bugredmachine's Tennessee System 2023

by bugredmachine on
Feb 2024 "final" cable set
Panels relocated to hide LG OLED
TV raised on lift before final panel moves
Panels rolled right and left to fully expose TV
New wiring scheme with PAD, KS, and DIY wooden lifters
Power cabling Nov 2024
IC cabling Nov 2024
Early piling up panels behind speakers shows promise (blue line) now time for some traps
Before and after heavy bass trapping
Single graph of room response after treatments completed
Room when viewing the house for purchase
Good luck building a room while it is full of boxes!
One inspiration idea for decor
Full front
My Salk Exoticas in copper baffles
Exoticas in Aural Enlightenment 3 Kalamazoo
Aural Enlightenment 1 - Canton MI
The Sanctum Home Theater from the wayback machine
This used to be funny....
Left front trap
Back of the room
Keep your head up
Right slope first reflection
Left slope first reflection
2018 Axpona Speaker evaluation scoring during lunch, which fry is Wilson?
Not a pet-free environment
5th iteration in TN
ADD_PWR IO - Aurender - Bricasti - AR Ref 5SE, below Core Power - Puritan
Left speaker
Left Wilson
Front
Right rear - Salk appreciation spot
Right front
Rack left end
DIY connections for Tri-wired Venustas
PAD and KS cables
Skirting the access hatch
The ugly rack view

Description

One saving grace for the low inventory of houses in 2022 was the pool and this room. Gave up on finding 3 garage stalls, but 10 foot ceilings in this room looked promising. 23.4 feet deep, 16.5 wide, with a 10 foot peak 5 feet wide.
I built some massive bass traps (on wheels) to reduce the giant dip shown at 160 hz. The traps are 24 wide, 35 deep, and 57 inches high. I mate a large Real Traps absorber to the front behind the Wilsons to achieve the 35 inches. The traps contain OC703 and Roxul with a 2.5" air gap inside.

I've been busy auditioning both IC's, SC's, and power cables in 2023. Here is a list of power cables I have tried out in 2023:

Acoustic Zen Silver Ref IC Stealth M5000 power cable Purist Audio Proteus Rev B PC Silversmith short Fideliums Verastarr silver foil grand illusion PC from wig Purist Proteus PC two cables Transparent Ultra IC Gen 5 Verastarr 4 foot PC Verastarr 5 foot PC LessLoss C-MARC 20 amp JPS ACX 2M power cable superdan138 Stealth Metacarbon RCA Stealth Indra IC Analysis Plus Oval 9 Spkr cables Transparent Ultra 20 ft IC Tara Labs The One PC second Anticables long PC Tara Labs The One PC first Elrod EPS3 Sig 20 amp 1M woway Kaplan  PC JPS 38 in IC JPS 78 inch PC Jade Moontails JPS 51 inch PC Elrod EPS-3 8 feet, 20 amp Silversmith long Fidelium SC Transparent 5M Gen 5 PC Masterbuilt Audio Std PC Aric Audio Motherlode 2 JPS Aluminata 8 meter Nagomi PC 1.5M 15a Hijiri Million IC Nagomi 20A 1M PC Organic RCA ebay Harmonix XDC10SM Studio Master 1M Zavfino 2 mtr XLR's Keast Harmonix X-DC Studio Master 330 1.5M Purist Museaus Praesto Rev 5M XLR Wywires Platinum 13ft PC Russ Andrews grounding Kubala Elation half meter splitter Kubala 1.5M Elation PC to Ken F&F Purist XLR Corvus 1M first Purist XLR Corvus 1M Kubala Elations to Tom 1.5 x 2 and 2.5 20 amp from TMR Clarus Aqua 8 ft SC Clarus Crimson 24 foot XLR Purist Venustas 4 Mtr XLR   Empirical Design 316 PC Elrod EPS2 Elrod EPS-2 70 inches Purist Venustas Tri wire SC Harmonix XDC2 1.5M PC Kubala Emotion from Australia Kubala 3M Expression from Larry Cox Aurender X100L Core Power 1800 Kubala 3M Emotion from Larry Cox Cardas 1.5 M Clear XLR from USAM  technut Cardas 1.5 M Cygnus PC TMR Cardas 2M Clear Beyond PC TMR Cardas 1M Clear XLR Jan Andersen BMI Whale Elite PC'sx2 brian fong Cardas 3M Clear Beyond XL PC from Tony Cardas One meter Clear Beyond XLR from Ron Cardas 1pt5 mtr Clear PC from Gary Cardas Clear 1 mtr PC from TMR Clarus Crimson 1 mtr XLR  Cerious Technologies Matrix XLR Clarus Aqua 8 ft SC  Cerious Technologies Matrix #2 xlr Cerious Technologies Matrix 5 ft power cable Cerious Technologies Matrix 6 foot speaker cables BMI Whale Elite PC'sx2  NRG 4 meter PC USAM Clarus Crimson 2 mtr XLR Oyaide Black Mamba V2

