Atomic ranch living room system

In that era, most stereo (!) gear was placed (hidden) in low horizontal cabinets with sliding doors, usually with one or more cab devoted to LPs....your vertical stack (very pretty too) is the only thing that looks a bit out of place :)
Big sliders/ windows like that are hard to cover/insulate well in winter. I have a huge (16'w) insulated roll up power blind on mine, and haven't ever been able to figure out who made it. Works well, though, and the interior 'scrim' layer adds a bit of sound absorption.
Thanks for sharing!

Thanks. I've been trying to find something I like for the equipment/LP rack. I was leaning toward wall mounting the turntable and sitting an Eames Storage Unit underneath, but I feel I'm at my limit for Eames pieces. For floor protection I've glued gliders onto the base of the the chairs--the gilders are the nail in kind with a round cylindrical "nail" that works well to hold them in place. The downside is I can't access the screws that hold the nylon feet in place, but there's always a Dremel if I need to replace the glides at some point. As for the large windows, yes, it's a pain in the winter. There were shutters on them when I moved in, but they swung out too far into the room when open for my tastes, also making the room less functional.

That's crazy that there were no takers for your dad's Knoll. I imagine that must have been some time ago.
 
I should refresh my look at cabinets; the Eames unit sure is a 'standard', but I see there all kinds of similar de$ign$ out there now.
My dad (an arch.& eames enthusiast) built a number of 'clones' of their stuff in the '50s, including a 3 unit side-by-side audio cabinet system out of birch plywood, with alum channel rails for the sliding doors (which were masonite! and changed colors to suite whims).
He fabricated simple bent alum pulls for them, which were forever falling down and pissing him off:) Too bad they didn't have VHB tape in those days. They were about 14-6" high by 30" wide each, I think, but can find out for sure if desired. They sat close to the ground, which was ideal for 'sitting and playing records'!
I think at one point he even had a TT on slides in one of them. Would be dope simple to make with todays tools...
(I visited that home that he designed/built in the 50s this summer, and was very happy that the current (only 3rd) owners have taken such good care of it...and has an assessed value that would boggle my parents minds today! Had a number of unique features, like double insulated plate glass windows, with louvers above and below to manage airflow...still in use and unmolested today (but with newer glass).
I got a case of the nylon replacement feet for the(50+ yr old now!) molded fiberglass dining chairs I ended up with -- I think they're the same as used on those you have. Don't have wood floors at the moment, but is on the 'eventual' list!
I have a design in mind for a small two drawer wall mount 'dresser' using 1/2" Varia EcoResin (red) for the drawer fronts....but did try a wall mount TT shelf once, and found it to be waaay too 'bouncey' and picked up floor vibrations awfully easily...hard to get it stiff enough without bracing or a box below it.
Yah, the the Knoll sofa was from mid-late 70s, but my brother 'downsized' this summer and couldn't find any takers for it (Schenectady)...even I think tried to leave it for the new home owners...no deal. Not sure where it ended up.
My all time favorite for 'comfi-ness' was the Knoll Womb chair...but probably won't ever get one of those (no room; too much Eames!), unless I find someone willing to trade even steven for a Sofa Compact :) - not likely!
FWIW, my current house uses window quilts for many of the casement windows, and I'm danged impressed at how well those work, tight seal against drafts, and decent insul. value...and hold up well over time!
Enjoy your house & interiors...just something about that feeling of airiness, sunlight, and pleasing-but-fun design that makes it a Home....cocktail parties, and great music, indeed.
Thanks!
 
A couple of shots to show the Brio-R back in the system and the addition of the Schiit Mimby, area rug, and drapes (open so I could snap pics). I've also settled on the speakers about 16" off the back wall, 8 feet apart, roughly 10 feet from the sofa. I'll do a longer write-up when I have some time.



 
System update: Brio-R is out. Line Magnetic LM-211 is in. Put the Schiit Mani back. Pictures and impressions coming after burn-in
 
Can we see pictures before they are burned-in? Big Line Magnetic fan. Nice room, btw!

I always had to ditch the coffee table during listening sessions.
 
Nice-looking amp! How hot is it running? I've taken all of my tube amps out of rotation for the summer, save the little Monoprice in the bedroom (which gets little use anyway). It's over 90 degrees here already and it's just the first week of May..

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Nice-looking amp! How hot is it running? I've taken all of my tube amps out of rotation for the summer, save the little Monoprice in the bedroom (which gets little use anyway). It's over 90 degrees here already and it's just the first week of May..

It's running pretty warm. But it's not that much hotter than the Brio-R I just took out. I've got the tube cage on it now and I can touch it comfortably.
 
Jeez that's beautiful. That's worth a tiny bit of air conditioning anyway.

One imagines you have no babies or animals in residence there
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Jeez that's beautiful. That's worth a tiny bit of air conditioning anyway.

One imagines you have no babies or animals in residence there
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Correct. No kids or critters here. It is running pretty hot now as I've had it on for about 5 hours. Tube cage isn't so bad, but the transformer covers are past comfortably warm--though not sizzling hot.
 
