Post your Speaker setup PICS!!!!!!

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since you have so many pairs, do you use certain ones for different audio environments (music/movies/games/whatever)?

Pretty much. My choice of can depends on music genre, mood, how much noise there is around me (open vs. closed cans).
 
Updated setup:

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Class A amp... Thank you for raising my power bill. That power plant they put in down the street? That's just to supply your one amplifier with the power that it needs to make sound no better than my Class A/B and H amps. Other than that, get yourself a real TV/AV stand.
 
Class A amp... Thank you for raising my power bill. That power plant they put in down the street? That's just to supply your one amplifier with the power that it needs to make sound no better than my Class A/B and H amps. Other than that, get yourself a real TV/AV stand.

Someones green with envy. :rolleyes:
 
Someones green with envy. :rolleyes:

Not in the slightest. I just don't like such inefficient electronics when we have 90% efficient Class D amplifiers that sound 100% as good. Yes, 100%. My setup is better than his, too. 'course that wasn't the original intent of my post, but I think it's a valid counterpoint to your post.
 
I check this thread almost daily because I like to see the creative systems folks put together. I would like to encourage forum members to post their pics, regardless of price. Thanks for posting feverfive. I am thinking of putting together a similar audio system.

No problem... Oh, and the other MF'er can take his self-important, superior a$$ & pound sand.:D
 
Not in the slightest. I just don't like such inefficient electronics when we have 90% efficient Class D amplifiers that sound 100% as good. Yes, 100%. My setup is better than his, too. 'course that wasn't the original intent of my post, but I think it's a valid counterpoint to your post.

Jesus christ, shut the fuck up no one cares what you think.
 
Not in the slightest. I just don't like such inefficient electronics when we have 90% efficient Class D amplifiers that sound 100% as good. Yes, 100%. My setup is better than his, too. 'course that wasn't the original intent of my post, but I think it's a valid counterpoint to your post.




Good for you. Would you like a cookie?



Well you can't have one. Because you're mean.
 
Not in the slightest. I just don't like such inefficient electronics when we have 90% efficient Class D amplifiers that sound 100% as good. Yes, 100%. My setup is better than his, too. 'course that wasn't the original intent of my post, but I think it's a valid counterpoint to your post.

reminder this is DANDRAGONRAGE's (sweet name) setup:
http://kawaii-shoujo.net/AntiAliased/speakers3.jpg

which has speakers with what appears to be swan midrange drivers, vifa .75" ring radiator tweeter and if im not mistaken a mach 5 woofer

how these speakers are better than a sonus faber guarneri homage is still baffling to me. sure the guarneri are far from the best value in audio but they still have professionally designed crossovers and top of the line tweeters and woofers

lets not forget akwok also has sennheiser HE90, some of the best sounding headphones in the world.

basically "dragonrage" needs to shut up because all he does is give negative comments to people and then turns out to be wrong, which is embarrassing because he looks like such a dumbass aftwards
 
Class A amp... Thank you for raising my power bill. That power plant they put in down the street? That's just to supply your one amplifier with the power that it needs to make sound no better than my Class A/B and H amps. Other than that, get yourself a real TV/AV stand.

I drive two hummers, leave the tap on while I brush my teeth, flush the toilet twice after every use (sometimes three times depending on viscosity), and I never turn the lights off in my house, even when I sleep. I think my Class A usage is the least of your concerns!
 
and if im not mistaken a mach 5 woofer

You are mistaken. And They look like crap, yes, but you've never heard them, have you? Those M4Ns are actually fairly low distortion midranges. They're only crap as woofers. And the XT19 is basically the best tweeter you can use for 3.5kHz on up as said by John Krutke. Also, speakers are but one small part of a system, my friend. You think that because you can identify a couple of drivers (which happen to be some of the easiest drivers to identify), you can make a valid counterpoint? Try harder next time.

Just FYI, I never said I dislike his system, just that amp, really.
 
Class A amp... Thank you for raising my power bill. That power plant they put in down the street? That's just to supply your one amplifier with the power that it needs to make sound no better than my Class A/B and H amps. Other than that, get yourself a real TV/AV stand.
Please, a hairdryer uses way more power than a Class A amp. Digital amps? I haven't heard one that didn't sound dry - all those switches and the multiple amplification stages.


