I've been playing around with these little guys the past few days and am really surprisingly impressed with these things. The mighty JBL Studio 530. I say these easily outperform the Monitor Audio Silver 3i and Sonus Faber Venere 1.5's that I had.

Luckily, there's no real difference in sound with the grills on or off, so I keep them on as these speakers are sort of ugly with the grills removed.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3935660645-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3935660648-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3935660646-5.jpg

[Pete812]

Yeah, not the pretties looking speakers, but I'm glad you are hearing improvements in sound :)

[cube-tube]

Yeah, not the pretties looking speakers, but I'm glad you are hearing improvements in sound :)

Actually, I quite like the looks of them... As long as the grills are in place. I only wish we got the cherry veneer over here in the states, but we only got the all black version. They're very unique looking speakers, but man do they sound great. I'm so glad that that giant horn sounds nothing like a horn at all. I'm seriously considering upgrading the capacitors and resistors on the crossover networks, because why not.

[cube-tube]

Listening to this album right now via Qobuz...

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61TzTf2WyfL.jpg

Some of her more "odd" music, but the sound quality is there in strides, and makes these JBL's sound even more impressive. I've listened to this album several times lately and in recent years, and it never sounded this good even with my beloved X-Statik's! Now that's saying something! Obviously, the Sonus Faber Venere 1.5's and Monitor Audio Silver 3i's don't even come close to what these JBL's are doing.

Yes, I know, totally different gear, totally different room... Still, those speakers couldn't get anything near this level of sound.

Very convincing reproduction of vocals and piano with weight and body, detailed, silky smooth treble that has space and air, and the fact that they completely disappear in the room. Finally for the first time in years, I've got a pair of speakers in a room that are capable of vanishing, leaving only the music behind. For the past couple of days, I've been tweaking their placement as well as crossover points and gains on the subs.

In short, there were plenty of super high dollar systems at that Florida Audio Expo show that I went to earlier this year that didn't even come close to this kind of sound. There were some of those smaller systems that were priced up to the $70k mark that didn't sound anywhere near this good. They were either way too shrilly or dull, and drastically recessed mids, and either no bass or way too much.

[hornucopia]

"Finally for the first time in years, I've got a pair of speakers in a room that are capable of vanishing, leaving only the music behind."

Wow-that's exactly how I describe my Ocellia Calliopes.
Those part-horns look great -I get something similar from Opera Consonance horns-but with 54 kgs of casework!
The sound-or non-sound? - of a good horn!-and only 600 dollars, max!!


I share your opinion of Shows-you go home thinking 'I do better at home"!

[Macca]

They measure pretty well too, https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/jbl-studio-530-speaker-review.12298/

[cube-tube]

"Finally for the first time in years, I've got a pair of speakers in a room that are capable of vanishing, leaving only the music behind."

Wow-that's exactly how I describe my Ocellia Calliopes.
Those part-horns look great -I get something similar from Opera Consonance horns-but with 54 kgs of casework!
The sound-or non-sound? - of a good horn!-and only 600 dollars, max!!


I share your opinion of Shows-you go home thinking 'I do better at home"!

I know from these past few posts it seems like I'm hyping up these speakers, but they really do perform way above their price point. Granted, they're not the end all be all speaker obviously, and there's plenty of much better speakers out there, but for up to the $2k mark, I would say in the right system, room and set up properly, these JBL's will give those higher end speakers a hard run for their money.

I really like the looks of those Ocellia Calliopes. At first glance, I thought they were open baffle. Bet they sound great!




They measure pretty well too, https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/jbl-studio-530-speaker-review.12298/

Yes they do. They certainly bring music and musicians to life in my room. And thankfully, they don't have that typical horn or JBL sound.

P.S. - Crapgame from Kelly's Heroes! Love that movie. Just watched it again about 2 weeks ago... For the millionth time! It never gets old.

[cube-tube]

Been tweaking subwoofer positions and settings a bit more. Getting better and better all the time.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3942189391-5.jpg

[Firebottle]

Brilliant, a horn mid/tweeter done well can be sublime. I'd love to hear those JBL's.

I have rather a different setup with electrostatic panels but with ribbon tweeters/super-tweeters.

[cube-tube]

Brilliant, a horn mid/tweeter done well can be sublime. I'd love to hear those JBL's.

I have rather a different setup with electrostatic panels but with ribbon tweeters/super-tweeters.

Alan, stop by sometime when you're in the neighborhood and I'll let you have a listen! :rock:

I have a pair of Martin Logan SL3's in the spare room at my brother's house. I disconnected the crossovers in them a few years back to run them actively bi-amped. Sounded great too I might add. But if I were to run them in this system, I'd have to open them back up and reconnect the crossovers, which is a bit more labor intensive than just reconnecting a couple of wires. I've thought about it, but then again, I only have 80 watts on tap these days, so my amps might run out of steam before the SL3's begin to come to life.

[cube-tube]

And then there was the Martin Logan SL3...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3945122958-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3945122957-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3945122984-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3945123005-5.jpg

[tapid]

Seem to have sold out on amazon those jbl s . Keep an eye open 2nd hand. Nice find Charles

[cube-tube]

As you can see, I'm not running the JBL's anymore. They're back at my brother's house.

[tapid]

Oh, thats a bummer, you were fond of them ?

[tapid]

Logans look good as well !

[cube-tube]

Oh, thats a bummer, you were fond of them ?

They were just being borrowed from one of my brothers for a little bit, just to try something different in my system. They truly are great sounding bookshelf speakers. But since I had these Martin Logan's sitting for the past few years, I wanted to get them back up and running in my current system.

[hornucopia]

Seem to have sold out on amazon those jbl s . Keep an eye open 2nd hand. Nice find Charles

eBay UK has a set.....at £500, which is circa $800!

[tapid]

eBay UK has a set.....at £500, which is circa $800!


Yes, did see those the other week, but other spending seems to have got in the way since lol

[cube-tube]

Natural walnut rails still looking great after 22 years!

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3954895538-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3954895537-5.jpg

[Barry]

Gorgeous! :)

[cube-tube]

Gorgeous! :)

Thank you Barry!

I have to say, the previous owner took extremely good care of these SL3's over the years, and of course I have over the past 5 or so years that I've owned them. There's literally not a mark on them anywhere, and they still sound superb. No lack of output or recessed treble or hiss coming from the panels that others have with older models. The overall output of the panels are still equal to the woofers, and the treble is still crisp and airy, and that lovely, full bodied midrange that gives instruments and vocals that "real" weight and body. Some say and believe to this day that the SL3 was one of the best designs that Martin Logan came out with, and I believe it.

I've had the chance to hear a couple of the new models such as the entry level ElectroMotion ESL and the much larger and costly Expression ESL 13A. Both models had the same traits of being too bright and a thin midrange, having no warmth or life of any kind. I can't comment on the bass as both systems were running subs. In the end, I was not impressed with either, and actually down right disappointed, especially with the 13A. If I had $15k to throw at a pair of speakers, I would pass up the 13A's and just have new panels made up for my SL3's, have the power supplies updated if needed, and the crossovers updated/upgraded and use the rest of the money on some bigger, bit more powerful amplifiers.

And speaking of amplifiers, the little Schiit Aegir amplifiers sound amazing with these speakers. I'd say they're a perfect match. The only issue is that these speakers are a nominal 4 ohm load with peaks of up to 16 ohms and dips down to 1.5 ohms. The Aegir amps are rated at 80 watts @ 8 ohms mono but are said to be able to run at 160 watts @ 4 ohms, though this is not stated in the manual or on Schiit's website anywhere, ONLY the 8 ohm mono rating. With these speakers and their crazy impedance swings, they have the habit of shutting the amplifiers down if pushed a little too hard. No extra heat, no distortion or clipping, they just shut down. I chalk this up to them simply not being able to handle those impedance swings, especially that dip down to 1.5 ohms. And the thing is, they get comfortably loud in my small room and can usually play all day like that. It's just sometimes there will be a small dynamic peak that's not even loud, but is strong enough to trip the amps into protection mode. This has only happened three times in the past 2+ weeks of me playing them.

Anyway, I didn't mean to go into a rant here. Sorry. LOL

[Firebottle]

Yes very peaky impedance plot, with 3 ohm dips at 70Hz and around 1.9kHz and 1.5 ohm at 20kHz.

Might sound a bit counter intuitive but I would try adding a 1 ohm high wattage resistor in series to see if the protection mode can be prevented.
You could try a lower wattage resistor at low volume levels as a trial to see if the sound is altered too much.

[cube-tube]

Yes very peaky impedance plot, with 3 ohm dips at 70Hz and around 1.9kHz and 1.5 ohm at 20kHz.

Might sound a bit counter intuitive but I would try adding a 1 ohm high wattage resistor in series to see if the protection mode can be prevented.
You could try a lower wattage resistor at low volume levels as a trial to see if the sound is altered too much.

Kind of like a make-shift Zobel network to help flatten the impedance?

Interesting but don't think I'm going to worry about it too much. The amps only tripped on two different movies that had a lot of action going on at the time, the third on a light drum solo on a jazz album. All it took was a certain snare drum hit that knocked out the right channel amp.

[Macca]

You need a Krell for them.

[cube-tube]

You need a Krell for them.

You pay for it.



:dynamite:

[Macca]

:D

[cube-tube]

Well the Aegir amps are up for sale, and in the meantime, I have a minty Roksan Caspian Mk I amp in place. Also removed the DAT recorder. That will be moved to the cassette deck stack in the rear of the room.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3977945322-5.jpg

[drSM]

constant state of change indeed . its hard to keep up!
Are you using the dbx Venu 360 in the system at all.
If so how ?

[cube-tube]

For one reason or another, the system is always changing. Sometimes for longer periods than others.

