Nightwisher's Systems In "Luxman's Room" And Beyond: Some New And Lots of Vintage

[ThomasB98908]

My bedroom system is a "near field" system which mean I'm equidistant between the speakers and my listening space - and it sound great... but - more room gives the sound a chance to bounce around (like it does in a concert format) and that also sound great.

 

[xxhanhxx]

Looks like you're have much fun playing around with all those equipment. I feel ya.

 

[Nightwisher]

It's been a while since I've updated, so I'll add a couple more pictures.

The first is of my PC gaming speakers that I didn't originally mention. I don't run my games on my main system due since that would mean the sound is solely to my left and my skills are considerably better when sitting at a desk and not sitting on a couch. I'm using a pair of Bose Mediamates and the subwoofer from my Klipsch ProMedias by hooking the Bose to the line out and the Klipsch to the subwoofer out of the 7.1 soundcard built into my motherboard. I use EqualizerAPO to set the crossover at 80 Hz and it sounds much better than either of them separately. The subwoofer is much less boomy than before (still is a bit though) and the Bose give a much fuller sound than the Klipsch satellites. I was just messing around with it last weekend to see what would happen and it turned out much better than I expected. Definitely good enough to game on and listen to a little bit of music while I'm working sometimes. I could have a better setup, probably with my BA CR75s or CR6s, but I haven't the space at the moment to get those in there.

The second is of my latest Goodwill purchase (about a month ago now): a Sony Disc Explorer 200 DVD Player (forgot the model number). I've only tested it with CDs but that's probably all I'll use it for. It's currently hooked up to my dad's Yamaha/Klipsch Quintet surround system in place of the TV (which my brother currently has at college). I'll move it somewhere when I can figure out where it will actually fit as it's very deep. It sounded very nice with the CDs I used with it and the carousel is sweet to watch.

Also added a picture with a better angle on my computer.

 

[Bucky Badger]

Looks like your doing really well. If I had half that set up when I went to school I would have been super happy.
Welcome to the enablers club.

 

[Nightwisher]

Some more pictures and updates:

I always forget to mention that I have an Emotiva ET-3 Trigger Module to accompany my XDA-1. All it does is switch the XDA-1 on/off with the switched outlets on my Nakamichi by sending that signal to the trigger on the XDA-1. This system works when it wants to because the trigger is finicky on the XDA-1 but it's really sweet when it works (the ET-3 still looks cool in the meantime). I also forgot to mention that I have a Creative X-Fi HD Soundcard that I use for all my vinyl and cassette digitizing. I've completed my dad's collection (~200 LPs) and now I have a bunch of records that mainly came from my grandfather (~30 LPs left and ~200 45s; I'm almost certain the 45s are literally the entire contents of a jukebox) and a few records and tapes from Goodwill. That soundcard is also my headphone amplifier.

My tertiary/left-overs system got some upgrades this week because I put some new gear in my component stand (see below). This means my Kenwood KR-5600 gets the benefit of my Pioneer SG-90 EQ and the already leftover Toshiba DVD Player. I was testing my dad's HH Scott 166 speakers so that's what's hooked up right now but I usually use the Boston CR-85s.

Finally, I got some new gear (from EBay of course) for my main system: a dbx DAV-600 and a Burwen 1201a Dynamic Noise Filter. The dbx is hooked to the tape loop on my Nak so I can switch my processors on and off when I need them or don't. There are so many switches on that thing that I have yet to figure them all out. The Burwen, despite being a single-ended noise reduction unit, does help out on some of my recordings. (Sorry for the bad lighting; it's not easy to get a decent picture down there.)

 

[Nightwisher]

New addition this weekend: a Burwen Research TNE 7000A Transient Noise Eliminator. I even got it with the original box and manual. It makes a good bit of difference on records with bad surface noise (such as my copy of Jefferson Airplane's 2400 Fulton Street); it doesn't get everything of course. I had to move my Luxman to fit it into the cabinet. I went through a couple of faulty SAE 5000s before I found that; third time is the charm I guess.

I also brought home my JVC CD player to start packing up for summer, so that has temporarily replaced my Toshiba in my tertiary setup.

 

[rxonmymind]

Good lord man! Slow down so the rest of us can grab some gear! Good looking stuff.

 

[bergun]

A really nice setup. Glad to hear that you're in college and not living in your childhood room in your parent's house.

 

[Nightwisher]

A really nice setup. Glad to hear that you're in college and not living in your childhood room in your parent's house.

Thanks. My primary setup is still in that room, however it's definitely not in my long term plans to keep it there or live there. Most of it is coming with me when I get an apartment in the fall for law school.

 

[Nightwisher]

No new gear this weekend, but I did get two new accessories: 2 glass signs, one with the dbx logo and one with the vintage Kenwood-Trio logo. It's a bit cluttered right now, but I'm going to get a long shelf for them at some point. Looks like it's about time to dust the Boston one.

 

[Alobar]

You have got the disease bad man!! Maybe there is a support group that meets in your area?
Seriously I would LOVE to have that much good gear to play with! Good going...

