Showcase your audio/video setup here!......

[aeroash]

Late post alert! The project started in March 2022 & in June 2022 I finally got these. So the idea of Audio Nirvana drivers came from a fellow audiophile & a good friend @kartikay (Kartikay Mohan Sharma). Coming from Focal Aria 923, I decided that its always better to have easy to drive speakers then the likes of the demanding once, so the final purchase decision was Audio Nirvana 15". @sadik is the obvious genius behind the built (& what a piece of work these finally came out to be). After a hug hiccup in logistics (like the delivery van meeting with an accident & going down the mountain... literally) I finally received the wooden boxes carrying my speakers, a big shout out to Sadik bhai for the amazing built, finishing, patience + that iron clad kinda packing which saved the enclosures.
Coming to the sq, AN15 are quite fast with amazing tonality & sounds glorious, the holography is top notch, be it the width or the depth (the perception of height is yet to be fully tested) they produce without sacrificing the pin-point accurate imaging & the resolution, they way these disappear is some different uncanny experience. The full range sub bass is different & when called off, they do produce shattering sub bass with absolute control & sometimes I wonder if I am re-discovering the tracks which I have heard earlier. They are still maturing with time & so is my setup, lots of changes to follow. With no crossover & a sensitivity of 99db+, the ANs are easy to drive & I feel they could do something superb with a quality power source like toooobs or low power class A amps.
That's a wip till the next post .

Someone is really impressed with his 45-degree bevel cuts!

 

[Ashwin Vyas]

Someone is really impressed with his 45-degree bevel cuts!

Ohh yes. The Sadik’s work is impeccable. We were luck with the quality of birch ply we got here in India as we do not get the 1st grade.

 

[aeroash]

Ohh yes. The Sadik’s work is impeccable. We were luck with the quality of birch ply we got here in India as we do not get the 1st grade.

Nice! I wasn't even aware we got birch ply here. They look nice, naked.

 

[chillumphile]

When you are poor but wanna hi-fi

Apple Music > LG V40 > Marantz PM 8006 > Elac Debut b6.2

 

[Kannan]

When you are poor but wanna hi-fi

Apple Music > LG V40 > Marantz PM 8006 > Elac Debut b6.2


View attachment 76511

LG V40 DAC is excellent. I myself recently purchased the V30 for headphone listening, and am in love with it.

 

[Ashwin Vyas]

Nice! I wasn't even aware we got birch ply here. They look nice, naked.

Yeah..... its birch ply only... if you notice the built in process pics. The current finishing is very much naked, just a nice layer of protection & polishing. Staining birch is a pain & requires importing some stuff which is not even available here.

 

[spsingh]

Re: Show us what you have!......

Okay, let me start

I was living in an apartment since dec 2004 (please check Openplan living room thread, 3rd in google ranking. lol), but decided to move to a house due to space constraints. Now I've more space to play around with my hobbies.


How i achieved this
I'll update the kit list & finished pics here, but keep the work in progress in my DIY threads here and here. There are some detailed info related to following (gathered from several threads and members):-



Living room



Bedroom 1



Bedroom 2



Bedroom 3




Office (where my wife lives ) room



Kitchen
Roku M1000
AE Aego M 2.1 Speakers

Wiring Hub


Other electric & energy saving bits

Nothing great, taken the route of X10 due to budget constraints. I use appliance module for switching Energy efficient downlights controlled via harmony 685 remote, Subwoofers, 12v suppy for PJ, hidden EE / LED lighting controlled via RF remote.

Automation bits

SKY HD box can be controlled via slingbox. I've sling client installed on my mobile mainly use to schedule & record programs, never miss my fav. program. A camera is plugged into slingbox but not got a chance to set it up for remote viewing

Multiroom audio is achived with Squeezeboxes. Slimserver is exposed to internet, so I can control the playlists of any squeezebox via web interface.

and finally a youtube video of subwoofer, playing bassotronics track

YouTube - SVS PB13 : Bassotronics

Sir… How are u getting hotbird signals , r u getting it now pls reply as i also have satelite set up

 

[sandeepmohan]

When you are poor but wanna hi-fi

Apple Music > LG V40 > Marantz PM 8006 > Elac Debut b6.2


View attachment 76511

Considering you have spent so much on this equipment, you will do justice to those loudspeakers by placing them on proper speaker stands. You will likely gain some improvement in sound quality too. You don't want the speakers tipping over.

