System Pics 2020

Perfection is overrated.

Dan - interesting question and one that I cannot really fully answer in all honesty as “good enough” is so subjective. I personally think it can, depending on what you’re wanting to achieve. In my current situation, the Connect is “good enough”. It’s “good enough” for up to CD quality (actually 16/48). Is it ideal? No :slight_smile: But guess what? I still think the music sounds pretty damned good. (I’ve sometimes wondered what a test of ND5XS2 vs Connect into nDac at 16/44 over optical would be like.)

However, being more critical, there are a few shortcomings. If you’re considering a similar setup, I strongly recommend trying out both coax and toslink outputs – there was extreme glare/glassiness on mine over BNC compared to Toslink (I use a Wireworld Supernova Toslink cable, which was demonstrably better than earlier, cheaper attempts). And it’s capped at 16/48 - if you’re interested in exploring hi-res, etc. then this is where you’ll tap out.

Without going into War and Peace on my recent mental gymnastics around possible upgrade paths, let me just say that one part of my consideration has been on how/if to move away from the Sonos app. Once you’re used to not only the UI (notwithstanding the recent shifts) but also the unmatched services integration, it turns out it’s pretty difficult to move away from, especially if you’re looking for a hardware vendor that might provide like-for-like software (hint: they don’t). But, a recent foray into Roon with Qobuz has opened my eyes and ears to a whole new world of potential and I am now much closer to determining my hardware upgrade path as a result. Decoupling the front end software is pretty liberating :slight_smile:

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Layout looks good, only shelving could possibly be improved… :grin:

Haven’t posted any pics for a while, only addition is some glass and balls and swapping around some power cables

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Guessing equipment is either:-
1 - on the floor temporarily for some reason, or,
2 - you are not married!

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Beautiful room Bart.

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Or won’t be for much longer.

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Lovely system, lovely room but why is there a recess above the fireplace where the flue would normally be?

Keith

It’s a gas fireplace, so no flue up through the ceiling. It’s vented directly behind the fireplace. Beyond that, ask the architect who wasn’t me! Our neighbors with the same design mostly put their TV there. We dont want a TV in that room.

Ah, that explains it.

It looks like a beautiful setting to listen music (the room, not the recess :blush:).

Lovely space you have there @Bart.
I’m all for the no TV setup in a listening room.

Thats what I like about the Obelisks…wheel them out/wheel them back…happy wife/happy life :slight_smile:

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Thanks! It’s truly a “living room,” although we don’t entertain much these days. It’s on the main level of our town home (meaning, small footprint but tall; 4 levels in all). We decided long ago “no TV on the main level or in any bedrooms.” We both like the idea of the TV NOT being the center focus of the main living areas of the home. And we have enough space that we can have TV viewing spaces other than the living room or bedrooms. (We have a nice room in our finished basement that can seat about 6-8 people, where we host gatherings often in the winter to watch our American football team. Although with the pandemic I’ve lost all interest in organized sports.)

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I lovingly refer to my space as the Listening room, either to listen to each other in conversation or to music as is appropriate. It’s morphed in recent months in to a temporary working space inevitably but the main focus of the room remains. Certainly the focus of the room is the setup relative to the speakers and enjoyment of what they produce!

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I thought I’d upload my humble and ancient study system. Planar 25 with Uniti 2/Stageline, which feed old AVI Neutrons off camera. the newly installed wall bracket has made a big difference.

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Lovely room.

Not sure if its an optical illusion or not but do you have your Fraim across the corner rather than parallel with the wall ?

Its the iPhone wide-angle lens perspective; it’s parallel to the rear wall

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I follow the same thought, TV in basement in a finished room. No TV in the main area of the house and works much better when entertaining guests, quiet area for reading or for listening to music. Reading and listening to music are activities that we spend much more time with then the TV.

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Not posted much lately, so here’s a picture of my listening room. The system is still ND555, 552, 300 all DR and with a full loom super lumina. Speakers are Focal Scala Utopia V2s.

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Hi, out of interest, how far from the wall are they when ‘wheeled out’. I have a pair of Obelisk 2 and mine are about 20cm from the wall.
Thanks