2022 and earlier:

DCCA Passion Pro XXL

Read more...

Room Details

Dimensions: 24’ × 17’  Large
Ceiling: 10’

Components Toggle details

    • Wilson Audio Alexia 1
    Fed by Cerious Matrix SC's
    • Audio Research Ref 5SE
    Replaced an Aric Audio Motherlode 2

    Fed by a BMI Whale Elite PC.
    • Bricasti Design M1 DAC
    Fed by Shunyata Sigma USB and BMI Whale Elite PC
    • Coda Technologies Continuum No. 8 amp
    Version 1: 150 Watts x 2 into 8 Ohms

    Class A ~18 Watts 

    300 Watts x 2 into 4 Ohms

    Class A ~18 Watts

    Fed by 2 NRG the Five PC's onto a BMI Whale Elite, all daisy chained from the Puritan to the amp.

    • Siltech Cables Princess G7 G5 or better

    Siltech Cables Princess G7 between Bricasti and ARC (wow, so silent=more smooth music)

    Today: 2 meter Clarus Crimson to amp being fed by 4 meter purist Venustas. Planning to move to Siltech cables over the next few weeks.

    Old: XLR's to the amp start as Purist Venustas Diamond Rev 4 meter then to two pairs of Cerious Technologies Matrix all daisy chained between ARC and Coda.

    Old: Cardas Clear Beyond XLR to the preamp, Cardas Clear daisy chained to Purist Venustas XLR to Coda amp.

    OLD: Presently have a KS Emotion on the Bricasti to preamp.

    For the amp run:
    I have 3 meter pair of KS Expressions connected to a 3 meter set of Emotions that then connect to a 0.5 meter pair of Elations for the run from ARC to amp. SO, yes, daisy chaining KS cables together as interconnect chain giving me the KS sound but ultimately the signature of the Elation as it is right before the amplifier. Give this a try. It was tested with PAD cables first and then I switched to KS cables. The PAD train was Venustas (4M) to Corvus. Prior to that I was using Museuas to Venustas to the amp. I kept moving up the chain and then jumped over to KS cables.
    • Synergistic Research Atmosphere X Euphoria
    Old"; Siltech Cables Classic Anniversary 550L
    Old: Cerious Matrix SC's

    OLD: Tri-wired set of Luminist version 81 inches long. I only needed single wiring but couldn't pass up the deal. I made a manifold to accept the 3 runs per side with a solid piece of copper which hangs on the Wilson binding posts. Incredible speaker cables.
    • BMI Whale Elite
    Now using Whale Elites on Puritan and first 18 feet to Coda (last 1 meter to Coda is a Hijiri Nagomi)