The dbx DriveRack Venu 360 is actually in the closet, decommissioned for the time being.

[cube-tube]

Here's the latest, with the 22 year old Roksan Caspian powering the 22 year old Martin Logan SL3's. Surprisingly, a fantastic combo! Also swapped in the old NOS 1930's RCA 6F8G tubes into the preamp stage of the Freya+, keeping the stock JJ 6SN7's in the voltage stage.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3981571653-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3981571750-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3981571656-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3981571700-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3981571701-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3981571711-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3981571654-5.jpg

[User211]

I used ML for years both Aerius and then Ascent/Decent.

The panels and the current state they are in are an issue. When new they can sound pretty awful and they really do need a lot of time sometimes to break in. Hence why you had trouble with 13A I suspect.

I went through a lot of panels. No pair lasted more than 7 years. I used them for 17 years in total.

What's really odd is some replacement panels actually sounded great from the word go, and some would take ages to break in.

It's a really fine balancing act but when they are running right i.e. the membrane tension is actually right they can sound fabulous.

I thought Ascent was better than SL3 TBH but hey if you like them, who cares? Why? Better bass/panel integration. But that's always an issue with any ML hybrid. They can all sound a bit thin because the bass emanates from the bottom of the speaker with a huge panel only doing mid/treble. What I mean by that is there's no bass coming out higher up the speaker to balance the sound out. Maggies and Apogees never had that issue.

I also thought Summit really wasn't any better than Ascent/Decent.

They can sound excellent with a valve pre and a powerful valve or solid state amp. Certainly if the SL3 really are on form they will be outstanding value for money these days.

[cube-tube]

Update... Polk PSW505 subs out, JL Audio e110 subs finally back in after 3 years of them sitting in the closet with faulty amps. Finally repaired and updated.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4000515761-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4000515764-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4000515762-5.jpg

[Swann36]

Nice styling, but I always preferred the look of the Yamaha 'wedge':

https://specialistdivision.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/yamaha-tc-800gl.jpg

Wow what a look :D .... reminds me of something that NASA would of designed to go to the moon ...... in a very good way ...cool

[cube-tube]

Again, this thread is about "MY" system, not others systems or random topics.

[Marco]

Yeah guys, let's remember that please, and limit the thread drift on other people's Gallery threads. Ta!:cool:

Marco.

[cube-tube]

Yeah guys, let's remember that please, and limit the thread drift on other people's Gallery threads. Ta!:cool:

Marco.

Thanks Marco. :cheers:

[cube-tube]

Some better daytime pics...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4001289014-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4001289011-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4001289016-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4001289013-5.jpg

[Barry]

Again, this thread is about "MY" system, not others systems or random topics.

You do not 'own' a thread, so a certain amount of thread drift is inevitable.

As for some of the blunt comments expressed here, well it is of course a matter of opinion, but 'raining on someone's parade' is not a noble trait. So let's keep the discussion polite, and not let it descend into acrimony.

[Marco]

Right guys, I'm going to step in here... Firstly, Gallery threads (much like sales threads) are a little different from those on the main forum, in that they are *primarily* for members to show off/eulogise about their systems. It's not the place to 'critically challenge' anyone, or be anything less than positive, even if you think you're being helpful.

Some earlier comments have been below the standards required in that respect, both from the OP himself (in response to others) and from contributors. Therefore, I don't want to see any more of that behaviour on this Gallery thread, or indeed any other on the forum, so please bear that in mind.

Charles, please also note what Barry said, in terms of no-one here 'owning' ANY thread, which includes you, even though you are the OP of this one. Your input, providing it meets the required standards of behaviour, will be given priority, but that doesn't mean it's YOUR thread.

Therefore, I'm going to prune all unacceptable input, and from now on insist that any posts made here, by anyone, are 100% friendly and constructive. Anything that falls outside of that will be removed with immediate effect and without further warning.

Ok folks, let's get back on topic, with NO more personal remarks!:cool:

Marco.

[cube-tube]

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4004123353-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4004123429-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

Just reinstalled the IsoAcoustics iso-200sub isolators under the JL's. Man, putting the subs on these and getting them off the suspended wood floor, it's like the subs gained a solid 3+ dB of output below 30 Hz, now easily pumping out very usable output below 20 Hz. I actually had to turn the gains down a touch. Apparently, the suspended wood floors soak up a lot of that low frequency energy. I listened to the Greyhound soundtrack (Tom Hanks movie) the other day with these subs, and there was plenty of deep bass, but not like now. Now it's really deep.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4007861898-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4007861899-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4007861946-5.jpg


And of course, my "little" music girl, Charlie.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4007861897-5.jpg

[Marco]

Nice chilled out space that, Charles (love the puss, what's his or her name?), and no doubt a great place to enjoy some great sounding music and movies!:cool:

Marco.

[cube-tube]

Nice chilled out space that, Charles (love the puss, what's his or her name?), and no doubt a great place to enjoy some great sounding music and movies!:cool:

Marco.

Thank you, and her name is Charlie.

[Marco]

Love cats, mate. And I'm sure she enjoys that lovely living space as much as you:)

Give Charlie a nice treat for me!

Marco.

[cube-tube]

Love cats, mate. And I'm sure she enjoys that lovely living space as much as you:)

Give Charlie a nice treat for me!

Marco.

As long as there's music playing (which the system is always up and running 24/7), she's out here chilling in the room. And if I'm here, she's typically right along side me wrapped around my arm.

I gave her a couple of treats a little while ago actually, along with the other 5 kitties. They're very spoiled. LOL

[cube-tube]

I did a few more things recently... Sold the Music Hall mmf-7.3 turntable and Schiit Mani to my oldest brother, drove 130 miles round trip to pick up an absolutely mint Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2 amplifier, installed taller shelf poles and cross braces for my Vulcan rack to make room for that huge amp, and removed all of the cabling coming from and going to the stack of cassette decks in the back of the room for now.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4019598474-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4019598477-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4019598480-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4019598579-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4019598712-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4019598644-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4019598798-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

Removed those trim pieces on either side of the face. I think it looks much better.



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4034108503-5.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4034108504-5.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4034108505-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

On Christmas Eve, one of my brothers came over with his Emotiva XPA DR-2 amp for me to try out in my system for a while, being able to directly compare it to my Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2. He just purchased an integrated tube amp and also just ordered a Doge Audio tube preamp that he's waiting on to be built. So in the meantime, he's letting me run the DR-2 in my system. Plus this is a comparison I wanted to do anyway, just for fun.

And with either amp in the system, my kitties still enjoy hanging out in here chilling to old jazz, classical and old rock. Well, any music really. LOL

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4095234234-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4095234235-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4095771812-5.jpg

[Barry]

Still looking good Charles. :)

[cube-tube]

Still looking good Charles. :)

Thank you, Barry.

[Audio Al]

Great looking system , I see your cat is enjoying it too :D

[cube-tube]

Great looking system , I see your cat is enjoying it too :D

Thanks, Al. There's always at least one kitty in here with me.

[cube-tube]

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4099677460-5.jpg

[Jac Hawk]

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4099677460-5.jpg

Those Martin Logan’s are absolute beasts :wow::clapclapclap:

[cube-tube]

Those Martin Logan’s are absolute beasts :wow::clapclapclap:

Thank you sir. They certainly are!

This past weekend, my brothers were over and we sat for nearly 9 hours straight watching concerts, including Phil Collins, Genesis, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Brit Floyd, Aussie Floyd, Depeche Mode, and The Cure.

Almost continuous SPL levels of 100 to 103 dB with peaks between 107 and 109 dB. Yes, nearly the entire time I was hammering this system that hard, and it never flinched. The Emotiva amp was barely warm, the sub amps were just warm, and zero listening fatigue.

I almost never play my system like that, but it was just so clear and clean, I couldn't help myself. Plus my brothers were loving it. And keep in mind, these Martin Logan SL3's just celebrated their 24th birthday this month and are all original.

[Barry]

Thank you sir. They certainly are!

This past weekend, my brothers were over and we sat for nearly 9 hours straight watching concerts, including Phil Collins, Genesis, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Brit Floyd, Aussie Floyd, Depeche Mode, and The Cure.

Almost continuous SPL levels of 100 to 103 dB with peaks between 107 and 109 dB. Yes, nearly the entire time I was hammering this system that hard, and it never flinched. The Emotiva amp was barely warm, the sub amps were just warm, and zero listening fatigue.

I almost never play my system like that, but it was just so clear and clean, I couldn't help myself. Plus my brothers were loving it. And keep in mind, these Martin Logan SL3's just celebrated their 24th birthday this month and are all original.

The system may have not 'flinched', but being subjected to those sound levels for 9 hours you could well have caused damage to your hearing.

[Jac Hawk]

The system may have not 'flinched', but being subjected to those sound levels for 9 hours you could well have caused damage to your hearing.

could you repeat that Barry, I’ve got a horrible ringing in my ears:D:lol::lol:

[Barry]

I said: "When I was considering buying a set of SL-3s, I declined because they wouldn't go loud enough." :D

[cube-tube]

The system may have not 'flinched', but being subjected to those sound levels for 9 hours you could well have caused damage to your hearing.


could you repeat that Barry, I’ve got a horrible ringing in my ears:D:lol::lol:


I said: "When I was considering buying a set of SL-3s, I declined because they wouldn't go loud enough." :D

LOL! You guys are funny!

Yes, I know sustained sound levels like that can and will damage hearing, but I never play it that loud normally. My typical listening habits remain around a sustained 80 - 85 dB with peaks of about 90 dB at most. And even that's pushing it for me. Plus, I consider playing a system that loud all the time is abuse... Something I don't do with my system. But I can say, even at those levels I was playing over the weekend, it was so effortless sounding. No signs of stress at all. Probably the reason I was pushing it so hard and why it was so non-fatiguing.

