Let's call this room 'Mid-Fi Nirvana'...

[RuSsMaN]

Ok, this time I'm REALLY nearing completion of the 'cave' rig. I'll do the megabuck system in the large room at the back of the house, so I deem this room 'Mid-Fi Nirvana.'

10x12 room, 10ft ceiling. Room treatments to follow (hardcore). Isolation also, ala Bright Star. I'm going to take this room to the nines, and leave nothing lacking - AT it's pricepoint. Synergy if you will, but going all the way. All said and done, and if I bag Luther's (Wardsweb) table (his tweaked P3 seen HERE. .) with a decent phono stage, I'll be Ronco'n this one.

Still undetermined on cables, British speakers, British source, I can't get Kimber out of my head. Hero and 8TC Shotgun Bi-wire maybe?

Rig (so far):

B&W CM4 Rosenut
Arcam CD73
Melos SHA-1
Anthem Amp 1
Lovan Rack
MIT Terminator 4 cables / interconn
Signal Cable power / strip
Golden Sound / Audio Technica Decoupling

All done, after I get the bass traps etc, and tweak the room - Mid-fi at it's finest, about 10K retail (but bought for substantially less).

Aint this fun?

Cheers,
Russ

[Wardsweb]

Dang Russ your going to be using more gear than me. I guess I better start buying more. It is the journey and not the destination, so keep on, keepin on.

[janmike]

Nice looking gear Russ. You should do audio sessions for the interested.

[audiobliss]

Wow. Those speakers look amazing. And I keep drooling about that pre...

[RuSsMaN]

Thanks for the comments (validation) as always.

It's fun with 'new' stuff. The speakers have maybe 40 hours on them, the output tubes in the Anthem (E. German 6CA7) have maybe 6 hours on them, the Arcam has about 3 hours on it.... Things are changing right before my ears, literally. A note to all break in / burn in non believers, it's happening, RIGHT now.

How good will it get? Stay tuned.

Cheers,
Russ

[beardog03]

Russ,

What made you chose those speaks ?

Just outa curiosity....

what kind of power are you running..?

[RuSsMaN]

Why the speaks? They will cure my B&W craving, until I get 10 grand saved up.

Power, push pull EL34's, 40wpc.

Cheers,
Russ

[beardog03]

very cool..

Maybe someday I`ll have to hop a plane out to the `ol Audio Ranch and have a listen..!!

not sure I will ever be able to put 10 large down on some speaks, but if you ever do, I expect an invite to hear what that`ll get ya..!!

[RuSsMaN]

You will Robert.

You will grace my humble abode with your audioness one day, and I'll return the favor. Actually headed to San Diego again this summer for a Real Estate conference, so I need to find out if that is feasible driving distance to see you.

You've spent 10K on grunt, like some of us. It's NOT out of reach. It's not a question of IF, it's WHEN.

Cheers,
Russ

[Joey_V]

Dang Russ... if $10K = your midfi, I wonder what constitutes your HiFi....

[Shizelbs]

Very nice and clean. I'd love to get my ears on the Melos.

You gotta love a man with a big bowl full of tubes on his coffee table.

[TroyD]

Hardcore.

Bag Luther's P3....tough to beat at that price.

BDT

[halo]

Very nice Russ. I just started experimenting with room treatments and bass traps myself. Definite difference.

[BobMcG]

Looking good Russ. :)

[aaharvel]

you call this **** mid-fi?
you're joking right?

(if you don't know how to take that then see my gear list below)

[tryrrthg]

Russ, did you end up preferring the Arcam CD73 over the Rotel 1072? I'm curious on how they compared. My Arcam CD 73 has been fantastic and it really surprised me on how good it sounds. It's hard to beat at a used price.

System looks great.

[madmax]

Very nice!!! So how much did the sound change when you added the cable elevaters?
madmax

[beardog03]

I was also wondering he same thing..

[Schris22]

nice setup as usual Russ.

You must make some dealers very happy. =)

Chris

[RuSsMaN]

I've got the Rotel also (on loan), still just breaking them both in - but I do like the upgrade path the Arcam offers.

Cable lifts, no idea if they make a differece yet. Once everything is settled in, and has 100 hours or so, I'll do some listening with and without. They were $4 each at an Antique store, wtf right.

Cheers,
Russ

[madmax]

They were $4 each at an Antique store, wtf right.

Cheers,
Russ

I would have certainaly picked them up for that price!
madmax

[2+2]

funny how things are so relative...."mid-fi" huhh....

[Dennis Gardner]

funny how things are so relative...."mid-fi" huhh....

Add up your 4 systems........... you too can have mid-fi just not as many. ;)

[madmax]

funny how things are so relative...."mid-fi" huhh....

I have often wondered how many catagories there are. Every time I upgrade I feel as if I've reached a lower level of a higher top end. My stuff is entry level for sure, thats all I know.

madmax

[dkg999]

Russ - outstanding system! I have never been a B&W speaker fan, they just all sounded too laid back for my tastes. The B&W's in your picture are the only ones I have heard that I liked! They were in the room at Spearit Sound when I compared the Jolida 100 CDP to the Cambridge Audio Azur 640C, and I was really impressed with them.

[RuSsMaN]

They are a real value, in my opinion, even at the full retail asking. B&W has actually pulled them from production, to redesign a more profitable version. The CM series turned out to be too expensive to make, at the pricepoint. The machined front baffles alone were a big part of that.

They don't need a sub, but I went ahead and hooked up a PSW550 and now I get radio Saigon in the volume pot on the Melos. I think the MIT interconns are giving me a fit being on an Audioquest Y cable at the Melos outputs.

Kind of funny actually, even though I'm not going to keep the sub in there, I have to figure out the issue first!

Cheers,
Russ

[Zero]

Cool Beemers, good components. Well done. Now lets see if you can keep any one of those pieces for longer than 24 hours. :)

[2+2]

Add up your 4 systems........... you too can have mid-fi just not as many. ;)

Yeah, I know...but then I would have to have everything mounted on a wheelable cart so that I can move it from room to room...not to mention put in an elevator in the house to pump music to the upstairs!! ;) ;) :D

[Tour2ma]

This was a very sweet little room. Only spent an hour or so in it due to my love affair with the FredArrays in the "big room", but the B&W's threw a soundstage that was the best in the house. I think I called them "articulate".

And while no sub was in play, the room gain was more than adequate for the mostly acoustical recordings Russ lined up.

[pjdami]

Cool looking rig Russ. Amazing how many iterations this setup has gone through for you in the past couple of years. One constant I see has been the Melos and the Anthem now for a while.

Man I bet you are glad you get to burn in those tubes, speakers, and cd player at the same time.

I'd be interested in the Arcam / Rotel shootout you do too. Never did try out one of those Arcams.

Ah, cable lifters. That is something I haven't tried out yet. Was reading some interesting stuff over at this attached link. If I do it, it'll be some DIY sort of design.

http://www.cabletower.com/pages/3/index.htm