Post photos of your systems/rooms here! (Part 13)

Front soundstage.

 

Lovely room and set up!

 

It's time to update my system photo. I now have an Esoteric K-o5 CD/SACD player and a VPI SDS. I am using the APL 3910 for DVD-A playback. I am now running KT120 power tubes in the mono blocks. I had the amps modified at Convergent Audio Technology. Here is a picture of Ken and Lee with my wife, the guys that worked on my amps, over at CAT.

 

That Basis turntable is awesome. Gotta love spinning vinyl on that! Nice job.

- Buck

 

Profile has been updated.

 

I recently set up a secondary budget solid state system for the basement... very handy when it's too hot to sit upstairs with the tubes a-glowing, or when I want to turn it up a bit at night.

Dual 1219 turntable
Yamaha CR-1020 receiver
Pioneer SP-FS51-LR speakers

I recently bought the Pioneers on close-out from NewEgg.com for $137 shipped; I can't imagine a better deal in audio right now than the Andrew Jones Pioneers. (I also have a set of the Jones-designed Pioneer bookshelf speakers in another room - $40 from Craig's List!) They sound rather dark and 2D out of the box, but once they start breaking in, the imaging starts to pop into effortless 3D and the highs and mids fall into balance with the already terrific mids. I did have to place them on top of cinder blocks to raise the tweeter to ear level.

The CR-1020 is a surprisingly terrific sounding vintage receiver. I had previously not highly regarded the '70s Japanese solid state receivers that I'd heard, but the Yamaha is definitely a nice one.

I've already written extensively on this forum about how much I adore my rebuilt Dual 1219! I also have waiting in the wings for a rebuild a 1019 that I picked up this past weekend.








stock image:

 

These two photos are both of MrAcoustat one with my Acoustat 1+1s and one of a DIY'd one and only Acoustat Spectra 8800 rebuilt by my friend Jocelyn Jeanson of Quebec Canada, the small one is 14x94x5 inches and weigh 200 pounds the larger one is 41x102x12 inches and weigh 800 pounds almost theft proof.

PS:More photos if you wish here - - - https://www.flickr.com/photos/mracoustat/ - - -

 

wow! there's a lot of really cool looking gear in your other photos. I have no concept of what most of it is or does - but it sure looks incredible I really enjoyed the photos walking through the process of a pair of speakers being made.

 

Do you sometimes find a group of apes gathered in your lounge room looking inquisitively at your speakers ?

 

I can see why you like digital only, you need safety glasses to listen to those.

 

Very nice, very nice! This has to sound great.

 

Man I want tube monos soooooo bad. That's pretty much the next Big Upgrade, but I don't have extra funds right now nor do I have a clue where to start looking. (Other than looking, er leering and gawking, at everyone else's photos, of course!)

 

How do like the Gold Lions in the C220? Did they replace the stock Mac tubes? I have a C220 also.

 

Think twice before you want tube monos, it costs double to retube these things. They sure do heat the room in winter.

 

Where did you purchase the Opera/Consonance stuff?

 

Yes I got them to replace the Mac stock tubes. But I haven't had a chance to actually put them in yet! I got a long weekend starting this Friday so first thing on the list to do on Friday is to put the stock tubes in.

 

Quest for Sound, Bensalem Pa, Steven Monte is the owner.

 

Thank you. Even I am impressed by how well these pieces work together!

I can't stress enough how excellent those Andrew Jones Pioneer speakers are. Now just about anyone can afford audiophile-quality speakers.

 

As a fellow Bostonian, I can relate to what you're saying. Even my Fisher 400 produces too much heat for my small listening room during the summer (hence the solid state basement system I posted earlier), but it sure is nice to have during the long New England winters!

 

Keep me posted if you would please. You probably have the same happening when at a higher volume you can hear floor noise/hiss in the phono stage. I tried some Mullard's and it disappeared but I lost some of the sound that I liked about the original tubes, sans hiss. I want to try the GL's.

Thanks, Bob

 

Don't you mean double the signal tubes?

 

It costs twice as much money to replace the tubes for Mono blocks as opposed to a stereo amp.

 

Not Necessarily twice as much, if the amp is tube rectified then you will at least have to buy two of those as opposed to one. But mono blocks can use one or two power tubes and one or two preamp tubes and so can a stereo amp. If you want to cut costs on owning a tube amp go single ended.