My room was purpose build using the ratio described by Floyd Toole from the Canadian Research council.
Have 20 dedicated 15 amp circuits, 4x20 amp circuits and 2 220 volt 60 amp circuits. The wall construction is 12" thick ,made up of a double wall of 2x4 studs at 16 oc with the studs staggered ,insulation (rock wool), t&g 3/4 plywood glued and screwed, then the drywall is glued with a v notch trowel. This room is so quiet the music can flow with absolutely no distractions. This is a great way to enjoy the music at the end of long day of work.
Many many changes have taken place since posting my system here.
Decided to repaint the room a much lighter colour to lighten things up for reading in the room.
Using the darTZeel pre amp with two different amps. The first amp in this system is the Wyetech Topaz 211 and second one is the darTZeel amp.
Both bring forth tremendous musical enjoyment albeit different presentations.
Mike L turned my focus back to vinyl after being at his home many years ago. Had my Lp and gear packed up until Mike opened up my eyes/ears.
Now LP playback is 90% vinyl and 10% digital.
Steve Dobbins came by last weekend to deliver and set up the KODO the Beat.
Tonearm on the BEAT is the Reed P3 along with the Kuzma Airline. Room for one more.......
Second table is my Verdier which I bought after visiting Mike L's place.
Using a FR 64s and purchased an ET-2 which will be upgraded to a 2.5 in the next month pending Bruce's schedule.
Studer Tape deck plays a role too but is limited due to lack of tapes. Having spent funds on vinyl rigs and arm/cartridges leaves the deck out side of the music room.
Custom build direct drive turntable by Steve Dobbins. Has a separate power supply and speed controller. Can accommodate three tonearms.
JC Verdier La Platine
Great turntable
Technics SP-10 MKII
Direct drive from the late 70s. This one is in mint condition. Will start building different types of plinths for the turntables that I have recently purchased. They will be made out of combinations of slate, alloys and homebrew plywood using veneers and an 80 ton press.
Kuzma Airline
Airline
Fidelity Research FR 64S
With VTA adjuster
Fidelity Research FR 24 MK II
One Ikeda's early arms. Looking for an copy of the original manual of this arm.
Reed 3P
12
Eminent Technology ET-2
ET 2 will be shipped to Bruce Thigpen to get updated to a 2.5 version and get a full check over.
Dynavector XV-1S
Great sounding cartridge
Ortofon A90
Their latest top flight cartridge.
Lyra Kleos SL1
Low output moving coil Kleos. SL stands for single layer
Empire 4000 DIII GOLD
MM Cartridge from the golden era
Grace F9-E
Had this one on my first Rega 3
Denon 103 R
Denon MC
Denon 103
Second moving coil that I purchased after buying the Kuzma Airline.
Allnic H-3000V
Phono stage which allows the use of two MM and two MC
Loricraft PRC-3
Lp cleaner
Audio Research CD7.5
Reference CD player
Aural Symphonics Magic Gem v2t
Very good power best that I have heard in my system. Powering the Audio Research CD-7.
McIntosh MR-78
Great sounding FM
Wilson Audio Maxx II
Great sounding full range speaker
Wilson Audio Puppy 5.1
Wilson Watt Puppies
Wilson Audio Watch Center
Center
Wilson Audio Watch Dog
Wilson Watch Dog
Nordost Valhalla
Nordost Valhalla Have this as my interconnect through out the system excapt for the zeel connect between darTZeel preamp and darTZeel amp.
Nordost Valhalla Speaker cable
High resolution speaker cable
Stillpoints Dampers and Risers
Isolation device
Theta Digital Casablanca max
Casablanca III with Extreme Dacs
Sony VPL-VW100 Ruby
Great looking projector and stunning picture
Stewart Screen 110
Luxus Delux Gey Hawk
Slim Devices Transporter
Computer based server with with its own DA
Balanced Audio Technologies VK-6200
200 watt five channel Home Theater amp
Toshiba HD-XA2
High definition HD DVD player with great upscaling on SD DVD
Dartzeel 18 NHB-18S
Solid state preamp purchased and hoping for a Xmas delivery. Ordered with two phono stages.
darTZeel NHB-108 model one Version B
Solid state amp made in Switzerland.
AUDIENCE ar12
Top notch ac filtering 20 amp unit made for Wally of Wally Tractor fame.
Audience aR6-T
Used for the amps at the front of the room.
Wyetech TOPAZ 211 A
18 watt SET with the gold plated Audio Note Transformers.
Studer A810
Vintage 1/4 inch 1/2 track. You have to hear it to believe it. Makes great vinyl sound like MP3.
Studer A810
My second Studer. This will be used in another system.