But no worries fellas. I'm back to my normal 80 - 85 dB sustained levels. Not to mention I value and greatly appreciate my hearing very much, hence why I've only been to three live concerts my entire life.

[Jac Hawk]

My watch of all things tells me when i'm playing the music too loud

[Filterlab]

I tend to play way lower than that, around 60-70dB. That’s loud enough for me. :D

I did wind the system up to an unfeasibly loud level to test the new amp the other day, and it was feckin’ admirable - not missing a beat, not getting stressed and not losing grip. Not bad for a 30w amp.

I like your MLs by the way. I had a pair donkey’s ago. There’s something about them that other speakers don’t get close to.

[cube-tube]

I tend to play way lower than that, around 60-70dB. That’s loud enough for me. :D

I did wind the system up to an unfeasibly loud level to test the new amp the other day, and it was feckin’ admirable - not missing a beat, not getting stressed and not losing grip. Not bad for a 30w amp.

I like your MLs by the way. I had a pair donkey’s ago. There’s something about them that other speakers don’t get close to.



I do as well. Like I said, I usually stay around the 80 - 85 dB mark. But it's nice to know that the system can get up and go when it's asked to. And it does so without complaint.

Years ago, I owned a pair of Magnepan MGLR-1's and absolutely loved them. Maggies do a LOT of things right, and after listening to several different pairs at the time, I decided on the MGLR-1's because they were the only ones in my price range at the time (other than the MMG's of course). That was back in 1997 I believe.

Fast forward to just a few years ago when I got these ML SL3's, they quickly brought back the memories of the Maggies. Life-size vocals and instruments, open, nearly colorless sound, does most things right, etc, etc.

Just a few weeks ago, my oldest brother purchased a mint used pair of Maggie 1.6's (not the newer 1.6QR). Said they only have maybe 6 months of use on them at most and sat unused mostly. They look absolutely brand new all around. I spent a few hours with him helping him dial them in. They sound great for the most part, same life-size vocals and instruments, open, airy, great imaging and sound stage and put out an amazing amount of somewhat deep bass on their own. The only thing is, they have somewhat of a hollow or cupped/chestiness sound in the midrange. I'm guessing they're possibly not fully broken in yet. I always used to joke around saying that my MGLR-1's sounded like the cardboard box they came out of when they were new and breaking in. That's pretty much how these 1.6's sound at the moment. Hopefully that will all clear up after a few hundred hours. It stinks though because he's hardly ever home to play his system, and he doesn't leave his system on 24/7 like I do.

All I know is that when I come home to my system, it's like a breathe of fresh air. One thing these SL3's do extremely well are vocals. Very very natural and realistic sounding. Almost like the singers are right in the room.


BTW, I just searched and found your gallery thread on your "Tidy" system. Looking at your clean little setup really makes me happy. I love small clean systems. But the most important part of that thread is that view you have overlooking the field with three horses. Simply beautiful. To have that room, that system, and that view, I really do wish I lived over in the UK.

[cube-tube]

Playing around with some "new" NOS tubes that just showed up, as well as the 6SN7 tube adapters to use them in the Freya+...

Raytheon/Baldwin 12AU7's on the left, GE 6CG7 on the right. I also have a pair of GE 6FQ7's, which are identical to the 6CG7, but the 6CG7 utilizes a shield between the two plates.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4118151434-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4118151429-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4118242279-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

6FQ7's now in place along with the 6CG7's...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4123833574-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4123833575-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4123833569-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4123833570-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

Did a thing today... Been itching for a while for some DIY action, and I've had these sitting at the other house for a few years now doing nothing. Figured I'd get them fired back up and actually finish them off properly.

Here's the quick and dirty. And please excuse the mess at the moment in the room. There's been a lot going on in this room today. LOL

The dbx Driverack Venu 360 still had all of the crossover and level settings, as well as the old EQ settings for the old room. Just ran the "Auto EQ". Sounding better than I imagined it would, especially since they just replaced the Martin Logan's. In fact, these are doing extremely good right now.

The little silver amps are the Nuprime STA 9's that I used to own and sold to one of my brothers a while back. The Emotiva is powering the Audio Nirvana fullrange drivers, the top STA 9 is powering the Eminence woofers, the bottom STA 9 is only there to send a signal to the JL subs.

More to come!

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4133926374-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4134543662-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4134545220-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

Been tweaking speaker positioning more, adjusting levels, crossover points and such. Really getting these dialed in. The result of all that work was that the AutoEQ in the dbx Venu 360 had to implement a lot less in order to make corrections.
Afterwards, I played my reference songs from Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight, I Don't Care Anymore, and Genesis - Mama. Songs/albums that I have lived and breathed for the past 30+ years. Also Carley Simon -Coming Around Again and Sting - Why Should I Cry For You and When The Angels Fall.

Especially while playing the Phil Collins and Genesis tracks, tonight was the first time in a very long time that my system made me get chills down my spine and actually start laughing to myself because how damn good it sounded! The last time this happened was when I was running HUGE open baffles back in the early 2000's with Usher Audio 15" drivers and Altec Voice Of The Theater 511B horns and 908-8b drivers. And this system is more refined than that system was, and much smaller by comparison!

Sheer dynamic swing, purely effortless slam, in-the-room vocals and drums, stage width and depth galore! And the naturalness and realistic presentation of it all... And this is STILL with the flimsy temp baffles and only one bass driver per side. I still have six more of these Eminence Acoustinator N2012 drivers to install (three per channel).

This is the RTA on the dbx Venu 360 after all the tweaking and running AutoEQ again, now with a lot less processing needed.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2187630809-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

Been at it again... Simplified the system, removed a couple of amps and the DSP, changed speakers again, and purchased a Sony Blu-ray player...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2518177743-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2517172076-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2517172239-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2518177751-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2518177755-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

Swapped out a power cable this morning...
https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2523859909-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2523859740-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2523859720-5.jpg

[Barry]

Nice to see another fan of the work of Ansel Adams. :)

[cube-tube]

JL subs pulled out of the system and going on the market soon...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2560464402-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2560465013-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2560464539-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2560464668-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2560464591-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2560465212-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2560465339-5.jpg

[Puffin]

Nice!

[cube-tube]

Thank you.

[cube-tube]

Added some more Tara Labs cables today.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2606559123-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2606559146-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2606559151-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2611518171-5.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2611518197-5.jpg

[cube-tube]

Now running Monitor Audio Bronze 500's...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2690928674-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2690928557-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2690929079-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2690929167-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2690929233-6.jpg

[walpurgis]

They look good. I like the progressive occlusion presented by the tweeter grille, good idea.

[cube-tube]

They look good. I like the progressive occlusion presented by the tweeter grille, good idea.

They call that grille a Uniform Dispersion Waveguide which is said to "offer even dispersion characteristics, improved time alignment and lower crossover frequency for wider directivity."

[Lawrence001]

Yes I like them too. I think they're also on the golds if not the platinums so MA must really think they work.

[cube-tube]

Either way, I believe these speakers punch well above their price point. At least in my system/room they do.

[cube-tube]

Back to the Klipsch RP-8000F's... The MA's are good in many ways, but still not as good as these Klipsch. A real surprise to me.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2706585062-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2706584972-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Giving the Monitor Audio Bronze 500's another shot again...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2827597548-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Here's the system in our (new to us) home that we just purchased. I changed things up a bit with the system, pulling the Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2 amp out and bringing back these little NuPrime STA-9 amps. Also brought back the Polk Audio PSW-505 subs. It's hard to tell from the pics, but the main speakers are pulled 5' out from the wall, and they can come out further if need be. So far, so good, for only living in the house for a week.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3113692881-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3113692963-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3113692839-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3113693766-6.jpg

[Alex_UK]

Looking good!

[cube-tube]

Been playing with speaker/sub placement a lot more lately, as well as crossover and gain settings on the subs. The speakers front baffles are now just over 6 feet from the front wall, the subs are about an additional 8 inches further out than in these pictures. Tweaking width spacing and toe in about 1/4 inch intervals, this system is finally creating an extremely realistic, holographic sound stage with great depth, width and pretty decent height. With the right recordings, the speakers completely disappear as well as the subs.

I'm really enjoying the system in this new, larger room/house.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3214426164-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3214426148-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3214426226-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3214426377-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3214426421-6.jpg

[Pigmy Pony]

Your cat's not happy with your placement of the cat beds. "Here would be better" :)

[cube-tube]

LOL! Probably so, but her preferred spot is right along side me on the couch. :thumbsup:

[Marco]

Awesome pics and system! What makes it super-cool though, is that you clearly care for your cats as much as your gear!!:respect:

:thumbsup:

Marco.

[cube-tube]

Thank you for the kind words, Marco.

I do love my cats, and they are very well taken care of. I don't know what I'd do without them as I have always had cats ever since I was a baby.

On a side note, I brought out my custom white quartz slabs that I had made several years back, and put them under the NuPrime amps. And of course, some of the kitties laying around enjoying the system with me.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3320722781-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3320722971-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3320722913-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

The AV123 (GR Research) X-Statik's are back in play!

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3411642354-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3411642351-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3411642352-6.jpg

[Puffin]

Not sure why but this thread has passed me by! Some lovely pics of a great set up and some great gear. Having a dedicated room is the way to go. I built one over 10 years ago and it is the only way to go.

[cube-tube]

Not sure why but this thread has passed me by! Some lovely pics of a great set up and some great gear. Having a dedicated room is the way to go. I built one over 10 years ago and it is the only way to go.

Why thank you, sir. I appreciate that! And yes, a dedicated room certainly makes a difference. Eventually, I'll start on doing some acoustic treatments.

