After such a long, long, painful waiting period, The Lizard King finally has the much loved 1070. I am hoping to put it up sometime over the next 5 days. My friend is helping me mount shelves into the wall, no rack for me.

Hopefully he will come over after work cause I can't get him away from his girlfriend. He had a bad marriage and now he has a nice woman.

The Denon 3930CI DVD player will be the front end source. I will be trying out a used pair of Alon 2 MK2 audiophile speakers. I am hoping that they fit well is my system or I will have to try a used pair of Ascend 340 mains.

I have a HSU VTF-2 MK2 sub, a Belken PureAV PF60 power console, a Ascend 340 Classic Center center, etc. I will order Ascend HTM-200 speakers witj mounts for my rears and Ascend Speaker cable for the center and rear speakers.

For IC cables, I have a Signal Cables subwoofer cable (8 ft) with Bullet Plugs on order and a 3 ft. Silver Resolution IC's with bullet plugs. I also have a 1.2M Outlaw Audio PCA IC that I will compare to the Silver Resoltion. I plan on using Outlaw Audio PCA cables for multi channel and the PDO optical cable to hook up my PS2 once I get my HDTV (1080P) Sony KDS55A2000 LCOS.

For HDMI I have The BetterCables Silver Serpent Reference HDMI cables (HDMI 1.3 certified.) One cable will go from the Denon to the TV and the other will go from the Explorer cable HDTV box to the TV. Of course, these are future uses, not now.

I have the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 sound card. I have had this wonderful card for 2-3 years. I will use the SPDIF RCA out and a 35 ft. Coax cable to the 1070.

This is my design and I have to say that some of you outlaws have been very helpful to me in building this system.

More to come as I put it together and let the system break in. I will keep you all posted.

Liz

Nice setup.

Did you consider using the 1070's DVI switching? I realize it would require 3 adapters and another hdmi cable. But I personally don't like to switch inputs on the TV if I don't have too. As I write this though I wonder if the HDMI 1.3 specs have something to do with your choice.

Oh don't forget to spend some time looking at the back of your 1070. You will miss its beauty after everything is installed. Sometimes I want to install mine backwards.

Hi CG,

I do not plan on using the DVD swiching. I have great HDMI cables yet I do not own the HDTV yet. I have a pair of Monster(1M) component cables that I got for free as I would not buy Monster cables. I will output the OSD to the TV once I am able to purchase the TV.

Thanks for the compliment.

Congrats Lizard King! Should be a great system...keep us posted.

Ditto...
I can't wait to hear your thoughts on your new baby and set-up...

Hey all,

The Braces are up, the positioning of the shelves is set. I am hopeful to place Polyeurothane on the three shelves tommorow. The wood is laminted pine.

The Sony LCOS when I order it will sit on the top shelf. I may try and place the Ps2 next to it in it's vertical stand.

The center shelf will have the Ascend 340C in the middle and the Outlaw 1070 to the right of that. Each shelf is 60" wide so the 1070 fits with some room betwen the unit and the speaker. To the left of the center speakers , I will place the future cable tuner HD box. The homeowner wants HDTV really abd and is waiting on me. Cablevision is the operator here and they are now distributing the Scientific Explore 4250 HD box. They betetr not try to get rid of the old 4200 box. I may have to go down to the walk in center with the homeowner. The 4250HD has a an HDMI connector. The 4200HD has only a DVI connector and an inferior tuner. I will use the Silver Serpent Reference HDMI cables that I got dirt cheap on an auction bid I won.

The bottom shelve is where my buddy and I disagree. He suggests I place the Denon to the left of the center channel. I want to run my interconnects short, either 1.0 or 1.2 meter at most. I can accomplish this by placing the Denon 3930Ci in the center on the bottom shelf. To the left of the Denon , I will place the Belken PureAV PF60. I like the looks so far. It is not perfect yet I do not have to worry as I have zero WAF. This is the advantage to being single!

