I think the ATC 20's on up are all really good. Anthem msake really good DSP's - loads of functions and settings and all kinds of inputs/outputs - certainly not the last word in sound quality but great value and good performance

shadorne February 02, 2011 04:58

Hey Shadorne,
I see u are a ATC person,im reconsidering the 40s n going in for the 50s active ,
How does it compare to the 100s?
Ps hows the Anthem AV match up?
Thks

rainmonkey February 01, 2011 22:11

Very cool WAF you got there, bigger room is great too, I have heard nothing but great things about your speakers, those changers must be a huge convenience!

chadnliz October 09, 2006 04:18

Jeff,
I have used a Mac to control my CD Changers for over 5 years - it is very reliable. If I were to start today, given the very low cost of large hard drives, then I would probably go for a PC/MAC server with a DAC and burn everything to lossless files on a RAID drive system...

shadorne September 15, 2006 08:10

At this point I'm focused on stand alone usb DAC's. Hoping to get more bang for my buck by going specific. Thanks!

jeff1225 September 12, 2006 21:46

Jeff1225,

I currently use the DAC's in my Anthem AVM-20 DSP pre-amp(AKM DACS of around 2001 vintage, these had good reviews at the time but are nolonger SOTA).

I have A/B compared the AKM DACS to the Sony DACS in my Sony mega changers... but to be honest the difference is so small that I cannot identify which DAC is being used....with one exception, the digital signal path from changer to pre-amp has lower background noise (which is evident when you jack up the volume to max - so I prefer it)

Are you considering this option?

shadorne September 12, 2006 15:02

Hey,
I'm confused, are you using the MAC as a music server as well? If so....what DAC are you using? Love the ATC's, great speakers.

jeff1225 September 11, 2006 05:15

"Hay bales would work better."

I helped friend build a straw bale house. It was acoustically awesome till we covered the bale with plaster then less so. Also much more fire resistant than a stick built home. So probably safer than logs I suppose.

ausjoe July 16, 2006 02:11

Mdhoover,

Thank you for the kind words of encouragement. What I have done is still far from a perfect acoustical setup even if it was modelled on a professional studio soffit mounting for the speakers. Nevertheless I feel I have managed to adequately balance acoustic as well as aesthetic requirements in a unqiue way. I am happy to share and glad you enjoyed reading about my efforts.

shadorne May 22, 2006 14:09

"Wild because this is not your usual foam...these are real logs! I left the bark on the logs as I felt this created the most absorbing surface. The variety in log size, 1" to 5" diameter, is intended to give this wild log base trap the broadest spectrum of absorption. I did not make before and after measurements so I cannot say exactly how much the improvement is...all I can say is that it is noticeably better. Anyone else try this? Is this crazy, dumb, wild or what?"
-Shadorne

Q. Anyone else try this?
A. Not me.
Q. Is this crazy, dumb, wild or what?
A. In my opinion:
-------->Not crazy, especially if it works.
-------->Not dumb, quite the opposite, I'd say.
-------->Not wild, unless being creative, showing initiative and not following the "herd mentality" is "wild." If that's wild, then I aspire to be wild.
-------->"What" it looks like to me is encompassed, at least partly, by the following list:
Intelligent, very highly creative, extremely well planned and executed, aesthetically pleasing, rather unique, and just downright cool!

Thank you for going to all of the time and effort to post a step by step pictorial and narrative of your fine system. Your virtual system is a good example of why the Virtual System area of Audiogon is one of my very favorites. It's nice to see people who are happy with what they've achieved, and justifiably happy to boot!

mdhoover May 21, 2006 02:26

System edited: The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla! I added home built custom baffles for soffit mount. (I had been meaning to do this for a while and finally got round to it.)

shadorne May 15, 2006 04:33

Oz,

I did shove them into that wall unit. This is a soffit mounting, I probably don't need to go into the benefits as you probably know them already. What surprises me is that I have rarely seen soffit mounting on audigon systems but it is quite usual in professional studios...just try a search and look at a few pro studio setups and you can see that it is the preferred permanent arrangement. Why more aduiogoners do not try this is a mystery to me.

shadorne February 17, 2006 03:27

Eldartford,

Hay bails - I love it - I never thought of that!

