System #204 (Vantage)

Name: Glen Fountain

Location: Winder, Georgia USA

Model: Vantages

Year: Purchased in 2008.

Mods: None

Associated Electronics:

Ayre K-1xe Preamp
Ayre C-7xeMP CD Player
Ayre V-5xe Amplifier
Ayre P-5xe Phono Stage
Well Tempered Amadeus TT
Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua Cartridge
DH Labs Power Cables
AudioQuest CV-8 Speaker Cables
Audioquest Interconnects (Columbia Balanced, Opal, and Quartz)
Two Dedicated 20amp Lines
(2) GIK Monster Bass trap panels
(1) GIK Elite Pillar bass trap
The others are ATS Acoustic Panels. (4) are of the 4" thick version and the rest are 2" thick.

Old Comments:
I have wanted Martin Logan speakers for a looong time, but they were always a little too pricey for me. When my local Hi-Fi store went out of business, it made it possible for me to afford them since they slashed the price a little over half off. I have loved every minute listening to them. Recently I broke down and purchased the McIntosh MC 275 to compliment the Aeon's and now I have reached a whole new level. It's funny, I had such a hard time spending so much money for my speakers, but when I got a taste of high end audio the money for the amp just slipped out. Who'd a thunk! Oh well, I'm already planning my next purchase. A VPI Scout Turntable . I can't wait!!!!
Oh. Just a couple of quick comments on the room. My speakers are approximately 7 ft. apart and my listening seat is about 9 ft. away. Also, they are 39 inches off the back wall. Just in case someone was curious.

New Comments:
The above comment was from my previous setup when it was located upstairs in our living room. It is now in what used to be my hometheater which is 13' 2" wide, 23' 6" deep, with an 8' 5" ceiling. The panels are from ATS acoustics and GIK; they have made a tremendous impact on the overall presentation. The two located in the corner are GIK Monster bass panels and the ones directly behind the Vantages are the 4" thick ATS panels. There are also two 4" thick bass panels leaning on the left wall turned on their side and one corner GIK elite pillar bass trap. This has really tightened up the bass and helped with the front soundstage tremendously. It has been slow going since this project started, but the rewards have been many hours of pleasant listening. I do believe a couple more bass traps would be helpful but I'm not sure if it will work out, aesthetic wise. Thanks for looking.

Update
I recently acquired a new cartridge, Te Kaitora Rua, and Phono Stage, Ayre P-5xe. Both have made a dramatic improvement in my vinyl playback and were well worth the wait. In my room pictures, the turntable now sits to the opposite side of the audio rack and the amplifier was put up on the right side later after these pictures were taken. Also, the phono stage was not shown due to having been purchased at a later date and I will update the pictures to reflect this when I get some time. Thanks for looking.

Welcome !

You have my CD player, Ralflar's rack, nsgarch's amp, planning to get a turntable appreciated by lots of us... and the best mods I ever read about

More Pics

Here are a few other views.

Glen, Welcome ! Mighty nice clean looking system you have , as a present VPI owner I know you will be happy with your upcoming TT purchase.

Thanks Dave for the comment. I just looked at your setup and all I can say is WOW!:bowdown: I love the TT especially. Can't wait to get mine .

Sorry Lugano, I must have missed your reply when I was scrolling down. Thank you for the kind comments and it's nice to know there are others that share the same equipment. Oh by the way, I love your CLS II panels!

Very tasty Fountain...I like your room, but like the set even more,,

Thank you Huey. I have thouroughly enjoyed the Mac so far. Maybe someday I'll get another and use them as monoblocks, but just one sounds great.:music:

I'd like to hear the Aeon i's powered with a Mac Tube amp. I think the Aeon's respond beter to tube power than most other ML's. I'm using my Art Audio Jota amp with my newly acquired Aeon i's and enjoying it. Although, I would like to hear what the 75 watt MC275 would do with these.

Nice looking system and a good choice of components. The dog seems to like it too.

Nice setup! I also have the Aeon i's & the Depth, but different electronics driving them. Due to 2 small kids (shhhh!!!! mainly the wife), I end up moving the Aeons towards the wall after each listening session, so I don't get to mark or remember that "perfect" toe-in position & I'm always curious to see what toe-in angle others consider to be just right. When you have time, please post a straight ahead shot from your listening position.

Thanks in advance & happy listening,

Z

Thanks Craig. The Mac does a very good job at driving the speakers. I was going to keep my old amp (Adcom gfa 5802) and bi-amp the Aeon's with them. But the Mac did such a good job that I didn't see the need to keep it. Now that I have an extra amp I'll probably sell it to fund my next project (VPI tt).

zzvelik, I'll try and post a picture of a straight on shot as soon as possible. The problem is I'm stuck with a zoom lens on my digital camera and when I try to take a pic straight on it is too close. Will try again and see if maybe there's another way. I probably should buy another lens, but that would postpone the turntable purchase. Just a side note on Toe In, I haven't got it just perfect yet either. I was reading recently in the tweak section of this forum and found a couple of good ways to better adjust the toe-in of each speaker. Hope to try that soon.

Beautiful system, Fountain. Nice and clean setup, with quality components. Welcome to the forum. It is great to see another member from the southeast. You should consider joining us at JonFo's (in Big Canoe, GA) for our get-together this September.

Rich I would love to join ya'll. How do I find out the details? Thank you for the compliments, and likewise it is nice to see someone from the neighborhood .

FOUNTAIN said:

Rich I would love to join ya'll. How do I find out the details?

Click to expand...

Check out this thread:

Georgia Get-Together Fall '07

You can send a P.M. to forum member JonFo to get more details.

Nice setup Glen!

You got pics of your seating area?

Joey

:welcome:

Really classy setup - well done and congratulations on doing it for half the cost for which most of us have been able to do it!

Thanks Joey and Amey for the compliments. Joey, I haven't been able to take any pictures from my seating posistion due to only having a zoom lens. But I will try and take a side view from another angle that will include my couch (which is where I listen along with the wife). My neighbors may let me use their camera though to take a pic from the listening posistion, but I haven't seen too much of them lately. Probably vacation or something like that. Oh! By the way both of your setups look awesome! :rocker: And Joey, LOVE the Summits. :bowdown:

Glen,

Sweet setup you've got there! Like amey01 said, very classy, I agree. Those Aeon i's look great in that room! Thanks for sharing.

BTW I like your product description of your Australian Shepherd Signature "Sydney" Series (the dog).



Seth

Thanks Seth for the kind words. The speakers really did class up the room as all Martin Logan's do .

Tommorow, if all goes well, I will be placing my order for the VPI Scout TT:rocker: . The only problem is it will take about 3 weeks because VPI industries are backed up. In the end I know the wait will be worth it, but it's just so hard. Anyway, I'll post updated pics as soon as it is setup and running. Also I will work on taking pics of other angles to my system so it will include my listening position.