 

[Analogous]

Considering you have spent so much on this equipment, you will do justice to those loudspeakers by placing them on proper speaker stands. You will likely gain some improvement in sound quality too. You don't want the speakers tipping over.

I agree. Three or four cement blocks on either side may also be an affordable solution ?

 

[chillumphile]

Considering you have spent so much on this equipment, you will do justice to those loudspeakers by placing them on proper speaker stands. You will likely gain some improvement in sound quality too. You don't want the speakers tipping over.

Firstly, my apologies to the high empath forum members who were triggered by my speakers precarious position.

However, this is more of a temp setup. The current room I am holed in is small and waiting for my master bedroom wall repairs to get done.

Aiming to have a more elaborate aesthetic setup there.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

When you are poor but wanna hi-fi

Apple Music > LG V40 > Marantz PM 8006 > Elac Debut b6.2


View attachment 76511

Looks lovely, and just as simple as it needs to be for me .. Enjoy

 

[Nikhil]

Attaching a few more photos of the Sun Audio 6v6SE. The tamura transformers seem to be key as the circuit under the hood is minimally populated.
View attachment 75310View attachment 75311View attachment 75312

Just seeing this Sushant! Beautiful amp ... congratulations!



.

 

[mohit katta]

My Polk Reserve 5.1.4 setup with Denon X3700h ....ceiling embedded RGB PIXEL Led with music reactive animation control and dimming.

55" LG G1 and 12" Elite screen with Benq W1070 projector

Bro that’s clean setup mine is also exactly same almost completed R200 mains r400 center es20 rear rc80i cieling 5.1.4 setup looking to buy hts 12 sub or maybe dual hts 12 please let me know if I am making right choice should I skip this sub

 

[isoton]

My audio setup
Musical fidelity M6i + M1 DAC , Monitor audio Gold GS20 , REL T7X sub woofer.
good for music.

 

[sachin.shiva]

System reveal! Focal Sopra N°3, Parasound JC5, JC2bp, Chord Hugo TT2 with Mscalar, Rega P10 with Apheta 3, and PSAudio Stellar Phono preamp.



Focal Sopra N°3 setup

I like Focal sound. I had an existing setup with Focal Aria 926 Towers, 906 side channels, CC900 as center channel, and SR900 as back surround channel. All driven by Denon X4700H. Added 2 subs PB3000 and PB2000pro for bass.

For HT setup it is very satisfying. However at times I wish more dialogue volume. It depends much on the Source. But I understand now why people go for separates in home theatre setup.

For 2 channel listening the setup needed more refinement. And I always had this OCD of having a seperate 2 channel system with separates (I never knew what I was missing untill I had the new 2 channel system). Wanting to explore vinyl was big part of the reason.

So then came the planning, research, and (hardly any), auditioning stage. That lasted for about an year.

I wanted more clarity, refinement, and imaging from the system. Having experienced focal Aria range I had some confidence in Focal line up. Berrylium tweeters would definitely make a difference. Choice between the Kanta and Sopra was settled due to my love for Bass. I didn't want to add a sub to the system. I had lots of reviews saying Kanta doesn't have enough Low Bass. Sopra on the other hand was too much Bass. I was worried about too much Bass. My room is 14.5 x 17 feet. Hardly the size mentioned in Specifications of Sopra series. It's probably less than half of it. Choice between not enough Bass vs. too much Bass was easy. I went for too much bass and room Treatment and decided for Focal Sopra N°3. The other systems which I concidered were Revel Salon 2 (Very old design and no upgrades, probably end of line), KEF Blade 2(Budget, More expensive and unavailability, also haven't audition ed, Bass?), and Monitor Audio PL 500 II (Taller than anyone in my Family, definitely 100% Brobdingnagian monstrous!!,).

Ordered Focal Sopra N°3 in April. Carrera White. Recieved a pair in July beginning. Unlucky to have a big indent on the front lacquer on one piece!!.. Heart broken after the wait. I was offered a discount to keep it or exchange. I chose exchange and decided to wait more. Rest of the system got delivered by end of July. Finally got a Off white light Oak finish in September 1st week. All this time the Focal India distribution was very helpful. I must thank the distribution Chain in India for their support.