[cube-tube]

A few more new pics with better lighting...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3418879827-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3418879834-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3418879675-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3418879804-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3418880104-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3418880163-6.jpg

[Puffin]

Why thank you, sir. I appreciate that! And yes, a dedicated room certainly makes a difference. Eventually, I'll start on doing some acoustic treatments.

I did this more recently after doing the "clap" test (clapping at various points areound the room). There are differences of opinion as to which end of the room should be treated, but my understanding is that the speaker end is where it should be. I added two large "batts" to each side wall adjacent to the speakers and one hanging from the ceiling between the speakers and this was well worth doing in my room.

[cube-tube]

I did this more recently after doing the "clap" test (clapping at various points areound the room). There are differences of opinion as to which end of the room should be treated, but my understanding is that the speaker end is where it should be. I added two large "batts" to each side wall adjacent to the speakers and one hanging from the ceiling between the speakers and this was well worth doing in my room.

And I've heard different, that you should do diffusion on the front wall and absorption panels on the back wall. Especially when it comes to dipoles / electrostats / open baffle loudspeakers. You don't want to absorb the back wave of the speaker on the front wall, but defuse it.

[cube-tube]

I did a thing...

I've been wanting to put some gear on the side wall (if not all of it at some point minus the amp and TV). When we first moved in to the new house, I tried this setup but kept getting a bunch of buzzing coming through the speakers clearly heard at the listening seat even though I'm running fully balanced, using two pairs of pro-grade Pig Hog 30 ft XLR cables. Not being able to solve the issue, I just put everything on the front wall using standard 1 meter Nordost and Wireworld XLRS. Even then, when getting up close to the tweeters, you could still a very slight buzzing coming through.

Well yesterday, I tried moving things around again and stripped the system down to only the preamp, amps and speakers. Again, I had the buzz. I tried different wall outlets, and even lifted the ground on one end or both ends with no effect.

I swapped the Schiit Freya+ for my Topping A90 headphone amp which is also fully balanced and can be switched over to preamp only mode. Tried that and I still had the buzz coming through the system, so moved the Freya+ back into the system. As a last ditch effort, I pulled the NuPrime STA-9 amps and put my Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2 amp into the mix. The result?... Pure silence! I mean pure silence as in I had to double check to make sure I actually had the speakers connected to the amp! No buzz, no hum, no hiss, no nothing! And that's with my ears right up against the tweeters practically!

I connected the Bifrost 2 DAC with another pair of Pig Hog 30 ft XLR's, still no noise. Connected the Sony Blu-ray, the Raspberry Pi4, the Roku Ultra, the TV, powered everything up... Still completely silent!

So it seems that either the balanced inputs on the NuPrime amps aren't wired correctly, or they are not differential inputs, OR they are not true balanced inputs at all. Either way, they are out of the system, the Emotiva is back in the system. And being able to hear both amps in the same room and system configuration, surprisingly the Emotiva has more and tighter bass (had to turn the gains down a touch on the subs), a more refined top end while remaining airy and spacious, and an ever so slightly fuller midrange. Imaging seems to be about the same, though stage depth and width is a little better. BTW, the Emotiva amp does in fact utilize true balanced differential inputs.

Who knew that Emotiva was able to create an amplifier (a massive 75 pound amplifier I might add) that is capable of exceeding the performance of a pair of amplifiers at double to price (two amps). The NuPrime STA-9's were $900 each new, the Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2 was also $900 new.

Anywho, on with some pics...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3618201613-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3618201618-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3618201602-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3618201651-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

A few more pics from this morning...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3618645271-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3618644536-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3618645327-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Don't mind the mess. We had family over last night. On that note, the Christmas Tree does in fact good ole' fashion bubble lights on it! :D

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3826113229-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3826114906-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Made a "pair" of upgrades in the way of a couple SVS PB-1000 Pro subs. Haven't really had any time to dial them in yet. Just plopped them in, made preliminary adjustments, and let them go. I'll really dig into the settings and DSP tomorrow hopefully.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4103185724-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4103185716-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4103185722-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p4103185723-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Obviously, this has become a one sided conversation thread... Anyway...

I moved some of my gear further down the side wall, as in all the way to the back of the wall. The dust hasn't settled yet and the speakers/subs may end up moving some more (maybe moving the subs inboard to see how that deals with room modes and such). Now that the front of the room is a lot more symmetrical, there's a definite improvement in stage width and imaging which I knew would happen. It's just that when we moved in, I just kind of threw things in the room and went with it for a while.

However, now that the front of the room is sorted so to speak, there's a lot more flexibility in playing with speaker/sub placement to get things really dialed in. Not to mention that this also prepares the room better for some room acoustic treatments a little later down the road.

I have to say, SVS has come a long, long, LONG way in the musicality department since the days of my old PB12-ISD/2 and PB12-Plus/2 subs. They were great for movies, but for music?... Forget it. Slow, sluggish, heavy sounding with music. Definitely not so with these new PB-1000 Pro's. Tight, agile, crisp!

Anywho, on with a few pics. And yes, that one of the audio rack and timer, that's 4:50am! Sucks when you can't sleep half the time.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p235662925-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p479261118-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p156436465-6.jpg

[Gazjam]

Love your room and setup Man.
Top work!

Don't be discouraged,
assume everyone see's what you post.

[cube-tube]

Not discouraged at all. Just not too thrilled with the lack of activity on this site.

I have plenty of other forums that have a lot more action on them.

[Pigmy Pony]

How you getting on with those subs Charles? SVS has been on my radar for a while...

[JohnJo]

Lovely room and system Charles, appreciate the photos.

[Roy S]

Not discouraged at all. Just not too thrilled with the lack of activity on this site.

I have plenty of other forums that have a lot more action on them.

One of the main forum catalysts is currently on the missing list (Marco) so that's slowed things down noticeably.

Awesome system and room you have there and I wouldn't worry about the lack of plaudits my own gallery thread has suffered with a few tumbleweed moments, sometimes people just have nothing to add to what's been said & there's no 'like' button :)

[guy]

One of the main forum catalysts is currently on the missing list (Marco) so that's slowed things down noticeably.

Awesome system and room you have there and I wouldn't worry about the lack of plaudits my own gallery thread has suffered with a few tumbleweed moments, sometimes people just have nothing to add to what's been said & there's no 'like' button :)

Quite so, I would like a "like" button because I'm a lazy sod :)

Cool room, at first I couldn't work out what type of flooring you have Charles. Last couple of photo's seem to show that it is wood - I'm interested because I have recently had engineered Oak flooring laid. I was all set to get a rug to put in front of the speakers, like you have, but have found that I like the sound as it is.

[Lawrence001]

Not discouraged at all. Just not too thrilled with the lack of activity on this site.

I have plenty of other forums that have a lot more action on them.A while ago I saw a system thread where the OP asked people to stop commenting as it was "his" thread, so it takes all sorts. The main thing is we all get on with each other and accept each others' foibles which can be a lack of posting, over posting, taking things too seriously, or not seriously enough.

Anyway I enjoy looking at the development of your system but don't necessarily feel the need to comment. Now I know you'd like a bit of feedback I'll try to be more vocal.

Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk

[cube-tube]

How you getting on with those subs Charles? SVS has been on my radar for a while...

They're coming along quite well actually. Finally got around to using REW again... It's been a few years since I used it last.


Spent the past five plus hours playing around with REW and my new Dayton Audio UMM-6 mic, attempting to dial in my system. I'll be the first to admit this room is in need of some major help.

The GR-Research X-Statik's create a huge peak at 74Hz. Keep in mind, these are sealed loudspeakers, and positioned 6' in front of the front wall and just over 3' from the side walls. Even when just by themselves, there's a huge hole that shows up between 35Hz to 50Hz! In any of the other rooms I've had these speakers in over the past 13 years, I've never seem huge peaks and dips like this before.

With the subs active, there's still a huge hole at 43Hz. Also, to help reduce that hole, I had to move the subs back towards the front wall. They are only about 1.5' away from the wall now, instead of the near 6' they were previously when positioned along side the mains. To get a smoother, cleaner transition from the subs to the mains, I had to cross the subs over at 72Hz with a 24dB slope, then dial them in with phase adjustments.

Whenever I get more time, I'll set everything up again and do some more measurements and tuning. It certainly doesn't look good on paper, but there is a vast improvement in overall sound quality over just the "throw them in and tune by ear" method I did when I got these subs. Which is also how I've been listening to them for the past couple months that I've owned them now.

Anyway, a few graphs to chat over...

Mains by themselves...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p558577046-6.jpg

With subs...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p996627331-6.jpg

The two above combined, and limited to 200Hz...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p408844165-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p893696086-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Changed things up once again... Now running a pair of Revel Concerta2 M16's and my old AudioQuest CV-8 speaker cables.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p894167199-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p973154976-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p911198674-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p823951813-6.jpg

[Pete812]

Very nice looking listening room and system,
cute cat too :)

[Barry]

What is the cylinder strapped to the speaker cable? What is it for, and what does it do?

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p823951813-6.jpg

Nice looking system BTW. :)

[cube-tube]

Very nice looking listening room and system,
cute cat too :)

Thank you!

[cube-tube]

What is the cylinder strapped to the speaker cable? What is it for, and what does it do?

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p823951813-6.jpg

Nice looking system BTW. :)

Most likely a bunch of snake oil honestly. It's AudioQuest's "DBS" system, which I think is a bunch of non-sense. https://www.audioquest.com/accessories/audio-enhancements/noise-trapping-dbs-packs

I purchased these cables open box at a really great price. That's the only reason I got them. That, and I was looking for a decent pair of non-bi-wire cables at the time.

