Rig finally up and running

heiney9

Finally got the rig set-up in the new man cave this past weekend. Also had a chance to add the new gear I've been purchasing over the past year in anticipation of the new listening room.

It's not dialed in perfectly, yet. I have to say right out of the gate it sounds excellent. After I get the speakers set-up properly, then I'll start looking at room treatments.



New gear that gets a first listen in the rig as follows: Puritan Audio PSM136 power conditioner; Bluesound Node3 gets the linear power supply mod; Keces P8 dual out output linear power supply; Uptone Audio EtherRegen galvonic isolation (run off the Keces); MIT Shotgun Power cable; MIT Shotgun MA & MIT Shotgun S1 IC's being demo'd to see which works best; MIT Shotgun S1 bi-wire speaker cables replace the S3's (non-biwire) I was using.

These came today (4) Puritan Audio - Classic power cables. Got a good deal on white and I think they will be a nice contrast to all black gear and other cable. These are ridiculously flexible.



I also think I am going to purchase a Roon Nucleus One

https://www.soundstagesimplifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/260-roon-labs-nucleus-one-music-server

I am really impressed with the Roon operating shell and this will do double duty as a streamer and music server. Unfortunately that renders the Bluesound Node 3 redundant.

Originally I was going to keep the Node 3 and just get a mini-computer to run Roon. But the Nucleus One seems to be an all in one, set it and forget it solution. It'll be on the network so I can rip my own cd's as well as stream internet radio and Qobuz, etc. Except it's 19V and uses a switching power supply. I don't have a linear supply that does 19V, so I'll need to get one.

The computer I would build would cost as much or more than the Nucleus One with SSD. Things are changing even as I am just getting things up and running.....

H9

P.s. The Polk Magnifi-mini speaker is temporary....lol

tonyb

Cool beans Brock. Looks nice so far.....though I was going to chastise you for the Magnifi and you stole my thunder. Dang you !!

F1nut

MIT Shotgun MA & MIT Shotgun S1 IC's being demo'd to see which works best

I'll reserve my experience until you decide.

Other than that, looking good.

heiney9

F1nut wrote: »

show previous quotes

MIT Shotgun MA & MIT Shotgun S1 IC's being demo'd to see which works best

I'll reserve my experience until you decide.

Other than that, looking good.

I know you said they were bright(er) (The MA's) and I do appreciate the feedback. But I wanted to try for myself since gear and rooms are different. I didn't overpay so I can recoup any $$$ spent if I need to move them along.

I also read the literature about how the MA (maximum articulation) differs from the Shotgun presentation. Sort of a front row experience for the MA's vs. a mid auditorium experience for the Shotguns, IIRC what the literature stated.

H9

bcwsrt

Nice, clean-looking rig!

I'm super-interested in your comments about the power conditioner once you get a feel for it. I've had one of those on my wishlist for a while.

heiney9

bcwsrt wrote: »

Nice, clean-looking rig!

I'm super-interested in your comments about the power conditioner once you get a feel for it. I've had one of those on my wishlist for a while.

Thanks!

It's going to be hard to compare since the old APC H15 is doing duty in the upstairs main TV rig. Plus, I've changed some gear out. Once i get more time listening I'll comment.

I went with Puritan Audio because of the reviews and testimonials and engineering. And a couple people on here sang their praises too. The 136 is very similar to the 156 just less stages of filtering, but they are built with the exact same components otherwise. I just couldn't spend up for a used 156. It's rare to find a used 136, but I did. It takes patience....lol

H9

treitz3

Congratulations on getting your rig back up and running. I know that you (and yours) must be pleased. Enjoy.

Tom

bcwsrt

heiney9 wrote: »

show previous quotes

bcwsrt wrote: »

Nice, clean-looking rig!

I'm super-interested in your comments about the power conditioner once you get a feel for it. I've had one of those on my wishlist for a while.

Thanks!

It's going to be hard to compare since the old APC H15 is doing duty in the upstairs main TV rig. Plus, I've changed some gear out. Once i get more time listening I'll comment.

I went with Puritan Audio because of the reviews and testimonials and engineering. And a couple people on here sang their praises too. The 136 is very similar to the 156 just less stages of filtering, but they are built with the exact same components otherwise. I just couldn't spend up for a used 156. It's rare to find a used 136, but I did. It takes patience....lol

H9

An APC H15 is what I currently have.

Understand about all the changes. Maybe some thing, or things, will stick out to you about the PSM136 over time.

heiney9

treitz3 wrote: »

Congratulations on getting your rig back up and running. I know that you (and yours) must be pleased. Enjoy.

Tom

Forgot how much I missed it! The office rig does well, but this is much better.