And man it was a beauty! Had already got Isoacoustic Gaia 1s ready during installation. Fixed directly on them. Each speaker is 70kgs, certainly not 1 person job. Once settled on Gaia, it sticks to the marble floor. Very difficult to move for fine positioning for imaging and bass. Friends needed. From the outset the bass was too much. Room modes and reflection in marbled untreated room made it unlistenable on higher volume. But the clarity, seperation, and crazy resolving was apparent even without room Treatment!! Detailed review in sometime!!

Room Treatment with Umik-1 and REW, and huge bass traps is another story. But I am eager introduce the rest of the system first!.. Finally positioned with about 5 feet away from back wall and 3.5 feet from side wall. Slight Tow in. Seating position 8 feet away about 4 feet off the back wall. With this I got RT 60 times less than 100ms for most range except deep bass. In treated room the Sopra clarity is amazing. Eyes closed pin point precise 3D imaging. The Berrylium Twitter is like silky sand. Very different from anything I hv heard before. Now my Arias sound like lifeless!!

Power Amplifier: I wanted a little warmer side of neutral or neutral. Sopras are known to be power hungry. They go down to 2.9 ohms. Having dealt with power hungry Focals in Aria, I certainly didn't want to be underpowered. Also power is needed for better headroom.

The choices where based on At least 200 watts and above power requirements. Which left lot of options out of consideration. Most Tubes were out unfortunately. The remaining contenders were Parasound JC5, Mitchi P5 Rotel, Mac, NAD, Primaluna Evo 400, and Cambridge Monoblocks. Primaluna Evo 400 has very limited operations in India. No reply to my mails about enquiry. Was quoted more than 6 months wait. Pass. Mac were too warm and not my taste. Had very little information available on Rotel Mitchi P5. No audition available. Best info and reviews available were on Parasound. Finalized it without auditioning. Sad reality of being audiophile in India. Was delivered in 3 months. Silver colour was the reason for longer wait time.

Parasound JC5 delivered!. Loads of power at hand with good resolution and refinement. Drives Focals easily. I tested my Focal Aria 926 with it and boy JC5 makes it come alive!! I never knew Arias were capable of this bass and imaging. I 100% now endorse the view the separates or good integrated is the way to go for 2 channel audio. AVRs, even my Denon X4700H Shows it's limitations here, made glaringly apparent by this A/B testing. When Sopras finally arrived, I already had about a month of use and burn in on JC5. JC5 pairs very well with Sopras. Infact i didn't get any soo called brightness with Sopra Berrylium tweeters. Whether it was due to JC5 or it's an issue discussed in out of proportion. With the combination of JC5 and Sopras, the Bass was over powering. Room Treatment is a must. Bass given by this combination rivals the 2 PB3000 and PB2000 pro combo!! After room Treatment and positioning the First thing I noticed was the crispness of the Bass. It's much more clear bass. Isoacoustic Gaia 1 are also there to be credited for it. After listening to Sopras my HT bass sounds slow and muddled. SVS PB bass is visceral no doubt but that setup lacks the Refinement of the bass. Probably room Treatment and DSP may fix it. That's new project in making. All in all very happy with JC5s. I cannot compare directly with other choices as I don't have experience of Mitchi P5 of Cambridge Monoblocks.. If anyone has them and nearby Feel free to dropby for AB testing.

Pra-Amplifier: The choices were JC2bp, Primaluna Evo 400 preamp, Mac, and Rotel Preamp. I didn't want integrated preamp with DAC and media player. By default it was JC2bp as it compliments the JC5, second was Primaluna and Rotel. Both Primaluna and Rotel had the same problems mentioned before. So settled on JC2bp. Was delivered with the Poweramp. Good minimal design. Very less features. Literally just input switching and volume controls. Nothing more. The sound I have already described in the power amp section. It's very good at resolving and imaging for sure. I have never heard so many instruments so effortlessly in that great details in my songs. Pink floyed I am listening for 20 years... Feels like i am listening from scratch!! Abundant clarity with resolution and musically so satisfying.