[Barry]

Ah yes - DC biasing of a dielectric. I believe Altec Lansing (or it might have been JBL) tried that idea on all of the capacitors in the speaker crossover.

[cube-tube]

Yes, JBL used it in some of their designs, and I believe they started using that design again in some of their new models. Not exactly sure if it actually does anything for sound or not though.

[cube-tube]

Been at it again today with REW, but with the Revel M16's in the system as well as my Topping A90 headphone amp in preamp mode since I sold my Schiit Freya+. The little A90 is quite surprising!

Anyway, started with just the Revel's playing by themselves, measuring and adjusting placement of each one separately of course. I'm still getting that 70 Hz peak as I was with the other speakers, but I was able to lessen it some with placement. They ended up about 10" closer to the front wall and about 12" closer together.

After I got the Revel's playing as nicely as possible on their own, I went back to the left channel only and added in the sub, adjusting gain, crossover point, crossover slope, phase and PEQ. Once that one was as good as I could get it, blending with the Revel, I muted that channel and started on the right channel.

Once each channel was to my liking, I then started tweaking them as a stereo pair. More gain adjustments, and more importantly, more phase adjustments on both subs. Not only are the subs blended extremely well with the Revel's, but the subs are "locked in" on each other now, something I wasn't able to do with the other speakers in the system.

I gotta say, this system is sounding splendid right now. With the PEQ and phase on each sub tweaked to the gills, I've been able to smooth out above and a little below that 70 Hz peak, as well as greatly lessen the dips centered around those 45 Hz and 60 Hz nulls.

Stage width and depth have improved drastically, creating a more lifelike, involved and enveloping sound stage. That 70 Hz peak isn't anywhere near as annoying as it was before, and the subs are working together cohesively, not against each other like before. You can easily tell this as the foundation and overall grunt is stronger, tighter and much cleaner now.

Finally, it feels like I'm actually getting somewhere with this system and room. The next big tweaks of course will be room treatments. Most likely, I'll start with some corner traps up front and a couple absorbers on the wall behind me. After that, some diffusers on the front wall. Lastly, most likely a couple more diffusers on the side walls and maybe a couple more smaller absorbers one the side walls right along side my listening seat.

For now, here's a few shots and measurements...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p785675991-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p581152100-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p894895997-6.jpg


All graphs are with both channels driven.

12 dB Smoothing...
https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p697903739-6.jpg

Decay...
https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p632213243-6.jpg

Waterfall...
https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p758487224-6.jpg

Spectrograph...
https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p767232575-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Something showed up today!

Presenting, the QUAD Artera Pre...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p263937237-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p654358-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p553199747-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p390409107-6.jpg

[Barry]

It's all looking (and sounding) good Charles. Thanks for the update. :)

Pleased to see I'm not the only one who uses balanced-line connections as much as possible. :)

[cube-tube]

It's all looking (and sounding) good Charles. Thanks for the update. :)

Pleased to see I'm not the only one who uses balanced-line connections as much as possible. :)

Thanks Barry.

Most times I use balanced because the gear offers it and I feel it's better than single ended interconnect cables. However, in this particular situation, it's more if a necessity since the DAC and amp are almost 9 meters away at the front of the room. So the signal travels a total of 18 meters before it gets to the speakers. With that being said, the system is completely dead silent.

[cube-tube]

And for another, rather major update/upgrade... Some nice, new Magnepan 1.7i's!

Since these two pics earlier this evening, the Maggies have swapped sides so now that tweeters are on the inside. Lots more tweaking to come over the weekend.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p711125328-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p573098261-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Been playing with positioning all day yesterday and today. These massive Maggies (massive for this room anyway) are doing the incredible disappearing act, and I've got the subs integrated perfectly. Solid center image, all of the bass benefits from the Maggies, and getting that low end foundation from 45Hz on down from the subs. Man, I'm really digging this!

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p985655972-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p947952891-6.jpg

[Barry]

Looking and sounding good there Charles. :)

[cube-tube]

Thank you, Barry.

This system has come a very long way in just a matter of days.

[Dan6055]

Nice systems over the years

[cube-tube]

Nice systems over the years

Thank you, Dan. There's certainly been a few versions of it over the years.

[cube-tube]

Picked up this super mint, fully restored Pioneer RT-1020L from my father over the weekend. This is one of the many reasons why I decided to purchase the Quad Artera preamp as it has what they call an RCA "AUX" preamp output, which completely bypass the volume, so it gets full signal from all of the inputs, including the balanced input. Pretty much like a "tape loop" on old preamps and receivers from back in the day. I have a couple of Ampex 456 tapes, though I have no idea what's on them if anything. Guess I'll find out in the next couple of days or coming weekend.

Soon will come another Pangea rack for a couple cassette decks, dbx goodies and turntable, as well as the hunt beginning for some RTR tapes. Also have to get some new interconnects as the Wireworld Oasis ones I have, the machined ends on them are too thick to fit comfortably in the jacks on the Pioneer. Those jacks are just placed slightly too close together.

Anywho, on with some pics...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p176912846-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p446146716-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p152294390-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p75584862-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Expanded on the system today...

Another five shelf Pangea rack
Technics SL-1700 MKII Turntable
Azden GX-50 Equalizer
Nakamichi DR-1 Cassette Deck
dbx 400x Active Program Route Selector
dbx 224x Noise Reduction

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p309982909-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p428963627-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p532445540-6.jpg

[brian2957]

Beautiful system Charles. That R2R is a stunner :)

[cube-tube]

Beautiful system Charles. That R2R is a stunner :)

Thank you, Brian. The RTR is certainly a show piece. The system is coming together nicely. And if you couldn't tell, I kind of have a thing for quality vintage/analogue equipment. I have loads of cassettes and LP's, just don't have much in a way of RTR tapes, and currently production pre-recorded tapes are ridiculously expensive.

[brian2957]

Yes I did get the impression you were fond of quality vintage gear. Looks in immaculate condition too :)

[cube-tube]

Thank you.

Got an Ortofon 2M Bronze mounted and aligned. Just as I figured, the built-in phono stage of the Quad sounds excellent!

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1015140729-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p988725765-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p919237153-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p624247304-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Purchased a somewhat mint JVC XL-V411 CD player. I say "somewhat" mint because once it arrived via FedEx, the display got knocked crooked, five plastic tabs got broken off, and the motorized volume was making noise, but not moving. I opened it up yesterday, disassembled more than half of it, and got everything straightened out (pun intended) and un-jammed the volume knob. Other than that, the unit is excellent, everything operates, it sounds amazingly good, has a coax output if I want to add a DAC at some point, the remote control looks almost new, and the manual is still sealed in its factory plastic sleeve from 1989.

I also swapped out the APC H15 power conditioner for the much older but totally mint Monster HTS 5000. Reason being that I think the APC might be on its way out. A couple of times in the past week or two, the system connected to it shuts down for a second then comes back on, yet the other half of the system at the front of the room is unaffected, nor is the computer (running Roon Core) and the modem remain on as well in the rear of the room.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p52223639-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p309717133-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p427461779-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p300791625-6.jpg

[eldarvanyar]

Thanks for sharing all this, I have enjoyed reading your thread. I absolutely love the R2R.
Can you say what has been the pinnacle of your system and also something about your tape decks. How good is the JVC one?

Thanks

[cube-tube]

Thanks for sharing all this, I have enjoyed reading your thread. I absolutely love the R2R.
Can you say what has been the pinnacle of your system and also something about your tape decks. How good is the JVC one?

Thanks

Thank you.

It's a toss up between the Quad Artera preamp and the Magnepan 1.7i's as far as the "pinnacle" of the system. The Quad on its own without changing anything else in the system brought a LOT to the table. Overall sonics, impact, definition, imaging, sound stage width and depth, they all improved somewhat drastically with the Quad over the Schiit Freya+ that it replaced. And then the Maggies... Well everyone one knows that kind of performance those have when set up correctly. They open the window just that much more over the Quad preamp. The detail, the delicacy and air of instruments as well as voice, the acoustics of a venue, the texture and soul. It's all there with this combo. And the fact that the Emotive amp can even convey any of this from the preamp to the speakers is an amazing feat in of itself. Even though that amp is not the pinnacle of the system, it has yet to let me down in any way.

The cassette decks... They're all near TOTL units, all in mint shape, though the JVC and Yamaha have to have the belts replaced. Other than that, they're all excellent decks, and all 3 head decks except for the JVC. However, that JVC has those very fine Sen-Alloy heads and that B.E.S.T. Tuning system, it's recording quality equals any 3-head deck out there, not to mention that Super ARNS does a spectacular job. Also, this unit is built like a tank and utilized heavy duty solenoids for the various functions just like in the Pioneer RTR. I love just touching a button and hearing/feeling that solid "clunk". They don't make them like they used to!

Out of all the decks, I would venture to say the JVC is the best I have, or have had.

[cube-tube]

Did a little upgrade tonight. Out with the Ortofon 2M Bronze, in with the...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p743307213-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p801632926-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p600286780-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p558565698-6.jpg

[Wakefield Turntables]

Great evolution of the system Charles, a decent thread as well. I've enjoyed reading this in the UK, early in the morning with a decent cup of coffee. Keep up the good work!

[cube-tube]

Thank you for the kind words, sir!

Only had time yesterday to mess around with Sumiko some. Currently fighting an uphill battle with some inner groove distortion. Roughly the last two tracks of every album, voices start taking on a fuzzy, static like quality… a.k.a. - IGD. I've encountered this before with other carts and tables, but was always able to eliminate it after a few more alignment tweaks. However, with this cart, I'm having a heck of a time with it.

Maybe you can give me some pointers if you have any experience aligning carts on Technics turntables.

[Barry]

Have you set up the stylus alignment using the protractor supplied with the Technics deck? AFAIK, the geometry of most Japanese arms conform to the Stevenson prescription.

