pdspiegel - Primary Audio System

by pdspiegel on
Speakers, subwoofer, and component cabinet in the living room.
View from the best listening seat.
Oriaco G6 and the component cabinet.
Top shelf of the component cabinet.
Dr. Feickert Blackbird w/Sorane 1.2 tonearms and Denon DL-103
Dr. Feickert Blackbird w/Sorane 1.2 tonearms, Denon DL-103 & DL-102, Outer ring clamp
Homebrew phono stage (Allen Wright's FVP5 design) out of the cabinet.
Lundahl 1933 SUTs with variable loading
Lundahl SUTs and Stereo Phono Preamp
Mono Phono Preamp front view
Mono Phono Preamp top view
Homebrew Line Stage with type 31 DHT tubes
Homebrew Line Stage rear view on my assembly bench.
Sony SCD-XA5400es w/Vacuum State mods.
Marantz NA6006 DAC/Music Player/Streamer
Sony XDR-F1HD Tuner
Tascam DA-3000 PCM/DSD Digital Recorder
Cabinet bottom shelf with power amps.
Homebrew balanced hybrid class A power amps
Homebrew all tube power amp option - PP 2A3
Ever expanding vinyl collection. I built the two smaller cabinets to match the style of larger commercial cabinets I bought years ago and thought I would never fill-up. :)
CD and SACD silver discs in the hallway

Description

My primary audio system is the living room so it needs to be clean and presentable.  Electronics are in an old entertainment cabinet with a removed back for wall mounted shelves and easier access to cables.  
I enjoy building and modifying so my system is a mix of home-brew as well as stock and modded manufactured gear.
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Room Details

Dimensions: 14’ × 20’  Medium
Ceiling: 9’

Components Toggle details

    • Tonian Labs - Oriaco G6 Speakers
    Oriaco G6 "bookshelf" speakers built by Tony Minasian of Tonian Labs.  Lively with a natural tonal balance.  Stands custom built by Hi-Fi Racks in the United Kingdom.
    • REL Acoustics - Subwoofer T/7x
    Works best angled in the corner just like the set-up instructions said.  I used the Stereophile Test CD bass warble tones and an iPhone sound meter app to dial in the smoothest response.  Integrates well with the main speakers adding lower frequency weight, extension, and ambiance without drawing attention.
    • Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird

    With upgraded power supply and platter.

    • Sorane 1.2 Tonearm (2)
    The right arm for stereo playback is connected to the Lundahl SUTs in front of the stereo preamp.  The back arm dedicated to mono playback is connected to the mono preamp with a single twisted pair shielded cable.
    • Denon DL-103, DL-102
    Standard DL-103 in the stereo tonearm is connected to a pair of SUTs before the stereo phono preamp.  DL-102 in the mono tonearm in connected to the mono phono preamp.
    • Wayne's Audio SS-U
    I find an outer rim clamp essential for playing LPs that are not absolutely flat.
    • Homebrew - Phono Stage (FVP5)
    The phono stage is based on Allen Wright's single ended FVP5 design from his "Tube Preamp CookBook."  The input stage is a cascode with low noise FET underneath a 6DJ8 triode.  RIAA eq is split with following common triode stage.  Includes Allen's "SuperReg" opamp controlled shunt regulator.  I built the raw power supply in a separate chassis.
    • Homebrew - Lundahl 1933 SUT

    I use a pair of Lundahl LL1933 step-up transformers (SUT) with breakout PCBs from Erhard Audio for stereo playback.  A stereo Alps 500K potentiometer allows me to try out different cartridge loading.  I think the DL103 sounds best loaded at 600 ohms.

    • Homebrew - Mono Phono Preamp

    This is Diego Nardi’s (Audio Note) MonoPhono design from Sound Practices Issue 16.  I used Allen Wright’s SuperReg in the power supply.  I tweaked the resistors in the turnovers circuits to get as close as possible to the best pre-RIAA curve information I could find.  A 100K potentiometer enables variable cartridge loading.  I think the DL102 sounds best at 3K ohms.

    • Homebrew - Line Stage DHT Preamp
    The line stage preamp is my own design and implementation, although there is nothing radical about it.  Old radio tubes are astonishingly linear and with careful power-supply design can sound clear, clean, and transparent.  The single ended gain stage uses a type 31 directly heated triode (DHT) with a current regulated filament and very well filtered B+.
    • Marantz - NA6006 DAC/Music Player/Streamer
    Connected via ethernet. I stream from Amazon HD as well as play files from storage via a PC running jRiver.  Recently I've been enjoying DSD128 downloads from HDTT and NativeDSD Music.
    • Sony w/VSE mods - SCD-XA5400es CD/SACD Player
    • Sony - XDR-F1HD Tuner AM/FM/HD
    I like having a tuner to listen to some great terrestrial classical, jazz, and R&B programs/stations available in our major media market.  There are many digital HD and alternate channels to choose from as well.
    • Homebrew - Balanced Hybrid Class A Power Amp Monoblocks
    My own design using a differential pair of 12B4 triodes capacitor coupled to a pair of source-follower IRF240 MOSFETs sitting on regulated current sinks.  Simple approach has one tube voltage gain stage followed by one SS current gain stage.  No feedback used.  Speakers are directly connected.  The big heat sinks are required for class A operation.  I measured about 20 watts into 4 and 8 ohm loads before clipping.  I made a wood chassis.
    • Homebrew - Push-Pull 2A3 Class A Power Amp Monoblocks
    I've recently revised my pair of PP 2A3 amps that were my first self-design and build.  The first stage is now a pair of differential 12BY7A pentodes with enough voltage gain and current to drive a pair of NOS 2A3 output tubes via capacitor coupling.   The output transformers are copies of the Dynaco A-470 (ST-70).  Rectifiers are a pair of 6CL3 damper diode tubes.  The additional tube is a 6L6GC which is used for the output stage current sink.  Power is about 10 watts into both 4 and 8 ohms.  Output impedance on the 8 ohm tap is 1.6z.  Bloomier, rounded, and more 3D than the hybrid amps but with less detail.  A fun option to have.
    • Tascam DA-3000 Digital Recorder
    A pro-level recorder to make digital files from vinyl as needed (usually to share with friends).  Records 24/192 PCM as well as DSD.
    • Homebrew Speaker, interconnect, and main cables
    Designs are copied from, or inspired by, Allen Wright's "SuperCables CookBook."  Interconnects are made with solid 30ga silver-coated PTFE insulated or hair-thin superfine wire in PTFE tubing.  I like the low-mass KLEI RCA phono connectors.  For balanced I like mini-DIN connectors.  Speaker cables are made with 1 inch diameter flat copper ribbons.  Main cables are made with 10ga or 12ga solid copper house wiring.

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