Rock and Roll Garage

by horseface on Ever Evolving
Rock n Roll Garage
Rocktober 2012
Best Stones LP?
Tubed
CD Collection
The First Night in the R&R Garage

Description

Welcome to the Rock and Roll Garage.

It all started about six years ago the place was a disaster area. I had moved my brother out and my girlfriend in and with it, came more furniture, clothing, pictures, bicycles, pots, pans and junk than I thought could fit in a garage. The battle raged on for three years. Yard sales, donations, Goodwill trips and threats but finally the space was cleared and I claimed it like a Viking on a new piece of land. The actual transformation from empty space to Rock and Roll Garage came by accident. My best friend from high school came out for a visit and my girlfriend kicked us out to the garage where we could make as much noise as we wished. We drug my old high school system from sleepy storage to the garage, all silver Pioneer gear from a classic era: Spec 1 pre, Spec 2 amplifier, TX-9500 II tuner along with EQ’s, range expanders, reverb units and a CTF 1250 cassette deck. To cap it off I had a set of HPM-100’s in mint shape and a sub or two. We spent the better part of a day getting it all moved in and hooked up. I even had an old Pioneer turntable (gulp) and a box of albums. I have to say, I was sad to see Doug go at the end of that week, but when he left he dared me to make it better for his next visit. From that day forward it’s been project after project. I’m not a rich man; far from it. Everything you see was a culmination of spare parts, recycled material and help from most of my friends. The Pioneer system has now been racked and for the most part moth balled until Doug’s next visit. The speakers, amplifiers, pre, phono stage, turntable, front end DAC, CD player have all been switched in and out. What I have now is somewhat of a smorgasbord of equipment capable of several different styles of listening. My goal is to bring gear in and out and learn to appreciate and understand more about combinations and permutations of systems. Reading only takes you so far; experience takes you all the way. I realize the subjectivity of music and what we hear makes the scientific approach and the “theory of absolute” impossible, but its fun to experiment. I never claimed to know much of anything; I just have lots of opinions. I hate to say it but Craigslist, Audiogon and a good local audio shop have allowed me to try out gear that as a young adult, I never thought I would be able to own. The garage system is pretty much “catch and release”, if I really like something it might hang around for a couple years and then onto the next combo. My local used gear dealer lets me try out almost anything I want with the drop of a credit card. So much gear, so little time.
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Components Toggle details