    OLD: Two of these on the daisy chain to the amp with the Kubala Sosna Elation PC.
    • Shunyata Research Sigma USB
    All the other cables I tried smeared the music.
    • ADD-POWR Wizard
    I have 2 of these. One is placed under the DAC and one is under the DIY digital power box. I'm not getting any benefit from these and they are for sale.
    • ADD-POWR Symphony I/O
    Connects the ethernet to the music server and the server USB to the DAC
    • Aurender X100L
    Replaced my Rich Hollis designed dedicated MS-2 computer.
    • Cerious Technologies Matrix
    New: Matrix PC at wall to Core Power unit

    Old: Almost all Cardas power cables now

    Old: Moved to almost all KS power cables; Elations and one Emotion. Good stuff. Still putzing with the PC to the Aurender.

    .
    • Puritan Audio Labs PSM156 Studio Master Power Purifier
    Love this unit. The amount of noise it reduces is impressive. Tested the circuit with a noise detector before it and then in it and see how it removes 75% of line noise.  Now I have barely a tweeter his at 6 inches instead of at 12 inches.
    • Core Power Technologies Core Power Technologies Deep 1800 AC Power Line Conditioner
    Added this to the very front of all power feeding the Puritan.

Comments 46

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Owner
On Sunday I let the system run for several hours while I did some landscaping. I did not notice any changes. At that point I decided to try my experiment of daisy chaining 3 power cables together to bypass the AntiCable 28 foot power cable to see if the higher end cables would make a difference in that crazy configuration.
And it was magic! I put an 8 foot Elrod EPS 3 on the Puritan, then connected an Elrod EPS-2 at 6 feet, and then a 6 foot Tara Labs The One to the Coda amp in a 20 foot run. Wow. 
Immediately I was delivered more bass and after about 20 minutes the treble straightened out. I cannot believe the AntiCable was holding me back so much. And, of course, I was surprised that the daisy chaining would not be a total bust by inserting very inexpensive 2.5 inch adapters between cables. My theory was to use the best first and the next best cable of the Elrod brand and finish off with the Tara which I felt was the most neutral of the 3.
Anyways, it was enough of an improvement that I felt the Nagomi could now continue to do its thing and the next 2 hours were a new high at the Aural Enlightenment venue.

bugredmachine

Owner
I'm not really sure how to sensibly make an update of what transpired this weekend. I visited Gestalt Audio and was highly impressed with Colin's gear and taste of music. I walked away with a brand new loaner Hijiri Nogami C-19 power cable to try.
I also wanted to try the Elrod power cables on the dac and preamp, but that never happened due to other positive tests I ran today.

Yesterday I inserted the Nogami in place of my NRG The Five cable feeding my Puritan and it didn't suck. At first I did not hear a delta in the music I could put my finger on, but as time went on I felt the music had more body to it. One thing, for sure, was it decreased the tweeter noise even further which was quite a surprise given the NRG's heavy noise filtering employed.

So I waited for Sunday to spend more time with the Nogami.

bugredmachine

Owner
I have not gotten to them yet Jeff. I am a weekend warrior and by the time I get a break from yard work or other projects, I'm pretty beat and just fire up the system and listen for a few hours.
Saturday, I am going to have some "me" time and go visit Gestalt Audio in Nashville to check out Hijiri cables and other goodies. Hopefully Saturday night or Sunday I can insert the Elrods and give them a run.
I am on the verge of buying an ARC Ref 5SE preamp to try out as well. We'll see how it stacks up to the Motherlode II. Fun times!

bugredmachine

Hi Pete: How did the Elrods work out for you? I've never heard any of them, but many give them high praise. Jeff

yoby

Owner
Thanks Jeff. You brought me another important piece to the puzzle. Now I have Aluminata's on the DAC and preamp. I'll do some further evaluation of the Tara Labs cables before deciding if I jettison them.

