Just moved back to my loft after a remodel and the system is sounding good. The room is 70 feet long and 22 feet wide with a 22 ft high ceiling. It used to be a beer brewery and they converted the place to lofts. Concrete floors and ceiling.
The Audio Research Reference 3 preamp raised the system to a whole new level. It sounds outstanding.
The home theater portion really cooks....I plan to get the top of the line InFocus projector later this year.
Paste this link into your browser to see more photos of the whole room when the Kappa 9's were my main speakers.
VPI Industries HW-16.5 Record Cleaning Machine. A must-have if you are serious about your vinyl.
Audio Research PH-5 Tube Phono Preamp
Nice phono pre...
Oracle Audio Technologies Delphi
Nice table...I don't play it anymore since I got the Michell. It is beautiful and I keep it for eye candy.
Grado Platinum Cartdridge
Nice cartridge when I played my Oracle. I may try it on my Michell one day.
Audio Research Reference 3 Tube Preamp
Tube Preamp
All of the hype is true about this preamp. Outstanding.
Pass Labs X-600 Solid State Monoblocks
Nice amps. Open and detailed and fast. I'm using four of them, a pair to run the planar columns and a pair to drive the bass.
Infinity IRS BETA Speaker System
This speaker is everything that you've heard about it.
Infinity Kappa 9 Full Range Speaker
Very nice sound..... and good looking too! I use two of them for the rear channels and one for the center channel. These speakers would excel as main speakers in anyones 2 channel rig...they are exceptional as surrounds and center channel.
Signal Cable Premium XLR and RCA Cables
Nice cable...All Signal Cable interconnects throughout the entire system.
Signal Cable Ultra Double Run Speaker Cable
nice cables...used for the front mains and center channel.
Signal Cable Magic Power Cords
I have this power cord on all of my components. Excellent value.
Sansui TU-X1 Tuner
Baddest tuner on the planet.
Radio Shack Antenna FM
Grabs the stations by the throat and puts them in my living room.
Dave (Fabio) Ratcliff Hat Trick Component Feet
Ratcliff sound pucks under the amps, line conditioner and tuner. 18 month wait to get these from Dave.
Carver Silver 9t Monoblocks
I run three of them, one each for the center channel and two rears.
Velodyne DD-18 Subwoofer
Slam bam earthshaker
Optoma UHD35STx Short Throw True 4K UHD Short Throw Projector...that throws an amazing 16 foot wide image.
It is great to have the projector in front of you and not overhead and behind you.
Da-Lite Scenic Roller 16 Foot Wide Movie Screen
Sceen is 12 feet tall and 16 feet wide for a 240 inch diagonal picture.
Marantz AV-7705 Processor
Great on movies...incredible hi-def surround processor.
Sony Sony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Home Theater Streaming Blu-Ray Player
Killer player....the images are truly film-like. .
Audio Research DAC-8
Killer DAC
X-Box 360 by Microsoft
Gaming Console...playing a video game on a 12 foot high and 16 foot wide screen in high definition with killer surround sound is an incredibly immersive experience.
NVIDIA Shield Pro video streaming device
This was an incredible upgrade....forget about that Roku and Fire Stick stuff and get one of these as your video streamer.
BlueSound Node
Streaming device
Roon Digital Music Software
Amazing companion to a digital music library...you need this!!
Hows that mirror wall working out for you? I can imagine you get some nasty reflections (not only visual ones) and flutter echo which can't be pleasing.
I've had a few friends come over with their tube amps and they did sound quite good. However, I like the sound of the Pass amps overall...especially the headroom and authority they have over the speakers. Not too bright at all, especially when the Pass amps are paired with a tube preamp, I get enough tube feel. As you see, I have an AR tube preamp when I get in the mood for a taste of tube sound.
That's quite a system you've got there, especially with all the pieces available to swap in and out. Do you find the solid state amps on the Beta panels to be a bit bright? Nudell designed these with Audio Research tube amps on the mid/tweeter panels. I remember my pair of Betas fondly!
Guidocorona, the Ref 3 is going to have to wait until after the first of the year....I have to put the money elsewhere right now. But you can be sure that I will own one of those bad boys within the next 6-9 mos.
Gunbei: The Betas and the X.02 were delivered yesterday. I have them connected and playing. It is going to take some time getting the correct settings for the servo/crossover to get the bass dialed in correctly for the Betas. I certainly don't look forward to that. I'm more of a plug 'n play kind of guy. I don't look forward to the break-in period for the X.02 either.
One thing is for sure, I'm going to have to sell the DD-18. The bass output of the Beta bass towers is otherworldly.
I've ordered some 10 gauge cables for the surrounds, then I'll be ready to get the home theater hooked up.
My invitation is still open for you to visit. I'd like for you come by and critique the setup and offer any suggestions for tweaking.
Gunbei.....You are certainly welcome to stop by whenever you are in the area. Next time bring some cd's with you. We can try your ideas about speaker toe-in.
You can put whatever you want on the walls for the ArtWalk. My fee to use the space for the ArtWalk is an original signed piece of your artwork. What you show is totally up to you. The next ArtWalk is in October...let me know by August if you want to show your artwork for the next one.
The Betas and the Pass pre will be here this week. I've ordered custom RCA/XLR cables because the Pass amps only have XLR connections and the servo/crossover for the Betas only accept RCA's. These cables should arrive any day now.
Awesome place, Mitch! Thanks fpor letting me visit. I can't wait tell you get your Betas, the Pass pre and dial in the Velodyne. Should be amazing. Maybe I'll work on some paintings for the next Artwalk. Would you mind high contrast black and white images of the female form hanging in your place?
The building used to be a Pabst Beer Brewery and they converted it to lofts. Huge building...., about 20 units on my floor. The floor underneath is concrete and I have very thick carpet in the living area and tile in the kitchen and bathrooms. The exterior walls and ceilings are one foot thick reinforced concrete, the interior walls are drywall.
Gosh, you must have bought a whole damn old factory floor. Those K9s as well as those massive Carvers will really test the factory walls to their specs.
PS: Remember to issue a helmet for all those who come to the party and movie screenings! I love it!
Paul, since that other post, I have added the Ref2 Mk2 preamp and the ARC CD2 to the system.....huge improvements.
The Pass amps are light years ahead of the Carvers in detail, air, soundstage and musicality. But as far as raw brute power, the Carvers have more brute power in the bass arena. The Carvers have more raw slamming bass. For parties, I will use the Carvers. Of course I'll have the Pass monos connected for my critical listening. For the money, the Carver monoblocks are an excellent buy.
I have four pairs of Kappa 9's and four pairs of Carver monoblocks. I'm going to use the Carver monoblocks and two pair of Kappa 9's for my home theater. I'm going to use a pair of Kappa 7's for my center channel. I also have a pair of Sunfire Signature amps also and a pair of Infinity Rennaisance 90 speakers. I will use these items for second and third systems throughout the loft. The total space in the loft is 4500 square feet.
Hi Mitch, I we were discussing Kappa 9 powering issues in a different post and now, you have the Pass 600s. Do they do a credible job driving these beasts, in contrast to the Silver 7 s biamps? Please describe the improvement or the sound differences between the original and now, this set up.