Description

Had Pass Labs Aleph equipment until 6 years ago when I replaced it with Devialet 400 monoblocks. Used them in a 12 x 23 x 8 shared space. Recently moved to a new house with space for a dedicated listening room and decided to return to my analog roots in an end-game way. Went preowned on most of the electronics and still spent a lot but the music is remarkable. A lot of credit has to go to the luxury of a dedicated room and the opportunity for abundant acoustic treatment. Did not plan it this way, but my budget turned out to be about 1/4 preamp, 1/4 amplifiers, 1/4 cartridge/tonearm and 1/4 room treatment. Before the DAC anyway. 

The imaging is pinpoint, the sound articulate and crystal clear. I believe room treatments made the biggest difference.
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Room Details

Dimensions: 28’ × 18’  Large
Ceiling: 8’


Components Toggle details

    • Roon Labs Nucleus Plus
    Tony Pardo LPS; Qobuz
    • Playback Designs MPD-8 DAC
    USB X4 fiberoptic interface
    • DS Audio DS003 Cartridge and Equalizer
    • Eminent Technology ET2 Tonearm
    High pressure manifold with upgrades; manometer
    • VPI Industries HW-19 MkIV ÜnStock
    Black Diamond Racing Shelf for the Source; Boca ceramic bearing; Sota Total Eclipse SAMA with Swagman Labs LPS; modified base and suspension with Black Diamond Racing Cones, Herbie's Audio Lab Tenderfeet and Pucks, Rotalocks. 
    • Vinnie Rossi L2 Signature Preamplifier
    Takatsuki 300Bs
    • JL Audio CR-1 Crossover
    • Pass Labs XA 60.8 Monoblock Amplifier
    • Dayton Audio SA1000 Subwoofer Amplifier
    x 2
    • Wilson Benesch Vector Loudspeaker
    2.5 way
    • James Romeyn DEBRA Subwoofer
    Distributed bass array:10 inch ported drivers x 4
    • IsoAcoustics Various
    Wilson Benesch Vectors: Gaia II; James Romeyn Distributed Bass Array: Gaia III
    • Empirical Design Interconnect

    XLR 422X: MPD-8 to L2S to CR-1 to XA 60.8

    RCA Omniwire: DS003 cartridge to DS003 equalizer to L2S

    • Zu Audio Event Interconnect
    CR-1 to SA1000 amplifiers
    • SolidSteel Equipment Rack
    Vintage; Model 410
    • Rakks Wall Shelf Supports
    Custom clear acrylic shelves
    • Indiana Michigan Power
    3 dedicated 15 amp circuits
    • Environmental Potentials EP-2050-EE
    Whole house surge protection
    • AudioQuest Niagara 1200 Power Conditioner, Vodka Ethernet Cable, Dragon USB Cable
    Vodka: Xfinity modem to Nucleus Plus 
    Dragon: Nucleus Plus to USB X4
    • Furutech Power Cords
    DIY to SA1000 subwoofer amplifiers
    • Vicoustic Various
    Front wall: Multifuser Wood 64 MkII and Flexi Wave Ultra; Ceiling: Multifuser DC3; Front corners: Super Bass Extreme Ultra; Front and Side Walls: Wavewood Diffuser Ultra MkII
    • GIK Acoustics Various
    Side Walls: 242, B4 and 244 Acoustic Panels, Rear Corners: Monster Bass Traps; Rear (wall screen) Wall: Gotham 23 Quadratic Diffusers; Ceiling: 242 Acoustic Panels
    • Acoustimac Acoustic Panels
    Side wall and doors
    • Preston 9 x 13 Handmade Solid Area Rug
    Wool, cut pile, 1/2 inch;  3/8" felt pad
    • Nitty Gritty Model One Record Cleaning System
    Original version with motorized capstan and vacuum
    • MiniDSP UMIK-2
    REW
    • Blue Jeans Cable Biwired BJC Canare 4S11 speaker cable
    • Zero Surge 2 Outlet Power Filter
    SA1000 Subwoofer amps
    • Sonos Connect 1st Generation
    For her Spotify account

Comments 19

Owner
Thank you. I like the wood diffuser on the front wall because it looks nice it makes a difference in the sound stage and overall clarity. 

