Phoenix Gold Phorum

After trying a lot of different amps I ended up building my own with some components from 4 different manufacturers.
It is powered by a motorcycle-battery.
It matches the La Scala's [fully upgraded] in a spectacular way.
The La Scala's received new 15 inch cast-frame woofers, new wooden midhorns, new crossovers, and new high-[er] end tweeters.
The difference compared with how they sounded before is well....unbelievably "live".
In a few weeks I'll get a visitor here who writes reviews about stereo-gear and publishes these in audio-magazines and on the internet; he said "he just had to hear this strange install himself"..
So no more MS amps in my livingroom, I still have to repair the wall from where the MS1K Fosgate Edition used to be mounted.
Everytime I tell my wife "this is it"...she knows I'll be changing something within a few weeks.
And if you like it LOUD....this is it!
Nico

Man I am so jealous... the La Scalas were my first real SQ speakers. They made such an impression on me, that they pushed me towards the path of audio enlightenment! Those speakers are probably a big reason why I am here today!

You've gone battery powered? Really? No power supply noise I guess?

That;s right Tom; no noise whatsoever.
Every tube-amp I have tried ,produced a noticable hum on these horns [105Db efficiency as you know].
So I HAD to build something myself, and ended up with this mix of components [so far].
- high-end motorized volumepot plus input-selector [THEL, Germany]
-a tube-buffer with "pope" tube [1965] [INDEED, china]
-dual mono parametric EQ with 2 frequencies and selectable bandwith [THEL]
-Tripath TA2025 T-amp module [arjan helder, china] [2x25 Watts] , 86% efficiency.
All these components are made for 12 volts DC.
You just have to come over one day and listen again with Wendy.

Changed part of my system a little while ago...


Musical Fidelity A5 - custom built by Musical Fidelity engineers to upgrade all major components, plus swap it's single power supply for three huge ones.
So each channel and the pre amp stage now have their own dedicated internal supplies. Clarity and power are taken to another level.



Dynaudio Focus on Partington Dreadnought Broadsides



Sealed enclosure with Peerless 12" sub, custom finished in white
(I may have the Dynaudio's made to match soon)




Next? Not sure as I'm very happy with it all now. The only thing I'd perhaps be interested in at some point
is playing with DIY options. Perhaps some speakers using a point source driver and sub.

well! i figured id jump on board. i have 2 set ups. first is my bedroom. i did everything coustom. 55 Hitachi on the wall. all wires are ran in the walls (HDMI). HK reciver and dvd flush mount in the air above closet. i 45ed the corners and flush mounted the speakers in the walls. i came up with this design because i didnt want the door to the bathroom to open up and block the speakers. i went with a pocket door, so it could slide behind the speaker. because my bed sits so high i needed to raise the speakers up so the SQ would be there. i went with special ordered polk audio. for the rear speakers i went with bose. i flush mounted them in the celing. and for the sub. i think its a double 12. i put it in the corner. i spend most of my time in the bedrooom when i am home, so thats why i turned my bedroom into a theater room. in the living room i went with a 42 LG inbetween the windows.(thats as big as i could go) i went with the bose 321 for the sound system. my living room is set up for my reef tank, so thats the main focus.

Currently running the following:

Samsung 42" Plasma (1080p)
Pioneer DV-49VC DVD Player
Pioneer VSX-917-K 7.1 Receiver
Cadence CP-1 Cinema Speaker set up (2F, 2R and 1C)
Velodyne Impact-10
Sony PS3 for the games and Blue Ray
All running thru a Monster HTS 3600 MKII Reference Power Center.

Thumper88 wrote:Toshiba Regza 40xv645u 40" LCD
Pioneer VSX-919AH-K Receiver
AV123 ELT525 5 Speaker set
AV123 MFW-15 Subwoofer
APC H15 Power Conditioner
Comcast HD Cable
Sony PS3 Slim 250GB

My HTPC:
MSI Media Live
AMD Athlon X2 4850e
G.Skill 4GB (4 x 1GB) DDR2 800
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 1GB GDDR3
WD Caviar Green 1TB
Panasonic UJ-225 Blu-Ray
Windows Vista Ultimate x64

Added a pair of AV123 ELT525 bookshelf speakers to make it a 7.1 system.

