List the gear you're using

There was a similar thread on the old DCC board which Steve found useful, he said. So let's get this party started.

 

I get to be first!!!! Okee doke, got an Adcom GFP-555 preamp with a humming phono section (grrrr - Adcom will fix it for $140 - yikes), Dynaco ST-150 amp (heavier wiring and better caps in audio circuit added), Marantz CD67SE cd player with Music Fidelity tubed buffer stage (twinkle, twinkle shimmer machine - tubes rule), Sony DVD/SACD/CD combo player (Steve, I need some SACD's to feed this pup), Denon turntable/Grado cartridge, TEAC tape deck, and Dynaudio MDY-4 2 way monitors built from kits via Madisound Speakers (www.madisound.com) - killer midrange, but man are they power hogs!!!

 

my stuff...

I'm using:

Wilson Watt/Puppy 5.1 speakers with Transparent Audio Ultrawave cables.

Krell KPS-25s CD (HDCD) player with integrated preamp.

Jeff Rowland Model 8t poweramp

Krell KSA-5 Class-A headphones amp

AKG K-1000 headphones

XLO Signature interconnects... powerchords by NBS, XLO

 

In case something happens to the DCC forum I'll re-list my system here:

Source:
---------------------
C.E.C. TL-1X cd-transport (with SuperLink, factory modified)
C.E.C. DX-71 d/a convertor (via SuperLink)

Amplification:
----------------
Audio Research VT-130 SE (via Magnan Type VI XLR)
Low freq. power amp of loudspeaker (via Magnan Type VI RCA)

Loudspeaker:
-----------------
Genesis II.5 (via Magnan Signature)

Direct-to-tube-amp-setup rules!!!

 

I use (and happen to love, despite the modesty of just about everything):

vintage Marantz 2230 receiver (SS)

Axiom Millenia M3Ti bookshelf speakers

Rega P3 turntable/RB300 tonearm w/ Dynavector 10x4 Mk II cartridge (high-output MC, awesome) and Ringmat

Teac 1160 CD player (HEAVILY tweaked)

JVC cassette recorder/player

Acme Audio Silver plated AC outlet (dedicated line for audio equipment)

Analog accessories: Disc Doctor record-cleaning brushes and fluid; Orbitrac 2 record cleaning system; Record Doctor II vacuum record-cleaning machine; Hunt and Audioquest carbon-fiber record-cleaning brushes; Atmasphere tonearm wrap

Plus, most importantly -- dedicated listening room (10' 3" x 14' 3" x 6' 10"), doubles as a home recording studio

 

To: Jeff Re: dedicated listening room

Jeff,

I will be remodeling my basement and will be designing a dedicated listening room. Does your listening room have any special acoustical treatment?

 

Re: To: Jeff Re: dedicated listening room

Hi JohnnyK,

I actually just completed the remodeling project that resulted in my new basement listening room a few weeks ago. My first priority has been proper speaker placement, which I believe I've now found ... I wanted to wait until I had done that before adding any treatments, to try to identify what I need, if anything. (I used George Cardas' "golden cuboid" method of speaker placement, which works wonderfully in my particular room. It's a short-wall placement that results in near-field listening ... I did try long-wall placement, but it just didn't work for me.)

When planning my room, I did build the walls with 2x6 plates instead of 2x4, so I could stagger the 2x4 studs and weave insulation through them to allow for better soundproofing. I also used thick sheetrock to minimize wall vibrations. I also made sure I carpeted the floor and kept objects away from the speakers and their side-wall reflection points.

The most important thing was sizing the room properly for acoustical use. I used a formula for coming up with good room dimensions that I found in Robert Harley's book ("Complete Guide to High End Audio").

I really LOVE the way the room works now, so I don't feel any pressing need to implement other treatments. (Just last night I played my cherished DCC LP of CCR's "Willy & the Poor Boys," and it sounded just PERFECT. What a great sounding record!) As time goes on I may change my mind, but ... for now I love it as is.

Best of luck on your project!!