H9

pearsall001

Hey Brock,

Congrats on getting your new room setup & running! I know it took you awhile with all the things you had going on but I'm sure it was well worth the wait.
Waiting to hear your thoughts on the MIT comparisons & the PA power cables. Are the speakers R600 or 700 I've read fabulous reviews on them both. Happy listening!

Phil

heiney9

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the kind words. Speakers are Legend L600's (see my sig )

H9

heiney9

I got some more seat time in last night. I am having the same issue I have with the office rig. This is in a finished basement with carpet over concrete.

Where's the bass I'm used to? Concrete floors suck the life out of bass, there's little to no extension. That "tickled feet" feeling of reverberating bass is all but missing. On a main level, carpet over wood subfloor at the old house I could feel the bass and rattle the windows....lol

I do still have the rubber feet on the spikes because I am still positioning them for best results. I'm sure taking those off will help, but I can't imagine it will make a HUGE difference.

Perhaps since my gear sat around for almost a year it all needs time to "break-in" again? I have the speakers about 22" out from the wall behind them. Should I move them closer to the wall for better bass response?

H9

P.s. L600's and especially the XA25 excel at prodigious bass, so I'm scratching my head

VR3

Is your room in phase?

Looks great!

May be time to add a sub or 16

heiney9

VR3 wrote: »

Is your room in phase?

Looks great!

May be time to add a sub or 16

Thanks!

The amp is non-inverting and the pre and dac are set to "in-phase". For the quality of speaker and gear I have I shouldn't need nor do I want subs.

I will mess with those settings though, just to rule it out.

H9

pitdogg2

Spiked feet on my 2.3tl's with super short carpet glued to concrete in my basement had prodigious bass in my basement. My Aragon 8008bb would excite the slab for sure.

heiney9

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Spiked feet on my 2.3tl's with super short carpet glued to concrete in my basement had prodigious bass in my basement. My Aragon 8008bb would excite the slab for sure.

Ok, that's encouraging. That means I need to do a lot more tweaking. My L600's at the other house had more bass than my 1C's in the room they were in. So, I know they are capable.

This is why I hate change.....lmao! I'm sure it will be worth it, just gotta put in the time and effort to dial the rig in properly.

H9

billbillw

In my experience, concrete floors don't suck the bass out of a room. If anything, they tend to reflect and contain the bass more. Is the current room a similar size/shape to the old listening room? I'm guessing you have some node issues and its time to experiment with placement.
Also, I wouldn't discount Trey's suggestion so quickly. Yes, you have fine equipment, but you are somewhat power limited with that Class A amp. Many high end systems supplement the bass with a musical subwoofer.

Geoff4rfc

Very clean looking! Sweet rig. Weird looking wall clock though, and way to be a trend setter using a cat tower for sound absorption.......

heiney9

billbillw wrote: »

In my experience, concrete floors don't suck the bass out of a room. If anything, they tend to reflect and contain the bass more. Is the current room a similar size/shape to the old listening room? I'm guessing you have some node issues and its time to experiment with placement.
Also, I wouldn't discount Trey's suggestion so quickly. Yes, you have fine equipment, but you are somewhat power limited with that Class A amp. Many high end systems supplement the bass with a musical subwoofer.

New room is long and some what narrow. Old room was wide and short. New room has 12' behind where I sit. I sit approx 6-7' from the speakers. Speakers are 22" off the back wall Old room had couch against a back wall for a listening position. Speakers were 12" off back wall. Perhaps that wall behind the couch was providing reinforcement in the old room.

There is zero issues with power or the amp. I would consider a sub, I suppose to fix room/placement issues. I didn't buy big floor standing speakers capable of prodigious bass only to have to supplement with a sub. The L600's with the XA25 amp have put out the deepest, most tuneful bass I've heard in a system. So, I know what the capabilities are.

There's limited ways to set this system up in the room. I've never had a real issue setting up a rig before, so this is all new to me; and in the very early stages. I have a total of about 5 hours listening time so far.

I appreciate the feedback.

H9

pitdogg2

Old room had couch against a back wall for a listening position. Speakers were 12" off back wall. Perhaps that wall behind the couch was providing reinforcement in the old room.

Yes I agree with the closer back wall to the couch was re-enforcing the bass perception.

billbillw

I think the room shapes you are describing are making a huge difference. If you were back against the wall in the previous setup, that explains a lot. Anytime you are close to a wall, there can be a perceived bass boost. Ultimately, your current room should be better for overall acoustics, but your expectations might need to be adjusted for the amount of bass that quad 7" drivers can make with ~120wpc.

