Not so bad

by snofun3 on Home Theater

Description

I started with good audio systems about 30 years ago, with my first being a Pioneer 727, EPI 100's, and a Philips turntable. I still have fond memories of that set-up.

Since then the two channel system morphed into a Home theater / surround system about 15 years ago, with 2 channel being the primary emphasis, which is why I have seperate amps for the mains and the center/surround speakers.

This system is in a 28x30ft basement of a townhouse with 4 full windows that makes the video a challenge at times. I've decided I won't go with a projector because of the amount of ambient light in the room. I will be looking for a 70+ DLP or D-ILA screen in the near future.

I had dedicated AC and grounds installed when I moved in, and there's LOTs of outlets everywhere so I can move things around and not worry about power.

I do about 30% movies, 30% concert DVD's and 40% music. I'm surprised more people haven't gotten into concert DVD's. Best of all worlds - you're in comfortable surroundings, virtually on stage with great performers, with a sound system that will never be duplicated in a concert venue.

The Sunfire / Bryston / Martin Logan combination works well in any mode.
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Components Toggle details

    • Martin Logan Ascent
    These Ascent i's were an upgrade from some SL3's, and have all the positive attributes of the SL3, while sounding bigger and better in every way. This pair has the ETC spikes and light cherry rails.
    • Martin Logan Aerius i
    I love these things. I have them mounted up 2 feet so I get the stat panel sound at my sitting position. If I ever get the Ascent i's, I'll move the SL3's to the rear and the Aerius i's somewhere else. Wonderful little speaker.
    • Martin Logan Cinema
    Works well with the SL-3's, but I'd like to try the Theater i to see what it sounds like.
    • Revel Performa B-15
    I think I've tried all the different subs, and the only thing I liked better was the Aerial SW12, but it's $2k more. I'll probably add a second B-15 sometime just for complete overkill, but it's fully adequate with one in a 30x 22 room.
    • Sunfire Theater Grand III
    I think this thing is way underrated for both Surround and as a two channel preamp. Great sound, Burr Brown Dac's as found in much more expensive pieces, analog pass through, incredible flexibility and (yes) a couple of guilty pleasure gimmicks. But the Sonic Hologram is digital in this one, and it's effect is sometimes stunning. The Perfect Vision gave this one a strong recommendation, but I know there's a lot of snickers because it's Sunfire. I've tried a number of other pre's, and the only one that I'd consider buying over this is the Casablanca. The only thing I wish it had was the potential to set speaker crossovers and other parameters differently for the different sources.
    • Bryston 4B-ST
    Nice piece with lots of reserves, and mates very well with the "tubey" sounding Sunfire. I characterize it as neutral sounding, and it sure grabs the woofers by the cajones and won't let go.
    • Anthem MCA5
    This used to be my main amp and now does surround and center channel duty. A great bang-for-the-buck piece, with some nice features such as signal sensing turn-on so the Martin Logans aren't always turning on like they would if it was just a 12V trigger. Very neutral sounding.
    • Denon DCM-350
    A non descript changer that works fine as a transport.
    • Enlightened Audio Design DSP-7000
    I tried quite a few DAC's, including very highly rated in various mags, and found this one to do a great job. Works well with the Denon changer.
    • Pioneer DV47a
    Universal DVD, DVD-A and SACD player. Video is better than its audio performance, but I won't be making any more significant investments in DVD-A or SACD until there's a LOT more source material. This unit has had reliability issues too, so I won't get another Pioneer.
    • Transparent Super and Ultra
    Found thse to be the most neutral in this system. I like to enjoy the system and don't want to obsess over cables, so I tried a few brands and settled on Transparent.
    • Transparent Super Bi-wire
    Like the interconnects, I found the Transparent to have the most neutral resolution, and thought the Supers were the best value.
    • Transparent Plus and Super
    I am far less convinced than many others here regarding aftermarket power cables, so I went with Transparent's after my experience with the interconnects and speaker cables, as well as my dealings with the Transparent factory which was truly excellent.
    • Monster 7000
    Annoying that this thing reads 120v, 122v, 119v, but it's plugged in to the AVS 2000, that's supposed to give 120v all the time. I emailed Monster and they had a half dozen reasons why it doesn't matter - calibration, variance etc. Geeesh, for a combined $2700 they should say what they mean!
    • Moonster AVS2000
    Sometimes my wall voltage is 4 volts off according to this thing, and I have dedicated AC. Wow. seems to work as advertised.
    • Monster HTS2500
    Power conditioner. Because of the distance of the ML's and the TV to the big power conditioner, I plug the speakers and TV into this, then into the AVS 2000. Seems like a better solution than power cord extensions, particularly for the TV. It sits flat up against the TV.
    • Hitachi 57 - Ultravision
    Unbelievable HD picture. Good on DVD and regular cable. Hasn't been calibrated yet. I want to go bigger, but insist that the new tube has to have two DVI or HDMI inputs for cable and HD-DVD. Looks like only Hitachi has that (in the 70 inch DLP set).
    • Auralex 2 inch foam
    Guys, if you haven't tried this stuff you're making a mistake. I see some really nice systems on here with bare walls, and I'm almost crying to send some out. Look, it's cheap - 2 x 4 piece is $20 at Guitar Center, and works like mad. It also comes in multiple colors and shapes - look at their site - www.auralex.com. You can even email them with a picture of your room and they'll work with you. Before you make your next investment in equipment, spend $100 - $200 on this stuff and be prepared to be amazed!
    • Auralex Bass Traps
    $29 at Guitar Center. Will make a $1,000 difference.
    • Salamander 2 x 5 Archetype
    Good rack - holds a LOT of heavy stuff and doesn't complain. Very sturdy. Optional casters make moving it around convenient, but it's still a nail biter with all that equipment on it. Infinitely adjustable shelves are great when you change equipment a lot. Also can change arrangement to put shelves side by side - nice system but more than a bit overpriced, and always check your box - Salamander isn't the best at making sure everything is there which is a real pain when you're trying to get it set up, then have to wait a week for a bolt or top cap.

