Audio Altar

by zmanastronomy on Budget Minded

Description

This is my humble listening room where I spend many hours before the Audio Altar. I have made my own acoustic room treatments from DuctBoard. The same thing as Corning rigid fibreglass but it has a black finish already on it. I done the whole room for $150. That included the 6inch bass traps in the corner and there's two treatments behind the curtains. After the room treatments where added the imaging was increadible. It was the best improvement I've ever heard. I didn't know that room treatments could make such a huge difference. I've also run a dedicated power supply for my CD player. The depth and width of the stage grew quite alot after that. So far I've been blessed with this system and with a friend that is an audiophile guru and bring over ICs and power cords to test out. It has so far saved me alot of time and money with searching for the right upgrades. I hope you enjoy the photos. zmanastronomy
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Components Toggle details

    • Custom 2024 Tripath
    No expense was spared in the building of this amp.
    24v battery power, Cardas binding posts, Fururtech RCA inputs. Very lively and neutral.
    • PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC

    I've heard DSD for the first time without resampling on my system today with this DAC.

    Sounds a lot better than I expected.

    • JW Audio Cryo Nova
    These are a great upgrade to my system.
    • JW Audio Reference
    These are a great improvement in my system.
    • JW Audio The Rock
    I built this rack myself. It turned out much better than I expected.
    • Gallo TR3d
    The Gallo sub is one of the only subs that can sound better than a floor standing speaker. It is so fast and clean, it's hard to make it sound bad. Integration with stand mounted speakers is too easy.
    • Elrod EPS-2 Signature
    I now have 4 Elrod signature PC's in my system. They have done wonders to my system.
    • Signal Transformer DU-2 (2000va)
    I have this isolation transformer wired in balanced mode. The noise floor droped considerably.
    I built this box to hide it.
    • Signal Transformer DU-5 (5KVA)
    I've added a second balanced transformer to my system. It's for my amp. Words can't describe the improvement it made. I am stunned.
    • William Schaefer Audio Design 4 column
    This is one very heavy duty stand. Filled with lead and sand, they weigh in at 105lbs each.
    • My Room Treatments
    Finnaly there's the treated room. THE biggest sonic upgrade I ever made. I didn't realize what I was missing until I added treatments. The imaging got so good I couldn't believe what I was hearing. If you've got a mega bucks system and don't have a treated room you're only tapping into 50% of the systems potential. I'm glad I took the step and treated my room. My meager system sounds the best it can now. I hope you enjoy the system photos and my attempt to write something. Thanks. zman
    • PorterPort Cryo treated AC outlet
    I use a dedicated AC line with a a PorterPort that Albert sent to me from Here at AG. The improvments in my system was a great leap forward. Without this outlet, I could have never accomplished what I have.
    • Custom LDR Tortuga
    Wonderfully transparent.
    • Sonus Faber Venere

    I just bought these based on reviews and I am very glad I did.

    They sound as good as they look. They didn't overwhelm my small room either. I've learned that front ported speakers are much better for a small room than rear ported.

    • Fanless PC for Server
    I've taken the plunge into Computer Audio. I'm running JRiver on my PC and have about 6tb of music to enjoy.

Comments 129

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Quad (very British) and Triangle (very French) are two very different sounds!

Triangle Titus and QUAD 12L2s would be a better apples/apples comparison than Cometes and Quads. I would expect a lot more extension and pizazz with teh Cometes.

mapman

Owner
Yes, they're 12L2's. I bought them at the same time I bought the Comete's. I put them on AGon for sale about thirty minutes after I received the Cometes. They sold in Two minutes after putting on the add.
Nothing against the Quad's, they just weren't what I was looking foor.

zmanastronomy

Was visiting your system again as I was looking for indeas on room treatment. In the pic "1315670087.jpg" (first pic on your page) I see a pair of speakers on the floor, on the right side. Are those the Quad 11/12s?

milpai

BTW, I think you system page name may be the best on A'gon in terms of saying how it is for many here.

Audiophiles truly do worship at the Audio Altar! No doubt about that!