I drive two hummers, leave the tap on while I brush my teeth, flush the toilet twice after every use (sometimes three times depending on viscosity), and I never turn the lights off in my house, even when I sleep. I think my Class A usage is the least of your concerns!

You drive 2 hummers (parents) or you own 2 hummers. Last I checked, there would be no purpose to having 2 hummers for personal use. Sell one and get the Magico Minis complete with a Torus sub. Nice to finally see your system btw... any future plans/upgrades?
 
You drive 2 hummers (parents) or you own 2 hummers. Last I checked, there would be no purpose to having 2 hummers for personal use. Sell one and get the Magico Minis complete with a Torus sub. Nice to finally see your system btw... any future plans/upgrades?

It was a joke. ;)

No future upgrades.
 
another attempt to get this thread going back in the right direction.

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I moved the bose speakers to my TV... These are pretty decent speakers too.
 
Right click on it, select "Save Image As...". Now right click on the file you saved, select "Properties" and then the "Summary" tab.
Use a decent browser like Opera & you don't even need to save it, just right click on the image & click 'properties'.
 
Not in the slightest. I just don't like such inefficient electronics when we have 90% efficient Class D amplifiers that sound 100% as good. Yes, 100%. My setup is better than his, too. 'course that wasn't the original intent of my post, but I think it's a valid counterpoint to your post.

No offense man but I think you're just trolling. Imo high end analog switching Class D amps have nothing on high end Class A amps at the moment in terms of sound quality and as for Digital Class D...good gear like TacT equipment starts at $1k and just goes up from there. I have no doubt that eventually Class D will offer viable alternatives to Class A amps but right now, most Class D amps are being targeted towards mid-fi, having moved up from low-fi sub and htib tech. Bel Canto, Cary, and Rotel all have good analog Class D power amps but nothing outstanding enough to drive most buyers away from Class A amplifiers. There are some good Tri-path Class T amps like the RWA Sig 30 but I still wouldn't want to power my new pair of Guarneris with them.

About your speakers, disregarding the use of inferior drivers, cross-overs, and most likely interior bracing and sound dampening compared to the Sonus Fabers; not to mention that you have what looks like paper mache as speaker cabinets, positioning on those speakers is terrible. Instead of telling people to buy real stands, why don't you get a real room to put your gear in. I don't mean to come off as that harsh but I mean come on, do you just enjoy attacking other people's rigs?

Use a decent browser like Opera & you don't even need to save it, just right click on the image & click 'properties'.

If you're using Firefox, you can also download an Add-on call FxIF that'll also let you just right click to see Exif data if it's there. It's what I use and it's a lot more conveniant than saving the image then deleting after.
 
Lol it snapped in half.....It sucks i hit all the pads but the bass drum always hits doubles.
 
I just picked up the Cary 306/200 from a local audiophile who’s becoming a friend of mine. He has a knack for collecting CD players (among other things) and he somehow wanted to get rid of this venerable player. I dunno why, but it certainly was my gain!

Anyway, when I was over his place, we had a good time a/b-ing what was still his Cary CDP against my PS Audio Digital Link III DAC. It was apparent that the PSA DAC was subpar compared to this world class player. Imaging was smeared and timbre was not sufficiently accurate. There was grain between the players/musicians/instruments and there was a lack of stage depth – most apparent with the literal up-front presentation, a type of inadequacy I’ve come to associate with less than stellar audio equipment.

It was easy to see that my wallet was in trouble, but seeing as how my birthday is only 2 days away – I figured what the hell… I deserve this CDP! So we packed it up and I brought it home…

My theory...
My theory that has been honed by my experience over the years has been that stellar equipment always manage to tighten the image and bring it closer and closer to a dense, palpable, and believable rendition of the real deal. Phenomenal improvement in my system – with my still new Cary SLP-05 preamp at the helm and the help of a solid foundation that is the Cary 306/200, I don’t even want to recall back to the sound my Summits pushed out when I was still running them off of my Soundblaster XFi soundcard + Rotel RB1070/RC1070 combo!

Man… it’s taken me some time to really get the source squared away and despite the fact that the PS Audio DAC III was a fine DAC, I always felt that I had short-changed my system. It was still the weak link despite being an improvement over the stock DACs within my Squeezebox 3. Finally, I feel that my system is somewhat rounded and balanced.

