Greetings from Southern Maryland. I just joined after seeing reference to this group in another forum I am part of. Long time music lover and recent collector of audio gear here. I have always had some sort of stereo or home theater in the house, but for many years the components were not focused on sound quality. Children, $$ and other priorities always too precedence over my desire to have great sound. At this point I will no longer be spending long periods of time away from home and my oldest daughter seems to be permanently launched into her adult life, so we have more room at home. Working for the government is definitely not the way to get rich, but at this point I have endured long enough to be paid decently. All of these factors have combined to allow me to set up a few nice systems. Honestly I could live with any of them pretty easily if need be.

Home Office 5.1: Technics SL-1710, Sony UBP-800, Xbox One, Marantz NR-1509, Parasound HCA-1500, Polk Audio 2B/Polk Audio 1C, Polk Audio CS400i, Polk Audio 5jr, HSU VTF-3
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I spend A LOT of time in this room. I thoroughly enjoyed teleworking and I am hopeful I can find something that allows some sort of work from home situation in a few years. This is a smallish room 12'x14' and it can get a bit cluttered at times. This is my first time having a room to myself and I really like it.

Living Room 2.1: Yamaha WXC-50, Crown XLS-2002, Polk Audio SDA SRS 2.3tl, SVS SB-13ultra
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Initially I imagined using this room for TV only, but I find myself doing some listening here when I have the house to myself. I picked up the crown pro amp for a price I could not pass up and initially planned to replace it quickly. I may still do that at some point, but I really enjoy how this room sounds for now. It is a larger room 25'x15' with the speakers set up on the long wall. Placement may not be ideal, but current placement seems to help with WAF as it keeps my largest speakers out of the way.

Sitting Room 2.0: Apple Mac, Marantz ND-8006, Anthem Pre-1L, Adcom GFA-535, Zu Audio Omen Dirty Weekend MKII
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My wife has claimed this system and to my delight she spends many hours here most days. She has figured out how to stream Amazon HD on her desktop computer.

Teen Cave 2.0: Technics SL-QD33, Generic phono pre/line in w/passive pre, AkitikA GT-102, Polk R200
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My youngest daughter has shown an interest in all things audio. She enjoys this simple 2 channel rig for a few records and streaming from her roku TV.

A few of the pictures show our home guards. We have adopted a pair of Cane Corso (Italian Mastiff) who patrol the premises and keep all intruders out.

Our oldest daughter graduated from CSU Monterey Bay a few years ago and she is now putting down roots there. Our youngest daughter is in her junior year of High School and we are enjoying what should be our last few years with her before she goes off to College.

I have done quite a few DIY upgrades to all three pairs Polk SDAs and more recently I built the AkitikA power amplifier. This has been a great way to use some of the work skills Uncle Sam has taught me.
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That's about it for me. Thanks for letting me introduce myself, I look forward to getting to know this group. Cheers!

Caleb
 
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Welcome to the Haven! Nice set of systems!

I got my start in DIY by doing a lot of POOGE-ing of existing equipment I owned, it's a fun hobby.
 
Welcome to the hifi haven. Nice collection of systems too!
Thanks! I have been wondering recently if I am too focused on a single brand (Polk Audio). I really like the mix of power and laid back sound. Hard to describe, but they seem to be able to project power and control without needing a ton of volume.
 
Thanks for the welcome!

POOGE-ing? I am not familiar with this term.
It's an old term from Art Jung (if memory serves) - stands for Progressive Optimization of Generic Equipment (e.g. replacing passive components such as capacitors or resistors with higher-quality / higher-spec'd versions).

Basically, tweaking (the non-meth version). :)
 
It's an old term from Art Jung (if memory serves) - stands for Progressive Optimization of Generic Equipment (e.g. replacing passive components such as capacitors or resistors with higher-quality / higher-spec'd versions).

Basically, tweaking (the non-meth version). :)
Ah, thanks for the clarification. Very familiar with tweaking (the good kind) gear, and other things come to think of it.
 
March 89 here... Then 4 years of shore duty.. Got out at 10.. in 93. Welcome aboard new shipmate.
We almost could have high fived. I reported to Great Lakes in Jan of 1994. Actually that was just the first time. I returned in 2008 for duty as an RDC. It was not the best job, but also not the worst.
 
Thanks! I have been wondering recently if I am too focused on a single brand (Polk Audio). I really like the mix of power and laid back sound. Hard to describe, but they seem to be able to project power and control without needing a ton of volume.
Nothing wrong with favoring a specific brand (I’ve owned up to five pairs of Altecs at one time, currently have three). Plus, Polk builds quality speakers (past and present). I’ll probably never go away from Polk for my surround sound setups, rocking mc80’s at the moment.
 
Welcome to The Haven Caleb! Thanks for sharing, you have a variety of great systems to choose from. And thank you for your service!

 
Nothing wrong with favoring a specific brand (I’ve owned up to five pairs of Altecs at one time, currently have three). Plus, Polk builds quality speakers (past and present). I’ll probably never go away from Polk for my surround sound setups, rocking mc80’s at the moment.
If it aint broke.....

Thanks for the response.
 
Welcome to The Haven Caleb! Thanks for sharing, you have a variety of great systems to choose from. And thank you for your service!


Thanks for the kind words. I believe USS ESSEX LHD-2 was the only ship I served on that was powered by boilers. Very specialized skill set for that vanishing group of snipes.
 
We almost could have high fived. I reported to Great Lakes in Jan of 1994. Actually that was just the first time. I returned in 2008 for duty as an RDC. It was not the best job, but also not the worst.

28 years since I got out and often wish I done another 10 and taken the pension instead of the big check they were giving to downsize and the Persian Gulf.
 
28 years since I got out and often wish I done another 10 and taken the pension instead of the big check they were giving to downsize and the Persian Gulf.

Hard to say in retrospect. Staying in long term works out great for some (like me) and not others. I never was forced to serve an IA in 'stan or other such place, but I have friends who didn't get so lucky. Sounds like you made the best decision for you at the time.
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