I would also try increasing the VTF to 2.2g, to see if that helps.

[cube-tube]

Have you set up the stylus alignment using the protractor supplied with the Technics deck? AFAIK, the geometry of most Japanese arms conform to the Stevenson prescription.

I would also try increasing the VTF to 2.2g, to see if that helps.

Yes and yes. This isn't my first time setting up a turntable with a new cartridge... Especially not the first time with this table. And I've tried a number of alignments. This cart just requires a bit more tweaking apparently than others.

[cube-tube]

Good ole' Amazon delivery today... Hudson Hifi acrylic mat and gel stylus cleaner.

To my amazement, the acrylic mat is no joke. Bass and lower midrange has tightened up and become cleaner and more defined. Bass also seems to reach a little deeper. Everything else from what I can tell has remained the same with the exception of a bit more open sound stage. All in all, a nice simple upgrade for only 24 bucks, ordered last night and arrived about 2 hours ago.

Also, pretty sure I've pretty much eliminated that stinkin' IGD. Part of it was the cartridge alignment (resorted back to the Technics alignment tool that came with this TT back in '78), and the other part was from some of these old LPs. It's just the way some of them are, or how they've been played in years past with mis-aligned carts from the previous owners. My personal collection of LP's from my father, brothers and myself are all perfectly fine... IGD free.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p794089050-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p837903270-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p669384720-6.jpg

[eldarvanyar]

Hi, I have just managed to buy a mint one owner and fully serviced JVC KD-A8 and am awaiting a DBX 224 to be delivered. I have read that the DBX has to be set to the right level adjust in order to avoid pumping in the sound. Can you say what level you set yours to so that it avoids any pumping that I have read about on some forums.
Can you also say what taped have worked best on your JVC?
Thanks

[cube-tube]

Hi, I have just managed to buy a mint one owner and fully serviced JVC KD-A8 and am awaiting a DBX 224 to be delivered. I have read that the DBX has to be set to the right level adjust in order to avoid pumping in the sound. Can you say what level you set yours to so that it avoids any pumping that I have read about on some forums.
Can you also say what taped have worked best on your JVC?
Thanks

I have yet to make any recordings with the dbx, so I have not made any settings on it yet. I haven't made any recordings with any of the cassette decks either yet, though when my father had the KD-A8, he used all of the CrO2 and Metal tapes from Maxell, TDK, Sony and Triad with great success. Tapes from the very late 70's to the mid 90's, I have them all. Some with no Dolby, some with Dolby B, some with Dolby C, some with JVC's Super ANRS, and they all still sound excellent. Not a single issue with any of them.

[cube-tube]

Very little to no interest as usual, but...

Been doing a lot of experimenting lately which has gotten my vinyl system closer to where I want it. The past couple of weeks have included a new record clamp/weight, a new Nasotec swivel headshell, four different cartridges (more importantly the stylus type), and various alignments. The fifth cartridge is arriving tomorrow which will hopefully put an end to my experimenting and/or search as it is technically the best of both worlds (cartridge type and stylus type).

Naturally, the higher quality the stylus, the more detail and stereo separation there is, and with less surface noise and vanishing IGD. The Nasotec headshell cleans everything up that much more. A very clean and solidified sound overall, even more defined stereo separation, and bass that seems more effortless and open. Quite an interesting headshell that I'm glad I discovered.

Nagaoka M-110
https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p330571722-6.jpg

Sumiko Blue Point No.3
https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p192346221-6.jpg

Ortofon 2M Bronze
https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p154060462-6.jpg

Ortofon 2M Black
https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p344909417-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Not surprised one bit that people here don't care about any of this. I can say one thing, you all are great at proving my point every time I post... LOL

Anyway, the new cart came in and I have it up and running. I only have about 2 hours on it, but it already sounds better than all of the other carts combined. I hear the break-in period is around 50 hours, so it can only get better. Right now, it's fuller, more detailed, snappier, punchier, and just cleaner sounding with very little to no surface noise.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p378065804-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p212277233-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p334727021-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p187370024-6.jpg

[Barry]

What is the articulated headshell you are using with the AT cartridge?

[cube-tube]

Nasotec

[Macca]

Very little to no interest as usual, but...


I wouldn't interpret a paucity of replies as a lack of interest, your thread has almost 40K views.

[Pigmy Pony]

I wouldn't interpret a paucity of replies as a lack of interest, your thread has almost 40K views.

Just as Martin says. Looking at your posting history I'm not seeing much in the way of replies on other members' system blogs, though I'm sure you will be following them all with interest :)

Just because we're not saying much, doesn't mean we're not interested.

[Firebottle]

Nice new cart and great photos.

[brian2957]

Yup, I always read this thread when it's been updated. Cracking photos and description. Sorry I don't always reply, but I really enjoy this thread :)

[cube-tube]

I suppose you guys are right. As Pigmy Pony pointed out, I don't post much if at all in other threads as well.

Anyway, curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to do another experiment. I played the "A" side of each album listed below. These are very familiar albums to me, and I have already played them all at least twice this past week alone, not including today. These were played with the AT-OC9XSL and Nasotec headshell. After I played these four albums (A-side only) back to back, I went to work on swapping the AT cart over to the stock Technics headshell and making the alignment with the stock Technics overhang tool.

Swing Out Sister - It's Better To Travel
Eurythmics - Savage
U2 - Joshua Tree
Eastern Airlines - Images In Flight (mono)

Playing these four albums again now with the AT cart mounted on the Technics headshell revealed a few things. Bass has considerably more definition, detail and impact. Midrange and vocals are more precise and spacious. The treble is very clean and polished. Stage depth has increased with a natural amount of space around instruments and singers. And to top it all off, there's still zero IGD anywhere on any of the albums.

Tonality-wise, everything holds true for the mono Eastern Airlines album. The center image is spot on with even a sense of depth within the recording.

In short, even though the Nasotec swivel headshell showed great improvements with the Ortofon and Sumiko carts over the stock Technics headshell, the exact opposite is true when it comes to the AT cart. This cart is a much better match to the Technics cart. With the AT-OC9XSL / Nasotec headshell combo, I always got a slight low rumble during very quiet passages and in between tracks. And in direct comparison to the Technics headshell, the treble took on an almost grainy texture with the Nasotec headshell.

Apparently, some carts such as the Ortofon 2M series greatly benefit from the Nasotec swivel headshell, and other carts such as the AT-OC9XSL do not. So with that being said, the Nasotec will be getting packed back up and shipped back.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p802042243-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p988574973-6.jpg

[brian2957]

Got to admit I was surprised by your conclusion. That Nasotec headshell looks the biz, doesn't it?

[cube-tube]

Got to admit I was surprised by your conclusion. That Nasotec headshell looks the biz, doesn't it?

I was surprised also honestly. It did an excellent job of "cleaning up" the sound of the Ortofon and Sumiko carts, but unfortunately just the opposite for the AT cart.

Yes, the Nasotec is a great looking, very well designed and built headshell. It works, but apparently not with all carts. And it's quite heavy too. In order to use it with any of the carts, I had the counterweight nearly backed all the way off just to balance the tonearm. Another quarter turn and the weight would have fallen off!

[Lawrence001]

I suppose you guys are right. As Pigmy Pony pointed out, I don't post much if at all in other threads as well.

Anyway, curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to do another experiment. I played the "A" side of each album listed below. These are very familiar albums to me, and I have already played them all at least twice this past week alone, not including today. These were played with the AT-OC9XSL and Nasotec headshell. After I played these four albums (A-side only) back to back, I went to work on swapping the AT cart over to the stock Technics headshell and making the alignment with the stock Technics overhang tool.

Swing Out Sister - It's Better To Travel
Eurythmics - Savage
U2 - Joshua Tree
Eastern Airlines - Images In Flight (mono)

Playing these four albums again now with the AT cart mounted on the Technics headshell revealed a few things. Bass has considerably more definition, detail and impact. Midrange and vocals are more precise and spacious. The treble is very clean and polished. Stage depth has increased with a natural amount of space around instruments and singers. And to top it all off, there's still zero IGD anywhere on any of the albums.

Tonality-wise, everything holds true for the mono Eastern Airlines album. The center image is spot on with even a sense of depth within the recording.

In short, even though the Nasotec swivel headshell showed great improvements with the Ortofon and Sumiko carts over the stock Technics headshell, the exact opposite is true when it comes to the AT cart. This cart is a much better match to the Technics cart. With the AT-OC9XSL / Nasotec headshell combo, I always got a slight low rumble during very quiet passages and in between tracks. And in direct comparison to the Technics headshell, the treble took on an almost grainy texture with the Nasotec headshell.

Apparently, some carts such as the Ortofon 2M series greatly benefit from the Nasotec swivel headshell, and other carts such as the AT-OC9XSL do not. So with that being said, the Nasotec will be getting packed back up and shipped back.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p802042243-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p988574973-6.jpgThe singer from Swing Out Sister went to my school but a few years before me

[cube-tube]

The singer from Swing Out Sister went to my school but a few years before me

Nice. Small world. She has a great voice.

[cube-tube]

A few new pics of the system at a totally different angle. The 32" monitor on the back wall is connected to the tiny PC running Roon Core. Everything is hidden in that buffet table, and that huge monitor needs to go and a small monitor put inside the table as well. That wall is prime real estate for some acoustic panels!

Also, those LPs on the wall are damaged and are on pre-existing nails in the wall. Though I do want to do some kind of "wall art" with old non-playable LPs eventually.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1040416574-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p717008245-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p498488466-6.jpg

[Rush2112]

Hi Charles,

How do you find the OC9 ? I had an early version back in the 90's and loved it !

