It's almost 2 different systems sharing a preamp and speakers. I keep the video and audio stuff isolated from eachother completely so as not to compromise on the audio side. 2 dedicated circuits. 1 for audio, one for video. When building the surround setup, it was optimized for multichannel music - the benefit on film soundtracks is just a bonus. (plus, it's cool to tell your friends when watching the Lord of the Rings DVDs that the soundtracks were mastered and mixed using the same speakers) The sound is nothing short of fantastic. The Meitner combo, i feel is among the finest sources available, regardless of price. Those who remember my system before will notice that my Teres 265 table, SME V arm and VdH Colibri are gone. The reason? Because I firmly believe that with quality Redbook CDs, the Meitner combo equals the sound of the LPs. And on well-recorded SACDs, the sound surpasses the quality of my old TT rig. Those who haven't heard the Meitner combo - I highly recommend hearing it. There's *way* more information on those CDs than you ever thought there was! The dynamics are explosive and the transients and decays are so natural, you'd think you were listening to pristine vinyl - were it not for the absence of clicks and pops. The atc all active surround 5.1 setup (except for the linn active sub, which i don't use for 2-channel) along with the Meitner combo is nearly identical to what sony uses to demonstrate SACD, and that Telarc uses to master their recordings. They (the ATCs) are neutral, dynamic, accurate, transparent, clean, clear, coherent, and LOUD when necessary. For room tratments, I use Auralex diffusors, absorbers, and bass traps in the corners. Anyone looking for reasonably-priced room treatments shuld look. They are used in recording studios all over the place, and have a more industrial-type look to them. They're not ugly, but they're not as pretty as some of the more expensive room-control products. They are, however, extremely effective. For multichannel music, I use no bass management at all - all speakers are run full range, except for the Linn sub. The linn sub is crossed over internally at 40hz and is turned way down, only gently augmenting where the 50s start to roll-off. It mixes so well that sometimes I have to put my hand on it to make sure it's playing. :-) Anyhoo, that pretty well does it. Thanks for reading and lemme know whatcha think!
gets clocked from DAC6 and upsanmples regular CD to double SACD sampling rate. easily better than the Philips.
Emmlabs Dac6
6-Channel DSD/PCM dac. 2-channel CDDA converted to DSD before processing.
Emmlabs Switchman mk3
6-channel, balanced analogue-only preamp. Receives multichannel inputs from the Dac6 (CD, DAD and SACD)and the Sunfire (DD, DTS)
ATC SCM 50asl - custom walnut finish
3-way, fully active, 700 watts. more free of coloration than any full-range speaker i've ever heard. superb resolution and dynamics. also internally hardwired with DNM solid-core speaker cable.
ATC SCM 50asl (used for center)
on loan from my brother. replaces an SCM-10 Active. having identical channels across the front is a HUGE deal.
ATC SCM-50 asl (pair for surrounds)
finally have active 50s in the back as well! 5 identical full-range multichannel! hells yeah!
Denon DVD-1600 for DVD-A and DVD-V
DVD player, no chroma bug, progressive scan, DVD-A.
Pioneer DVL-? Laserdisc
Laserdisc player, DTS/AC-3 out
Nakamichi RF Demodulator
For AC3 decoding from laserdisc
Panasonic PTAE-900U Projector
Front digital projector, shining on a 96" screen. 720p HD.
Sunfire Theater Grand III (processing only)
surround processor. only being used for video switching (dvd, cable, laserdisc, games, etc) and DD/DTS/DPL processing. No music sources pass through it.
Boston Acoustics - (for 7.1) VR-MX
bipolar speakers for surround-rear effects. (dolby EX, dts ES) again, movies only.
RCA small 2-channel amp for surr back
stricty for the surround-back speakers. (very few movies actually utilise this feature, so it's not necessary to have a high-quality amp here)
DNM Reson Solid Core Interconnects
solid core, non-braided interconnects. fast, transparent, musical, inexpensive (in comparison, anyway) terminated with eichmann bullet plugs on rca terminations and neutrik xlr's where necessary
Mana Acoustics for the 2-channel stuff
mana improves anything you put on it. it's the weirdest thing i've ever experienced.
Linn Sizmik
Beautiful, accurate, incredibly versatile. not used in 2-channel.
Laz, Like you, Telarc, are to blame for my indulgence.They influenced my choice of hardware. I`m running ATC & EMMLabs in full glorious surround. Boy are the 2 channel pundits/gurus missing out! We (the multichannelists) have the best of both worlds-- stereo and multichannel! I agree with Sony that for the best SACD reproduction 5 identical transducers are required,hence the improvments you have experienced by adding that `identical` centre channel.Further improvments can be made by using this same speaker for the rear channels. Never been to Texas--thanks for the invite--you never know. My leanings to pro gear are because I am a musician exposed to studio equipment. What guitar/s do you own and play?
Was wondering when you`d get round to that. Now you can really start evaluating multi-channel and its potential. Buy another pair and share with your brother or else you`ve the potential of a family feud. Enjoy your multi-channel but when you have time do let us know what AVALON sounds like now. Once you have 5 x 100`s your system will be unbeatable---well almost!