Music Room
The room is custom built and there have been three major revisions since it was originally designed in 2004. It measures 18' x 13' x 8' with an engineered sub-floor and finished wood floor surface. The walls use the Acoustic Sciences Corporation Iso-Wall System to decouple the finished walls from the structure. Two layers of drywall of a different density are screwed together with Wall Damp pads in between on 1' centers and strips along all seams.
The ceiling and the walls are covered in 1" semi-rigid acoustical insulation. There are acoustical diffusers on the ceiling and slat arrays on the walls. A large curved diffuser and two bass traps are at the front of the room. Chris Huston of Rives Audio designed the acoustical treatments and Ernst Hupel of 2H Interior Design did the interior design.
History
I've had several systems over the years with equipment from Mark Levinson, Atma-Sphere, Kharma, Sound Lab, SME, Krell, Studer, ATR Services and Weiss. Many other cables, components and accessories designed to care for everything from reel-to-reel tapes to records to every type of silver disk one could possibly spin.
From 2010 to 2015 I sold off all the legacy formats and associated gear and started to focus on this pure digital streaming system. I converted all my SACDs, CDs and DVDs to digital files and digitized my master tapes and some records using a Weiss ADC-2 DA converter and SoundBlade software from Sonic Studio. Compact Disks along with my Levinson transport and DAC were the first to be sold off followed by SACD's and a Krell SACD player. The SME-30, Graham Phantom II and Clearaudio Goldfinger along with all associated cleaners and accessories were sold the following year along with my LP collection. Then, I sold off my Studer Master Recorders and reel-to-reel tapes. Finally, I swapped out my Weiss DAC-I mk3, Atma-Sphere MA-2 mono blocks and Sound Lab A1-PX panels with all associated cabling.
Pure Digital System
I started with computers connected directly to the DAC and used various player software in the past two years before finally settling on Roon Server, Roon Bridge and Roon Remote. I consider this a work in progress however, I'm satisfied the Roon will be my music server of choice for some time to come.
In 2015 I purchased the Avantgarde Acoustics Zero 1 Pro loudspeakers as a replacement for the above legacy system. I found the combined advantages of the Zero 1 to perform better in every category. It requires no maintenance and is a far more stable system allowing our family to enjoy music more easily. With iPad control even my nine year old can enjoy his favorite music - currently Queen.
I've added a Tidal Hi-Fi subscription to my various music libraries and I currently don't have a need to transfer or download any additional new music.
Notes
There are many things I like about this system but the thing I like the most is that it always works consistently. There is never any down time and it can run for hours without heating the room or blowing up. There are no tubes to maintain or analog systems to monitor which are constantly degrading through use. This system performs flawlessly and consistently.
I have access to more quality music and I listen more often than ever before. I also feel like I have better sound than anything I've ever had before including my analog and reel-to-reel system. It's certainly more enjoyable because the sound is just fantastic and it's ready to play at the touch of a screen.