A few more pics to show the system in the room with new "room treatments" and a shot of the view from listening position. I swapped the cheap curtains for wooden blinds, added another area rug, and I'm always adding more books. Sometimes I put large down cushions from my other chairs on the wooden Eames chairs and pull them between the speakers. I put the LM-211ia on top of an Eames wire base side table for now.

Still burning in the amp. Schiit Mani has been on for 24 hours now and is improving.

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Been making some small changes to the system and room these past few months. Rolled new production Tung-Sol EL34b and Gold Lion 12ax7 in place of the tubes that came with the LM-211ia. The Tung-Sols were a definite improvement over stock tubes, though not dramatically so. They improved bass response and control and midrange detail improved. I'm still on the fence with the Gold Lions. They sound clear and clean, but maybe they are bit dry for my tastes. They're not harsh, but definitely not as mellow as the stock tubes. The stock tubes seemed to smooth out the harshness of bad recordings. I'll give them a couple more weeks for my ears to (maybe) get used to them.

Also added some record storage from IKEA--not the Kallax/Expedit this time around. Using the Eket system as I wanted something a bit more compact. I'll post some pictures after a few more upcoming changes: Quadraspire rack should be here in a few days, on the waitlist for Tavish Design Vintage phono stage.
 
soul-beautiful room and setup, looks great, sure it sounds the part as well! I am curious, where did you get your LM integrated, if I might ask? I went down to the Haven south west of you in Edwardsville, Illinois. The shop keep there, Charlie stocks LM as well as a number of other tasty treats, had a good time there.

I also used to live in Fairmount, Illinois, still get to Champaign often as my step kids live there. I spent a lot of time at Glenn Poor’s as well as the old Good Vibes many years ago....anyway, sorry for all that, but nice to see your setup! Enjoy!

Tim
 
soul-beautiful room and setup, looks great, sure it sounds the part as well! I am curious, where did you get your LM integrated, if I might ask? I went down to the Haven south west of you in Edwardsville, Illinois. The shop keep there, Charlie stocks LM as well as a number of other tasty treats, had a good time there.

I also used to live in Fairmount, Illinois, still get to Champaign often as my step kids live there. I spent a lot of time at Glenn Poor’s as well as the old Good Vibes many years ago....anyway, sorry for all that, but nice to see your setup! Enjoy!

Tim

Thanks for the kind words. I picked up the LM from Charlie at Stereo Haven. I actually haven't been able to make a trip down there, but I plan on making a trip to listen to some speakers. Charlie had the amp delivered to me by Mike Pranka, the distributor for Well Tempered, who happened to be making a trip north. Mike urged me to get down there to check out the space, saying it really is a unique setting.

I live pretty close to Glenn Poor's and have had a couple of great chats with Geoff who, I believe, runs the joint.
 
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Yes I have known Geoff for a long time, probably since around 1981 or so, back when his shop was at the Round Barn area. Great guy really, and they have some extremely nice gear there too. Geoff always let me listen to most anything, and never once batted an eye at this young kid who didn't know much back then. Bought a pair of Pyramid Met 7's from him, and then later on, my first Magnepan, the MG1.

If you do get the chance, definitely go see Charlie, his "shop" is on the farm, and he has a couple of very nicely done rooms in the farm house, unique setting with very good acoustics. And if one loves analog medium, Charlie knows his stuff and sets things up very well. He also happens to have a very nice lineup of gear with Devore, Line Magnetic, Well Tempered Labs, Dynavector etc. Great stuff, well worth the visit, just make sure you give him advanced notice you are heading down. Pranka also is a good guy too.

Anyway, sorry for the slight thread diversion....
 
Yes I have known Geoff for a long time, probably since around 1981 or so, back when his shop was at the Round Barn area. Great guy really, and they have some extremely nice gear there too. Geoff always let me listen to most anything, and never once batted an eye at this young kid who didn't know much back then. Bought a pair of Pyramid Met 7's from him, and then later on, my first Magnepan, the MG1.

If you do get the chance, definitely go see Charlie, his "shop" is on the farm, and he has a couple of very nicely done rooms in the farm house, unique setting with very good acoustics. And if one loves analog medium, Charlie knows his stuff and sets things up very well. He also happens to have a very nice lineup of gear with Devore, Line Magnetic, Well Tempered Labs, Dynavector etc. Great stuff, well worth the visit, just make sure you give him advanced notice you are heading down. Pranka also is a good guy too.

Anyway, sorry for the slight thread diversion....

No need to apologize for the discussion--I think it's pretty relevant for a thread about putting a system together. I stopped in Geoff's shop one day just to pop in and see what was there. I ended up listening to three different systems he had set up--Maggies, an all Rega system, and some Wilsons driven by McIntosh gear. I didn't buy anything, but he was more than happy to chat even though he didn't have a tube amp in my budget--which is what I was looking for at the time. Charlie has been really great answering all my questions. I'm thinking of upgrading my speakers and Devore is a name that keeps popping up in my research. Charlie seems to carry gear that is mostly aspirational for me, but I've heard Devore speakers are designed to fit in a variety of spaces and their sound might work in the space I have.
 
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