So, anyone in for a good old-fashioned unboxing thread?

TejasRichard

Babies taste of chicken..
For reference
This was my current system when I woke up this morning:

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off to the right is my pre and source: lossless flac through a Squeezebox into a Yamaha C-80

The Acessories

A cd of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Albert King playing in the background; my favorite local brew in my favorite glass:

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The Package

For perspective, the bottle is 9" tall:

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The Opening

OOOO! Double-boxed!

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Ya know Maud,

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I don't believe this is his first rodeo.

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The Uncloaking

Amp One:

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Yep, there's a pair of 'em!

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In the System

Here they are, in-room:

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Nothing is really finalized here. I mean, everything is basically where it will end up (especially the speakers!!! I finally got them tweaked where i like them), but there is still so much that needs to be done. Honestly, I already did most of the audio treatments that need to be done and, what with the room sounding so good, I've been a little slow getting to the esthetic aspects....like pouring concrete so I can finish laying the rest of the floor :D

One thing has become obvious: there is still so much I have to learn about gear. The sound and the presentation of these amps is so different than the Yamaha. I was worried I wouldn't be able to hear a difference, but that was NOT the case, at all. Hell, a deaf person could FEEL the difference with these in the system, the bass is that much deeper and defined. It prolly doesn't hurt that these are designed to be able to play with the low impedance loads that the Infinities present, nor having two very robust power supplies instead of one. I can't wipe the S-eating grin off my face.
 
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Lve the "accessories" both the Real Ale and the Albert! Those are some nice looking amps. Enjoy Man!
 
I've heard a lot about those amps. They look beautiful. Glad to see they live up to the hype. :thmbsp:

They certainly do. These easily bested the M-70's, for my tastes.

Could you pass me one of your accessories please...if you still have one cold!

I have 6 or seven left, if you can make it to Austin before they are gone, you are welcome to one :D

Lve the "accessories" both the Real Ale and the Albert! Those are some nice looking amps. Enjoy Man!

Thanks man! If you haven't heard this disc, it is awesome. I put it on for background music, and ended up sitting and listening to the whole thing. The amps are really nice, and seem much more...full-bodied is the only way I can think of to describe it..then the M-70. Don't get me wrong, I love the yamaha, but these really play well with the infinities.
 
So, my amps only took 12 hours of being in place to shame me into finishing out my room. Yesterday morning, I poured the concrete necessary, and laid the pad and laminate this morning. Now to start looking for a nice cloth to put on the walls. I haven't decided if I want to go with a solid color or a pattern, but am leaning towards solid because of the pain in the butt it would be to get a pattern to line up correctly. and I am OCD enough that patterns that don't line up drive me CRAZY! Not very conducive to a good listening room, I'm thinking.

EDIT: BTW, Art, you didn't get here quick enough...the accessories, and a few reserves brought to the front line when it became obvious that the first wave wasn't gonna accomplish the mission, were all consumed last night. Their valiant contributions to the cause will be remembered for many years. Or till next weekend. Having friends over does make the music more enjoyable, but MAN does it take a toll on the accessories :D
 
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Intrigueing amps for sure...+1 on asking what they are!

BTW careful with the accessories...too much and youll start thinking the stereo isnt turned up loud enough!
 
What kind of amps are they?

Intrigueing amps for sure...+1 on asking what they are!

They are Tube Audio Design Hibachi II's.
Here is a link to the company website:

http://tubeaudiodesign.com/


BTW careful with the accessories...too much and youll start thinking the stereo isnt turned up loud enough!

Yeah, I had to keep reminding myself if that all weekend...with or without accessories! :D :banana:

Very nice!!!!! What made you decide on those?

The price didn't hurt anything...that was what initially drew my attention (He had/has?them on sale on Audiogon for $500 for the pair). But the lack of any really poor reviews, coupled with the fact that several of them mentioned strengths that seemed to perfectly address some weaknesses that had been bugging me about my Yamaha, was what sold me on trying them. To be honest, I was pretty worried about what I was getting in to, but so far I couldn't be happier with them. The build quality easily bests anything I have seen new in the price bracket that I bought them. That piano finish on them is perfect and stunning irl. I've been avoiding moving them for fear of that first scuff. It is a bit hard to see in the pics, but the sides curve in from the top edges towards the bottom. All in all, they are nearly as pretty to look at as they sound...and frankly, my system has never sounded better. I don't know exactly how to describe it. It's not that they are "louder," it's like there is more sound, and more of a sense of the sound coming from a particular place in space. It is very hard for me to explain what I mean by more sound. It is like there is sound coming from everywhere between the speakers, from the entire back wall...but without masking or smearing the positions if the individual musicians. Have you ever seen a bluegrass band or other acoustic act in a well-designed amphitheater? It reminds me of that. On well-recorded material, they sound very clean and clear, with powerful bass and no muddiness. The Pixies' Surferosa/Come on Pilgrim, for instance, sounds ...incredible. More real than I've ever heard it in my system. They are resolving enough that, when my wife left the door open to the right of my right channel speaker, the entire soundstage shifted left roughly 3 feet. It was very confusing and worrying...till I figured out what was going on :D

Man, how much did that box weigh?

Lol, not too much. 40-50 pounds, I'd say. The amps aren't too heavy, but 8 pounds of each amp is toroidal tranny ;)
 
Super!!!! The shifting sound stage from an open door "sounds" like you have things dialed in pretty good.
 
Looks awesome.

I saw that bottle and thought, "hey...." I like the Full Moon and the Rio Blanco, but I always come back to Fireman's 4.

I've got a Type I sound level meter with FFT if you ever want to try to dial the acoustics of your room in to the gnat's ass (and consider further use of accessories).
 
Thanks for all the compliment, guys! I am starting to get to the point where I'm not worried about gear any more. I want to replace my Preamp and add a DAC, but I already know what I am going to get...just need to come up with the funds.


Looks awesome.

I saw that bottle and thought, "hey...." I like the Full Moon and the Rio Blanco, but I always come back to Fireman's 4.

I've got a Type I sound level meter with FFT if you ever want to try to dial the acoustics of your room in to the gnat's ass (and consider further use of accessories).

That sounds like fun, man! All you local AKers have a standing invite to come hang out just about any weekend, just give me a shout first (no sneaky finding my address and just showing up! I would think it was awesome, but my wife? :no: She likes a little notice that folks are stopping by). We seriously need to get a hillcountry audio club going, like the SMAC I keep hearing about. I think they used to do get-togethers down in Buda, but I've not heard of one in a coupla years. Maybe I just missed the announcement :dunno: There are a bunch of us in the Austin area. I think PM Summer just moved to Hays county.
 
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