Charles System

[Levitator]

Truly impressive Charles - congrats mate on assembling what I’m sure is a world class system

[Charles]

Originally Posted by cleeds

Whoa!

Cleeds, thank you, the new sub was the last piece of the puzzle and the result is simply stunning. It is surprising how much better this new Hammer is when compared to the old one. Although I have a mancave I do care about cosmetics and I really wanted the speaker system to look like a finished product. Everything you see is topline Wilson, McIntosh, and Audioquest and all quite new so that it all can age together. Wilson was kind enough to provide a complimentary new Watch Controller at no charge, which bowled me over. It's about a 4,000.00 piece and very high end.

I'm not like Ivan in that when I pay multiple thousands of dollars for cords and cables, I want to see them, not hide them. Also the power conditioners. I was also able to improve my room in that the intake for the air filter behind the left XVX is no longer functional. It is padded to prevent vibration. The air filter is now changed at the unit once a year.

Do you have your system posted somewhere? I'd love to see the Infinity IRS Beta's and the supporting cast of gear.

Best

Charles

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Levitator

Truly impressive Charles - congrats mate on assembling what I’m sure is a world class system

Levitator, thanks so much. I have worked so very hard to achieve this relatively final system. It's been a long but very joyous journey. It's difficult to believe that the dealer was able to get the XVX so perfectly situated. One of the things we did with the new Hammer was to try to situate it perfectly between the XVX. I have learned how to use the phase control on the crossover quite expertly. Learning how to correctly phase my system has very significantly improved the integration of the Hammer with the XVX. I've been at this 40 years and only recently learned how to correctly phase my system. The XVX and Hammer are thoroughbreds and really need correct phasing, which is not at all what I imagined this to be.

The result is stunning bass that is so smooth and well integrated and articulate and resolving that I am amazed with almost every album.

Best

Charles

[kach22i]

Impressive.

May I suggest using a laser pointer and light weight plastic mirror with T-pins to attach to ceiling to find reflection point(s).

Do it for each speaker.

https://www.dickblick.com/products/t-pins/

Push into drywall by hand, leaves hole so small that it will not need patching.

Can be used to secure acoustic foam that will not hold via other means such as using double stick tape or sticky foam strips/pads.

A second person on a step ladder will also work, however it is best to avoid conflict or incidents with family members when under our current conditions.

I can tell that you already know to treat an area larger than the small point. May I suggest a circluar shape or soft convex disk on each slope?

[SCAudiophile]

Charles,

Congratulations on your new Thor's Hammer and adding to what is already a wonderful system!

I would make a small suggestion...can you find a way to not have the Hammer fire directly into the back of, over and around your 1.2Kw amps? I think besides the obvious perturbation in the wavelaunch of bass frequencies by an obstruction in front of them, that vibrations within the amps are induced in large quantities. I think it could have numerous long term benefits to consider this, possibly better imaging/tightness and perhaps even better longevity of the circuit boards inside those amps.

Beautiful system, congratulations once again, I can only imagine how it must sound!

[audioguy3107]

[Apexorca]

Wow! No lack of bottom end. This must be awesome.
Congratulations.

A tip. Since Florian Schneider just passed away I'v been listening to Kraftwerk a lot lately. What comes to my mind is how careful they were to every sound. The structure and complexity of the lower end in their recordings are fabulous. Playing this loud with that great power from Thor's Hammer will be rewarding in your system.
You probably get temporary cardiac arrhythmia but it will be worth it.
/Carl

[Charles]

Originally Posted by kach22i

Impressive.

May I suggest using a laser pointer and light weight plastic mirror with T-pins to attach to ceiling to find reflection point(s).

Do it for each speaker.

https://www.dickblick.com/products/t-pins/

Push into drywall by hand, leaves hole so small that it will not need patching.

Can be used to secure acoustic foam that will not hold via other means such as using double stick tape or sticky foam strips/pads.

A second person on a step ladder will also work, however it is best to avoid conflict or incidents with family members when under our current conditions.

