DarqueKnight

Gracious Overkill: The elegant Pass Laboratories X0.2 preamp remote is machined from a solid block of anodized billet aluminum. Accessories of this nature make me feel like a real audiophile.

Two channel audio system: View from listening position. The SDA SRS 1.2TL speakers are 1989 vintage. It's a pity more people don't know about SDA speakers. Such good sound.

Two channel audio system: Lights out.

Two channel audio system: View from left of listening position.

Two channel audio system amplification suite. Parasound Halo JC 1 amps (bottom left and right). Top left: Pass Labs Xono phono preamp. Top center: Pass Labs X0.2 line level preamp control module/power supply and L and R Channel modules below. Top right: Pass Labs Xono phono preamp power supply. Bottom center: PS Audio Power Plant Premier power regenerator. The turntable power supply is tucked behind the left speaker.

All two channel system source components and preamps receive power from a PS Audio Power Plant Premier AC regenerator.

Black Diamond Racing isolation components provide substantial vibration isolation, and enhanced information retrieval, for the turntable, SACD player and AC regenerator. Top to bottom: Jumbo Pits, Mini Black Holes and Mk4 Cones.

Those mysterious Monoliths: The SDA SRS 1.2TL speakers are among the most power hungry, current guzzling, acoustically demanding and land grabbing speakers ever made.

The " hot rodded" SDA SRS 1.2TL speakers have extensively modified crossovers and other performance tweaks.

Modification: SDA SRS 1.2TL upgrade tweeters: The RD0198 silk dome replacement tweeter has higher resolution and less distortion than the SL3000.

Modification: SDA SRS 1.2TL binding post plate: Another Cardas CCGR-S post was added for the AI-1. The high frequency binding posts were removed since I was not interested in running a bi-amped configuration.

The SDA SRS 1.2TL's have foam rubber tape applied to the driver and passive radiator baskets for vibration damping. Such vibrations can obscure fine detail.

Unfortunate circumstances, like my speakers and amps blowing up, would result from running my SDA SRS 1.2TL's with non-common ground mono block amplifiers. This custom implementation of the AI-1 non common ground interface, the AI-1 Dreadnought, isolates the grounds of my amps while letting the SDA signals flow through.

AI-1 Dreadnought cables. Each cable is made from a double run of 12 AWG conductors for an effective wire gauge of 9 AWG.

AI-1 Dreadnought transformer and cables.

Cardas CCGR-S binding posts to match the CCGR-S binding posts on my SDA SRS 1.2TL's.

AI-1 Dreadnought inside. It's just a big 800 VA isolation transformer inside a custom black anodized aluminium enclosure.

The Dreadnought sits on its side behind one of the 1.2TL speakers.

To the mountain top: Audioquest Everest 72V DBS 9 AWG 5N silver speaker cable. Fantastic transparency, dynamics, and detail.

Like the clear, blue Sky: Audioquest Sky 72V DBS 5N silver XLR interconnects are used for the amplifiers and SACD player.

The two channel system preamps and SACD player receive power through a PS Audio xStream Premier SC (7 AWG) hybrid silver/copper power cord. You can consider a well shielded, heavy gauge power cord to be a refreshing rest stop for the electrons after their long journey from the power company's generating plant.

The PS Audio Power Plant Premier AC regenerator and power amps in the two channel system receive power through PS Audio PerfectWave AC-12 (8 AWG) power cords.

Each JC 1 Power Amplifier receives power from a dedicated 20 amp AC circuit terminated with a PS Audio Soloist Premier SE in-wall power conditioner. A third dedicated 20 amp circuit, also terminated with a Soloist SE, serves the source components and preamps.

The amplifiers and source components in the two channel and home theater systems use HiFi Tuning and Isoclean audio grade fuses for additional power line noise reduction.

You're pretty, but I wish I knew how to quit you. Two channel analog source: Teres Audio Model 255 turntable in cocobolo finish.

Teres turntable from left showing motor pod. The platter belt is acid etched holographic mylar tape. The record clamp is The Clamp by Sonic Purity Concepts and Design.

Closeup of Graham Phantom tonearm. The armwand is made of a ceramic material with an integrated headshell and silver wiring.

Closeup of Teres turntable acrylic platter. Both the 27 pound platter and 33 pound base are filled with lead shot.

An acid etched holographic mylar belt dramatically improved the sound of my turntable. The micro ridges on the belts surface provide better grip on the platter and more speed accuracy. This translates into lower noise, more detail and heavier images within the sound stage.

Audioquest LeoPard 72V DBS 5N silver tonearm cable.