I would love to upgrade my Titus speakers to the Cometes, but can't justify the additional expense currently. Also they would have to fit inside my Ethan Allen audio cabinets for WAF like the Titus do easily. In this far less than optimal configuration, its hard to justify spending more. With a proper setup, it would be a different story I think. I have set the Titus up solo in otehr rooms this way. The main issue solo is of course low end extension. The rest is lovely. Have never done an optimal setup with sub though, so I would probably want to cross that bridge first.

mapman

Owner
Thanks Hyper.
I've had Ayon Audio Spirit II, Melody I2A3, Audion Sterling and even a Virtue Audio TWO.
The Almarro has out performed all of those. The Ayon was a close second, but as far as bass drive, the A318B has every SET I've ever heard beat in that catagory. It's a very high current amp that has taken me off the amp search.

zmanastronomy

Great system and room. I've been curious about the Almarro. What amps have you used before it? What are your impressions?

hyperreal

Beautiful room and system.

I will take your ideas and apply to my next room. Try to take up another level.

How did you determine placement and size of the small treatment squares?

Check out my system and provide your insights.

Awesome job Zman.

lapierre

Owner
System edited: I added a Triangle Comete ES to my system and it's much better than the Titus 202.

zmanastronomy

That looks like a very nice setup for the Triangles!

Set up properly with a good sub they are simply very hard to beat at any price IMHO. One of the all time best audio values out there I would guess.

I suspect the jaws of many might drop if they heard the sound of a system like this compared to other popular larger and way more expensive speakers.

The Stereophile Class B rating was well deserved in teh case of the Titus'.

I may also look to move up the Triangle line someday if I get a few extra dollars to waste on more audio stuff sometime soon!

mapman

Owner
Sebrof. Great to hear from you. My offer still stands. You know what I'm talking about.
The Almarro and the Triangles are a match made in heaven.
It took a little getting used to the extreme speed of the Triangle.
The Velodyne has cleaner, tighter bass than the Lore's.
It's hard to believe but true.
I really thought it was going to be hard to replace the Lore, but the combo I'm speaking of is a real step forward.

zmanastronomy

Wow! That's a dramatic change in speaker set up. Let us know how it works out.

timrhu

Hey Zman - How does the Almarro work with the Traingles? Will you keep it or get another amp?

sebrof

Zman,

Honest mistake, I don't think anyone will call you out on it.

I was simply saying that I moved from Tekton OB 4.5s to the Viennas and solid state monoblocks. I would like to try your ICs at some point, but the addition of a subwoofer and a decent anolog rig is next on the list.

Evan

ekwisnek

Owner
System edited: I have sold my Tekton Lore's and replaced them with Triangle Titus 202 speakers and a Velodyne Optimum 8 sub-woofer. The sound is extremly clear and open with lazer focused imaging. The Velodyne has the most articulate bass so far in my listening room. No regrets at all. I'm still moving forward and having fun.

zmanastronomy

Owner
The responce I just posted was supposed to be an email to Ekwisnek. Sorry, I'm not trying to push my product. It was an honest mistake. I feel like an idiot.

zmanastronomy

Owner
I went to your system and didn't see anything about the Tektons.
I do see your using Anti-cables.
I make a cable that cost the same and will crush anti-cables. I also make IC's that will compete with anything at any price. I just thought I would let you know that for very little yen I can give you a giant leep forward.
I did see you went with a PS Audio digital and a Zero surge filter. Those are nice upgrades.
I went with some Triangle speakers and a Velodyne Optimum 8 subwoofer Hit me up.
ZZZZZZZZZman

zmanastronomy

I await said photos with bated breath! I also went in another direction from my Tektons, check it out if you have the chance :)

Evan

ekwisnek

Owner
I'll be updating photos and info in a few days.
I went a different direction and love it.

zmanastronomy

Zman,

I saw you just sold your Lores...

Something else on the way?

ekwisnek

Amen to your Audio Altar. Nice use of room treatments, they look handsome and blend well with the room. Your efforts look as if you would not find many objections from the better half. Mounted records make for a artful touch.

glenfihi

Owner
Hifi.
I have no photos of the ceiling treatments. But their the same as the wall treatments but attached to the ceiling at a primary reflection point. I used the mirror trick.

zmanastronomy

Do you have any pictures of the ceiling treatments? I think I could use something there too!

hifimaniac

Owner
Thanks Hifi and Timrhu for the kind words.
The room is quite small at 10X13.
But with the treatments, it has a great sound to it.
Very warm and inviting.
No reflections at all. I even put treatments on the ceiling. I didn't realize the amount of blur i was getting from the ceiling until I put a couple of treatments up there.

zmanastronomy

Lookin better every time I check your page.
Curious as to room dimensions?

timrhu

Beautiful listening room; you are to be commended for the arrangement. I'd like to try your sound treatment idea; looks great too! Far from humble looking; I bet many would love to have such a nice set up. I too worship in front of my twin idols.

hifimaniac

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