 

Re: Re: To: Jeff Re: dedicated listening room

Jeff,

Thanks for the input. Your idea for using 2x6 plates and using staggered 2x4 studs is a great idea. I also agree that it is important to use room dimensions that will not support standing waves. Is your ceiling acoustic tile or drywall? I was thinking of installing a second set of ceiling joists that would be ½” below the level of the joists of the floor above the listening room. That way, since the ceiling joists of the listening room will not touch the floor above, the vibrations of the listening room ceiling would not directly transfer to the floor above. This would keep Eileen happy.

Best regards,

John

 

Re: Re: Re: To: Jeff Re: dedicated listening room

Yes, minimizing standing waves is CRUCIAL.

I didn't want to use drywall for my ceiling (too many pipes and wires I may need access to at some point!), so I used acoustic ceiling panels, for just the reasons you mentioned. My listening room is directly beneath the living room where my wife Lauren often watches TV, and she's never disturbed by how loud I crank my system ... so they seem to work just great!

And since our bedroom is on the other side of the house ... I can even continue listening after she's gone off to bed -- which was out of the question in the apartment we just moved out of!!

 

List Your Gear

Ok,
I will list my modest system-

Yamaha RX-V1000 Receiver(new)
Pioneer 434 DVD
Sony SLV-585 VHS-hifi
Nakamichi CR4a Cassette
B & O RX Turntable(needs new B & O cartidge)
Polk RTA-8t mian speakers
Polk RT-25i surrounds(new)
KEF Center(new)
Allison 7 speakers(not currently in use)

I just jumped into 5 channel- as I had been using an amp/tuner combo for 16 years. Had a Yamaha A700 with Sansui tu-s77amx tuner, and was great. I am still trying to figure out where to put this in the house.

 

My audio consists of the following:

VPI HW 19 mk III turntable w/ SAMA and PLC
Grado cartridge & Audioquest PT6 Tonearm w/ heavyweight
Audio Research PH 3

California Audio Labs Icon Mk II HDCD W/ Boss Power Supply
Audio Research LS 9
Audio Research Classic 60 Amp
Fanfare 1A Tuner
Tandberg Cassette Recorder
Thiel 1.5 speakers
Audioquest Lapis x3 interconnects
Audioquest Sterling speaker cables

Accessories:
Chang Light Speed Power Conditioner
Bright Star Audio Isolation Devises
Room Tunes Corner Tunes
VPI 16.5 Record Cleaner

 

Great idea to copy and paste from the DCC board.

VAC Avatar integrated amp
Sony SCD-1 SACD/CD player
B&W Nautilus 802 speakers
PS Audio P600 power plant

Burgeoning integrated surround system:
Audio Refinement/YBA Multi 3 channel amp
Audio Refinement/YBA Pre 5 passive preamp
B&W N805 rear speakers
B&W NHTM1 center speaker

Additional gear:
Svetlana EL34 and Chinese Dragon 12AX7 and 12AU7
Electraglide Fatmans (feeding VAC and Sony)
PS Audio Lab Cable cords (feeding P600 and Multi 3)
CPCC Model 11 cord (feeding Pre 5)
Alphacore Goertz Silver Sapphire interconnects
Alphacore Goertz MI2 Veracity (to N802's)
Alphacore Goertz MI1 biwire cable (to rear and center speakers)
Aurio Media Isolation Bearings (under the SCD-1)
Cap and resistor upgrades to the VAC and SCD-1

 

This cut & paste is great!

Classe'- DR-6 Pre-amp
Classe'- Seventy power-amp (125 watts
per side at 4 ohms)
Sony- XA-20 ES cd player
Magnum Dynalab- FT-11 Analogue tuner
Nakamichi- BX-300 three head cassette deck
Castle Accoustics- ConwayII Loudspeakers

Accessories:
Grover UR Interconnects
(between pre, power and cd player)
Kimber- KS:1010 interconnects
Grover- SRII speaker cable
Inyue'- line conditioner

 

Dahlquist DQM-9 compact monitors
Yamaha A760 II integrated amp
Yamaha CD-X2
Mission 775 turntable
Signet TK-10ML cartridge
Nakamichi LX-3

Bought the turntable in '83, everything else a year earlier.

