Mike-48's system
 

My system is entirely digital and uses a DLNA home-network setup, with an Auralic Aries receiving digital streams from the network. The system is housed in a basement room that I designed with soundproofing help from a local acoustician.

The unavoidably low ceiling (7 ft) and narrow width (12.5 ft) favor speakers with controlled directivity, which the the Janszen main speakers provide -- they also are very clean and uncolored in the midrange and treble. The room's soundproofing results in bass retention, and thus strong bass peaks and nodes; I use a pair of JL F112 subs to help smooth those out, even though the Janszens in this room have strong bass response down to 20 Hz (probably lower, but my measuring setup goes down to 20).

A Classe CP-800 provides preamp, DAC, electronic crossover, and optional EQ and tone controls. Missing from the photos (just back from repair) is a Weiss EQ1 mastering equalizer, which I find cleaner and easier to operate than the Classe's own parametric EQ. The EQ is used almost entirely to smooth the response below 300 Hz.

The Janszens are driven by an AVA Fet Valve 400R. I've tried several considerably more expensive amps, and the AVA fits the Janszens better than most of them.

http://mhprager.com/special/audioroom/angle.jpg

Mike.......That is a fine looking sound system in an attractive basement. I can imagine that system in that room sounds excellent. Well done.

When I lived in Portland many years ago I also had a sound system in a basement room I built. My home had basement windows at outside ground level very similar to yours. Just seeing that basement window in your one photo brought back a flood of old memories. I spent many hours enjoying music in that basement.

Wow, great dedicated stereo room.

Very nice looking room Mike, with well-thought-out treatment.

Awesome!

Nice job Mike! Very nice system!!

Looks fantastic, Mike!

Us Great North"Wet" residents need a nice, cozy and dry place to enjoy our music during these Fall and Winter months!

Amen brother, 9.9 inches so far this month up here by Mt Baker. Time to enjoy our systems.

Thanks -- I agree! Plenty damp and raw here in Portland.

Nice system and room!

There were a few days there I thought I might be drier if I jumped into the Columbia and sat on the bottom! :D

Like many, I am hoping for a bit of a break soon!:yes:

Mike-48.......Yep, they say you can spot an Oregonian by their webbed feet. . :yes:

Mike...good job, great system. Perfect man cave :D

Excellent space Mike -envious as we speak!

Really nice looking room Mike! The low ceiling supports a resonance around 26hz - ask me how I know! Having a sub or two can help a lot!

Very nice room!

Whats the name of the diffusors on the front wall?

This room inspires me to change my garage to a listening room.
Mike, is the floor wood over concrete?

@Superfrg: The diffusers are from Vicoustic. Similar to those from others but considerably less costly. I mounted them on artist's canvas stretcher frames and added Dynamat to the back to damp them (which would not be necessary if they were glued to the wall directly). Link to Vicoustic

@Rojet2015: The floor is pre-finished cork planking over an underlayment, that over the concrete. The underlayment is wool with a plastic moisture barrier, supplied by the flooring manufacturer. Link to Ebro cork

Thanks! Yes, not just the low ceiling, but also the concrete outer walls on two sides contribute to strong nodes. I find EQ in the bass almost unavoidable in this room. It seems the larger (and lossier) the room is, the less that is needed.

Thank you for the link on cork

The phrase I've retained the most was: "The system is housed in a basement room that I designed with soundproofing help from a local acoustician."
I'm a bit envious :D

Very nice, good job! It shows a lot of planning. And discipline.
Well done.

Thanks so much! It did take a lot of planning and work. When I couldn't get acoustical consultants to answer my calls, I hired a designer-draftsman. He was nice, said he'd done this before, and drew up the plans quickly.

Then the acoustician called back. Major revisions needed. The d-d met with him and me, listened carefully, but incorporated only a few of the changes; he just didn't have the patience for the job. Then I got lucky. Our neighbor, an architect, met with the acoustician and me and incorporated the changes into the plans. I owe her big!

