timztunz Therapy Sessions

[timztunz]

The sanctuary of decompression.......

[Bill Hart]

Man, your room looks great. I've got wood for that Shun Mook--literally, I bought some ebony from a specialty wood supplier, but it's really not same stuff as the mpingo.
Were you prompted by that discussion we had about 'rooms'?
I retreat to mine sometimes when Liz has guests from her rowing club or other groups, or just when I want to chill out, even when I'm not listening. So "go to your room" is like throw me in the briar patch, if you remember Brer Rabbit (which I guess is no longer PC).

And, if you amortize the cost of a big city therapist over, say, what- 10 years, that system is paid for, assuming 5 hour long visits per week.

[timztunz]

Yes, the room discussion got me thinking I needed to update some photos after introducing the tape deck. Speaking of Brer Rabbit, that little ditty called "The Adventures of Brer Rabbit and Tar Baby" with Roy Buchanan and Stanley Clarke on "Loading Zone" is one of the best finger pickin' chase scenes ever recorded! I just love that! Yes, I tell my wife when I'm misbehaving that I need to be "sent to my room" and not return until my attitude improves. :-)

[Bill Hart]

Roy Buchanan used to play regularly in Pittsburgh when I was young, to the point where he really was regarded as a local player. I didn't appreciate him as much until much later, after his passing, which was sad. He opened for Little Feat in a show I caught back at their peak, with Lowell George. The one thing I distinctly remember about that show was how LOUD it was-- tickets were, I think, a dollar, with a student ID. Crazy.

[Rob]

nice set up. It would appear you and Jeff Catalano have made each other happy men How is the TW Acustic phono/line stages working out for you? they look very interesting on paper.

[timztunz]

I can only hope that I've made Jeffrey a fractional piece of happy compared to how happy he's made me. I know it's probably cliche to say that the "gear gets out of the way of the music", but IMHO that is truly what's going on. I'm in awe.

[Letsmakeadeal]

Killer....Just frickin Killer system & room....So can you tell us if the Mook is really worth $3K? It is kinda like just sitting up there screaming, buy me, buy me. Your turntable is to die for! ..Love the RTR as well....I am up on the fence about getting one (RTR).....Just can't see buying the software to fuel it right now....Love your room...

[timztunz]

Many thanks for your kind comments. I really can't recommend getting a RTR highly enough, it is beyond my expectations. But I feel obliged to caution you, in feeding this tape addiction the only thing that outpaces consumption of cash is consumption of shelf space! :-)

Shun Mook......I guess it boils down to one's definition of "$3k worth". I'm in the camp of thinking that most everything matters to some degree and that effects can be cumulative. I think this hobby can be quite constipated and frustrating if it's viewed as being full of absolutes. I think it's more full of exceptions. I don't think digital is always better, or analog. There are cases in my room on my system where I think a Redbook CD through my Bricasti M1 DAC sounds better than all other options. Sometimes SACD sounds better. Most of the time vinyl sounds better. I'm still pretty new into tape but so far I'm not sure I've found anything better, but the software is limited. But back to Shun Mook. I'm a believer in Shun Mook magic. I think the clamp aids in coupling the LP to the TW Acustic Platter Mat, if/when the LP is not perfectly flat. If an LP needs to be "held down" a little bit I think the presentation is more cohesive, connected with the clamp than without it. But I also use Mpingo discs all over the place! They all provide incremental improvements and I will never be without them again. Take them away and the sound changes, and to my ears not for the better. Of course and as always, IMHO.

Oh yeah, and I think the clamp looks cool.

[1morerecord2clean]

Guess I didn't realize Silver Circle makes racks. What advantage did you see in theirs over an all SRA system? And yes, that room is the cats meow. And yes, I'd love to know the Shun Mook Clamp vs bare naked.

[timztunz]

Technically Silver Circle Audio did not make racks. But Dave Stanard (retired owner of SCA) is my best friend. As a younger man Dave was a cabinet maker and retained his woodworking skills and tools. He made the tall rack and used it at the 2009 RMAF. He's handy that way, I'm not. So after the show I talked him into letting me buy it. Then I got some Parasound JC-1's and talked him into making the short matching racks. Then one day, "Hey Dave, I need a LP rack." Not long after that, "How about a CD rack?" Dave has vowed to never, ever make me anything out of wood again. Apparently I'm a PITA. :-)

So there was never any actual comparison to SRA racks, which I'm sure are marvelous and I would LOVE to have one day. You can also see my comments to Letsmakeadeal about the Shun Mook clamp.

Thanks for your kind comments.

[MylesBAstor]

Is Dave actually making amps now?

[timztunz]

Dave is not actually making anything now, just enjoying the easy life of retirement. But he did make some pairs over the years, and they are quite remarkable. When he decided to retire I wanted to be sure that I got 2 of the last TCHAIK6's and he had two pair of 300B's. I snatched them both up. So I even have a backup pair!

[MylesBAstor]

Thanks, know Dave closed down but had played with these amps for a while. Are they flea power or a little more?

[timztunz]

12-13 watts each

[RoadDawgWest]

Wonderful room, and equipment. I can't wait until I get to a point again where I can build a system around what Jeff Catalano offers, and the sound he is able to achieve at shows. Based on what I've heard at shows, I can only imagine how realistic your system sounds. Love the TW Acustic TT.

[timztunz]

Many kind thanks for your comments.

[JackD201]

Simply lovely!

[timztunz]

Most appreciated.

[eleggua03]

nice love

[tom_hankins]

Great room, love the Horning speakers!

[timztunz]

Thank you. I do as well.

[jonathanhorwich]

Tim, as you know I heard your amazing system. Don't you want to tell people about your new acoustic panels as it may help them too. No?

[timztunz]

jonathanhorwich has successfully shamed me into getting up off my lazy butt and providing some updates to my room. It's more accurate to say updates to my system because the entire system is better than it was, but only due to changes within the room. Things I did differently......
1) Re-positioned the speakers, further into the room and equally spaced side to side. The speakers and listening position are now at room one thirds. But I think the biggest benefit of this change is that now both first reflection points are into LP racks, where before one was into an LP rack and the other lost into the equipment rack. It was also quite surprising to me how much deeper the soundstage got when I moved the speakers closer to the listening position.
2) Replaced absorption panels behind the speakers with curved diffusers.
3) Removed the coffee table.
4) Added some panels behind the left speaker to prevent some low end energy loss though a return air vent and empty closet.

I'd also like to say how much I appreciate this site and group of folks. Very knowledgeable people and much less rabid than on some other forums. Kind regards and hope you have a great weekend.

[Alrainbow]

Tim nice room may I ask you a few questions
the output tubes royal princess 300b ? Or 45 ?
the driver 6sn7 nos syslvania ?
the recti nos ? I own all of them.

[timztunz]

Thank you Al. 300B Sophia Classic Blue. I'm currently in Brazil but will answer the other questions when I return to the US. But there is another photo of a close up shot of the amps in the original post, if that helps at all. I'm not at all "tube savvy", sorry.

[Alrainbow]

Lol enjoy man life is short. Anytime is cool. Nice stuff in that audio Sacuary 👍