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New Shop System Underway!

damacman

damacman

Resident Psycho
We moved in January. I had the old place just dialed but we were just out of space for the business. We ran all of the speaker wiring to 3 zones, network drops, cable for the antennas, etc. before we moved in and that began back in November after taking possession. It's been a VERY long four months, but here we are.

Here's the skinny:

Zone 1, Shipping
Speakers - Mission 5.25" two way bookshelf speakers, mounted up high on the West wall. Kristy (our shipping manager) really likes these so we kept them just for her.
Electronics - McIntosh MA6200 / MR78.

Zone 2, Production
Speakers - (2)pr DefTech AW6500 two way outdoor speakers, mounted up high in the corners - one pair at each end. We had one pair of these for the whole shop in the last location. This is a slick design with a boundary loaded passive radiator.
Electronics - McIntosh C37 / MR7083 / MC2500 #1

Zone 3, Finished Goods & Packing
Speakers - (2)pr Bose 901 VI, each pair flown at either end.
Electronics - C37 / MR7083 will serve this zone as well / MC2500 #2

Other Sources & Electronics - I stole most of the electronics and the studio rack from my Office System in the last house for this one.
Bose 901 VI EQ
Audio Control C101 Series II
BBE 822A Sonic Maximizer
Yamaha CD-S300RK
Streamer of yet unknown origin
Etc.

Networking
Four CAT6 drops for PCs and printers
One CAT6 drop for the audio rack
Cisco 24 port Switch*
Starlink*

*These live in the utility closet of the home (also on premise) and will serve to also distribute audio to numerous pre-wired zones via MuxLab 500755 transceivers.

Zone 1 can be isolated if the doors are shut so that's why I have separate tuners for shipping and production / finished goods as each listens to different programming in the morning. Zone 2 and 3 will both be tied together via the C37. I stole the C37 / MR7083 from the bedroom system in my last home as both can be controlled by remote and large plate glass windows separate shipping from production / finished goods. We can always shut one of the power amps off if we don't want that zone on and I have a pair of very nice line level controls so that volume in Zone 2 / Zone 3 can be easily changed by the staff.

The long term plan is to have the main system in the living room be the audio source for whatever we want - Sirius, XM, Tidal, etc - and then distribute that via the network to all other zones, including the shop. It'll take me a few months to get there so for now I'm really not sure what we're doing for a streaming device for the immediate future. For now, we'll need something that can do Sirius/XM/Tidal/Amazon at minimum and it needs to have an ethernet input and a line level audio output. Worse case, I can do it from my office PC and put two of the Muxlab units in service until I get the main system setup.

As I've had my hands full readying the other property for sale (it listed yesterday), I've been chiseling away at this when I can. All ten speakers are mounted, wired (homed to the rack), and ready to go. With any luck, I'll have it all playing by this coming weekend. Pictures forthcoming. I for one am anxious to hear it!
 
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damacman said:
The long term plan is to have the main system in the living room be the audio source for whatever we want - Sirius, XM, Tidal, etc - and then distribute that via the network to all other zones, including the shop. It'll take me a few months to get there so for now I'm really not sure what we're doing for a streaming device for the immediate future. For now, we'll need something that can do Sirius/XM/Tidal/Amazon at minimum and it needs to have an ethernet input and a line level audio output.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend taking a look at the WiiM streamers. They range in price from $89 for the 'mini' which is a hockey puck type of thing up to $329 for the 'ultra' which has a touch screen display. If you need Ethernet as opposed to WiFi you will need to go with at least the 'pro' which is $149. You can use them to stream any* of your favorite streaming services and it is super easy to link multiple ones together to stream the same audio to multiple systems. I am pretty sure you could even stream analog input from one to the others, maybe via tape out on your main system, although I have not done this myself.

Alternately people also like the Eversolo products, they are more expensive starting at around $700 but have a nice big touchscreen and a more premium look if that is a consideration. Also balanced outputs whereas WiiM are all unbalanced.

Personally I use a WiiM pro on my main system, coax digital out to the DA2 on my MA8950 to stream Amazon music. It delivers the digital stream bit-perfect, 'just give me the bits' which is what I was looking for. Easy to control with the iOS app. If you are using the analog outputs, the 'pro plus' has a better DAC, might be worth it.

*Just looked, neither WiiM nor Eversolo have native SiriusXM support. So to use that service you would have to use the SXM app on your phone and send it to the streamer using Bluetooth, Airplay, or Chromecast. Looks like the Bluesound and Sonos products have SXM support baked in.
 
We got the system playing last night ... for now, the only sources are the tuners and the CDP. I'm working on the streaming services - stay tuned. We didn't get it playing until after 1AM in the morning as I had to track down a speaker wire which got pulled loose from the wall plate by one of the contractors. Fortunately, that turned out to be a simple fix. Each of the 3 zones sounds just fantastic. All simultaneously is pretty killer!

The 901s definitely chew up some power to play loud in this setup - about 10x what the DefTechs need to achieve the same loudness. When Bose says "Stereo Everywhere" to describe them, they're not kidding. It's just amazing how they sound in nearly every square inch of that zone. So far, I've not done any tuning of any kind so I've got plenty to do but this is an excellent platform to work from.

