About to build the most basic high quality 2 channel system from scratch. Video series to follow (1 Viewer)

[Wookie Groomer]

Now that I'm done with the 11 channel Home Theater and 9 channel Gaming room, I've decided to tackle a basic 2 channel listening room.

My wife and I are about to convert a spare bedroom that rarely ever gets used and is mostly just a storage room into a full fledged listening room. I posted part one of the video series here but will also go over it briefly below with pics if you won't watch what I had detailed out.



To start, I'm working from the ground up with nothing purchased yet. The intent to create a video series documenting the progress from design to final finished room with reviews and unboxing videos along the way.

I will be starting with the spare room that measures 11'-8" x 14' x 9' High.

Next, I will clear this room out, paint it. The following are renders I did to plan out the space. A full 3D walkthrough and narration of the room is in the video.

I've chosen to be absolute minimal in equipement by going with an AVR, a turntable and two tower speakers. This setup is designed around high resolution playback with no MP3's. CD audio will be at a minimum unless there are no other high resolution options. Luckily, modern receivers can stream these files unaltered with ease and sound incredible.

When the room is ready for furniture I'll need to get something that can store enough gear on top as well as the record collection below. Here is a basic mockup without knowing what exactly I'm getting yet.

For now, the AVR will be the Marantz SR5015 because it offers 100 watts into 2 channels and provides all the necessary high res streaming options. Plus it has a phono input.

My turntable of choice is the Fluance RT85... at least for the moment. It's been getting nothing but positive reviews in its price range.

The speakers might be the SVS Ultra Towers. I wanted these a few years ago when I was designing my home theater but the Klipsch RF7 III's and the Reference Premier line beat them out due to Klipsch's lower cost and better sensitivity. If you watched the video, you'll understand why I'm moving away from Klipsch for now.

I'm expecting to also buy subwoofers for the room. I want to feel the bass in my chest from the kick drums and to do that, I have to get away from the ported subs I'm so use to. I typically build my own subs but I've always wanted some SVS and will consider a couple SB-2000 Pro's for this project.

I will be building my own sound panels again. These new ones will likely have mineral wool for the reflection points and others will have acoustic foam to eliminate echo. There will be panels all around the room.

All the music will be streamed through the HEOS app either my phone or tablet and the Marantz can do it without any transcoding.

I've always been a multichannel guy but this room gets me excited to revisit my collection. I don't normally ask for advice or opinions but I am at a stage where I have a clean slate. Can anyone spot any problems or concerns or perhaps red flags on the equipment of choice?

 

[Dave Upton]

Great idea!

My comments would be as follows:

1) Consider some bass traps in the corners/soffits. It makes a truly surprising difference, but you will need to build larger traps to get benefits. It's quite easy to clone the monster traps from GIK in a DIY style.

2) You might want to consider using a used dedicated amp and premp instead of a receiver. You can handle streaming duty very easily with a RaspberryPi with a DAC hat or a cheap DAC. I know it's a bit overplayed, but separates really do sound a lot better.

Another alternative to a DAC is using a MiniDSP to do both DAC and room correction duty. I've got my dual SB-2000's integrated into my office setup using a MiniDSP and it sounds great.

 

[Wookie Groomer]

Great idea!

My comments would be as follows:

1) Consider some bass traps in the corners/soffits. It makes a truly surprising difference, but you will need to build larger traps to get benefits. It's quite easy to clone the monster traps from GIK in a DIY style.

2) You might want to consider using a used dedicated amp and premp instead of a receiver. You can handle streaming duty very easily with a RaspberryPi with a DAC hat or a cheap DAC. I know it's a bit overplayed, but separates really do sound a lot better.

Another alternative to a DAC is using a MiniDSP to do both DAC and room correction duty. I've got my dual SB-2000's integrated into my office setup using a MiniDSP and it sounds great.

As of this moment, several changes to the design have taken place. I've cross posted this topic with other AV Forums and have been getting lots of input the psat several days.

The speakers are no longer SVS Ultra. I have pre-ordered as pair of Philharmonic BMR Towers in gloss piano black.
The SVS subs are out due to the BMR Towers.
The Marantz AVR is out and in its place the Cambridge Audio Evo 150 all in one network streamer amplifier.

My bass traps will likely be 7"x7" wedges up the full length of the wall in all four corners.

I'll cut the acoustic panels around the room to about half of what's illustrated focusing on first points of reflection on the side walls, the front walls behind the speakers and perhaps some random control in other areas.

 

[Wookie Groomer]

A lot has changed since I first posted this thread. As far as I can tell, no one cares. But I do and here's the unboxing video I put together of the first piece of the new system. The Cocktail Audio X45 High Resolution Audio player and DAC.