mijostyn's System

by mijostyn on
Sound Labs 645-8 Loudspeakers.
The Wall
The Analog Corner
Magnetar Universal Disc Player
The Amplifier Shelf
The MA 2 without underpants.
Brand new and not even remotely fully developed, this is a fully digital preamp with room control, EQ, streaming and a 4 way crossover.
Two of the four subwoofers. Each one has two 12" drivers
At Work
The Soundsmith Hyperion MR
The JVC DLA-RS4100 8K Laser Projector.
A variation on Roger West's Sallies. 24 inches wide, 16 " deep and 7 feet tall.

Description

Picture # 1 The Sound Labs 645-8s in position in a newly redecorated media room. There is always a price to pay for upgrades. Number 2 is The Wall, a custom cabinet built by yours truly. Number 3 is the Analog side with the Sota Cosmos and Channel D phono stage. Number 4 is the Magnetar Disc Player with the ugliest front panel I have ever seen, otherwise it is a great player. Number 5 is the amplifier shelf which is right under the speakers with two separate 20 Amp lines. On top are boxes of 6AS7s two MA 2s and two QSC PL380s which drive the subwoofers. Number 6 is a Naked MA 2, wired by hand in the good old US of A. Number 7 the brand new DEQX Pre 8 digital preamp/processor. Number 8 is two of four MS Tool and Woodcraft Model 4 subwoofers. They use two 12" Dayton DVC subwoofer drivers in a balanced force, non resonant enclosure.  Next are the three current cartridges followed by the JVC Laser Projector and Lastly is one of two custom Sonic Attenuators. These are located behind the speakers attenuating the speaker's rear wave. 
 
From a purist's perspective this system is a complete nightmare and not worth a second look never mind listen. Back in 1978 you would be preaching to the choir. I had an LP12 with an SME 3009 and Denon DL103. I took a Conrad Johnson Preamp and transferred it to a new chassis. All I left was a volume control, a selector switch and a balance control. The power supply was external and it had the power switch. An MC transformer was installed internally.  All the wire was silver. All the solder was silver. All the components were the best of the day. The Speakers were Acoustat Model X's. They had their own amps. As close to a straight wire with gain you could get. So, what the ---- went wrong? Does a Buddhist become a third world terrorist?  No, doesn't happen. The Buddhist learned 2 things. The room is just as important as the loudspeakers. Conversion between 24/192 to analog and back is totally and completely inaudible.  The benefit from being able to work in 24/192 snowballs from there. 

It is not all about the music. That is another subject. It is about making the music sound better.

I finally got the Sota, a Cosmos Eclipse Vacuum with a Schroder CB tonearm. That thing you see to the right of the tonearm is a locking tonearm rest attached to the plinth's cover. Mr Schroder does not like extraneous things hanging off his tonearms. They resonate.  I, for one, do not like trying to work on tonearms that are floating around.

The DEQX is now being used to run the subwoofers and bi amp the Sound Labs. All the passive crossover components have been removed from the Sound Lab's back plates, another set on input terminals was added and the bass and treble transformer primaries are wired directly to the terminals. The digital crossover is at 500 Hz 2nd order. The results speak for themselves, two burned out beyond repair JC 1s, a burned out bass transformer, a gain matching problem requiring an additional custom gain stage and amplifiers shutting down for mystical reasons. I think it is almost all sorted out and it does sound fabulous when it is working. 









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Room Details

Dimensions: 90’ × 16’  X large
Ceiling: 8’

Components Toggle details

    • Sound Lab 645-8
    8 foot tall 645s which are 4" narrower than regular 845's. Full range ESLs they are crossed to subwoofers at 100 Hz.
    • MS Tool and Woodcraft Model 4 Subwoofers
    The 4th and last attempt at building the ultimate subwoofers. Each of the four enclosures houses two very powerful 12" subwoofer drivers in a balanced force design. The enclosures are critically damped by design. They do not resonate at all. The four subs are placed evenly along an entire wall forming a linear array.
    • Atma-Sphere MA 2 3.3
    This is an amp that has a history of fine performance on Sound Labs speakers. It is big, very hot and retro cool. If anyone wants to argue with you over the construction quality of Atma-Sphere products just show them the picture above. They are now directly driving the bass transformers of the Sound Labs where they excel.
    • Bricasti Design M 25
    This amp, made in Shirley, Massachusetts is a beautifully built AB amp that is being used to drive the high frequency transformer of the Sound Labs from 500 Hz. The crossover is programmed into the DEQX Pre 8. This removes a bunch of analog components from the signal path and increases the efficiency of the loudspeaker. Into this load it produces over 300 watts/ch.
    • DEQX Pre 8
    A 2.2 digital room control processor/preamplifier with a 4 way digital crossover allowing you to use subwoofers and tri-amp your speakers, a DIY speaker guy's dream.
    • MS Tool and Woodcraft Audio Cables
    Canare Corp high bandwidth shielded wire for all balanced, audio and digital cables. 
    Canare RCAs
    Neutrix Gold XLR's
    Kimber Kable 12TC speaker cable
    Power cords are shielded two conductor plus shield 12 gauge with medical terminals.
    • Sota Cosmos Eclipse IV Vacuum.
    With a Schroder CB tonearm.
    • Channel D Seta L Plus
    Super wideband phono stage with, in addition, a flat (no RIAA correction) balanced output. It has a battery power supply that recharges automatically when not in use.
    I have been using digital RIAA correction and it is definitively better than analog. Using Pure Vinyl I can record records like Gamaman's  45 RPM Led Zeppelin Set in 24/192 PCM. The recording and the record are indistinguishable. This is so much better than a tape machine, any tape machine, on numerous levels and you don't have to buy tape!
    • Ortofon MC Diamond
    The most dynamic cartridge I have ever heard even more so than the best high output cartridges. It has a slight edge to it that some might not like.
    • Lyra Atlas Lambda SL
    This cartridge deserves it's reputation. It has an uncanny ability to define instruments and voices in space. That cantilever hanging out in the breeze remains scary.
    • Soundsmith Hyperion MR
    The Hyperion, with it's cactus spine cantilever now with a microridge stylus. It is a little on the bright side of neutral. It is a phenomenal tracker. You get your first rebuild free!
    • Ortofon 2M 78
    Cartridge for 78 RPM records.
    • Apple Mini i7 / Channel D Pure Music
    Channel D Pure Music is a music server specifically for Apple computers. It uses iTunes, now "Music" as it's library.
    • Magnetar UDP900
    This is currently the best universal 4K disc player made and the first one that outperforms any of the Oppo units. It is also built way better. It weighs 35 lb! The thing I like the most is the transport is very fast responding almost instantly. It has the ugliest front panel I have ever seen.
    • MS Tool and Woodcraft SALLIE
    Sonic Attenuation of Low Level Interference Effects. These are used to dampen the rear wave of the Sound Labs speakers.

Comments 20

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Hi mijostyn, congrats for your MA-2, definitely my final goal.
What can I say about your craftman skills?
Most important point for a workshop is to know how to use it!
Let me know your first impression on MA-2!!
Fine improvement in my MA-1 : Mad Scientist Audio interconnects (Thanks jaymark)  

pinotnoir

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