Description
I thought I would share the evolution of my basement system since I moved into my present home. Its a long story filled with thought processes along the way. I tried to make it light as possible. I'm humbled when I compare the evolution of my system and room compared to many of the systems and rooms I've seen here at the showcase.
My basement system initially started as a 6.1 system and the space was shared with my wife as a sewing room. This setup served as my two channel setup as well. As the kids left the nest, my wife (with my help with the furniture) moved her sewing room into the smaller guest bedroom. The surrounds and single back surround were originally mounted high up on the back wall to avoid running into them when it was a shared space.
Speakers:
Are all from the PSB Image line; Fronts are T-45, Center is an 8C, Surrounds and Surround back are 1B. The sub woofer is a Rythmik LV-12R diagonally behind my dog Chester.
Electronics:
Top Shelf: Turntable is a Project Xpression III. To the right of the center channel is a 2TB Hard Drive, an Iomega Media Player, and an android box.
Middle Shelf; Bluray player is a 4k upscaling Yamaha BD-S681, Bell Box, Sony Playstation-2.
Bottom Shelf, AVR is Yamaha RX-V1800, Cassette Deck is a Yamaha KX-1200.
Display is a Samsung UN65KU6491 4K 65".
I wanted an AVR that handled both 4K and ATMOs. I purchased a used RX-A3060.
The room and system stayed more or less stagnant until my wife passed away from cancer 3.5 years ago. I upgraded my mains from PSB Image T45 to a pair of used T65 and added a Yamaha K-1000 direct drive cassette deck. I removed the Sony PS-2 and android box.
Although not shown, I added a ProJect Speedbox 2 purchased off of EBay to allow me to change speed of the turntable from 33.3 rpm to 45 rpm without having to lift off the platter and move the belt into the 2nd pulley position.
I left the sub alone for awhile but I still wasn't happy. I bought a pair of PSB-1000 indoor/outdoor speakers and hung them from the ceilings to be used as my front ATMOS speakers.
I gave the old Costco sofa to my youngest daughter and hubby to be used in their basement. I bought a new leather couch and ottoman.
I then addressed the lack of bass and found a better location for the sub which was left of the fireplace but in front of the right bookcase.
It stayed like that for a year when I decided to get a 2nd Rythmik sub. Rythmik replaced the LV-12R with a LV-12F. The LV-12F added some PEQ controls that were not on the LV-12R. They also moved the port from the rear of the LV-12R to the front of the LV-12F.
I had already downloaded REW for the greatroom's three sub integration project and purchased (another story in that setup) a 2nd miniDSP 2x4HD to control the two Rythmik subs. I used REW to find the best spot for the 2nd sub in the back corner to the right of the fireplace.
This is when my fetish for cassette decks took over. I purchased a 2nd Yamaha KX-1200 and moved the K1000 over to the left and under the BluRay player.
I then took out a Pioneer dual well deck out of storage that I had purchased 5 years again on EBay prior to moving into this home. I calibrated the speed of both wells on that deck.
I had always wanted an Oracle Delphi turntable after drooling over the original Mark I in my college days. I found a used Mark IV with an SME309 tonearm and Ortofon Black cartridge on Kijiji. I packaged up the Project table in its original box.
I have to stop looking on Ebay, Kijiji, and Facebook Marketplace as I keep buying stuff. I spotted a Yamaha C300, their TOTL deck ever made on Kijijji. Similar to the KX-1200 but with the added capability of differential inputs and outputs. It replaced the bottom KX-1200 which I put into storage.
I spotted an A&D-9000 (a Japanese version of the Akai) on Ebay. I added that to my stack of decks. I never had an Akai before and its such a beautiful deck. It sits under the Pioneer deck.
At this point, I decided to lower the left and right surround speaker to ear level. I left the one surround back in its original location.
I still didn't have an Aiwa deck so I jumped on this dual well Aiwa WX-888 deck when I saw that on EBay. Its located on the top shelf on the right hand side of the center channel. I'm telling you..its an illness with no cure.
All of these decks are equipped with dbx2 which I use exclusively and is one of the best NR systems bar none. They all do Dolby-C as well except for the K1000.
Ohh noo!!! I started getting an itch for a strict 2 channel setup using separates. I ran across an add on Facebook Market place that was selling a Yamaha package; MX-600 power amp, CX-600 preamp, and a T500 tuner. for $550 Cdn. How could I possibly let something like that go?? I still didn't know how I was going to integrate this into my existing home theater system but I bought it anyway. After mulling this over this past Christmas, I decided that I would keep the two stacks separate but share the main speakers with both systems. I began looking for used audio racks, made some inquiries to those that were selling but they remained unanswered. I decided to hop onto Electronics For Less and they had an audio stand on sale that matched the stand of my HT system. Perfect!! I ordered it. While I was waiting for it to come in, I had to solve the problem as to where am I going to put this new system in the room and tie it to the main speakers as well.
