noble101's Latest System

by noble101 on
System Front
System Rear Wall GIK Panels
System Rear Wall GIK Panels #2
System Right Wall GIK Panels
System Front Wall Side View with Sub#1of 4 & GIK Panels
System Main Horizontal Rack & Components
System Front Wall Side View & GIK Panels
System Left Wall Window & GIK Panels

Components Toggle details

    • OPPO UDP-205
    i upgraded my Panasonic 1080p hdtv to an LG OLED 4K hdtv, so I needed to upgrade my 1080p Oppo UDP-105 to the 4K UDP-205.
    • Audio Kinesis Debra 4-Sub Distributed Bass Array (DBA)
      I consider this bass system the best single upgrade I've made to my system in the entire 45 years that I've been involved in this hobby and building systems.  It's a complete bass system, for $2,800, that consists of four relatively small passive subs, 12"x14.5"x28" and 44 pounds/each, that contain 10" long-throw aluminum drivers.  All 4 subs are powered by an included 1,000 watt class AB amp/control unit.  Each sub is 4 ohms and all are connected to the amp in series/parallel configuration.
         This system provides what I consider state of the art bass quality in my room with both music and HT.  The bass is very fast, smooth and detailed.  The system has a rated bass extension of 20 Hz +/- 3 db and has integrated seamlessly with my former Magnepan2.7QR and my current 3.7i main speakers, which are both considered notoriously difficult to integrate with subs.  
         It's very difficult to overstate just how well the 4-sub DBA concept works. 
    • Lumin D2 DAC/Streamer
    •  I added the Lumin D2, along with a Synology 20 TB hard drive unit for storage and an iPad for a controller mainly for convenience but also for improved sound quality.  I have about 3K CDs and a few hundred hi-res music albums currently stored, ranging from FLAC to WAV file types and from 16bit/44.1KHz sampling rates and resolution up to DSD-wide sampling rates and resolution.  I may be fooling myself  that I can accurately discern between the various resolutions, but I don't care since they all sound excellent to me no matter the resolution.  All these source components are on connected to my wi-fi and communicate flawlessly with each other via the included Lumin software app that is very good.  Not as robust as my prior JRiver software but very similar in mega-data inclusion and GUI general look and operation.
      • GIK Acoustics Tri-Traps, 244 bass trap panels, 242 absorption panels with scatter plates
      I had my room evaluated by a GIK consultant and bought about $3,500 worth of room treatments that have now been custom installed: stacked pairs of Tri-Trap bass traps in all 4 corners, multiple 244 bass trap panels (2 with Panel Art covers)and multiple 242 absorption panels with Scatter Plates to add diffusion (2 also with Panel Art covers) and 3 Wavy Leaf pattern 4" thick decorative panels.  These are a combination of bass traps underneath for absorption of excess bass frequency energy and diffusion on the surface for scattering higher frequency sound waves.  Overall, the strategy for my room was a  balance of sound absorption and diffusion throughout the room with an emphasis on diffusion on the front and rear walls.  They've only been installed for a couple days so far but the most significant changes I've perceived are an increase in the depth and width and openness of the sound stage illusion along with an increase in details, realism and naturalness.
    • Magnepan 3.7i Main Speakers
    Replaced a pair of 2.7QR speakers that were approaching 25 years old in my system.  Both models are high quality 3-way planar-dynamic dipole designs with large dipole bass sections and very good midrange performance.   However, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that the true star of the show and the biggest difference maker between these 2 speakers is the truly spectacular true ribbon treble transducer in the 3.7is compared to the quasi-ribbon  treble section of the 2.7QRs (QR specifying quasi-ribbon.  The significant treble improvement in treble quality and detail provided by the true-ribbon transducer in my system  is truly transformative in its effects on my system's fidelity, realism and enjoyment.
    • Mark Levinson 326S Preamp
    Fully balanced ss dual-mono preamp that is very neutral, accurate and detailed that has a high-end quality from top to bottom with just a touch of midrange and treble  sweetness, warmth and euphony and an exceptionally strong ability to create a solid, stable and believable sound stage illusion . Great match, just like high quality tube preamps and depending on an individual's overall system sound preference, with very neutral class D amps.
    • D-Sonic M-600-M monoblock amps
    Class D 1,200 watt @ 4 ohm ultra quiet, very low distortion, powerful, dynamic, highly detailed amps with a silky smooth midrange and treble presentation that is never harsh or bright and creates a solid, stable, palpable and enjoyable 3D sound stage illusion that is wide, deep, detailed, open and very convincing.
    • LG Electronics C9 series 77" OLED 4K hdtv
    Replaced a Panasonic V65 VT60 Series 65" 1080p plasma hdtv that still functions flawlessly but the OLED consumes a fraction of the electricity, will eventually pay for itself through significantly reduced electric bills.

