Really interested in how everybody is using their dCS equipment, how it is partnered, and how it looks.
What is your setup? Bartók, Rossini, Vivaldi, or legacy?
Are you using separate tubes or solid state pre amps, or straight out to power amps? Speakers, headphones?
What control are you using? Mosaic, Roon etc. ?
Are you going for maximum audiophile quality? And how? How does your room, your listening environment, look?
And of course, how is it panning out for you?
I’ve seen some snippets, with not too many photos, through the other topics, but thought it would be great to collect in one place.
The bureau with iMac that runs Audirvana when I use it, or Roon. It also has a USB infrared receiver plugged in so I can push next track on a remote control. Much easier to have a physical remote in your hand while listening instead of reaching to the iPad.
Haddock and Tintin
Beneath them are an Antipodes CX server containing the music library and running Roon core.
A SOTM ethernet switch
A Power conditioner from witch these get their power.
My Vivaldi stack. It gets it’s power from a dedicated line. I had a Shunyata Denali power conditioner at a certain point but I was happier with the sound without it. The power is distributed by a Furutech block. Notice that I like to put cables (MIT interconnects, Shunyata snakes) out of sight as much as possible (such a mess ).
The amps are Pass Labs X600.5 monoblocks. No pre-amp. The speakers are B&W .
The plants work as diffusers and so do the books in the chest although I like to read them.
The sound is clear, crisp and it is unbelievable how the sound hangs in the air between and even at the side of the speakers as if there are no speakers at all in the room. Great soundstage. No urge to play loud.
There is no need for me to upgrade the coming thirty years as far as I am concerned. (although I did say that a few times before
An elegant set up with great use of your space ( no hi-fi altar between the speakers ). Love the Bonsai tree damping the case of ( I think) the wordclock .
Very nice Rene. It looks like a place of solace, comfort, and enjoyment. As Pete, I like the way it looks less like an audiophile altar, and more like a place in which to enjoy music.
At least the equipment storage is below the mid and treble units of the speaker.
So, not ideal but a decent compromise if it has to be that way. But the picture suggests an unencumbered space where moving the equipment rack through 90 degrees and to the side may be possible with its associated benefits.
One other thought considering the speaker position ( though the camera may foreshorten the apparent distance to the front wall) . Have you tried using the port blanking plate on the rear port and not the front port opening? I anticipate that you have experimented but thought I would ask.
I got your point, and I even agree to it, but there are so many practical situations that I think this is the least to worry about.
I mean, most of us have a ceiling. Better not, of course
Coming from the professional music business, live gigs and studio sessions, I have learned how to control these variables. Never there is a no, when it is not ideal. It is actually never ideal.
For the end user, when you listen to the recorded music, you never know about all the compromises that have been taken. But your ears will tell. Where the altar is? The least of compromises. But indeed, if you can put it to the side, better.
Hope the pic is clear enough but basically MBL amps, SME/Lyra turntable and Audio Physic speakers. I could only get one in the shot but the other is the same.
This system is the culmination of 25 years of steady upgrades. I’m pretty close to done; a couple more Stealth power cable upgrades and some isolation between the DeBussy/UClock, the UClock/Puccini SACD and the SACD and the rack are on the way courtesy of Eden sound. Check them out—great company and their TerraStone products are awesome.
The full rundown:
COMPONENTS
D’Agostino Momentum HD preamp
D’Agostino Momentum 300 mono amps (x2)
dCS DeBussy DAC
dCS Puccini SACD/CD
dCS UClock
Marchand XM66 crossover
Shunyata 2000T power conditioner
Shunyata 6000V2 power conditioner
Red Dragon M-1000 Class d amps (x2)
Revel Salon I speakers
Revel Sub-15 passive subs (x2)
INTERCONNECTS
Preamp to amps for main speakers. Stealth Indra V7
Preamp to crossover. Stealth Metacarbon
DAC to preamp. Stealth Sakra
SACD/CD to preamp. Audioquest Water
Crossover to class d amps for subs. Straightwire Virtuoso R
UClock to DAC. Stealth Varidig BNC
UClock to SACD/CD. Stealth Varidig BNC.
POWER
Wall to Shunyata 6000V2. Stealth V10 (wall)
Shunyata 6000V2 to DAC. Stealth Cloude 99 (full)
Shunyata 6000V2 to UClock. Stealth Cloude 99 (front)
Shunyata 6000V2 to SACD/CD. Stealth Cloude 99 (front)
Shunyata 6000V2 to preamp. Stealth V10 (pre)
Shunyata 6000V2 to crossover. Stealth Swift
Wall to Shunyata 2000T. Stealth V10 (wall)
Shunyata 2000T to D’Agostino amps. Stealth V10 (power) (x2)
Wall to RPG400. Audioquest Thunder (x2)
RPG400 to class d amps. Stealth Cloude 99 full; Silver Sonic
SPEAKER WIRE
Amps to Revel Salons. Stealth custom bi-wire.
Class d amps to passive subs. Straightwire Maestro.
I don’t have too many regrets over trading up the Debussy to Bartók performance wise, but I do miss its classy curvy slim profile. Not even a lighted logo (which I happen to leave off) can make up for the Bartók’s boxiness.
).
). Love the Bonsai tree damping the case of ( I think) the wordclock .