That whole wall is going to be totally devoted to an AV system. I have enough room to run all interconnects, Power cords, digital links, etc. The 35 foot Digital Coax (Accell Cable) will drop down from the celing and go right into the 1070.

Positioning of the main speakers will be of course critical. I should have at least 3.5 feet of space between them and the wall. I want some space in between the speakers and the side walls, say 1-2 feet. I am hopeful, as per Dr. Poh Hsu to place the sub to the left and behind the right front channel.

My buddy will help me either mounting my PC speakers on the desk racks or I may try putting the right side on the desk, get a swing out shelf (Ikea Jerker series) so I can have the shelf hold my printer. That wil allow me to move my printer stand completely out of the way and I can move my couch back further. I want to be able to move the speakers as much into the open space as possible and not be too close to them.

Being an audiophile can make one insane when planning a system. I am using music as my #1 criteria. As long as my CDs, Audio-DVD (as opposed to DVD-Audio), multi-channel discs and my Computer link sound great, then I am sure the movies will sound great too.

What a transition this is for me. I still have my old two channel rig all boxed up. I had a tube preamp, a hybrid amp and a Transport/DAC with a large rack. Of course I used NOS Mullard tubes as I did not like the sound of Eastern European or Asian tubes.

I will use my old room treatemnts. I have a pair of Roomtunes Corner tunes and echo tunes. I also have a pair of Echo Busters.

What a project this is. What makes me happy is that I am hopeful to reap the rewards of my pallning and efforts by enjoying this system for a long time giving me a true ROI (return on Investment).

I am not using Lps as I was never meticulous enough to do that.

More to come later this week.


Liz out...........

It sounds like everything is coming together nicely, Lizard King.

might I suggest you take pictures as this A/V wall develops. It's always great to have the story documented in pictures.

I do everything by my ears. I wa able to put the polyuothane on the shelves today. I still think they will need to dry over night. They are back on the rack yet not screwed in. I am hopeful to get them screed in and pick up my freinds Alons on Friday. My subwoofer cable and silver interconnects arrived today.

I am stil pondering which Ascend Acoustics Rear speakers I want. Should I get the larger, ported CBM-170's or the seal enclosed smaller HMT-200's which are easier to mount and do not take up as much room?

Let me ask all of you this? Do you have great speakers for your rears in a 5.1 setup or do with decent speakers? I have the center channel already so i just need the rears and speakers cable for the rears and center.

Liz

For movies, I wouldn't feel to bad going with decent speakers that would blend fairly well with my front three. For multichannel music, though, there's a stronger argument to be made in favor of a surround that's more closely matched to the fronts.

Hi Gonk,

I am using the Ascend Acoustics 340C (classic) center channel. I am trying to decide on which speaker to use for the rears. Please check them out at http://www.ascendacoustics.com/ . The two speakers are the CBM-170SE and the HTM-200.

Both are good, the 170's are higher end yet more difficult to mount, place, size, etc. The HTM -200 I was told by a manager there is 80-85% of the 170. I will use their speaker cable for both center and rears, it is a tremendous bargain and good performer.

Looking forward as ALWAYS to YOUR replies.

Liz

The HTM-200 is sealed, so you won't have to worry about obstructing the port if you're wall mounting. If you can mount the CBM-170 without compromising the port and without messing up the rear half of the room, I'd lean toward it, but if the mounting is questionable I'd go with the HTM-200. The problem is similar to the one I had about three years ago: my side walls have no place to let me mount my Paradigm Studio/ADP surrounds, and even the Studio/20 bookshelf speaker would be too large to accommodate. As a result, I ended up with an Axiom M3ti - realistically not as good a speaker as the Paradigms, but sharing a similar design approach and small enough to fit on my side walls. The M3ti is also rear ported, and I ended up using Axiom's "Full Metal Bracket" to get them to stand off enough from the wall to be able to breath. Here\'s a picture of the left side surround.

Hopefully the Alons will work for you - if not, I may have a pair of 340 classics for sale in the near future.