 

[Nightwisher]

You have got the disease bad man!! Maybe there is a support group that meets in your area?
Seriously I would LOVE to have that much good gear to play with! Good going...

Yeah, I'm trying to slow down for now, but we'll see.

Thanks.

 

[Nightwisher]

New accessory today: a Realistic APM-100 Audio Power Meter. It really adds that vintage flair I love without having to pay the price for something with meters built-in. Being Realistic, it matches the mug that @Lo-Fidelity sent me a little while ago.

 

[asilker]

Those APM units are fun

 

[Nightwisher]

I knocked the jumper wire out of one of the terminals in the back of one of my VR40s right before we went on vacation a couple of weeks ago (didn't have time before we left), and I couldn't for the life of me get it back in since they were cut to just barely reach. So, I replaced them with longer lengths of the same Monster cable I'm using to connect them to my receiver. I cut them a bit long so I'll have plenty of room to work with (I may cut them down a bit later). It's a project I've been meaning to do for a while now since the jumper wires were so short and a small gauge, like 18 I think (they came with the speakers when I bought them). The speakers are definitely more efficient now - I had to recalibrate my surround speaker settings by a few dB all the way around. They seem to sound better now, too, but that may or may not be my imagination. For sure, they sound better than when the wire I knocked out was just barely connecting.

 

[Dave_1962]

Good stuff Nightwisher - Are those VU meters on a monitor? Fill me in on that will ya?

 

[Nightwisher]

Good stuff Nightwisher - Are those VU meters on a monitor? Fill me in on that will ya?

Yeah they are. The program is called VU Meter and it can be found here (Version 1.2 has been working well for me on Windows 10). I love meters.

 

[Brindabella]

Make sure you leave enough room for some oxygen - some seriously nice toys - you, ummm getting any studying done there?

Rob

 

[Nightwisher]

I mentioned in the "Latest Audio Purchases" thread a month ago that I bought a pair of Pioneer CS-G201WAIIs from Goodwill for $12. They were in excellent shape besides the rotted foam on the woofers - even the cabinets were near mint with just one place where the corner was nicked. Got the replacement foam installed today (we were on vacation and had other chores to do) with my dad. For speakers where the total investment was $37, they sure do sound nice. Bass is nice and strong. The only thing that bugs me is that there was barely any padding on the insides, which makes the bass a little boomy; very different from my dad's HPM 100s or 900s. Rocking out to the Heavy Metal Soundtrack right now. The bass on "I Must Be Dreamin'" came through nice and deep. (Pardon the large TV; that's my new apartment TV out for testing.)

Also, while we were out today, we stopped at the Goodwill Clearance center (where you buy by the pound). Found an original Peaches Records & Tapes record crate and paid ~$2.50 for it. Almost missed it because it was filled with books. For those that don't know, Peaches was a national chain record store from 1976-1985 and sold these at their store. You can still order the crates from Peaches online...at a price of $62.99. I needed something else to keep my records in anyway (you can see I'm running out of space on the shelf to the right), so this is just too sweet. The only issue with it is the logos - it's missing the one on the back side and the one in the front is wrinkled (which barely shows up in the picture) and needed to be glued back down. A small issue for that price (I ordered replacement labels for the other side for $10 - the one on the front is the original so it's staying). The records in there are the ones I haven't digitized yet (plus 4 laser discs I also bought today).

 

[Nightwisher]

So I was browsing a local thrift store that benefits Concerned Citizens For Animals today and saw a large pair of tower speakers that took up a good portion of their small shop space. Price was $150, so I inspected them carfully - biampable, dual 8" drivers, metal tweeter (turned out to be titanium), heavy-duty construction, and a crazy driver configuration that featured a rear - facing tweeter and midrange. I step into the back room and Google the model and find they sold for ~$1000 a pair - sold. Picking them up to take them to the car, I knew I made a good decision because they weighed about 60-65 pounds apiece. The grills alone - reinforced with wood - weigh a couple pounds apiece. Everything about them just screamed quality.

The speakers are a near mint pair of Eosone RSF-600s. The details on these are vague but it seems they were made by engineers of Polk, Infinity, and Genesis exclusively for Best Buy in the mid to late 90s. Audiophile budget speakers like Boston Acoustics is how they were marketed. They were bought out by Polk (or were a subsidiary all along - not clear) in the late 90s mainly due to lawsuit issues (they look an awful lot like Definitive Techs...) and lack of sales. The rear-facing drivers create a Radiant Sound Field (RSF), which is supposed to reduce reflections and create a wider soundfield. These were their second-best in the line-up but some prefer these over the RSF-1000s because those have built-in 10" subs that get mixed reviews.

Sound-wise they sound amazing. Everything is so clear. They may even replace my Boston Acoustics VR40s - they sound that good. The dual 8 inch woofers sound nice and tight down to about 35 Hz. The only issues were that they were a tad unclean - the store owners have cats so there were hairs all over the grills and a lot of dust.

It's amazing how deals like that can just show up.

I hooked them up to one of my dad's systems downstairs because I didn't want to carry those monsters upstairs in case they didn't work. Also the larger room gives me more room to work and is a better match for speakers that large.