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My simple stereo system. Updated 3/28/2020

It's been about 6 weeks since my initial system post and figured I should do a update. Here is my system as it is today. Apology for the yellowish tint to the photos, my phone is like 6 years old and apparently the camera sucks with artificial lighting.

cube-tube said:
Practically! LOL
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I usually stretch out my underwear to a full week before a change! Oh wait, speakers, yes speakers is what I meant. A full week before swapping speakers.

A couple overview shots,

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Not the ideal listening space, with hardwood floors and the bump-out to the kitchen but it's not terrible. You may think those cables behind are messy looking (and they are), but I actually spent about 45 minutes getting them to this state. My mild OCD gave me 2 options - 1. have them look nice, 2. have them not crossing each other. I went with option 2. Besides power supply cords, the only cords crossing are speaker wires from separate systems that are not energized at the same time (many 3m clips and blue tape hidden behind stuff to achieve this).

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I have this cheesy shelf ($10 thrift store) at the back of the room I use for random bit storage.

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Homemade media shelf ($50 materials), sheet of 1/2 birch plywood, 1/4 hardiboard, titebond, staples/brads & raw linseed oil. Not the prettiest thing but does the job and has lots of room for expansion. Someday I might finish the edges in something to make it look 100% better.

I was really scratching my head when I plopped this shelf in the room and it was wobbly. I measured and squared and measured again while building and this damn thing was 99.9% square. So I put a level on the floor... yeah this floor is not level, I had to shim the feet on the bottom of this shelf as I also must do with my speakers depending on where they are positioned. Glad this place is a rental and cheep.


I will follow shortly with a break down of current gear.
 
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Source rack - 4 shelf VTI unit with casters ($16 thrift store). I stream FLAC from PLEX, Amazon music & various other streams from my TV using the analog output (some day I will get a real DAC) to the Pioneer Elite VSX-99 about 50% of the time and the other 50% of the time I roll this rack over and plug in the physical media source of choice.

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From top to bottom - Dennon DP-300F turntable ($240 brand new Crutchfield), Pioneer Elite DV-09 CD/DVD player ($170 mint w/ remote, Craigslist), TEAC W-890R dual cassette ($20 xclnt, Craigslist), Pioneer Elite DV46-AV SACD/CD/DVD ($20 xclnt, Craigslist) and Sony RX79ES single cassette ($40 good, thrift store). I also have (not pictured) a back up Pioneer Elite DV46 player ($15 good, thrift store) and Akai X-2000S RTR/8 track ($40 good, with metal take up reel and pre-recored classic rock Maxell tape, Craigslist).

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Top to bottom - Pioneer Elite VSX-99 ($70 good with remote, Craigslist), Some rando Panasonic Bluray player (cannot remember price, had it forever), Pioneer SG-90 ($30 good, thrift store), APC G5 rack power filter ($120 brand new, Amazon).

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Dennon AVR-3300, hooked up to Panasonic Blu-ray and Klipsch surround for HT ($40 xclnt, thrift store) & Sansui G-4700 ($60 good, thrift store).

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Klipsch KG5.5 ($200 xclnt, Craigslist), Klipsch SP1/SC1/SS.5 for home theater ($125 xclnt, along with thrown in speaker stands & Denon AVR-1602 w/ remote, Craigslist)

Not pictured much - Acoustic Research AR9 ($140 xclnt, Craigslist), Infinity RS425 ($45 good, Craigslist), JBL Loft40 ($14 xclnt, thrift store), Sansui RG-900R ($5 xclnt, Craigslist), Onxyo TX-SV515PROII ($10 good, Craigslist)

My usual 2 channel system is the VSX-99 powering whatever speakers I am in the mood for, typically Klipsch KG5.5, I usually use the Sansui G-4700 for FM listening with JBL Loft 40 but occasionally hook it up to the big speaker with a better source.

And for home theater we have the Denon AVR-3300 and Klipsch set.
 
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I have some new goodies in transit, so took some pictures of how my system is looking today after the move back in October. My new listening room is much more cluttered then I would like. It's only 12' x 11' and I had to cram a lot of stuff in here. Hopping to someday move my gigantic cigar humidor somewhere else...

Overview shots.

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Still running the Denon DP-300F for the moment with upgraded stylus & belt. Cassette playback still comes from the TEAC W-890R. The empty shelf is reserved for a new phono pre, but has in the past held various EQ's and processing gizmos to play with. Installed some inexpensive color selectable LED strips on the rack, it's nice to turn out all the lights except the soft glow of red LED's.

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DVD / BLU come from a cheapo Panasonic I've had forever, it's on the vibration things to eliminate case hum when spinning. CD's are played on Pioneer Elite DV-09. Pre-amp duties are handled by Emotiva USP-1 and speaker power is handled by Emotiva UPA-2. Picked up the Emotiva pair off BT for a good price and they sound great.

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Usual speaker these days are Sony SS-TL5's. These are amazing sounding speakers and they have rarely been rotated out since I got them several months ago from a local AK'er.

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Still have the inexpensive media shelf I built. As I have been listening and buying more and more records I am considering building something a little more high quality that will be better suited for vinyl.

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Another AK member gave me the idea from his system thread to use old electrical insulators as cable risers. Picked some up on ebay and use them for my speaker cables. I find claims of sonic improvement from risers dubious but think they look cleaner then cables laying on the floor and they can be had cheap if your not picky on color.

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Ancillary bits n bobs -

Logitech Harmony 650
APC G8 & Belkin Pure AV power filters.
Canare L-4E6S w/ Amphenol M-Series ACPR Gold connectors analog cables by WBC.
Pangea SE digital cables.
Pangea AC-14XL Mk II & AC-9 SE Mk II power cables.
Audioquest GO-4 speaker cables.

Currently working on downsizing extra gear I've accumulated to make room for new arrivals... I have a more "serious" turntable & phono pre in transit and I have been considering trying out a new preamp & amp combo.
 
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zappafan2 said:
Room is looking great and I think its great that you keep building up your system with great finds :beerchug:
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Thanks! Trying to do best I can with the space available. I've really slowed down on looking for gear deals as I am quite happy with my equipment at this point. Keep meaning to try out some room treatments but it's hard to get excited about it and get the projects finished.
 
Nice system and room. I to have a small room. Is that a Emotiva UPA-2 you have? How do you like it? I was going to get a Emotiva amp but ended up with a B&K amp.
 
highend64 said:
Nice system and room. I to have a small room. Is that a Emotiva UPA-2 you have? How do you like it? I was going to get a Emotiva amp but ended up with a B&K amp.
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Thanks!

It is UPA-2, came as a package with the USP-1, sounds very clean and neutral to my ears. I have cranked up various speakers to concert like levels and never had it run out of steam or sound harsh. I have also run a vintage Carver M-500 & Pioneer Elite VSX-99 as amplification in the current setup and I prefer the UPA-2. Both the Carver and Pioneer sound "warmer" and the Carver can get harsh on the upper end at high levels. I feel the Emotiva colors the sound less. Sometimes I prefer a warmer sound but I like to achieve that with EQ when I am in the mood, not having the amp color everything all the time.
 
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