milpai's system

by milpai on Clear DayTvcQuadParasoundCullen CablesGikBrickwallHerbie's AudioOppoPuresonicAurisbluMeProAcUDP-205D48RBackert LabsRhumba 1.3Cardas ParsecInakustikFurutechIsoAcousticsGaiaReferenzLS-2404 AIRAsusUSBStreamingNF-2404 AIRISO-puck miniAudioQuest Fog Lifters

Description

Jan-2024
Added a Puron filter

Oct-2022
Added the Mazda 1960s grey plates 12AU7 to the Rhumba. They opened my eyes (and ears) as to why people are ready to pay so much for NOS tubes.

Aug-2022
Added Isoacoustic mini-pucks beneath the Inakustik and audio server.
Added a custom built audio server to replace the aging Asus laptop. I did not realize how much profound effect a dedicated server has on the quality of the sound.

Oct-2021
Added the ISO-puck mini under the Backert Labs Rhumba 1.3 and Oppo UDP-205.
Added Isoacoustic Carpet spikes for Gaia II.

Aug-2021
Added the AudioQuest Foglifters. Initially added for "looks" and cable dressing. But found that it adds finesse and delicacy to instruments in the music. My guess is the contact area of the cable from the original wooden raisers has reduced more than 90% and that might be the reason. I am happy.

July-2021
Added the GIK 242 ceiling panel that balanced the sound from the left speaker, that was getting missed due to the unavoidable soffit in the room. So much to learn from your own experience.

Dec-2020
Purchased the Fidelizer PRO. This has immensely changed the listening experience. Folks using a Windows machine should certainly give a shot to the free version. You have nothing to loose except 5 minutes. The best part of free version is it is an exe files that you run and not install. So if you don't like it, just delete the .exe.

Oct-2020
Upgraded Asus K52 with a Asus S400CA, 8GB RAM and 1TB SSD. Again, this is an older laptop repurposed for audio. Also added a NAS server and all audio files are on that server. Connection to this server is via ethernet and not wifi. Evaluating the free version of Fidelizer which makes very audible, positive change in my system.

Jul-2020
Repurposed an old laptop for streaming Spotify/Qobuz and also digital files. The laptop was upgraded from 3GB to 8GB RAM and from 250GB HDD to 1TB SSD for DSD and FLAC files. Installed Foobar2000 with Eole skin on the laptop to play the digital files. Using an old iPad mini 2 tablet with MonkeyMote to control this laptop remotely. Love this app!
Installed the Inakustik Reference High Speed USB between the laptop and Oppo 205, which is now used as a DAC.

Jun-2020
Added Inakustik NF-2404 XLRs between Oppo-Backert and Backert-Parasound.
Will try to find some time to do a mini review of these cables, if I find time. These cables pull you into the music way too much.

Mar-2020
Added Inakustik LS-2404 AIR biwire loudspeaker cables

Nov-2019
Added the IsoAcoustics Gaia II footers to the ProAcs

Jun-2019
Added the Inakustik AC-3500p power conditioner in the system.

Nov-2018
Replaced the Promitheus Reference C-core TVC with Backert Labs Rhumba 1.3 preamplifier

Jan-2018
Replaced the Quad 21L with the ProAc D48R in Ebony.

October-2017
Replaced the Teac CD-1000 SACD player with Oppo UDP-205 universal disc player.

September-2015
Replaced the Marantz SACD player with Teac CD-1000.

May-2015
New room finished in April. Room is 19 X 15 X 8. Three walls were already in place (concrete). Had the 4th wall built with double drywalls inside/outside and using GreenGlue. 2 dedicated 10gauge 20 amp lines for amps and electronics. Speakers are 4 feet from back wall and 3 feet from side wall. Placement of speakers, chair, panels etc are within 1/8th inch tolerance. Replaced Signal Cable power cables with Cullen Cables Crossover Series power cords, because I needed longer and flexible cables.

Feb-2015
Replaced Signal Cable Silver Resolution RCAs between Marantz and TVC with Clear Day's RCA cables.