Nordost Brahma
Power cord for the Aestehtix IO
HOMEBUILD Amp Stand
4 inch thick Jatoba ( Brazilian Cherry) wood
Sutherland TIMELINE
Strobe light to check turntable speed. Two speeds only 33 1/3 and 45 RPM. Very accurate and easy to use.
Allnic Speednic
Strobe for Turntable to check speed accuracy.
HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEM ANALOG DISC CLAMP
Record clamp/weight
Unknown Ebony LP weight
Ebony disc weight
Custom LP racks Apple plywood
Never enough room for LP storage, so I took over the front entrance with my wife's permission of course.
Modified IKEA shelving Walnut gables
Wanted a storage area with sliding doors to hide various tapes, LPs Blue rays and misc.
Modified IKEA shelving Walnut gables part II
Picture of sliding doors open
Canadian Tire Tool Chest
Hold all of tubes,cartridges, footers, set up tools.
TEL WIRE HC Power cord 8 feet
TEL WIRE HC Great synergy in my system. Beautifully finished and the Oyaide connectors are of the best quality. Extremely happy with them.
Acoustical-systems P2S
Direct measuring and marking system made by Dertonarm. Quality is very high and very easy to use.
Hi Voaratc The ML 33h's are a wonderful amp. Your room size is very similar to mine, my ceiling height is 2.8 m. The ML 33h have lots of slam and are very dynamic. They were able to drive my Watt Puppies to very high spl with no problems. I bought my ML s in 1997 and used the CAT SL-1 mk 3 preamp with great results. I also used the ML 32 with the amp as well. When I compared the two combinations against the ASR I can say that the ASR sounds more realistic in many ways. It has the ability so suck you into the performance quite easily. The dynamic shadings the macro dynamics along with the overall presence is just more real sounding.....to me. And yes the ASR is very dynamic, but the 33h will play louder with no protests. How the 33h will be in another system will really depend on speakers and preamp. There are so many great preamps out there so it is really worth a listen. If you are able, you are more than welcome come and listen for yourself at my home.
I am now looking for new amplification sets. Since you own both ML 33H and ASR emitter II exclusive. can you tell me how are the 2 differences, i am looking for great dynamics, solid puch in bass region, good tonal balance and lots of low level details since i am a hi-res format users. Also will the ASR be able to drive high SPL out of big speakers to fill the room says 4x6 meter.
Bigpond I did get a chance to listen to the MM3 but that was early in 2006 in Portland. The MM3 that I listened to was a really early prototype of the MM3. I am sure that the finished product is a great speaker but I was not able to compare the two under proper circumstances. I plan on visiting Mike in Seattle in November who has a pair of the MM3s. It will be interesting to see how they have evolved and how they sound. The Wilson Maxx IIs that are in my system are so much better than the Watt Puppies that I have had for so long. As you can tell I am very happy with the Maxx IIs. The Maxx II are a phenomenal speaker in every way.
Thanks. I haven't heard those servers. I like the Emp. Audio stuff, because it lets you use your own PC and DAC. However, it's not a self contained solution like the McIntosh. If you like your Casablanca DAC, an easy solution is to send your PC's digital signal to the Casablanca using a USB-to-digital converter. Otherwise, there are many options, like USB DACs and others. Some people here like Wavelength and VRS.
The Thor and Exact are not connected - separate circuits. Never tried plugging them together. The Thor is just for my digital front end, and the Exact is just for the plasma and DVD player. The amp plugs straight into the wall. I've tried plugging the amp into either unit and thought there was a slight reduction in sound quality, especially with the Exact.
Hi Bigamp You have a very nice system yourself. Your idea of a music server sounds like a good idea especially when using the Meitner dac. I will look into this. Have you listened to the different servers made by Arcam, Mc Intosh and others? I also see that you are using the Exact with the Thor for your power conditioning. I have the thor and I am quite happy with it. Big improvement when used together? I want to get some protection for my amps at the front of my room.
Great system, Rugyboogie. One of my favorites on Audiogon. Congrats on the Maxx IIs.
Speaking of listening to more CDs, you may enjoy a music server. All of your songs at the touch of a button. No need to keep those CDs in alphabetical order. With the right setup, it can sound as good as a great CD player. I use my music server with a Meitner DAC and ripped CDs sound basically equal to CDs played from my Meitner transport. SACD and vinyl still sound better IMO. Just a suggestion.
Well thanks. I hope to buy some secondhand watt puppy's in the next 3 years. I realy love the wilson sound. I heard demo's of the deutte , sophia II and watt puppy's 8 at my local dealer and love them all.
Good luck with sorting out your software. It's something I stopt trying to do.
