Dueling Systems

holysocks · Mar 23, 2011

I just started assembling a system that isn't centered around my computer. I feel as though this gives me a bit of old and a bit of new. The Mackies are very flat and cold. at times they can be fatiguing even. the McIntosh I grew up with, my dad bought it a year before I was born. I love everything about it.

but first, the aforementioned computer system:

laundry list:
Apple Mac Mini 2.0ghz Core2Duo 4GB RAM 500GB HDD and 1.5tb USB 2.0HDD
Apple 30" Cinema Display
(2x) Dell 19" 1907FP Monitors (one on the mac mini, one on the work laptop)
Dell work laptop - for work, gotta afford this stuff somehow!
Presonus Central Station
Furman M-8X Power Conditioner
(x2) Mackie HR824 MKI Active Monitors
Generic 2nd Hand Stands
Sony MDR-V700DJ headphones
Ikea Desk

(notice the cardboard underneath the monitors, that's the central station and furman power conditioner footprint. i'm debating moving those two units to the desktop and getting rid of the silver drawers they sit on.)

i have plenty of work ahead of me as far as wire management is concerned.... what an eye sore! that pile of crap on the left of the desk is an APC UPS, mac mini and cinema display power bricks, modem, and router.

Next up, my second space:

MCS 6602 Turntable - this isn't mine, it's a friend's.
Mitsubishi DA-F10 Tuner
Apple Airport Express (not pictured)
McIntosh MA6100 Integrated Amp
McIntosh XR-5 Speakers
VTI-BL404 Shelf with black poles, silver spikes and cherry wood
MQ104 on the way!

Boxed: for the home DJ sessions
(x2) Technics SL1200MK3DK
Vestax 05-PROII Mixer

To Buy: Standalone DAC, CD Player, table/shelf for the dual turntable setup and my vinyl.

shawnra · Mar 23, 2011

WoW those are awesome looking speakers. Were those designed by Roger Russel, seems to be the right era?

holysocks · Mar 23, 2011

you betcha! they sound good now, I can't wait for my MQ104 to show up so I can realize their full potential.

shawnra · Mar 23, 2011

awesome keep us informed Eh! Love those old Mc speakers, I've always been into big multi-driver systems.

jefec · Mar 24, 2011

can't speak about the computer system but the Mc stuff looks tastey. It looks like the grills have hinges.

Rome · Mar 24, 2011

Nice setups & gear!

Rome

voltcontrol · Mar 24, 2011

Very nice stuff in there. :music:

shawnra · Mar 24, 2011

I've had a few email exchanges with Roger Russel and he told me he has kept up with McIntosh to some degree. I showed him my Snell A7 clone picture and he told me that Snell was recently acquired by McIntosh! Didn't see that one coming, maybe that's why when the Snell speaker is shown at shows it is often paired with Mc gear. Said something about the Snell factory moving and going dormant for awhile. Not sure but I'm interested in seeing what direction the two companies go in.

holysocks · Mar 24, 2011

shawnra said:
I've had a few email exchanges with Roger Russel and he told me he has kept up with McIntosh to some degree. I showed him my Snell A7 clone picture and he told me that Snell was recently acquired by McIntosh! Didn't see that one coming, maybe that's why when the Snell speaker is shown at shows it is often paired with Mc gear. Said something about the Snell factory moving and going dormant for awhile. Not sure but I'm interested in seeing what direction the two companies go in.

Snell + McIntosh! wow! i am very curious as to what greatness that will bring. i also just took a look at your DIY speaker build thread and i must say WOW! my 30 year old XR-5's have nothing on your 5 foot behemoths!

holysocks · Apr 19, 2011

this weekend i tackled the daunting task of rewiring my desk. most people i know own laptops, the only wire on their desk is the power plug. i have a few more items, their desk rewire would have taken 5 minutes, mine took 5 hours.

this is how the desk looked before i started my attack

notice the left speaker is hidden behind a screen, also the speakers aren't equidistant from the sweet spot (where i sit). this was one of the many driving forces behind spending my sunny saturday indoors.

the bird's nest of wires filled me with anxiety, not to mention, i'd accidentally kick the components sitting atop the small chest of drawers under the desk.

with everything taken off the desk and unplugged i started my rewire.

first i placed all of the components in a location where i wanted them. this is when i made the decision to not use one of my 19" screens. the previous setup included my work-issued dell computer connected to a dell 19" monitor along with a mac mini desktop computer with an apple 30" cinema display and a dell 19" monitor. in total two computers each with two screens. i decided to simplify this a bit, especially since my apple cinema display is huge. my new setup would be work computer (laptop) two screens, home computer just one bit one.

now it's time to line up the components that used to sit on the ground. these are going to be hidden under the desk in my new arrangement. the wires are getting a bit hairy here, and i could feel the anxiety coming back, but i held strong and pressed forward.