Comments 8

Sign in to comment
Owner
Hello musiccaveman,

     The D-Sonic M-600 monos are exceptionally good at driving the Magnepan 3.7i speakers.  They do provide plenty of power that mainly seems to enhance the performance of these fairly inefficient speakers, which are 86db @ 1 meter and 1 watt.  I mainly notice the improvement in the increased dynamics of the sound quality that makes the music sound more natural and realistic, similar to live music played, heard and felt when one's in the room.  
     This amp and speaker combo sounds very free and alive while still maintaining a silky smoothness quality throughout the midrange and treble ranges that never allows them to sound bright or harsh.  
     Although I've only compared a pair of powerful Mark Levinson mono amps driving my 3.7is at the dealer, I'm reasonably sure these performance qualities aren't unique to the D-Sonic line of very high powered ss monoblocks.  But I do believe  many other similarly high quality amp options exist for these speakers, I suspect they'll cost you much more dough.  I highly recommend auditioning a pair of D-Sonic monos before buying any more expensive alternative solution.

Tim
     

noble101

Owner
Hello douglas_schroeder
     
       My larger chair is always in front of the left speaker directly in the middle of the left front main speaker. Your suggestion, to move this large cloth and wood chair to a position in front of the equipment rack and tv, seems like a very good one.  I'll give it a try and let you know the results.

Thanks, 
 Tim   

noble101

Hi, Great system. Q:  How do the D-Sonic 600’s match the Mag 3.7i’s?  They seem to have a lot of power and good reviews.  How would they compare to main brand mono’s like Mcintosh MC611? or other brand names PassLab, Perreaux (2nd hand market).  Have you tested any other options? did you hear a difference?


musiccaveman

It's always tough to fit the stereo we want in our living spaces, but your made it work to some degree. Nice!

mjcmt

Owner
Hello pdreher,

     I found Duke's DBA bass system performs best in my room with the 4 subs fairly widely dispersed throughout the room.  I have 2 of the 4 subs along the front wall, intentionally avoiding corner placements to eliminate bass exaggeration, and with 1 each placed behind my 2' wide main speaker panels.  
     The remaining 2 subs are positioned near the rear of the room, with 1 along each left and right side wall and again a few feet away from the rear corners.  All 4 subs are meant to be placed with the 10" driver facing. and just 2-3" away from, the nearest wall.
     This all results in a clean, neat and subtle look with a high wife acceptance factor.  I had no preplanned positioning strategy.  I just used the 'sub crawl' method to sequentially and optimally locate each of the 4 subs in my room for best performance and did a little bit of room furniture rearranging afterward.  Visitors always notice the high quality bass performance before noticing the physical presence of the 4 subs in the room.
     I highly recommend the 4-sub distributed bass array (DBA) concept.  It's provided by far the best bass performance I've ever experienced in my room for both music and HT.

Hope this helped,
     Tim
     
      

noble101

Do all four subs reside behind your speakers?  I've read many favorable comments about Duke's sub system, but am not sure I can find a way to place them in my room without making my room look disheveled.

pdreher

It appears also that the speakers are staggered to accommodate the chair? If you are able, you can place the chair in the middle, and pull the left speaker to parallel position so as to get a superior listening experience, then can set things back to "normal" for everyday living.

douglas_schroeder

Looks like a thoughtful, welcoming space! Nice job on the creativity of using the wall mount for the center channel!  

It may appear odd, but perhaps consider placing the larger chair in front of the left speaker directly in the middle in front of the equipment during listening sessions. The soundstage should be much improved. Worth a try!  :) 

douglas_schroeder

Displaying all 8 posts
  • 2.3 Thousand
  • 8
  •  0
© 2026 Audiogon.com