My multichannel c-j/McCormack/Vandersteen system

Post your system to the site for everyone to see!
Post Reply
jeffreybehr
Master Apprentice
Master Apprentice
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:10 pm
Location: Phoenix, Arizona USA

My multichannel c-j/McCormack/Vandersteen system

Post by jeffreybehr »

Image

This has been evolving for decades. I've NEVER had a better-sounding system or, indeed, even heard an overall-better-sounding system.

Source is an Oppo '95, with 1/8" SoundCoat added to the cover and other flat panels. It sits on Herbie's Tenderfeet. Interconnect cable to the preamp is all analog. The stereo* pair and front-left/rights of the 5-channel cable is Audioquest Niagara, a current solid-silver-conductor DBS-type. CC IC is Neotec UPOCC-copper NEI-3001, while the surround channels are connected with entry-level AQ.

Preamp is a c-j MET1, a 6-channel, vacuumtubed, all-analog unit; it's featured here...
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=44 .
It too sits on Herbie's Tenderfeet. Its sound is highly transparent and attractive, and I LOVE it and can't imagine replacing it.

Front-L/R IC to the McCormack ('McC') DNA-750 poweramps is Neotec UPOCC-solid-silver NEI-1002 with Neotec RCAs. CC IC is another Neotec NEI-3001 with dual RCA outlets that I had had built (by Sonic Craft) for my dual Marantz MA-24s.
Image
(The treble cable is not current.) It feeds 2 channels of a McC DNA-HT5, of which more can be seen here...viewtopic.php?f=28&t=138

Main poweramps are McC DNA-750s which I've improved and LOVE!!! More here...viewtopic.php?f=28&t=113

All poweramps sit on Herbie's Tall Tenderfeet atop custom amppads spiked to the concrete floor.

Speakercable (from all three poweramps) is custom-wound (by Sonic Craft) multiple-Neotec-solid-conductor cable, very short, and terminated by me with Audioquest direct-silver-over-copper spades. All conductors are UPOCC metal, with 18- and 20g. copper plus 23g. silver used to drive the low frequencies of the Vandersteen 5As and 18-, 20-, and 22g. silver used in the upper-frequency cables to the 5As and the CC to the V-steen VCC-1. Here are the 2 cables connected to a 5A.
Image

Main speakers are Vandersteen 5As. I've improved the bypass caps in the very complex crossovers and added SoundoCity spikebars to the rears...
http://www.speakerfeet.net/install.html
Image
I LOVE the sounds of these, and these are more members of my system I can't imagine ever replacing.

Behind the 5As, bolted to the front wall, are the SuperSubs. Here's a composite pic with old open-baffle speakers in the foreground.
Image
Each contains four Sonic Craft 12" bass drivers in simple, DIY cabinets. They're driven by the Crown CDi2000 poweramp. Altho the 5As have the best-sounding, most tuneful and extended bass I've ever heard from a full-range speaker, the SuperSubs add a bit more energy from around 14Hz thru 40Hz and sound simply spectacular on movies. You ought to hear Master and Commander's cannon duels thru these!

CC speaker is a Vandersteen VCC-1, shown in the top pic atop a bassbox that I'm in the (infuriatingly SLOW!) process of building. I've substantially improved parts in its crossover including completely removing the clump of inexpensive 'lytic caps RV uses as a high-pass filter to roll off the bass. This removal, plus replacing other caps and resistors in the crossover, substantially improved the transparency of the speaker.

Video is projected by an Epson UB8700 that sits behind me and about 13 feet from a Severtson Panavision-ratio screen that's 96" wide and 106" diagonally and that's hung 10-1/2 feet from my nose. I manually adjust the image's postion and size to fill the screen, and the result is an image that subtends 42 degrees laterally, quite a bit wider than typical. The image pixels cannot be distinguished even when the lens is adjusted to fill the eight-foot width, and movies in Panavision are simply awesome.
-----------------------------
The surround speakers are a combination of Bay-brand inwall systems and a bassbox I had built. Here's one before installation.
Image
The bass driver uses what I call brute-force equalization, that being a single inductor with a low low-pass point of about 50Hz and then driven hard. The 'full-range' portion is driven thru a hi-wattage resistor to reduce its sensitivity to somewhere around that of the bass system. A pair of these is mounted in the upper-rear wall/ceiling.
Image
Image