I didn't like how the sub was blocking the book case on the right holding my classical records and cassettes. I had to move it but where? I looked at the fire place and had an "ah ha" moment. Why not move that into the great room between the window and patio door and ditch the ugly accent table that was there. It would fit perfectly there and allow me to move that bookcase into the former spot occupied by the fireplace. I dragged, pulled, and heaved that fireplace up myself only dinging the wall once on the landing at the top of the larger run of steps. This was one of the best moves I made as it allowed me to increase the distance between my main speakers giving me unfettered access to the contents of the book case.
This move still didn't help me solve the problem of where to put the two channel system. I looked at the other bookcase, measured its dimensions and found it to be wider than the new audio stand I had ordered. It also looked like an out of place orphan since I moved the first bookcase.
Why not move it beside the other bookcase?? Both bookcases are now side by side or side by each as us Maritimers say. It also freed up the space for the new audio rack and the 2nd sub.
At this point, I used REW and integrated the subs together with the main speakers. Bass was acceptable but I didn't like how the bookcase holding the movies and CDs was off centered under the window. I decided to move the sub to the left side of the bookcase and center the bookcase under the window. This move also allowed me to move the mains further apart still. At this point, I moved the Oracle turntable to its new location on the 2 channel rack and brought back the ProJect Xpression III and speedbox and added it back to the AVR based system. I use the AVR based system to record albums silmutaneously to two cassette decks. I will talk about that later. I'll also talk about the remaining components on the 2 channel setup at the end.
I did the REW thing again but I didn't like the bass response I was getting nor did I like that the sub was sticking out into the room like it was. I was also running out of shelf space and knew I had to get another case for the CDs. My g/f and I have been visiting thrift shops lately and I was collecting many more CDs than was shelf space available. I looked at the used market but they were just to beat up looking so I bought a new one off of Amazon.
Using REW, I determined the best spot for that 2nd sub was back at a previous location in the back corner and firing down the length of the sofa. I got the best bass response ever and I had place to add a new CD tower.
Here are the final room pics
My basement system initially started as a 6.1 system and the space was shared with my wife as a sewing room. This setup served as my two channel setup as well. As the kids left the nest, my wife (with my help with the furniture) moved her sewing room into the smaller guest bedroom. The surrounds and single back surround were originally mounted high up on the back wall to avoid running into them when it was a shared space.
Speakers:
Are all from the PSB Image line; Fronts are T-45, Center is an 8C, Surrounds and Surround back are 1B. The sub woofer is a Rythmik LV-12R diagonally behind my dog Chester.
Electronics:
Top Shelf: Turntable is a Project Xpression III. To the right of the center channel is a 2TB Hard Drive, an Iomega Media Player, and an android box.
Middle Shelf; Bluray player is a 4k upscaling Yamaha BD-S681, Bell Box, Sony Playstation-2.
Bottom Shelf, AVR is Yamaha RX-V1800, Cassette Deck is a Yamaha KX-1200.
Display is a Samsung UN65KU6491 4K 65".
I wanted an AVR that handled both 4K and ATMOs. I purchased a used RX-A3060.
The room and system stayed more or less stagnant until my wife passed away from cancer 3.5 years ago. I upgraded my mains from PSB Image T45 to a pair of used T65 and added a Yamaha K-1000 direct drive cassette deck. I removed the Sony PS-2 and android box.
Although not shown, I added a ProJect Speedbox 2 purchased off of EBay to allow me to change speed of the turntable from 33.3 rpm to 45 rpm without having to lift off the platter and move the belt into the 2nd pulley position.
I left the sub alone for awhile but I still wasn't happy. I bought a pair of PSB-1000 indoor/outdoor speakers and hung them from the ceilings to be used as my front ATMOS speakers.
I gave the old Costco sofa to my youngest daughter and hubby to be used in their basement. I bought a new leather couch and ottoman.
I then addressed the lack of bass and found a better location for the sub which was left of the fireplace but in front of the right bookcase.
It stayed like that for a year when I decided to get a 2nd Rythmik sub. Rythmik replaced the LV-12R with a LV-12F. The LV-12F added some PEQ controls that were not on the LV-12R. They also moved the port from the rear of the LV-12R to the front of the LV-12F.