Bart nl I was watching the Agon for the Maxx II for 7 months before the right ones came up. The Maxx II have changed my listening habits. I listen to LPs for about 2 hrs and then to cds after that every night. My wife listens with me as well and we are re-discovering all kinds of my music. There is so much information that just never came through the Watt Puppies. Spent 4 hours with my 3 kids on Sunday catalogueing my cds and then put into alphabetical order. This was way overdue and makes it much simplier to find things. You have a great system, much nicer than the one that I had when I was 19. Enjoy your music and take care.
Just some setup notes. I have mine pointed at my ears. I used to have them pointed to my shoulders but the center fill was weak. I took a lot of time moving them around 1 inch at a time. 1 inch forward, wider etc. You can hear it all. Too wide and the image compreses on the side wall. Too narrow and you lose separation. To back and the sound gets muddy. Forward improves things up to a point.
The Thor indicates that it has surge protection. It is listed on the website.
Thanks Dgad, I use the Thor as well but still want to get some kind of protection for my ASR , MLs and the BAT. The speakers are getting closer and closer to their final resting position. These speakers can present the music so effortlessly. The speakers are getting lots of late night listening session. They are so dynamic at all volume levels and image like crazy. For a big speaker to disappear is relly quite something. I will comment further and post pics once I have the room cleaned up.
I use the Jack for all sorts of things. I wonder if you can find one for less elsewhere. I am anti power conditioning as an absolute. By that I mean that every piece of equipment will react differently. It is system dependant. If you feel you need it where you live try it. I have the Nordost Thor. Nothing huge, but I have some surge protection now for my equipment.
Hi Dgad No I did not get the jack for lifting the speakers. I can see why I will need one after getting them into the house. I was glad to see them on casters after I got them out of their crates. As I write/type this the speakers are now onto 300 hours of continuous music playing. The speakers are now ready to be placed/rolled into positions so that we can voice them according to the "Wilson method" I will update pictures once I have them in their final positions. Any thoughts on the BPT power conditioning ? Thanks,
Thanks for your response on my system. You're system looks very well thought out and very well put together; it must sound absolutely lifelike! Where in Canuckville are you located? I'd love to be able to create an entertainment room like you've done. I think one of the things that is really not letting me maximize the sound of my current system is the room itself; my system is trapped in a small living room and it doesn't allow the system sound to breathe with texture and air. You have an absolutely stunning Vinyl rig as well! I'm envious and would love to hear it someday!
Well the Maxx II arrived today. Their boxes are the size of small refrigerator and weight even more. You need a small army just to get them into the house. Thankfully I have strong kids 13 & 15. Now to read all of the pages before assembly, always a good idea. Will post pics when set up in room.
Thanks Dgad for your info. Once the Maxx IIs arrive I will play them to break them in. I will leave them on their castors so that I can play around with their placement. They are supposed to arrive early next week. On another note I bought the Sony Blue ray Bdp s300 and so far it has worked without any hiccups. The Samsung 1200 that we tried lasted only one night, it froze up, skipped and could not decode DTS. Best Buy took it back with no hassle. The picture quality with the Sony is exeptional with the Blue ray discs and very good with SD DVD.
Yes I use the sub on 2 channel. My room total volume is very large w. very tall ceilings going up to about 16 feet in the center. Without the sub everything is great but the bass is missing. I am not running any multichannel in my system. I doubt I will as my room logistics don't allow it. I need to change my house first. A much too big expense.
P.S. with the speaker against the wall you probably won't need the subwoofer. But once you bring them out into the room into the zone of neutrality the subwoofer helps a lot. Over the weekend I will be updating some general system pictures without giving any listings as to what is going on. I have a lot going on these days in my system, leading to a lot of confusion as to what direction to take.
Thanks Dgad The Maxx II are Piano Black with the grills being black as well. I listened to them at the Seattle dealers store for hrs on end and finally decided to go for it. This way I will spend more time to listening to music that watching the new listings on Audiogon. It will be interesting to see once I have the speakers in position whether to integrate the sub or not. Do you use your for two channel mode?
Congrats on the coming addition. What color? What color grills. You must be so excited. Leave out the Tact IMO. You can adjust the angle on the head very easily to fine tube the treble. The Maxx IIs are amazing. You won't stop listening. Just rest your ears for now. All kidding aside, it will be fun to compare notes. Leave them on wheels for a while as you fine tune.
System update, purshased Wilson Audio Maxx II, arriving in two weeks. Will update photos once they have arrived. Contemplating the Tact Audio RCS 2.2xp gear to see how well the gear works but have heard that they they are tricky to set up. Any comments would be appreciated.