Sep-2014
Replaced Signal Cable Silver Resolution XLR between TVC and amp with Clear Day's XLR cables.

Aug-2014
Replaced the Signal Cable Silver Resolution bi-wires with Clear Day Double Shotguns and jumpers between HF and LF speaker terminals.

04-Dec-2013:
Replaced original wooden footers under TVCs with Ebony footers. Simply unbelievable - what they did.

February 2012 - September 2012:
Been exited to have a dedicated room for this "passion". This word was emphasized by a female family friend. She was amazed by how passionately I could go on and on about this hobby. She likes classical music. Soon after we moved into our first home, I did post some questions on this forum about french doors. Those are in place now and I am happy with their looks. Per my wife (touch wood), I need to place something on the door panels for preventing reflections and maintaining privacy. Her support for me in this hobby has been outstanding and I would not have reached this far, if not for her. So, that treatment on the door will come sometimes later this year. This is a small room with 13.5'X12.5'X9' dimensions. I painted this room myself (first time, never did this before). The speakers are placed along the shorter wall. They are 40" from front wall and about 30" from side walls. They are about 7' apart with some toe-in. I sit slightly more than 7' away. All measurements are within 1/10" error. Finding the optimum position for speaker took me about 24 to 30 man hours. Though this is painful, the outcome of this exercise is mind-boggling. Got some granite to go between the floor and speakers. These are 18"X18"X1.5". This has tightened the bass and has provided necessary isolation from the wooden floor below. At the same time, added Herbie Audio Lab's Extra Thick Hush Puckies under the speaker spikes and the granite. This causes the speaker to not "ring" and provides stability to the speakers, because of the dBNeutralizer base. Since this is my own space, I added some treatments from GIK. Bryan Pape at GIK was very helpful and actually told me to go easy on the treatments. We started with 2 Tri-traps on the corners and 2 Monster Panels on the back wall directly behind the listening position. I liked the way the bass tightened up. Bryan suggested the 244 instead of 242s on the first reflection panels to take care of any phase issues as well. And that has turned pretty nice. Also got the terminations on the speaker wires changed from spades to BFA bananas. I am totally sold on the BFAs. Superb contact and fit. Some of you advised me to move the equipments from between the speakers. Though I could not do it 100%, what I did was, to disassemble the rack and use the shelfs on the floor directly. But the resulting change in the sound staging is simply fantastic. I never imagined that a rack placed between 2 speakers can mess the soundstage. With all this in place I did miss some "meat" in my system. But I thought it was the size of the room that was causing the nulls and there was probably nothing I could do. What finally brought "life" in my system was the new XLRs between the preamp (TVC) and the amp. The move from RCA to XLR in my system was nothing short of drastic. I have mentioned this on this site as well as a forum dedicated to Parasound Halo products. Apparently, there was not enough gain in my system and so the "meat" was missing on the bones, if you will. This was not so obvious in the previous apartment room, since it was small and the speakers used to be closer to the walls. In the near future, I would like to add 3 242 GIK panels on the front wall, behind the speakers. Will first experiment with the existing Monster Panels on the front wall.


March 2010:
The Parasound amp has changed my system profoundly. I cannot believe the transparency and expansiveness it has brought into my system. And it seems a very good match for my TVC as I set the TVC volume to lower levels than my previous amp.

April 2009: Added the Promitheus TVC, which took my system to an altogether different level. I did not imagine of such a performance from my system. Looking for a good power amp now. Want a power amp with high sensitivity and power - to match the TVC and also in case I upgrade my speakers at a later time.

August-2005
It took many listening sessions, forums, mags, etc to build this starter system. Was worth every minute spent for building it. Started with recommended components list - but ended with what my ears liked.
Read more...

