Hi OP! I think what’s best is for you to make some music, and let’s see where you want to go from there. First, you are going to want to learn about your gear’s innate sound, and your very own interest in it. A lot of this may be of no real use to you anymore. I think your dad would be happier if you learning and getting into the hobby, than you recreating his recipe per se, so let’s get you started. For this we’ll need: CD Player --> Preamp --> Power Amp --> Speakers. So I recommend: Ayre C-5xe Universal Stereo Player McIntosh C1000C Controller MC 501 Power Amplifiers (two of them) A pair of Wilson Audio Sophia 2 speakers The power line accessories are nice, but not needed. Use it if convenient for now. Use the biggest/baddest power cords for the MC501s. So almost all of the signal cables are interchangeable except speaker cables. Those go only between an MC501 and a single speaker. On the speaker cables, by convention, we use the markings (+) for red, and (-) for black, but often the speaker cable jacks are marked with red or black too. You'll see matching connectors on the back of teach amp and speaker. Go make some music, get the speakers reasonably positioned, and come back. This is a decent starter piece. Try to keep your speakers at least 2' from any side walls, and if you can, 2-3' from a rear wall to start. https://www.crutchfield.com/S-9UBffrlDrsj/learn/learningcenter/home/nonHTspeak.htmlAfter this, if you like what you hear, and can live with the space they are taking from your home I encourage you to get professional help in treating the room. Contact GIK Acoustics. THEN you can worry about accessories like cables, and you'll be better able to judge which preamp you want to use. Best, E |
@mblight, your dad had great taste in stereo equipment. I hope you enjoy it to its' fullest.
+1 to erik, great information.
To which I would add:
Power on sequence, Preamp first-give it a minute to stabilize, then Amplifier. Keep the volume low when turning on and switching inputs-just as a precaution.
Oh yes,
Happy Holidays!
B |
Thanks for all the great responses! Hey, setting it up right now, noticed the Odin speaker cables have spades on the end, one is black and one is white. So which one do you think is + and which is - ? And, after I figure that color scheme out, I assume it is + to + and - to - minus?
Thanks! |
Hi OP!
The absolute colors of your speaker cables don’t matter. :) What matters is that you remain consistent on your left and right side.
So if you decide white is (+) or red, just make sure it connects to the same color or polarity on the speaker and amp on left and right sides. Otherwise you’ll have one speaker pushing, while the other pulls, with weird effects and reduced bass output.
There is a convention in speakers that (+) is connected to red jacks, and (-) is connected to black jacks.
If you want to understand this a little further, hook up a 1.5V to 9V battery to a speaker. In positive polarity, the + terminal of the battery causes the woofer to push outwards. In negative polarity, the woofer pulls inwards. So long as you maintain consistency, so that th (+) of the speaker is hooked up to the (+) of the amp, both of your speakers will operate in the same polarity.
Best,
E
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God's Peace to you and consolation on your father's passing. Sorry to hear of the family squabbles; hopefully they will calm down.
It's a great keepsake to have a sy�stem that one's family member used. It can be terribly nostalgic, and you should not feel chained to the pieces of gear. The�y cannot love you as your father did. You can sell them, replace them, and mix and match. Truly, they won't cry if you part with them. :) People sometimes hold on to stock shares as well out of nothing more than emotions. Do what's the best for you; your father would be proud of it, most likely.
While erik is correct regarding consistency of hookup of polarity, you will likely want to stay with convention, where white = positive (+) and black equals negative (-). That way at a glance you know what's happening.
To answer your questions, yes, the "Shunyata" would be the Hydra, same piece. He's using both parts of the name in different places of his notes. The reference to "8" or "4" in note number five, regarding the speakers, indicates whether you wish to hook up the speaker leads at the amplifier to the 8 Ohm outputs or the 4 Ohm outputs. These will normally be clearly indicated by their numerals and perhaps the symbol for Ohms or word "Ohm" next to them. You can use either, as he indicated. Typically the 8 Ohm connections to the amp from the speakers may get you a bit lighter sound with more brightness and lighter bass, while the 4 Ohm connections to the amp from the speakers will get you a more solid, weighty, heavier bass sound. You will likely prefer one over the other.
Always triple check connections and turn off gear prior to changing connections. The advice to start with a simple setup is good, but he left you nice, detailed instructions so that completion of the entire system is possible. There is no reason you cannot add in the other pieces and achieve what would be expected to be the best performance.
He left you some beautiful gear, and I think you will be enthralled. If you have more questions, feel free to contact me via message and we can talk on the phone. |
Thanks for your kind words.