Started my serious system with what is now my second tape deck, a great old Sony TC-153SD, dating from 1977. This thing actually has a strap to lug it around, but boy is it heavy. Precursor to boom boxes.

 

I can't be bugged with finding the one on DCC for a cut and paste...so here goes:

Source:
Analog

Systemdek IIX
Sumiko Premeir tonarm
Grado MCX cartridge
Straightwire interconnects
Navacom silencers

Dynaco FM-3 Tube tuner


Digital
Classe CDP .3
Monster Z series interconnects

Preamp is a Rotel RC995 with Rotel phone stage MC/MM

Amplifier is Rotel RB-990BX(200 X 2)

Speakers are the lovely Mirage 1295is. Bi-amp and Bi-wired.

Cardas speaker cable

misc Monster and AR interconnects throughout the rest.

 

Since I recently revised my system listing...

... over at the Audio Asylum board, rather than try to recreate all of that information from memory I'll just link the URL:

http://cgi.AudioAsylum.com/systems/525.html

Needless to say, I have a fondness for tube gear.

BTW, nice looking new forum, Steve; I look forward to visiting often.

Cheers,
Robert Cat Conrad

 

Hi,

So this is where you all are!

I go back to Oz for a 4 week holiday and when I return the DCC forum is under a cloud and may be discontinued. Savage. But there's a new sandbox and I want to play, so greetings everyone. Looks like a few of the regular crowd and some new kids too - e.g. Ye Olde Editor. I think this is really going to be fun.

Of course, I've got way too much equipment ... I'm Metralla on Audio Asylum and you can check out the inmate systems there. But let me see if I can use this vB Code.

Main System
-----------
Amplifier: Welborne Labs Laurel IIx Ultimate Upgrade SET monoblocks, KR-300B output valves
Preamplifier: BAT VK-50SE with remote control
Speakers: Coincident Super Eclipse (latest version)
CD Player: Sony C333ES SACD
Speaker Cables: 4' Belden #1585A Cat5 braided 3x3x3 (ChrisVH's recipe), Kimber PostMaster spade connectors
Interconnects: Coincident CST-IC
Power Cables: TG Audio Lab SLVR (preamp), two TG Audio Lab HSR-A Gen II (amps), stock (SACD)
Outlets: Two Acme Audio silver-plated, cryogenically treated
Stand: PolyCrystal 18" rack, natural oak, 2 UHD shelves

Bedroom System
--------------
Amplifier: Arcam Alpha 10
Speakers: Paradigm MiniMonitor V.2 on 22" Sound Anchor three-post stands
CD Player: Arcam Alpha 9
Speaker Cables: 6' DIY silver foils (99.99% pure) insulated with Teflon tape, no connectors
Interconnects: WireWorld Orbit III
Power Cables: TG Audio Lab HSR-I squared Gen II on the amp, heavy Belden for CDP
Outlet: Pass & Seymour 5242-I

In Storage in Oz
----------------
Amplifier: Kostas Metaxas MAS A-100 (100 wpc Class A)
Preamplifier: 1. Russ Woolcock's Obelisk (hybrid), 2. Laurie Cohen (valve) rebuilt by Allen Wright, 3. MacLaren (transistor)
Speakers: 1. Celestion SL6 (first version with the copper tweeter), 2. Genexxa Pro LX5 (Optimus/Radio Shack)
CD Player: Marantz CD-63SE with Trichord Clock 2
Turntable: Linn LP12 Valhalla, Linn LVX arm
Cartridge: 1. Grado 8MR, 2. Denon 103D, 3. Garrott P77, 4. Adcom X-Coil
Cables: Tara Labs Space and Time Phase II
Interconnects: Tara Labs
Power Cables: stock

Travelling Systems
------------------
CDP: 1. Panasonic SL-S340, 2. Panasonic SL-SX510
Amp: 1. Headroom Supreme, 2. Headroom Total Airhead
Phones: 1. Sennheiser HD600, 2. Sony MDR-NC20, 3. Sennheiser HD495

The hardest part about travelling is selecting the DCC disks to take. I mean, I couldn't take them all, could I?