Room Details

Dimensions: 19’ × 15’  Medium
Ceiling: 8’

Components Toggle details

    • ProAc Response D48R Loudspeakers
    Ebony with Ribbon tweeter.
    • Parasound A21
    250 watts RMS x 2, 20 Hz - 20 kHz,8Ω, Class AB Sensitivity: 1 V for 28.28 V
    • Backert Labs Rhumba 1.3
    Tube preamplifier with 2 X 12AU7 tubes
    • OPPO UDP-205
    Universal Disc player
    • Foobar Foobar2000
    PC Software - not for the weak at heart. But this has amazing features and comes with a lots of "skins". My favorite is the Eole.
    • MonkeyMote MonkeyMoteHD
    An iPad app for remote controlling Foobar2000 via wifi. Excellent interface.
    • Inakustik Reference Power Station AC-3500P
    Power Conditioner
    • Google Chromecast
    Casting Spotify/Tidal/etc over wi-fi
    • Inakustik LS-2404 Air
    Bi-wire speaker cables
    • Inakustik NF-2404 Air
    XLR Cables
    • Inakustik Reference High Speed USB
    USB cable
    • Cardes Parsec
    4 feet co-axial cable
    • Inakustik 2502F
    Power Cord
    • Furutech FI-28(R)/FI-32(R)
    • Cullen Cables Crossover Series 10 AWG
    Amplifier Power Cord
    • Cullen Cables Crossover Series 12 AWG
    SACD player power cord
    • IsoAcoustics Gaia II
    Isolation footers for loudspeakers
    • IsoAcoustics Gaia II Carpet Spikes
    Carpet Spikes for the Gaia II
    • IsoAcoustics ISO-puck mini
    Footers under the preamp and DAC
    • AudioQuest Fog Lifters
    Cable dressers and system enhancers.
    • World Market Kendall Chair
    Very comfortable chair. Suede. No support directly behind the head which means sound is not distorted. I was searching for something like this for quite some time. I looked at some LC2 and LC3 knock-offs. But they were all leather that could reflect sound. Chocolate color which also matches the GIK panels.
    • GIK Acoustics Tri-Trap
    For front corners behind the speakers, in coffee color.
    • GIK Acoustics Monster Bass Trap
    Mounted on the wall behind listening seat.
    • GIK Acoustics 244 Bass Trap
    Absorption panel in Coffee color, mounted at first reflection points, that also takes care of phase related issues. Plan to get 2 more to go in the center of the room behind the speakers.
    • GIK Acoustics 242 broadband panel
    2' X 2' absorption panel
    • Porterhouse Audio Porter Ports
    • Custom build Audio Server Audio Server
    Custom built audio server for streaming FLAC/DSD files and also other streaming services. Based on Streacom FC10 Alpha chassis.
    • Puron
    Power filter

Comments 283

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Owner
Thank You @toro3. I checked out your system and you seems to have new stuff for 2024. Good for you.

milpai

Love the detail of these pictures!

toro3

Owner
Added a Puron filter to the system. All I will say is - try it before you dismiss it.

milpai

Owner
Thank You for the kind words, @vsrrr.I
I feel that with the spikes, it brought out more "naturalness", especially in the lower bass. The granite were fine. But the spikes stabilized the speaker setup and for me, it was worth it. I intent to use those Inakustiks for a long long time.

milpai

Great room! Can tell you put a lot of thought into this!
If you don't mind me asking - did you feel that the IsoAcoustics spikes were really necessary for going under the Gaia's? Or did you achieve the same effect with the granite slabs?
PS. I'm having major Inakustik envy!

vsrrr

Owner
Not sure if Spotify changed their file format. But tonight sounds different, for better. Slightly extended upper frequencies and more open sound. Maybe a figment of my imagination.

milpai

Owner
I feel like a sense of achievement. I posted a couple of months ago on the MoFi speaker thread that 3 colleagues/friends came over to listen to my system. One of them purchased the Elac Debut B6.2 speakers in November/December time frame. And today another one got a completely new system - the Elacs 6.2 with Bluesound Powernode. I lent him my Signal Cable Classic speaker cables and he is in audiophile heaven listening to Spotify. Mind you, this guys is very young - 22. He is super thrilled to have this system. If I visit him, I will see if I can get hm to post here or if I can post his setup on my page.

