Systems Showcase

(adj) smelling of mud or earth / unrefined / uncouth

by dorokusai

CHANGE 03/27/2010: *I found the best effect to be directly above and below the display and it creates a very wide, deep and pronounced front soundstage. It's the most movie theater like that I've heard but it did throw some odd SDA effects from time to time because of the upper SBar. I'd expound on all this with fancy threads but its just for fun and I send all my information directly to Polk in regards to plots, diagrams and freq. response stuff. Perhaps something new or recommended will come about from it, who knows. There are more motivated and bettter reviewers than myself anyways. Happy Listening! I picked up two Surround Bar50 in order to test some Wide Left/Right and High Left/Right theory in a psuedo 9.1 setup. I figured using an additional SBar50 will effectively give me this with the benefit of SDA for area fill. It ended up working really well and ultimately wish I could mount the second SBar directly above the television for good. The testing I performed was between 4-24" for the upper SBar. The lower was right below the actual display. The impact from the SBar alone is very noticeable. As far as surround effects, for this exercise, it's not really geared towards an increase in that but the center/front stage image was really awesome. It's not a difficult idea. I just utilized the SDA effect as designed within the SBar50 in conjunction with the 9.1 option since they seem to compliment one another to me. I'm currently using a Onkyo TX-NR5000 AVR. For my digital media conversion it's an iTouch in conjunction with a Cambridge Audio DacMagic on a Wadia docking station. It sounds really awesome upconverted or in lossless. The hardcore wouldn't even know the difference unless you told them and that's just a sad testament. I'll get some pics up soon or when I get motivated. My homeboys at SVS turned me onto the SVS/Audyssey AS-EQ1 to tame the room for my PB12-Ultra/2. The Polk Forum has been an excellent resource, friendly getaway, and this hobby gets better and worse, every day. Additional thanks: Frank Dai at www.signalcable.com for his guidance and outstanding cables that explode everywhere in my 5.1 HT and beyond. Paul Lemanski at www.adonacorporation.com for creating the rack for my gear and being very helpful in the decision making process. The work he creates is absolutely top notch and a impressive to see in person. Ed/Erik/Tom & Ron @ SVSound for being friends since my virginal CES sacrifice many years ago.

