An Audio Expert Comment & Another Upgrade

[Yamaki]

ahhh...but this was just the first phase, Tony.

[Still-One]

Very nice job of getting those Mac units back into shape. Congratulations.

[Yamaki]

Thanks, Jim. I enjoyed them while I had them...but they've moved on. I'm just glad I was given the opportunity to resurrect them.

I'll show the current system a bit later today.

[Yamaki]

Having made the decision to improve on the 2-channel system, first I had to determine just what "improve" meant!

One thing was for certain, I wanted to increase my switching capability for multiple sources, add remote control, be able to stream high resolution digital music and raise the level of sound reproduction quality. And I wanted to do it all with a very small budget.

The wiring up of a system to became problematic with the older gear as well. Converting analog to digital (vs. digital to analog) to use the remote controlled volume capability of the DAC and then back to analog to feed the amps was not an optimum setup. Here's what it looked like:



Taking small and easy steps first, I decided to set the ADS speakers aside and re-purpose my Vienna Acoustic speakers:



Fortunately I already had a great set of custom built cables for them so those were also added to the mix.

Next, came a pre-amp and a tuner. This is where it got hard as in order for me to meet my functionality and budget goals, the McIntosh pieces had to go. A difficult decision to be sure and I backed away from making it more than once.

However, once the decision was finally made, the McIntosh gear was joined by a Yamaha silver-faced tuner and amplifier, plus the Sonos system and the entry level DAC, as trading material or items to be sold to fund the upgrades.

It didn't take long and before I knew it, all those items had found new homes and I realized I had actually made a bit of money over my total investment to purchase and recondition some of the gear. Will wonders never cease???

I had purchased an Arcam T-51 tuner for my main system downstairs and was so pleased with it I went looking for another. What I stumbled upon was a T-61, an upgraded model that includes a 12V power on trigger. I snapped it up for a very good price, adding it to the main system and re-purposing the T-51 for the 2-channel system.

Here's the T-61 that now resides in the main system:



and here is the T-51 that went to the 2-channel system:



So, speakers in place...Check

New tuner with remote control added....Check.

I still had to secure a pre-amp, a DAC, a streamer, get Ethernet to the room, find a streamer and get some cables.

More later...

[Antonmb]

waiting for the next installment.....

[Yamaki]

Next up I had to find a DAC, pre-amp, streamer, some cables & and get Ethernet into the room.

First item to come into my possession was the pre-amp. I found a great deal on a Parasound P5 and decided to give it a try.



It has all the connectivity I need plus it has an on-board DAC! So I can reduce my component load for now. I have a Yulong Sabre 18 in my main system and I really like it. I may have to try it in this system just to A/B the two DACs.

I spent quite a bit of time looking at streamers and network music players but in the end, I ended up with my second SimAudio Moon MiND 180 streamer. Small, compact, great connectivity options and very transparent; it has a fantastic iPad app for controlling the music.





Cables were easy. I had several pairs of custom made IC's for the analog connections in and out of the pre-amp but I did need an AES/EBU cable. A quick PM to Ivan did the trick and I received a WW Gold Starlight 7 cable.



Ethernet...I had no Ethernet connection in this room but I certainly needed it to be able to stream the packet size inherent with high resolution lossless FLAC files. I considered installing cable from one room (through the wall, up into the attic crawl space, down the wall and into the room) but found an article on Ethernet Over Power (EOP) and after reading up on the subject, I decided to give it a try.

Basically, the system works with the power conductor in your house. How? I don't know all the fine points but it sounded viable so I got a kit made by TP-Link.

Most "experts" on this technology say it works better, with better mbps rates, if the units are plugged in to a pair of rooms that are on the same circuit or on the same side of your main electrical panel.

I purchased the TP-Link TL-PA511 kit, rated up to 500 Mbps, and plugged it in. Once the handshake was done, the module in the room with the modem started talking to the module in the room with the system and voila`, it works! Great way to add Ethernet to most any room in your home.



With all those upgrades and changes, now I need to re-draw my system schematic!

So, as it stands now, here's the system:





I'll spend some time listening and enjoying this setup for a while. I will, however, give that DAC A/B a try soon.

[Yamaki]

[Antonmb]

Very nice setup, and a nice clean layout and wiring.

[Yamaki]

Thanks, Tony!