Here are a few pics.
 

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Last edited:
damacman said:
We got the system playing last night ... for now, the only sources are the tuners and the CDP. I'm working on the streaming services - stay tuned. We didn't get it playing until after 1AM in the morning as I had to track down a speaker wire which got pulled loose from the wall plate by one of the contractors. Fortunately, that turned out to be a simple fix. Each of the 3 zones sounds just fantastic. All simultaneously is pretty killer!

The 901s definitely chew up some power to play loud in this setup - about 10x what the DefTechs need to achieve the same loudness. When Bose says "Stereo Everywhere" to describe them, they're not kidding. It's just amazing how they sound in nearly every square inch of that zone. So far, I've not done any tuning of any kind so I've got plenty to do but this is an excellent platform to work from.

Here are a few pics.
Click to expand...
:beerchug:, :thumbsup:
 
Streamer problem solved.

I purchased an iPad in 2018 or so and we used that as the intermediary between the streaming services, the WiFi, and the zones. That worked great right up until it didn't. [Long story.] We hadn't used it in some time. So, I recharged it and thought . . . hmmm, the Yamaha CDP in the rack has a USB input but it does not list iPads as compatible devices. So, I ordered up a lighting to USB A to plug into one of my DACs and the plan was to add that to the rack as a source. While waiting for that to show, I plugged a lightning to USB C cable into the iPad, walked over and plugged that into the USB port on the front of the Yammie.

I opened the Tidal app, chose an album, and pressed Play. Done.

Not only does the iPad send a digital output to the Yammie, the Yammie's remote control can control it - play, pause, stop, ffwd, rew, track up/down, etc. And the Yammie keeps it charged to boot. I simply had no clue. And it sounds freakin' excellent! Now, I guarantee that every 14yo kid within 5 miles knew this already. Me, I'm hours researching streamers . . . duh. @ACRucrazy - this is the solution I sought and this was why I was questioning where the DS200 even fits in the scheme of things.

So, onto the next problem. You can hear the system at 50W peaks about two blocks away. We been scratching our heads trying to figure out where the sound leakage is coming from as the whole place is insulated to the 9s. As it turns out, both of the roll-up doors need to be adjusted towards the seals. Both have major gaps at the top - you can stand outside them and look up through the gap between the seal and door and see the ceiling inside. So, add that to the list.

The 901s continue to amaze me. What an absolute perfect application for them. I was playing Alan Parsons' Sirius earlier and while they don't shake the floors like a pair of 18" subwoofers, it's still hard to believe that 4" drivers can play low bass like that with such ease. We do have the room on the East end of finished goods for the subs - between the 901s up high, enclosures in the attic - and I have them chilling - leftover from my office system should we need them. And I may have a power amp or two laying about but for now, I'm very happy with this setup.

The amount of work it took to get to this point was significant. But, well worth it. For me, half the fun of a system like this is the design and installation of it.
 
damacman said:
Streamer problem solved.

I purchased an iPad in 2018 or so and we used that as the intermediary between the streaming services, the WiFi, and the zones. That worked great right up until it didn't. [Long story.] We hadn't used it in some time. So, I recharged it and thought . . . hmmm, the Yamaha CDP in the rack has a USB input but it does not list iPads as compatible devices. So, I ordered up a lighting to USB A to plug into one of my DACs and the plan was to add that to the rack as a source. While waiting for that to show, I plugged a lightning to USB C cable into the iPad, walked over and plugged that into the USB port on the front of the Yammie.

I opened the Tidal app, chose an album, and pressed Play. Done.

Not only does the iPad send a digital output to the Yammie, the Yammie's remote control can control it - play, pause, stop, ffwd, rew, track up/down, etc. And the Yammie keeps it charged to boot. I simply had no clue. And it sounds freakin' excellent! Now, I guarantee that every 14yo kid within 5 miles knew this already. Me, I'm hours researching streamers . . . duh. @ACRucrazy - this is the solution I sought and this was why I was questioning where the DS200 even fits in the scheme of things.

So, onto the next problem. You can hear the system at 50W peaks about two blocks away. We been scratching our heads trying to figure out where the sound leakage is coming from as the whole place is insulated to the 9s. As it turns out, both of the roll-up doors need to be adjusted towards the seals. Both have major gaps at the top - you can stand outside them and look up through the gap between the seal and door and see the ceiling inside. So, add that to the list.

The 901s continue to amaze me. What an absolute perfect application for them. I was playing Alan Parsons' Sirius earlier and while they don't shake the floors like a pair of 18" subwoofers, it's still hard to believe that 4" drivers can play low bass like that with such ease. We do have the room on the East end of finished goods for the subs - between the 901s up high, enclosures in the attic - and I have them chilling - leftover from my office system should we need them. And I may have a power amp or two laying about but for now, I'm very happy with this setup.

The amount of work it took to get to this point was significant. But, well worth it. For me, half the fun of a system like this is the design and installation of it.
Click to expand...
You got any job openings?
 
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