Rate my system/advise


Edit for spelling advice, advise.

Hey, I am new to hi-fi. I have been building a system, and I have not set it up yet to listen. I demo’d the speakers before purchasing, but with different equipment. I was curious of opinions on my purchases, and what room there is for improvement. I had bought the amp’s early, which are old, and hoped to make up for it with the preamp.

McIntosh MB100 Media Bridge

Audio Research Reference 6 Preamp

2 NAD 218 THX’s (each in bridged mono)

B&W 803 D3

Nordost Tyr 2 IC (MB100 to ARC REF 6)

Ansuz Diamond Signalz IC (ARC REF 6 to NAD 218 THX)

Nordost Heimdall 2 Speaker cables

Nordost Heimdall 2 Power cables

Nordost Reference jumpers

 

I am about to purchase:

Butcher block acoustics audio rack and amp stands w/

IsoAcoustics Orea Isolators

Rebel Sky Acoustics Diffusers

Auralex Deep6 Low-frequency absorbers

zpatenaude37

Showing 8 responses by zpatenaude37

hahaha secretguy. I found that out very quickly. I demo'd some cheaper speakers, including Paradigm Founders series and other B&W's, expecting a cheaper system. I then demo'd the 803 D3's, just for fun. They offered me a great price, selling me the demo pair. I impulsively bought these. I then quickly realized, with speakers of this quality, each component should probably be within that same price range. I realized I fucked myself pretty quickly. I;ve been working an average of 85 hours a week for months now paying off my debts. 

ohlala, thank you for the response. Thats unfortunate for me, but thank you for the advice. I will definitely set it up and listen before purchasing more.

Hahaha I think i get it tubebuffer. Never thought of it that way but you seem to know what you’re talking about. I love a good core.  

mattmiller and tubebuffer, yes, I figured the NAD is somewhat of a bottleneck. I spent more than I wanted on the ARC REF 6, hoping that a good enough preamp would be enough to overcome this. I was looking at Pass Labs and Parasound monoblocks for the future, but I figured I should first prioritize audio racks and room treatment for now. I honestly have a low paying job and have no right buying this equipment, but I have been working crazy overtime to be able to buy this. I hope the NAD's will suffice for now, since those amps are quite expensive. 

rocray, I have not set this system up. I have no idea how this combination will sound. I was looking for some advice on how people will think the ARC, NAD and B&W will pair as far a power goes. That is not all I am looking for, but part of it, including room treatment and isolators. I have degrees in physics, which helps when I read the specs about this equipment, but I am still far from grasping all of it. I can understand basics, but I have years ahead of me as far as understanding how to optimize all of these components and how they all work together. 

tomic, thanks, I was pretty excited about purchasing the REF 6. I can't wait to set it up.

I am now looking at Franc audio racks. Although I will spend twice the money, it seems like this will be superior to the Butcher Block/Isoacoustics combination. 

 

Santabarbara, thanks for the info and providing the link. I'll look more into Krell. I was looking into some Pass Labs amps or to save money, buying an older pair of ARC Ref 210 or VTM200. Do you think these older models will hold up, or should I really look for newer? 

 

Akgwhiz and daledeee, thanks for the advice. I'll definitely wait and take time for measurements and all that before purchasing any items for room treatment.  

Baylinor, ya I will I guess keep it as is and then try to have some money saved up. I will be moving soon, and don't want it set up at my current residence for a few reasons. But when I move, I won't have as much disposable income, which is why I've been using this time to buy everything while I have a better opportunity to do so. 

@jonwatches1 thanks so much for the encouragement and advice. I will give updates in the future. Maybe I can find a trade-in with cash for the mcintosh to get a mark levinson 5101 in the future. Seems like a decent price. 

 

 

 

@sbank do you think if I can find a good price on a 10-15 year old Pass Labs pair, that would be a good deal? I'll still probably wait it out at this point, but maybe stay posted on the market for good deals.  

 

 

 

Thank you guys so much for your responses. 

@denverfred , haha ya I hope so. That's the plan.

I do have some money in savings that I didn't want to spend, but I'll see how impulsive I am. There is an audio store in my state that carries Classe, Parasound and B&W 800D3 series speakers, and they currently have 2 open box Parasound JC1+ amps for hopefully a good price. They don't carry Audio Research, but I am going to call for a demo and bring my REF6. I might compare the JC1+ and the Classe Delta Mono's if they have them. I wish they carried Audio Research, so I could compare to the REF 80s 2-channel amp.