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Thread: Home Theater Thread continues

  1. #1
    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    Home Theater Thread continues

    DAMN DAMN DAMN - this post had PARAGRAPHS when I first loaded it ... Forum software is BROKEN!!

    This thread started with a pair of beater 4320s I got off ebay and drove to a Philly suburb for way back in 2006 http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...6-4320-Project

    I added some 2050 cabinets and tried to upgrade them to "discrete 4 ways" along the way, and moved them into L200 cabinets that turned into a secondary home system when I found a great deal on a pair of actual JBL 4341 Studio Monitors being sold off by a recording Studio in York PA. http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...-4341-Monitors

    That system grew and was modified into a biamp config, at one time nearly the whole room was JBL - speakers, power amps and JBL/UREI crossovers ... but that changed over time.

    Now, in an urge to simplify, I've sold off the 4341s, the L100T/3 sides and soon the LC2 center ... I've moved the hanging L20Ts up to my office, and the only thing JBL left in that room now is the 18 inch 4641 sub ...

    I've switched nearly the whole room over to DCM Time Frame transmission line speakers from an out of production firm from Ann Arbor, Mi.

    Even sold off the Dahlquist system I was playing around with upstairs yesterday afternoon ... Tho I still have the L200 based 3 way system - doubt I'll ever get rid of that ... but again, thats the upstairs system with Toobes ...

    Anyway - I took Emma to brunch Saturday, the usual Dim Sum place in Falls Church, VA. On the way back we followed a sign for a yard sale - and - mixed among the pewter and crafty stuff, was a Salamander Chameleon Sonoma cabinet. Its a 3 bay mission style AV console kind of cabinet in a cherry finish. It looks like a laminate wood product, but its built on a metal framework underneath ... It had a couple of dings and scratches, and was priced at $175 ...

    I asked him how flexible he was on the price but he said very firm ... so I moved on to look at other stuff. After we bought enough nick nacks - I looked around and he was gone, just his wife was taking payment for housewares and such - So, on a whim - I wrote $120 on a business card and gave it to her and said if he doesn't get any other offers, I'd be interested at that price. I've actually downsized the gear enough that I could fit it in that cabinet - but I wasn't sure I could really make use of it - and ... its 64 inches long! I wasn't even sure it'd fit in the CR-V to get it home!

    Well, by the time we got home they'd already called and accepted my offer (!) but we had some other stuff we had to do first so we did that. I googled this cabinet online and found they were stupid expensive ... but people liked them. Bottom line - I measured the CRV and found it would just barely fit ... so back we went, loaded it up, and brought it home.

    All the metal internal structure means ITS HEAVY ... I called around and no one local had the accessory wheel kit that sells for $100 ... But the feet had little screw level adjusters - nearly the same size as a set of 4 casters I had gotten for another project. So I took the feet off the base, drilled the center hole slightly larger and put casters on each of the feet while it was still in the back of the truck!

    So I took the feet off the base, drilled the center hole slightly larger and put casters on each of the feet while it was still in the back of the truck! We unloaded it Sunday morning, rolled it down the driveway and the sidewalk through the kitchen and into the TV room ...


    Spent most of the afternoon/evening tearing down all the amp and interconnects in the old racks, and moving everything into this system -
    my plan was to have just the Denon TT and the center channel speaker (DCM TimePiece) on top! Plus the Wii and a pair of bunny ears for FM as well!

    Still have to get the old SCAN Teak rack out of here - and will eventually make a nice wood "sleeve" and grill for the 4641 subwoofer -
    it works GREAT but I'd like it a wee bit more furniture-like and less theater/industrial.

    And now I need to center the TV - move the wall bracket at some point!!

    Eventually I'll pull all the blue rug up and redo the floor with a hardwood floor pergo type product - its just a concrete slab underneath.

    The AV fun never ends!


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    2ch: WiiM Pro; Topping E30 II DAC; Oppo, Acurus RL-11, Acurus A200, JBL Dynamics Project - Offline: L212-TwinStack, VonSchweikert VR-4
    7: TIVO, Oppo BDP103D, B&K, 2pr UREI 809A, TF600, JBL B460

  2. #2
    Senior Member grumpy's Avatar
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    I've looked at that cabinet line several times for HT... where it's desirable
    (for me) to not have the gear and lights on display so much. It looks like
    furniture in a nice way. Great deal, ... congrats

  3. #3
    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
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    I keep seeing those in the "Audio Adviser" catalogs , yes at stupid prices ...nice catch.

    when I do see their offerings, thats always the model that I thot was pick 'o da litter.
    kind of a Mediterranean look ...
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

  4. #4
    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    I keep seeing those in the "Audio Adviser" catalogs , yes at stupid prices ...nice catch.when I do see their offerings, thats always the model that I thot was pick 'o da litter. kind of a Mediterranean look ...
    Mediterranean?

