Club Bop - the boppers sound system

Before I begin to describe my main sound system, let me say that without Ebay, I would not have this system. So first, let me tell you how to buy electronics on Ebay (for overall tips on Ebay see Ebay page). You must know what you are buying. I read 2 magazines on a monthly basis - Stereophile and Absolute Sound. When I find something on Ebay that intrigues me, I will go to a couple of internet sites to garner information.
1. Audio Reviews - this site has reviews of most audio products by consumers. Most comprehensive of the sites of this nature. Read carefully, sometimes reading between the lines.
2. Audiogon - on this site you can browse the classifieds and see what a particular piece of equipment might be selling for off ebay. Also can go to blue book section, which will give you list of equipment (type in manufacturer name in search) and year it was produced. If I cannot find a listing of a particular model, I tend to stay away from bidding on it at ebay. This is also a good site to purchase high end used equipment - I have several pieces that were purchased on Audiogon.
3. Audio Video Revolution - another site with reviews.
4. Ecoustics - my favorite site with reviews from magazines as well as the customer reviews from audio reviews.

Now the fun thing about building a system on Ebay is that you can buy a piece of equipment - live with it for awhile and then trade in for something better. I always have been able to sell equipment for what I paid or more.

For me the ultimate listening experience is live music in a small club. So I decided to convert half of our unfinished basement into a listening room . Laid down an oriental, put in furniture that we were not using. Took some bookcases out of our old home office and created sort of a wall and a place to put the equipment. I then realized that with concrete walls and floors - I needed to do something to reduce the reflective surfaces. So I lined the walls with empty cardboard boxes (left from the move) and hung (stapled is more like it) black heavy cotton curtains over the boxes for aesthetics as well as more damping. Coupled with the 18" floor joists and some other area rugs - I converted a concrete area into "Club Bop". The sound is awesome - sounds as good as a small club. And when I close my eyes, I think it is live. Anyone who has had the honor, have raved about how great the sound is. So now, this old music junkie has a great listening room. So let's talk about the system.

Vandersteen 2CE - Left and Right
Mirage OM-C2 - Center Channel
Mirage Omni 60's - Surrounds
Mirage Omni 50's - Back Surrounds
Morduant Short MS909W

Picked up a pair of Vandersteen's, on Ebay, after reading about these speakers in lots of audio magazines. The Vandy's require a bi-amp setup which fit well with my Citation Amp. Once hooked up, I was blown away with the sound, so real especially in the midrange. I use the Mirage Omni's for my surround channels. Whether multi-channel SACD or movies, the sound is very live and good levels without any distortion. The 300W Morduant Short subwoofer is a very musical sub as well as good for movies and blends well with the Vandersteen's. This sub was my first great discovery (I had a Mirage sub which sounded boomy, I saw this one and took a chance - love it).

I moved from a Denon to an Outlaw Audio 950 then to the Krell. Each time I gained an improvement in sound, however the Krell has exceeded all my expectations in flexibility of setup and sound. The Krell is absolutely transparent, does not add any coloration to the sound. An absolute pleasure to listen to and to operate. Pure 5 star piece of equipment I picked up the Krell processor on Audiogon, another good source of used equipment.

Madrigal/Citation 7.1 - 4 Channels at 150 watts per channel
Parasound HCA - 1206 - 6 Channels at 135 watts per channel

These two amps power my 7 channels of sound and do it beautifully. The Citation/Madrigal was manufactured for Harman Kardon, however was a great steal on Ebay and so I could not pass it up. (Citation 7.1 amplifier designed and manufactured for Harmon Kardon by Madrigal Audio Labs (now Harmon Specialty Group, MarkLevinson/Lexicon/Revel)). The Citation is a 150 w/ch 4 channel amplifier that can be bridged to output an astonishing 450 w/ch X 2! I am very impressed with the Citation's low frequency control and articulation, ultra smooth midrange and sweet extended sibilant free high frequency response.) I use it to bi-amp my Vandersteen's, then I use the Parasound to power the center (bridged), and the surrounds. After trying a lot of different amps (Rotel (2), Conrad Johnson (2), Krell (1)), I decided that this combination gave me the sound that I like.

Analog

I run my analog thru the Aragon preamp and/or the Preemenince .The Preeminence was highly rated in this year's Absolute Sound's recommended products (even though it is vintage). I already had the Aragon, which I love, however I have never owned a passive preamp, so I decided to go for the Preeminence (found it on Audiogon). What is the difference, the Aragon does more signal boost and adds some warmth to the sound. The Preeminence is pure grace and style - the sound is not colored one bit - absolutely amazing piece of gear.

After much reading, I decided to get a new turntable. I still have about 200 LPs left from the 8,000 that I used to have and I thought it would be nice to have a nice turntable.

Music Hall MMf 5.1 Table
Monolithic PS-1 Preamp

Music Hall MMf 5.1 - double plinth turntable - very musical. I use a Monolithic PS1 for the phono preamp then run into the Aragon preamp for the Dual as well as the Bel Canto DAC and the Tascam. Then I run the preamp into the Krell on the Tape input and output.

