2009: Your AUDIO Investment!

[naturephoto1]

For those that have been asking, I did finally post a photo of most of my gear here:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...06#post2064906

But, I will post the photo and the information again so more people can better see some of my gear. Please understand things are not optimized at present and will not be until I move.



If you look at what is above you can see the Special Order Adona Rack that was made for me.

On the top shelf you can see a part of my Pioneer PR0-111FD and to the right you will see the upgraded Lavry DA10 DAC.

Initially the 2nd shelf surface was designed to hold my Nola LCR Reference Center Channel speaker which sits at present on a Center Channel Speaker Stand.

On the 2nd shelf to the left you can see my upgraded Onkyo PR-SC885 Pre/Pro. On the right side of the 2nd shelf you see my upgraded Denon 5910 DVD/CD player.

On the 3rd shelf to the left you see my upgraded Denon 3800 BDCI Blu-ray player. On the right where you see a dusty shelf, my Modified Sansui TU-9900 AM/FM Tuner has just recently arrived after a 4 1/2 month wait to fill this.

Below the rack system you will see on platforms slid under the rack system an upgraded Exact Power EP15A Power Unit to the left and my Isotek Sigmas Power Unit to the right.

To the left and the right of the large Adona Rack system you will see the edges of my rebuilt Dahlquist DQ-10 speakers. Behind the Dahlquist Speakers you will see on the left side my left upgraded Aragon Palladium 1K monoblock amp sitting on an Adona amp/rack stand. On the right side behind my right Dahlquist DQ-10 you will see stacked on a stackable Adona Rack System my right upgraded Aragon Palladium 1K monoblock amp on the bottom with my upgraded Krell KAV-250a/3 power amp on the 2nd shelf.

To the right and in front of the rack system you can see a portion of my DirecTV HD receiver sitting on an old shelf with the cables running to the back of the TV and into the upgraded Onkyo 885.

To the left side in front of the rack system, there is a cable that is under a cover that runs across the room to the Epik Conquest Subwoofer.

If you check the photos in my gallery, you will see the rack system for my Turntable system that is on a dog ear wall which is to the left of the left side of the large rack system.

My Nola LCR Reference speaker sits on Center Channel Speaker stand that would normally sit just to the left of my DirecTV HD receiver.

Rich

[richteer]

Nice to see your system, Rich! But in my best Oliver Twist voice: please, sir, can we have some more (photos)? :-)

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by richteer

Nice to see your system, Rich! But in my best Oliver Twist voice: please, sir, can we have some more (photos)? :-)

Rich,

I will see what I can do. By the way the photos in my HT Gallery are of the Turntable set-up. When I move the layout will be totally reconfigured. Because of the number of components and amps, the size of the speakers, the screen (and the TV) the components will be on a side wall (and using long speaker runs) and the screen on the front.

Rich

[prerich]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

Thanks Intamin , The receiver has made A big difference .I have know upgraded everything at least once & feel there is only one more to do . That would be the three things standing in front of me ! Maybe next year .

Crazy...I've come to several conclusions about you
1. You are not hurt by the recession at all
2. You have become a tweak-aholic (love to see that - you experiment and compair and use that knowledge. Some you keep and some you discard - you are actually listening
3. You are DEFINATELY....CRAZY !!!! I can't even keep up with your upgrades - my son is still lurking in this site and he told me about your system (I named it after the description right off the bat - 3 identical fronts the same way you have your's dad - I was flattered). Good go and well done Crazy, now I have to go buy a new preamp (I'm having an upgraditus relaps) - I have to decide which one (Integra, Emotiva, and I'm looking at the new Outlaw).

[richteer]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

Rich,

I will see what I can do. By the way the photos in my HT Gallery are of the Turntable set-up. When I move the layout will be totally reconfigured. Because of the number of components and amps, the size of the speakers, the screen (and the TV) the components will be on a side wall (and using long speaker runs) and the screen on the front.

Rich

Cool. One thing though: you might want to rethink that last bit. If I were you (and it is possible in your room), I'd opt for longer pre -> power interconnects and shorter speaker cables.

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by richteer

Cool. One thing though: you might want to rethink that last bit. If I were you (and it is possible in your room), I'd opt for longer pre -> power interconnects and shorter speaker cables.

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the recommendation.

