Brian_at_HHH 2,539 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Over the past few months I've been doing a lot of changes around my house, including, and especially my den/music-room. The fruits of all that labour started to come to life last week, but the big main step came tonight, when I finally switched over from my trusty and well loved M1.0t to a lovely pair of Crimson 275's. Since I completely overflowed my cabinet (with days of setting it up) when I first put the C1 & M1.0t into operation, I realized I needed to expand in a major way. To do that I created 2 new cabinets to flank it. and rigged them with both switched and unswitched power - partially to blame for the new name (Spaghetti Monster) that has been inflicted by one of our esteemed members, who will no doubt make some comment. And yeah, they are already almost full, and I've only just started using them. In any case, here's a picture, and if any of you doubt the sound or power of the Crimson's, let me tell you they sound absolutely divine!!! 😎 I still have a bunch of cleanup to do, and the Thorens TT, does need some further work, yet, but I think I have my long term system at last. A big Thank-you to the Bob-Father for his many generations of genius, so far! 2 10 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walrus Gumboot 288 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 The front looks clean and I love the lighting. Perhaps a shot of the back to expose our eyes to the spaghetti? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadvw 2,612 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Nice work! It is always fun reorganizing the gear. I have mine permanently placed now, and just rotate ss amps and power output tubes quarterly…….grin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewJohn 6,315 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 I concur - every rack needs three columns..., Very Nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balok 1,350 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Looks like the amp under the C-1 (M1.0t or M1.5?) has a tremolo bar. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_at_HHH 2,539 Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 16 minutes ago, Balok said: Looks like the amp under the C-1 (M1.0t or M1.5?) has a tremolo bar. Not a chance! I hate tremolo/whammy bars - all the do is screw up your tuning, and I'm over sensitive about my tuning! It's actually a headphone extension cable that runs to the left side of the mid cabinet, so I can swap 'phones from there instead of opening the door. there's a 90 deg. plug so it will fit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_at_HHH 2,539 Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 2 hours ago, Walrus Gumboot said: The front looks clean and I love the lighting. Perhaps a shot of the back to expose our eyes to the spaghetti? Be careful what you wish for, my friend, or you may get it! This only gives a hint of what's there - the full thing would cause irreparable trauma to the engineers and neat-freaks on the site! I did have to promise the better half that it wouldn't be visible, so please don't show her that pic. In my defense, the cables need to be long enough to roll each cabinet out and get in behind for access, and, well, I need a lot more room than I care to admit. 😄 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob 3,483 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Did someone say spaghetti monster? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_at_HHH 2,539 Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 @Rob, I felt like that SO many times while cabling things up. 😆 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4krow 3,868 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 In spite of my training for routing communication cables of many types, I consider it a waste of my time to dress, and then redress cables. This is not an excuse. It is the fact that different equipment goes in and out of my system for testing, or even keeping for a short period of time. It is something that I don't like about my system. Spaghetti indeed. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcl 3,075 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 And the Cats, Brian...? "Cats know that they are small, and that it matters. When a cat meets a Spaghetti Monster and can’t make either a horizontal or a vertical escape, it’ll suddenly triple its size, inflating itself into a sort of weird fur blowfish, and it may work, because the Carverphile gets confused again —'I thought that was a cat. Aren’t I bigger than cats? Will it eat me? The spaghetti? The warm tubes?”* Thanks for sharing, design is part of the aesthetic we chase. *to riff on Ursula Le Guin , On Cats. ; > ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_at_HHH 2,539 Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 Thanks @dcl - who else could I share it with that would appreciate this type of lunacy?! I can honestly say, either SS or Tube amps can generate cat scattering volumes with ease. My furkids are large unimpressed, and I have been careful not to leave the large black, and very desirable scratching posts that make noise, uncovered and available to applying claws to. 😸 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewJohn 6,315 Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 19 hours ago, Brian_at_HHH said: roll each cabinet out and get in behind for access, and, well, I need a lot more room than I care to admit. 😄 Oh, boy..., the last two years have really done that same number on me..., way too much sitting and eating. Doh! 🤪 On 1/30/2022 at 9:49 PM, Brian_at_HHH said: To do that I created 2 new cabinets to flank it. and rigged them with both switched and unswitched power But seriously, can you give a bit more info on what the left and right racks are made from? I see the glass shelves, what are the risers? Is that a pre-fab rack kit? Whose? Or your own innovation? Tell us more about the "switched" and unswitched power? What is the lighting? Tape-LED's, of Home Depot kits, or something you invented? ...in the interest of my proverbial "it's a journey, not a destination" mantra of this hobby, I'm going to suggest that those 275s need some of that mood lighting, in your next iteration.... 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_at_HHH 2,539 Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 3 hours ago, AndrewJohn said: .., the last two years have really done that same number on me..., way too much sitting and eating. I hate to hurt your feelings, but I've actually dropped over 50lbs in that time. Not that it helps that much, there's still way too much of me to squeeze into tight spaces behind my gear very well. Maybe in another 70 or 80lbs I can start to squeeze in there... 3 hours ago, AndrewJohn said: But seriously, can you give a bit more info on what the left and right racks are made from? I see the glass shelves, what are the risers? Is that a pre-fab rack kit? Whose? Or your own innovation? Tell us more about the "switched" and unswitched power? What is the lighting? Tape-LED's, of Home Depot kits, or something you invented? ...in the interest of my proverbial "it's a journey, not a destination" mantra of this hobby, I'm going to suggest that those 275s need some of that mood lighting, in your next iteration.... 