Uncle Paul's Tiny Island of Paradise

[Uncle Paul]

I'm finally getting around to setting up the "Media Room" (AKA the big upstairs bedroom) in my new house. I'm nowhere near done yet, so here is a sneak preview.

I bought the Salamander Designs Synergy cabinet used from another AKer on Craigslist. It's a fantastic system and perfect for my needs. Sitting on top from the left is a Yamaha B-2, Yamaha M-4 sitting on top of Stoutblock's old Yamaha M-2, and finally, yes, another B-2. The B-2's are going into some heavy refurb, and will eventually be used to vertically bi-amp the JBL XPL-200A's sitting on either side of the cabinet.

None of these amps are staying there permanently. The B-2's will wind up on the bottom left and right in the cabinet, The M-4 is going to be my office amp. The M-2 will stand in for the B-2's during refurb.



Fast forward 30 years... Already in the cabinet is a Sherbourn PT-7030 and an Emotiva XPA5 Gen 2. Not seen in the pictures, but I have a 4 RU Silverstone HTPC in the middle shelf on the left. The majority of my listening comes from FLAC files stored on my NAS or from streaming. I use a V-Link to prevent jitter coming from the HTPC's USB port and converting to S/PDIF before connecting to the PT-3070, which has excellent DAC's. Eventually there will be a turntable or two up top, though mostly for nostalgia.

The PT-7030 is an amazing preamp that can handle 2 channel and HT with ease. It's really the most crucial piece in terms of allowing me to have a system that does it all and does it well.

The XPA-5 will be used for center and surround duty. This is really a great sounding amplifier that is not too far off of the M-2 sonically.



A couple more views of the room. As advertized it's small, about 13 feet square, but for now cozy is in. The next house will definitely have a much bigger room. Please excuse the smudge on top of the speaker, and yes I have a repair to do on the grill cloth frame.




Like I said, I'm just getting started with plenty to do including:

• Refoaming the 2214H-1's in the JBL XPL-200A speakers (this weekend)
• Other miscellaneous refurbs/repairs on the speakers.
• Forced air system for the amps on the bottom shelf. Because there is only 2 inches of free space above the XPA-5 and 3 above the B-2's I'm not powering anything up in those locations without air.
• Replacing caps, certain semiconductors, resistors and pots in the B-2's
• Building a center channel using XPL series driver I have squirreled away
• Pulling new power circuits
• Pulling cat-6 for the HTPC

I'll update as I make progress, and thanks for reading.

 

[CKDC]

That looks like a nice stack of gear.

I bet it could sound a whole lot better by removing the sofa from blocking the right speaker.

 

[lunchbox22]

 

[stoutblock]

Good to see you are putting the M-2 to good use but you have to get those B-2s in the mix. They are simply a great sounding amp with the right speakers. They sound different than any Yamaha amp I have heard. I can only imagine how two perform in vertical bi-amp setup! I have been looking for a second B-2 to try the same.

In that room you may want to consider going with a more vertical stack to save some floor space. Then you could pull the speakers in a little from the corners. Just a thought...

 

[Uncle Paul]

Oh, yes, the B-2's are very special. Before moving them here they played magically through the XPL's. I decided when we brought them here it was time for a thorough restoration. It would be a shame to lose any of the rare and wonderful V-FETs because of a failure of a known flaky part like the 2SC458's that can be replaced very inexpensively. I can't wait to get them back in service.

The room and the loveseat is one of those compromises all of us married guys are familiar with. It will do for now, but one way or the other this will go in a larger room. I have a significant amount of money tied up in land that the city placed a five year building moratorium on just before we went to file the building permits, and lost my 25 x 30 Media Room. I had too much tied up in the land to build or buy what I wanted, and for the next five years I can't sell the property for anywhere near it's value. When the moratorium ends I'll have more options. There WILL be a bigger room...

Fortunately, the XPL's are not picky about placement. I've also considered putting the cabinet into the closet if needed and I could keep things cool enough.

Also, I wanted to mention that all but one of those beautiful Yamaha amps has an AK pedigree:
The B-2 on the left is courtesy Nailer
The M-2 as mentioned was from Stoutblock
The M-4 was from Avionic
Not shown, but the eventual turntable, a Technics SP-15 from Mr. Pig

Bartertown is a wonderful place, indeed!

The refoam kits are due today, and I pulled and prepped the woofers last night.

 

[Rome]

Grand looking setup!

Rome

 

[avionic]

Oh, yes, the B-2's are very special. Before moving them here they played magically through the XPL's. I decided when we brought them here it was time for a thorough restoration. It would be a shame to lose any of the rare and wonderful V-FETs because of a failure of a known flaky part like the 2SC458's that can be replaced very inexpensively. I can't wait to get them back in service.

The room and the loveseat is one of those compromises all of us married guys are familiar with. It will do for now, but one way or the other this will go in a larger room. I have a significant amount of money tied up in land that the city placed a five year building moratorium on just before we went to file the building permits, and lost my 25 x 30 Media Room. I had too much tied up in the land to build or buy what I wanted, and for the next five years I can't sell the property for anywhere near it's value. When the moratorium ends I'll have more options. There WILL be a bigger room...

Fortunately, the XPL's are not picky about placement. I've also considered putting the cabinet into the closet if needed and I could keep things cool enough.

Also, I wanted to mention that all but one of those beautiful Yamaha amps has an AK pedigree:
The B-2 on the left is courtesy Nailer
The M-2 as mentioned was from Stoutblock
The M-4 was from Avionic
Not shown, but the eventual turntable, a Technics SP-15 from Mr. Pig

Bartertown is a wonderful place, indeed!

The refoam kits are due today, and I pulled and prepped the woofers last night.

Hows the M-4 holding up ?

 

[Uncle Paul]

Hows the M-4 holding up ?

Sounds like a beaut, and probably my most listened to amp. I telecommute 3 days a week, and it's been in my office system for the last few years. I do like the B-2's better, but can't use them there, because when I listen to them my eyes glaze over and I wouldn't get anything done. The M-4 sounds good enough that I can listen to it all day long, which can't be said of most amps.

It's also going to get a well deserved refurb, and it will be interesting to see if that also results in an improvement. Thank you again for parting with it!