Obviously, I am in the camp that believes that crossing over your mains with a high pass has advantages over running the mains full range and just adding the subwoofer. I believe the JL audio unit did this better than any others. For the price anyway

I biamped my system with the monoblocks high passing to the Vectors at 80 Hz and a distributed base array picking up a low pass also at 80 Hz. While  there are other crossovers out there, Marchand, Pass Labs, and others, I felt the CR-1 provided the best quality and features. Infinite crossover points, volume control, A-B switching (with/ without subs), and "damping", which allows one to control the bandwidth of the crossover point. It only has second and fourth order slopes and they have to be the same which is a little disappointing but certainly not a dealbreaker. I use Dayton SA 1000 subwoofer amps which provide a little more control over the final sound.


tcutter

Nice system and great room. I like your room treatments. I'm a real proponent of diffusion behind the speakers. 

What do you use the electronic crossover for? I'm planning to experiment with biamping my speakers, but haven't had a chance yet.

jaytor

Owner
Owner
(Hit post too soon)

Proac Tablettes, and Linn Isobariks (terrible speaker). Read about Wilson Benesch and the science behind their design appealed to me so I tried a pair of Trinities. Magical, but bass shy.  The Vectors were from the next generation and shared components with their top-of-the-line speaker, The Cardinal. They design virtually all of their components and manufacture something like 90% in house. Their form factor is very similar to Magico, but while Magico uses the brute force of a big block of aluminum to house their drivers, Wilson Benesch uses technology and carbon fiber. I get the impression it is virtually the same stiffness in a much more compact and lighter package. They also use a 2 1/2 way design that allows the mid range to operate without a crossover, which I think is responsible for some of their coherence. I will not call them the poor man's Magico because I think they stand on their own and can directly compete, although it a lower price point.

They are not well known in the United States and their marketing is weak but I believe they are very popular in Europe and even more so in Asia. They don't need the US market. I would say it is our loss.

tcutter

Owner
I know many people  emphasize tweaking cables, power cords, fuses, etc. I've been putting my money into room treatments and once that gets settled (if ever), then I'll start looking at the more subtle tweaks. Room treatment can make a significant difference, far more than electronics and tweaks. The skyline diffusers on the ceiling made the room open up.Next to speakers, I don't think anything influences the sound more. 

I can say I've always been fond of the British sound having owned Kef 101s and 105.2s, Proacp

tcutter

Thanks for commenting on my system. Your setup looks really good, well done!
Love the room and the treatments.  I agree with one of your earlier comments, room treatment done properly makes a significant difference. You also have great equipment. How do you like your WB speakers? They are always of interest to me as I'm partial to British speakers. If I ever replace my Reference KEF 107's, WB would be on my short list. Thanks again for the comment. 

dmiller01

Very nice system and I like what you've done with the acoustic treatments.  Well done!

reynolds853

Owner
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery ;)

I mounted them differently than what Vicoustic recommends and am happy to share that with you via PM if you would like.

tcutter

Much appreciated. If you don’t mind, I’m going to steal your style, especially the front wall treatments. Your room just looks phenomenal.

arafiq

Owner

Sorry. My reply did not paste well. Here are the details. 


Vicoustic:

Front wall: Multifuser Wood 64 MkII and Flexi Wave Ultra

Ceiling: Multifuser DC3

Front corners: Super Bass Extreme Ultra

Front and Side Walls: Wavewood Diffuser Ultra MkII

tcutter

Owner
Thank you. The treatments are listed below. For much of the Vicoustics products, I have used a German  company. Even with shipping, the prices are superior to domestic suppliers. 

    • Vicoustic Various
    Front wall: Multifuser Wood 64 MkII and Flexi Wave Ultra
    Ceiling: Multifuser DC3
    Front corners: Super Bass Extreme Ultra
    Front and Side Walls: Wavewood Diffuser Ultra MkII
    • GIK Acoustics Various
    Side Walls: 242 and 244 Acoustic Panels
    Rear (screen) Wall: Gotham 23 Quadratic Diffusers
    • Acoustimac Acoustic Panels
    Side wall and doors

tcutter

 Beautiful room! Love the treatment on the front wall (behind speakers). May I know where you purchased from and what specific models?

arafiq

What a wonderful room, great system as well. Good job 👍

honeyooi

You have a very nice system!  I am also an analog enthusiast and your setup seems dialed in.  Congratulations and enjoy the music!

mscetal

Superb room and nice attention to acoustics. My number one recommendation is you need LARGE towers for this size room. I went exactly through that process in my house of stereo. Size does matter.

baylinor

Hey Tcutter great looking room and killer system! And welcome back to your analog roots it's so warm and cozy there ain't it? ;)

jond

Incredible setup and room.  Beautiful system.  Looks like you have all the bases covered included room treatments.

kclone

Owner
Thanks. I see we share some of the same approaches to our hobby, but your system is way more developed than my relatively modest set-up.

tcutter

Very cool.

tonywinga

Showing all 19 posts