bugredmachine

Hi Pete: Glad the JPS Aluminata has worked out for you. Good listening. Jeff

yoby

Owner
I'm also looking into an Audio Research preamp even though I like my Aric Audio preamp. From the wayback machine, I had a 2 week experience with a 6H30 preamp, a Rogue Hera. I really liked the soundstage and presence it created, but the tubes made a slight ting, ting through the tweeters that I disliked. So, I wrote it off and moved on as I was in my TRL Dude days then.
Having that in my memory bank, I now have an itch to get another 6H30-based preamp.

bugredmachine

Owner
The Aluminata out front of the Puritan 156 was not a great experience. It accentuated the treble and the soundstage collapsed.
I then moved it to the dac in place of a Tara Labs The One and put the NRG back on the Puritan. That was very fulfilling.
I have 2 Elrods coming tomorrow and will try them on the Puritan and the sources. I have an idea of daisy-chaining some of these "spare" cables together to see how that might influence the sound versus the 28 foot AntiCable Level 3 on the amp. If I run wire as the crow flies from rack to amp, I could get away with a shorter cable on an experimental basis.

bugredmachine

Owner
I have another Aluminata power cable to try this weekend and on Monday I am receiving 2 Elrods to enter into the mix as well. This should be fun.

bugredmachine

Owner
Good point on bass trapping. I have an idea to get the room to look like I wanted it to look and still have bass trapping. Those 5 foot walls are really "pony" walls with storage behind them (about 2 feet deep the full length of the room both sides). I'm thinking about venting the walls into those spaces and simply moving the fiberglass into 2 chambers that are sealed from the cold air. I have experimented with moving the traps to the center of the room and verified the corners are key to the trap effectiveness (generally known to be the case). Since the bass would still build up in the corners, I am banking on those chambers to grab it and free up those corners for a more pleasing aesthetic. Not sure when I will get to this, but it is fairly easy to execute.

bugredmachine

Interesting (and instructive) how the addition of bass traps actually INCREASED the bass response in your room. One thing people don't understand about bass-trapping is that the traps are able to absorb sound waves which are in polarity opposite that of the output of the loudspeakers, waves which can cause a "suckout" at various low frequencies.

bdp24

Owner
I have a JPS Aluminata power cable coming. I'll have to experiment on placement.

bugredmachine

Owner
I had my system set up using standard formulas and my experience. Once I had my room responses, I was sure I was good. My assumption was that my Alexia's were dialed in at the midrange and tweeter per their manual appropriately.

But! I kept enjoying the sound even though the center imaging was low. Like no more than 2 feet off the floor. And when I play it back in my weak mind, when I upgraded to JPS interconnects, I felt the sound in the upper registers was rolled off. Then I convinced myself that this must be what it is supposed to sound like with these higher end cables.

I lived with that for weeks, still enjoying the overall experience. Then Saturday I decided to get out my laser pointer and verified that according to Wilson's manual, the tweeters were angled toward my belly and not my ears. Easy enough, I moved the top module down 2 steps so the laser pointer was more at ear level, and whalla, the top end came back in a huge way. And the imaging went way up vertically to the window level. So, I am admitting I trusted my set-up but if I hadn't paid attention to that little voice in my head to check it out, I would have kept on as it were. Feels a little silly, but I am so glad I made the adjustment. Day and night improvement.

Now will you believe me it sounds fantastic? Cuz, obviously I was lying last month!! ha

bugredmachine

Thanks @bugredmachine. Good to know that those work in your system. Will look into those cables soon.

milpai

Owner
Douglas, fantastic to hear from you! Haven't shaken your hand in a decade! Love your reviews.

My source is a dedicated small computer made by Rich Hollis (Hollis Audio Labs) out of Maryland. He has a thread on AudioCircle. I've met Rich and he is a guru of all things electronic. Anyways, the small computer I have is a little dated still on Windows 8. It has a ~80 gb solid state hard drive in it as a buffer. It is small footprint and stripped of non-audio apps.

