After a classic Heybrook TT2 that I owned through the 80s in the UK. to a Thorens TD160 MkII where I tried to learn the finer points of understanding the relationship between the patter, arm, cartridge and wax. To thebeautiful looking but temperamental Audiomecca Romance and now the fourth and final TT, a Nottingham Dais with a Dual Arm Set Up. Not the best looking but very smooth sounding and great exercise when you lift the 40+lbs platter
Nottingham Anna
Stock arm for the Dais with a Grado Referance
Rega RB-300
Mounted The Denon 103r on this arm
Grado THE REFERENCE 1
Set up on the Anna Arm
Denon 103r
Set up on the Rega Arm
oppo BDP-83
this was my upgrade from the modded Denon 3910. I an play CDs through the Steelhead via analog cables or through the Denon via HDMI or Optical if I listen to SCAD or I dont want to deal with any hum
Esoteric Sound Surface Noise Reducer
Works very well for minor noise on my older LP's with a minor loss in calrity. In the bypass mode it is does not seem to affect the sound at all. Highly recomended for those with less than perfect recordings
Manley Laboratories Steelhead
With the Line Level Input. I am looking to move from this excellent phono pre as I do not need all the intricate adjustments that it offers. As Anna says "ideal for tweakers but me I just want to switch it on and listen to my vinyl and not have the nagging suspicion that the cartridge needs 10 more picofarads.
Manley Laboratories Snappers
Great Sounding Amps just cant live with the battle against hum.
Denon 5308Ci
Excelent HT amp use it to drive the Niles HT speakers and listen to SCAD of regular CD's when I dont want hum
Buttkicker BKA-1000n
Excelent power amp for the Buttkickers stable down to 2ohms and 1900w can reproduce frequencies down to 4hz
Merlin Music Systems VSM millennium
Got these direct from Bobby (A man with passion for his products) smooth sound, these are powered by the tube setup, But I think they need more room than I have to offer their full potential. on the wall you can see the Niles PHD60's.
Niles PHD60
Front HT Speakers
Niles PHD30
Center Channel . This is behind the screen as the screen is acoustically transparent
Gallo Acoustics ' A'Diva
Used for my surrounds Mounted in the ceiling and very inconspicuous
Gallo Acoustics Micro sat
Used for the Back Surround Speakers agin Used for my surrounds mounted in the ceiling and very inconspicuous
Velodyne X 2 SPL-800r
Swithched out my Earthquake 15" for two of the Velodyne as the Earthquake was just too much sub for such a small room. The Velodynes work better as they are ajustable via the remote for music, film or games.
4 X Buttkickers LFE
Mounted all four transducers under the stage. The result is a very immersive movie experience they are only set at about 18% volume with a frequency cut off 40hz, an added bonus is the Denon has an Dedicated adjustable Transducer channel just for this purpose.
I built the stage from aluminum and the front of the stage extends out about 18" by means of two electric actuators. This allows the rear chairs to fully recline. The front seating is a bit close but the kids dont seem to mind
Xindac All Cables
After buying into the cable hype (trying some so-called "high end" cables, I settled on using Xindac IC for all my cabling. From Power to Speaker to Ic's. I have various Xindac silver Ics and power from the Oppo and Denon, then copper for all the tube gear works fine well made and looks great. And if I move it around it still sound great. Therefore, I am convinced that silver vs. copper vs. gold is just another excuse for a discussion it does not make the slightest difference to how the system sounds.
Tice Power Block III
Everything goes through this powerhouse
Interpower Leviton
Went with a dedicated circuit just for this room. (Not that it made a blind bit of difference).
X-10 Various
Used a few X-10 Modules for lighting all conrolled by a URC 950mx remote that I still keep tweaking adding macros and reprogramming. The beamer is an Optma 8600HD
System edited: From my humble beginnings using mostly China amps and separates I have evolved to what I consider a nice system. I am very pleased with the results but after two years, I think it is time to change. My main and only issue with my setup is and has always been Hum! I have tried everything to eliminate it but even now at its lowest db, I still know it is there... Therefore, I am going to move from the Steelhead to a solid-state pre and the Snappers will be going in favor of a pair of solid-state monos. Some may think this is a step back but I want silence. I was considering just using the Denon as it is extremely flexible offing a separate zone out for the Merlins and a pure direct signal path, this weekend I am going to try to bypass the snappers and plug the steelhead through the Denon just to see how it sounds. Any suggestions (and offers) on where to go next would be appreciated taking into account that the room is only 18 X 13 And while this was touted as a perfect match I would like to change the Merlins, Steelhead and Snappers.
System edited: Will finish up this week with the rest of my setup.. But I am looking to go solid state eliminating the tubes I just cant live with the hum. So any suggerstions as to where to go next???
Try emailing Peiere Lurene at Audio Mecca google the site. The Romance is out of production but he may be able to help Also shoot me an email @ [email protected] subject line Audio Mecca as I have his personal email. Let me know exactly what you need Good Luck
