(Archived) One Red Paper Clip

by heyitsmedusty on Budget Minded

Description

If you haven't heard the story of "One Red Paperclip," please look it up. It explains my journey perfectly.

I started with some Polk Monitor 7's that I bought at goodwill for $5. I sold those for $100, and put $30 of it toward some bose cubes that I found on Craigslist (sonic downgrade, financial upgrade.) I sold those for $100, which I put toward some used NHT 2.5's that I picked up used for $170. As of July 2007 I have traded the NHT's for the Thiel CS 2 2's. Which brings me to my first taste of high-end audio.

Right now I'm getting a really musical, visceral, powerful sound. I listen to a wide range of music, so it's important to have a system with versatility with an emphasis on accurate vocals.

I've lucked into some great pieces but I know I have a lot to improve on, so help me out!

Next up: a new preamp.

-Dusty
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Components Toggle details

    • Thiel Audio CS 2 2
    These are by far the best speakers I have ever owned, and they are very nearly the best speakers I have ever heard. They throw images like nobody's business, and are extremely well crafted. They are engineered to be listened to with the grills on.
    • McIntosh MC-2100
    I lucked into this one on Craigslist. I'm still new to high-quality audio components, and to be honest I didn't believe that amps made that large of a difference until I hooked this into my system.
    • Technics SL-1200 mkII
    before this I had a Linn Basik. The pacing is just so much more accurate on a good direct drive, and the Technics SL-1200 mkII is a very good direct drive.
    • Dynavector DV-10X5
    This is an amazing cartridge for the money. It has this impeccable ability to throw any surface noise to the background and bring it's musical presentation to the front.
    • Arcam DV88 Plus
    This is the first DVD player I've owned that I can use a stand-alone CD player as well as a DVD player. It gives the music weight without adding that hard digital edge.
    • Onkyo DTR 6.4
    Home theater receiver when watching DVDs and playing video games, preamp when listening to 2-channel sources (CD, Vinyl, Digital.)
    • Microsoft Xbox
    I modified an original Xbox to act as a streaming media server.
    • Velodyne CT-120
    It does a good job of laying the foundation for my music. Deep and rich.
    • TruthCable Premium
    These are absolutely the best cables you can get for less than $1,000. True and open sound, amazing build quality.
    • N H T VT-1C
    I'm still using this as the center channel even though I've traded the NHT fronts for the Thiels. It does the job for now, but I'm taking recommendations for a better match.
    • Trichord Dino
    I needed a little more flexibility in gain as I was considering a low-output MC cartridge. I ended up with a high-output MC cartridge, and this phono stage can handle it beautifully.
    • Room Setup
    This is how the room looks right now. It definitely needs some treatments, but there are enough soft things (upholstered couch and chairs, bookshelves, etc) to keep the sound tame.
    • Valab NOS DAC
    This DAC is non-oversampling. I'm not a techie, so I'm not really firm on what that means, but I know this component upgraded my home theater PC into an audiophile grade device.

Comments 67

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Owner
My next move is definitely to get a real preamp. I'm trying to buy very wisely, and keep it cost effective. When I run my sources through my Harmon Kardon, it absolutely destroys the sound and actually adds a static distortion to highly modulated passages. I have been plugging my CD player directly into the McIntosh and adjusting the volume there, and that sounds incredible.

I'm looking for something with a remote. Would anyone recommend getting a passive preamp just for adjusting volume? Should I definitely get an active preamp?

Any help is appreciated.

-Dusty

heyitsmedusty

Hey Dusty. Great find on the Mac. I run MC40s and recently (today) added a Conrad Johnson PV-10A preamp and am very happy with the upgrade. I have only listened for a few hours, but I can tell this thing is a very musical and clean sounding pre, and I haven't even checked out the phono section yet, which I have been told is very very good. Just something you might want to consider.

Very nice system you have. I bet it sounds great.

wwwrecords

I enjoyed reading the posts about your evolution. I am not familiar with the Thiels. The Mac find was once in a blue moon. Like finding an old vintage Porsche in a field that the widow wants to sell! I don't have an ipod but am evolving toward a computer based system. That's the reason I bought the PSA DAC III. It makes more since to run off a hard drive into a DAC you like. Enjoy!

tgrisham

Owner
Haha, you're totally right, it will probably not be the last amp I buy...that's why I said "for this system!" Hopefully by the time I need a new amp, everything else will be new too, thus, a new system. ;)

-Dusty

heyitsmedusty

Thanks for the tip on the room planner. I'll definitely check the new site out and give it a try.
Great deal on the Mac. I read your comment along with the pic of the amp; "last amp I'll ever buy" nice thought but c'mon man, forever is a long time Dusty.

timrhu

Go Mac. I'll bet your Thiels really sing a song now.