Comments 39

Showing all comments by amperidian.

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I don't know how shunyata fares compared to monster in dedicated lines ... I don't have any, one of the downsides of renting an apartment... but I did use monster's HTS 5100 prior and was warned to avoid piggybacking the 7000 AC filter on top of it by a retailer due to current limiting issues. The monster gear worked really well for video, but that's where its benefits ended in my system ... introducing the hydra was like opening up the music and lifting the veil off ... the difference was obvious ... I now use shunyata in both systems and would recommend it for sure ... see if you can audition one (with a 20 amp IEC powercord for it), that way you'll know for sure if it works for you. If not PS Audio, Sound Applications, Richard Gray and Transparent Audio may be of interest to you ... I have come to think that powerconditioning is key to getting the best out of a system ... as is proper isolation.

The Aeon'i are part of my HT system ... which is more or less mid-fi ... certainly not as well setup as your system, but I still love the sound coming out of it ... it has that electrostatic appeal on a moderate budget (Logos, Clarity surrounds, Audio Refinement Pre-2 DSP and Multi-5 amp, Modwright Sony NS999ES universal player with external powersupply, all ic's from pre to amp are Revelation Audio Labs (RAL) paradise, ic's from player to pre are monster sigma retro gold, digital ic to pre is also RAL's prophecy (for movies only, music is played via pure analog path only), sc's are cardas cross to fronts and mit to rears, an older shunyata hydra 4 with a variety of powercords from audioquest/shunyata/RAL/cardas throughout) ... a small headphone system runs off it as well (Musical Fidelity X-can3 with Sennheiser 600's and the cardas headphone cable, ic's are cardas neutral reference) ... bass is augmented by a Tannoy TS 10 sub, but I prefer to run the Aeon i's full range for music, the Tannoy can't really keep up with them so it's limited to movies and I'm limited in the low end for music playback by the Aeon i's output here ... putting them on granite blocks helped a bit.

My other system is where the magic happens ... there I plan to listen to a few tracks from a CD and end up until my wife wants to go to bed ... which unfortunately is in the same room ... can't have it all! Together with my wife we chose cones for this system (Revelation Audio Mistral S6 with sub6, these are wonderfully emotional sounding speakers that blew us away at the Montreal show this year) and we have no regrets ... I used to think electrostatics were the only choice for music or movies, but I've come to realize that some cones have a certain way of communicating emotion like no other electrostatic out there ... weather it's due to coloration or not is irrelevant ... in this system they are amazing.

amperidian

Great system snofun, I use the Ascent i's in my second system and they are very nice and sooooo open, like electrostatics of course. I see you've addressed the bottom end with a revel (those things are scary in terms of the output that they're capable of ... for movies of course) ... just wanted to say congrats, your work is awesome.

Have you ever considered shunyata powerconditioning instead of the monster gear that you use now?

amperidian

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