some 24" zip ties secured the modem, router, external hdd, and plenty of power bricks to the back of the desk crossbeam support.

this is all the cables/wires/cords that need to be plugged in and organized. the big brick on the ground is my u.p.s. - uninterrupted power supply. it weighs in close to 25 lbs, leaving it on the ground was the best option.

here we are, bundled, zip tied, and even incorporated the conduit for aesthetics.

i even bundled the laptop connect wires in leftover white conduit to minimize cables to/from the laptop.

and here we have the before and after pic. the before pic is on the screen of the big monitor.

i feel more at peace now that the wires are hidden from view. i also enjoy more desk space due to one less monitor, though i do have less desktop space (virtual not physical) but it hasn't been a big issue for me. in all this rewire took 5-6 hours and spanned two days. i couldn't have done it without the help and guidance of my a-class project management team.

vintage.fan · Apr 19, 2011

great job on the rewire! I'm the same way about cords and wires, my wife may even tell you I'm o.c.d about it. They're ugly and must be hidden!!

holysocks · Sep 12, 2011

The GF's Bedroom System

This weekend I scooped up a small system for the girlfriend's bedroom.

Akai UC-U3 Integrated Amplifier
Mission Model 70 Speakers

I had given her an apple airport express, which plugs in nicely to the rear of the Akai. She loves using AirTunes to send songs directly to the Airport Express from her iPhone.

I have to say that the system as a whole sounds pretty good. I've never heard Mission speakers, and was pleasantly surprised :music:

The Akai's 10" x 10" footprint was also a key factor, she wouldn't have approved of some big ol system in her bedroom. I didn't want tons of lights since it's a bedroom system. And of course it has to look good, which i think the silver face and interesting Mission speaker cloth/wood definitely does.

Lastly, the Akai has pre-amp - amp jumpers, so i can use it as a preamp or amp somewhere down the line. Hey, it's good to have options.

holysocks · Sep 24, 2011

Small Addition

I just scooped this up, MCS 3275. It needs a nice deep cleaning and some new lights. Each channel works, and the sound is decent. There's definitely some scratchy knobs, deoxit is in my near future. The right channel power meter, the meter to the left of the frequency tuning, and tuning lights are out. I'm a bit excited as well as nervous as light bulb replacement is something I've never done.

More to come (sooner than later I hope)

a bit closer

seen next to my Flip Mino HD video cam for scale/size

these are iphone4 pics, next round of pics will hopefully be from my sony DSC-T50.

Rome · Sep 24, 2011

Yea Holysocks!
Beautiful find you have there.

I have a 3275 as well & it is a very nice receiver. It also weighs a ton, seemingly!

Rome

holysocks · Sep 24, 2011

Rome said:
Yea Holysocks!
Beautiful find you have there.

I have a 3275 as well & it is a very nice receiver. It also weighs a ton, seemingly!

Rome

Rome,
I'm definitely happy with my find, and it's in great consideration considering it's 1981-1982 birth date.

I don't have anything in particular to pair it with speaker wise, do you have any suggestions or better yet any negative experiences I'd be able to learn from?

dusty42701 · Sep 24, 2011

holysocks said:

I'm curios as to what that silver rack-mount unit is.

invalidbuffa · Sep 25, 2011

Really nice. I had HR824's in my studio as well.

holysocks · Sep 25, 2011

dusty42701 said:
I'm curios as to what that silver rack-mount unit is.

That is a presonus central station.

holysocks · Sep 25, 2011

invalidbuffa said:
Really nice. I had HR824's in my studio as well.

The hr824's are pretty solid. I love how flat and unbiased they are. They aren't warm or smooth but I do love the transparency.

holysocks · Nov 1, 2011

I just finished changing the power supply capacitors and light bulbs in my dedicated TV receiver. (Links to threads)

This setup has:
Olevia 542i LCD TV
MCS3275 Receiver
Apple TV 2
Panasonic DVD A120 DVD player
Technics SA GX350 Receiver
Paradigm 3SE-Mini Speakers

The MCS replaced the Technics which is still just sitting on the middle shelf. I'm hoping to get rid of it ASAP, but then I'll have a blank shelf! What do I put there?

The Olevia TV was Free-to-me. It was originally wall mounted, and I have the wall mount, but as a renter wasn't ready to wall mount it. So I craigslisted this ugly pedestal. I hate how the wires are exposed. And how it looks. And my MCS is too tall to fit on the bottom or middle shelf.

The Paradigm speakers I'm also dying to replace. Bought them from someone for $40. Woofers are obviously not OEM, but hey, they do the job for now.

Lights on:

Lights off, grill off:

Room view:

Dueling Systems

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