Though I used a general contractor (I have no construction experience), I needed to supervise the most extensive part of it -- the sheetrock work -- myself, as neither the GC nor the subcontractor was familiar with the nitpicking details needed to install QuietRock effectively.

A funny part was that the architect didn't know about silent ventilation, so she specified the HVAC as "design and build." The HVAC contractor said sure and bid, but then didn't have a clue what to do. The GC and I designed the dead-vent system one evening, based on thoughts from the acoustician and ideas from the internet. It was built a few days later, and it works pretty well.

I learned a few things in doing this. The main one was to have your door open OUT :sigh:, so you can carpet the floor even though your doors have acoustic drop-seals. I also learned how to write city variance requests, which I needed to avoid installing a special exit window, which would have meant a large break in the left wall and a large excavation expense to match.

It was quite an experience, one I wouldn't have been able to do without having lots of time off to supervise. I learned a lot and got a good result. I never want to do it again! Though it would be easier the second time around.

Where did you get your diffusors?

Nice system and room!

Very awesome room and system!

Thanks, Joey, and thanks to all who sent nice comments.

Today, I am putting the room back together again after fixing a construction problem. I've been without it for six months and have missed it.

The diffusers are by Vicoustic. They're similar to those sold by some other manufacturers but less expensive. I mounted them to artist's stretcher frames and put Dynamat on the back to deaden them.

Your system looks great, too. It must give a lot of musical pleasure.

And how do you find those hangers for the panels? And where did you buy them?

Roger, FYI, I had to pull up the cork and replace it with something else. The cork is great and was beautiful, but I would not recommend it on or below grade. As we found out (to much trouble and expense), concrete transmits water vapor from the ground; and any flooring that is impermeable will cause that water to accumulate. In our case, that caused problems.

Mike,
Thank you for the follow up on the cork. I will go with carpet and a door which opens out.

Now that's a 'man cave' , nicely done Mike !

I like the hanging system, as it lets me move stuff around and find good spots without making a lot of holes in the wall.

There are several companies that make these systems; mine is from Walker Display.

Thanks, Dave!

Thanks, Dave!

http://mhprager.com/special/audioroom/front20180428.jpg

Because of construction problems, we had to replace the cork flooring with synthetic wall-to-wall carpet. So here's a new photo.

System changes are moving the subs to a foot behind the listening chairs, along the side walls; a new power amp (thanks, Ivan, for a great deal); and new and rearranged acoustic treatments. Though I loved the wool oriental rug and cork floor, the sound is better than ever.

P.S. Classe CP-800 partly visible in rack, as is Mutec MC-3+USB. Auralic Aries (main source) not visible.

I like the setup and use of color

Mike,
Congrats on creating a really attractive space. It looks very comfortable and I’m sure it sounds great too!
Tom

Great job. Looks nice.
Perhaps I missed it but what is the length of your room?

Nice set up Mike. I wish I still lived in West Linn so I could come over to your place and listen to your system. Looks like you "music" room is very quite with all the sound treatments. Still miss living in Oregon.
Ed

Thanks to all for the kind comments! Anyone in the neighborhood is welcome to drop me a PM and have a listen.

Length: 612 cm = 20.07 ft
Width: 381 cm = 12.51 ft
Height: 212 cm = 6.96 ft

Acoustically, the height and width are sub-optimal -- but that's what's available -- and I've had rooms with worse dimensions. The acoustic treatments help reduce effects of the width. The controlled directivity of the speakers helps reduce effects of both the width and -- especially -- the low ceiling. Not seen in the photos are acoustic panels on the ceiling behind the listening position. Installing them made a small but positive difference in the room acoustics (specifically, smoothness in the treble), presumably by dampening any "splash" of sound bouncing around in the rear wall-ceiling area.

Well, now I've undoubtedly told you more than you needed to know!

wow! amazing system!

Thanks for all the kind comments. AA members in or visiting Portland, OR, are invited to send me a PM for a get together.