milpai

Owner
@edsel95 ,
Thank You for the kind words 🙏🏼

milpai

Beautiful system. I love the green!

edsel95

Owner
@dcpillai ,
I did comment on your system page. Congratulations on the new acquisition. I was busy searching and finalizing the build of my new Audio Server that I built myself. Love the fanless desktop and the way it plays music.

milpai

Hi there @milpai, 

Just to let you know that I eventually went and did it .... I got the ProAc D48R speakers! They sound great now but I struggled for a couple of months with zoning them in. I eventually had to upgrade to the next level of Townshend Audio Podiums, but they were magical and resolved the boominess of the speakers! Still tweaking away but I am a happy trooper now. Thanks for the inspiration!   

BTW, your system pics are a class act.

Best,
Deepak

dcpillai

Thanks @milpai 

I appreciate the confirmation. I have been using the Audience for many years, but as my system has been upgraded recently, I think it's time to try something different. I like the technical aspects of the 2404, and, along with recommendations like yours, look forward to giving them a try.

whipsaw

Owner
Thank You @whipsaw !

I love the Inakustik cables in my system. They have provided me with the most transparent window to whatever changes I make. Very happy with them. IF you get a chance, do audition them in your system. Would love to hear your take on these cables.

milpai

Beautiful system, @milpai !

Are you still happy with the LS-2404 AIR speaker cables? I am considering an upgrade from my long-standing Audience cables.

Thanks.

whipsaw

Owner
@jerryg123 
It is the Behr's Moss Landing(410D-6). I was finally able to track the paint card that I had stored in the basement.

milpai

Very nice gear and room. What is that green called. I really like it.

jerryg123

Owner
Thank You @jperry 🙏🏼
Yes, I have multiple treatments and that is what makes the music sound amazing. But one thing is for sure - these ProAcs that we have, surely benefit from after market footers like the ones you and I have.

I have updated the system with a new picture showing the setup of the complete system with the Fog Lifters.

milpai

Milpai,

A great looking and (I am sure) sounding system. You have done a lot of room treatment, and that also looks great

Thanks for updating pics and sharing your system

jperry

Owner
Added AudioQuest Fog Lifters were on my mind for quite some time and finally decided to get them. These replaced the homemade wooden footers.
Also updated the system pics - added the Foobar Eole interface and the iPad app MonkeyMoteHD which I use to control the Foobar on the laptop which resides on the audio rack. The MonkeyMote was paid, but the Eole for Foobar2000 is free and simply outstanding.

milpai

Owner
Thank You for the kind words Deepak!
Yeah, Bose seems to be the common factor along with the hearing issues for our fathers. But my father was no audiophile. He liked music, but that's all.

Your room should be more than fine for the D48Rs. Just make sure that you have the room to place these at least 60" from the back wall and 30" from side wall. You can do with less space than that too, but you will have to add corner treatments, etc. My room is very similar to yours. It is actually 18.10 X 15.9 feet. In my system I mention it as 19 X 15. The Gaias were worthwhile additions and was money well spent. They cleared up the midrange and made the instruments and the overall music sound natural. Just make sure to install them as intended and level the feet per your liking. I listen to my system daily for at least 1 hour. The D48Rs has transformed my listening to way beyond what I had imagined was possible in my room. The fact that I listen to my system daily for at least an hour should tell you something.

milpai

Wonderful story milpai of your audiophile journey! Bose systems seem to have been a part of both our journeys, before we moved on to better things :-) 

You truly have a fabulous and well organized room and I just love those D48R ProAcs!  Am hankering to get a pair of D48R speakers myself but fear that they may overwhelm my room (which is 18 x 16 feet). Do you think that they would be too much for my room?  

I also see that you have replaced the spikes on your ProAc with Iso Acoustic Gaia II feet. What changes did you observe after switching to the Gaia II feet?

Look forward to your responses and wishing you happy listening in the meantime!  