Switched things up a bit for my HT. The list is currently at:

Panasonic 42"
PS3
Sony upscale DVD player
Kenwood 3090 (older model, goign to switch to a rotel 1069/1075 set up)
Linksys music bridge for wireless music

AV123 Ref 2's on fronts
AV123 X series center
canair cables

BDI entertainment center. Im goignt o be filling in the gaps around the center with some shims after I get off my lazy ass and get some matching speaker cloth to match the center.

Im loving these ref 2's. Not only do they look great, but they sound amazing for only $600. I had them running on some Belles amps, and man was it smooth. They were a little more up front and couldnt play as low as the Salk HT3's that were the control, but cost $3k less. All in all Im happy with them

you may laugh with my setup... it is not the "final stage but..."
2x cdj 800 mkII from pioneer
a djm800 from pioneer
2x technics sl1210mkII
a technics ST Z45L tuner
a mackie 1402VLZ mixer
a samson scom4 compressor
a tracks2.4 dsp from thomann
speakers :
a pair of 12" + piezzo boost sjitty boxes
a pair of 2x12" + piezzo omnitronic better boxes but still :s
a pair of old school small pioneer boxes
a pair of old scholl outline 8" + 0.75" horn
a pair of home build boxes based on boost pro housing, a RCF 15" woofer and a RCf 1" driver.
a pair of KMT SW1520 (2x15" 1400w rms each) bass boxes

amps
a power psa503 (2x250w rms /4ohm)
a crown xls202 (2x200w rms / 4ohm)
a crown macrotech 5000vz (2x2.5kw rms / 4ohm)
a nsx6004 (2x300w rms / 4 ohm)
2 sirus dxa1300 (2x1.2kw rms / 4ohm)

right now, i'm runing the pioneer and the outline boxes, on the nsx amp. when i need more, i put the home build boxes on a sirus amp and the 2 sub boxes on the crown amp. awesome...

i watching for a new setup, some sx18/sxsub from adamson.... at least 4 of each.

I love my towers.

http://www.audioreview.com/mfr/eosone/f ... 94crx.aspx

The only descent speaker line BBY ever carried, I got a whole set on accomodations when I worked there and have loved them since. I run them off a onkyo DTX-6 as I have not upgraded my reciever for some time. Plenty of bass with 4 powered 10s in the towers.

My H/T set up:

Panasonic G series 50" Plasma 1080p
PS3 Games Blu Ray
Pioneer Elite 7.1 receiver
Klipsch Quintet SL with all 7 speakers
Outlaw Audio LFM-1EX Subwoofer

Hi guys, Nothing special here:
Yamaha v-3300 (paid $275)
Cerwin Vega LS15 Mains (paid 300)
Sony Bookshelves for center and rear surrounds (free)
small Panasonic bookshelves for presence speakers (free)
Pioneer 50inch plasma tv/computer screen
Sony Ps3 for gaming and Blu-ray
Asus Dx2 soundcard in the computer with optical out. 115db s/n ratio
Running all optical cable as my reciever isn't HDMI compatible

Craigslist ftw!

Ok - upgraded, but downsized
Now running Harman Kardon 3490 stereo reciever, 980 cd player, squeezebox Duet, Dual CS505-4 record player and a pair of Dynaudio Compound 3.
Sometime in the future i will upgrade to a ASR emitter I Amp, but that is pretty expensive so... (http://www.asraudio.com/)

Integra DHC-9.9
Anthem Statement A5

Klipsch:
RF-82II
RF-62II
RC-64II

I just replaced both of my tv's.. I did a 60 LG in the bedroom and a 55 inch Sony 3d in the livingroom.. I watched torn in 3d last night and it was pretty cool.. It was kinda weird wearing glasses looking at the tv.

been gone a while, but i thought i would stop in and say hey.
i just recently got my home theater set up moving. nothing real special.
Panasonic 40" lcd
Denon avr791
Polk Monitor 50's for front stage
Polk Monitor 30's for rear
Polk CS1 for center

have not decided on a sub yet, thinking Aura 10" with a bash 300wt d class amp in custom box.

i will post pics for you guys when i get it all put together and tuned.

Mitsbitchi 73" dpl ,ps3, x-box 360, sunfire everything elce amps speakers, 4 sunfire tru subs

panny boom box with 4 sony bookshelfs hooked up to the smart phone it works for now

Toshiba regza - 52"
Denon avr- 4806
4 polk monitor 70's -fronts and sides
2 polk monitor 30's -rears
Polk psw 505 12" -sub
Klipsch rc 52 -center

Sounds amazing... Switched my ps3 from pcm to bitstream for the amp to decode in thx ultra-2 cinema mode and dts.