Gallery
2CH. Usher Audio X-719(Oak) on Usher RWS-729 "Ultimate" stands also in Oak. These stands are unreal and unless I have to, they are staying here for good. I'm now running X-718 on the stands, also in Oak.	2CH. Usher Audio X-718(Cherry) on Usher RWS-708(Cherry) stands. The stands are hardwood trim, phenolic posts and 1.75" solid granite bases, adjustable from 24-28".	Usher Audio X-616 Center Channel. 40lb beast of a center channel. I really like this company.
2CH. Rogue Audio Magnum 99. PSU...nothing crazy.	2CH. Rogue Audio Magnum 99. I'm rolling between Tung-Sol/ EH/ Sovtek & JAN Sylvania. The JAN's are leftover from my Cary days and the cost sucks but its not too bad given the benefit. They are clearly superior to the other tubes. Out of the stocking stuffers, I'd pick the Tung-Sol.	HT. SVS PB12-ULTRA/2. The signatures are Erik Kroner, Ron Stimpson and Tom Vodhanel of SVS fame.
Usher Audio V-602 & Spendor S5e Loudspeakers. The pre-amp is a Welborne Labs Ultrapath BP, battery powered. It runs off internal batteries coupled with external 6v batteries and with Bugle Boy tubes, sounds like the bee's knees. I get about 4 hours of playtime between charges but I rarely get that much time and it's always fully charged. It's DEAD QUIET. Everything else can be found below and the mainstay of this rig has always been, and always will be, my CTC BBQ. I haven't owned a speaker yet, that it can't drive into oblivion. It's a keeper and actually in my living will : - )	2CH. Cary Audio CD-306 SACD. All aluminum construction, 52lbs. The panels are seamed but not a single chassis screw is exposed to show how it was actually assembled and the pictures don't do it justice. The unit uses the famous Sony SCD-1 transport. It has been modified to load horizontally, instead of vertically by Cary. It also has a window on top for your viewing pleasure as well as for use of the bubble level mounted along the frame of the transport chassis.	2CH. Magnepan 3.5R/ SVS 25-31PCi/ CTC BBQ/ CARY SLP-2002/ SONY SCD-C555ES/ Consonance Cyber 20. My favorite setup so far, pure magic. 'Nuff said. Signal Cable(Power)/PS Audio(Power Strip)/ MIT S3(Interconnects)
2CH. Denon 5900/ Consonance Cyber 20/ Cary Audio SLP-2002/ CTC BBQ/ Original Carver Amazing. I like the Amazing's very much, but wish I had a little bit more room to move them around. They sound fantastic, but breath alot better when givin a much larger room. The pic shows them closer then they actually are now, and I will be adding some acoustic treatments to the rear when I get time. I think they will stay for a while, but they aren't permanent fixtures. I'm just waiting for a couple other things to roll through, and I'm almost done when it comes to speakers. The Denon is temporary, but it's not too shabby and has allowed me to get into DVD-A in addition to SACD. It's final home is the HT. The 5900 was 1 of 3 B-Stock units I purchased from ECOST, all of which exhibited problems in one form or another. It became real old, so they were all returned and I bought a DVD-3910, new, instead. ECOST SUCKS!	2CH. Magnepan MMG/ SONY SCD-555ES/ CTC BBQ/ Cary Audio SLP-2002. It's fully modified by Cary to include the oil filled capacitors, with a couple additional tweaks by Cary Audio's main man, Dennis Had. I've JUST started playing with it, and it's outstanding. I have a few pairs of tubes ready to roll, but they quickly went on the backburner after the first few demo's. I have been floored by the support from Cary Audio AND crazy Kevin Deal @ Upscale Audio. The MMG was the speaker that changed my perspective on what I was looking for in a speaker. I have since owned 3 pairs of Magnepans. SDA is neat, but I've owned alot of them and it was time for a change. Don't be a slave to a single speaker....get out and listen.	2CH. Just a closeup of my wire management, and the stand/shelves. I use MIT Shotgun S3 for the interconnects, and naturally Signal will be providing all the power cords. I was waiting for the stand to get completed before taking measurements for the PS Audio Juice Bar and Anthem Pre-Amp power needs. The straps on the post are Rip-Ties, simple velcro with pretty tags I guess, but I have used them for years. The channel of the columns hold the power cables, and that is what is strapped. The IC's are free floating, and as free from interference as I can make them at this point.
2CH. CTC BBQ. Naked BBQ. When I power this beast up, it dims the lights in my downstairs living area, I like that alot. It's a Monster. 19 x 7.5 x 22 105lbs. It is based on a Parasound HCA-3500 chassis, but with extensive custom metalwork and hand picked hi-end internal components, and boardwork by CTC Builders. It is a prototype of the Parasound JC-1 monoblock, in stereo format. CTC Builders is John Curl/Carl Thompson/Robert Crump. It is one of five in existence. This is my final, solid state amplifier.	HT. Front stage. Center of room.	HT. B&K AVR317/ Polk Audio CSi40. This is my first B&K piece and it's very nice. The power is rock solid and the tone is warmer than the Sony. The Sony ES gear never let me down and I still miss the user interface, as I was much more familiar with it's operation. I will probably send this out to get upgraded, to the AVR317, which would bring it up to current specifications and ability. This was a huge selling feature for me personally, as I don't like to buy and sell pieces of gear in order to keep up with changing formats. The B&K unit has since been upgraded to a AVR317, essentially the internal clone of the AVR507. Signal Cable (All)
HT. Comcast HDTV/ Monster Cable HTS-5100. HDTV is very nice, and if I remember, I try to watch HDTV broadcasts : - ). My surge protection is provided by the MC 5100, and I feel very secure now. I didn't notice any audible gains, and wasn't expecting any, but video presentation did improve. I really like the LED meters, as it gives me a gauge of power use, and power quality at all times.	HT. Polk Audio RTi38. Front, Right, Naked. Signal Cable Double Run - 8Ft. - AP Bananas	HT. Polk Audio RTi38. Front, Right. I used B-Tech BT-77 speaker brackets to hold the RTi38's. The brackets were secured to the stud, with #10 wood screws, 4 per bracket. I used Dynamat on the entire B-Tech bracket to reduce resonance and vibration. Signal Cable Double Run - 8Ft. - AP Bananas
HT. Radio Shack 4-Post Wall Plate. I ran jumpers to this Radio Shack wall plate for the surrounds, from the AVR. The rest of the run, is in the ceiling and wall joists. I mounted the plate out in the room for access reasons. Signal Cable Double Run - 12Ft. - AP Bananas	HT. Polk Audio FXi30. I used a Radio Shack, 2-Post, wall plates for connecting the surrounds to the main surround runs from the ceiling and wall joists. Signal Cable Double Run - 18" - AP Bananas	HT. Polk Audio FXi30. I mounted the speakers using the factory screws, and placed them at the studs. They are mounted above my usual seating position, and more towards the rear of the room. Signal Cable Double Run - 18" - AP Bananas
Computer. Mission MS-50, Cambridge Audio 640Azur Integrated Amplifier. The old rig....ah, those were the days.	HT. SVS PB12-ULTRA/2. This is my fourth SVS....damn I love these things.	Computer Rig(Current). Quad Active 12L loudspeakers running on stock audio chip from the MoBo. It sounds awesome....maybe it's the cables? : - )
Computer. ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 MoBo, Intel i7 2.6 w/ CoolerMaster V8, 6gb Corsair DDR3-1600, EVGA GeForce GTS-250SC(1mb)PCI-E, Antec 500w Earth Power PSU, CoolerMaster CM690 Chassis, Lite-On 6x Blu-Ray/DVDRW SATA Drive. I should have upgraded to 120mm fans a long time ago because this thing is a hushpuppy compared to my other monster...ALSO I can finally play R6:Vegas after it sitting on my shelf for a year+. I'm SOOOO happy with this new machine I could touch myself.	Cooler Master V8 CPU cooler peeking thru the grill. 6" tall heatsink, adustable speed on the fly...it's badass to see when the case is opened but 100% overkill in reality. I'll overclock later but it for now its just neato torpedo for me.	Blu-Ray for the PC. A+.
Another shot of the new Beast.	It's suprising how much USB has become standard. 5 years ago I had one cable, now I'm using every available slot....EVERY available slot.