DAC: It was very hard to decide the "if" I need it, along with "what" I need. Seperating DAC from source was a decision again based on my previous experience of Not using separates. The quality Suffers . Particularly if using suboptimal source like YouTube from Mediac PC, TV, or streamer. I do have dedicated Hi-Fi streaming service like Room and Tidal, but not every source is compatible with roon, and not all content is available on Tidal or audio files. YouTube and other internet streaming services in this age cannot be ignored. Also the path of upgrades seems much better and cheaper with separates than combination of source with DAC. Coming to the choices, I am an analytical and clarity listener rather than a laid back style listener. Going by the reviews Chord TT2 was an option, R2R DACs were not on my list as I was not sure about their pairing with Parasound. Both warm components seemed odd to me, although the promise of analogue quality of the sound of R2R DACs was a big lure. Chord vs Denafrips was a difficult decision, finally i selected for Chord Hugo TT2 with Mscalar for its neutrality, resolution, and bass authority. I have given my opinion on Hugo TT2 and mScalar seperately and in combination elsewhere in this forum. To recapitulate Hugo TT2 is neutral, very resolving, and good Bass control. In itself it's good enough. It's only when you up sample with mScalar do we get to hear the expansive sound stage. It's like suddenly someone has turned surrounds on. But Sometimes it feels unnecessary. Particularly with MQA on Tidal. Probably it's because of MQA ?? Most of the times I am using TT2 with mScalar upsampling to max 768khz using Dual BNC outs of mScalar. The difference mScalar brings can be felt eyes closed. It's like a veil has been lifted and HD clarity. It's hard to go back.

Turntable: Rega P10 with Apheta 3 Cartridge. I was looking for something with clarity. With all reviews and research I came to Rega P10. I kind of get the philosophy of low mass of plinth brings out the best of the Vibration measuring machine. I have no frame of reference for otherwise. It's hard to find head to head. I won't think anyone would regret Rega P10. It's phenomenal. Clarity and bass authority. From Jazz blues, Mahler, Pink Floyd, Arctic Monkeys, to bass heavy Lil Nas, Eminem, and Bjork. It does justice to all. Good pressings make it shine. Digital cannot touch that. A/B of Digital vs Vinyl of some tracks makes me feel the love for analogue. Still in process of building the Vinyl collection. Could give better review after sometime.

All in all satisfied. I have learnt in these years that sometimes we don't even know what we are missing. Keeping open mind, trying and testing new things will definitely expand our musical horizon. It's never the end.

Lifespill,
very nice description of your journey about Sopra no 3.Did you audition kanta no2 ? what made you to choose sopra no 3?
can you please guide me about room acoustic rom treatment? Thank you for your description.

 

[crowdme2]

My Polk Reserve 5.1.4 setup with Denon X3700h ....ceiling embedded RGB PIXEL Led with music reactive animation control and dimming.

55" LG G1 and 12" Elite screen with Benq W1070 projector

What digital clock is that? I like minimalist clocks, been searching for a good one

 

[Sandipbarik]

Bro that’s clean setup mine is also exactly same almost completed R200 mains r400 center es20 rear rc80i cieling 5.1.4 setup looking to buy hts 12 sub or maybe dual hts 12 please let me know if I am making right choice should I skip this sub

In my opinion get the best and biggest single sub for your budget now, and add another later when budget permits, If you do not have multiple seats, then one sub would be sufficient with proper placement and calibration. Also for serious bass, go for SVS subs. They have a kind of authority that the polk HTS subs do not have, as per my experience

 

[mohit katta]

In my opinion get the best and biggest single sub for your budget now, and add another later when budget permits, If you do not have multiple seats, then one sub would be sufficient with proper placement and calibration. Also for serious bass, go for SVS subs. They have a kind of authority that the polk HTS subs do not have, as per my experience

Rythmik fvx12 and ardenal 1961 1vs getting both of them around 1.3 lacs which one should I finalise?? Fvx 15 is slightly out of budget at 1.7 lacs

 

[Sandipbarik]

Rythmik fvx12 and ardenal 1961 1vs getting both of them around 1.3 lacs which one should I finalise?? Fvx 15 is slightly out of budget at 1.7 lacs

Ardenal 1961 1v and SVS PB 2000 pro are same in terms of specs wise...but the SVS pro models you get the mobile app, which is a pretty handy utility... and I do not have much knowledge about Rythmik subs, so best will be to audition and see which one you feel digs deeper

 

[Nitin K]

Arendal's build quality is very good though I don't have one. While others use MDF, they supposedly use HDF and have a 10 year warranty if I am not mistaken which speaks of their confidence.

Pls check with the dealer and audition what sounds best.