One good thing about music... (My 2.1 system!)

[cbraver]

..is when it hits you, you feel no pain,
So hit me with music.
Hit me with music, now, yeah.
Hit me with music.
Brutalize me with music....

I’ve been enjoying checking out other peoples systems on here, so I figured I’d post mine. The beautiful rooms you guys have shown here is something for me to shoot for some day! I’m still in college, so my listening space isn’t great and I’m in an apartment – all my other equipment is back home (M&K S-150s, SS-55 and LCR-750s). I was originally going to do a 5.1 system here, but quickly realized it would be overkill for my space and decided to focus on two channel – I’m about 70% music and 30% movies.

Audio:
Denon DRA-395 for a preamp.
Crown XLS402 Amplifier (2x450-watts @ 4-ohms)
Behringer Super-X Pro CX2310 Crossover
Dynaudio Audience 70s (2x)
M&K K-10 Subwoofer
Cables are all Hosa & Comprehensive
APC Line-R1250 AC Filters (2x)

Sources:
Computer w/ M-Audio sound card, running Ubuntu Studio (Linux)
Initial 26” HD-TV with DVD-player. It's actually not bad!


You’ll also see a Sunfire True Sub in the corner. That’s disconnected from the system now, as it’s just plain overkill in this room. I got it at a steal though, so, it’s waiting for me to graduate (With it’s twin, I have two of them – don’t ask, haha). Instead I’m using a M&K K-10 subwoofer, which I purchased from M&K’s refurbished product store they used to have. I had been asking Barry (who was running that) for some time to hook me up with one, and when one came along he hooked me up! It’s a great subwoofer, and it saddens me I can’t recommend it to others anymore. R.I.P. M&K Sound!

The latest addition is the Behringer CX2310 Crossover. All I can say, is that for what that thing costs, I’d almost say it is a must for anyone who is neurotic about blending subs with mains. This thing makes is super easy. I was considering doing a review on it in the reviews section, if you guys wanted.

I'm only here for another year, so, most new equipment buys are things I plan on using once I'm in a permanent residence next year. In the mean time, I need a small rack. I want to replace that end table I put the receiver and crossover on with a small rack to house everything in. It would make the room look much cleaner, even if the rack is ugly.

Anyways, comments would be appreciated. If you guys have some suggestions for improving things, or have some questions, go for it!

On to the pictures!

And the room, just to give you an idea of the listening space:

 

[adk highlander]

Nice setup. I really like those speakers. With that much power you must know your neighbors well - or they know you.

 

[cbraver]

Nice setup. I really like those speakers. With that much power you must know your neighbors well - or they know you.

Thanks! I really enjoy them, they sound beautiful to me. Sometimes a speaker just speaks to you, ya know? They need big iron to come alive though, hence the Crown. They used to be powered by a Pioneer Elite VSX-39TX (120-watts per channel) which they ate for dinner.

Haha, yeah, it'll go insanely loud, cleanly. I'm actually a pretty good neighbor, though. It's a college campus, so noise is fairly normal. My building is mostly older students (upper-undergrad and graduate level) though, so on weeknights I keep the levels low. The crossover has a mute for the subwoofer outs, and I use that sometimes. I only listen at high levels during reasonable hours. I probably annoy people less than the other people in here with home theater in a box systems.

 

[TLS Guy]

I bet that is a very nice system. The trick will be not spoiling it as you upgrade!

 

[cbraver]

I bet that is a very nice system. The trick will be not spoiling it as you upgrade!

Thanks! It certainly doesn't have the visual appeal that many of the theaters on here do, but I'm tryin. I think the upgrade path of this is going to be largely dependant on where I live when I graduate. The Denon I'll probably sell for a 2 channel preamp with balanced outputs (any suggestions?), but more immediately I want to buy a small rack instead of just stacking things. I have also been considering making some DIY bass traps for the back corners, and maybe a panel or two. Not exactly sure how much time I want to spend on something like that. I'm so busy with my research that when I finally get a chance to hang out, its nice to just sit down and enjoy a movie or some tunes instead of worrying about what next. Desire is always there for the next thing, but, as soon as you have that "next thing" desire returns yet again. In the end, I find it's easier to enjoy some projects and upgrades here and there, but spend the majority of my time sifting through my music library.

