Audio Asylum - Inmate Systems

Bob(SD) 's Main, home theater, and bedroom System
IP Address: 208.107.141.15	Last Update: July 29, 2008 at 11:51:25
Amplifier:	Pair of Odyssey Audio Stratos Monoblocks and a Parasound HCA-1200 HeadRoom Cosmic headphone amp Little Dot Micro+ portable headphone amp
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Odyssey Audio Tempest preamplifier with dual outputs
Speakers:	Magneplanar MG-IIIa (upgraded with "Parts Connection" style xover modifications) augmented with custom subwoofer based on a Cerwin-Vega 18" 189ES woofer; Sennheiser HD-580II headphones (w/600 grills/650 cord/defoamed); Shure E2c earphones (w/Kramer mod); AKG K81DJ closed headphones; Koss ESP-6A electrostatic cans
Sources:
CD Player/DAC:	EastSound CD-E5 (Philips VAM 1202/12 transport) w/ Chris Own's dAck! v2.0 (Kusunoki style filterless D-to-A converter), Ack! 75 ohm digital BNC S/PDIF cable (and a BlueJeansCable Belden 1695A S/PDIF as a spare).
Turntable/Phono Stage:	George Merrill modified The AR Turntable with Sumiko Premier MMT tonearm, VTA-16 base, and Premier PIB-1 phono interface box. [Mods: Merrill acrylic subchassis/tonearm board, upgraded high torque AC motor with Foucault shield, inner platter balanced and lead coated, new spindle, bearings and oil well, new springs. From Merrill/Scillia Research an acrylic platter with a Whitacre copolymer ring available.] The table is supported by Immedia Finite Elemente/Ceraball isolation feet which sit on a 23 3/4' x 15 3/4' slab of polished Brazilian granite in turn resting on a set of MapleShade IsoBlocks, all on a Target VW1 Pro wall mount turntable shelf. Denon DL-304 (0.19mV @ 1.2g) & Denon DL-103D (0.28mV @ 1.5g) low output moving coil cartridges in Orsonic AV-1 anti-vibration headshells; Extremephono stylus cleaner; AuralThrills / VanDenHul D501 cable or PIB-1 w/HomeGrownAudio Super Silvers; 592g SC-101 spindle weight; Disc Doctor and Nagaoka CL-152 vinyl cleaners; Audioquest anti-static brush; Herbie's HAL-O Jr tonearm dampers I'm using step up transformers for my low output moving coil cartridges, currently running Cinemag CMQEE-3440As. This also gives me some additional gain over the ~60dB or so the Tempest MC stage provides. I find the HomeGrownAudio Super Silvers less veiled but somewhat brighter than the Aural Thrills/VanDenHul phono cable. I also found the Whitacre copolymer ring to take a bit too much of the edge off the treble registers for my liking.
Other Source(s):	Carver TX-11a AM stereo/FM stereo tuner; Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck; Kenwood KX-1100HX cassette deck; Tandberg TD-20A reel deck; Concord DBA-10 Dolby B unit; [Spare equipment: Dynaco ST-410 (modified); Kenwood GE-1000 equilizer; Phase Linear 3000 Series II preamp(modified); Leach DIY Low-TIM line preamplifier; Philips CDC-935 (CDM 12.1/0 transport); Monarchy Audio DIP Classic; ExpressMachining The Lifter; Link Wavecom Sr; Aiwa TS-W5 8" powered subwoofer; Amdek Color-1 monitor. I succumbed to convenience and run a tiny Samsung YP-T6 digital MP3 player with my Shure canalphones (or K81DJs when exercising) while away from my stationary systems. Much more convenient than my Panasonic portable CDP/HeadRoom Amp/Sennheiser rig although not in the same league.
