souladdikt
Active Member
Very clean. Love those insulators--they're a nice touch.
My Ever-Changing System...
- Thread starter cube-tube
- Start date
cube-tube
Super Member
Thank you, sir. They do add a little something to the appearance, don't they?... :thmbsp:
blazeaglory
Active Member
Yeah, something like that. LOL
He's more like the sphinx of great music.
True...I guess animals can appreciate good music/systems too
blazeaglory
Active Member
Yeah that was a good idea:thmbsp:
I never really enjoyed the idea of running all of my cables on the floor as well.
souladdikt
Active Member
I always enjoy looking at you system--so clean. Love the mix of gear, too. Funny, I've been playing around with hockey pucks as well.
cube-tube
Super Member
Funny you should say that as I have been watching your thread as well for the same reasons. That and I'm really interested in those Tekton Lore Reference speakers of yours.
I would love to try a pair of those, but with both my amp and preamp being high gain, I'd only be able to use the volume on the first notch. Anything past that, those speakers would blow me out of the room and get me evicted from the apartment! LOL
cube-tube
Super Member
Well, decided to do a little upgrade to the system a few days ago and ordered some Wireworld cables. The order included...
Got the cables in today and installed them after work. I should have ordered a 1.5m power cable and 2m Toslink. The PC going to the amp is a tad bit on the short side, but works and isn't putting any stress on the plugs on either end. The Toslink is fine, but looks like pooh hanging across the wall. Oh well, they'll work for now. When I can, I'll get a longer power cable and Toslink.
As for the cables themselves, I immediately noticed an improvement in the video quality, and that's just from the effects of the 2m PC going to the power conditioner. Both the TV and cable box are plugged into the conditioner and right away I noticed blacker blacks, cleaner, smoother overall look, and no grain/noise in the background. I'm actually quite surprised at that really. I wasn't expecting that much of an improvement in just one cable, especially just a power cable!
Going with the Toslink from the TV output to the digital input on the Marantz NA6005 is a huge improvement over the standard analog output straight from the TV. It's wider, cleaner, more dynamic, smooth on the top end, and there's real bass! Of course, that all has to do with the superior DAC in the NA6005, not to mention that both the NA6005 and the Musical Fidelity preamp got treated to the Aurora 7 power cables as well on their own.
My brothers are over and we're watching a couple movies, so I won't be able to sit and really listen to any music until tomorrow to see what these new, excellent PC's are doing for the sound. I can say though, I'm already quite pleased on how things are going!
Of course, a few pics as always...
And yes, that outlet majorly sucks. I need to put a good one in there.
- One 2m Aurora 7 Power Cable
- Three 1m Aurora 7 Power Cables
- One 1m Nova Toslink
Got the cables in today and installed them after work. I should have ordered a 1.5m power cable and 2m Toslink. The PC going to the amp is a tad bit on the short side, but works and isn't putting any stress on the plugs on either end. The Toslink is fine, but looks like pooh hanging across the wall. Oh well, they'll work for now. When I can, I'll get a longer power cable and Toslink.
As for the cables themselves, I immediately noticed an improvement in the video quality, and that's just from the effects of the 2m PC going to the power conditioner. Both the TV and cable box are plugged into the conditioner and right away I noticed blacker blacks, cleaner, smoother overall look, and no grain/noise in the background. I'm actually quite surprised at that really. I wasn't expecting that much of an improvement in just one cable, especially just a power cable!
Going with the Toslink from the TV output to the digital input on the Marantz NA6005 is a huge improvement over the standard analog output straight from the TV. It's wider, cleaner, more dynamic, smooth on the top end, and there's real bass! Of course, that all has to do with the superior DAC in the NA6005, not to mention that both the NA6005 and the Musical Fidelity preamp got treated to the Aurora 7 power cables as well on their own.
My brothers are over and we're watching a couple movies, so I won't be able to sit and really listen to any music until tomorrow to see what these new, excellent PC's are doing for the sound. I can say though, I'm already quite pleased on how things are going!
Of course, a few pics as always...
And yes, that outlet majorly sucks. I need to put a good one in there.
cube-tube
Super Member
Okay, so after the first big batch of WW cables that I got a few days back, I decided to go all out and finish off the system with another big batch of WW cables including...
I went ahead and installed these new cables today. This time around, I did some major cable management throughout, keeping undue stress off of all the connections and leaving enough slack for movement.
I also have a couple more goodies coming my way, one of which is a replacement electrical outlet. Something else I realized after the fact, once my final piece arrives, I'm not going to need the 2m Toslink that I just got in. Oh well...
Now on to the pics... Of course.
The main reason for the new power outlet. Most of the outlets in this apartment are like this!
That's a LOT of blue back there, including that one pair of old Cardas Crosslink cables on the Nakamichi.
A closer look at the various shades of blue...
A much cleaner look now. I'm not embarrassed to show it now!
BTW, Trouble really likes WW cables as well!
- One 1.5m Aurora 7 Power Cable
- One 2m Nova Toslink
- One 1m Oasis 7 Interconnects
- One 1m Ultraviolet HDMI
- One 2m Ultraviolet HDMI
I went ahead and installed these new cables today. This time around, I did some major cable management throughout, keeping undue stress off of all the connections and leaving enough slack for movement.
