cnolanh
Ad astra
Ever since I was a teenager I've had some form of stereo system in my living space. Like many of us, I've tried many iterations of equipment — so I'm happy to say that my current systems are the most musically satisfying I've ever had.
Within the last decade I've also dabbled with surround sound. At one point I cobbled together a 5.1 system in my office. That was fun for movies and concert videos, but the equipment got redistributed various places and I gave away that AV receiver.
But now in this primary system I have an Oppo BDP-105 universal disc player. Not only does it have excellent sonics, it sports several digital audio inputs and can function as a digital preamp/DAC/processor. I feed it digital audio from sources including DAT, over-the-air TV, and a Mac Mini music server. Everything else in the system is straight stereo, and for a long time I just used the main 2-channel outputs on the Oppo. No complaints whatsoever.
I did, however, have another stereo amplifier available, along with a subwoofer and a single speaker that could serve as a center, so the wheels started turning...and now I have a system that with analog sources is normal stereo, but can reproduce 3.1 with digital sources playing through the Oppo. Right now I'm listening to Elton John on multichannel SACD, and it's glorious.
Here's the component list, with notes:
McIntosh C33 preamp — All analog switching goes through this heart of the system. If I ever add two surround speakers for 5.1, I can power them with the 20 wpc monitor amp built into the C33. How convenient! [EDIT: I’m now doing exactly that. See post 16 below.]
Pioneer M-25 amplifier — It's a fine match for the powering the main ADS speakers. I had been going back and forth between this and the MC2150 as my main stereo amp. But when starting the 3.1 experiment, the McIntosh was more appropriate for the additional channels (see below).
ADS L1290 speakers — I bought these in excellent condition from another AKer. They sometimes trade places with Vandersteen 2Ce speakers, currently in another room. [EDIT: The Vandys are back in this system. See post below.]
Harman Kardon T55C turntable — Semiauto belt drive has an Ortofon OM30 cartridge mounted.
Oppo BDP-105 universal disc player — Plays CD, DVD-A, SACD, DVD, Blu-Ray, and most anything else available on an optical disc. I'm also using it as a digital preamp/DAC/processor for decoding multichannel soundtracks and music. I recently set up the Oppo for 3.1 speakers, and have set the relative channel levels correctly in the Oppo speaker setup options. When using the Oppo as a digital preamp, I just turn the C33 volume control (for the main L and R speakers) to 12:00, which I used as a reference point for matching the channels, and then the Oppo's digital volume control smoothly manages the whole system volume. (I just have to remember to turn the C33 down again before, say, playing a record.)
Nakamichi RX-505 cassette deck — Re-belted and tweaked by perryinva a few years ago.
Tascam DA-20 DAT deck — I have quite a few DATs on which I recorded live music during the 1990s, as well as DAT archive copies of older media (mostly R2R). Now I'm digitally copying those DATs, in turn, into lossless files on the computer. That's a project for a separate post.
Pioneer RT-901 reel-to-reel deck [out of the photo on a side cabinet] — Unrestored except for new pinch rollers, this old beast is still a joy to use.
McIntosh MC2150 amplifier — Sounds great in stereo, as it should. In this case, I'm using the two channels as separate mono amps. The Oppo's center preamp output drives the left channel of the amp, which powers the center speaker. The Oppo's subwoofer preamp output drives the right channel, which powers the sub. With nearly 200 watts available to each channel, that's good for the sub, and one reason I chose to use this amp in this way. I'm sure it's overkill for the center, but at least nothing will clip (also because of Power Guard on the amp). Another big convenience is that each amp channel has a volume pot on the front panel. If I need to tweak the sub or center level slightly, it's quick and easy from there.
Soliloquy SAT5 center speaker — This is a single SAT5 lying on its side (I've also tried it vertically with good success, but the current furniture doesn't allow that). You can see that the TV (a cheap Westinghouse 720p) is not fully centered between the speakers because the room is tight. So the center speaker is just under the TV for anchoring dialogue to the image, but lying with its tweeter on the left for maybe a bit more centering of the sound. In practice the center speaker makes a huge difference for dialogue. Since I've long enjoyed watching movies just with stereo sound, adding the center was a revelation. The Soliloquy has a soft-dome tweeter, like the ADSs, though of course the three speakers don't sound identical. It's close enough to be enjoyable and not annoying.
NHT SW2si passive subwoofer — The McIntosh drives it cleanly and the sub adds significant heft below the ADS woofers. I have the Oppo subwoofer low-pass set to 40 Hz, and the L1290s are also getting a full-range signal. The sub reproduces the LFE channel of a movie soundtrack, as well as any digital musical content below 40 Hz. I have also tried the sub over in the corner by the window. In that position it was a little much, probably setting off significant room resonances. Placing it closer to the middle of the front wall, as shown here, sounds more balanced when listening from the sweet spot.
In the room but not seen here: couch, LP cabinets, RCM, bookshelves, desk, computer, etc. We call it the music room for obvious reasons. And it can become guest space in a pinch.
Thanks for looking! Anybody else run 3.1 channels?