As for headshell's I'm not in any way an aficionado I do have a ADC one somewhere from back in the day when I had a JVC QLA7 which made a significant difference compared to the standard one with the arm, I recall bass was better defined and general detail improved but back then I was running fairly basic MM cartridges such as A&R Cambridge P77 Nagaoka MP11 and the JVC Z1 cartridge that came with the deck !

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220711/0ebd616fbefc5026e163d5f431fe3f69.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220711/a39c3269f15d7383f44a22fdfd355ae3.jpg

[cube-tube]

Hi Charles,

How do you find the OC9 ? I had an early version back in the 90's and loved it !

As for headshell's I'm not in any way an aficionado I do have a ADC one somewhere from back in the day when I had a JVC QLA7 which made a significant difference compared to the standard one with the arm, I recall bass was better defined and general detail improved but back then I was running fairly basic MM cartridges such as A&R Cambridge P77 Nagaoka MP11 and the JVC Z1 cartridge that came with the deck !



Hello sir,

I'd have to say that so far, this OC9 is probably the bast sounding cart I have ever owned, and that includes the Benz Micro Ace S I used to have. That was a great cart, but I feel the OC9 is much better at pulling minute details and textures out of the groove.

I was just watching an older YouTube video from ANA[DIA]LOG, and he claimed that from his past experiences, his best and/or favorite headshells is the stock Technics headshell and the very same ADC headshell you mentioned. I think for now, I'm just going to stick with my Technics headshell.

[jasonC]

Thank you.

Got an Ortofon 2M Bronze mounted and aligned. Just as I figured, the built-in phono stage of the Quad sounds excellent!

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1015140729-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p988725765-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p919237153-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p624247304-6.jpgI love your photography skills.
The lighting is just beautiful.

Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk

[cube-tube]

I love your photography skills.
The lighting is just beautiful.

Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk

Thank you. All taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ phone. I just manually select focus point and adjust exposure before taking the shot. No post-processing required.

[cube-tube]

Made a couple of changes to the system recently. First was getting rid of that giant 32" monitor on the back wall behind my listening seat for my Roon Core PC. It has been replaced with a little 8" monitor that is now hidden in the cabinet along with the rest of the gear. Not that it matters in this particular situation, but this little monitor has excellent picture and color quality. All of only $82 shipped! It's perfect for just running Roon on.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p463350836-6.jpg


The second change was swapping out the AudioQuest CV-8 (72 volt DBS system) speaker cables with the Tara Labs The One CX cables. These Maggie 1.7i's take extremely well to cable changes because holy cow, what an improvement! A wider sound stage with greater space and air within the stage, more grunt and energy in the bass and a more natural, realistic body in the midrange. Treble also benefits some with a bit more snap and refinement.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p519469523-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p443703516-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p8036341-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

One major improvement (cosmetic/visual more than anything else), I installed curtains on the front window, and removed both of those ugly garish homemade hillbilly looking things the previous owners threw up over the windows. Man I'm glad those are gone. I honestly don't know why I waited nearly a year to remove them. Geeze, the 1st of next month it'll be a full year!

Anyway, the curtains... I really don't notice any difference in sound that I can tell yet, which I suppose is a good thing. They just make the room look a lot better, and the ceiling a bit taller. And of course the main goal, to make the window look centered on the wall instead of 7 inches to the right.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p564765206-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p615306801-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p483335110-6.jpg

[Gazjam]

Nice system and room Man,
appreciate the "vibe" stuff you've done too.

Couple of floor related questions?

Do you have cats?
Wondering about the "fireguards" around the base of your speakers... :)
If you don't want the Maggie's used as scratchposts, I'm totally on board.

Also,
what cable lifters are you using?


Cheers!
Gaz.

[cube-tube]

Nice system and room Man,
appreciate the "vibe" stuff you've done too.

Couple of floor related questions?

Do you have cats?
Wondering about the "fireguards" around the base of your speakers... :)
If you don't want the Maggie's used as scratchposts, I'm totally on board.

Also,
what cable lifters are you using?


Cheers!
Gaz.

Hello Gaz, and thank you for the kind words!

Yes I have cats, six of them. I have that garden netting around the Maggies just as a "just in case", though even without them in place, none of the cat have ever paid any attention to the Maggies luckily. They're all older, rather laid back kitties. But "just in case" one of them decides to get a wild hair up their you know what, the Maggies are protected either way. Of course, that netting doesn't effect the sound one bit.

The cable lifters are actually 100 year old porcelain telegraph insulators that used to be on telegraph poles along side railroad tracks way back in the day. I use them because they're a nice piece of history, look neat, and keep the cables up off the floor for easy vacuuming. I purchased a dozen of them from a collector up in Washington state a few years ago on eBay for $60 shipped.

There's an audio tweak company out there that sells the newer brown and white ones that you currently see on telephone/electric poles everywhere! There's a bunch of them in our neighborhood! All they do is put their company logo sticker on them and charge you $65 a piece for them!

[cube-tube]

The 2" Impression panels came in Friday, the 4" Alpha panels showed up first thing yesterday morning around 9am! That alone was shocking! They were supposed to ship out on the 24th and arrive by the 29th! Good on GIK Acoustics for that. As for fit and finish, I've read that a lot of these panels arrive looking like they were rushed, bad corners, wrinkled cloth, etc, etc. I have none of that with these panels. They look great front to back, top to bottom.

All day yesterday, and I do mean all day, I played around with location. I tried the Alpha and Impressions panels everywhere in the room, swapped one out for the other in each location, tried all combinations, tried all types of locations, and the simplest actually ended up providing the best results.

Music was from Phil Collins, Norah Jones, James Taylor, Depeche Mode, Neil Young, Diana Krall, The Cure, Peter Murphy, Gregory Porter, Holly Cole, Fleetwood Mack, Pink Floyd... Basically, artists and music I know extremely well and a lot that I have been listening to recently with the current system.

I first tried the Alpha panels in the 1st reflection points on the side walls. They gave me a solid center image, but they killed the width of the sound stage. Any stage width I got it was restricted to only between the inner edges of the speakers. Even the ambient width in the recording was sucked out almost completely. While keeping the Alphas there, I tried putting the four Impressions in various locations to see if they would resolve these new issues, but they didn't. Even completely out of the room, these new issues stayed.

So I swapped out the Alphas for the two Impressions you currently see in those 1st reflection locations. With no other panels in the room, these "removed" the walls, widened the sound stage considerably beyond the walls, and still give me that solid center image. This is something these speakers and room needed, and the Impressions in these locations deliver.

I then tried the Alphas on the back wall and the other two Impressions on the front wall. They seemed to work really well, but something was off. After more listening of various tracks, I realized that stage depth had flattened and vocal height had dropped to about just below center of the TV screen. Also, some of that ambience in the recordings had gone away again, though not as bad as before, but it was noticeable. Lastly, imaging focus had become a little bit fuzzy. Again, just because I could, I removed the Impressions on the sidewalls while keeping the other panels in place and that just made things worse, so those Impressions went back to the sidewalls.

The Alphas then got moved up front. What the Alphas did on the front wall is what the room/system needed. They opened up that front wall giving more space, air and much needed stage depth to the sound, as well as lifting the vocal/instrument height to realistic heights as if those vocals/instruments were in front of me. The ambience of the venues in the "live' recordings are back in strides and very clearly apparent, giving even more space and air within the room. The second pair of Impressions are on the back wall where they help reinforce what the Alphas are doing up front as well as the fact that there's zero slap echo in this room now.

As an added bonus to these panels, and something I wasn't expecting them to do much of if any, is that they have in fact improved the bass in this room. I don't know if they helped clean up some of the upper bass or bass harmonics or what, but the overall sound of the bass is just a bit more clean, solid and planted. Almost to the same effect as putting the subs up on those IsoAcoustics sub stands I have them on. Definition and sharpness of attack just seem to be better. And no, the Maggies, the subs or the sub settings were never touched through any of this.

Lastly, in order the mount one of the panels in front of the window, I mounted a couple of "legs" to the side of the panel, put a couple of eyehooks on the back of them, and a couple of L hooks in the wall, so installation and removal is simple and literally only takes seconds to do. Also, instead of using the sawtooth hangers that GIK provided with the panels, I decided to use heavy duty D-ring picture hangers for the wall mounted panels.

All in all, I am extremely happy with the results and am quite amazed at how much was achieved with only six panels. They far exceeded my expectations. This doesn't mean I'm done however. I still want to get some diffusors for behind/above the TV, and maybe a few other things here and there after some more research and advise seeking.

I should have done this a long time ago. This has definitely taken this room/system to an all new level!

Anyway, here's some pics...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p212718247-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p280127397-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p42517421-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p88883991-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p181930790-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p393560399-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p408776498-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

A little update...

Turns out those Tara Labs The One CX speaker cables as well as that big The One AC power cable are fakes. Yup, I got cheap Chinese knock-offs. It's not a fault of mine or my dealer friend as he got suckered getting them as a trade-in, though he should have checked into them with Tera Labs and the S/N on the cables. Oh well, at least I didn't pay much for them. A year later he still refunded me the money and I get to keep these cables. Maybe I'll use them in my girlfriend's bedroom system. LOL I mean, they're not horrible. They're at least still better than cheap stock cables and zip cord.

So I swapped my old AudioQuest CV-8 cables back into the system because they are longer, more manageable, which in turn allows for more flexibility in speaker placement tweaks, and they are the REAL DEAL. I also swapped in one of my old Wireworld Aurora 6 power cables.

This all started because I decided to replace the stock Maggie steel jumpers on the tweeters for a pair of WBC (Worlds Best Cables) Canare jumpers that I purchased back when I had those Klipsch Heresy III's.

