Hello Everyone,

I will soon be departing the Chicago area for the temperate clime of Bellingham, WA.  Just wanted to see if anyone here lives on the wet side of Washington?  I've been blessed to have had the CDAPS crew here; maybe start a chapter out west?

Washington seems to be a great place for our hobby: Shunyata, Modwright and Daedelus are companies that come to mind that are based there.  There is also the Vancouver Audio Show, just an hour from Bellingham.  

Anyhow, looking to carry the torch to my new home and perhaps land a good listening room!  I should be house hunting by end of month.

Rob

Sorry, ILance!

I live in Vancouver Wa. It's just north of Portland Or.  I moved out here from Jersey 12 years ago and would never move back. Welcome to a great state.

Hey ProggRob,

I live in between Seattle and Everett, so in the 50-60 mile range south of Bellingham. I have followed the progressions of the CDAPS with interest, and I'm sure that the other guys will be sad to see you go. Anyway, I also am an open baffle fan. My current fave is Steve's FRX2. I bought some 12" SB Acoustics woofers to compliment them on the bottom, but my router crapped out when I was cutting the baffles. While I wait for the repair, I hooked up the 15" Augies in my Hawthorne Audio Rainiers. I use a HSU Research sub amp to drive them, and it's YOWZA good! I think that the main drawback to my system now is the room. Can't do anything about that for the time being. Anyway, I'm glad that you are coming out here. I grew up outside St. Louis, and I love it here (except for the real estate prices - I'm assuming that you already know about that), and I'm guessing that you will, too. Post on the forum when you get settled - maybe we can get a WDAPS going. I think there is another Decware enthusiast, Mike in Seattle, who posts occasionally. Mike? Care to chime in?

Hey PR,
It's totally room dependent. The guy that I bought them from had them in a big room. At least 10 feet apart. Big, room filling sound. I have them in a smaller room, and they sound pretty congested. I think that they are walking all over each other. I'm looking forward to getting them into a room that lets them breathe better. And yes, they are way too spendy for me at retail. The previous owner took some cash and some items in trade, or I couldn't have done it. Anyway, I put the FRCX2s in an open baffle, and they are sized much better for the room. I just got a used PS Audio PWT and Directstream DAC, and YOWZA! Now THAT'S what I call transparent, with great detail, but not cold and clinical. I understand now what Lon and the Raven are talking about with that dac. I've been running a 10W 300B amp, which sounds great, but runs out of steam on music that's not recorded well. This weekend I'm going to try putting my Cary Audio Six Pacs into the mix. I might give up some transparency, but there's no way that I'll run out of gas. I don't know where you are with computer audio, but if I could get my computer files to sound like the PWT/Directstream combo, I'd be a happy listener. My next goal, I suppose.

Hey Dave,

Thanks for the info on the voltage of the Directstream. I haven't taken the time to download the manual yet. I also haven't checked to see what version firmware it is running, but I'll be able to look into it soon. I basically just checked it out to make sure that it worked (and formed an immediate positive impression). I have a little vacation time coming after next week, and I have a number of "audio experiments" planned.I actually own a ZBit, and have considered putting it in the stream. I also have a Tortuga Audio passive pre that I'll try. Usually tho, I like as few connections/components as possible in the signal. But if it gets me a fuller sound, I'll go with it.  I did hook up my Six Pacs, and much as I love the sound quality of the 300B tube, there's no denying the fuller sound that you get with more horsepower. A friend has a pair of 300B push pull monos, and he probably gets the best overall sound that I've ever heard. I'm keeping my eyes open for something along those lines, but not for a while - I've got too much gear already.