[EDIT: I've since gone to 5.1 by adding surround speakers. See post 16 below.]
Within the last decade I've also dabbled with surround sound. At one point I cobbled together a 5.1 system in my office. That was fun for movies and concert videos, but the equipment got redistributed various places and I gave away that AV receiver.
But now in this primary system I have an Oppo BDP-105 universal disc player. Not only does it have excellent sonics, it sports several digital audio inputs and can function as a digital preamp/DAC/processor. I feed it digital audio from sources including DAT, over-the-air TV, and a Mac Mini music server. Everything else in the system is straight stereo, and for a long time I just used the main 2-channel outputs on the Oppo. No complaints whatsoever.
I did, however, have another stereo amplifier available, along with a subwoofer and a single speaker that could serve as a center, so the wheels started turning...and now I have a system that with analog sources is normal stereo, but can reproduce 3.1 with digital sources playing through the Oppo. Right now I'm listening to Elton John on multichannel SACD, and it's glorious.
Here's the component list, with notes:
McIntosh C33 preamp — All analog switching goes through this heart of the system. If I ever add two surround speakers for 5.1, I can power them with the 20 wpc monitor amp built into the C33. How convenient! [EDIT: I’m now doing exactly that. See post 16 below.]
Pioneer M-25 amplifier — It's a fine match for the powering the main ADS speakers. I had been going back and forth between this and the MC2150 as my main stereo amp. But when starting the 3.1 experiment, the McIntosh was more appropriate for the additional channels (see below).
ADS L1290 speakers — I bought these in excellent condition from another AKer. They sometimes trade places with Vandersteen 2Ce speakers, currently in another room. [EDIT: The Vandys are back in this system. See post below.]
Harman Kardon T55C turntable — Semiauto belt drive has an Ortofon OM30 cartridge mounted.
Oppo BDP-105 universal disc player — Plays CD, DVD-A, SACD, DVD, Blu-Ray, and most anything else available on an optical disc. I'm also using it as a digital preamp/DAC/processor for decoding multichannel soundtracks and music. I recently set up the Oppo for 3.1 speakers, and have set the relative channel levels correctly in the Oppo speaker setup options. When using the Oppo as a digital preamp, I just turn the C33 volume control (for the main L and R speakers) to 12:00, which I used as a reference point for matching the channels, and then the Oppo's digital volume control smoothly manages the whole system volume. (I just have to remember to turn the C33 down again before, say, playing a record.)
Nakamichi RX-505 cassette deck — Re-belted and tweaked by perryinva a few years ago.
Tascam DA-20 DAT deck — I have quite a few DATs on which I recorded live music during the 1990s, as well as DAT archive copies of older media (mostly R2R). Now I'm digitally copying those DATs, in turn, into lossless files on the computer. That's a project for a separate post.
Pioneer RT-901 reel-to-reel deck [out of the photo on a side cabinet] — Unrestored except for new pinch rollers, this old beast is still a joy to use.
McIntosh MC2150 amplifier — Sounds great in stereo, as it should. In this case, I'm using the two channels as separate mono amps. The Oppo's center preamp output drives the left channel of the amp, which powers the center speaker. The Oppo's subwoofer preamp output drives the right channel, which powers the sub. With nearly 200 watts available to each channel, that's good for the sub, and one reason I chose to use this amp in this way. I'm sure it's overkill for the center, but at least nothing will clip (also because of Power Guard on the amp). Another big convenience is that each amp channel has a volume pot on the front panel. If I need to tweak the sub or center level slightly, it's quick and easy from there.
Soliloquy SAT5 center speaker — This is a single SAT5 lying on its side (I've also tried it vertically with good success, but the current furniture doesn't allow that). You can see that the TV (a cheap Westinghouse 720p) is not fully centered between the speakers because the room is tight. So the center speaker is just under the TV for anchoring dialogue to the image, but lying with its tweeter on the left for maybe a bit more centering of the sound. In practice the center speaker makes a huge difference for dialogue. Since I've long enjoyed watching movies just with stereo sound, adding the center was a revelation. The Soliloquy has a soft-dome tweeter, like the ADSs, though of course the three speakers don't sound identical. It's close enough to be enjoyable and not annoying.
NHT SW2si passive subwoofer — The McIntosh drives it cleanly and the sub adds significant heft below the ADS woofers. I have the Oppo subwoofer low-pass set to 40 Hz, and the L1290s are also getting a full-range signal. The sub reproduces the LFE channel of a movie soundtrack, as well as any digital musical content below 40 Hz. I have also tried the sub over in the corner by the window. In that position it was a little much, probably setting off significant room resonances. Placing it closer to the middle of the front wall, as shown here, sounds more balanced when listening from the sweet spot.
In the room but not seen here: couch, LP cabinets, RCM, bookshelves, desk, computer, etc. We call it the music room for obvious reasons. And it can become guest space in a pinch.
Thanks for looking! Anybody else run 3.1 channels?
[EDIT: I've since gone to 5.1 by adding surround speakers. See post 16 below.]
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