How many of you MINI drivers/lovers are AudioPHILES? More specifically, the home audio type/breed?

What's on your rack?

Here's my econo-entry-setups:

System 1:
Creek 4040R integrated
Creek DAC
Sony 400 CD changer
Itunes via wifi Roku Soundbridge
custom interconnects
custom power cables
BW VM1's on stands
Custom tuned pyramid shaped 12" subbox (painted rust orange) with modified amp and crossover, etc.

System 2:
all sony home theater set up with 65" projection LCD
all Boston Acoustics speakers anchored by VR965's, etc

System 3: (office)
Bostom Micro 90's
Itunes piped straight in
Rotel, RA01 Integrated Amp

 

Music... my true refuge!

My main system... 2 channel

Vonschweikert VR-7's
Balanced Audio Technology (BAT) VK-75SE (tube amp)
Django Passive transformer based pre --- SB-102 transformers
Cary Audio 306/SACD player -
Acoustic Zen cables
Equitech 2Q balanced power isolation power transformer

I am balanced from top to bottom in audio and power. I also have a dedicated listening room with acoustic treatments.. Got to find some pics..

Home theater system

NHT speakers with a Vonschweikert LCR-15 center
M&K sub (awesome house shaking bass)
Sony TAE-9000ES digital pre-pro
ATI amp
Sony HDTV 41" tube TV.
Panasonic XP-30 DVD player

 

When I not driving, I listening...

Today's 2 Channel Flavor:

ZU Druids -
ZU Labtec cables
MBL 1621 Transport
Wadia DAC
SqueezeBox - Music Server
BAT VK 51-SE - (temporary)
BAT VK-55 - (temporary)

I'm lovin my ZUs!!! What's your favorite new recording?

 

Home Theater:
Samsung 30" ultrathin tube HDTV
Sony TA-E9000ES Digital Processor/Preamp
Sony TA-N9000ES Five-Channel Amp
Pioneer Elite DV-47a
Heavily modded Xbox
Energy Veritas 2.4 front speakers
Radius 9 surround speakers
Monster Power AVS-2000 voltage stabilizer
Self-built subwoofer based on the NHT-1259 driver

 

I wouldn't say audiophile, thanks to the lossy ditigal recording format I use and the lack, currently, of a proper listening environment, but I loves me music!

Current setup is a Pioneer multi-channel DTS receiver/decoder brain, an NHT home theater rig including a super sub with SA-2 sub amplifier, four superzero sats, a supercenter center, and sourcing a Sony DVDR (Gx-7) which would play CDs and Audio 5.1 DVDs on the rare opportunities we do so. I connect my (recently liberated from my person) Ipod Video for tunes.

For home theater video, I use the Sony for DVDs, an HDTV DVR, on a Panasonic 42" Plasma...

Of course, the audio, or video, phile quality is significantly reduced by living in a loft and not having the proper viewing confinement to properly create the soundscape necessary. Ha! I do miss having a proper home theater set-up. But it's still good stuff all the same.

 

Altec Lansing FX6021!!

Have mercy on me, I'm just a college student with not but a bedroom.... Someday though.

 

More of a videophile, if that is a word. Just bought a 42" Panasonic Plasma and Pioneer receiver, connected to Panasonic DVD player, xbox, ipod, computer, and towers for all speakers (minus the center channel - 2 with 4 8's, 2 with 12's, and 2 with 15's). I cant wait to move out of the condo and really crank it up.

 

Denon 3805 reciever
Pioneer 578-AS universal disc player (Yay SACDs!!)
Axiom M60 mains
Axiom VP-150 center
Axiom QS-8 surrounds (these things are friggin awesome)
Axiom EP-350 sub
a mix of different brands of cables (not that boutique cables make a difference...but that's a whole 'nother can of worms!! )

oh yeah and Panny 50-PHD80UK plasma!!

 

Home Theater:
Anthem AVM-20 v2.21 Pre/Pro
Outlaw Audio 7100 7-channel amp
Paradigm Reference Studio 20s (mains)
Paradigm Reference Studio CC (center)
Paradigm Mini Monitors (surrounds)
Paradigm Titans (rears)
Dual SVS 16-46 CS+ powered by a Samson S-1000 amp
Behringer BFD
Monster Power Center HTS-3500
Denon DVD-2900 Unniversal DVD/DVD-A/SACD player
Rotel RCC-1055 5 Disc HDCD changer
HD DVR cable box
OTA HD Tuner
JVC 32" HDTV
video game systems

Music Room:
Paradigm Reference Studio 60s
Paradigm PS-1000 sub
Marantz MA-500 monoblocks

Kitchen:
Paradigm Reference Studio SA-10 in ceiling speakers
Adcom GFA-535 amp

Living room
Denon 3803 receiver
PSB Image 5-T mains

All rooms interlinked through the Anthem. I can have whatever I want go to whatever room I want.

www.cube17576.com

 

[SIZE=2]A Paradigm fan, you have such good taste !