I just pulled the string on a pair of HTM-200s, a pair of the Omnimounts 2.0 and 62 feet of speaker cable. The HTM-200's are easier to mount, can even be mounted into drywall. They should look more pleasing as they are not as thick and deep.

Liz

Hello my friends,

I finally have the Alon-2 MK2 speakers hooked up. I have been using my AKG K240 Studio (55 ohms) headphones until now. Late last night, I listened to a live Pink Floyd concert I have from 1975 (6/28/75) at Ivor Wynne Staium in Hamiltom, Ontario. This is an Aud show and I was blown away by the aweseome sound.

I should be getting my Ascend HTM-200's Rears and speaker cable tommorrow. When they arrive, I can hook up my Ascend 340C center and the rears.

I can't yet tell if my new Denon 3930CI is broken in yet and also, the Signal Cables Silver Resolution ICs as well.

I need to figure out which settings on the 1070 I like best. For example, I have the Tuner and PC sounds set to Bypass but I have CD set to stereo. I find the dymanics, esp, the bass to be much better when CD is set to stereo.

The HSU VTF-2 MK2 is one aweseome sub. The size is maybe a bit too large for my room so I have the volume control set to about 9:00. I almost went with an LFM-1 and that would have been over kill for sure. The Alons are full range speakers and their size and color are perfect for my system and room.

Still I have not orderd my Sony LCOS HDTV. I start and new , full time job on Monday. This will be the first ful time job I have had in over a decade. I have been a consultant for so many years. Corporate America are F_____G pigs when it comes to hiring Computer people.

Using the OSD of the 1070, I have found so far they my ears like the setting of the Fronts to large and the sub set to L/R + .


So far I am haveing some issues with the sound of my good sounding Rock Cds. I seem to feel there is a veil on the sound in the highs and mids. I may try pulling the Silver ICs and trying a used pair of Outlaw PCA I have which I will use for multi channel.

I have the back of the Alons 46 inches each away from the back wall. The sides of the Alons are 21 inches from the side walls and they are 5 feet apart at the inside corners.

I am using these speakers from my great friend Mark and I am using the Black Orpheus Bi Wire speakers cable that are made for these speakers. The spades do not fit the binding posts of the 1070 very well.

As I type this letter I did did out my old Classical, Audiophile and Jazz Cds that I bought years ago. The CD Jazz at the Pawnshop is playing and it never sounded better!

As I audiophile, I do listen for sound yet try and enjoy the performance. I have not yet crank upped the volume so I can't judge the rock sound yet. Hopefully I will crank it up during the daytime?

The Sub is behind the right Alon and close but not in the corner.

I will call HSU and also Outlaw tommorrow to get some advice on settings and location.

I have a 2006 remasterd version of Shostakovic Symphony #8, Bernard Haitink at the Concertgebou. The third movent on this will give the most awesome Depth and is a real treat. I am almost thinking of moving the speakers as far up as possible so I can enjoy the depth.


I must be using my mind and not my heart in this matter. I am using a new Digital DVD with a solid state receiver. This is a huge change for me as it is the first time I have had a system up in a decade.

I get this thought that the goood movies , esp DTS ones are going to sound awesome. I want music to be my driving force. This Jazz at the Pawn Shop is really something. Even at my desk by the computer is stil sounds so lively and open.

I know to wait before I make a decision. I welcome all of you and your advice is this matter.

Sincerely,

Liz

Glad you got things hooked up Liz - good luck with the new job.

Liz - can you provide a link to the speakers (The Alon-2 MK2)? I'm looking around at different speakers currently.

Thanks!

Hi Reds,

These speakers are no longer made. The guy who makes them, Carl ended his old company Alon and now heads up Nola Loudspeakers. They are a very revealing speaker, very too much for sold state amps.

Liz

The 1070 is a very nice unit that will take some time for me to understand and used the way my Audiophile ears like.

From what I can tell, nothing out there can give you so much for so little cost.

More to come....

Liz out