I had already downloaded REW for the greatroom's three sub integration project and purchased (another story in that setup) a 2nd miniDSP 2x4HD to control the two Rythmik subs. I used REW to find the best spot for the 2nd sub in the back corner to the right of the fireplace.
This is when my fetish for cassette decks took over. I purchased a 2nd Yamaha KX-1200 and moved the K1000 over to the left and under the BluRay player.
I then took out a Pioneer dual well deck out of storage that I had purchased 5 years again on EBay prior to moving into this home. I calibrated the speed of both wells on that deck.
I had always wanted an Oracle Delphi turntable after drooling over the original Mark I in my college days. I found a used Mark IV with an SME309 tonearm and Ortofon Black cartridge on Kijiji. I packaged up the Project table in its original box.
I have to stop looking on Ebay, Kijiji, and Facebook Marketplace as I keep buying stuff. I spotted a Yamaha C300, their TOTL deck ever made on Kijijji. Similar to the KX-1200 but with the added capability of differential inputs and outputs. It replaced the bottom KX-1200 which I put into storage.
I spotted an A&D-9000 (a Japanese version of the Akai) on Ebay. I added that to my stack of decks. I never had an Akai before and its such a beautiful deck. It sits under the Pioneer deck.
At this point, I decided to lower the left and right surround speaker to ear level. I left the one surround back in its original location.
I still didn't have an Aiwa deck so I jumped on this dual well Aiwa WX-888 deck when I saw that on EBay. Its located on the top shelf on the right hand side of the center channel. I'm telling you..its an illness with no cure.
All of these decks are equipped with dbx2 which I use exclusively and is one of the best NR systems bar none. They all do Dolby-C as well except for the K1000.
Ohh noo!!! I started getting an itch for a strict 2 channel setup using separates. I ran across an add on Facebook Market place that was selling a Yamaha package; MX-600 power amp, CX-600 preamp, and a T500 tuner. for $550 Cdn. How could I possibly let something like that go?? I still didn't know how I was going to integrate this into my existing home theater system but I bought it anyway. After mulling this over this past Christmas, I decided that I would keep the two stacks separate but share the main speakers with both systems. I began looking for used audio racks, made some inquiries to those that were selling but they remained unanswered. I decided to hop onto Electronics For Less and they had an audio stand on sale that matched the stand of my HT system. Perfect!! I ordered it. While I was waiting for it to come in, I had to solve the problem as to where am I going to put this new system in the room and tie it to the main speakers as well.
I didn't like how the sub was blocking the book case on the right holding my classical records and cassettes. I had to move it but where? I looked at the fire place and had an "ah ha" moment. Why not move that into the great room between the window and patio door and ditch the ugly accent table that was there. It would fit perfectly there and allow me to move that bookcase into the former spot occupied by the fireplace. I dragged, pulled, and heaved that fireplace up myself only dinging the wall once on the landing at the top of the larger run of steps. This was one of the best moves I made as it allowed me to increase the distance between my main speakers giving me unfettered access to the contents of the book case.
This move still didn't help me solve the problem of where to put the two channel system. I looked at the other bookcase, measured its dimensions and found it to be wider than the new audio stand I had ordered. It also looked like an out of place orphan since I moved the first bookcase.
Why not move it beside the other bookcase?? Both bookcases are now side by side or side by each as us Maritimers say. It also freed up the space for the new audio rack and the 2nd sub.
At this point, I used REW and integrated the subs together with the main speakers. Bass was acceptable but I didn't like how the bookcase holding the movies and CDs was off centered under the window. I decided to move the sub to the left side of the bookcase and center the bookcase under the window. This move also allowed me to move the mains further apart still. At this point, I moved the Oracle turntable to its new location on the 2 channel rack and brought back the ProJect Xpression III and speedbox and added it back to the AVR based system. I use the AVR based system to record albums silmutaneously to two cassette decks. I will talk about that later. I'll also talk about the remaining components on the 2 channel setup at the end.
I did the REW thing again but I didn't like the bass response I was getting nor did I like that the sub was sticking out into the room like it was. I was also running out of shelf space and knew I had to get another case for the CDs. My g/f and I have been visiting thrift shops lately and I was collecting many more CDs than was shelf space available. I looked at the used market but they were just to beat up looking so I bought a new one off of Amazon.
Using REW, I determined the best spot for that 2nd sub was back at a previous location in the back corner and firing down the length of the sofa. I got the best bass response ever and I had place to add a new CD tower.
Here are the final room pics