I am a pro sound and video tech. I wanted a system that could
rock the house and give me the detail and clarity of the
JBL Vertech concert rig that I've mixed on. ( these are used by most major touring acts ) just on a smaller scale, and within my budget,of course.

I have a home theater that doubles as a critical listening room.
I have Paradigm Reference Studio 100's with the matching center and surround speakers. I use no subwoofer because the paradigm 100's are flat down to 30 Hz ( the way I set them up I actually have a 3 DB rise at 30 Hz
to add effect) , and they will go down to 20 Hz, you just have a drop in efficiency to 20 Hz. The system is not EQ'd, I get my response through
room acoustics and placement. I also liked (but did not purchase) Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home speakers. They were a bit warmer and slightly more "musical" than the Paradigms, but they didn't do nearly as well as the
Paradigms when it came to detail or home theater applications, and at twice the price fo the Paradigms, the Ref Studio 100's won out.

My AV receiver is a Denon 3805. The best bang for the buck at the time (IMHO). It has 125 watts per channel, but I use a Carver PM 1.5 on the mains. (rated 750 watts per channel into 4 Ohms if memory serves)

I balanced the surround system by bumping up the output of the center
and surround speakers. Because I don't use the front pair of amps in the Denon, I have ample power from the power supply to drive the center and surround speakers. ( all of the amps in an AV receiver share one power supply, so with this configuration there is more reserve power)

For critical listing, the Denon has a "Pure Direct" mode that lets me shut down all of the extra surround amps, digital features and processing, giving me what is essentially a high quality pre amp attached to that monster Carver. The results are amazing.

For my viewing pleasure, I have a 65 inch HD 1080 High Def CRT projection TV made by Mitsubishi. ( can't remember the model the model off the top of my head)

I didn't buy a plasma because they were very expensive and undependable at my time of purchase.( I had installed 50 plasmas at work at that time, so TRUST me, I know..) Although plasmas have better detail (especially on text) the color saturation and black levels on the Mitsu rivaled the plasma, and at about 25 % of the cost. The downside was the shear size and weight of the TV, but my listening room is 16 x 25, so size was not an issue, and I didn't carry it.. ;-)

My favorite DVD to show off the system is the Eagles "when hell freezes over" . It's the best live mix that I've ever heard. Diana Krall CDs are great too, and Telarc's production of "Firebird Suite" is a must to show off any system.

This was be best system I could put together within my budget,
and it never dissapoints.

Happy motoring ( and listening)


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The Studio 100s are nice. Good to see you driving them with a good amp. They need the power. My 60s just eat up the power the monoblock give them.

You really might want to consider a good sub. There is more sound than you think beyond what the 100s can produce. My subs give me flat respose down to 13hz. It is amazing the effect they add to a movie.

 

I know the value of a good sub ( after all, no concert rig could or woud go without subs..) but for critical listening, The lack of coehesiveness caused by
seperating the lows into a sub can be distracting for me. when listening to music, you rarely go below 30 Hz, and like I said, I'll get to 20 Hz, just with a loss of about 3 to 6 db ( also _very_ annoying, but it doesn't happen often.)

I completely agree with you that where a sub REALLY comes in handy is with movies, without a doubt! All of that low end comming out of the fronts ( the 100's) can (at times) take away from the clarity of what ever else is going on. And when it comes to low end effects, nothing rivals a dedicated sub (or two !)

With that being said, if you lived in my area, and I played a movie for you,
you would be _amazed_ at the low end that I get. I've had musicians, techs,
producers and such all listen to the system, and no one believes me when I tell them that there is no sub.

I will buy a sub when I find one that I really like.
I have not auditioned the PS 1000. I've never seen one that is flat to 13 Hz ! I'll have to look that up.I'm very interested...

Your music room must kick butt ! I love the Mono blocks. Very nice system.

 

our current 'budget' system:

Canton CD50
Canton Ergo 31DC
Canton Plus XL
DefTech ProSub80
Yamaha RXV3300
Infocus SP5000
Stewart screen
Sony DVPS7000 DVD player (old school!)

After selling Proceed, Levinson, B&W.....we swore off 'audiophile' systems for more sensible setups.

The garage setup is an old Kyocera integrated amp, iPod, and Snell Type M's. It rocks!

 

The PS-1000 is the weakest point in my music system. It does NOT go to 13hz. I just use it to fill in the low end of the 60's from about 25hz - 50hz.

