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  #21  
Old 08-29-2020, 09:19 PM
Parabellum Parabellum is offline
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It was raining all day and the kids are in bed now so I decided to do a mock up of my previous McIntosh setup that I had a few years ago. You can see the pictures attached. I think it grows on me now...

I noticed as mentionned in a previous post that the low frequencies were more boomy and less defined. I am not so sure if the sound stage was affected by the yellow credenza but I would tend to believe so. Before doing this mock up, I tried to remove the two bottom doors in the middle but there were gigantic holes left from the screws and some paint chipped. Suffice to say, I didn't like it and ended up not liking the look with that openning. The three doors make it more streamlined in my opinion.

So, it's kind of back to the drawing board. But in a good way I believe. I like how open it is now for the screen. I am very specific about aesthetics; I could not fully enjoy a system no matter how good it sounds, if it's plain ass ugly. To me, it must please the eye so as long as sound is not affected. It's a balance act I guess. By separating the amplifier and digital front end, it makes cabling quite a bit less messy. All I need now is a 4 meters long interconnect.

In the future, if I go separates again I may just add a 9 in. shelf on top of the amp shelf so that I have the pre-amp on top and amplifier on the bottom. The digital front end would stay as it is. Or add a vintage Yamaha tuner to match my amplifier. One thing I have been considering though is the addition of a power conditionner. In this setup, I would actually need two. One for each rack; but that would be way overkill I believe.

Much to my wife dismay, I may end up moving that yellow mustart furniture in the living room upstairs. But that is another story
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File Type: jpg IMG_9807.jpg (87.5 KB, 90 views)
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  #22  
Old 08-30-2020, 03:01 PM
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Serge, that looks great, and if you didn't really need the cabinet there, it's a win-win. You're definitely at the point of choosing among very good options, each with trade-offs, but you won't end up with a bad one.
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  #23  
Old 08-30-2020, 03:28 PM
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Serge... looking great! Tip, change those wall plate covers to black ones, available on Amazon.
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  #24  
Old 08-30-2020, 10:33 PM
Parabellum Parabellum is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 80B View Post
Serge, that looks great, and if you didn't really need the cabinet there, it's a win-win. You're definitely at the point of choosing among very good options, each with trade-offs, but you won't end up with a bad one.
Thanks! I actually moved the vintage cabinet on the right side of the fire place. Doing so, I won't need to buy a side table as I had planned to do

I am going to leave it like this... And you know what? My wife yesterday night came downstairs and when she saw my experiment, she said "oh, that's nice. I like how "empty" it is, looks more professional". Well, WAF folks! Done deal
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  #25  
Old 08-30-2020, 10:34 PM
Parabellum Parabellum is offline
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Serge... looking great! Tip, change those wall plate covers to black ones, available on Amazon.
You are right. I will see if I can find those HMDI, coaxial and LAN wall plates in black. I will keep the grey one on the left as it's one of my Shunyata CopperCONN
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  #26  
Old 08-31-2020, 10:59 PM
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Serge-

After listening to and living with seems like the mustard credenza wasn't the best choice after all. Trial and error is just a part of what this all about as I continue to learn .

The current set up is neat and clean. Do you find it less distracting when using the viewing screen?

A professional painter gave me a great tip years back. "Paint wall socket/switch covers the same as the wall paint; they will disappear." Correct he was. If you have some of that wall paint left over...there you go and perfect match!
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  #27  
Old 08-31-2020, 11:07 PM
John Jordan John Jordan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Parabellum View Post
Much to my wife dismay, I may end up moving that yellow mustart furniture in the living room upstairs. But that is another story
Might you be able to get a refund from Ikea? If not, perhaps something like Craig's List or a Salvation Army donation may well be a better choice.

OK, John Out.
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  #28  
Old 09-05-2020, 12:20 AM
Parabellum Parabellum is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John Jordan View Post
Serge-

After listening to and living with seems like the mustard credenza wasn't the best choice after all. Trial and error is just a part of what this all about as I continue to learn .

The current set up is neat and clean. Do you find it less distracting when using the viewing screen?

A professional painter gave me a great tip years back. "Paint wall socket/switch covers the same as the wall paint; they will disappear." Correct he was. If you have some of that wall paint left over...there you go and perfect match!
Nope, the credenza wasn't the best fit for an audiophile application. Well, it works but the sound suffers a bit and I cannot compromise on this.

Yes, I really like the amplifier sitting alone in the middle. Makes the viewing experience much less distracting. Unfortunately I do not have a 4-5M long interconnect to leave it like that. What I did however is to add two shelves as it was before but I removed the other shelves that were sitting next to it. This is an acceptable compromise in the meantime I get the long interconnect I would need. As for the sound, it came back even better than before. I think those Herbies square fat dots are doing their magic.

I am not a fan to paint wall plates but I do agree that the color match would be perfect. I have found everything I need on Amazon for the black wall plates and connectors. I think I will go this way.
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  #29  
Old 09-05-2020, 12:22 AM
Parabellum Parabellum is offline
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Originally Posted by John Jordan View Post
Might you be able to get a refund from Ikea? If not, perhaps something like Craig's List or a Salvation Army donation may well be a better choice.

OK, John Out.
I got the credenza on my local Kijiji as Ikea no longer manufactures other colors than white. I think I will move it upstairs as it will fit there too.
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  #30  
Old 09-05-2020, 10:52 PM
John Jordan John Jordan is offline
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Serge-

A more solid rack and some pads can really improve one's sound quality. SQ as I am learning is a continual refinement of trial and error. The wall plate solution you have chosen will be a nice aesthetic addition.
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