These full-range speakers are driven in parallel with a pair of smaller speakers mounted left and right a couple feet forward of the listening position. These too are driven thru hi-wattage resistors to reduce their sensitivity. Notice the white-colored speaker barely visible on the far-left side of the beam.
Image

Here's the one on the right.
Image


* The Oppo has separate stereo and multichannel outputs, and I run the stereo pair to the MET1's CD inputs so that I can use the preamp's Ambient Recovery Mode on 2-channel sources.
[/size]
Last edited by jeffreybehr on Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:10 pm, edited 12 times in total.
Tin-eared audiofool, large-scale-Classical-music lover, and damned-amateur fotografer.
William Bruce Cameron: "...not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
User avatar
Animal
Frequent User
Frequent User
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 8:17 pm

Re: My multichannel c-j/McCormack/Vandersteen system

Post by Animal »

I only have one question.

Will you adopt me?
User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 4565
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:50 pm
Location: New Hampshire, USA
Contact:

Re: My multichannel c-j/McCormack/Vandersteen system

Post by admin »

Ok, so I packed up my stuff and I'm in the car, I need your address... I'm moving in! :)

Great setup. Amazing equipment! I like how you combined a killer home theater with a listening room. I also use the Epson UB8700 projector. I absolutely love the picture, I think it competes well with projectors twice the price.

So, I have to ask. Do you think your all done with the setup or is there still something that you plan to change? It seems like you have spent a considerable amount of time fine tuning the equipment list.
-admin
Home Theater in Member Gallery
Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
jeffreybehr
Master Apprentice
Master Apprentice
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:10 pm
Location: Phoenix, Arizona USA

Re: My multichannel c-j/McCormack/Vandersteen system

Post by jeffreybehr »

admin wrote:So, I have to ask. Do you think you're all done with the setup or is there still something that you plan to change? It seems like you have spent a considerable amount of time fine tuning the equipment list.
I'm still working on the centerchannel system. The new bassbox is designed to add some bass energy without making the CC sound thick, and that's why it's driven by a separate channel of the DNA-HT5 to which I've added a level control. The VCC-1 itself sounds excellent but bass-shy*.

I'd like to improve the audio-out section of the Oppo '95, but I don't have 2 kilobuk$ to throw at it right now. (I'm just a poor retiree trying to live on my Social Security pension. ;) )

To emphasize what I wrote above, BIG chunks of my system--preamp, ALL cable, power conditioners, all-3 poweramps, all 5 speakers--are so excellent** that I can't think of what would sound better***, so I'm a VERY lucky man, for millions of reasons. :D

* When I improved the parts in the VCC-1, I unintentionally discovered that one RC network reduces a peak in the presence region of the bass/MR cone. With this RC network not connected, the presence peak improves voice intelligibility dramatically, making dull-sounding voices much-more understandable. Of course, it sounds dreadful with music. So I now have a switchable voice emphasis that's very helpful.

** IMO, of course, and mine is the only one that counts for my system.

*** Yes, I'm sure V-steen 5A Carbons would sound better, but not maybe-$15K better!
Last edited by jeffreybehr on Mon Feb 24, 2014 12:10 am, edited 6 times in total.
Tin-eared audiofool, large-scale-Classical-music lover, and damned-amateur fotografer.
William Bruce Cameron: "...not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
jeffreybehr
Master Apprentice
Master Apprentice
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:10 pm
Location: Phoenix, Arizona USA

Power conditioners and cable

Post by jeffreybehr »

Didn't have room for power conditioners and cable in the main message.