I'd look into older Mac preamps. They are still quite good if you can live w/o a remote. You can also get them with the optional tuner packs in them.

mjcmt

Owner
The McIntosh was a crazy good find. He was an older gentleman, just wanted to get rid of it because it was extremely heavy, so he sold it for $100. It was one of those "once in a blue moon" situations where I just happened to check Craigslist right when it was posted.

I'm definitely looking for a new pre-amp. Any suggestions?

heyitsmedusty

Dusty,

Nice find. Craigslist can be amazing. I continually prowl over it, but no luck on audio yet.

Now you need a real preamp. The difference will be night and day.

Mike

mjcmt

Owner
System edited: Luckiest Craigslist find ever today. Added McIntosh amp.

heyitsmedusty

Owner
System edited: Moved room setup to components. If you only have one picture of your system it takes up more of the screen which is good since mine is long.

heyitsmedusty

Owner
The floorplan was made with a site called...are you ready for this...FloorPlanner.com! Totally free, highly recommended, all online so you don't have to download anything.

heyitsmedusty

Dusty,

OK, so what program are you using to do your new floor plan...very nice indeed. Are you going to add an elevation next?

I like your Thiels. Are these older models?

If you only are using 2 channel, the Adcom preamps are excellent. My first high end system after being away from audio for 25 years was the Adcom 500 pre and 545II power. I kept it longer than any other amps I've had. Very unfussy to integrate into a system with a very nice sound too.

Mike

mjcmt

Owner
System edited: Added a new floorplan and panoramic picture. The panorama is from the couch.

heyitsmedusty

Owner
Mjcmt,

I totally agree. I definitely found out what moving furniture around can do to the audio dynamics of your room. I would love to see how other members place their speakers, how much they toe in, how close the speakers are to their other components, etc.

-Dusty

heyitsmedusty

Dusty,

Thanks for your advice. It worked like a charm, I even added color to approximate my furniture, but it looks a little cartoonish.

I hope everyone follows your example and adds a floor plan to put it all into perspective. It is important to see the room limitations we all face in trying to get good sound.

Thanks again.

mjcmt

Owner
Hey Mjcmt,

What I did was get a screen print and paste it into a program where I could crop it and edit it.

To get a screen print of the open window with your layout, hold press "alt+Print Screen". The "Print Screen" button is above your number pad on the right of your keyboard.

This will copy the screen into the clipboard of your computer, so that when you open up a graphics program (Photoshop, MS Paint, etc) you can right click and paste the image into the file (or just push "ctrl+v" to paste it).

You could also search the web for screen capture software to get an image of the layout.

-Dusty

heyitsmedusty

Dusty,

thanx for the web site link.

I did a room layout, but could not figure out how to save a copy on my computer so I can post it on Audiogon.

Any advice to how and why I was limited to their web site. Even emailing it to my self was no help.

mjcmt

Owner
Thank you for the advice, Ben!

I've been thinking about separates for a while, but I have to be able to incorporate the speakers into the home theater as well. Does anyone know what kind of amp would be appropriate for a system of my size and expenditure-level?

heyitsmedusty

Dusty,

That is a great idea with the room setup thingie...I will definately try doing this sometime this weekend. Thanks for the weblink...by the way your system looks very nice. If I were to be in your position (which I was about a year and a half ago) I would start moving towards seperates. Start with an amp for your main channels, using the variable outputs that your HK receiver hopefully has and get moving from there. A amp can really do a lot for the sound of you system, especially for 2 channel listening.

Ben

bearotti

Owner
I definitely think that everyone should add their room setups to their systems, preferably with their room treatments noted. I used this web application:

https://www.raymourflanigan.com/room_planner/

It's free, you don't have to download anything on to your computer, and you can save separate room designs with a login name if you do their free registration. They're just a furniture company that is trying to show you how their furniture can be placed in your home, but it's a lot more fun to use it for this!

-Dusty

heyitsmedusty

Where did you get the software to do the furniture layout drawings? Is it free software? I'd like to add that to my virtual system too. I is a nice touch. It puts everything into perspective. Very nice indeed.

mjcmt

Owner
You can see in the new room picture that the floor rug is in the same place relative to the speakers that it was in the old setup. I think the problem is turning out to be the walls and still exposed parts of the hardwood.

heyitsmedusty

Also what helped in your old set up was the floor carpet. If you eleminated that, your in trouble. Hardwood floors are not recommended for good sound acoustics. You need items in your room to absorb the sound and not have it bouncing and glancing everywhere. Good luck

thommas

Owner
System edited: I've added pictures of the old room setup and the new room setup. My sound went straight to crap. HELP!

heyitsmedusty

Owner
System edited: Added TruthCables to my system. I didn't even believe cables could bring this much improvement, but there's no way to deny it now.

heyitsmedusty

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