😉 The cabinets on either side of that center wooden one are made of 2 flatpack type pieces. The bottom wooden part are printer stands. I needed something with wheels, and with storage. The top parts are glass shelf units, that fit nicely on top of the printer stands. They are up, enough to be cat resistant, which is a critical design requirement in my place. They are a bit taller overall than I would have liked (shorter printer stands would have been ideal), but it works. The only downside to the glass/metal part on top is that there isn't much flexibility in how to lay out the shelves. I can rearrange the sizes of the gaps, but I can't leave out any. Still, they were inexpensive. The one mod I had to do is that since they only sit on top of the printer cabs, I screwed a couple of hardwood uprights into the back and literally tie-wrapped the back legs to them. I had them sitting on non-slip material, but I just wasn't comfortable with that. Now, they are pretty good. Don't try this in an earthquake zone, though, please. I have an Adcom 515 power "filter" that I use with the C1. It detects when the C1 gets turned on then it does a cascaded startup of it's various outlets. That lets me drive a LOT more power through switched outlets than you could put through the C1 without it melting it's little heart out. FWIW, I don't care about power filtering, it's just a controlled on-off system for me. I've added some decent powerbars to each of the new cabinets and connected them to the Adcom, so each cabinet has switched power. Not EVERYTHING is on all the time so it's well within the power handling of the Adcom and my power outlet. For the Crimsons, and actually my Subwoofer, which is too far away to conveniently run off the Adcom. I used some wireless power on-off units. These came with 3 remote controlled outlets, each run from a different button on the wireless controller. I had 2 sets of these kicking around, so I used the same number for each Crimson. I really didn't want to risk turning them on when there were no speakers connected, and I wasn't sure how much juice they might need, so they are not controlled by the C1/Adcom. It also lets me warm up the bottles for a while before turning the rest on. There are also a couple of variable speed fans behind the Crimsons, as there is nowhere near enough clear space above them for convection cooling. The fans are on the same power switch as the amps, and are set on very low - they just need a bit of air movement to keep happy. BTW, I have a speaker switch that lets me select between the two sets of speakers (Missions and NHTs). Unfortunately, it doesn't do amp switching too, but I may retire the Missions (more on that, later) and reverse the switch to make it an amp switcher instead. I know there are lots of folks here that decry the Adcom, but honestly, I'm thinking of getting a couple more of them, just because of the power control - they are ideal for it. The lighting are LED strips off E-Prey that I got dirt cheap. I've wired them all together in that cabinet and added an on-off switch in the top front, for those more intimate times. 😉 They work really well, especially since I'm blind as the proverbial bat. Besides, I like the clean light they give. It is definitely a journey. No, the Crimson's don't need any ambient lighting - they are tube amps - they produce their own ambient lighting! That said, will my system still change? Of course! But probably not radically ever again. I finally have the sound I've been truly dreaming of. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_at_HHH 2,539 Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 In answering @AndrewJohn, I mentioned I might now consider retiring my front Mission speakers. I'd kept these because I loved the sound from them, but when I suddenly had the chance to grab a pair of the much praised NHT 2.9's for a great price, I did. I've been listening to the NHTs for a while, and somehow they were good, but it really wasn't doing it for me. Still, I figured it had to be something in how I had things set up, as everyone else finds them fantastic. Connecting them to the Crimson tube amps, they literally come alive. The Missions are less inspiring on the Crimsons, but still great, but the NHT's are now, just WOW! The difference was quite shocking. I finally had the chance to drive them decently last night, and I still can't get over how the combo sounds. Now I can really see (or rather, hear) what everyone has been raving about. Methinks I'm going to have to stock up on some extra tubes for the Crimsons... they are going to get a lot of use! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4krow 3,868 Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Having read this thread a couple of times now, I must admit that I could neatly arrange at least Some of the cables at the back of the system. I will NOT ty-wrap them though for various reasons. Ty-wraps are a disease in guise of neatness. Also, I really don't like the idea of bundling cables together especially if they are power cables. I admit, in my career, I tied power cables together for hundreds of feet in steel racks with 9-cord, a waxed cord that was much stronger than you can imagine. Induction can be the enemy in some cases, and I would just as soon avoid it. Signal cables, well, it depends. Well shielded versions wouldn't bother me, but as stated before, in a short time, I would be undressing that which I just dressed! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord 1,054 Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Very nice and doesn't look that messy from the back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_at_HHH 2,539 Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 I have absolutely no doubt you would have every wire perfectly aligned and set up with some sort of expanding cable tray mechanism, @4krow. I've seen and admired enough of your work, here! Truth be told, I really ran out of energy, and just wanted it done, so I could relax a bit and listen to some music, on something better than a little BT speaker. I do need to strap the speaker cables together, at least - for the WAF, if not my own liking. Maybe in a bit I'll make another go at it, but for now, it's time for warm glowing bottles, and cold bottles that impart a glow. 1 hour ago, SteveFord said: Very nice and doesn't look that messy from the back. Thanks Steve, but I'd wager a couple of your reptilian friends could curl up in there and disappear! 😄 A lot of the disaster hides under the cabinets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord 1,054 Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 True, they would feel right at home in there, especially with the equipment warmed up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_at_HHH 2,539 Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 Yes, the cats love the heat - both the tube amps and the fireplace make it cat heaven - especially if I'm there to provide a lap ! 😻 😻 😻 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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