Post by Owen Y on Jul 16, 2019 22:22:19 GMT 12
A life-time's work, it seems. A costly system, no question. But check out the passion & commitment of this man, not to mention the DIY design & handiwork of the loudspeakers in particular. A nice story & a sad one too. You will have to register to see his professionally-produce Dropbox film about his system: www.dropbox.com/s/yqoirc6g2w6jf9m/Ken%20Fritz%20V3%20CC%20Mix.mp4?dl=0 (3 front channels)  (Main turntable)
|
Post by Owen Y on Jul 16, 2019 22:26:29 GMT 12
This is Ken Fritz's written description of his room & music system: (As posted on Audiogon.) The general thoughts that went into the overall plan in designing this room was to accommodate not only audio but video. The acoustic plan was to eliminate as many parallel surfaces as possible. The side walls are skewed out by 2” from front to back to help reduce slap echos. Both the front and the back of the room incorporate a curve design that would help scatter sound. I replicated the ceiling design from a concert hall in Osaka, Japan. The ceiling to floor dimension at the front of the room, 11.5 feet, expanded in five different planes to 17.5 feet at the rear of the room.
The walls of the room were built with 12” cinderblock. Durawall wire reinforcement was incorporated in between each vertical course. A 1” rebar was inserted into every other vertical cavity and then the cavities were filled solid with 3500 PSI pea gravel concrete. The walls were framed with 2 x 6 studs on 12” centers. Purlins were inserted and spaced 48” apart in each vertical cavity.
A dedicated 200 Amp service supplied all the power requirement for lighting, HVAC, wall outlets, and dedicated 220 volt outlets for all of the equipment. Fiberglass insulation was then installed in the walls before ¾” plywood sheeting was glued and screwed over all of the studs. Two layers of 5/8” fire code sheetrock were then glued, with Durabond 90, and screwed to the ¾” plywood.
The ceiling was built using trusses on 16” centers spanning from the front to the rear of the room. The trusses were designed with a space varying from 10” to 24” in between the top and bottom cords. This space was designed to accommodate additional insulation, lighting, and HVAC. The ceiling was finished using ¾” tongue and groove western ridge cedar. This was glued and stapled to the trusses. The floor was poured using 3500 PSI concrete to a thickness of 8”.
Acoustic testing was then done by a Richmond company, “Acoustics First”. ETF measurements were taken and sound panels were then designed according to a patented algorithm. The panels were then built by Owens Corning according to prescribed specification.
The finished trim in the room was done in 18th century motif that incorporated a combination of hardwood raised panels and appropriately painted trim. Hardwood tongue and groove flooring was applied over a ¾” plywood substrate glued and fastened to the concrete floor.
The main electronics in this system mostly come from Krell. I have always been a fan of their electronic design and robust construction. Their reputation for quality electronics made my choices easy. The choice of additional electronics pretty much fell in line and the choices can be viewed in my list.
From the time the room was finished until present, I have had four different loudspeaker systems starting with a pair of Electro Voice Patricians I built 50 years ago. Being a DIY guy, I always built loudspeaker systems that were tailored to my personal sonic choices rather than having to settle for speaker systems designed by others for mass appeal.
Being an audiophile, I am always searching for better sound and the equipment it takes to experience better sonic satisfaction. The only limitation is my lovely wife Sue.
|
Post by Owen Y on Jul 16, 2019 22:28:20 GMT 12
A list of the system components: Air Tight PC 1 Supreme Kuzma 4 point 14 My Sonic Labs Eminent Gold SME SME 312 PBN Audio PBN- DN308 Ampex ATR 102 - Aria Krell KBX electronic crossovers, five Krell Krell EVO 707 processor, one Krell EVO 202 preamp, two Krell FPB 600, three- FPB 300, four, EVO 403, one Minus K 200 BM 4 Aesthetix Rhea Turntable Frankentable Minus K 750 BM Kuzma Air Line- two Kuzma Four point - 9 Lyra Atlas Koetsu Platinum Signature Jade Dynavector XV 1 S Aesthetix Rhea Crane Song Trakker Crane Song STC 8 OPPO UDP 205 Bricasti M - 1 Crest Audio Pro 9200- four amplifiers APC SMX 1000, four units Synology DS 1817 Tivo Roamio- Pro Sony PLV 1100ES Stewart Film Screen Electrascreen 135 DIY line source loudspeaker, three for front DIY 7.5 ft line source surround towers, four Krell 15 inch metal cone woofers, PS Audio P-10 Studio - two units PS Audio P-5 PS Audio P-3
|
Post by Owen Y on Jul 16, 2019 22:36:19 GMT 12
 (Video screen)  (Main equipment rack)  (Secondary turntable & tape machibe)
|
Post by michaelw on Jul 17, 2019 12:01:41 GMT 12
|
Post by Citroen on Jun 12, 2021 21:43:19 GMT 12
From Youtube Home made turntable, 1500 lbs with 3 VPI HRX motors   
|
Post by Citroen on Jun 12, 2021 21:55:48 GMT 12
"The pursuit of the perfect sound. It has been a goal of one Chesterfield man since he was a teen. In his latest "I Have a Story" Greg McQuade takes us inside what many people consider to be the best home audio system - in the world.
He says without music life is meaningless. Diagnosed with ALS and 3-5 years life expectancy his ears and eyes remain sharp".
Shorter doco (5:42)
|
Post by cooksferry on Jun 13, 2021 9:40:23 GMT 12
I (almost) never envy others audio systems. What fills me with longing is the rooms, being able to have a real sense of scale.
|
Post by andrewp on Jun 13, 2021 10:17:26 GMT 12
I think the HB Audio club need to organise our next meeting at Kens place.
|
