rowlandhills's System

rowlandhills · Active member Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 147 Location: UK

I've had a couple of threads on here about my system before (I'd be happy to combine them all if there's a way to do that) but have now finally got everything out of storage, now that the builders have finished creating our extension.

After much blood (skinned knuckles trying to pass cables through oles in the wall), sweat (from holding oddly contorted positions while trying to get cables correct and tears (when it all bloody failed to work at one stage!) I've finally got it all setup and working nicely Smile

As promised, a few photos. Partway through the installation:

Rear speakers (Tukans on Brakits) fully installed:

Work complete at the front (ADS, Sky HD, Pioneer BluRay into Kinos, c4200, Majik 6100 driving Kabers (Aktiv) and Centrik with Sizmik 12.45 sub):

Although I do have a problem I hadn't anticipated.....: Very Happy

Given that sorting all of that lot out took the best part of a day, I've not had a chance to focus on cable dressing for best performance. In fact, I've not even tune-demmed the speaker position and Aktiv settings, so there's lots more performance still to come! Smile

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Akurate DS, Exotik+DA, M6100, c4200 (all Dyn)
Aktiv Kabers, Centrik & Tukans, Sizmik
Silvers, K600

Charlie1 · Posted: 2010-03-09 16:13 Post subject:

Great job Rolland! Really smart looking room now. You must be really pleased and the Mrs delighted Very Happy

ThomasOK · Posted: 2010-03-09 19:16 Post subject:

Nice looking setup. Look forward to reading how it all sounds once you've got it dialed in.

I'd be careful about your unanticipated problem. I have a customer with a cat that liked to sleep on his NAD integrated amp. Unfortunately, the cat leaked while sleeping! End result: an unrepairable amp due to a corroded main circuit board. Sad

I do notice there are open vents on the top!

David Neel · Member Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 40 Location: Out There

Rowland, be careful! Some years ago we had a VCR fail, and returned it under warranty. When we collected it, we were told that the failure was caused by a vast amount of cat hair - it was the moulting season and the cats had slept on it for warmth! Still, the repairer saw the funny side and didn't charge us. Ever since then I've kept shelf heights to an absolute minimum - Isoblue is ideal for preventing cats sleeping on top of vented hifi boxes.

rowlandhills · Active member Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 147 Location: UK

David - very valid point! I guess that if you have open shelving, there's always a challenge between having enough space for cooling (Linn recommendation is 80mm, I think) versus enough space for small furry animals to crawl in a go to sleep...
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Akurate DS, Exotik+DA, M6100, c4200 (all Dyn)
Aktiv Kabers, Centrik & Tukans, Sizmik
Silvers, K600

Tony Tune-age · Posted: 2010-03-10 21:06 Post subject:

rowlandhills · Active member Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 147 Location: UK

Just had a lovely morning of upgrades...

Firstly, I added the Dynamik PSU to my Akurate DS, which definitely makes it more tuneful, punchy and "dynamic" sounding Smile

Secondly, silvers from the ADS to the Kinos. As there are two sets of RCA outputs, I was able to leave the blacks connected too, and compare the two. Definitely understand what people say about silvers being more tuneful and adding clarity to the sound.

Final upgrade was a second pair of silvers from the Kinos to the power amps (into the 6100 which is powering the bass channels before feeding on to the 4200 driving treble and mid).

Now it's time to just sit back and enjoy a few tunes. Playing around with the Asset Control (http://forums.linn.co.uk/bb/showthread.php?tid=6445) and listening to a few new albums.

What a nice way to spend a Friday! Very Happy

_________________
Akurate DS, Exotik+DA, M6100, c4200 (all Dyn)
Aktiv Kabers, Centrik & Tukans, Sizmik
Silvers, K600

Charlie1 · Posted: 2010-04-02 18:02 Post subject:

Yes, very nice indeed! Smile

I know you want to enjoy what you've just done, but curious if there is anything else planned?

I even got a chance to listen to some music myself - in daylight for a change.

Have a great weekend.

SaltyDog · Posted: 2010-04-02 18:38 Post subject:

Hey, any idea what happened to the pictures?

ThomasOK · Posted: 2010-04-03 17:10 Post subject:

rowlandhills · Active member Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 147 Location: UK

Thanks Thoma. Trouble is, my 4200 is balanced, so for gain matching it has to be at the end of the chain, hence feeding it off the 6100. The cables were made up for me by House of Linn, and actually use Linn silver RCAs on the end of balanced black ICs. Might upgrade those to silvers at some point.
_________________
Akurate DS, Exotik+DA, M6100, c4200 (all Dyn)
Aktiv Kabers, Centrik & Tukans, Sizmik
Silvers, K600

Tony Tune-age · Posted: 2010-04-03 22:14 Post subject:

rowlandhills · Active member Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 147 Location: UK

SaltyDog · Posted: 2010-04-09 14:57 Post subject:

Yes they are Rolling Eyes