What did you do to your stereo rig today?

newbie308 · February 15

@bcwsrt I often travel for work. Sometimes for multiple weeks. I love that feeling of "enjoying the music" when I get home. I usually need a day of spinning records to get my head right after a long trip. Your post speaks to me!

bcwsrt · February 15

I thought there was a possibility it could just as easily sound like crap to me since my auditory memory had been totally erased and reset in that amount of time. I was pleasantly surprised.

Jetmaker737 · February 15

I did a couple of things. I have a difficult room. I moved my speakers further apart. Even though the placement looks wonky in the photo the diagram shows that it's correct for my listening position. Also noticeable in the first pic are some GIK panels I placed in front of the fireplace behind the rack. The results are good. Much better soundstage and imaging with the speakers at nearly an equilateral triangle. The GIK panels have knocked down some of the reverb and high frequency energy in the room. I am considering more panels now. Also, I have placed an order for a REL T/9x Red subwoofer as my room tends to attenuate the bass.

This is the new setup:

Diagram:

Old setup:

VR3 · February 15

nice woofers in those speakers

pitdogg2 · February 15

LOVE the Sansui tuner !! I tried and tried to buy one, it just didn't happen for me.

bcwsrt · February 15

Damn fireplace. I'm curious what the GIK folks recommend for your space? The open entryway on the left should be to your benefit to reduce reflections, but the glass table and window behind your sweet spot are likely problematic for the high frequency issues you mentioned.

Definitely a difficult room, but you are on it with the GIK and REL additions. Keep us posted! That T/9x Red is a beauty!

Jetmaker737 · February 15

bcwsrt wrote: »

I'm curious what the GIK folks recommend for your space? The open entryway on the left should be to your benefit to reduce reflections, but the glass table and window behind your sweet spot are likely problematic for the high frequency issues you mentioned.

The GIK advice I got was not stellar. They recommended I buy 12 24x48 inch 244 panels and distribute about the room. I sent them that diagram above plus many photos which when studied would clearly indicate that a dozen of those panels is not an option. I also told them I only had 3" max available behind the rack where 244's would not fit. So I will piecemeal it and do the best I can.

I may move the glass table but the hippos are cast bronze and very heavy so I've procrastinated.

Any recommendations on room measurement apps/mics?

pitdogg2 wrote: »

LOVE the Sansui tuner !! I tried and tried to buy one, it just didn't happen for me.

That TU-9900 tuner is a special piece. I bought it in August, 2011 from Club Polk member @starkiller. It came with original box and manual. In 2018 I had it thoroughly upgraded by Joseph Chow. It's hooked up to a directional antenna up in the attic. Sounds very good!

bcwsrt · February 15

That is similar to my experience with them, which was why I wondered. They recommended about 2x the panels that I could ever find room for. They make a good product, but I adopted the same approach as you ... piecemeal it ... which has worked out fine for me. I have a combination of 244s on the side walls and 242s on the ceiling.

I've not measured my room with any accuracy, but the Decibel X iPhone app (which has a spectrum analyzer) has been helpful in identifying obvious areas for opportunity, as well as results from the changes I've made.

Nice to see some discussion on room treatments!

jdjohn · February 26

Coda 06x phono preamp:

newbie308 · February 27

What cartridge are you running with it? Wow! Nice phono stage!

jdjohn · February 27

Thanks! I got it at a steal. Based on the internal load settings that were in place in this unit, I'm not sure the previous owner was using it correctly, so maybe he was frustrated with the sound, and just decided to dump it. That's pretty sad, if true.

Last night, the cartridge I was using is basically a Nagaoka MP-200. Technically, it is a Well Tempered Lab TLC MM cartridge, but it is really just a re-branded Nagaoka. Eventually, I'll incorporate a nicer MC cartridge from my stable of carts.

I've only listened via headphones so far, but really liked what I was hearing! I just wanted to test functionality, and not adulterate my setup while demoing the Snake River amp cord

pitdogg2 · February 27

Coda, IIRC made some fantastic gear for Legacy Audio I used to salivate over.

engie490 · February 27

Coda also made the electronics for Innersound and Sanders. The latter did spec a few things differently than Coda. For example, Innersound's ESL amp is basically the Coda Continuum Stage amp, but with different binding posts and balanced input impedance. Coda's balanced input impedance ran at 1Kohms, which is unusually low, vice 100K for the Innersound version.