Regards,
Metralla

 

Here my system:

CD/SACD: Sony SCD-777ES
DAC: MSB Platinum Plus
DVD-A: Technics A10
Phono: VPI 19 MK IV with JMW arm, Helicon, SAMA motor, TNT Platter and Bearing, SDS Power Supply
Phono Stage: Audio Research PH3SE
Preamp: Audio Research LS-25 MKII
Amp: Audio Research VT-100 MKIII
DTS Processor: Millenium
Rear Amp: B&K ST-140 with a Creek passive attenuator
Rear Spearkers: Spica TC-50's
Speakers: Martin Logan CLS IIz's
Interconnects: Kimber KCAG thoughout Balanced from Preamp to Amp, DAC to Preamp, SE from Table to Phono Stage to Preamp and SACD to Preamp.
Digital Cable: Kimber Illuminations
Speaker Cable: Audioquest Gibraltar
Headphones: Stax Pro Lamda with Dedicated Stax amp, Grado Sr-80's
Isolation Devices: Bright Star Air Mass for VPI 19
Target Stands, DH Cones and Squares, etc

 

Hello everyone.....I am new to this site and forum

Here is my system:


Mark Levinson N0. 32 Reference Preamp w/N0. 32 Reference Phono Modules

Mark Levinson N0. 436 Monoblock Power Amplifiers

Magnum Dynalab MD 90 FM Tuner

Avalon Design AD 2055 Pure Class A Music Equalizer

HeadRoom BlockHead Headphone Amp w/Stepped Attenuators

Sennheiser HD 600 Headphones w/ClouRed Headphone Cables


Audiomeca J 1 Turntable w/Audiomeca SL 5 Straight Line Tone Arm

van den HUL White Beauty Moving Coil Cartridge

Mark Levinson N0. 37 CD Transport

Mark Levinson N0. 360S Digital Processor

Pioneer RT-909 Open Reel Tape Deck w/dbx 128

Nakamichi Dragon Cassette Deck


SoundLab Millennium 1 Electrostatic Loudspeakers


Nordost Valhalla Interconnects and Speaker Cables


My next purchase is: Yamaha CDR 1000 Professional Audio CD Recorder

 

Ok here is my system

....

I'm using Denon AVCA1D amp, DVD2500 (soon there will be Denon A1 or 3800), (front) B&W N804, (center) B&W HTM2, (rear) B&W N805 and (sub) B&W ASW4000

Thats it...

 

Listening

Analog only (Honest)

Source: VPI HW19 MK III/SAMA/PLC II/SME 309 Tonearm/ Monster AG 1000 Cartridge (MC)

Phono Stage: Monolithic Sound PS-1 and HC-1 Power Supply

Preamp: NAD 1300

Amp: B&K ST 202+ (not the regular ST-202)

Speakers: Vandersteen 2Ci and SuperVanderstands


For the times I have to listen to digital (outside of the car), we have a separate home theater setup in another room: Pioneer DVL 919 LD/DVD combo player

 

Here goes:

Basement system:

Quicksilver Mono amps - 8417
Quicksilver Line Stage Pre
Rega 2 Table
Grado Cartridge
Pioneer DVD
Akai Tape deck
Sound Dynamics 300ti speakers
Kimber 8TC cable
Straightwire Maestro interconnect

Family room:

Marantz 2235B
Rotel 955 CD player
Rogers LS3/5a

Others:

NAD 304 integrated
Marantz 1150D
GAS Grandson amp

Boston ACOUSTICS A-40
Celestion Ditton 100

That's all folks....


cadillacjack

 

my main DTS system page

 

Re: Re: Re: To: Jeff Re: dedicated listening room

Another cheap and easy method for added sound insulation is mutiply layers of sheetrock. I've seen as many as 4 layers used in movie theaters. Duct tape the joints of underlayers, and glue and screw successive layers.

http://www.usg.com/Design_Solutions/2_3_4_acoustictips.asp