JonL's Main Mess

JonL

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Vinyl source 1 - B&O TX-2, SoundSmith SMMC-2

Vinyl source 2 - Thorens TD-125, Shure M75MB or Grado Green

Arm (on Thorens) - Thorens TP-25

Tape source 1 - Teac A3300S Reel to Reel

Tape source 2 - Denon DRM-800A Cassette

(Following digital sources are rarely used, perhaps 5% of the time)

Digital source 1 - Sony DVP-NS77H

Digital source 2 - Macbook via Airport

Digital source 3 - iPod Touch

Digital source 4 - iPod video, 30 GB (like the Classic)

Auxiliary source selector - dbx 200

Preamp - Audible Illusions Modulus 2D. Amperex 6DJ8s in phono stage, Toshibas in line stage.

Tuner - Scott 350

Antenna - Parsec Arc powered antenna

Amplifier - Dynaco Stereo 70. Original Mullard EL34s, Raytheon and RCA 7199. Modestly upgraded coupling caps (Mallory 150) and Van Alstine bandwidth limiter modification.

Main speakers - Klipsch La Scala. Type AA crossovers recapped with Dayton film caps.

Speaker Stands - One speaker's on the floor, one is on a homemade riser so it would clear the baseboard and nest in that corner on the left.

Interconnects- Homemade from component video cables (courtesy of Cablevision) and Neutrik connectors

Speaker Cables - 14 gauge zip cord

Power cables - Whatever came with the various equipment

Power Conditioning - None

Rack - Ikea Expedit

Music listened too - Blues, Jazz, Rock, Twang, Folk, Classical, Broadway Shows

Here's a pic of my embarrassingly poor and sloppy layout. I've been struggling for months trying to figure out how to make this more elegant with my space constraints. (It's all in a 12 x 12 room that is my bedroom and living room.) Having this picture posted may shame me into doing something better sooner. BTW, hiding behind the Teac is an Akai 4000DB that's not currently in use. And supporting the Scott tuner on the floor is a Conrad-Johnson MF-200 that's not in use.

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • System.jpg
    System.jpg
    64.2 KB · Views: 953
Looks like a lot of fun Jon. I have a question: Do you forgo having any kind of power conditioning on purpose, or is it just something there's no budget for, etc? I ask because I recently went from power conditioner to basically straight into the wall, and there was a tremendous and unexpected improvement in the sound.
 
It's funny, when I looked at the pictures I though "Man, that looks like a lot of fun" and that was Mr. Lin's first comment as I scrolled down the page. I hope its as much fun as it looks! I'm just happy to find somebody in need of a dedicated rack as much as I am..maybe we can buy in bulk? :)
 
Looks like a lot of fun Jon. I have a question: Do you forgo having any kind of power conditioning on purpose, or is it just something there's no budget for, etc? I ask because I recently went from power conditioner to basically straight into the wall, and there was a tremendous and unexpected improvement in the sound.

I guess I view power conditioning as low priority for my limited funds. I've managed to put this whole system together for under $2000 spread out over two or three years. I wouldn't mind having a device that stabilized my line voltage, but I haven't found anything that looked reasonable and affordable to me. Beyond that, my technical understanding and intuition tells me that power conditioning just isn't terribly important unless there's something seriously noisy on the line. If I get some audible effect from AC line noise once in a blue moon it ain't gonna kill me. I think the transformers, rectifiers, chokes, and capacitors already in each piece should do a pretty good job of supplying "clean enough" DC. I know not everyone would agree, and perhaps they are right. I've not had the opportunity to try any power conditioning so I've got no direct experience.

I'll bet it sounds great.

Thanks! I like it a lot. Unfortunately I don't know anyone else who's got gear of comparable or better quality, so I can't compare my rig to anything else. Actually maybe that's a good thing, since I'm pretty happy now and don't need an even worse case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

La Scalas in a 12x12 room? That's ridiculous.

I agree! :D Especially with 35 WPC feeding them. Despite the ridiculousness, it's astonishing how I can sit four or five feet away from these monsters, and they simply disappear. The soundstage and imaging is really wonderful. I also do a lot of listening at extremely quiet levels (late at night with neighbors on the other side of very thin walls) and the La Scalas still sound beautiful. Even at those whisper-quiet levels, I still sense the impact of bass and snare drums, can still hear all the detail and separation between voices and instruments. Really nice.

I like this! Pictured as it is in full use.

And it was when I took the picture!

Awesome gear!

Rome

Thanks!

Cool stuff!

It's funny, when I looked at the pictures I though "Man, that looks like a lot of fun" and that was Mr. Lin's first comment as I scrolled down the page. I hope its as much fun as it looks! I'm just happy to find somebody in need of a dedicated rack as much as I am..maybe we can buy in bulk? :)

It is fun. I don't know if you can make out the pile of 6DJ8s laying on top of the cable box. All I have are used examples and the AI Modulus preamp will make short work of the weak ones. I leave all the screws out of the top of the preamp since I'm swapping tubes around every couple of weeks. Sometimes its frustrating, most of the time its a lot of fun.

Very nice.

Thanks!

Here's an open invitation to all AKers to stop by for a listen if you're ever in my neck of the woods!
 
Very nice. Not messy to my way of thinking! What's that guitar on the wall, an old Martin?
 
Didn't realize you were a Klipsch guy.. I would love to stumble on some Scalas myself... Love the Khorns, but I always liked how the the Scalas are more of a rock and roll ride..

Very nice setup there Jon.
 
Very nice. Not messy to my way of thinking! What's that guitar on the wall, an old Martin?

It's a rare 1927 Gretsch tenor guitar that I found in the trash about a block from my house. Its construction is EXTREMELY Martin-like, to the point where I suspect it was built by Martin for Gretsch... but none of my research supports that belief. I started a thread on it a while ago, I'll post a link tomorrow. Since I found it and did a bunch of research on it, I've only turned up about four other examples of this and a similar model. Unfortunately the guitar is literally falling apart and has numerous cracks. Estimate to repair is $4000, the guitar is probably worth around $500, so it's current role in life is to be artwork. I may read up and carefully repair it myself someday. I'd love to play it and hear how it sounds.
 
Back
Top Bottom