Dave Schulte and I have been debating this issue. With the cost of the expensive ICs what I am expecting to use (I already have some for the amps) it seems to be more practical for the long speaker runs (the amps are capable). I am not using as expensive speaker cables as ICs. They will only cost about $3,000 for the speaker cables (they are also heavy so they should allow the length), but about $11,500+ (I have really good pricing for these) for the ICs. The problem revolves around the fact that the room will be 19' 4" long and 14' 7" wide. The room is on the first floor and I intend to drop the speaker cables through the floor.

I am planning on putting the Projection screen on the narrower wall; the screen may well be electric so as to not interfere with the best 2 channel performance. The main L & R mirror imaged line stage towers will be about 30" wide at the base, about 26" wide along the towers and the height will be about 6 1/2'. Each of the towers will have a total of 32 drivers (8 soft dome tweeter, 8 soft dome midrange, and 16 woofers). The Center Channel that we are designing is a half tower with 16 drivers with the same base and width dimensions with a height of about 36". Ultimately there will be 2 tall side surrounds made based on the main towers with 12 drivers per tower. My rebuilt Dahlquist DQ-10 speakers will be used for the rear 2 channels.

Additionally, the problems revolve around the number of components and heights of the rack systems. At this point the main rack system that I posted above is about 48" wide and about 33" tall. The rack system for the Turntable that is in my gallery is 25" wide and about 33" tall. I will add an additional platform to the Turntable rack and move the Isotek Sigmas to the bottom of the rack.

At present, I have a total of 4 upgraded Aragon Palladium 1K monoblock amps and am on the look out for a 5th. Additionally, I have the Krell KAVa-250/3 power amp. The intent is to place 2 of the upgraded Aragon Palladium 1K monoblock amps on the top of the large Adona Rack shown with the TV (which will be removed and placed and mounted on a wheeled cart). Below the 2 power amps, I intend to keep the position of the upgraded Onkyo PR-SC885 and the upgraded Denon 5910. But, I will move these 2 components a little further apart and place the upgraded Lavry DA10 DAC between them. I intend to keep the upgraded Denon 3800 BDCI Blu-ray player and at least one of the upgraded Exact Power EP15A power units where it is.

The second EP15A may be put where the Isotek Sigmas is now sitting. That will leave one open space as shown where I may place the DirecTV HD tuner or place the tuner on the bottom and move one of the Exact Power EP15A power units into this empty shelf. I plan on running all of the Power amps to one of the Exact Power EP15As along with the modified Sansui TU-9900 AM/FM Tuner. All of the Digital Components including the upgraded Onkyo PR-SC885 Pre/Pro are intended to run into the other Exact Power EP15A power units. The Plasma TV, DirecTV HD receiver, the Teres 450 Turntable, and the Soundsmith Strain Gauge 410 Phono Preamp are all to run through the Isotek Sigmas Power unit. The Sigmas has 2 power switches with one side for the High Current components (TV and DirecTV HD receiver) and the turntable and the Phono Preamp going to the other side.

Dave Schulte will be building a box for all 3 Power units to plug into to further clean the power feeding all of the components and I intend to install at least 2 or 3 Oyaide R1 electric receptacles into the walls. The components will then ultimately plug into these receptacles.

I intend to move the Turntable rack system to the right of the large Adona Rack in the picture above. Additionally, I plan to build a 54" tall 5 level Adona rack to be placed to the left of the large Adona Rack. This 5 level rack will house up to 4 Power amps- consisting of 2 or (when I am able to get the 5th) upgraded Aragon Palladium 1K monoblock amps and the upgraded Krell KAV-250a/3 power amp. I intend to place the Sansui TU-9900 AM/FM tuner on the top of the rack. I still have to find a place to put the box that Dave Schulte needs to build.

In order to optimize things and to allow the installation of some sort of 2 rows of seating (1st row recliners and 2nd row like in a theater), I will place the first row of seating so that the seats are 13.5 feet from the front wall. In order to then place the side surround speakers, they must be centered at 13.5 feet from the front walls. The Epik Conquest 18" sub is intended to be placed to the left of the left surround (a second may be purchased in the future and placed next to the R surround tower). I will then have to place the 3 racks of components so that they are placed on the left wall so that they almost touch the base of the left surround speaker. That will place the turntable about 3 feet from the front wall with only a small amount of clearance from the L main line stage tower that will be placed close to the corner. To give a little better clearance I will move the Turntable rack system about 2 or 3 inches from the side wall while the other 2 racks will be about 10" from the side wall to give access to all of the cabling connections.

