[DIY] Custom Listening Station v1 (pics inside)

[Jose Hidalgo]

Hi guys,

Here are some pics of our DIY Custom Listening Station v1, aka CLS (for clearer sound obviously, because CLS, pun intended )

As some of you know, it's based on :

• 1 Windows 10 laptop as source
• 2 USB DACs (Topping E30)
• 2 Headphone Amplifiers (Topping L30)
• A collection of 5 headphones, 3 of which are currently and individually EQed when being used
• An old wooden Ikea table

If you want to know how everything works, feel free to take a look at this topic.

CLS v2 is already planned for next year :

• First we will order some custom-made cables that will be easier to handle and to store, so they won't be hanging anymore ,
• Then the red semi-transparent curtain will be replaced by a couple of hinged glass doors,
• Finally, the old Ikea table will be replaced by a custom-made multi-purpose table that I'm currently 3D-designing (more on that later).

Now on to the good stuff :

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1. The four Topping boxes received from AOSHIDA-HiFi Audio Store (via AliExpress) :

2. Unboxing of the L30, with its proper EU adapter that I specifically requested :

3. Test assembly of the first stack (E30 + L30) :

4. The hidden part of the table with all the cabling :

5. Close-up of the multiple socket with all 4 power connections (2 E30 + 2 L30) :

6. Integration of the Topping stacks INTO the table : left stack...

7. ... and right stack :

8. Outside view of the right stack :

9. General view of the table from the right side (the left side is of course symmetrical) :

10. The Custom Headphone Shelf - Front view :

11. Side view :

(from left to right : Sony MDR-CD1000 (25 y.o.) / Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon / Hifiman Sundara with Revised Earpads / Sennheiser HD600 / OneOdio Studio Pro 50)

12. Some headphone close-up shots : Sony...

... Nighthawk...

... Sundara...

... HD600... (for the record we are one of the very few lucky people to have a restyled HD600 with the good old hinged Sennheiser case that isn't sold anymore Courtesy of Sennheiser France, kudos to them !)

... and OneOdio :

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I hope you like it ! We certainly do.

This is of course a work in progress. More pics to follow upon further enhancements.

 

[tinytea]

Awesome, a perfect work in progress.

I have a romanticized image of a dim neon lit music listening booth. Just my imagination.
The laughing emoji, sadly, it must be noted once again is sadly missing so take this one instead

Love this idea of embedded listening station.

Red stitching on One Odio is very chique.
Nice living room, lots of space and room for development, like a studio
Pic #4 is that a little friendly doggo in the right corner of the picture?
- Or it could be my imagination and it is a dangerously high stiletto.

Very excited to see the development/ results of CLS V2.0!

Goodluck!

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

Thanks buddy I'll post more pictures in the future, hopefully with better lighting and composition. For now I just wanted to share our success in making v1 work despite all the hurdles.

We are both amateur dancers, so our living room has space and a wooden floor for us to practice. It was one of the pre-requisites when I was looking for this place.

Pic 4 : the flurry white thing is tinsel. We don't have animals (yet !). The black thing below is indeed a stiletto.

 

[tinytea]

Oh dude that's so cool, I had written also "lots of room to move around" but I deleted that cause I thought it sounded weird haha.

We are both amateur dancers,

The black thing below is indeed a stiletto.

Sounds like I had you sussed out! No laughing emoji so:

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

We're not really hiding, so...

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

I'm happy to announce that we've officially moved to v1.5 : hinged glass doors, plus a new headphone : the Meze 99 Classics Walnut/Gold, just because they're pretty (plus because they're closed, so we will need them when we can resume living normally and travelling). Sadly the 25 y.o. Sony MDR-CD1000 has been trashed : it was too old and had sound glitches.

Future improvements :

• Inside lighting by a dimmable RGB LED strip
• Custom-made cables (we've officially requested them, but the guy in charge may take some time)
• Finally, the old Ikea table will be replaced by a custom-made multi-purpose table that I'm still 3D-designing. We're not in a hurry for that part, because it will be a really heavy piece of furniture (more than 100 kg), so maybe we will move first to a new location. In other words, it could take several years, so don't expect it anytime soon. But here's a 3D drawing to give you an idea.

 

[Bob-23]

I'm happy to announce that we've officially moved to v1.5 : hinged glass doors, plus a new headphone : the Meze 99 Classics Walnut/Gold, just because they're pretty (plus because they're closed, so we will need them when we can resume living normally and travelling). Sadly the 25 y.o. Sony MDR-CD1000 has been trashed : it was too old and had sound glitches.

