Post your stereo system!

mrussel1

I hear good things about anything Music Hall. I have a Pro-Ject Carbon debut. I bought it when I wasn't sure if I would dig vinyl. Unfortunately I really do. I'd really like to get a VPI Scout 1.1....or any VPI frankly.

I use a squeezebox touch which has a solid built in DAC, and handle 24/96. For critical listening, I use the digital out and send to my Yamaha ESS ES9006 24/192 DAC. When listening through the multiple zones, I have to use the analog out on the SB, therefore the slightly inferior DAC. It's annoying that most AVR's won't play digital in multi-zone.

lolobugg

Mrussel's got a squeezebox.

mrussel1

lolobugg said:

Mrussel's got a squeezebox.

Mommy never sleeps at night....

lolobugg

mrussel1 said:

lolobugg said:

Mrussel's got a squeezebox.

Mommy never sleeps at night....

mrussel1

lolobugg said:

mrussel1 said:

lolobugg said:

Mrussel's got a squeezebox.

Mommy never sleeps at night....

Hadn't listened to that song for years... but has great lyrics! Thanks for reminding me.

MedozK

mrussel1 said:

I hear good things about anything Music Hall.

I enjoy mine, but I hope to get a VPI someday.

tempo_n_groove

mrussel1 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

MedozK said:

dudeman said:

tempo_n_groove said:

MedozK said:

dudeman said:

I have been a big fan of Onkyo CD players. Great bang for the buck.

Yep, the Onkyo C-7030 CD player is an exceptional player for the money.

Silly question... Or maybe not?

How can a CD player be a better quality sounding than another? It's digital.

Circuit topology, quality of components, build quality, DAC....these all contribute to the experience of the end listener.

This ^

Is A DAC. A game changer? All my CDs should be played through this?

I think it depends how you are connected from your CD player to your pre/amp, integrated or AVR. For example, if you are connected through old school analog cables, you are using the DAC in your CD player. If you are using the optical or digital output on the cd player, then you would be using the DAC within the pre amp/AVR, etc. That's because the cd player is sending a digital signal and the pre amp now decodes it.

Whether it's important or not depends on the rest of your chain of components. You are only as good as your weakest link (AVR, speakers, etc.) So you may not have a tremendous DAC in your CD player but if your speakers are no better, improving the CD player makes no difference. It all just leads you to spend more money.

You've seen what I run. Sony disc changer into a Pioneer 8500II amp which pushes HPM-100 big ass speakers.

mrussel1

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

MedozK said:

dudeman said:

tempo_n_groove said:

MedozK said:

dudeman said:

I have been a big fan of Onkyo CD players. Great bang for the buck.

Yep, the Onkyo C-7030 CD player is an exceptional player for the money.

Silly question... Or maybe not?

How can a CD player be a better quality sounding than another? It's digital.

Circuit topology, quality of components, build quality, DAC....these all contribute to the experience of the end listener.

This ^

Is A DAC. A game changer? All my CDs should be played through this?

I think it depends how you are connected from your CD player to your pre/amp, integrated or AVR. For example, if you are connected through old school analog cables, you are using the DAC in your CD player. If you are using the optical or digital output on the cd player, then you would be using the DAC within the pre amp/AVR, etc. That's because the cd player is sending a digital signal and the pre amp now decodes it.

Whether it's important or not depends on the rest of your chain of components. You are only as good as your weakest link (AVR, speakers, etc.) So you may not have a tremendous DAC in your CD player but if your speakers are no better, improving the CD player makes no difference. It all just leads you to spend more money.

You've seen what I run. Sony disc changer into a Pioneer 8500II amp which pushes HPM-100 big ass speakers.

Yeah, I'm sure your PIoneer amp doesn't have a DAC since it is vintage, so you're using your Sony cd DAC. But at the end of the day, a person likes what they like and there is a lot of placebo effect as well. I was in a Magnolia store the other day demo-ing some bookshelf speakers. And for me, I'm so used to the B&W sound, that their little 686 books sounded better than Sonus and other speakers that cost 5x as much. It's really just a hobby like anything else. You can trick yourself into wanting more/better. Nothing wrong with that so long as you're aware of it.

BIGDaddyWil

MedozK said:

mrussel1 said:

I hear good things about anything Music Hall.

I enjoy mine, but I hope to get a VPI someday.

I would love a VPI, or the new one from Shinola. It has a VPI tonearm and put together in Detroit.

https://www.shinola.com/runwell-turntable-limited-edition.html

You'll be able to switch out the modular pre-amp.

mrussel1

BIGDaddyWil said:

MedozK said:

mrussel1 said:

I hear good things about anything Music Hall.

I enjoy mine, but I hope to get a VPI someday.

I would love a VPI, or the new one from Shinola. It has a VPI tonearm and put together in Detroit.

https://www.shinola.com/runwell-turntable-limited-edition.html

You'll be able to switch out the modular pre-amp.

Nice looking table, but not sure I love a built in pre-amp. I like the flexibility of my own and of course one less thing that can break.

GC31608

Just finished setting up my system last week and totally enjoying it:
Pro-Ject RM-5.1 SE turntable
Vincent PHO-700 phono stage
Pro-Ject Speed Box SE II
Vincent SV-236MK integrated amp
Polk Audio LSiM 705 speakers

BIGDaddyWil

^^^^^^^Excellent looking set-up! Congrats!

mrussel1

Is that Vincent integrated a tube or a solid state?? That looks like a Tube light in the middle.

GC31608

BIGDaddyWil said:

^^^^^^^Excellent looking set-up! Congrats!