Mmm - on second thoughts - that might be too much of a fire hazard but it would probably work great ...better than foam.....especially if you spread the hay across the floor!

shadorne February 13, 2006 04:22

Ok, it is a "base" trap, or a bass trap? There is a difference you know.....

Ozq

ozzy62 February 13, 2006 02:18

Hay bales would work better.

eldartford February 13, 2006 00:45

System edited: I am not sure if others have tried this. I thought long and hard about how to get rid of wall reflections without ugly foam that is so obvious and unacceptable to my better half. To start with, the walls have all been plastered to create an extremely rough diffusive surface texture with 1/8" to 1/4" grooves but that does little to help with LF reflections... Fortunately, on the all important rear wall (where you often get undesirable base reflections) there was an existing fire place. A modification to the surround of the fireplace was the trick I came up with: a huge stack of various sizes of 18" logs gives what I believe to be the wildest acoustic base trap ever. Wild because this is not your usual foam...these are real logs! I left the bark on the logs as I felt this created the most absorbing surface. The variety in log size, 1" to 5" diameter, is intended to give this wild log base trap the broadest spectrum of absorption. I did not make before and after measurements so I cannot say exactly how much the improvement is...all I can say is that it is noticeably better. Anyone else try this? Is this crazy, dumb, wild or what?

shadorne February 13, 2006 00:40

Did you actually shove your speakers into that wall unit? Please say you didn't......

Oz

ozzy62 February 05, 2006 12:57

System edited: Added a photo showing the rats nest of cabling during testing phase prior to installing components in cabinets. This is the last step. All that remains is to run wires behind cabinets and install components....sounds simple but it is tedious work - a task for tomorrow.

shadorne February 03, 2006 07:18

System edited: Doors and handles added. Speaker pocket doors needed additional adjustments so they can sink neatly out the way when speakers are in use. Also drilled a bunch of holes for ventilation and wiring. Shelving still needs some minor adjustments and carpet still needs to be toed in. TV is partly in but not hooked up.

shadorne February 02, 2006 03:36

System edited: More progress. Upper shelves and maple wood facings added. Numerous holes drilled for component wires. Next phase: Cabinet doors to be installed, handles to be mounted and carpet to be toed back in its new place. System may even be ready to throw on the switch by tomorrow night!

shadorne February 01, 2006 06:13

Pitdog75,

I try to balance stereo image with side wall reflections. My preference is for speakers to be about 8 feet apart and with a minimum of 4 feet from side walls, listening at 10 to 12 feet back with a good 6 foot behind me (less rear reflections). I find this to be the best balance. I also find corners tend to increase base but bring their own non-linear room effects and so I try to avoid them.

In any case, ATC speakers have such an even sound energy field that I find huge flexibility of placement compared to others, which is a great strength! On the smaller models (like SCM 20's), I found placement closer to corners helped with base extension, which is where they usualy ended up....the SCM 100's need no help in the base, which is why I have them further from the corners.

shadorne January 29, 2006 15:45

System edited: Photos show progress in cabinetry construction up to Day Two.

shadorne January 27, 2006 04:09

>Shadorne great pics, waiting for more :)
on the first pic main speakers are quite close to each other - any plans to increase the distance between them? my scm35's are quite far apart delivering a full wide stereo image.
ant the rotary bass controll - cool thing

pitdog75 January 26, 2006 19:26

System edited: This photos show the first cabinets installed on Day One. The carpet was rolled back and everything was moved out the way, as the first cabinets were installed. You can see speakers in the corner by the fire place. The lower row of cabinets will house the audio components...space for TV, spealers and shelves for DVD's will follow on Day Two.

shadorne January 26, 2006 06:09

Thanks.

I would not have known, thats pretty cool though.

Mark

mark02131 January 22, 2006 15:56