Upgraded Audio Setup

[deepestpurple]

After spending close to 8 months in putting all the pieces together, my final setup is ready :yahoo: Now will be time to optimise the room acoustics and other parameters to get the best out of the equipments ...

You are welcome to audition it and give me your opinion/suggestions. Just PM me and we will setup a time

 

[sandeepmohan]

That is quite a line up you got there. More than your setup, I appreciate the simple approach towards isolating the equipment. Are those thick glass panels acting as shelves?

 

[Staxxx]

Looks excellent and very spacious!! Congrats.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Nice! Very spacious room.

There are no visible cables. Are they hidden or it is not connected yet?

 

[omishra]

good one! I like this. Must be sounding great.

 

[cyber_cat]

Congrats, jaw dropping system.

How do you describe the sound signature ?

 

[deepestpurple]

Let me share few details about the connections of the set-up -

At this stage the set-up is all connected and working fine I used Naim's NAC A5 as speaker cable and tri-wired the ATC's The recommended length for NAC A5 is 5 mtrs. So i have 30 metres of speaker cables running behind the set-up !!!! The banana plugs are QED's airlock ones. One concern I had while tri-wiring the set up was if the amp's speaker binding post will be able to support the stress of super thick and heavy set of three NAC A5 wire. Luckily the SL amp has two banana plugs in for each binding post. So it effectively allowed me to do a 3:2 config - combined the mid-range and tweeter into one, leaving a dedicated connection for the woofer. I have neatly wrapped the 30 mtrs of A5 into a S-shaped loop and secured it using the plastic lock-in bands and tucked it behind the setup. Hence you can't see it much hyeah:

For audio rack, I went for a DIY idea. Bought 14 mm thick glass and used earthly building blocks to stack the racks. Infact two sheet of 14mm glass supports the amp and for others its a single sheet. And best part, the spirit level shows it is all level :yahoo: (I might upgrade to a dedicated AV rack in future but for now I am OOM)

The RCA cable connecting the DAC to the Amp is from chameleon racks- Thanks to Dr Bass The MacBook air is connected to the DAC using Naim's DC1 BNC version through the M2Tech Hiface II. The CD5 XS is also connected using the DC1 to the DAC (Naim's CDP only supports BNC output for s/pdif).

For power cables, the DAC uses Naim's Powerline, Symphonic Line will get a Accoustic Revive ref series while I am happy with the Naim's stock power cable for the CD5 XS.

 

[Tanoj]

Looks so neat .... wonder how it sounds

Now will be time to optimise the room acoustics and other parameters to get the best out of the equipments ...

Once you done with the treatment , you will get to know the real essence of SQ, i see u already using carpet, just cover the wall behind the sitting position with thick blanket etc and notice immediate change , Bass traps are must too

Congrats

Tanoj

 

[sidvee]

Loooks great deepestpurple and I am sure sounds great as well.:clapping:
Cheers,
Sid

 

[deepestpurple]

Thanks everyone for your compliments

Coming to the question "how is the sound ?" - I listen to all genres of music except rap/hip-hop and I have found during my auditioning of various combination of systems that not all genre of music sound superb in each of the system. This is my personal view though ..... If there is a weak point in my set-up, it would be that Heavy/Death metal does not around as good as everything else ... Otherwise the sound is very transparent & neutral and the soundstage is amazing

I am hoping room treatment and some fiddling around with positions of the speaker and moving around furnitures will help improve the sound but then again the room is 27 X 25 ft living room and not sure how much will I be able to do/afford.