Last night I set it up, and got a "cable error" message on the C1000 controller. So I turned everything off and checked the cables and just couldn't see anything wrong. One thing I noticed when going over my dad's instructions was that in Step 4, he had a Cardas cord going from an amp to a connection on the tube amplifier on the right, but nothing on the left, and there was an extra Cardas cord in one of the boxes. So I decided to try it, and when I turned everything back on the cable error message had disappeared. It might have been a coincidence, I don't know. But for now I have them both connected, and the system seems to work well. Any thoughts? Should I disconnect the other MC501, or leave them both connected to the tube preamp?
On another note, it was a very emotional experience last night. My wife and I sat on the couch and listened, and it was as if a presence had joined us. My dad was always searching for a particular sound, and he spent years mixing and matching equipment to get exactly the sound he wanted. You know how you can identify a musician by the way he/she plays, or a singer by the sound of the voice... well, that was the kind of sound my dad's stereo had... so when we put some CDs in and listened, it was like a little bit of my dad returned and joined us, because everything we heard sounded just like him. It's hard to describe, and kind of weird, but it's like the equipment affected the music so that it sounded more like him, or the way he was hoping it would sound.
Anyway, thanks for all the great advice, and if you could help me out with the question I have about the amp to preamp connections, I would be very grateful.
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Sorry for your loss but glad you got the system up and running and obviously that was an emotional event.
It just sounds like your father missed a note stating to connect both amps up and as you discovered with an extra cable once that was complete the control unit was happy and music ensued.
So no do not disconnect the other mc501, you need both. I think the controller was intelligent enough to know you were missing one output connection and halted play until it was made.
An excellent system btw that you should enjoy immensely. |
Uberwaltz is correct; the amps are "mono" or mono block amps, which means each one drives only the respective speaker, Left or Right. They are not intended ever to be used individually for two speakers. Your dad had only the note regarding the Right amp, and you properly� discerned the Left one was the complement to achieve stereo. Good job!
Now, to have a bit of fun, you can "toe in" (swivel inward in place) or "toe out"(swivel outward in place) the speakers, and put them at different width from each other to achieve a variety of settings with the soundstage. The center image, or phantom image, created by the perceived joining of the two speakers' sound in the middle, can be adjusted to suit your taste. Do not be afraid to make such changes. Just be sure to turn off the system prior, and that the connections to amps and speakers are tight when you are done moving things around. The more symmetrical in placement relative to your listening seat (given a regular/symmetrical environment), the more perfect it will sound. Scroll through images of systems on this site under "Virtual Systems" and observe the different angles on speakers and placement relative to listening position. This influences the experience hugely. You will find your preferred arrangement over time. You most definitely do not have to replicate exactly� your father's adjustments to the system.
You can also tip the speakers back slightly (no need for extremes), i.e. 1/2" and see how that influences the sound. You will be surprised at the seeming large change in character due to a seeming small movement of the speaker. I prefer my speakers tipped back a bit as opposed to flat on the floor. This also is influenced by the position of the listening chair to the speakers. Experiment, have fun! Be like a "kid at Christmas"! :)
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Sorry to hear of your Father's passing. He left you a truly great system. One he carefully thought out over the years. I'm sure he wants you to get the same joy and pleasure from that system that he felt when he was alive. You got much good advice here. Enjoy it just as your dad did..... |
You know what? There's a whole lot of really nice people who belong to this site.
Frank |
+1 oregonpapa...
mblight sorry for your loss.
Feel free to send me a PM if I can be of any assistance.
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mblight... What a treat to read your post about setting everything up and listening with your wife and feeling a connection to your dad. If that isn't exactly what music is for then I don't know what is. Peace...
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Been listening with a lot of pleasure to a variety of music the last few days. Had a couple other questions:
1. Once when I turned off one of the 501 monoblocks, the "Power Guard" light flashed. I had turned down the volume knob on the C1000 Controller prior to turning the switch on the amp. Is this normal for this light to flash, or did I do something specifically wrong?
2. One of the xStream cables by PS Audio had a weird fit. When rearranging the equipment one time, I tried unplugging the cable from the monoblock and had a lot of trouble getting it off. I worried for a minute it actually wouldn't come off without damaging the connection. And when I went to put it back on, I noticed that it didn't go on as easily or as deeply as the other one. I didn't understand why, so I disconnected both xStream cables and examined the female ends of both with a flashlight. They looked pretty different: the interior of one of them had the metal parts (sorry for my layman's approach) all up to the tip of the interior, while the other one had about a quarter inch of some sort of soft PVC-type lining before the metal began, so that when you put it on it slid on quite easily. The other one not so much, to the point that when I try to put it on it's almost like it's not supposed to fit at all. When I looked at the boxes that the cables came in, I noticed although they are both the same (xStream Power Plus, 2.0 meter - US plug), underneath the description one says "XPL-V1-US-2.0," while the other says "XPL-V2-US-2.0." Maybe the V stands for version, and somewhere along the PS Audio changed the way these are supposed to connect?
Anyway, it wouldn't bother me so much except that I am pretty worried that something is going to be damaged while I am either connecting or disconnecting the amp.
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