    Dude, don't you remember the horrible brown stuff sitting on green shag carpeting that was called Mediterranean Style?

    Nice find Heather... not sure what style I'd call it, but it will certainly make for a fine HT addition.


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  5. #5
    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post
    Mediterranean?

    Dude, don't you remember the horrible brown stuff sitting on green shag carpeting that was called Mediterranean Style?

    Nice find Heather... not sure what style I'd call it, but it will certainly make for a fine HT addition.


    Widget
    they call it "a Mission-influenced style".
    http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=SMCSO

    Not everything labeled "Med" was that horrible.
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post
    Mediterranean?

    Dude, don't you remember the horrible brown stuff sitting on green shag carpeting that was called Mediterranean Style?

    Nice find Heather... not sure what style I'd call it, but it will certainly make for a fine HT addition.


    Widget
    Mission sounds right to me. It'd look good in our master bedroom. (Well, we call it master bedroom out of habit, but there's really no master here. Just us.) It's all Mission style furniture.

    Congrats, Heather, that's a nice score.
    Out.

  7. #7
    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    Still cleaning up the once complex system ...
    Since I got that Salamander cabinet 2 weeks back to hide all the gear in,
    I've been downsizing racks and amps and such since then!

    I moved the wall-mounted HDTV over 16 inches to better center it in the room,
    put wheels on the Salamander cabinet so I can move it around, and bought a new amp that will handle all the surround channels.

    Its an Elan Z-660 - a thin rack mountable thing with a huge torroidal transformer inside 6 channels at 60w each ...
    and each pair can be bridged to a 120w/ch!

    I've got it set with 1 bridged pair for a 120w/ch center, and the remaining 4 channels for side and rear surround use.

    Pix later once my cleanup is done!

    Haven't opened mine yet, but here is a pic of one John has - he sent me a pic of his before mine arrived.

    Anyway - the old Biamp Rack has been trimmed down a lot at this point ...

    Center bay of the Salamander "console" is the TivoHD, OPPO BDP-93 and the Integra DTC 9.8 on top -
    all of them with 1x3 spacers under their feet to increase the airspace.

    Left Bay is one GFA-555 (for the front mains), with an Adcom ACE-515 Power switcher above it and a
    switched channel adapter gadget for the cable system above that.

    Right bay is the Elan Z-660 on the bottom, the other Adcom GFA-555 (bridged for the JBL sub) and another ACE-515 for that rack.

    The Denon DPF-45F Turntable sits on the top right, center speaker in the middle, lazy susan CD rack on the left.

    The HDTV has to be turned on via the TivoHD own remote, but the Integra remote turns the rest of the gear, and manages most of the rest of it.

    Still go - sell off some of the leftovers from the cleanup ...
    Plus redo the paint on the chair rail moldings around the room, rip up the carpet, and redo with a hardwood floor product.
    Attached Images Attached Images  
    2ch: WiiM Pro; Topping E30 II DAC; Oppo, Acurus RL-11, Acurus A200, JBL Dynamics Project - Offline: L212-TwinStack, VonSchweikert VR-4
    7: TIVO, Oppo BDP103D, B&K, 2pr UREI 809A, TF600, JBL B460

  8. #8
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hjames View Post
    I moved the wall-mounted HDTV over 16 inches to better center it in the room,
    put wheels on the Salamander cabinet so I can move it around, and bought a new amp that will handle all the surround channels.

    Its an Elan X-660 - a thin rack mountable thing with a huge torroidal transformer inside 6 channels at 60w each ...
    and each pair can be bridged to a 120w/ch!

    Is that an X-660 or a Z-660?
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

  9. #9
    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BMWCCA View Post
    Is that an X-660 or a Z-660?
    Yep, its supposed to be a Z, man ... snagged it from an AudioGon vendor.
    I apparently typo-ed it in morning fun in hurried posting ...
    2ch: WiiM Pro; Topping E30 II DAC; Oppo, Acurus RL-11, Acurus A200, JBL Dynamics Project - Offline: L212-TwinStack, VonSchweikert VR-4
    7: TIVO, Oppo BDP103D, B&K, 2pr UREI 809A, TF600, JBL B460

  10. #10
    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    Okay, required picture of current config ...
    Its a long way from the scarey biamp rack balanced on the left Studio Monitor ...
    But with those skinny little Time Frame speakers, you can barely balance a stuffed animal on them,
    certainly not a rack-o-gear!

