What is Your End Game System?

@rvpiano , my bad, it didn't load properly first time I looked. Those speakers look like they must throw a huge soundstage. I have seen those Tritons in a lot of reference systems in the by lines of reviewers. Same with the Cambridge streamer and Benchmark DAC. How long did it take to assemble everything and dial it in? Looks like every component is at the top of Stereophiles recommended list. Nice job

I honestly never consulted Stereophile’s list. It took me about 2-3 years once I decided to begin a major upgrade.
Funny story: The only reason I obtained the Benchmark amplifier is as a stopgap measure after my original monoblock amps stopped working and were out for repair.  Just picked it at random with no thought in mind. I never intended to keep it, intended to return it.  Then, I listened to it.  Major game changer.  That’s what I mean by dumb luck.  Otherwise, I bought and returned various components until I got the synergy right.

@rvpiano , it might seem like luck but at some level your gut must known that amp would be a sleeper. Nice  job!

@phusis ,wow, that is an end game. I knew those were theater speakers the second I saw the pic and I have seen pics before where members put them behind a screen, built into a wall. Your setup doesn't hide them but has them stand up and salute, nice. I know how it goes with "final" touches as there is always room for something to squeeze a little more. Do you take measurements? Thanks for posting.

@kota1 wrote:

wow, that is an end game. I knew those were theater speakers the second I saw the pic and I have seen pics before where members put them behind a screen, built into a wall. Your setup doesn’t hide them but has them stand up and salute, nice.

Thanks. To my mind there’s something to be said of the "aesthetics" of functionality as a very clear reflection of ’form follows function,’ and not the other way ’round as something that more predominantly caters to interior decoration and (anti-)size demands. Pro cinema speakers are meant to be placed and hidden behind perforated screens, and thus any design considerations as it pertains to their looks are zilch (I guess this can be said of most pro designs). If anything there’s an honesty to their appearance, not least with regard to the design efforts invested towards functionality; what you see is what you get, and yet to many an audiophile this may be misconstrued as sonically crude and unfit for a domestic environment.

I know how it goes with "final" touches as there is always room for something to squeeze a little more.

Indeed. Pragmatically speaking "final touches" can very well be, maybe even mostly so about that endless tinkering within a given setup context that may involve the occasional and local hardware replacement, yet as something that wouldn’t affect the overall approach and path chosen. "Final touches as a refinement work-in-progress within a specific setup context" may be the more appropriate way to go about it.

Do you take measurements?

Yes, near-field measurements have been taken of the horn section on top to assist digital filter adjustments and finding the precise frequencies to place notches and a mild peak suppression (these measurements fairly closely mirrored those found via EV’s own measurements, which initially served as an outset). From hereon the specific gain and Q-values of these minor corrections have been found by ear. The remainder of the driver section, i.e.: the EV bass bin + tapped horn subs, use no PEQ’s within their frequency span, other than of course cut-off frequencies, slope type and gain structure.