My dedicated audio room build - QuadDiffusor's Big Dig

[QuadDiffuser]

Good news on the sourcing of my in-wall AC cables!
Keystone Cable will manufacture customized AC cables for my needs, sold in 100m spools, for just a few US$ per meter, having:

1) copper conductor insulation: XLPE (superior dielectric and durability, compared to PVC)
2) multi-stranded copper conductor bundle's gauge/thickness: 6mm2 (9AWG equiv.), and 10mm2 (7AWG equiv.)
3) multi-stranded copper conductor bundle's XLPE insulation color: brown (live) and blue (neutral), dyed to color code
4) twist frequency: exceeding 7 full rotations per meter (more consistently and tightly wound than possible using human hands)
5) sheathing - none (taped) for the 6mm2, and XLPE for the 10mm2; both will prevent unravelling of twisted conductors within
6) sheathing color: milky but transparent (polarity of the conductors will be visible - brown and blue)
7) sheathing thickness: very thin, for maximum flexibility and low-friction installation
8) sheathing will not be perfectly round, but instead conform to the bumpy contours of the twisted conductors within

As the costs are so nominal, I'll likely install both gauges of AC cables through the same PVC conduit (running between the MCB box and the AC duplexes) and determine which sounds "better" later, through experimentation.

The ground conductor will likely be 10mm2 w/ XLPE insulation, loosely pulled through the PVC conduit, cut to the same length for eight AC duplexes distributed throughout the component "end" of the listening room.

 

[QuadDiffuser]

This old drawing (below) of the layout of the component end of the listening room is really messy, but the location of two of the AC duplexes will likely be shifted to the following locations:

1) all six duplexes will be on the ground
2) "Cluster 1" - one will be near the HRS EXRD "double width" component rack, where a single PS Audio Powerplant will provide power to the components
3) four will be located in the space near the powered loudspeakers and the monoblock amplifiers
4) "Cluster 2" - one in the center near the speakers will power a single PS Audio Powerplant

Excluding the two active loudspeakers and two monoblock amplifiers which will each have their own dedicated 20A duplex, the remaining components will be at the following two locations:

Cluster 1 - powered by a single PS Audio PowerPlant
1) Aurender N30 music server
2) Aurender N30 music server's power supply
3) SACD universal transport with I2S output
4) MSB Technology DAC (Cascade or Sentinel)'s Digital Director ("DD")

Should the Aurender be "upgraded" to Taiko's Olympus which has a large footprint of 19" x 19", the HRS rack will need to be changed to a larger size of 21"W x 19"D (instead of the standard size of 19"W x 17"D).

So, might as well start with a larger size, instead of worrying about changing it later?

And, should there be a need to add an analog TT playback system with its preamplifiers, etc. in the future, there's horizontal expansion space for an additional rack. However, very long XLR balanced interconnects will be necessary to deliver the signals to the monoblock power amplifiers, something I'm not keen on doing.

Cluster 2 - powered by a single PS Audio Power Plant
1) MSB Technology DAC (Cascade or Sentinel)'s power supply chassis
2) MSB Technology DAC (Cascade or Sentinel)'s analog DAC chassis

The Cascade DAC's two chassis are very thin at 4.2" each, so when stacked they will not occupy much vertical space, and therefore ideal for placement between the two loudspeakers without causing undesirable diffraction. However, the Sentinel DAC's two chassis will be "double height" at 9.0" each, so should stacking them not be desirable sonically they can be split to the L and R (using longer XLR balanced interconnects to cover the extra distance).

Note that:
1) the digital source signal will be transmitted via optical cable, from the DD to the DAC
2) the DAC's output signal will be delivered to the monoblock amplifiers directly, with no preamplifier
3) the length of the XLR balanced interconnects can be kept very short, at less than 1.75m each to maximize signal transfer

 

[MarkusBarkus]

^^^big wow.sweet.^^^