 

[Davemcc]

Thanks! It certainly doesn't have the visual appeal that many of the theaters on here do, but I'm tryin.

Who cares what it looks like. My limited experience with Dynaudio was extremely positive. I can just imagine how great that sounds (and that really is the point, isn't it?).

 

[Rico]

Very Nice, I like it.
BTW, I love Bob Marley as well

 

[cbraver]

Who cares what it looks like. My limited experience with Dynaudio was extremely positive. I can just imagine how great that sounds (and that really is the point, isn't it?).

Yeah, I really enjoy the Dynaudios (and even like the way they look, although thats the last of my concerns when purchasing speakers) and it does sound great in here. I just have a new appreciation for nice looking theaters from looking through these threads, such as rmk's setup or the many others. I'd love to have a space like that some day. I can't wait to graduate and start investing so one day I can have a space like that. But, honesty, I'm a very satisfied person. I'm about to watch "3:10 to Yuma" .. super loud.

Very Nice, I like it.
BTW, I love Bob Marley as well

Thanks! Yeah, Marley is great. Those lyrics were Bradley Nowell's cover lyrics of Marley's Trenchtown Rock...

It's from Sublime's "Sensimilla" bootleg, but was also put on the "Gold" and "Second Hand Smoke" albums after he died, if you want to check it out. I'm a big Sublime fan, well, music in general... this equipment is so just I can hear the music ...although tinkering is fun along the way.

 

[highfihoney]

The system looks great,the pic on the wall is awesome !!!!!!!!!!!!

Where'd ya get that picture,i want one.

 

[cbraver]

The system looks great,the pic on the wall is awesome !!!!!!!!!!!!

Where'd ya get that picture,i want one.

Thanks man! The painting on the wall is called “The Persistence of Memory.” That’s a copy of it I picked up in Phuket, painted by a local. The original is by Salvador Dali, painted about a decade before the atomic bomb was dropped. It represents Einstein’s theory of relativity (the melting, sinking, clocks are gravity “distorting” time – a lot of people call that painting “melting clocks”). About a decade after the atomic bomb, he painted a similar painting, “The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory,” which you might also like. It depicts the impact of the atomic bomb on humanity. As a mechanical and composite engineer, I've really grown to appreciate his work - perhaps as a reminder to keep humanity in mind when designing.

Anyways!....Both, and many other Dali paintings have been made into posters and such. You could probably pick up a poster in an art poster shop, or maybe online somewhere. The Persistence of Memory is in the New York Modern Museum of art (most of the time), which probably sells prints of it. I recommend finding someone to do it oil on canvas for you though.

Cheers!

 

[cbraver]

I tried to take a decent picture of it on the wall for you, but with oil on canvas the light reflects everywhere if you shoot it straight on with a flash, and my light fixture isn't strong enough at night to suffice. I tried shooting from the side, which worked okay. I also found an older shot of it off the wall.

 

[westcott]

Great job!!

The cleanest college setup I have seen here on Audioholics. Your mother must be proud.

I also like the equipment selection. Work hard and get your degree and you can buy all the toys and the home to go with them.

Good luck!!!!!!

P.S. The artwork rocks too!!!!

 

[Seth=L]

Great job!!

The cleanest college setup I have seen here on Audioholics.

Great, now I have to one up him. I guess I can't do that since I am not in college anymore.

 

[avaserfi]

Looks great! Good to see another college student on the forums . Hell we even have some of the same taste in art and music!

Glad to hear you like your Behringer CX. I have the DCX2496 (the big brother) that I use for my headphones and finally finished sub. That thing is a monster of a tool as well.

 

[cbraver]

Great job!!

The cleanest college setup I have seen here on Audioholics. Your mother must be proud.

I also like the equipment selection. Work hard and get your degree and you can buy all the toys and the home to go with them.

Good luck!!!!!!

P.S. The artwork rocks too!!!!

Haha, thanks. I try and keep it clean, women appreciate that anyways. To make it cleaner, I'm searching for a practical rack that is reasonably priced. I just spent 600 dollars on books, half of them used, so I'm trying to budget accordingly. I was looking at something like this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/505352-REG/Raxxess_ER_10_Space_Economy_Rack_with.html

The Crown and Behringer would go right in. I'd get shelves for the cable box, Denon and the APCs could sit on the bottom. Not sure on what to get though.