Anyone on the fence regarding the Cary 306/200 should NOT BE. It is a phenom of a player and at used prices, it is a steal. The improvements are very discernable especially on a transparent speaker like the Summits. I would say that I’ve improved the system by approximately 25-35%. It does exactly what I felt that it should and no more/no less.

Improvements:
- Imaging has been improved. James Blunt is stable and very localized within a foot behind the speaker plane (depending on volume). The air around him is further improved (blacker) when I switch to Class A on the Plinius. I feel that on Class A/B with the Plinius, the imaging of his voice through the Cary is AS GOOD AS through the PSA DAC III with the Plinius at full Class A… now switch the Plinius to Class A through the Cary and you will see that this is no joke! The Cary 306/200 is an absolute imaging phenom!
- Timbre is improved. The guitar has better decay and better leading edge. The drums are more articulate. The trumpet has more life. It is very impressive that I could actually tell the difference when I a/b the PSA DAC III to the Cary… I’m not particularly keen with instruments, but the improvement is so apparent that I can’t help but notice!
- Musicality is up a notch. With improved timbre and imaging comes a helping dose of musicality. Things just sound better through the Cary. It’s not a question of psychoacoustics, it’s a step towards better listening.

Conclusion:
Reading the numerous reviews on this player, I was skeptical as to exactly what it would bring to my system. I am already happy with how my system sounds with all the amplification and preamplification improvements I had made over the recent year and I felt that I would be let down by the hype. However, I’m so glad that high end truly exists and that you get what you pay for. The PSA DAC III is a good $1000 unit, it does what the price demands. On the other hand, the Cary 306/200 is a good $5000 unit, it does exactly what the Ayre C5xe did for me during my audition last year. I have no doubt that more expensive or more current players are probably a tad better, but for the used price – I’m a totally happy camper.

I love the fact that it has digital inputs, a requirement of mine especially since most of my music collection is stored in a hard drive ala FLAC. The Ayre, Krell, and various other popular CDPs don’t have this luxury and despite the acclaim of said CDP, I can’t afford to buy a CDP purely for spinning the silver discs. The Cary came out on top from my research so it was purely a waiting game.

I don’t regret this purchase. The only regret I have is that I should’ve done this sooner.

Thanks all!

Joey

Here are some pics as always…
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New setup...
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Old setup...
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A/B-ing the two sources...
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The speaker - pardon the dust! I'm moving to a new (read: MUCH nicer) apartment in a week! :)
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Can't wait to relocate my system to the new place.... will post some new pics then! 1 week and counting! :D:D
 
I don't want to piss on your parade, as I understand this is your hobby and all that. Still, I gotta say it. The real deal is cleaned up with protools and mixed down to sound good on the lowest common denominator. There is nothing 'real' about a James Blunt CD. The man's voice is ran through so many filters and layered until it sounds absolutely perfect. If you want to hear it the way it's meant to be played, stick it in an Aiwa bookshelf system or your car stereo and enjoy. That's what it's mastered for.

I guess I'm just trying to say that if you really enjoy your fancy stereo, that's cool. But please save the psychosomatic justifications. You'd get a lot better sound quality for your dollar if you put your fancy stereo in a less cluttered and cramped room and positioned your speakers correctly.
 
Wow, nice upgrade Pinipig :)

I'm currently researching high end players myself. So how far ahead did you find the Cary player to the Ayre? Did you audition any Esoterics?

If you want to hear it the way it's meant to be played, stick it in an Aiwa bookshelf system or your car stereo and enjoy. That's what it's mastered for.

While its true that most if not all pop music today was made for the lowest common denominator, that is really only in the final mastering process. The actual recording for many artists is still world class. Protools can be phenomenally clean in and of itself. It can be argued that high end gear allows you to hear more into the recording, in addition to the mastering. High end gear will sound great with great recordings, and will also reveal flaws of lesser recordings. Some high end gear attempts to at least make it listenable nonetheless.
I've no problem with Pinipig's findings; were he not to offer any, I'd imagine he would have some folks questioning a CD player that cost more than 100 dollars. Something along the lines of "dude, its all ones and zeroes" :rolleyes:
 
I don't want to piss on your parade, as I understand this is your hobby and all that. Still, I gotta say it. The real deal is cleaned up with protools and mixed down to sound good on the lowest common denominator. There is nothing 'real' about a James Blunt CD. The man's voice is ran through so many filters and layered until it sounds absolutely perfect. If you want to hear it the way it's meant to be played, stick it in an Aiwa bookshelf system or your car stereo and enjoy. That's what it's mastered for.

