EvilDigs (Updated 23/03/05)

eviljohn2

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2002
Messages
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Age
40
Location
Near London.
Preliminary Note
Unfortunately I've had to move on from the accomodation shown so my gear is haphazardly around my parents house. The pics still give an idea of what I'd like to achieve in my next place though. The good news is that I passed my degree and have a great job so hopefully I EvilDigs will be brought out again soon. :smashin:


Introduction
I'm currently studying physics at Bath University so the strange thing about my room is that it contains my entire life aside from a few kitchen utensils. I started off with the Sony mini system and after working hard during various holidays and a years industrial placement I've cobbled my pride and joy together in its current entirety.

Stereo Equipment
Stereo: Sony CMT-CP500MD
Cans: Sennheiser HD570

AV Equipment
Display: Philips 24PW6006C TV
Amplifier: Marantz SR7400
DVD Player: Toshiba SD420e
Freeview: Humax PVR-8000T not connected as I have no signal here
Main speakers: Mission 771e
Centre speaker: Mission 77C1
Rear speakers: Mission 77DS
Subwoofers: 2 * BK XLS200 :devil:
Equalisation: BFD made a huge difference in this room!
There's also a Gamecube, Isocushion, Mopads, Belkin Surgemasters and various cheap cables, most of which are home made.
For portable I use the Sony MZE10 that's on the shelf in front of my DVDs. I prefer MD over MP3's and the like as I'm old-fashioned and like the tactile media and super-long battery life combined with its tiny size.

Comments
Much of my equipment was bought second hand - I had to replace one of the main drivers on the centre speaker as it was damaged in transit. The pictures show a Denon 1802 as receiver but this has been replaced with a Marantz SR7400 which has similar fascia dimensions, not that you could tell from the ropey pictures!
The DVD player is sandwiched between the Isocushion and BFD so is as solid as reasonably possible.
The Computer speakers are connected to the B-terminals of the amp so I can have stereo whilst I'm seated at the PC when I occasionally play games. The mini system is connected from it's headphone output into the Marantz receiver so I use the Marantz's amplification for it. As a quick aside, the computer is a Pentium 133 with 80MB of EDO RAM, 22GB of HD, Awe64 soundcard and an 8MB Voodoo2 3d Card running Windows 98. I've recently acquired a faster Duron based computer which I use in conjunction with the existing peripherals via a KVM switch.
I'm afraid I've only got the camera on my phone and I've gone a bit overboard with PSP but hopefully you can get a feel for the room. Notice that the rear right speaker is on the wardrobe whilst the rear left is on a corner shelf just above the door. The room is about 3.5m long, 3m wide and 2.5m high and the frequency response can be seen here.

DIY Cables
These days I tend to make up my own cables as it's much cheaper. Shown are some pics of a power lead based on "Sid's Posh" design, I use one of these for each of my subs. Subwoofer interconnects are standard coax DIY. I've also made an interconnect using the Piano6 design at TNT Audio.
I'm particularly pleased with the DIY speaker cables. Each conductor is the external braid from a length of Puresonic coaxial cable, these are then twisted together and sheathed in nylon braid. Terminations are the only 4mm banana plugs that CPC stock which are actually made from copper, attached with silver solder and covered in copious amounts of heatshrink sleeving.

The Future
The only sensible upgrade from here is to change the front main speakers to a better model (seriously tempted by the Onix Rocket RS550.2's) as I'm happy with the everything else unfortunately that's at least a few years off as I need my money for a house deposit and a Land Rover so I can develop my interest in off-roading...
Thanks for looking
John :)


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Looking good John, definitely worth staying sober for occasionally to pay for. Room looks very tidy for a student as well :D
 
Thanks, it's a little misleading because I had loads of stuff piled on my bed and moved the printer box each time it was in shot. The Labview manual still managed to creep in though. :blush: It took a lot of time and thought to pick what I consider the best items for the job at a decent price though, apart from the CDs which are obviously worth more than the rest put together and is the way I plan to keep it :laugh:
 
Nice room John....reminds me of mine :-0. I have everything crammed in here too including a 32 inch TV, computer, printer, weight training stuff.....maybe I should have the floor reinforced ! I'm looking for some good media storage at the moment - Argos is calling me !
 
let me have your CV if you're interested in marketing. There's £1500 in it for me and a job in it for you (if you're good!)
 
That's got to be one of the best student dig set-ups I've seen! Most students seem to be content with a 14 inch TV/VCR combi, a PS2 and a 2nd hand Mini Hi-Fi. I know this because I sold my 14 inch TV/VCR combi to my mate who keeps it in his student house and plays DVDs on it through his PS2!

We are the exceptions though my room, being in my parents' house, can't really be classed as a 'dig'. Still, good to see another student with a love for quality home theatre!
 
Yes I totally agree. Lovely HC room with some lovely kit. I wish I had something like that when I was University. I bet everyone crowds in when there's a film on. When I were at Uni. all I had were two sticks to rub together and a spinning top. Students nowadays eh ;)
 
Two subs? No wonder you found the BFD a useful addition! Do your house-mates complain about things falling off shelves and pictures falling off walls poltergeist-style when they're running?

You thought of doing commission jobs for folks - would imagine there'd be some demand for high quality / tidy power cables using decent components.
 
Thanks for the kind words guys, as you can imagine it took a fair bit of work to get the cash together combined with careful shopping - the second hand market is your friend! The sad thing is that I finish uni in a month or so which means going back to live with my parents and putting most of my gear into storage. :thumbsdown:

My housemates don't really complain about the noise but I tend to listen very quietly (usually <-30dB) and it's a georgian terrace so the walls are solid stone. Curiously my housemates don't really like watching films in my room as there's not really any seating for extra people and my girlfriend isn't fussed either way but is keen for me to have a projector ASAP...

SSB, I've made a few cables for mates but unfortunately insurance problems make a more substantial business very difficult. It's also worth remembering that most of my DIY leads took an hour or more to make which quickly adds up. Of course the prospect of custom leads isn't entirely out of the question but is probably best kept to PM. :)
 
Popped over the Evil Johns last week. A very musical set up with great sound and some superb home made speaker wire and mains leads. Impressive stuff indeed.

Pete.
 
I was expecting to see some Dynaudio actives but then noticed you haven't bothered with the thread for the last 5 years :D

Come on! :devil:
 

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