Looks great! Good to see another college student on the forums . Hell we even have some of the same taste in art and music!

Glad to hear you like your Behringer CX. I have the DCX2496 (the big brother) that I use for my headphones and finally finished sub. That thing is a monster of a tool as well.

Cool!

Yeah, the DCX2496 is superior, but it's also more expensive. It just wasn't with my budget, and this simple unit has worked great. It makes blending the mains with the sub much easier than trying to do it with the receivers I have had experience with. And that is my pet peeve, I can't stand being able to tell when a subwoofer takes over from the mains.

I have been following your subwoofer build! That thing is a beast! I like the Kappa Perfect driver too, I have one in my truck. It's a great driver, and takes some serious abuse (florida sun beating on its surrounds, me abusing it, etc.). I know you'll be happy with the driver, and that box looks like it's really bringing out the real potential of it! I'm not much of a woodworker, or I'd start following in your lead!

 

[westcott]

Haha, thanks. I try and keep it clean, women appreciate that anyways. To make it cleaner, I'm searching for a practical rack that is reasonably priced. I just spent 600 dollars on books, half of them used, so I'm trying to budget accordingly. I was looking at something like this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/505352-REG/Raxxess_ER_10_Space_Economy_Rack_with.html

The Crown and Behringer would go right in. I'd get shelves for the cable box, Denon and the APCs could sit on the bottom. Not sure on what to get though.



Cool!

Yeah, the DCX2496 is superior, but it's also more expensive. It just wasn't with my budget, and this simple unit has worked great. It makes blending the mains with the sub much easier than trying to do it with the receivers I have had experience with. And that is my pet peeve, I can't stand being able to tell when a subwoofer takes over from the mains.

I have been following your subwoofer build! That thing is a beast! I like the Kappa Perfect driver too, I have one in my truck. It's a great driver, and takes some serious abuse (florida sun beating on its surrounds, me abusing it, etc.). I know you'll be happy with the driver, and that box looks like it's really bringing out the real potential of it! I'm not much of a woodworker, or I'd start following in your lead!

I just bought a Sanus AV rack for the master bedroom to replace an old oak behemoth that used to house my equipment. It was very well priced, well constructed, and looks good. My only small quible is that the instructions for assembly could have been better and the stain was a little uneven closer to the ends of the wood frame work. Minor and no one but the person who assembled it would probably notice but there none the less. I would buy from them again.

 

[cbraver]

I just bought a Sanus AV rack for the master bedroom to replace an old oak behemoth that used to house my equipment. It was very well priced, well constructed, and looks good. My only small quible is that the instructions for assembly could have been better and the stain was a little uneven closer to the ends of the wood frame work. Minor and no one but the person who assembled it would probably notice but there none the less. I would buy from them again.

Wow, Sanus does have some nice stuff. I just looked at their website.

When I say rack though, I mean a rack-mount one... I was looking at this:

http://www.gatorcases.com/productsmodeldetail.aspx?LID=1&PID=116&MID=270

Ugly, but, in a year I'm gradating and where I'm going to work that will come in handy for some other (work related) equipment. I'm really buying it for that, but, in the mean time it can hold my audio gear here at school and make it easier to take home, haha. For where ever I live, I'll save up and get a nice Middle Atlantic rack (to house my audio stuff, plus a rack mount server for music). So, I'm looking for a cheap case that is functional.

 

[mike c]

very nice!! how is the fan noise on the XLS crown? did you mod it?

 

[cbraver]

very nice!! how is the fan noise on the XLS crown? did you mod it?

It's noticeable when music isn't playing. My intent was to modify the fan right away, but I got busy, lazy, and I don't notice it when playing through it, only when nothing is playing. I need to call Crown tomorrow and ask what fan replacement they'd recommend. I think it's 80mm by eyeballing it, but I'm not sure what type or CFM I need. I want to see what they say about it first. This thing hasn't gotten a workout yet. Even cranked it just blows cold air, haha. I think the word is overkill, but, I love it anyways. When I finally have space for a 5 or 7 channel system, I'll for sure by two or three more XLS's or, money permitting, I'd get XTi's (which are cost effective also). College budget now though.

 

[mike c]

thanks for the info. i don't think crown will give you the go signal to mod the amp, but the "workout" we home users do to these things, i don't think the cfm would matter much.