Switching up the living room setup:

Thumper88 wrote:Toshiba Regza 40xv645u 40" LCD
Pioneer VSX-919AH-K Receiver
AV123 ELT525 7 Speaker set
AV123 MFW-15

APC H15 Power Conditioner
Sony PS3 Slim
Comcast HD Cable

My HTPC:
MSI Media Live
AMD Athlon X2 4850e
G.Skill 4GB (4 x 1GB) DDR2 800
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 1GB GDDR3
WD Caviar Green 1TB
Panasonic UJ-225 Blu-Ray
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit

LG 60LA6200 60" LED 3D TV
Marantz NR1603 AV Receiver
Marantz UD5007 3D Universal Disc Player
Dayton BS36 LCR Speaker Bar
Pinnacle Classic Gold Surround Speakers

Undecided On:
Back Surround Speakers? (Might just run 5.1)
Subwoofer? (Might keep my AV123 MFW15 in the living room)

Just got this setup finished a few months ago when I finished my basement! (And yes I did all the work)
65" Sony Bravia LED 3D
Pioneer Elite vsx-70 7.2 Surround Receiver (hooked to home network)
Pioneer Elite DVD Player
Yamaha MX-600 Power Amp (For subs)
Monster MKII 3600 Power Center
Niles in wall Stage Front series (For Mains)
Niles in ceiling Stage Front series (For side and back surround)
JBL in wall 2sets of 2 8" subs These are built in to the custom bookshelf/fireplace surround!
In wall HDMI at back of the room for laptop plug in
All pictures of this can be seen on my company site. (And yes I am the old guy in the pics)
Facebook.com/circapaint

My TV (LG 60LA6200 60" LED 3D TV mounted on Sanus VLF410B1 Super Slim Full-Motion Mount)

Also, just bought a PS4...I've come to the realization that there are not that many PS4 games out yet...PS3 is where it's at for now.

Nothing really special,
Denon PMA-925r Amplifier,
some pair B&W Dm-302 Speakers.
Still want some Dm-305 speakers.

For the computer/laptop,
Numark Dj|io Sound-card 24bit. (to the Denon Amplifier)
Logitech Z2300 2.1 speakers

That was almost it.
Plannings for the garage 2x Mission speakers.

I just picked up some used Klipsch KLF-20 and a KLF-C7 center off Craigslist. They are awesome for movies/gaming, and I am slowly getting them tweaked to where I enjoy them for music. My room needs some acoustic treatment though....I am getting a lot of nasty reflections. Bare walls front and rear with sofa up against the rear wall....and a wall to wall distance of only 14'...the louder I crank it, the worse it gets. I am probably still a little skeptical about how I will like the horns for music. They are very forward and in your face....which is the idea, but it seems a bit harsh when I crank it up to levels I normally like to listen....which could be because of a number of things. I know it is recommended to put titanium diaphragms in the mids and tweeters, and upgrade or replace the crossovers. Adding mass to the backside of the horns is also said to help quite a bit to tame the horns a bit. Part of it is the room I know, and that is easy to fix, so I will start there.

I also came to the decision that I need to build my own subwoofer. Sure, I can get a lot of subs at good discounts with my job, but the good ones are still bloody expensive. I was thinking of a JL E112, but I think I will try the DIY road. Stereo Integrity HT18 is less than $200, and diysound sells flat pack CNC milled MDF enclosures cutout for this 18" for $160 shipped. Seems like most people are using the Behringer iNuke DSP amps....those are around $350 I think. So for quite a bit less than $1000 (by the time I put the speak-on connectors on it, finish the enclosure (thinking real veneer), and build some kind of grill), I will have something that should destroy that $2k JL!

I will create a build thread when I get around to that project. Sounds like a good winter job to me.

I agree with your analysis of Klipsch speakers. Mine sound great on movies and are not all that good at music.

If you just like it loud, I think horns in general are the way to go. If you really want to enjoy music and hear all the subtle details I don't see a horn being a good choice.

I really think this is more than just my opinion. The fact that nearly every concert uses horn speakers, yet hardly any (if any) recording studios use horns says a lot. Two different applications, and two different results.