I also have a couple more goodies coming my way, one of which is a replacement electrical outlet. Something else I realized after the fact, once my final piece arrives, I'm not going to need the 2m Toslink that I just got in. Oh well...
Now on to the pics... Of course.
The main reason for the new power outlet. Most of the outlets in this apartment are like this!
That's a LOT of blue back there, including that one pair of old Cardas Crosslink cables on the Nakamichi.
A closer look at the various shades of blue...
A much cleaner look now. I'm not embarrassed to show it now!
BTW, Trouble really likes WW cables as well!
cube-tube
Super Member
As if all of the new WW cables within the past couple of weeks wasn't enough, this showed up today...
More pics to come of course.
I have the cable box run into the 105D's HDMI input as well as the NA6005 run into it's Toslink input. I have to say, the 105D transforms the system into a whole other level. I thought the Schiit Bifrost sounded great, then got the NA6005. The Marantz sounds just as good but with a little more heft and smoothness. The Oppo refines that even more, opens up the sound stage, brings instruments and vocals to life, and pulls even greater detail out of the music. The nice thing is, I can run internet radio on the Marantz and send it to the DAC in the Oppo which makes a huge improvement in sound quality!
As for video... Amazing! Cable TV looks 10x better, and we just got done watching Django on Netflix. The level of detail and texture this unit produces and throws up on the TV screen is unreal. And I've just lightly played around with the video and Darbee settings.
Oddly enough, my main reason for buying the Oppo isn't for the video, but actually the audio/DAC! And I'm glad I did!
More pics to come of course.
I have the cable box run into the 105D's HDMI input as well as the NA6005 run into it's Toslink input. I have to say, the 105D transforms the system into a whole other level. I thought the Schiit Bifrost sounded great, then got the NA6005. The Marantz sounds just as good but with a little more heft and smoothness. The Oppo refines that even more, opens up the sound stage, brings instruments and vocals to life, and pulls even greater detail out of the music. The nice thing is, I can run internet radio on the Marantz and send it to the DAC in the Oppo which makes a huge improvement in sound quality!
As for video... Amazing! Cable TV looks 10x better, and we just got done watching Django on Netflix. The level of detail and texture this unit produces and throws up on the TV screen is unreal. And I've just lightly played around with the video and Darbee settings.
Oddly enough, my main reason for buying the Oppo isn't for the video, but actually the audio/DAC! And I'm glad I did!
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cube-tube
Super Member
Thanks! I can tell you, every time I come home and hear familiar music playing, I stop and listen for a short bit and notice little things that were either completely hidden before or just not as noticeable.
And to spruce up my new PowerPort...
cube-tube
Super Member
Got this all upgraded and updated this morning. New Netgear Gigabit switch, 6TB NAS, two 2TB USB drives (one for music backup, the other for picture backup).
10TB of storage sitting there, waiting to be used...
And a few quick pics of the system with the Oppo installed. I'll be dropping that shelf a little today to gain more ventilation to the Oppo.
10TB of storage sitting there, waiting to be used...
And a few quick pics of the system with the Oppo installed. I'll be dropping that shelf a little today to gain more ventilation to the Oppo.
cube-tube
Super Member
One tiny little update.
Since I have been streaming to my Oppo 105D directly from my NAS via MinimServer and BubbleUPnP, controlled by the wonderful LUMIN app, I have decided to take things one step further and purchase the little Roku stick from Oppo to stream internet radio as well as movie and TV show stuff.
So in short, the fine little Marantz NA6005 will probably be moving its way out of the system soon, maybe even to a new home.
The cool thing is, I dug around in my coffee table drawer and found that little HDMI "elbow" adapter. This is a good thing. For one, I don't have that white LED flashing in my face, and it keeps the Roku up out of the way of curious little kitty paws possibly snapping it off (if it were plugged in horizontally). And the fact that it covers one of the front panel buttons is no issue as I have yet to touch a single button on the unit anyway. That's what remotes are for!
Since I have been streaming to my Oppo 105D directly from my NAS via MinimServer and BubbleUPnP, controlled by the wonderful LUMIN app, I have decided to take things one step further and purchase the little Roku stick from Oppo to stream internet radio as well as movie and TV show stuff.
So in short, the fine little Marantz NA6005 will probably be moving its way out of the system soon, maybe even to a new home.
The cool thing is, I dug around in my coffee table drawer and found that little HDMI "elbow" adapter. This is a good thing. For one, I don't have that white LED flashing in my face, and it keeps the Roku up out of the way of curious little kitty paws possibly snapping it off (if it were plugged in horizontally). And the fact that it covers one of the front panel buttons is no issue as I have yet to touch a single button on the unit anyway. That's what remotes are for!
cube-tube
Super Member
Got bored yesterday, so put the AV123 X-Statik speakers back in play. I keep forgetting how good these speakers really do sound. Those Peerless India 6" drivers in the sealed enclosures really put out some solid, very detailed bass. The same exact drivers on the open baffles do extremely well with natural vocals and a wide, deep sound stage.
Removed two of the bananas from the WW cables so they don't short out...
Removed two of the bananas from the WW cables so they don't short out...
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lookin' good!
cube-tube
Super Member
The turntable's been off the floor for nearly 4 months now. And with that huge center channel I had, I had no other place for the turntable. But no more multi-channel junk for me.
And even though I had the TT on the floor, it actually performed just as good there as it does on top of the rack.