I have to say, with the Wireworld power cable installed, bass punch and attack seem to be sharper now through the Maggies. I'm sure some of that has to do with the AudioQuest cables as well. Possibly a little deeper/wider sound stage too. The jumpers cleaned up just a touch of "grit" that I kept hearing in certain recordings when played at higher than average volume levels.

All in all, a good tweak in the right direction!


Also... I've been talking to a recently retired certified electrician friend of mine (35+ years in the business) that I work with, and in the somewhat near future we plan on running at least one 20 amp dedicated line to the front of the room and a dedicated 15 amp line to the side of the room where most of the system resides. All I have to do is pay for the materials and he's agreed to do the work in exchange for a nice little cook-out afterwords. Can't go wrong there!

We also plan on doing overhead (recessed) lighting as well with zones. Same agreement as above!


Anywho, some pics for fun...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1133546686-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1133546731-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1133546665-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1164542680-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1164542675-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1318284429-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1318284451-6.jpg

[Barry]

Also... I've been talking to a recently retired certified electrician friend of mine (35+ years in the business) that I work with, and in the somewhat near future we plan on running at least one 20 amp dedicated line to the front of the room and a dedicated 15 amp line to the side of the room where most of the system resides. All I have to do is pay for the materials and he's agreed to do the work in exchange for a nice little cook-out afterwords. Can't go wrong there!

Good idea Charles. Whilst redecorating my listening room, I took the opportunity to have a 32 amp 'ring' installed covering 18 sockets (need so many as I use electrostatic speakers powered by close coupled monoblock amplifiers, as well as several sources and preamplifiers). Whilst the flooring was up I also had balanced line cables installed between the power amplifiers and the preamplifiers, so there are no cables on the floor.

[struth]

Good idea Charles. Whilst redecorating my listening room, I took the opportunity to have a 32 amp 'ring' installed covering 18 sockets (need so many as I use electrostatic speakers powered by close coupled monoblock amplifiers, as well as several sources and preamplifiers). Whilst the flooring was up I also had balanced line cables installed between the power amplifiers and the preamplifiers, so there are no cables on the floor.

if your gonna do a job Barry, do it right... bravo

[cube-tube]

Good idea Charles. Whilst redecorating my listening room, I took the opportunity to have a 32 amp 'ring' installed covering 18 sockets (need so many as I use electrostatic speakers powered by close coupled monoblock amplifiers, as well as several sources and preamplifiers). Whilst the flooring was up I also had balanced line cables installed between the power amplifiers and the preamplifiers, so there are no cables on the floor.

Thank you.

After further consideration, I've decided to run a second 20 amp circuit to the gear on the racks instead of a 15 amp circuit, just because there isn't much difference in price, and it pretty much future proofs that area of the room.

[cube-tube]

Just swapped out my beloved Schiit Bifrost 2 Multibit, Raspberry Pi4 and Roon for a brand new Cambridge Audio CXN V2 streamer/DAC. Yes, after well over a year of issues with Roon, I dumped them due to their truly horrible, non-existing customer service...

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1500351075-6.jpg

[cube-tube]

Just for the heck of it, I decided to connect a CAT6 up to the CXN V2 a few minutes ago. I have to admit, this is the first time ever that I have heard an immediate sonic improvement switching over from WiFi to cable.

A bit more solid, a bit more defined, a bit better layering. It even seems to be blacker in quiet passages and between tracks.

Color me impressed!

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1502435497-6.jpg


https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1502435522-6.jpg

[Firebottle]

Excellent move Charles.

When I first got my Zen streamer I had to install a 15m Ethernet cable. Initially it was strung up from on top of the door under the stairs (where the router was), then briefly through the corner of the kitchen, then suspended from ceiling hooks to get to the other side of the music room. :eek:

I eventually got the landing floor up, routed it through the airing cupboard, under the bath then through the wall into the garage, finally back through the wall behind the equipment rack. ;)

Fortunately no problems from the wife in its temporary position. Now all hidden of course.

[cube-tube]

Excellent move Charles.

When I first got my Zen streamer I had to install a 15m Ethernet cable. Initially it was strung up from on top of the door under the stairs (where the router was), then briefly through the corner of the kitchen, then suspended from ceiling hooks to get to the other side of the music room. :eek:

I eventually got the landing floor up, routed it through the airing cupboard, under the bath then through the wall into the garage, finally back through the wall behind the equipment rack. ;)

Fortunately no problems from the wife in its temporary position. Now all hidden of course.

Thank you, sir.

Right now, I have mine across the floor from the floor lamp next to the router to under the couch, roughly a 1m stretch across the floor. I'll probably run it along the ceiling back in the corners and down to the streamer, then eventually get someone to run it through the walls and over the ceiling.

[struth]

i used cat 6 too.. it was an improvement. mine is visible round door frame, but it doesn't bother me tbh..easy to remove or change...

nice room and system charles

[cube-tube]

i used cat 6 too.. it was an improvement. mine is visible round door frame, but it doesn't bother me tbh..easy to remove or change...

nice room and system charles

Thank you for the kind words, Grant.

As for the CAT6, I'm probably going to do very similar, but use J-hooks in the ceiling. Also thinking of moving the two front acoustic panels to the rear of the room, and move the two that are currently at the rear to the side walls along side my listening seat, which would put one of them directly behind my system racks. I could then run the CAT6 down the wall, hiding it behind the acoustic panel.

I might do that today or tomorrow if I'm not hurting that much.

[cube-tube]

Just upgraded my Cambridge Audio CXN V2 to an Auralic Altair G1.

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1812495143-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1817891144-6.jpg

https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1842581461-6.jpg

[Ubi]

This is a big upgrade. Aurelic make excellent streamers. :stalks:

[cube-tube]

This is a big upgrade. Aurelic make excellent streamers. :stalks:

Yes, it is a big upgrade. And right now, I'm witnessing that upgrade with my ears. Gotta say, it was the right move. Wow!

[cube-tube]

Speaking of big upgrades...

Picked up a new (to me) piece of kit this morning!... Pass Labs XP-20 with upgraded Revelation Audio Labs 'Passage' CryoSilver Dual Conduit Reference umbilical cord.



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1672514535-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1815173549-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1795646251-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1659665178-6.jpg

[Wakefield Turntables]

Charles, please keep posting! It's nice to see how your system has grown and changed over the years. :cool:

[cube-tube]

Charles, please keep posting! It's nice to see how your system has grown and changed over the years. :cool:

Thank you sir. It certainly has progressed quite a bit over the years.

[cube-tube]

https://is5-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music126/v4/dc/45/17/dc451727-cb36-2bec-5198-7c51fa52cdfb/cover.jpg/600x600bf-60.jpg

So I was just playing this album Saturday afternoon. It's not the best recording of this piece, but it's not bad either. (BTW, I played this piece back when I was in orchestra, 1st chair bass, and loved it).

Anyway, so I was playing this piece this past Saturday afternoon through my Quad Artera Pre preamp, and was really cranking it by the 4th track.

Track 4: Maestoso - Allegro

Bass from the pipe organ rumbling at full tutti, orchestra at full tilt, brass, winds and percussions blasting, and I was happy and the system was sounding pretty darn good! I had a big ol' smile on my chops!

Well... I just did it again today, literally moments ago, only this time with the Pass XP-20 in the chain. This is the first time I really opened up the taps on the XP-20, all the way up to "68" on the volume!

Let me tell you, it was a totally different experience! A whole lot more visceral, a lot more tactile, a sense of a much larger venue, more air and space and dimension between the instruments. There's more texture and inner detail throughout. Stage width and depth are greater.

And this is with the XP-20 being on for roughly 30 hours straight so far. Anther 20 to 30 hours might improve things a little more. Who knows. It was packed up for around 3 to 4 weeks, so it may have some "waking up" to do again.

Not to sidetrack because this post is about the improvements the Pass XP-20 brings to my system, but I have to say again how impressed I am with this old Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2 amp of mine as well. This is three different times now that I have hear this amp scale up with the upgrades I have made upstream.

There's a lot better amps out there, I know. But for what it is and what it's capable of doing is pretty darn amazing. This is a good thing. This will allow me to be happy to hold onto this amp for a while longer and save up at my leisure for an amp or amps that will truly take the system up a few more notches.

More to come, I'm sure. :grin:

[cube-tube]

Here's some updated pics of my system. Within the past month, I have upgraded my Hisense 65" LED TV to a Samsung 75" QN85B Neo QLED TV, upgraded the Cambridge Audio CXN V2 to an Auralic Altair G1, and lastly just last weekend, upgraded the Quad Artera preamp to a Pass Labs XP-20.



All three are vast improvements over the units they replaced, most importantly the Auralic and Pass. Wow!



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1978095299-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2052247228-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2126375588-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2081581619-6.jpg

[Wakefield Turntables]

Nice crib!

[cube-tube]

Thanks!

One of the mains reasons I wanted to get the Pass XP-20... It has an honest "Tape Loop"! I just got the analog side of the system connected to it.



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2006337567-6.jpg



https://charlest.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p1978969111-6.jpg

[Lawrence001]

What is this heresy??https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230702/8f828984a744b5aa7454f0796b4c1313.jpg

[cube-tube]

Just like now with the new preamp, it's not in the signal chain. It's just there for show, not for go... If you catch my drift.

[Lawrence001]

Phew you had me worried for a minute [emoji23]

But I like the spectrum analyser if that's connected [emoji16]

And seriously, a bit of EQ can be better than living with room issues.

[cube-tube]

Phew you had me worried for a minute [emoji23]

But I like the spectrum analyser if that's connected [emoji16]

And seriously, a bit of EQ can be better than living with room issues.

It's a good reminder of my father since it was his, along with the Technics turntable and Nakamichi deck. Takes me back to when I was a kid. Good memories.