Best wishes,
Deepak

dcpillai

Owner
Now that I am pretty happy with where my system is, I want to share the story of my audiophile journey. I had mentioned it briefly on @dcpillai system. My journey started with a "fascination" for music system (hardware) when I was in grade 5-6 when the newspapers ran full page advts of Sony/Akai/Aiwa/ etc. It was expensive to buy these "systems" back from where I came because in those days you had to pay 120% duty on "imported" systems. Very few acquaintances had such systems and they were loud with great bass. Unfortunately 99% of such system's speakers were mounted high up on the corners on the walls and it was almost like a PA system. I was ignorant to "quality of music" back then. But my parents had a 2-in-1 that played the regional AM radio and I loved to listen to that and the cassettes that we purchased. The radio was generally "on" from morning 7am to about 12pm since it provided background music and told you the exact time! But I loved the songs that played and this was a factor in me getting interested in music. Around grade 9 the cassette qualities got much better with "Thomsun Original" cassettes that I started to collect.

Then one day I heard a "Bose" system at my dad's friend's place. I believe this was the turning point for me where the focus switched from hardware to music. It was incredibly different and clean and amazing than the Sonly/Aiwa/Akai/etc systems I heard. When I got into college many of my friends had purchased the local brands that started making the "systems". While those systems sounded good and loud, they could not match what I had heard from the Bose system. So I decided to go with a cassette walkman that sounded so much better than these so called all-in-one systems. I waited for quite some time to get my first system. After I was 1 1/2 years into my first job, I gathered all y savings, took some loan and purchased a system that comprised of Bose AM5 Series II speakers, + Sony Receiver + Kenwood CD player + Technics dual deck cassette player. The cables were initially the ones that came in the boxes and after a year they were replaced my Monster cables. Obviously this system made music in a way that was 10X better than any of my friends had. So it became a norm that when any of them purchased a new CD/cassette, they used to get that to our place and we used to site down together and listen to them.

I "tried to like Jazz and Classical", but only a few numbers interested me and I did not care for those genres. A few years later I got a chance to listen to Ajay Shirke's (owner of Spendor, SME, Siltech, Cadence) personal system. This time I was completely floored. I could actually "see" music forming in thin air from the LPs he played on the Cadence Arca, SME turntable and the Forsell Airbearing CD player. Once I got home, my system started sounding like a all-in-one system. I started to go to audio shows and after sitting in on some long sessions on these shows, I started appreciating Jazz and Classical music much more. It was a pair of PSB Silver I and Krell monoblocks at one demo that was playing the Tutti CD from Reference Recordings that caught my eyes (ears). When I moved to the US, there were a few years I had to do with a CD and a cassette walkman because I had no moolah to get a nice system that I dreamed of. Well, I started back into this passion (yeah, not hobby anymore) in 2005 and have not looked back.
One thing I will honestly admit is that for me - it is not only the music, but also the fascination for "live sounding" systems that drives me to listening. I find that if a system sounds better, it engages me more to listen to the music. The music that I ignored with my very first system sounds pleasurable to listen to on my current system. I am grateful that I am into this hobby (passion). At the end of the day when you sit back and experience your system, it relaxes and rejuvenates you and gets you ready for the next day. How great is that!

milpai

Owner
Bruce,
Thank You for the kind words sir! One of the things that I learned from looking at other systems and positioning was about loudspeaker placement and symmetry. If you are able to nail the speaker placement, then the major work is done. Then you have to figure out the panels. Things that worked in other systems may not work in yours. I have found that a panel at the second reflection point killed the musicality.
So lot of stuff that you learn by checking other systems, communicating with other members, experimenting, etc. I remember your first system and you have come a long way yourself. In fact I would say you made much more changes to your system than what I did. You have experimented with a lot of speakers and components over the years. Yes, you are one of the members I connected way back and I am glad that we did. BTW, I love that flooring. Want to do it. But not top priority - especially since the finance ministry of the home will not approve the budget :-)

milpai

Just looked at your pics after posting that last, long response!  Looks like you have played with placement and possibly added some more room treatments!  Awesome room my Man!  You are an inspiration for me and my setup, thank you.  I def. get ideas from you , so thank you 👍😀

b_limo

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