Closeup of Ortofon MC Windfeld moving coil cartridge (0.3 mV output).

The Teres turntable platter is backlit with a variety of colored gel filters.

Most of the time I prefer red backlighting for the turntable platter.

Teres turntable power supply. The Reference II motor can run from AC or battery power. I found that the battery provided much better sound than normal AC but regenerated AC from the PS Audio Power Plant Premier provided much better sound than the battery. The stock power cord was replaced with a PS Audio Premier SC cord.

Record maintenance begins with a thorough dry brushing and then an aggressive steam cleaning.

Deep cleaning of record grooves is done with a home brew record cleaning solution and a modified VPI HW-16.5 record cleaning machine.

Two channel digital source: Cary Audio CD 306 Professional Version SACD/CD/HDCD player. On well-recorded material, the playback for SACD and Redbook CD is spectacular!

Two channel digital source: The 4th generation Cary SACD player uses a modified version of the acclaimed Sony SCD-1 SACD transport. The shark gill ventilation slots had to grow on me.

Home theater system front stage: The Pioneer Kuro PRO-151FD 60 inch plasma TV is surrounded in sound powered by Adcom. The front, center, and surround speakers are each driven by a dedicated Adcom GFA-5500 power amp (350 watts into 4 ohms).

Home theater system without speaker grilles. Center speakers are dual modified LSi9's . All speakers are 4 ohms nominal impedance. Front speakers are modified SDA SRS's (1985 original version).

The stock SDA SRS interconnect wasn't cutting it anymore. A custom heavier gauge (12 AWG) interconnect was made from Monster Z2 Reference speaker cable and terminated with Neutrik angled XLR connectors.

Home theater: Front stage from left. Denzel approves.

Home theater system components: The dual LSi9's are angled up 5 degrees and have modified crossovers with Solen and Sonicap film capacitors and Mills MRA-12 resistors.

Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD high definition Blu-ray disc player. Blu-ray technology renewed my interest in home theater. No more viewing fatigue!

A pair of PS Audio Power Plant Premier power regenerators provide stable and ultra low noise AC power to my home theater components.

Sleek styling: PS Audio Power Plant Premier AC regenerators prior to installation in home theater system.

The Power Plant Premiers are connected to their respective Soloist in-wall conditioners by PerfectWave AC-5 power cables.

Two additional dedicated 20 amp circuits were installed for the home theater amps, TV, and source components. They were terminated with PS Audio Soloist Premier SE in-wall power conditioners. The subwoofer was left on the original dedicated circuit. That circuit was also terminated with a Soloist.

Home theater components receive power through PS Audio xStream Statement SC power cords.

Home theater system bass beast: SVS PB12 Ultra/2 subwoofer in rosewood finish. The sub is powered by an internal 1000 watt Bash amplifier.

Home theater system rear stage with LSi15 surround speakers. Since the front speakers are very large, using tower speakers for surrounds provides a more balanced sound all around.

Home theater system: Left LSi15 surround speaker without grilles. The LSi15's have modified crossovers with Solen and Sonicap film capacitors and Mills MRA-12 resistors.

Home theater system: An 8 watt flourescent Adcom sign provides low level room lighting during movies.

Closeup of Adcom sign lit.

DVD (left) and CD (right) media storage racks. Each rack is made of two Atlantic model 3020 media storage racks bolted together.

Polk Audio SurroundBar Instant Home Theater speakers and subwoofer for PC audio in home office.

Home office workstation with Polk Audio SurroundBar Instant Home Theater speakers (behind telephone) and Sony BDP-S2000ES Blu-ray player.

Home Office PC: Dell XPS 9000 with i7 920 Quad-Core 64 bit processor @ 2.66 MHz,8 GB DDR3 SDRAM @ 1066 MHz,1 TB SATA Hard Drive @ 7200 RPM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 video card, SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium sound card, Windows XP Professional 64 Bit Operating System and Dell U2410 24" High Definition Monitor.

Home office: Uma was shocked when I casually mentioned that I was going to remove the SDA CRS+'s and audio electronics because all I ever use is the TV. Uma reluctantly approved. The subwoofer for the SurroundBar speaker system is behind the chair on the right.

Master bedroom system. The force is strong in here.

Master bedroom system: The Magnepan MG12 speakers replaced a pair of modified SDA 1B's. I made the switch strictly for aesthetic reasons: I wanted something younger, thinner, and prettier in my bedroom.

Master bedroom system components.

Master bedroom system: This 17 inch cube comprises a 1200 watts (continuous) amplifier, a 12" driver and a 12" passive radiator. It produces lots of tight, accurate low bass for both music and movies.