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    Speakers currently in use:
    DCM TF-1000 - Front Mains
    DCM TimePiece - Center
    JBL 4641 18inch - subwoofer
    DCM TF-600 - side surrounds
    DCM TF400 rear surrounds
    2ch: WiiM Pro; Topping E30 II DAC; Oppo, Acurus RL-11, Acurus A200, JBL Dynamics Project - Offline: L212-TwinStack, VonSchweikert VR-4
    7: TIVO, Oppo BDP103D, B&K, 2pr UREI 809A, TF600, JBL B460

  11. #11
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hjames View Post
    I know you usually work the Saturdays so I didn't say anything before -
    I did get that right, yes - you are usually tied on Sats?
    Finished up yesterday around 8:30pm delivering a new car to an old friend who had ordered it about three weeks ago. He's not in the best of health and BMW was showing his 2013 X5 50i M-sport with Performance Package would be delivered on the 13th and he was very anxious to have it. It finally showed up Saturday around 4pm and we had it prepped, programmed, cleaned, treated, waxed and gassed and in his hands by about 7:30pm.

    Saturday is always a busy day but I'll stay even later to make an old friend's day a happy one.

    The "truck" has 440hp and sounded great! It looked basically like this one:
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    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

  12. #12
    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BMWCCA View Post
    Finished up yesterday around 8:30pm delivering a new car to an old friend who had ordered it about three weeks ago.
    Saturday is always a busy day but I'll stay even later to make an old friend's day a happy one.
    Yeah, John can't make it, and neither can Opimax!
    ... But its just been a while since any of us had a listening party,
    we figured it was due!

    And the guys have been wondering about these old DCM things I've been playing with lately ...
    so - I guess they'll know soon enough! They were Ann Arbor's finest, ya know!
    2ch: WiiM Pro; Topping E30 II DAC; Oppo, Acurus RL-11, Acurus A200, JBL Dynamics Project - Offline: L212-TwinStack, VonSchweikert VR-4
    7: TIVO, Oppo BDP103D, B&K, 2pr UREI 809A, TF600, JBL B460

  13. #13
    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hjames View Post
    And the guys have been wondering about these old DCM things I've been playing with lately ...
    so - I guess they'll know soon enough! They were Ann Arbor's finest, ya know!
    I'd lose the monstrously huge sub and consider a Velodyne MiniVee 10 or ??? That sub seems to be overkill for the DCMs both visually and functionally.


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  14. #14
    Senior Member DavidF's Avatar
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    Looks nice, Heather. For the retail asking price I would hope that's not laminate. Maybe just the doors are actual wood. Good find anyway you look at it.
    David F
    San Jose

  15. #15
    Moderator hjames's Avatar
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    yet another dance around the yard! I had been playing with DCM Timeframe speakers recently - really interesting and made the room sound nice - but ... 2 weeks ago I answered an ad on the local Cl for a pair of Vandersteen 2Ce speakers with the XLo Biwire cables, sand filled Anchor stands boxes and all of it. Original owner sale. He couldn't demo them at his place (Wife doesn't like those Craigslist people) but he brought them by our place. I hide the JBL 3 ways and set up the Carver receiver upstairs with my HK changer - which of course, failed to work!

    Anyway, the darned things sounded really nice - very open and airy and not overpowering in any part of the spectrum -
    So I peeled off a couple or three benjamins and bought them.

    Been playing them for the last week or so off the 40w Jolida tube amp - and they intrigued me,
    so we hauled them downstairs Sunday and set them up as mains on the home theater system -
    with the 200w Adcom GFA-555 ... (and the JBL LC2 as Center again).

    Whoa - they really opened up with the extra power ... so much so that I ran a CL ad for the DCM Timeframes
    and - last night a buyer came and bought up 4 pairs of them! He loved the All DCM HT demo and would have bought all of them -
    except I wanted to keep the TF-600s that have extra rear facing tweeters to use as rear surrounds ...

    Yesterday I bought a B&K ST-202 Plus amp off AK - should have that by the weekend -
    same power as the Adcom but supposed to be a bit warmer - some of the Vandy folks say they play well together.

    Next thing will be to find another pair of 2 series Vandersteens for side surrounds!

    Then later this fall I'll gut all that ugly blue carpet and go with a hardwood floor system!

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    2ch: WiiM Pro; Topping E30 II DAC; Oppo, Acurus RL-11, Acurus A200, JBL Dynamics Project - Offline: L212-TwinStack, VonSchweikert VR-4
    7: TIVO, Oppo BDP103D, B&K, 2pr UREI 809A, TF600, JBL B460

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