System Photos!

They look like Scala Utopia EVO. I was seriously tempted by an ex-demo pair, but I’d have had to sell some internal organs.

Speaker cables are overhead into utility room and through the wall baseboard behind the speakers. Interconnects behind racks and s5 Sho has REL longbow wireless connection. Vocals are Scala V2’s with matching center channel.

Sorry spell check, Focals not Vocals!

Well here is my gear. PSAudio P15, Auralic G1, Benchmark Dac3, HPA4 pre, AHB2 power, Focal Kanta 3’s and SVS Ultra sub. All Iconoclast cabling. Built the cabinet myself :slight_smile:

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I love that you even have a sub for the center channel!

@dew1551 Absolutely love your setup and room. I prefer the clean look and having speaker cables hidden.

How does the HPA4 go? I’m pretty keen on the LA4 to partner my M700’s and DSJ

Thank you.
Yes, bridged Plinius SA 103s, heating the room nicely :smiley:, 400W into 8 ohms and 730 into 4, per channel.
I am doing a trial of a P20 to power them.

I like Plinius because their philosophy is not to bring out a new product unless it is an improvement on what came before it, so they often remain current for years. It is a total brute, moreso that you can get 125w in Class A stereo. A friend had one and found the Class A/B was so good he didn’t use the Class A that much, plus the heat factor and you need to rob a bank to pay the electricity bill. Slightly more expensive than a pair of BHK 300’s but they have more going for them, probably compare best with the Chord SPM 1400 Mk2 that I’ve seen paired with your speakers.

I suppose you have the option of the Niagara 7000 against the P20. The AQ unit has a much higher peak draw, about 90 amps, which seems ridiculous. The P20 is apparently about 35 amps.

Thank you for the suggestion of the AudioQuest 7000.
Do you know how it compares budget and quality wise ?

The AudioQuest Niagara 7000 is $8,000. It has been received well by reviewers.

My main dealer is does very high end and it is the only power product line they sell. (Correction - they also do Shunyata - think those are very expensive.) They only carry a limited number of brands. The main guy from Audioquest was there a few months ago. Should have gone. Certainly well received and popular, I suspect also because of the very reasonable entry level 1000 unit. My dealer only lists the 7000 unit.
http://www.kjwestone.co.uk/collection/niagara-7000/overview
Think it’s also rather less bulky than the P20, not that that seems to bother you.

Although not in your territory, I heard Paul has a budget Stellar power unit in the works.

Thank you Elk and stevensegal.

HPA4 is good for me, super-low-noise, fancy volume control. I did not do any A/B testing as I already had Dac3 and AHB2 from them so the new pre-amp fit right in, is gain-matched etc. For future upgrading I definitely have my eye on the PSaudio DSD off course but it will be a little while.

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How do you like the Auralic Streamer? I have been using a custom computer running Windows Server and Audiophile Optimizer - have really liked it, but never really compared it to anything else. Wonder how much a newer purpose build streamer can do in comparison…

Nice Focal systems from you and the previous poster! Always liked Focals.

Wow, those speakers look great…what are they? I’m in the market…TD

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Thanks! They are older Focal 1027be speakers. The newer version, 1028be, is on sale now at Musicdirect.com for $4,999 - $2,000 off MSRP - but only in black. This speaker series might be on its way out - maybe replaced by the new Kanta series? I bought mine used years ago. I really lucked out on the color. I love the speakers’ clarity and range.

Caveat - The Beryllium tweeters are extremely clear. Many Focal owners hear tweeter “sharpness/brightness” instead of clarity. There are one or more posts in this forum re: Focal “brightness”. You need to look at your system to see how they will fit in. When I had a tube amp it really tamed the speakers’ high end. When I switched to PS Audio solid state equipment the added high end clarity made some music hard to listen to. I switched my interconnects and speaker cables to pure copper instead of silver coated copper and it really helped. Now I have clarity without harshness. Good luck on your speaker search!

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What type of speakers are the surrounds and atmos channels? You said you have Rel for surrounds. Isn’t that a subwoofer? Can u show us where the surrounds and atmos speakers are placed in the room? Are the atmos speakers in the wall or outside of wall hanging?
Did you sound proof the room? I’m inspired by the design of this room for when I get a house and plan to finish a basement and make a listening/home theater room from scratch!

The surrounds, 2 side and 2 rear as well as the Atmos 4 in ceiling are all in wall or in ceiling speakers. The surrounds are definitive technology “dual 6.5” in wall L/C/R speakers”. I don’t recall the Atmos brand I will look it up and reply later.

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Awesome! Do you listen to any 5.1 surround SACDs through the 205? How’s it sound?
I have a 205 too and then got the DMP and DSD. I use the PS Audio now for 2 channel but still keeping the 205 for movie watching and eventual use of SACD Surround sound albums through the surround analog outs once I get a room like this!