| EmailTim 's Maggie 3.6 2-Channel Room and separate HT Room System | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IP Address: 75.84.209.217 | Last Update: January 26, 2009 at 22:24:45 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amplifier: |
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| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | Mark Levinson 380S | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Speakers: |
Martin Logan Descent i Subwoofer; 750watts
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| Sources: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CD Player/DAC: | Mark Levinson 390S | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turntable/Phono Stage: |
Benz Micro - Lukaschek PP-1 T9 Phono Stage
VPI HW-17F Record Cleaner
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| Other Source(s): | Over 600 CD's on tap ripped @ full WAV format. Gigabit Ethernet 7,200 RPM EIDE Drives External USB2 Soundcard feeding Mark Levinson #390S DAC J. River's Media Center Client & Server Software Virtually instantaneous access (via random, sequential, playlist) to over 7,000 songs.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Accessories/Room/Misc.: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Speaker Cables/Interconnects: | Harmonic Technology
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| Other (Power Conditioner, Racks etc.): | Equi=Tech ET2Q Balanced Power  Lovan Millennium Rack (150 lbs/shelf capacity)  Boltz CD and LP Racks (with custom wall mounts)   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tweaks: | 4 - RealTraps MiniTraps; One in each corner (Broadband Traps) Reduced bass suck. Cleaned up muddiness. Cleaned up room modes.
2 - dedicated 10-gauge 20 amp circuits. Whole house master surge protector. Grant VanderMye Stands Custom Birdseye Maple Magnepan styles made from naturally aged Vermont hardwood.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Room Size (LxWxH): | 20' x 14.5' x 8' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Room Comments/Treatments: | Just carpet and curtains. Back of room is open to other rooms. Front left corner has minor bass suckout. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Music Preferences and Comments: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | Solo vocalists, instrumental, Jazz, Classical, Rock-n-Roll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System Goals/Comments: | Realistic musical reproduction without listening fatigue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System Strengths: | Great 3 dimensional sound stage and imaging. Great detail at low volume levels after upgrade to the Levinson #336 amp. The addition of active bi-amping made nice improvements in sound quality. Proper amp selection was critcal. The addition of RealTraps's broadband MiniTraps have significantly reduced the amount of bass suck and smearing caused by room modes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System Weaknesses: | Still optimizing speaker placement for room conditions. Mapping out room with modeling software. My former Plinius SA-100 Mk3 amp was great for my former 1.6's, but was underpowered for the larger 3.6 panels. The ML #336 has increased the sweet spot to the full height of the 3.6 panels and has increased detail at low volume levels. It has also made the timbre response more consistent throughout all listening locations. The smaller amp had stark timbre changes when going out of the stereo imaging sweet spot. This is happily, no longer the case =) !!! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Video/HT System: Separate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV/Projector: | Pioneer Signature Elite Pro 141FD - 60" 1080P Plasma Monitor, 2.5" thick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Processor/Receiver/Amplifiers: | Denon AVR5800; 7x170wpc; THX EX/DTS ES A/V Receiver Upgraded Receiver to a AVR5803 - Improved 2-Channel and Surround
Denon Aktis Remote and Base
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| Speakers (Center, Surrounds, Sub): | Definitive Technology Speakers 2 - C/L/R/3000s (identical left and right fronts with powered subs, 4-8 Ohms, integrated sub @ 150watts)
2 - BP2X (sides, space restrictions, 8 Ohms)
2 - BPVX/P; (rears with powered subs, 4-8 Ohms, integrated subs @ 125watts ea.)
Martin Logan Descent Subwoofer; 750watts
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| Sources (DVD/VCR): | Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD 1080p BlueRay; Supports Blue-Ray, DVD, and CD formats
Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi; Supports DVD, CD, SACD and DVD-Audio formats
Sony DVP-S7700 DVD; (retired to master bedroom)
Mitsubishi HS-U580 VHS Motorola HD DVR STB (Cable Video Quality SUCKS !!!) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other HT Gear: | Panamax 1000+ Surge Protector Adcom ACE-515 Surge Protector Miscellaneous cables and interconnects; (Harmonic Technology, Monster, etc.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Comments on HT System: | Upgraded 100 amp service to a 200 amp service. Added whole house surge protector to 200 amp service. Added 2 dedicated 10-gauge, 20amp lines to the home theater equipment rack. No more sharing of circuits =). Too much wiring =) The cable service has poor picture quality. Considering Satellite, but they compromise A/V bandwidth as well. Tired of waiting for SED Panels to hit the market so I bought a Plasma. I had a standing bass wave in my room which left a void in the middle of the seating area's sweet-spot. This was eliminated by replacing the rears with integrated sub rears. No more standing bass waves =) 2-dimensional sound stage, not 3 dimensional like the Maggie system. Integrated powered subs can easily become boomy, thus have them set low. Recent Mods: - Replaced Bryston 10B-Sub Crossover with DEQX to integrate Martin Logan Descent i with Maggie 3.6's. - Added Martin Logan Descents to HT and 2-Channel Room. - Replaced 35" Tube set with 60" Plasma Panel - Switched analog video connections with HDMI digital connections. Future Mods: - Upgrade DVD to BlueRay player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Interests/Hobbies/Occupation: | Touring Motorcycle, Shipwreck Diving | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
