My Bedroom AV setup

Just made me self a nice cup of Rosie Lee and read this from front to back. Great taste, superb kit and very interesting reading.

Thanks guys for the compliments, glad you liked the thread, been meaning to update it properly as for some reason imageshack changed lots of links and they are broken even though the images are actually still there!

Currently no major changes yet as I started a new job last month and hardly had a moment since.

With the Tannoy power amp, well the fault on it tripping its left channel was fixed fairly quickly and easily by a pro and that worked great, well for half a day where it now trips both channels but in a different way, it might not be an easy fix now which is a real shame as I know this amp and its a stunner that will give most a run for the money, was Bryston money back in the 80's! but I might be flogging a dead horse here, worth a try though...

I have plans to build some acoustic room treatment but also integrate it into panels around the screen so it is on a dark background too, still working on the ideas front for it as I don't want to turn this little room into a bat cave but I want to treat the room more and darken the viewing area, ultimately this is a compromise but not having a dedicated room then its the price I pay.

I am constantly thinking of replacing my processor but I constantly struggle to find a suitable replacement, the ones that are great are outside my budget and the ones inside my budget don't have the specs I want/need, the closest is the Marantz AV8801 but it has a few limitations I'm not keen on but certainly descent sound thanks to all the AVF members reviews :thumbsup: but I am cautious just now of a big spend on that side with HDMI going through another rebirth and things on that side so perhaps the AV9 (which I still enjoy) must stay a bit longer, it has lasted me well since the original expense, well done Arcam!

Thanks, Brian

Oh, only extra little purchase is the brilliant new CalDigit Thunderbolt port for my MacBook Air, expensive little port box but first time I have had USB3 hubs function perfectly with power management, well done CalDigit!
 
Hi Brian, That's some Thunderbolt Port! Very nice.

Always liked your choice of kit and was just wondering if you ever use headphones in the room and if so which ones?
 
Hi Brian, That's some Thunderbolt Port! Very nice.

Always liked your choice of kit and was just wondering if you ever use headphones in the room and if so which ones?


Thanks Mr X, to say I always liked YOUR choices is an understatement, in honesty I wanted to move in with you! :laugh:

That Thunderbolt port is simply brilliant, rarely does a little peripheral impress me enough to mention it but this one deserves it, only having two USB 3 ports on my MacBook Air I needed some expansion, I had tried several USB 3 hubs and all worked until power management kicked in like sending it to sleep and waking up the drives are ejected, tried Maplins hub, an expensive one of Amazon and a cheepo from eBay all with different chipsets and all with the exact same issue, I thought it was a macbook issue with it being the newer Haswell chipset at the time but the issue seems to be more universal after doing some searches but plugging in the CalDigit just simply worked from the off, I connected instantly 3x 4TB USB 3 HDD's, Ethernet, HDMI and Thunderbolt and all are instantly up and running with zero work or configuration, not a driver in site!

With the headphones, currently I have none other than the ones that come with my iPhone so not sue I can help, my preference has been for closed back ones lately as I hate the crazy noise leak of open back, my friend is the same and he just picked up from Richer Sounds a set of Koss closed backs for around £150, they get descent reviews but some people criticise the lack of bass, for me this is perfect! insane bass at this close to your ears is nuts! I really was impressed for the budget even connected only to my iPhone, sry can't remember the exact model, they are a fairly big can though.

In the past i had some Stax electrostatics, not just great but perhaps some of the best sound quality I have heard, I truly loved it but 800 series speakers are cheaper haha

I really am not a fan of overwhelming and artificial bass on headphones, I demo'd a set of B&W P5's nice enough sound but for me the bass was heavy handed on tracks I know well (again demo'd on my iPhone) shame as I wanted them but backed off, If I was you I would go through the AVF review Archives, I think only some months back (this year) they reviewed lots of headphones in a row and made for good reading

Cheers :)
 
I have P5s and you made the right choice there just not that impressed
 
Thanks for the reply Brian.

I need to look in to a Thunderbolt port and your one certainly looks the business.

As for headphones I had the P5's but just sold them as upgraded to the new P7's and very happy with them. It just got me thinking when I was reading your thread as to what you use with your gear thats all.

As for impeccable taste, lets call it a draw then :thumbsup:
 
Any news? :clap: Thanks!

