Description

My passion for audio started relatively late in life--raising young 2 sons will do that to you. But a lot of reading and listening has gotten me to this point. While hardly a high-end system, the sound from the BAT and Cinepro combo is powerful and musical. *Edited 2/01/08: Replaced Shure V15 MM cartridge with Benz-Micro M2 Woodbody S Series-a big leap in performance and headroom. Replaced NAD PP2 phono pre-amp with BAT VK-P5 to do justice to new cartridge.

Pretty soon, a front projector and a motorized 80" screen will take the place of the LCD RPT. But I am still trying to figure out which Runco/Vidikron fits my needs.

* 2/01/11: Offerings from JVC and others lately have me thinking of models in addition to the Runco/Vidikron realm.
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Components Toggle details

    • Linn LP-12 w/ Lingo PS
    Cherry finish w/ new capacitors and rca plugs updated in May 2007.
    • SME Series II 3009s2
    Possible upgrade in the future.
    • Benz Micro M2 Woodbody - S Series
    Sweet, musical, detailed. Transformed my analog rig like I've never heard before.
    • Sony UBPX800 Ultra Blu-ray Player
    3D and hi-rez/SACD/DVD-A capable.
    • Arcam DV137 (out of rotation)
    Great presentation of SACD's and DVD-A's. Nice job with video, too!
    • California Audio Labs CL-10 (out of rotation)
    HDCP, 5 CD changer, for when I have no motivation to change the disk. Built like a tank.
    • Balanced Audio VK3i
    With remote. No phono stage.
    • BAT VK-P5 Phono Pre-amp
    With upgraded tubes:8 Mullard CV2493/6922 Great Britain; 2 Sylvania USN 6SN7WGTA Brown Base USA
    • Teac UD-501
    D/A converter for Chromecast, USB and CD
    • Rotel RSP-1068 (out of rotation)
    Used for the multichannel analog pass-through of the RSP-1068.
    • Cinepro 6.4 SE
    6 Channel setup with bi-amping of center channel (800 watts). Gobs of power let music sing at higher SPLs.
    • Revel Performa F-32
    Fronts L/R
    • Revel Performa C-32
    Bi-wired. Have 2. Use one speaker for center and one for rear center.
    • Revel M-22
    Surround L/R
    • Velodyne DD-15
    Low pass set at 60HZ. Fast and explosive. Great for both music and movies.
    • MIT Terminator 3 & 4
    Bi-wire for LCR
    • Verastarr Silver Reference Full Range Cables
    Full range Fronts L/R, Bi-wired Center
    • Verastarr Silver Reference Interconnects
    Digital, balanced and RCAs (2 coaxial, 1 five channel RCA, 1 six-channel RCA, 2 two-channel , 3 HDMIs, 2 two-channel XLRs)
    • Kimber 4AG Full Range Speaker Cables
    2M pair; spades on speaker side, bananas on amp side.
    • Powervar 1200
    With upgraded power cord.
    • AKG K701
    Detail, width and depth are this CAN's strengths. Vocals are scarily real but they do not go as low as the Senny HD650s.
    • Sennheiser HD 650
    Circumaural Headphones
    • Musical Fidelity X-Can V3 Tube Headphone Amp (out of rotation)
    Silky-smooth and Dynamic
    • Teac HA-501B Headphone Amplifier
    • Hifiman HE-500
    Amazing sound but heavy by today's standards.
    • Cinepro Six Hundred Watt Theater Amplifier (out of rotation)
    2 channels for LR rear speakers.
    • Nitty Gritty 2.5FI-XP
    Walnut.
    • Onix ERT Supertweeters
    Crossed over @ 11KHz.
    • Essex Audio SW-1
    10" downfiring, no port.  Tight, extended and great for audio.  Made by REL.
    • Optoma NuForce STA200 power amplifier
    Driving 2 channel system anchored by Revel M22s

Comments 3

Owner
Thanks, Timwini. I had the impression that the Vidikron, if specced the same would have been less expensive since it does not have the Runco cache.

I'll be sitting 12 feet away from the screen while the projector will be 28 feet away from a cutout in the back wall. I will have to invest in a long-throw lense. Will it matter from my seating position if I use 1080P or 720P?

marklnj

I own the vx-2, a 720 dlp 3 chip.
there are significant differences between the 3 chip and the 1 chip even with runco.
As you know there are differences between 720 and 1080 but it becomes abundantly clear when the screen is over 80 inches or there is alot light in the room that a 1080 better helps with the details

While 720 is excellent, you may want newer technology. They have 720 on the vivxII processor. I use component to for my sound which produces excellent results. Use a good quality DVI cable if you go this direction. Synergistic research makes a very good one (keep length under 25 ft.

One final thing - vidikron vs runco. If you align the models based on specification you get yourself in the ballpark of which. Price is the same once you spec.
Consider two other things:
1) If you buy used, buy form a dealer who has provided a project lamp free and new
2) Buy the extended warranty, it is worth it
Make sure it has recently been factory serviced so you have the latest software loads.
Hope this helps.

timinwi

Owner
If you caught it, under the Sondek LP12 are two LP sets of the The Beatles Collection by MFSL. Why two? One for each son for when they decide to take up our crazy hobby.

Enjoy!
--Mark

marklnj

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