First, all power to the musicroom's A-V equipment arrives via three 20-amp dedicated lines. Those 11g. conductors are unbroken from the circuitbreakers to the three junction boxes across the front of the house. Thru-wall stubs are 12g. and are wound around and then soldered to the 11g. (actually double-14g.) trunks. Each line drives 3 duplex outlets which are spaced across the MR's front wall to create three duplex-outlet trios. Here's an old pic. (The three single-duplex outlets are relics from the creation in 1982 of the musicroom and are now not used for anything but soldering stations, drillmotors, fotofloods, etc.)
Image
'Line 1' feeds the left-hand outlets in each trio, 'line 2' feeds the center outlets in each trio, and 'line 3' feeds the RH outlets in each trio. Altho I originally used 2 different legs (not 'phases') on the 3 lines, currently all three lines are connected to the same leg. Duplex outlets are Furutech FP-20-Rhodiums or ...Golds (clear faces), Furutech FP-15As (some Cuprum, some Gold [black faces]), FIM 880s (bright blue), and FIM 888s (ivory). An additional drop was added to one line on the left-hand wall of the MR to feed the frontend; that drives ...

...an audience aR12 that feeds all frontend equipment plus the 'HT5 poweramp and Epson 8700UB projector.
Image
I improved it initially with a quite-expensive Furutech hardwired input powercable but have just replaced that with a Neotec 10g. UPOCC cable...
Image
...that runs unbroken from the Furutech '52-series wallplug thru the common-mode choke...
Image
...all the way to the circuitbreaker/switch.

I replaced all the original duplex outlets...
Image
...filtercaps, and spade terminals. See http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=106120.0 for more info.

The main poweramps, McCormack DNA-750s, are fed by an audience Teflon-film-cap aR2P-TO...http://10audio.com/audience_ar2p-to.htm
Image
I've replaced the duplex outlet and the box-mounted male plug. (The head of a PS Audio Noise Harvester is barely visible beyond the '2P; all are now gone.)

Powercords for the Oppo '95 discplayer, MET1 preamp, and two main poweramps are Neotec UPOCC-copper AC cable (13g. for the frontend equipment and 11g. for the poweramps) with Furutech plugs, mostly 28-series but some 25s too. PCs for the 'HT5 poweramp and the Epson projector are long pieces of DH Labs PowerPlus (12g.) with Furutech ends, both fed by the aR12.

The 5A bassamps are now hardwired with DH Labs PP with inexpensive Marinco male ends.
Image
Each of these is driven by a 500-Watt Tripp-Lite isolation-transformer-based p-con in which I replaced the '15-cent' communistchinese outlets and AC filtercaps.

I'm finished with powercables and conditioners.
:D
Last edited by jeffreybehr on Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:20 pm, edited 15 times in total.
Tin-eared audiofool, large-scale-Classical-music lover, and damned-amateur fotografer.
William Bruce Cameron: "...not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
jeffreybehr
Master Apprentice
Master Apprentice
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:10 pm
Location: Phoenix, Arizona USA

Re: My multichannel c-j/McCormack/Vandersteen system

Post by jeffreybehr »

Here's a current view of the front floor, cable, etc. All cables for the 3 front channels are lifted off the floor; speaker cable for surround systems and powercords for 3 bass amps are not lifted (but for immediately behind the 'HT5 poweramp) and are on the floor.
Image
Cable lifters are plastic-conduit couplers, 2-1/2" and 3" IIRC. Visible in the near-left foreground are the biwires to the 5A; far-right is the brown-colored corner of the right-channel Tripp-Lite p-con for the V-steen woofer amp. The white-with-green-spiral IC is the yummy-sounding solid-UPPOCC-silver-conductor Neotec cable feeding the RH McC '750 poweramp.

Here's the front part of the cable. (For the fotografers among us, this is a stitch of 3 handheld frames.)
Image
Last edited by jeffreybehr on Sat Jul 01, 2017 8:08 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Tin-eared audiofool, large-scale-Classical-music lover, and damned-amateur fotografer.
William Bruce Cameron: "...not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
jeffreybehr
Master Apprentice
Master Apprentice
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:10 pm
Location: Phoenix, Arizona USA

Re: My multichannel c-j/McCormack/Vandersteen system

Post by jeffreybehr »

The room was great as rebuilt as a musicroom in the spring of 1982. It's 21' wide, 19' deep; the ceiling starts at 6-1/2' at the front wall, rises to 12' over the listener's head, and then slopes back and down to the 8'-tall rear wall. By design, there are relatively few parallel surfaces among the walls, and the room was and is relatively anechoic. Due to its almost-square dimensions, it did have a substantial bass node at 28-30Hz, but this spring I built two huge basstraps.
Left wall...
Image

Rear wall...
Image

Details are here...
http://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html? ... 3Dbasstrap
...and here...
http://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html? ... 3Dbasstrap

Believe me, they work.