Thanks man!

mrussel1 said:

Is that Vincent integrated a tube or a solid state?? That looks like a Tube light in the middle.

It's a hybrid, the first 10 watts it pushes through are class A, then it switches to solid state. 10 watts are plenty loud. The phono stage also has a tube. Really great sound all around.

I'll eventually add a CD player and maybe a tape deck.

tempo_n_groove

GC31608 said:

BIGDaddyWil said:

^^^^^^^Excellent looking set-up! Congrats!

Thanks man!

mrussel1 said:

Is that Vincent integrated a tube or a solid state?? That looks like a Tube light in the middle.

It's a hybrid, the first 10 watts it pushes through are class A, then it switches to solid state. 10 watts are plenty loud. The phono stage also has a tube. Really great sound all around.

I'll eventually add a CD player and maybe a tape deck.

That storage rack is pretty cool. What's the story on that? Ventilated holes on the side.

GC31608

tempo_n_groove said:

That storage rack is pretty cool. What's the story on that? Ventilated holes on the side.

Thanks, it's a Bell'o M342. I love the fact it has hinged gas springs at the top to encase the turntable. This way I don't need to get a dust cover.

It actually only has 3 small ventilation slits at the bottom on each side. Since I have 2 components with tubes I felt it needed more ventilation than that. A friend of mine is a cabinetmaker and I sketched out what I needed and he worked his magic. I ordered mine from Best Buy, but Crutchfield is carrying them now too.

bflynn1

My cabinet is also a Bell'O (pics on page 7) and I love it. Mine has ventilation holes on each side, as well as on each shelf. I also purchased the Air Infinity T7 fan system and installed it on the cabinet. I set the fan to only kick on when the cabinet reaches a certain temp.

BIGDaddyWil

My vintage Pioneer gear......


SX-950 receiver


CT-F9191


PL-570


HPM-60 speakers



Music Hall 2.2 turntable


variac......to not burn out my vintage equipment.

GC31608

bflynn1 said:

My cabinet is also a Bell'O (pics on page 7) and I love it. Mine has ventilation holes on each side, as well as on each shelf. I also purchased the Air Infinity T7 fan system and installed it on the cabinet. I set the fan to only kick on when the cabinet reaches a certain temp.

Yeah, these A/V stands are sturdy and great quality.

I thought I was going to need a fan system too, but after a 6 hour listening session the other day the equipment was just warm even with the cabinet door closed.

GC31608

BIGDaddyWil said:

My vintage Pioneer gear......

Awesome Wil! I love the vintage gear. Some really great systems on these posts. Keep the pics coming folks.

bflynn1

GC31608 said:

bflynn1 said:

My cabinet is also a Bell'O (pics on page 7) and I love it. Mine has ventilation holes on each side, as well as on each shelf. I also purchased the Air Infinity T7 fan system and installed it on the cabinet. I set the fan to only kick on when the cabinet reaches a certain temp.

Yeah, these A/V stands are sturdy and great quality.

I thought I was going to need a fan system too, but after a 6 hour listening session the other day the equipment was just warm even with the cabinet door closed.

I've noticed the same thing haha. Thankfully the fan system wasn't too expensive.

tempo_n_groove

BIGDaddyWil said:

My vintage Pioneer gear......

HPM-60 speakers

Now you need to upgrade to HPM-100 speakers. You might have to upgrade the amp too but that's not always a bad thing!

Nice set up!

tempo_n_groove

Anybody live near Jim Thorpe PA?

mfc2006

holy shit....those last 2 posts with pictures have me drooling. I like my current setup, but an upgrade will be coming in the next year or two.

BIGDaddyWil

tempo_n_groove said:

BIGDaddyWil said:

My vintage Pioneer gear......

HPM-60 speakers

Now you need to upgrade to HPM-100 speakers. You might have to upgrade the amp too but that's not always a bad thing!

Nice set up!

Thanks bro! I've been looking for a near minty pair of HPM-100's. I've had a couple of local Craigslist deals fall through.

mrussel1

Okay, here's my gear that I keep upstairs. I finished this room myself and put in sound deadening material under the floor, rather than normal vapor barrier. I also put an exterior, insulated door to the downstairs for further sound proofing. The result is that even though it's right above the bedrooms, I can take it to about -15 with no one downstairs really hearing it. That's not too shabby..











Chain:
Pro-Ject Carbon Debut with Red ortofon and acrylic platter (not pictured)
Cambridge Audio Azur MM pre-amp
Yamaha RX-1030A serving as pre/pro
Outlaw Audio 5000 5 channel amp
B&W 683 S1 speakers and matching center
Pioneer Elite A35 2 channel integrated amp drives a pair of B&W bookshelves that are inside the stereo cabinet. I use this to listen to music if playing something on the PS4
Squeezebox Touch 24/96 DAC
Def Tech BP/A rear channel in wall speakers (behind couch)
Acoustech PL200 12" sub rear ported driver, 1000 watt internal amp
Def tech BP8 speakers on the other side of the room for full sound when shooting pool

reesdog

Great system, bet those B&W's sound very crisp, how old are they?

mrussel1

reesdog said:

Great system, bet those B&W's sound very crisp, how old are they?

They are probably 5 years old or so. They need a lot of power though. The Outlaw amp benches at 130 wpc, all driven, and when I switched from a 100 wpc that was really a marketing term from the old amp, they really woke up. Definitely power hungry speakers.

BIGDaddyWil

Beautiful set-up mrussel1!!!!!

GC31608

Very nice mrussel1! Great idea with all the sound proofing.