The Dual SVS 16-46CS+s in my HT are the beasts that are flat to 13hz in my room. They are helped by using a Behringer BFD digital equalizer. Their native tuning is 16hz. If you have any doubts, just look at their size, and they are being driven by 500 watts each.

http://www.cube17576.com/images/svs1646.jpg

 

Thanks for the info. I was wondering how I missed a paradigm sub that went so low... I didn't ! I'll look up that link. Thanks for the info.

 

Here's mine, it's a modest 2 channel system, many ebay purchases and some elbow grease rehabbing the speaker cabinets.

Furman PL-PLUSDM power conditioner
Marantz AV600 preamp
Hafler P1000 2 channel amplifier 50 watts into 8 ohm I think
Marantz VC5200 5 disc dvd changer
Motorola HD-DVR box
Panasonic 50-PHD8UK 50" plasma
Altec Lansing A7-500 "Voice of the Theater" main speakers

All audio and video connected using Vampire Wire

Here's a pic

 

Now that is a sweet monitor!! I got mine in Feb. and have yet to have anything look bad on it. (except for SD television) Watching the intro movie for Gran Turismo 4, my wife thought it was actually a film vice CG graphics!

 

I was playing around with mid hi-fi equipment before getting the mini...but all the funds are now going toward mods for it instead of into more stereo equipment!

This is where I stand currently.

Panasonic 50" Plasma

Speakers: AV123 Rocket RS1000 front, RS750 rear, RSC200 center, RSS300 sides, pair of UFW 12's for subs

Preamp: Anthem AVM-30

Amps: Sunfire Symphonic Reference and Sunfire Cinema Grand

DVD: Denon 2900

Music Server: Network server to Hush mini-PC on the rack; M-Audio USB Audiophile

Additional:
Perpetual Technologies P1-A (with Speaker Only Correction Software), and P-3a with Monolithic Power Supply

AV123 R-DES X 2 (sub equalization)

 

Home system:

Rotel RSP-1068
Rotel RMB-1077
Pioneer JDM player(for the kid's anime from Japan)
Waiting on getting a new Blue-Ray DVD player
Fujistu 50" plasma
B&W 703 fronts
B&W HTM7 center
B&W 705 rears
Velodyne DD12 subwoofer
HD SAT going in in the next few months
Monster Cable wiring and power centers for everything.

I may add a Request 2.250 ausio server to this soon, but I'm still deciding.

Work system:

Too much to list as I work in a high-end home audio/video store.

No car system yet, but that's because I don't have the car yet . Still waiting on the ship to dack.

I've spent the last three years doing home ausio and the previous 15 years doing car audio with 11 years before that as a musician so I'm picky about what i want stuff to sound like. I'd love to have a dedicated two channel system but I'm also realistic, I have two kids, aged 5 & 3, when woudl I ever get time to listen to it?:impatient

 

I´m done for now...

Cary 300B SEI amp
Cary 301 CD player (tubed- mullards)
Linn lp 12
EAR 834p phono stage
Victrola for 78´s
Jean Marie Reynaud- Evolution 3

very nice on classical, jazz, vocals.

 

the greatest set of speakers i used to own where synthese (mine where all white..this pic isn't mine)



here's the website klik

 

Linn LP12/Ekos II/Klyde/Lingo analogue turntable
Linn Linto MC preamp
Linn Ikemi cd player
Linn Klimax Chakra stereo amp
Linn Klimax Kontrol preamp
Dunlavy Aletha speakers

 

Here's my econo set up
Panasonic HD Projector to a 92" screen
12 ft by 13ft sound insulated media room
Pioneer 914 reciever (6.1) preamped fronts,center and rear surrounds
2 "old school" pioneer slaves for the pre-amps 150watt per channel each
JBL E50 fronts
JBL E35 center
Boston Acoustic in-wall surrounds
JBL E10 rear surrounds
JBL 400 watt sub
Infinity 150 watt sub
Jenson 120 watt sub (JBL driver)
Denon 1920 DVD player
Dish Network HD setup
approximately 1watt per cubic foot of room

 

pretty simple setup here

Harmon-Kardon HK3480 Stereo Receiver
Terk FM Pro antenna in the attic with a long 75 ohm feed
Polk 10a loudspeakers
Yamaha CD changer and Yamaha cassette tape deck
Soundcraftsman graphic equalizer
Philips 877 turntable and Shure V15 MR cartridge (not currently using).

 

It works for me....

20" Vizio VX20L LCD HDTV (Just purchased brand new)
Apple iPod Hi-Fi (This thing absolutely rocks, virtually no distortion at max volume. Replaces old 1992 Sony Rack stereo system)
4GB 1st Gen Apple Nano (All music in Apple Loss Less format)
Panasonic A120 DVD Player with digital audio ports (Toslink cable connected to Apple hi-fi)

Cheap, space saving and gets the job done...