Gentle reader,
A few years back, I had added a complete SECOND system to the Den/Listening Room specifically for playing back six-channel SACDs. If you have never heard of Super Audio Compact Discs, they are a progression from standard audio CDs and their sonic limits. They often are "Hybrid" by having two layers, one for CD quality playback and the other with storage limits like DVDs, is for stereo and sometimes multi-channel playback. SONY/Philips co-invented SACDs as they did Redbook CDs. I don't know where "Redbook" came from, but some people call audio CDs Redbook.
So, after a couple years, I decided to get rid of the six-channel kit and gave it all, except the source component to a very good friend. His wife was less than thrilled with a large subwoofer, so last week, he brought back to me.
Here is what the room looks like today, September 17, 2016:
Note the very large Cerwin-Vega LS-12 speakers that are usually in each corner under the small speakers have been moved to the side and said 12" subwoofer has taken one of their places. See link at the bottom of the page which explains what the small speakers are.
Here is what the room looked like and one point with the additional six-channel system in place:
The above was a couple years ago, before the C-V LS-12s joined the fun. The wooden shelf remains in the room, but it now resides to the left of me and the stereo system which WAS to the left of me has moved front and center. Of course, now I have to get up from my comfy chair to adjust the volume. The sacrifices one must make....
As I am so VERY pleased with the amazing sound of those small speakers, but they lack deep bass. I happily decided to incorporate the subwoofer. Fortunately, the Dynaco Stereo 200 power amplifier has a four-position speaker switch. Since it also powers the speakers in THIS room, and I needed the B speakers output terminals to supply the subwoofer, I pulled the LEGEND speaker switch back out of the closet and wired it into the kit. The small speakers, formerly known as Radio Shack's Minimus 7W are hooked to the A speakers terminals with the really good Monster Cable thick gray speaker wires.
The subwoofer is connected with less expensive, but still very good, twisted-pair wires also from Monster Cables. The LEGEND switch allows me to add the subwoofer to the small walnut speakers for listening in the den, or a simple press of the button and switching from A+B to B on the amp and the speakers in here (separate room) are putting out the beautiful music. Confused yet? I suspect my wife is if she is reading this. So, some pictures to explain further:
The LEGEND speaker switch is the only one I have found with three-way binding/banana terminals. Plus, they are 3/4" spaced so one can use double-banana plugs like the four in the middle. However, they were not arranged as you see them now. No, I had to disassemble the whole thing and rewire it and rearrange the + and - (red and black) terminals so that they were all red on top and black on the bottom. Oddly, I have not been able to find another one of these since. So, yes, it is a hodge-podge of connectors, but Good Stereo-keeping magazine is not coming here to critique my system. So don't judge!
The subwoofer is bottom-firing so I put it on a piece of plywood so the sound doesn't get muffled by the carpeting and I added those isolation blocks to get it a little higher. By the way, in the past, the cannon shots in the Telarc SACD of the Cincinnati Pops version of the 1812 Overture moved so much air, the wave from the port would blow up my pants leg. I kid you not. Great subwoofer.
Here's a view of the rear of the subwoofer from above. I bought a new Pangea AC-14 power cable from Audio Advisor they are the exclusive dealer for Pangea products. You can see the twisted pair wires from Monster Cable that I further twisted together.
Above is an older picture of the LEGEND speaker switch and the Realistic APM-500 power meter atop the Dynaco Stereo 200 amp. Below is a link that shows the process of final conversion of the Minimus 7W speakers into the gems they are today:
The Robb Collections: Converted my already upgraded Minimus 7 speakers to ribbon tweeters!
The Robb Collections: Converted my already upgraded Minimus 7 speakers to ribbon tweeters!
And here is a link to a post that lists ALL my posts related to the various audio components that I have blogged about in the past:
That page is from a year ago. My how time flies. Anyway, I can be a prolific writer and the buddy that gave me back the subwoofer tells me I talk too much. Oh, a week or so after I gave him the home theater components, he bought an XBox ONE and gave me (which I gave to my grandson) HIS XBox 360, a Connect and the Microsoft steering wheel and pedal set. My grandson, one-of-five, is now, at age 7, an expert at Halo 4.
Once again, thanks for taking the time to read my humble blog and I love reading and responding to your comments.
Scott
