New CLX Owner

[mgakathereaper]

I have added Grand Prix Audio Apex Footers under my (2) Descent i's and while the improvement was not as dramatic as under my CLX's, it is still a step in the right direction. I am on a slab so I was already getting pretty good bass response but those of you above a basement might reap bigger benefits. I will be keeping them.

I have had a fair amount of travel lately so my tweaks have slowed down some. Next on the list would be some Stealth Dream Power Cords but I am in no hurry. Things are sounding good right now.

It looks like a few others have made the CLX leap here in the forums. I will be curious what they think once they get them setup properly and broken in.

 

[FOUNTAIN]

..... in his book in respects to setting up a grid, a center point, toe in, common X and Y ratios, etc.

Hello Mike,

I was curious if your speaker placement/listening seat ratio ended up being what Jim Smith recommends in his book? I think he stated that he usually ends up somewhere with a 75% to 90% ratio with 83% being pretty common. The reason I ask was because I wasn't sure if ESL speakers and the like were also included or if they were a different beast altogether. Jim will be coming out to my house this Saturday for an evaluation and I will ask him but I wasn't sure if your's turned out this way or not? I know as my speakers sit now they are not even close to this ratio. Thank you for your review since this was the extra little push I needed to contact Jim. Can't wait till Saturday!!!!:rocker:

Glen

 

[mgakathereaper]

A Couple Updates...

Well I went a couple years in "steady" state thoroughly enjoying my system. I have lingered here occasionally but I am guilty of disappearing from the forum for some time. It looks like there are a ton more CLX owners that are happy with their purchases. I can attest I am still an avid fan of my CLX's.

After going about 2 years without any substantial upgrades I decided to make some additional investments to my hobby. I have made some substantial leaps in musicality based on some of my changes which I will share below. Keep in mind, I still consider myself a novice but certainly know what improvements sound like in my room and my system. I will try to make this a quick summary at first so you don't have to read a novel...

Room Changes:
- Still in the same house and room that I started in (Refer to diagrams early in thread).
- I have replaced all my carpet with hardwood floors (If you remember I am on a slab).
- I have a throw rug in the middle of my listening room on top of hardwood floor to assist with reflections.
- I have removed my 73" DLP TV which I had in between my speakers and have gone to a 120" diagonal projection screen.
- I am now using a SIMS2 Lumis Host Projector (Awesome by the way).
- I have painted entire room a dark gray with flat finish (Driven by projection screen and need to knock down light).
- If time permits, I will take new photos of the room. It looks completely different.

Power Delivery
- I installed 16 dedicated 20amp circuits all along my "music" wall all on a separate power panel in my garage.
- I installed all Maestro outlets (replaced some of my wattgate outlets with them as well).
- All my components (Sources, Speakers, Subs) are now connected through dedicated circuits using Stealth Dream V10 power cords.
- I have removed my Synergistic Research PowerCell. I run everything directly to dedicated circuits now with the Stealth's.

Components:
- I have upgraded from the EVO 202 Pre to the EVO 707 Pre/Pro
- I have upgraded from EVO 402 stereo amp to EVO 600 monoblocks
- I have upgraded from EVO 505 SACD player to dCS Puccini Player and U-Clock
- I have upgraded to OPPO BDP-93 for Blu-Ray
- I have added HD Dune for playing Blu-Ray iso images from my video server
- I have added MacBook Pro running Windows 7 and J River Media Player to feed my wav files and high resolution files to my dCS Puccini (I rip all my CD's to wav)
- I am using iPad with Splashtop App to access my Macbook Pro from my listening seat and select, play, stop, etc by music (no more need to change discs)

Cables:
- I will be using Stealth Sextet Varidig cable for my BNC clock between U-Clock and Player (end of Feb)
- I will be using Stealth Sextet Varidig cable for my SPDIF connection between U-Clock and Player (end of Feb)
- I will be using Stealth Sakra XLR between Puccini Player and EVO 707 (end of Feb)
- I am still using CAST cables between EVO 707 and EVO 600's but plan on moving to Stealth Indra or Sakra
- I am still using Kimber Kable KS-3038 speaker cables but plan on moving to Stealth Dream V10 or Transparent Opus

Tweaks:
- I now have Grand Prix Audio Apex feet under all my racks, speakers and subs for isolation and vibration control
- I am using cable elevators for all my cables to get off floor

I will share my thoughts on how each of these upgrades changed my system but that is all the time I have this evening. All I can say is that each change made an improvement and some more so than others. Stay tuned...

 

[khenegar]

new/improvements

nice to hear from you again, thought you dropped off the end of the earth, plese keep us informed on how the improvements are going. it will be nice to see your new setup/room. still waiting for the invite!

[email protected]

 

[thazeldean]

Welcome to the site. I too am brand new here and already enjoying the discussion threads. I see you have the Anthem Statement D2. I was seeking your impressions of this processor. I am thinking of buying one but don't really need the video scaling only the audio surround sound function. In Australia it is almost impossible to audition equipment unless you live in Sydney or Melbourne which I don't. I was looking also at the Cary Cinema 12 which is an audio only device and half the price of the Anthem but was put off by some of the discussion threads on line. Is it worth my while taking the time and cost of going to get an audition of this processor?

Your opinion would help me greatly because I have the CLX's as well for front channels.

 

[mgakathereaper]

thazeldean-

Sorry for delay but I just saw your inquiry on the Anthem. In short, the Anthem performed very well for me on the theater front. Keep in mind I only used it for theater and the EVO 202 for 2-channel. For theater it did a very nice job in the form of sonics and video and played well with the CLX's, Decent i's and Stage surrounds.

If you saw my recent note, I ended up selling the Anthem and moving to the EVO 707 to double duty as 2-channel and theater. As good as the Anthem was the EVO 707 blows it away in every aspect (as it should given the price...). For me it was worth the move up but by no means was the Anthem a slouch and I think its a great place to start. I would look online for used units as you can get some great deals. You should also look for the V2 version which I heard is slightly better than V1 which I had.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[midomidi2013]

I've wanted to hear to hear these (actually before the ACT, referring here to Frank Chang's devices) in my own room, away from the crowds who seem to be able to be swayed a bit too easily.

FWIW - I've sat with Srajan listening, just he and I, on several occasions. He's a good listener. So this is especially interesting to me.

Does anyone know if the Synergistic ACT is exactly the same as Frank Chang's devices that Srajan & Marja & Henk like?