    • Emotiva ERC-2
    Solid built unit. I have learned to appreciate slot load CD players. I picked up the Emotiva DAC first and decided to mate it up with this CD player as a transport. It’s been a good choice so far although the blue lights can be a bit much.
    • Technics 1210 M5G
    Nice looking table with a solid reputation. It will probably out live me, and there are lots of mods out there to improve performance.
    • Counterpoint SA-3.1
    Upgraded Amprex gold pin 6922's has this little baby singing like a bird. It's my go-to pre, I use for the day to day listening and the Pioneer Spec 2 amp is a really good fit for this little 2U pre.
    • Threshold T-200
    Amazing, pure class “A” powerhouse; notice the meters on this T-200, a rare find. We had Jon Solderburg go through it and it's good as new. None of my speaker combinations are tremendously difficult to drive but I’m confident it can drive pretty much anything. I have matched this amplifier with a number of good preamplifiers and had great luck. It does get a bit warm but that’s not much of a problem in the Pacific Northwest. As I continue to switch speakers in an out, I’m confident I won’t have to upgrade for a long time. It’s an excellent solid state choice for a guy that can’t quite swing a Pass X250.5. Unfortunately this monster is on loan and will have to go back to my buddy Doug. I might have to seek one out in the future.
    • Paradigm Signature S4
    I have taken quite a few verbal beatings for loving these speakers and although they are not at the tip top of my preference list, for the money I have a hard time finding a speaker that can make my range of music stand out. They love tubes and are easy to drive, likewise they can really punch out Pink Floyd when the mood hits me. They are easy on the eyes and ears as well as the wallet. I have found no mid monitor that can deliver the volume and clearity of the S4.
    • JBL JBL 4645
    18 inch heart stopper ... OK, it's too much but every once in a while it's needed to make a point. Great for the spontaneous dance parties.
    • Emotiva XDA-1
    I bought this DAC as a stop gap solution for connecting my media computer to my garage system. I was looking at sound cards and stumbled across this DAC on sale for $200. I knew I was going to be plugging more than just a computer into the Counterpoint SA 3.1 and since it had both single ended and balanced outputs, I could feed two separate systems simultaneously for A/B comparisons. It’s worked out perfectly in that regard. I have my computer, CD transport, SACD, Xbox 360 and Dish receiver all plugged into it with even more room to grow. The analog output is an improvement over all of my garage equipment, it’s not reference level but for $200 I am very pleased with it. Within a month I had it burned in and I have heard many positive comments about its looks and how it sounds. Great for streaming audio off the net. I was impressed with the build quality and the price. I thought it bested most of the mid-fi digital stuff I connect to it. The Counterpoint has limited inputs so this was a nice expansion. Lastly it has a really beefy metal remote that has allowed me to add remote controlled volume which is ice cream on the cake.
    • Denon DL-103r
    I'm not an expert when it comes to analog but I was given some good advise and I went with it. Not knowing which way to go, I picked up a brand new Technics 1210 M5G and this cartridge. I have been very, very pleased with my decision. The Denon 103r is not a particularly expensive cartridge but it sure wasnt free. I have had moments with this analog setup that were nothing short of amazing.
    • Jolida JD-202BRC
    I think this was one of the better purchases I have made in the past 20 years. No kidding, I bought this integrated to bring into work and listen to streaming music on the web. It showed up and like some of the Chinese products I have picked up, I was surprised how much I got for the money. It has its short comings and I will tell you I was ready to send it back after the first night. It was not an engaging piece at all, fatiguing and about as enjoyable as a pair of smelly socks. I have never experienced a product that benefitted from burn in as much as the JD-202BRC did. It was at maybe 200 hours, it settled down and I had a “holy cow” moment. Everything since then has been fantastic … all the sappy adjectives regarding tubes apply. For me, I think it’s a great way to break into hi-fi without going broke.
    • Jolida JD9
    A perfect match to my Jolida integrated amplifier. I had a close friend recommend this unit so I picked one up to test it out. I read the review in 6 moons before it arrived. In the review they recommended a few simple tweaks to boost the performance a bit. I went ahead and picked up a used Analysis Plus power cable for it and a new set of Gold Lion 12AX7’s. It’s a winner; I can’t believe the level of performance for the money. My Audio Research PH3-SE beat it out but not by much and that’s with a $200 set of NOS Amprex tubes installed. It completed my little Jolida test system and it now a favorite for vinyl in the garage. I started out with the phono stage built into the Counterpoint SA 3.1 and Bob’s Devices (SUT). I was quite happy with that until I heard the Jolida. I matched the load in the Jolida to fit my Denon DL-103r and it’s been nothing but joy ever since.
    • Altec Lansing Model 14
    It’s like owning a piece of history. I had been looking for quite a while for a pair of Model 19’s when I came across these. The Model 14 are actually a better fit for my space and I am quite pleased with them. I started my quest for a good horn speaker with a set of Klipsch Heresy’s and was amazed what a pleasant sound was produced when matched up with my Jolida system. This takes it to a whole new level. I would think a 3 way design would be a more “full” sounding system but actually the Altec’s beat out the Heresy’s in almost every category. These will be the house speakers for some time.

Comments 6

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Horseface,
Congratulations on the garage system. Nice story on how it started. When I think about it, I feel - why not? A garage is bigger than the average room and the system will sing fantastically if you optimize the speaker positions and use some treatments. You have a nice start. Who cares about how much a equipment costs, as long as you are happy with it and it gives you the result that you are looking for. Keep experimenting and try to achieve what you must.
Above all - enjoy your music!!

milpai

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