I can tell that you already know to treat an area larger than the small point. May I suggest a circluar shape or soft convex disk on each slope?

kach, I really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. I assume they are concerning positioning the XVX. It helps very much to have extensive experience with the room. I have had Thiel CS5i's, Genesis II's (an absolutely huge speaker consisting of 4 massive tall pieces), McIntosh XRT 30's (again a massive 4 piece tall system), and a Maxx3, and Alexx before the XVX.

Rooms are very unpredictable as far as their acoustics. I would have never considered placing an XVX in my room de novo. But based on previous experience I believed that the proximity to the ceiling would make zero difference. This has proved to be the case.

I have had a few folks over who have heard very expensive systems and their impression has been very positive. The XVX sings in my room and sounds better than any other speaker I have had in it, by far.

I just don't have any wiggle room. Interestingly, the distance between my Hammer and XVX is about 21-22 inches. With the Alexx which is a shorter wider speaker I had about 17", so I actually have more separation between the tweeters.

The XVX looks very natural in my room. I was very concerned that it wouldn't. It was an enormous gamble because of the enormous expense of the speaker and the fact that I had really good sound with my Alexx.

I did not trade in my Alexx due to dissatisfaction. I was extremely pleased with my sound. But I look at Carl's (Apexorca) Fenice and I knew there was more to be had and so I reached for it with the XVX.

I did not enjoy the purchase or the wait or the installation. It caused me great anxiety. In fact I left the house and took a 10 mile walk while the installation was going on, I was so nervous. This is the reason I have so few pictures of it. I kept waiting for disaster but disaster never happened. And the speaker itself is perfect. It was like no other purchase I have ever done. The XVX is several orders of magnitude above any other gear I have owned.

But in the end it turned out extremely well. I couldn't be more pleased with my result, although I am sure it would sound even better in a more suitable room.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Best,

Charles

[Charles]

Originally Posted by SCAudiophile

Charles,

Congratulations on your new Thor's Hammer and adding to what is already a wonderful system!

I would make a small suggestion...can you find a way to not have the Hammer fire directly into the back of, over and around your 1.2Kw amps? I think besides the obvious perturbation in the wavelaunch of bass frequencies by an obstruction in front of them, that vibrations within the amps are induced in large quantities. I think it could have numerous long term benefits to consider this, possibly better imaging/tightness and perhaps even better longevity of the circuit boards inside those amps.

Beautiful system, congratulations once again, I can only imagine how it must sound!

SCA, Thank you for these thoughts. I share your concerns. I have had these concerns too. Problem is there "ain't" nowhere to run and and nowhere to go to use the old cliche. The setup is far from ideal but very few are. But how does it sound? Is the really low bass where there is significant air movement from the massive ports of the Hammer significantly compromised??

As best as I can tell the answer is NO. The backs amps are about 24" from the front baffle of the Thor. I could pull them out another 12" but I don't think it would affect the sound and would create a fall risk. Tripping on these amps would not be something I would want to experience.

The amps are very compact and I believe their surface area potentially obstructing air flow negligible but nevertheless real. You would have to be in the room and look at the actual setup to appreciated this statement.

I have thought that when Mac finally comes out with the 2.1K's, it will be very difficult to place them for the reason you mentioned.

I could place the left and right 1.25's between the Thor and the XVX and then pull out the center 1.25 a foot closer to me. Employ expensive acoustic isolation for the amps. This would solve the problem you mentioned. So it can be addressed and is IMO solvable.

Your thoughts have caused me to rethink buying the 2.1K's (when they finally arrive) and spend the money on acoustic isolation for the amps. The XVX and Thor are truly well serviced by the 1.25's. Certainly there is better amplification and sources than Mac but I will never change from Mac.

I really appreciate this post so much because it has caused me to consider what might be a significant improvement to my system. I think I could spend a few thousand (maybe even much less) on some better foundations for the amps and reposition them. The dealer would do this and it would be very easy. What would you suggest?

THANK YOU!

Best,

Charles

[Masterlu]

Charles... I would definitely move the 1.25’s between the XVX and Thor. Then, I would buy an additional 1.25 and stack them (2 per side) the new Amp would be for Bi-Amping your Thor.

One more thing, I would have each pair of 1.25’s on an HRS M3X2 isolation shelf.

The audible gains would blow your mind, for much less money spent than you think.

Aesthetically they would also look fabulous.