In any case, as you see I have some space issues to deal with.

Rich

[richteer]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the recommendation.

[...]

In any case, as you see I have some space issues to deal with.

Rich

That's quite an understatement! :-) You sure have a lot of kit to accomodate; fortunately for my sanity, my 2-channel rig is somewhat simpler. The eventual accomodation of a 5.1 for movies will doubtless add to the complexity, but like you I'll not let HT compromise my music enjoyment.

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by John72953

Hi Jason,

Here is a combined review of both TT's. Not an extensive one by any means, but it's on opinion nonetheless.

John

Thanks John. I was leaning Pro-Ject anyway, just made it a bit easier.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by JasonR

Thanks John. I was leaning Pro-Ject anyway, just made it a bit easier.

You know, of course, once the vinyl bug hits you...you will be terminally infected!

John

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by John72953

You know, of course, once the vinyl bug hits you...you will be terminally infected!

John

I have been listening on my dad's loaner, it is just a cheapie, but I am loving it! Really refreshing! I have a pretty extensive collection and never had a nice turntable, so I am pretty jazzed about it.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by JasonR

I have been listening on my dad's loaner, it is just a cheapie, but I am loving it! Really refreshing! I have a pretty extensive collection and never had a nice turntable, so I am pretty jazzed about it.

It's a wonderfully old (new) way to enjoy music. Playing "records" is an exercise, a hands-on experience that can't be matched by any other music medium. You don't have to be crazy-nuts like me and play it 90% of the time, but it most definately has it's charms!

Please keep us updated here as to what you end up getting and your impresions of (obviously) one of the Modest Mouse recordings you've been buying.

John

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by John72953

It's a wonderfully old (new) way to enjoy music. Playing "records" is an exercise, a hands-on experience that can't be matched by any other music medium. You don't have to be crazy-nuts like me and play it 90% of the time, but it most definately has it's charms!

Please keep us updated here as to what you end up getting and your impresions of (obviously) one of the Modest Mouse recordings you've been buying.

John

I have listened to both Modest Mouse records, and they sound fantastic. I have also listened to The White Album in its entirety. All that since getting my new amp.

I was pretty impressed with the cheap turntable, it will be nice to get the new one in its place though. Do you know of a good preamp to pair with the Pro-Ject, I would like to keep the price pretty relative to what I am paying for the deck. Around $100? Or is that unreasonable?

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by JasonR

I have listened to both Modest Mouse records, and they sound fantastic. I have also listened to The White Album in its entirety. All that since getting my new amp.

I was pretty impressed with the cheap turntable, it will be nice to get the new one in its place though. Do you know of a good preamp to pair with the Pro-Ject, I would like to keep the price pretty relative to what I am paying for the deck. Around $100? Or is that unreasonable?

It's not unreasonable, but a few dollars more will get you better results. Cambridge Audio has one for around the price you're looking at, but I have not seen any reviews on it. Pro-ject has several entry-level phono stages for a few dollars more as well.

John

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by John72953

It's not unreasonable, but a few dollars more will get you better results. Cambridge Audio has one for around the price you're looking at, but I have not seen any reviews on it. Pro-ject has several entry-level phono stages for a few dollars more as well.

John

Yeah, I was thinking Pro-Jects Phono Box. I guess I would need the Speed Box as well to play my 45s right?

[CasualKiller]

Rega Phono Mini, I was going to get that Pro-Ject for 160 and the dealer talked me into the Mini. Turns out some people have issues with the Pro-Jects volume level.

http://www.musicdirect.com/product/81952

[Johnny Vinyl]

I don't have any experience with the Speedbox, so I can't really comment. In principle however, it does seem to have merit.

John

[Johnny Vinyl]

CK

Can you explain a little further?

John

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

Rega Phono Mini, I was going to get that Pro-Ject for 160 and the dealer talked me into the Mini. Turns out some people have issues with the Pro-Jects volume level.

http://www.musicdirect.com/product/81952

Thanks for the feedback! Added it to the list.

[sbjork]

If anyone is still interested:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...=1#post2086286

Let me know what y'all think . . .

[CasualKiller]

Originally Posted by John72953

CK

Can you explain a little further?

John

Apparently it has a low gain on it, where most output at 39db the Pro-Ject is around 30db (going from memory not 100% on the numbers). Although it's still a decent phono stage he has had people return them.

Will let you know How the Mini is next Thurs - Fri.