Hi, Thanks for the prompt, I have made and am making a few changes, I have a couple of new boxes just now, I have a couple on the way for February and I have one more still to order at the end of this month, the latter will take a bit of a DIY install again but I can't wait to get ordering but its been an expensive bunch of updates so I can't wait to get on with it! I thought it would be best to do an overhaul of it all at once an post it then but it will take another month or so :zonked:

The Tannoy Power Amp might end up being a dead project for me and cost more than its worth, I don't want to get caught in a sink hole, I do need to chase this up though...

One thing is I might have to redo half this thread as I think Imageshack who host the images I have uploaded are going commercial, its a small fee but I prefer free :D so i might need to move them all to a new hosting site perhaps.

Oh, I purchased another DSLR, a Canon 700D, it's way better than using my iPhone and iPads cameras :facepalm: but I preferred the old 40D(shouldn't have sold/given that away!) but my next batch of photo updates should be a bit clearer :)
 
Hi Brian, if it does end up being a dead project as you said and once again it's just going to sit there, then can I have a shot at it :)

Hi David, First sorry for the late reply, the 'new' forum is very good at not keeping me up to date on certain threads these days even when its my own thread! :facepalm:

The guy looking at the Tannoy is totally snowed under I think so I am being patient but if he gives up i will keep you in mind. Cheers :beer:
 
Hi All, have had a few changes lately and still some to come, was going to post all but I had some spare time today so will put a couple of the smaller changes today.

I used to use a 27" i7 iMac but changed it and got a MacBook Air, truly great and silent little machine but I needed a bigger screen, at work I use dual 24" 1080p bog standard displays and this is helpful but my little desk can't accommodate this but I have installed a fair few Dell UltraSharp monitors lately and they usually impress compared to the run of the mill ones so I purchased one.

I went for the 29" 21:9 ratio monitor with a native res of 2560x1080

new_dell_mon_01_zps43cbe939.jpg


I really like it, crazy amount of inputs and the USB3 4 port hub has been a handy bonus! This caused a little problem though, the MacBook Air is a pretty fast little computer for most things but pushing the resolution I could feel mouse navigation start to struggle at times so I changed my Mac again and grabbed one of the new Mac Pro's, not a lot to say with its performance other than wow!

new_mac_pro_01_zpsebe77a66.jpg


Its pretty tiny, almost silent an runs very very cool, although the amount of air expelled through the top is enough for me to modify my desk and fit air vents underneath, truly stunning build quality and the speed is far in excess of my requirements so I should be happy for a while and when its on media/DLNA server duties and I am watching a movie or listening to audio I have yet to notice it so thats great :)

Word and Excel side by side, a good compromise from a single display:
new_dell_mon_02_zpsad0e3096.jpg


Work Stuff; Working on an Exchange Server remotely and space enough to have websites and docs open too:
new_dell_mon_06_zps429e80d2.jpg


Fun Stuff; The Thor 2 movie in 1x1pxl 1920x800:
new_dell_mon_04_zps984efd7f.jpg


Full Screen (properly!):
new_dell_mon_05_zps135ab23e.jpg


Its certainly got a great image and comes with a calibration certificate, been really impressed so far!

I also added DSPeaker Anti-Mode 8033 to my subwoofer, I am not a bass freak and due to my small room I have always had the Sub under a tight leash and this is evident as after doing the calibration it wants to drive the subwoofer much harder than I normally would, possibly more correct for a larger room but I am not sure for now but I have been enjoying it for with the last few movies but its off for music.

new_dspeaker_8033_01_zps80bd1bdc.jpg


I have another 'thing' still on order and I have yet to place a proper order with Allan at Ideal hopefully very soon just been to crazy at work lately to have a peek at the real world, hopefully things can calm down now and I can get on with some changes, take care all and thanks for looking :thumbsup:
 
Thanks, Its an Apple Mac Pro with a Dell Ultrasharp monitor :)

Ah yes right you are all the same though it's a serious looking computer setup you got, i have always admired your setup and how it consistently evolves with even more top notch gear.
 
Ah yes right you are all the same though it's a serious looking computer setup you got, i have always admired your setup and how it consistently evolves with even more top notch gear.

Thanks Ninja :)

Hopefully later posts will include some bigger upgrades on the visual side :thumbsup:
 
See you guys in 7 years on this thread. That would be 3 years after i finish uni.
Hope, I have a nice house by then to show off my home cinema lol
 
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