Digital

IMAC -

I use the IMAC as my music server, I moved all my digital music files to this computer and with front row, the IMAC acts like an IPOD. You can browse or search or just play music with the remote that came with the computer and the software front row. I am outputting pure digital files via optical from the IMAC into a Bel Canto 1.1 DAC, then I input the analog signal into the Aragon. Very nice sound and extremely convenient. I wonder now why I need all the CD's and the other equipment.

Sony NS999ES

When I was updating, I had a very nice but old Denon 1650 CD player. After much reading, I decided to get SACD as everything I read said that the SACD added to the sound of a normal "red book" CD. I got a Sony SACD carousel player that was Stereophile recommended and was immediately pleased. When we moved, I put the Sony in the family room and picked up a Sony NS999ES CD/SACD/DVD player. I recently decided to add a stand alone SACD I picked up the much heralded Sony XA9000CS SACD/CD player which is even better on audio than the NS999 and the transport is very heavy and can hold up to a lot of use.

Pioneer CLD-606

Another old school collection that I have are Laserdisks (2-300) and the player was the bottom end when I bought it. So once again, I am thinking that I can find an upper end player on Ebay for not much money. After much researching and searching (there were a lot of players to sift through), I ended up with a very nice Pioneer CLD-606. My disks look better with this player and it flips the disk over so I do not have to get up and do it manually.

Tascam CD-RW 402

I have always hated recording CD's on a computer. You cannot listen and edit while you record and the sound quality always seemed lacking. So I went back to Ebay and found a very nice professional Tascam CD-RW 402 CD recorder. Now I can make CD's the way I used to make tapes (for the same reason, compilation stuff to listen to in the car). Has dual decks for duplicating from one to the other. I will make a compilation disk on the IMAC from Itunes then duplicate on the Tascam for better sound. Or sometimes I will go straight from the IMAC to the Tascam.

Video

I have a 50" Samsung 1080P Hi-Def rear projection TV coupled with the Samsung BDP-1000 Blu- Ray player.

Apple TV
The Apple TV is a wonderful device, works along with Itunes wirelessly. I can rent or purchase movies in high definition and I run the digital sound straight from the Apple TV to the Krell for some fabulous sounds. Now the fun begins, I downloaded the remote app for my IPhone, with this application, I can play any music on my IMAC through the Apple TV - use this upstairs while the IMac is downstairs.

Headphones

Sennheiser HD650
Moretto HAP-03 Headphone Amp
Stello HP 100 Headphone Amp
Proceed PDP -1 DAC

When Sherri isn't home or is asleep up on the second floor, I can listen to my music fairly loud. However, when she is awake, I needed headphones. I have the highly recommended Sennheiser HD650 phones and the Denon AHd 7000 headphones. I switch between phones depending on music and source, I have two amps for these - Stello HP 100 - dual input with switching and the Moretto. The Moretto is one of my other great discoveries (remember the subwoofer), a Moretto HAP-03 headphone amp - uses tubes and has a separate power supply. I rolled (substituted) the russian tubes that came in the unit with a set of Mullard and what a difference. Now I am set. The Stello solid state headphone amp is a true beauty, purchased this amp after a great review in Stereophile, in some instances outshines the Moretto, although the Moretto is a very close second.

Power
I run all my gear through a 2 Panamax's as well as an industrial line conditioner.

And all those ugly orange cables you see in the pics (remember this is my room, not a woman's family room) after a great article in absolute sound magazine on a review of high end speaker cables - power extension cable from home depot was highly rated. So I got some, added good sets of banana clips to the ends and after breaking them in, they sound wonderful. If you are in the neighborhood, drop in for a listen.

The Family Room
Apple TV
Cambridge Azur 540A integrated Amp
Bel Canto DAC - 1
Apple TV
Sony SCD-CE775
NHT Classic 3 Speakers
Toshiba HDTV with built in VCR and DVD

Upstairs in the family room, I use the remote app on my IPhone to play music from my IMAC (downstairs) - thru the Apple TV. I use the Bel Canto to convert the digital signal from the Apple TV. I listen thru NHT Classic 3's driven by my Cambridge Azur integrated - very nice 2 channel sound. I moved the Sony SACD up from the basement and have always been very happy with the sound of this player. I initially replaced a much pricier CD player with this deck and it was much cheaper, however the SACD circuitry actually makes regular CD's sound better.

Wadia Itransport/Benchmark DAC

As the Ipod becomes more of a way to listen and buy music for me, I wanted to find a way to listen in my home on good headphones. I recently replaced the ILO home dock with the Wadia. The Wadia extracts the music from the IPod in analog and in digital. But you need to be aware that the Wadia is only a pass through - no DAC. So I hooked up the Wadia to a benchmark DAC. The Benchmark also has a built in headphone amplifier. The Wadia definitely is a huge improvement, the sound is so unbelievable - it is hard for me to believe that the source is just an IPod.

This is a small amp for the IPod that will power just about any headphone. This amp makes music on the IPod sing. I can listen to my HD600's, the AKG's or the Bose 2"s. Does not matter, great sound out of an amp that is about the size of a pack of cigs. Rechargeable battery - only available direct from Ray Samuels Audio. If you listen to the IPod, then do yourself a favor and upgrade to this little amp. I use this amp when I travel.

Club Bop - The Sound System

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