 

[soundofmusic]

Symphonic Line and ATC is a Match Made in Heaven. Enjoy the system:clapping:

Cheers

 

[ranjeetrain]

Let me share few details about the connections of the set-up -

At this stage the set-up is all connected and working fine I used Naim's NAC A5 as speaker cable and tri-wired the ATC's The recommended length for NAC A5 is 5 mtrs. So i have 30 metres of speaker cables running behind the set-up !!!! The banana plugs are QED's airlock ones. One concern I had while tri-wiring the set up was if the amp's speaker binding post will be able to support the stress of super thick and heavy set of three NAC A5 wire. Luckily the SL amp has two banana plugs in for each binding post. So it effectively allowed me to do a 3:2 config - combined the mid-range and tweeter into one, leaving a dedicated connection for the woofer. I have neatly wrapped the 30 mtrs of A5 into a S-shaped loop and secured it using the plastic lock-in bands and tucked it behind the setup. Hence you can't see it much hyeah:

For audio rack, I went for a DIY idea. Bought 14 mm thick glass and used earthly building blocks to stack the racks. Infact two sheet of 14mm glass supports the amp and for others its a single sheet. And best part, the spirit level shows it is all level :yahoo: (I might upgrade to a dedicated AV rack in future but for now I am OOM)

The RCA cable connecting the DAC to the Amp is from chameleon racks- Thanks to Dr Bass The MacBook air is connected to the DAC using Naim's DC1 BNC version through the M2Tech Hiface II. The CD5 XS is also connected using the DC1 to the DAC (Naim's CDP only supports BNC output for s/pdif).

For power cables, the DAC uses Naim's Powerline, Symphonic Line will get a Accoustic Revive ref series while I am happy with the Naim's stock power cable for the CD5 XS.

Nice to know, thanks for sharing!

You should also do a little write up listing the components and how did you end up with this setup. Will make for a great reading and everyone will appreciate

And I really like your DIY rack idea. I have used a similar idea in past for a temporary setup. It was fun. :clapping:

 

[deepestpurple]

I will soon write about the way I went about picking the components It is going to be a story worth sharing ....

I received few queries about pricing of the Naim. Hence sharing the retail price list that I have for Naim -

Naim : http://www.tomtomaudio.co.uk/pdf/naim_price-list_april2013_uk.pdf


Rgds
Rajib

 

[gvenu]

Wonderful set-up and it must also sounding great!!!

Regards
Venu

 

[kapvin]

Wow!

Looks really great and uncluttered. Fine choices too

 

[deepestpurple]

Getting into audiophile gears - my journey line : part 1 !!!

While I have been into music since I was a kid I must admit I was not into audiophile gear, simply because I was not aware of the science/sound of audiophile equipments. My ownership of audio equipment, rather my Dad's started with a HMV Gramophone (circa 1978) player along with few 100 LP's which I used to play all around the clock hyeah: This forced him to sell it off fearing that I will never get to books if the gramophone player existed in the home :roll eyes: !!! Next thing that came to my home (oh yes I did not stop pestering my Dad till the time he got something to replace the HMV GP) was a National Panasonic 2in1 (circa 1982) and that set me going with the cassettes ... This setup lasted for good 9 yrs till a new Phillips Double Deck 2in1 replaced the veteran (circa 1991) It was by that time that CD's entered the market in my part of India and all the brand started to add the CDP to the 2in1's. I just used to day dream about owning a Phillips Powerhouse some day hyeah: (if you remember the ad for Phillips Powerhouse, it used to play Deep Purple's Highway Star) However my engineering years had to pass on with cassettes as my Dad firmly said anything beyond the Phillips had to be done with my money :sad: However with God's grace I did land a job in the campus (circa 1997) and the first thing I did with my 1st month's salary was to go buy myself a CD system hyeah: I was fortunate to be posted in Trivandrum at that point of time and the trip to the Beemapalli Market was one of the post memorable walk I have taken in my life !!! The options just floored me : it was like being a kid left alone in an ice-cream shop :clapping: My one months pay could only get me a imported Phillips CDP system but to me that was heavenly, to be able to get a better system and that too with your own money. Soon I moved to Bangalore (circa 1998) and a trip to Majestic made me realise I needed a upgrade soon :sad:. I was so awed by the new systems that I borrowed money from my friends and exchanged the Phillips to get myself a 2200 watt Aiwa system. I can never forget the sound of the Aiwa, it was just so nice and wonderful. I still have the system in working condition in my parents place and till date consider it to be one of the best audio equipment i was fortunate to own :yahoo:

To be continued ....