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Future improvements :

• Inside lighting by a dimmable RGB LED strip
• Custom-made cables (we've officially requested them, but the guy in charge may take some time)
• Finally, the old Ikea table will be replaced by a custom-made multi-purpose table that I'm still 3D-designing. We're not in a hurry for that part, because it will be a really heavy piece of furniture (more than 100 kg), so maybe we will move first to a new location. In other words, it could take several years, so don't expect it anytime soon. But here's a 3D drawing to give you an idea.

View attachment 114575

Well done. I like the glas windows, and, of course, the phones... (Vous semblez être le seul sur ASR qui connait de la poussière, on en a beaucoup ici, à Berlin, aussi. Pas possible de laisser les casques sans protection pour plus qu'un jour. Et d'ailleurs: "Longtemps je me suis casqué de bonne heure.")

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

Time for an update : we have officially moved to v2.0 ! This is a major update since all the software has been changed. No more ASIO, no more EQing within foobar, no more predefined impulse responses, no more VSTs. Make way for global EQing via Equalizer APO, and virtualization via HeSuVi !

Here's the updated schematic for Hi-Fi (and as an added bonus, Home Theater since it's basically the same PC) :

The whole [Voicemeeter Banana + EAPO + HeSuVi] pack was indeed a game-changer for me. Thanks to @sweetchaos for his excellent tutorial ! It all works beautifully now. So simple, so elegant, so easy to change stuff once we get the feel of it ! Thanks also to @Vasr and @Atanasi for their help with Equalizer APO. It was in an ASIO-context, but it helped me make the move to EAPO, even if DDF brilliantly proved recently that ASIO itself wasn't necessary after all.

Computer Hardware :

• Laptop : Core i3 3217U / 4 GB RAM / Windows 10 20H2 x64. This is an old, slooow laptop, which proves that basically anything will do. Windows updates were temporarily disabled, and a RAM optimizer (Reduce Memory) was installed to free up memory on a periodic basis.​
• Storage : 12 TB HDD in a LAN Windows 7 Desktop PC acting as NAS​

Hi-Fi Hardware :

• DACs : 2 x Topping E30​
• Headphone Amps : 2 x Topping L30. Given my headphones, there would be no added benefit at all in going balanced.​
• Main Headphones :​
  • Audioquest Nighthawk Wood​
  • Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon​
  • Meze 99 Classics (Walnut/Gold)​
  • Hifiman Sundara (Revised Earpads)​
  • Sennheiser HD600​

Home Theater Hardware :

• 5.1 Soundcard : CM6206 from AliExpress, 10 €, no need for more. Works very well with Windows 10 with the appropriate drivers that you have to download and install : CM6206-1.09_WIN10(QR) . Don't forget to check the blue icon in the System tray (Control Panel - this pic is just an example) and set 5.1 output !​
• 5.1 Kit : Logitech Z-680​
• Projector : Sanyo PLV-Z4. Oldie but goodie. 720p, bought 15 years ago when 1080p projectors were still out of reach. Still there, still great except for the contrast, but in a dark room it provides a decent picture. Hopefully I will replace it in a few years.​
• DIY Screen : 300 x 200 cm incl. black borders (projected image : 258 x 145 cm). This is an old picture from 2013 but it hasn't changed a bit :
  
  

  

Hardware Outputs :

• DACs : 2 x RCA​
• Headphone Amps : 6.35mm TRS​
• 5.1 Soundcard : 3 x 3.5mm TRS​

Software Settings :

• Voicemeeter Banana : A1 = DAC 1 (MME), A2 = DAC 2 (MME), Start with Windows, System tray, Locked GUI, the rest as default (24/44.1)​
• Windows Sound Panel : DACs @ 32/44.1, Voicemeeter inputs and outputs @ 24/44.1 (32bit doesn't seem to be accessible but nevermind)​
• Equalizer APO : installed on A1 and A2 outputs (so the rest of the system isn't affected), -4 dB global preamp gain for extra headroom before the EQ presets' own preamp gain, thanks to @DDF 's excellent recommendations.​
• HeSuVi : we love ooyh0 as main virtualization preset for that "out of your head" experience, and Dubai, New York and Sydney as alternates​
• EQ Preset & HeSuVi switching : some custom AutoHotKey toggle scripts, which I'll provide soon ​