I have the Innersound phono preamp, which is essentially the Coda FET-03p with a different faceplate. Looks similar to the innards of the FET-06X above. Very nice performer!

treitz3 · February 27

Are there dip switches to adjust it?

Tom

jdjohn · February 27

Yes, Tom. In my pic, on the left side, the red strip boxes with white rocker switches (one is partially hidden) are where capacitance and impedance are set. You can even see the legend/guide in gold lettering for the settings on the inner side of the case/chassis. There are also a few slide switches for gain, balanced/unbalanced.

treitz3 · February 27

Oh, my. I completely missed that. Hard to see on the phone when you don't blow up the photo.

Tom

SCompRacer · February 27

I had the Innersound Phono stage made by Coda. Mine had a noise issue. Easy fix, they missed soldering the ground to the PCB.

EDIT: Coda makes excellent gear. Some folks were bothered by the fact they rebadged gear for others, like InnerSound.

When I had Innersound ESL's, I had the Innersound/Coda panel amp and the bass amp with the active crossover in it. To make room for components, they removed two pairs of the big filtering caps. I fixed that too.

Active xover bass amp same design as panel amp, just with active xover. They removed four large filter caps to make room for the active components.

Panel amp, it had 8 filter caps.

Jetmaker737 · February 29

Recently added a REL T/9x subwoofer. I'd been considering a subwoofer for years. Very happy with it. Spent a few days getting the gain and crossover settings dialed in. It blends in nicely with the speakers. I'm digging the new extended bass. The color is not everyone's cup of tea lol, but I like it.

VR3 · February 29

Love the color

Clipdat · March 6

I've been using this custom Chris Keller Dynaco ST-70 tube amplifier, using the Michi X3's RCA pre-out to drive it. It sounds incredible! Really loving it. It did sound slightly better when I used my Benchmark LA4 as the preamp, but the system/rack configuration makes it easier to just leave the X3 where it is and use it as the pre for now. Still pleased with it's performance as a pre.

But yeah, the amp is just great. Super enjoyable to listen to. I've been rolling 12au7 tubes in the outer phase splitter position and it's remarkable how much different each pair I've tried sounds from one another. I've tried six pairs of tubes now in that position, mostly NOS.

It's hard to describe just how good this amp sounds driving a pair of Usher Dancer Mini-X DMD speakers. Perfect synergy.

Three second exposure with the lights off in the room makes the tubes look dramatic:

bcwsrt · March 6

nooshinjohn · March 6

@Clipdat… how do you like the Michi preamp?

Clipdat · March 6

The Michi X3 is an integrated amplifier which has a pre-out, so I'm basically just using it as a preamp currently.

I don't have first hand experience with the Michi P5 preamp, but my experience with the X3 has been very positive, so much so that I would not hesitate to recommend any of the Michi components. They are a great value for the level of performance they provide, imo.

(FWIW I don't use the X3's built in DAC. I believe the quality of the DAC is the same between the X3 and P5. Like most integrateds/preamps with built-in DACs, the measurements aren't quite as good as what you would likely get with a standalone unit.)

nooshinjohn · March 6

Today I crossed into the Blue... my new to me Mcintosh 2300. This is the first preamp I have tried that pushes beyond that performance wall I kept running into with my L800's. This preamp is very affordable on the used market and is absolutely stunning. More to come later as this has only been running for 30 minutes, but already is blowing my mind.

Clipdat · March 6

Once you go Mac you don't go back!

nooshinjohn · March 6

Clipdat wrote: »

Once you go Mac you don't go back!

You might be right about that. This is easily the best sound I have ever heard in my room. Pass Labs is not even close.

bcwsrt · March 6

nooshinjohn · March 7

The Mac just gets better and better.

Clipdat · March 7

Nice review of it here: https://www.kenkessler.com/hi-fi/mcintosh-c2300-vacuum-tube-preamplifier/

motorstereo · March 7

nooshinjohn wrote: »

The Mac just gets better and better.

It's nice when things work out like that. Is this your first Mcintosh piece?

What did you do to your stereo rig today?

Comments