I guess I'm just trying to say that if you really enjoy your fancy stereo, that's cool. But please save the psychosomatic justifications. You'd get a lot better sound quality for your dollar if you put your fancy stereo in a less cluttered and cramped room and positioned your speakers correctly.

Oh, I enjoy it when others' piss on my parade and I enjoy it when people read into my review as my psychosomatic justification for the purchase. :rolleyes:

What I enjoy more is when people who haven't heard my system have the conviction to say that whatever music I listen to would sound better through an Aiwa bookshelf. And I love it when people criticize my room, though if you were careful enough to read into my post - it states that I am moving to a new place where room constraint will be a non-factor. :rolleyes:

Thanks for stopping by, NB. Do not worry, I wasn't trying to psychosomatically justify my purchase. Anyone (and I mean anyone) with 2 ears regardless of being an audiophile or not, can easily hear the difference between the Cary CDP and any run of the mill CDP or the PS Audio DAC III that it replaces - so long as it's through my system or equally transparent system.

Psychosomatic justification? I don't think so. I listened to the Cary vs my DAC at the guy's place prior to buying it. I didn't want to take it home and force myself to like it and in doing so, start to hear things that aren't real... to start making up the differences in my head. I did not want to own the CDP prior to hearing what it could do because quite oftentimes, a person is more inclined to sing praises (audiophiles especially) about an equipment that they have a vested interest in (i.e. owning the gear) without much objectivity of the situation.

The ONE THING I hate in audio is people hearing things that aren't there. I hate it when people embelish on sh1t and I hate it when people ramble on about the minute differences between component 1 and component 2.

I'm not like that and I approach equipment upgrades very logically. If I have to strain to hear the difference, then it's not an upgrade worthy of my spending money on it. If I don't have to strain and I can easily hear it without a doubt - even if you blind folded me - then I'll take the component as long as the price is fair. I listened to the Cary vs my DAC and the difference between the Cary CDP and the DAC is greater than the difference between the PS Audio DAC and my computer's soundcard (XFi) or the Squeezebox 3.

The difference between the Cary and the DAC can be summarized as going to the optometrist and getting a new prescription. If the audio images were the letters/numbers on the chart at the optometrist's office when you get your eyes checked - the Cary is like a fresh prescription while the PS Audio DAC/XFi/Squeezebox 3 are like when you're off a few. It's that simple.

Now, what I really hate are people who judge my system WITHOUT even hearing it. Nigerian businessman, your pessimistic outlook on audio has been duly noted.

You'd get a lot better sound quality for your dollar if you put your fancy stereo in a less cluttered and cramped room and positioned your speakers correctly.


Is this up to your standards then?
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Wow, nice upgrade Pinipig :)

I'm currently researching high end players myself. So how far ahead did you find the Cary player to the Ayre? Did you audition any Esoterics?

Thanks!

I have listened to the Ayre, but I have not yet listened to any of the Esoterics. The one thing I don't like about the Esoterics is their use of opamps, however, many swear by them and they are probably good.

I really do like the Ayre - I think one would be VERY hard pressed to beat out the Ayre C5xe for flat out redbook or SACD playing. There's good reason why many consider the Ayre C5xe the pinnacle of real-world source components! It's really that good if you have the right system (meaning your system has enough resolution). Mind you, I've owned some speakers where I could seriously NOT tell the difference between a DAC and the computer soundcard or going from Class AB on my Plinius to Class A... in those systems, the impact of an Ayre C5xe would not be as striking, for obvious reasons of lack of fidelity (I'm talking about >$2K speakers here).

I did not get the Ayre C5xe for 2 reasons -
1. It costs $6K new.... considerably more than I was willing to spend. Even used prices are high at about $4000 to $4500.
2. It has NO digital inputs, one cannot use the Ayre as a standalone DAC. This is a necessity for me because I have 250gb of music stored as FLAC and my CD collection is pitiful.

Bottomline, I spent $1800 on the Cary CDP (used). The PS Audio DAC can be sold for $800. The net outlay is $1000. When I listened to it, after having heard a good portion of what is offered in the market, I felt that I was getting a good return on that $1K. I blew my audio budget for the rest of the year... but it was worth it.
 
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