Time for a bit of an update, as the room has been reshuffled, up-spec'd, and made more inviting and comfortable for the rest of the family. I really can't complain - my backside is a direct beneficiary of the new lounge and ottoman!
I haven't changed anything on the pure 2 channel front in terms of components:
- Sansui AU-alpha907MR as main amp
- Sansui AU-X711 to power speakers in al fresco area
- Gieseler Klein III DAC and Gieseler Kraftwerk PSU
- Squeezebox Touch and Gieseler PSU
- Elite Aesthet 1 Mk 2 speakers
The rest of the Sansuis and the Technics SL120 are in storage elsewhere in the house.
The gear has, however, been relocated to a modified cabinet to accommodate the large and heavy amps and centre speaker. As a result, my Canare 4S8 speaker cables have been halved in length which is a win!
The big change to the room is accommodating a TV and associated upgrades to allow my hifi gear to mate with a home theatre setup.
Key additions are a TV (Samsung Q75R 75"), a Denon 3312 home theatre receiver, and a lovely Silverline Center Stage centre speaker in birdseye maple which matches the finish of my Elite Aesthet I Mk 2 speakers.
The 3312 acts as a preamp for the left and right speakers, feeding signal to the Sansui AU-alpha 907MR which powers these speakers. The 3312 powers the Silverline Center Stage and also a pair of temporary side/rear speakers which I am experimenting with (Realistic Minimus 7 bricks) and offers plenty of tweakability and sounds pretty decent.
I only hooked-up the Silverline speaker quite recently as whilst the left and right speakers did a good job of creating a phantom centre speaker if you sat right in the sweet spot, this didn't suit multiple viewers who were sitting off-centre as the centre image would collapse. I found this incredibly frustrating. The Silverline has massively improved movie and TV viewing and is a pretty decent tonal match for the Aesthet speakers. Alan Yun knows how to design a nice sounding speaker, that's for sure! I'm 100% a convert regarding the benefits of a centre speaker, particularly when sitting relatively close to the TV.
Tucked in a corner is a HSU Research STF-2 subwoofer which I sourced as a non-working unit. The Class D amp was repaired and fully overhauled and is performing sterling duty with movies.
The previous configuration of the room featured numerous large Martini Polymax XHD50 panels to help tame the room acoustics. I've since pulled-back a bit for aesthetic reasons, with some small panels dispersed around the room, including a trio of canvas prints inside oak frames with XHD50 inside. Unfortunately the canvas prints limit the outright effectiveness of these panels, hence the extra bare panels sitting underneath. Wifey doesn't mind as she loves her framed canvas prints, so all is good on that front. Aluminium french cleats made it easy to securely mount the panels given their bulk.
Interestingly, I can feel the leather lounge vibrate with vocals at certain frequencies at higher volumes - it's amazing to witness the difference that different types of upholstery can play regarding absorption, reflection, and even resonance!
