Volvotreter Homepage

Current System

 

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System Components

The picture above is a little outdated: The Klipschorn on the left and the tall Eminence TH on the right are gone. Instead there is a Cinema Sub TH in each corner (refer to below).

Also gone are the Yamaha DSP-AX1 6ch. HT amp, the Behringer Ultracurve 2496 (which EQ’ed both Cinema Sub TH’s) and the Albs Sub-25BB analogue subwoofer x-over (formerly used for the Cinema Sub TH’s).

Instead a dedicated Playback PC with room correction came. It just runs JRiver as player software. Part of JRiver is a convolver engine for room correction an x-over duties. The system is completely active now. Each speaker has it’s own amp now. The convolver runs FIR filters created by Dr. Ulrich Brüggemann’s Acourate toolbox. Many thanks here in particular to Markus and Heiner for their patience in answering my stupid questions!

XBMC (Kodi) had to leave as well since it does not have such nice convolver included as JRiver does. Sad but true. I liked XBMC so much. Music and movies are still stored on the network. A Motu 828ES audio interface serves as D/A converter. With the ESS Sabre32™ DAC it offers improved audio quality compared to the RME Fireface 800, which I used before. The formerly used three-step passive attentuator (0dB/-20dB/-40dB) between the D/A converter and the power amps could be avoided with the Motu interface as it features an internal volume control option. Motu calls it “Pro Audio Control web app” and it can be accessed from your local LAN via web-browser. It allows to control the volume of both Monitor A (channel 1 to 8) and/or B (channel 9 and 10) at the same time. With the MONITOR knob on the front of the interface, the volume can be controlled as well. Volumes relative to one another can be adjusted by their trim controls.

Just the volume control feature was worth the audio interface upgrade.

 

TH-SPUD TH-SPUD

 

System Configuration

The sketch below shows how the hardware and software components of my system are connected to each other:

System_Konfig_221220

 

Mains Speakers

  • fc-110Hz: Cinema Sub TH (dual 8″ Tangband Tapped Horn)
  • 100-500Hz: Midbass horn with EV EVM15B (formerly EVM15L)
  • 500Hz-10KHz: 320Hz Tractrix horn with 2″ Fostex midrange compression driver D582
  • 10KHz and up: Fane ST5022 tweeter

 

Rear Speakers

My rear speakers are built from what’s left over in previous projects:

  • Shriked LaScala Bass unit with 10″ Eminence drivers
  • 350Hz Edgar Midrange Horn utilizing a PHL 6 1/2″ cone driver
  • Fostex FT66H tweeter

Currently they are not even in operation since my system is limited to stereo only. This will change in future again.

 

Electronics & Software

  • Playback PC, Intel i5, running Windows 10
  • JRiver media player software, remote controlled with JRemote
  • Convolver (JRiver internal) with FIR filterers (4 ways crossover and room correction)
  • Dr. Uli Brüggemann’s (((Acourate)))© Pro Audio toolbox for measurement, room correction and filter creation.
  • Motu 828es hooked up to the playback PC via USB
  • Abletec AMS0100 class D amp for midrange
  • Abletec AMS0100 class D amp for  tweeters
  • Abletec AMS1000 for midbass (refer to D-Amp section)
  • Abletec ALC0300 amps for subwoofers (refer to D-Amp section)