Gentle reader,
It's been a while since I blogged about the stereo system. Frankly, I've been very happy with the sound. However, it was time to pass on unused equipment.
So, I ebay'd the 50-year-old Wharfedale W40 and the 1970's Electrovoice speakers. Also, the Dynaco QD1 Series IIL that I'd modified with three-way binding/banana posts and the Sherbourn LDS2/75 power amplifier.
I also sold the vintage Radio Shack Realistic STA-2600 100 WPC stereo receiver that I had in here (man-cave II) and replaced it with a Sony STR-DE597 audio/video receiver. The rest of the stack in here is Sony, so it matches, plus it is more versatile. For instance, it has six-channel analog SACD inputs so if I want to put a SACD six-channel player in here I can. It would be silly since I have that set-up in the den (man-cave I) already.
So, with those four speakers gone that were between the oak speakers and the cabinet that houses the Kenwood THX power amp and the Sony/Oppo SACD six-channel kit. As seen:
Notice the addition of convoluted foam rubber panels in the corners behind the oak speakers. The are corrugated cardboard which were around some sensitive component received at work. They'd been discarded so I brought them home and thought up this use for them. Now that's recycling!
Above, you can see vibration eliminators that are made of rubber and cork. They are used in the Heating and Air Conditioning business under equipment. I saw them in Mapleshade's catalog for
$40. See this link: Isoblock, Isol-Pad, isolation, mapleshade, soundquest-Mapleshade
They are double stacks and less than 2" square. Above are single layer 4" square and cost, are you ready? 60 CENTS A PIECE! Same thing! I have never bought anything from Mapleshade and yet they keep sending me their catalogs of high priced stuff.
I placed one under each foot of the power amplifier and Sony receiver. Since the subwoofer is in the same cabinet as the above, they needed to be isolated from it's bass music.
Now, the real kicker and final item that has blown me away in the huge improvement in sound: I replaced the Monster THX 600 speaker wires with Monster THX 1000 cables. These are over 1/2" thick and have two pairs of positive and two pairs of negative cables inside made of the finest copper, hair-thin gauge wires. I bought a used 15 foot single cable via ebay for $25. I bisected it and put new banana plugs on the amplifier end. As seen above. See how thick they are compared to the RCA analog input cables to the amp. They too are Monster THX certified as is the amp. It's not Monster, but you get it.
In the above photo, you can see the thickness and construction difference. Here's the link to the auction: Monster Ultra Home Theatrer Speaker Cable 1000 THX 15 Ft | eBay
It is no longer made, and has been replaced by: M1.4s Biwire™ Speaker Cable which sells for $8.50 a foot, un-terminated. In other words, no connectors on the ends. A finished pair of fifteen foot ones are $350.00. By the way, there is ONE 15 foot pair of THX 1000 on Amazon for, get this, $10,000.00! I don't think they will find a buyer!
It arrived yesterday and I did the surgery and hooked them up. I put a couple of Focal demo CDs in the player and sat back. WOW! Instantaneously noticed the improvement in sound quality, placement and soundstage. Tighter sound, crisper highs, all together a marked improvement. So now, I think I'm done. Nancy says, "Right."
Thanks for looking!
Scott
Now, this is how it looks:
$40. See this link: Isoblock, Isol-Pad, isolation, mapleshade, soundquest-Mapleshade
They are double stacks and less than 2" square. Above are single layer 4" square and cost, are you ready? 60 CENTS A PIECE! Same thing! I have never bought anything from Mapleshade and yet they keep sending me their catalogs of high priced stuff.
I placed one under each foot of the power amplifier and Sony receiver. Since the subwoofer is in the same cabinet as the above, they needed to be isolated from it's bass music.
It is no longer made, and has been replaced by: M1.4s Biwire™ Speaker Cable which sells for $8.50 a foot, un-terminated. In other words, no connectors on the ends. A finished pair of fifteen foot ones are $350.00. By the way, there is ONE 15 foot pair of THX 1000 on Amazon for, get this, $10,000.00! I don't think they will find a buyer!
It arrived yesterday and I did the surgery and hooked them up. I put a couple of Focal demo CDs in the player and sat back. WOW! Instantaneously noticed the improvement in sound quality, placement and soundstage. Tighter sound, crisper highs, all together a marked improvement. So now, I think I'm done. Nancy says, "Right."
Thanks for looking!
Scott
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