Milito

Setup looks great! I have my L600's on spikes 13" from my back wall and they have plenty of bass. Of course it's a different room and my side walls are closer than yours and I have wood floors.

heiney9

This room is challenging for a variety of reasons. It seemed like Friday night's listening session yielded more bass. Perhaps my assessment is premature as I'm running through a lot of different songs. Some songs just don't have a lot of low bass.

I also believe gear and cables that sit for a period of time (unused) experience some break-in when put back in use. Not for the length of time as if new, but a period of time nonetheless. I also need to remember to let the gear warm up for about an hour as it sounds best after that first hour of stabilization.

When I first set up the office rig in the new space I commented about the same thing w/stands on a carpet covered concrete floor. I've tweaked the speakers and listening position and let the new speaker cables break in and It's a whole lot better.

I will experiment today by moving the L600's closer to the back wall. Perhaps they are too far out in the room at 22" I also added the new Puritan Audio cables on Friday, maybe that helped a bit?

H9

msg

Looks like there's a wall to the right of the listening area. Can't tell on the left side. How far is it to the left wall? What you are describing sounds like your listening seat is in a null, or approaching it.

Gardenstater

I think if you were feeling stuff through your feet in the old room, you were also listening to your floor a bit. Maybe you are going to need bass traps in the corners of this room because, as said above, you may have some room nodes going on.

heiney9

msg wrote: »

Looks like there's a wall to the right of the listening area. Can't tell on the left side. How far is it to the left wall? What you are describing sounds like your listening seat is in a null, or approaching it.

So there is a wall to the right and to the left. The windows are not in the center of the wall. The basement used to be 3 separate rooms. The finished space where the rig resides has always been the same width (almost 14') but it was divided into a family room space and a small office space. So about 3/4 to 1/4 of the length. There is a sizeable bedroom off to the right with a door.

My parents who owned the place for about 25 years before I bought it last September knocked out the wall between the family room and original office to create one single family room. The bedroom off to the right became my Dad's office space (approx) 13' x 18'. Which is now my office/computer room, etc where my R200's reside.

Back to the family room. On the end of the room where the rig is, the right hand wall has a big cut out approx 5' x 7' which are the dimensions of the closet (which sits on that common wall). Creating an instant space for a built in for a TV and HT space. Purple sheets cover my SDA 1C's



Behind my seating for the rig, there is a bar my dad built. and then the rest of the seating area, and a full bath.






I am going to fill in the opening he cut out. ANd the big decision is to keep the bar or tear it out. It makes the room totally non-functional because it smack dab in the middle. I am waiting to see how much or if we actually use it at all. The idea when we moved in was to make the finished basement my listening room. There is no way to effectively configure the rig the long way with the bar there. Unless I just compromise. The decision hasn't been made. But I know which way I'm leaning.

The path of least resistance is to make the bedroom/office a dedicated listening room. It's less work as far as deconstruction. But it too has one issue. Because my dad worked from home for years with his own business and also worked for about 12 years preserving/making a museum out of a Frank Lloyd Wright home in our community he needed a big workspace and lots of storage. Hence the counter top and cabinets in the office.




As you can see in the all the photo's we are still finding places for stuff and the lower level has become a repository so the main level can look nice. I keep all my gear boxes and those have become quite a nuisance. We have an unfinished area and we are starting to get that organized. We need to get rid of my dad's business documents to make space for our stuff...lol

To turn the bedroom/office into a dedicate listening area I would need to tear out most or all of the cabinets. Again, trying not to be hasty and figure out what we can or need to use vs. what we can do without.

It's messy, no judgment or comments please. I am working on getting organized. All our efforts have been on the main floor since we moved in September. That's pretty much set, so now we start working on these area's.

H9

Geoff4rfc

heiney9 wrote: »

Is that a wet bar? Or dry?

Conradicles

It takes time. You have many options! Seriously, most people don't have that many options for a dedicated rig. It will come together. Good job.

heiney9

Geoff4rfc wrote: »

show previous quotes

heiney9 wrote: »

Is that a wet bar? Or dry?

Dry.

heiney9

Conradicles wrote: »

It takes time. You have many options! Seriously, most people don't have that many options for a dedicated rig. It will come together. Good job.

I appreciate the encouragement. It will be a long process. I might be able to make it all coexist.

But I am only willing to sacrifice audio performance to a certain point. The idea when we decided to buy, was for me to have a no compromise (minimal compromise) dedicated place to listen to music. I've built the system, now I need a space that works.

I'm just glad it's up and running again. It really does sound good considering the less than ideal surroundings at the moment.

H9

Geoff4rfc

heiney9 wrote: »

show previous quotes

Geoff4rfc wrote: »

heiney9 wrote: »

Is that a wet bar? Or dry?

Dry.

Right on, sounds like you're leaning towards tearing that out then? Opening up your space? No headache of removing water lines.....