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.
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.
Hopefully this music is your cup-of-tea, because these are all excellent:
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense Steely Dan - Two Against Nature Stevie Ray Vaughn - Live from Auston Roger Watter - In the flest Rolling Stones - At the Max Rolling Stones - Four Flicks Sheryl Crowe - Rocking the Globe Live The Band - the last Waltz Led Zepplin - DVD
Check the threads, as there's been a couple of "best of" threads in the past 6 months. Enjoy.
Thanks for the Shunyatadescription. I talked with my dealer about the Shunyata and he echoes your words regarding it being a step (or two, or three) beyond the Monster, although he also has reservations on whether it's as effective with dedicated lines. He's a dealer for both, so I suspect he knows what's what. I'm traveling for the next couple of weeks but I'll borrow a piece from him when I get back. Best Regards.
Amperidian, Thank you for the nice words. Hmmm, if you use Ascent's in your second system, what's in the first? I haven't gotten too deeply into the power conditioning thing as I had all dedicated circuits installed when I moved in, so maybe I underestimate the effect. Given dedicated lines, do you think there would be much to be gained going from Monster to Shunyata?
Aroc - I agree with you on the potential for Dramamine with some of the amateurish video of big acts I've seen - even live Stevie Winwood in concert this summer was enough to make you try not o watch - what're they thinking? Don't assume they're all bad however - I suggest you try Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense, Steely Dan, Two Against Nature, Roger Waters -In The Flesh, Stevie Ray Vaughn - From Austin, Anything Roling Stones -(you can even "pick a Stone" on the latest DVD via the angle adjustment - 20 minutes of Keith? You'd better have an iron constitution), The Band - The Last Waltz....
Thanks Jim, This is the second time I've tried to respond, but the AGon nannies have been a bit over-the-top lately (a little heavy handed eh boys?) I'll be putting up some new pictures as that section of the room has changes quite a bit with a MicroKorg synthesizer and other goodies having gotten in. I know it's not a purist thing to have concert DVD's, but it would seem difficult to me to get too much closer to the real experience.
Keep in mind that Martin Logan (and I suspect Maggie) suggest that you set the center speaker as "small" on the processor, so the bottom end rolls over to the subwoofer.
I set the Logan to cross over at 80 cycles to the sub, and it works well there. The Maggie could require its own dedicated sub that you could add later.
Maybe others might know what matches best with Innersound. While it makes sense to go with the same technology, given your constraints, you might find something that's worked well for others that doesn't cost a fortune.
Thanks for the offer Creeper. One of the reasons for Lutron is that they have a 4-bay switching box (Grafic-Eye), and I have a 4 switch bay. I checked their site and they do have a dealer close by which is reassuring. I'll follow up with you off line, as I'm starting to get back into getting the lighting right, which I find is just as important with 2 channel as with home theater. I'm sure your experience will prove invaluable.
Skushino, Thank you for the kind words. Every guy that's been in the room sees it as a big boy's play room, and refuses to leave. All the women sort of roll their eyes, know exactly what's going on, and leave at the earliest opportunity. Hey, nobody gets hurt, and it's reasonably clean fun. I'd like to fit a bigger screen in, and am waiting on something thinner, but the RPTV's seem to have a better picture to me. I also want the TV with two DVI inputs for cable and DVD, but they're sort-of a rare beast today too.
I have a heavy blanket that gets rolled up under the center channel, and when I'm in a two channel mode, I cover the screen to avoid the reflections - it works reasonably well.
BTW - thanks for your ski pictures - honest I'll send some. Mammoth and Snowbird are still open!
Thanks Trackmagic, The lights are just $9.99 HD can lights behind the speakers pointing at the stats, and track lights with high intensity spot bulbs overhead pointing down. I only used this configuration for taking the pictures, but lights behind Logans is an old trick for a sexy look. Sometimes I only use the overhead spots on the speakers when watching a concert DVD. The can lights on the floor usually go behind the TV, in a very dimmed mode (5-10 watts) to avoid eye strain when watching a movie. The electrical for the lights is separate from the audio electrical, so I don't worry about dimming. I also have rope lights under the couch that go on with the cans behind the TV for movie watching mode. I look forward to incorporating a Lutron setup, when I can pre-program lighting modes, but I'm still working on my lighting. I have those gawd-awful flouresents in the ceiling, which I will soon replace with recessed lighting -then I'll get into the lighting "scene" thing. I'd rather spend $ on audio stuff than lights. If my kids brought all their guitars when they came over there would be 2 more guitars, and 2 more amps in the picture.
Thanks for the thought Cello. I haven't really looked at the Levinson line to see what works best with ML's. The 332 has both an aesthetic appeal, and my local shop had an Ascent i / 332 system together a while ago that sounded great. I'll have to solicit Logan owners to see what they think works best.
I've been at peace with the system for close to a year now, and haven't made any changes with the exception of room treatments. Just moving one panel can make a huge difference. I wish I had learned that earlier.
When I see some of the beautiful systems some members have, with bare walls/ceiling/floor surrounding it, I want to cringe. Maybe there's a WAF for some guys, but I don't have that problem, and I think the treatments look good in any case, but when there's a WAF, that doesn't count anyway.
The rack is two Salamader Archetype 5's put together using stacking couplers. (http://www.salamanderdesigns.com/archetype/archetype.jsp?modelbase=a5). Quite sturdy, and very handy to move around with the optional caster wheels. In the configuration you see there it's about $1,000. Search on "racks" in the threads, as there is a fair amount of recent discussion on DIY racks and appropriate materials.
System edited: I forgot to mention the Monster 2500 that the speakers and TV go into, that then goes into the AVS 2000. Can't be seen in the pictures - it sits upright on the left side of the TV
Thanks for the words Lugnut. I trust you have the SRV DVD's? For all out there - if you think any Stevie Ray Vaughn is double (or triple) tracked on the CD's - check him out live on DVD. It's all real time. Holy Crow.