I rip CD's or download HDTracks and drive the tunes with JRiver. I feed the server with an external hard drive. I purchased an ADD PWR Symphony IO to clean up the ethernet feed that travels 75 feet from my living room and to interface with the USB out of the server before going to the Bricasti. I use an Avanti USB before the Symphony and a Shunyata Sigma to the Bricasti. I found the Sigma to be very clean and it mates well with the Bricasti.

Best to you.

bugredmachine

Owner
milpai, I got lucky! I was looking for technologies that made a difference and I felt that reducing EMI/RFI was key to getting that background noise as low as possible. I was looking at all the usual players who have a reputation for lowering noise and before spending a thousand dollars on a used cable I kept looking for bargains. When I saw the NRG I looked at their website and liked what I saw, so I spent a whopping $200 on a used The Five cable and liked it. Literally a week later another one came up for sale and I grabbed it for $180. All I know is they work and I'm thrilled. I like the flat wire tech in the Tara's and I was able to grab 2 of those used and the combo is making me happy. Lesson learned is high dollars aren't always needed to achieve performance.

bugredmachine

Bugredmachine (Bigredmachine),
God's Peace,

Congratulations on an impressive system, which I'm sure enthralls you! Your relentless push for perfection is showing!  :) 

It appears you are streaming and file playback. Perhaps I missed it, but what is your source? Currently I am using the Small Green Computer sonicTransporter in conjunction with the SONORE Signature Rendu SE and optical input (reviewed for Dagogo.com). I vary the DACs used. 

Blessings,
Douglas Schroeder 

douglas_schroeder

Just curious - how did you land on the NRG? I am asking this because the other components in your system are far more expensive. So not judging at all, but just curious.

milpai

Owner
Update on AC cables>

I received another Tara Labs The One cable this week. This gave me an opportunity to place it on my preamp instead of the Kaplan HE and put a second NRG The Five cable on the DIY box I made years ago that powers all the "digital" (music server, hard drive, ADD-POWR Symphony I/O). I had a JPS Analog AC on there. The box is built with copper buss bar, various aftermarket duplexes, and filled with Tourmaline and Quartz.

So now I have an NRG The Five feeding my Puritan, Tara Labs feeding the preamp and Bricasti, and another NRG in-between the Puritan and the digital outlet box.

I fire up the system after the swap and head over to the Wilsons and take my usual position at 6 inches from the tweeter and nothing. Check the amp and it's on. Move in closer so the hair on my head is now touching the tweeter baffle and there is a slight hiss. And the hiss is considerably smoother than the oscillating waveform I did have at 6 inches. Big grins and imaginary high five to myself. THIS, is what I have wanted to achieve!

Played music for 2 hours while in heaven (more so after the first hour of warm-up). I purchased the NRG's on a bet after reading their website about their construction when I saw a few up for sale. So for me, they have definitely filtered out noise without diminishing the overall output of music. I'm thrilled I can stop looking for power cables for the time being.

bugredmachine

Owner
Probably delinquent in making some comments.

High level, this is the first system I have created where I can honestly say I have soundstage moving outside the speakers. Pretty spooky but highly enjoyable.

I have significantly reduced electrical noise with the incorporation of JPS Aluminata interconnects. They dropped the small nagging hiss from the tweeters to barely detectable. To explain, at 18 inches from the tweeters, my ear could pick up a small electronic hash before the Aluminatas. Now I can barely hear some hash at 6 inches from the tweeter - with my good ear!

Previously owned Sasha 1's and the Alexia 1's are really surprising me with the bass they have, especially exposed by the Aluminatas. I never really had an issue with the inverted Focal dome on the Sasha's, but the dome of the Alexia's is much smoother and blends in very well. I was always so appreciative to have owned the Sasha's. I am amazed by the Alexia's.

I removed so much noise with the Aluminatas, I decided to pursue power cables more seriously. I have never really gained much in the sound department before with AC cables. Now I have gone another step up and am really digging the Tara Labs and NRG cables. I'd like to swing an Aluminata power cable later this year.

bugredmachine

Can't wait to see the after pics and happy new year!

jond

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