Other Accessories/Room/Misc.:
Speaker Cables/Interconnects:	Nordost Gold Flatline II and Groneberg Quattro speaker cables; various brand interconnects including Analogue Research Gold Raincoats, DIYcable Superlatives, BlueJeansCable Belden 89259 cables; Cryotweaks Asylum power cord
Other (Power Conditioner, Racks etc.):	Monster Power HTS2600 on main system; Monster Power HT800 on both other systems. TNT-Audio.com DIY dual 'Flexy' equipment racks; Sanus EFAB-II amp stands; Target VW1 Pro turntable shelf; Boltz-USA CD-600 ; Pioneer DT-510 digital timer; dbx 200X signal router; Fanfare FM-2G antenna with Magnum Dynalab F-205 Signal Sleuth; Terk AM-1000 antenna; Grado Prestige headphone extention cable. BCB/Shortwave/UHF-VHF scanners: Palstar R30CC; Sony ICF-SW77; Sony ICF-SC1; Yaesu FRG-7(Gilfer modified); Kaito KA-1130; RS PRO-2005 (modified); RS PRO-64; Heath HW-101; Sangean DT300VW; CountyComm GP4 (aka Degen DE-202); PAR EF-SWL antenna; Centerfire Discone antenna; Eavesdropper trap dipole antenna; C.Crane twin coil ferrite AM antenna; Autek QF-1A audio filter; Radio Shack DSP-40; 2 ea Diamond CX-210A coax switches; Yaesu YH-77 mono comm headset; RadioShack Minimus 7 wood speaker #40-2039; RadioShack 21-549 extension speaker; Novatech 100Hz crystal calibrator; Minuteman MMS7100RT AC filter/surge protector
Tweaks:	Various isolation tweaks including Mapleshade Isoblocks, Immedia Finite Elemente/Ceraball isolation feet, KAB Sonic Domes, etc. Magnepan XO-1 and Dahlquist DQ-MX1 used in the bi-amped subwoofer augmented Magneplanar IIIa speaker system.
Room Size (LxWxH):	34 x 17 x 8.5
Room Comments/Treatments:	The system is in a 'great' room with an adjoining dining area, kitchen nook and kitchen. The brick wall/fireplace behind the Maggies is very effective in handling the rear bi-polar radiation.
Music Preferences and Comments:
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Jazz/classic rock/new age/blues...no rap or country for me
System Goals/Comments:	I've been putting this together since 1973 and continue to add pieces as I feel the need. Selections are made on sound quality and cost-performance ratios.
System Strengths:	The modified Maggies are exceptional and my sources, while not state-of-the-art, present excellent sound. I get an absorbing full range sound with outstanding soundstage and presence... the big sub adds the visceral bass punch that Maggies lack. The Merrill modified turntable with the venerable Denon MC cartridges do a darned good job on vintage vinyl -:) Use the Disc Doctor system and a Nagaoka CL-152 on my LP collection to keep the vinyl pristine. The dAck! DAC design eliminates all the digital up, oversampling, and filter gimmicks giving the best sound I've ever heard from redbook CDs. The Odyssey Tempest preamplifier (aka Symphonic Line SL RG2 Mk3 sold in Europe which differs from the Tempest in front panel and knobs) provides a rich tube-like sound. Big step up from my old 3000II. Not much I can say about the huge Odyssey Monoblocks that hasn't been said elsewhere... current delivery, taut control, dynamics, detail... they simply do it all, besting equipment costing many times as much.
System Weaknesses:	None as far as I'm concerned :)
Video/HT System: Separate
TV/Projector:	Mitsubishi WS-65513 RPTV
Processor/Receiver/Amplifiers:	Onkyo TX-SR705S
Speakers (Center, Surrounds, Sub):	Cerwin-Vega based custom mains plus modified Minimus-7 surrounds with Wharfedale Modus Centre and Outlaw Audio LFM-1c (Hsu designed) 10" 225w/RMS powered sub in a 7+1 configuration.
Sources (DVD/VCR):	Oppo DV-980H DVD/CD player; Sony SLV-585HF stereo VCR; Monster Cable Ultra 600 DMI -DVI and Lightspeed 100 digital optical interconnects
Other HT Gear:	JVC QL-7 Quartz DD turntable w/Grado ZF3E+ MM cart in an Audio Technica headshell; DishNetwork ViP211k HD receiver & 1000 satellite dish antenna; Winegard HD7210P VHF/UHF TV antenna. BEDROOM SYSTEM: Nakamichi TA-3A Stasis receiver, Ed Frias AudioReview.com DIY Peerless 2-way monitor speakers on DIY 8"x8"x27" concrete stands. Sharp 27L-S300B TV, Panasonic NV-FJ4620PX VCR, Panasonic DVD-RV35K DVD/CD player, Zenith DTT901 CECB. PORTABLE SYSTEM: Philips AZ7457/17 portable CD player used with the HeadRoom Cosmic amp (w/external battery pack), Straightwire interconnect, Shure E2c canalphones, AKG K81DJ cans, Grado Prestige extension cable. A Samsung YP-T6 MPS player serves as the source for extreme compact portabiliy. A Little Dot Micro + headphone amp has been added to the mix as well.
Comments on HT System:	The big 65' Mits is fantastic! HT is fantastic for movies even with my meager 7+1 setup. But for pure musical enjoyment give me great stereo from my main system -:)
URL Link: http://rap.midco.net/bald1/livingrm_1.JPG
Other Interests/Hobbies/Occupation:	Now retired, in addition to enjoying music: road trips, sports cars (currently a S2000); target shooting; handloading; custom cutlery; hiking; biking; reading; astronomy; horology; radio monitoring to include AM DXing.