BTW there's NO plastic film, etc., within them, so they absorb all frequencies, and the room is substantially less bright...and it wasn't very bright-sounding before.
Last edited by jeffreybehr on Sat Jul 01, 2017 8:10 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Tin-eared audiofool, large-scale-Classical-music lover, and damned-amateur fotografer.
William Bruce Cameron: "...not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 4565
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:50 pm
Location: New Hampshire, USA
Contact:

Re: My multichannel c-j/McCormack/Vandersteen system

Post by admin »

Wow, once again, truly amazing. I think having a non-symmetric room is a real advantage. My room also has sloping ceilings and the back of the room is different than the front. This really helps break up the sound and I get essentially no echoing what so ever. I also have about 150 acoustic panels mounted which also seem to help.

I also use cable risers in my system. The truth is that I do not perceive any audible difference with or without them, but I decided to keep them in. I have heard that they are more important for people with full room carpeting as static is transmitted on the carpet to the wire. I have a large carpet in the center of the room, but the wires are over hard wood floors so perhaps that is why it hasn't been an issue with or without the risers.

It truly looks like a great listening room but also a home theater. You have to let us know what music/movies you use to demo your system. Here is a thread for that: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=50
-admin
Home Theater in Member Gallery
Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
jeffreybehr
Master Apprentice
Master Apprentice
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:10 pm
Location: Phoenix, Arizona USA

Re: My multichannel c-j/McCormack/Vandersteen system

Post by jeffreybehr »

admin wrote:Wow, once again, truly amazing. I think having a non-symmetric room is a real advantage. My room also has sloping ceilings and the back of the room is different than the front. This really helps break up the sound and I get essentially no echoing what so ever. I also have about 150 acoustic panels mounted which also seem to help. Sounds good to me. :-)

I also use cable risers in my system. The truth is that I do not perceive any audible difference with or without them, but I decided to keep them in. Me too, both.
I have heard that they are more important for people with full room carpeting as static is transmitted on the carpet to the wire. I have a large carpet in the center of the room, but the wires are over hard wood floors so perhaps that is why it hasn't been an issue with or without the risers.

It truly looks like a great listening room but also a home theater. TYVM.
You have to let us know what music/movies you use to demo your system. Here is a thread for that: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=50
My references are in that thread.
Tin-eared audiofool, large-scale-Classical-music lover, and damned-amateur fotografer.
William Bruce Cameron: "...not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
jeffreybehr
Master Apprentice
Master Apprentice
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:10 pm
Location: Phoenix, Arizona USA

Re: My multichannel c-j/McCormack/Vandersteen system

Post by jeffreybehr »

A good friend and true golden-eared audiofile was over tonite for the 1st time in a couple years. We have similar musical tastes...large-scale Classical, generally...and he warmed my heart with 2 comments. First, he said that my 50-year quest to create a miniconcerthall in my home was a success. Secondly, he said that mine was the best-sounding music-reproduction system he's ever heard. Made ME feel good.
:mrgreen:
:D
:mrgreen:
:D
:mrgreen:
Tin-eared audiofool, large-scale-Classical-music lover, and damned-amateur fotografer.
William Bruce Cameron: "...not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 4565
Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:50 pm
Location: New Hampshire, USA
Contact:

Re: My multichannel c-j/McCormack/Vandersteen system

Post by admin »

jeffreybehr wrote:A good friend and true golden-eared audiofile was over tonite for the 1st time in a couple years. We have similar musical tastes...large-scale Classical, generally...and he warmed my heart with 2 comments. First, he said that my 50-year quest to create a miniconcerthall in my home was a success. Secondly, he said that mine was the best-sounding music-reproduction system he's ever heard. Made ME feel good.
:mrgreen:
:D
:mrgreen:
:D
:mrgreen:

I think you just got the best comment an audiophile can get! Congratulations. You certainly put a lot of time and effort into you system so I think his comments were well deserved.
-admin
Home Theater in Member Gallery
Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
Post Reply