Home Theater Done Right: Millercarbon's System


Dual use, should probably be the title. Oh well. Finally posted my system. Someone’s always asking about how to do a dual use system. Well, here’s how its done.
Cinephile or audiophile, movies and music are the two things I have loved for as long as I can remember. I want my music to sound as good as possible, and I want my movies to look and sound as good as possible. Everything is a compromise and yet when it comes to these two the compromises are remarkably few. If any. At least that is what my system shows. Because it is a first-rate audiophile sound system, AND a top level home theater.
Whether music or movies an immersive experience is the goal. To lose yourself in the experience. To be carried away.
Studies show viewers consistently rate video quality higher when sound quality is high. Unfortunately the Home Theater industry has chosen to pursue quantity over quality. Which cannot ever work. No amount of surround speakers will ever make up for poor quality. Everyone knows this perfectly well. Being able to convince anyone otherwise is a testament to marketing.
But that’s not my main point here. Rather it is that everything matters. Seemingly minor little things like cryogenic treatment, HFT, ECT, Total Contact, fuses, cable elevators, etc when added together actually make so much difference it is almost impossible to build a truly good system without them.

Removing those tweaks from my system would lower it down to merely average.

Anyway, the system is posted. Enjoy the pics. I am not that good a photographer but Steve Clarke was busy. Tried to get the tubes go glow- how’d I do?

The system evolves. Here for reference are some pics from 16 years ago. https://www.theanalogdept.com/c_miller.htm
Comments welcome. Enjoy!


128x128millercarbon
Is there an explanation why two channel could not sound satisfactory with movies? Aren't you watching it on the screen in front of you, after all? Isn't that where the action is?
I can explain that mahgister but I don’t think you will like the explanation.
mijostyn

Your remark made me smile(in a friendly manner)...

I know that placebo effect plays his function in all context...But Placebo effect cannot play in audio, like with the feeling body in a medical experiment, the exact same function when you add something to an inert piece of gear.....You can say that I delude myself at least it will be more exact...Hallucinations or misperceptions by auto programmation is not exactly placebo in a medical context, but it is what you want to say or what it is more exact to say for describing what you have in mind about my experience :)

In the last 2 years my audio system, without changing any electronic essentials components, same dac, same amp, same speakers, is going from crap  or disappointing sound quality, to top detailed 3-d imaging, in near listening or regular listening, with natural instrumental timbre, and a better dynamic, and a lived projected sound in the room, all that with my controlling methods of the 3 embeddings, it is in no way explainable by placebo sorry... I owned 8 pairs of headphone that I listened to before my tweakings because the sound was better, now it is the contrary, my speakers crush my headphones any one of them (Stax,Hifiman,2 AKG, Beyerdynamic, Q701, 2 Fostex)...

If an audible effect is added in a "cumulative" way with each experiments one after the other, mutiple times explaining that with a placebo effect or misperceptions is saying nothing serious at all... Sorry....

A better example of placebo effect or programmed misperceptions, choose what term you wanted to, would be some guy that after purchasing a 10,000 dollars amplifier must convince himself that the differences with his 2000 dollars amplifier was very, very big, and not a little one....

In my experience any good electronic component will be transmuted on another level completely if it is rightly embedded in the mechanical, acoustical, and electrical grids of the house and room... ( without illusive placebo effect) Any electronic components at any price... :)


Last remark:
"my illusion" cost me total, 500 hundred dollars maximum and perhaps less, for my Mission speakers, Sansui AU 7700 amplifier, and Starting Point System NOS dac...My controls homemade methods cost me peanuts also... Then who lives in an illusory hi fi world? Me or the crowd who think that paying is warrenty of Hi-Fi without anything to think about or work with for that and with only ready made costly product out of the box?

I will agree with any of your choice because I dont give a dam, listening music for the first time of my life in a good audio system created at no cost by me...

My best to you from the heart and with no rancor at all...
millercarbon likes to see tubes glow and cables up on little stands etc. It makes him happy which makes his system sound better.

Actually its the system sounding better that makes me happy. And the tube glow, that's for photography. I listen eyes closed.I do hope you are kidding by the way.
Millercarbon, in my tweaks I added 3 Himalayan salt lamps, and their colors added something for sure that is pleasant to see...

But I really think that they also made a real enhancement of the sound, perhaps it is an illusion, in this precise case, yes, perhaps, because the effect is subtle but for me there...

But all my numerous tweaks one after another cannot be explained by placebos or increasing hallucinations...They worked way better than buying a new 2020 Krell amplifier to upgrade from my 1978 Sansui...And cost 50 dollars total for the 3 beautiful salt lamp...

The deluded one are those who thinks the electronic components are all there is about Hi-FI. I think and you think the contrary: the embeddings is all there is about Hi-Fi...

The deluded one, if there is someone deluded, are among those that must justify for themselves the too much high price they had pay sometimes for the experience of Hi-Fi; not among those who had pay much attention to the 3 embeddings of their electronic components, and less attention to the marketing of new electronic costly components...And certainly not those who bought 3 dollars tweaks liliputian herkimer diamonds... :)
Your three "embeddings" are my vibration control, electronics, and acoustics. Whatever they're called or however they're defined they are all vibrating with the music. People who think its necessary to change components are simply basing it on a weak and simplistic - and totally arbitrary- concept of what is a component.