Rives Audio Level 2 Design room w/Boulder electronics and Wilson Sasha speakers. The digital source is an Ayre DX-5 and my analog source is a Palmer 2.5 turntable w/Audio Origami PU7 arm and Soundsmith "The Voice" cartridge. Richard at Rives Audio was a pleasure to work with, and helped me with many of the details, including construction of the acoustic panels/treatments, along with the wiring (separate sub-panel w/ 3 dedicated 20 amp equipment circuits run with equal lengths of 10 gauge wire). The latest change was the addition of Equi=Tech balanced power units. This made a significant difference, like moving up several levels in electronics. The room measures very flat, and sounds fantastic!
Homegrown Media Server based on Computer Audiophile C.A.P.S. w/Origen M10 case, 4gb ram, 60gb SSD served by 1tb NAS
Palmer 2.5
Belt drive w/separate power supply
Audio Origami PU7
9" Arm
Soundsmith The Voice
Moving iron cartridge
Ayre Acoustics DX-5
Universal A/V Engine
Boulder 1010
Balanced Solid State Preamp
Boulder 1060
300 W/Channel (8 ohms), doubling into 4 and 2 ohms
Wilson Audio Sasha
3 Way full range floorstander
Tellurium Q Black Diamond
Tellurium Q Black Diamond balanced cables
Cardas Clear
Cardas Clear Speaker Cable, 3 m
Marantz AV-7005
Full featured preamp/processor w/HDMI inputs
Magnepan MG-SS1
Used for surrounds
Panasonic PT AX200U
1280 X 720p
Rives Audio Level 2 Design
It was a pleasure working with Richard at Rives. I did the buildout myself, including building the acoustical panels (with the exception of 4 RPG BAD Panels). Some details of the room include: sealed bass traps in each corner (lined with Owens Corning 705, and sealed w/rubber pond liner). Wall traps in side walls at 2nd reflection point. OC 702 absorbtion panels (4") at 1st reflection points, along with BAD panels. Staggered bookshelves in back of room for diffusion. Ceiling system w/baffles and OC 705 for absorption/diffusion. Hemispherical passive resonator in front of room, along with partial wood floor for live end/dead end effect.
RPG BAD Panel
Used for diffusion/absorption on walls
Equi=Tech Model 5Q Power Conditioner
Balanced Power Conditioner for Amplifier
Equi=Tech Model 1.5Q Power Conditioner
Power Conditioner for front end components
SteinMusic Harmonizer
Magic boxes and rocks that actually make a difference!
Thanks! The bass response seems very smooth. The room also seems relatively insensitive to positioning (within 6" or so) at least to my ears/the measurements we've done. I think the room ultimately limits the very low end, but not as much as you'd think (Rives had me use 5/8" drywall so the bass energy can escape the room, and the bass traps in each corner do a good job). The color works well, but I think I'd go with piano black for my next set. Tom
Thanks! I recently heard the Alexia's and am starting to get the itch. I think an upgraded interconnect between preamp and amp is next on the list, however. Tom
Actually, these are kind of old pictures. I replaced the internal crossovers with external x-overs mounted in back of the speaker. The speakers (with the new crossovers) do sound better with the magnets in front (like old maggies used to have). I'll post a schematic of the room that details the acoustic treatments (kind of).
