Vicioussid's man cave and setup

[Vicioussid]

Hi Everyone,

Well here's some pics of my setup.



At the moment this is a humble beginners set up. One of my Celestion speakers is sitting on the shelf, the other on the left is sitting on top of an Infinity RS7 speaker (not in shot). Both the Tweater and Bass speakers have blown on the Infinity so this might be a project down the line as they did sound great before the blowout. My next purchase will be some Stands.

Ok first up is the Pro-ject Debut Esprit turntable. This is my first higher grade TT, my previous purchase was a second hand AKAI for about AU$40, to replace the cartridge was $35. Ha ha junk!!!. It has an Ortofon cartridge that came with it. In about a years time I might replace with Ortofon RED.



Next up is the Cambridge Audio 540P phono amp and the Beresford Caiman Dac. At the moment the CA Phono is doing its job ok, yes its all an improvement from the AKAI TT running through my old Pioneer AV Receiver. The sound to me could be a bit more dynamic, however the TT, Cartridge and Phono are more on the budget side. The Caiman is a different story. Ok I don't have another Dac to compare it with but as far as should you or shouldn't you get a Dac the answer is a resounding YES! Its like night and day, Im loving it. Both the amp out and headphone out are superb.



Next the meat end of the setup the NAD C326BEE Integrated Amp. I've been researching amp around my price range (AUS$750) for a couple of months. It came down to the Cambridge Audio Azur 550A and the NAD C326. I went in and had a listen. Now, both amps sounded great however the NAD was a bit tighter and upfront, also my main music is Metal so it complemented each other. The CA was more open and probably suits more Classical or Acoustic music. My Celestions are more dry sounding with a soft treble again this suits my music style and the amp. I love the more Spartan look about it too, its a work horse.



The speakers are a pair of Celestion Impact 15. These were a handme down from Dad. I also have the Infinity RS7 set but I need to fix them they were great sounding. The Cels are dry sounding but seem powerful. The treble is smooth and doesn't sound over processed. The bass is again dry and not too swooshy, god how do I describe them. Ah use music. When I put on Metallica's ...And Justice album the sound is just killer, really meaty, like an engine with the pistons just pounding away. I'll give up.



Well then we just have the Apple Mac and the room all this sits in. This started out as a office but other stuff has crept in. I don't need too much volume to drive this size room so hence the no need for too a powerfull amp. I just needed a great sound. The headies are Monster Beats by Dr Dre and Sennheiser HD 435. The Senn's are not too comfortable and the sound is a tad processed. The Beats are great for Metal. I've got some BOSE but the two I had both broke on me so BOSE never again. I'm thinking of getting the AKG 701 or 702, but I have not heard them yet. Could you believe they are selling them here for AUS$1000. eBay US has them for AUS$310. I'll have to have a listen, I think they will sound similar to the Senn's HD 650 open wide sound, good for Classical and Movies.



I used to have my CD cases out but its just a waste of space, all are now on a separate 750GB Hard drive hooked up to the Mac.



I think the books give the room a softer sound so it all helps.



By the the way the DEAN Flying V rocks the house Schenker style!!!