Guakus's Reference System

by guakus on
Audioengine HD6
Audioengine S8 Subwoofer
Shunyata V16 Power Distributor
Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt + Jitterbug FMJ
Furutech plate + cover, PSAduio Noise Harvestor, AQ NRG Edison
Laptop
FEQX4 + Red ATM
Shunyata Research Alpha V2 XC
Synergistic Research Tranquility Basik
Synergistic MiG 2.0
IsoAcoustics OREA
IsoAcoustics GAIA III
Back of Audioengine HD6
White Apple Multimedia Grounding Block (x3)
Lavricables Grand Speaker Cable
Lavricables Master Series Plug HD6
Palladian conencted to the Audioengine S8 subwoofer
Back of Shunyata V16 Power Distributor
Synergystic Research Atmosphere X Alive To S8 Subwoofer

Description

This is my office reference system.  If I am to work from home until the foreseeable future, then I want to surround myself with as exquisite a sound quality as I can possibly muster.

Yes, I am *WELL* aware that this is an unorthodox system.  Very few will have created a system such as this and I have been more than made of aware of as to the various reasons why...but I digress. This system is a testament to what is possible in audio fidelity if you are willing to break the "rules." I have another system with floor standing speakers and dual powered subs, and this system has long since surpassed it. When you sit in the "bubble" of this system you are enveloped and immersed in sound.  It's clean, cemetery quiet, and crystal clear. If I had simply used what came-in-the-box and just plugged this into a standard power strip, it would not sound anywhere near this good and would only just be the same system that anyone who bought this speaker system would have.

What makes this setup special is the fact that the cables and power structure is worth easily 10 times the value of the speakers themselves.  I know, I could have bought other things with that money; but I didn't. I wanted to hear what these speakers were truly capable of and it's amazing.  These speakers are extremely well engineered; far beyond their intended purpose.

I am planning on switching out the Shunyata Delta V2 XC cable that is powering the V16 distributor. I love this cable, but having seen what carbon fiber can do in terms of shielding and vibration control, I want the Alpha V2 XC.  Not only will it have far more gauge, but it has much better connectors. 

NOTE: Spare me any sarcasm, or insults.  I have heard them all from friends, family and randos on the internet and none of them have swayed me from my goal.  This system will continue to evolve and I will continue to enjoy its sound regardless. Also, if/when I ever switch to a different system that perhaps is in the price range folks find more acceptable, I will have a powerful back end already in place to run it. :)

UPDATE:  I upgraded to Shunyata's Alpha V2 XC power cable.

UPDATE 2:  I added IsoAcoustics GAIA iii and OREA to the subwoofer and speaker stands.  This was an incredible update to the sound. Apparently, the subwoofer alone was altering the acoustics of the main speaker's tweeter.  Just adding the OREA cleaned up the main speaker's clarity and imaging. Then, when I added the GAIA iii feet to the speaker stands, it was equally incredible.  The imaging was further expanded, and there was more clarity in drum kits.  Most notable was the bass response. Kick drums have a hard hitting thump you can now feel and they sound as if they have more definition and depth.  Then, I added the Synergistic Tranquility Basik with the MIG 2.0 feet. The most immediate effect was video quality.  Movies played with more frame rate and color, and graphics, pictures, have more depth and detail; richer colors as well. Musically, it altered the imaging and soundstage.  It seemed to expand it from front to back instead of from side to side.

UPDATE 3: I removed the Synergistic Research Atmosphere Level 1 cable and replaced it with the Lavricables Grand line. I have also removed the Kimber Ascent power cable and replaced it with a cable I made. I also added three home made grounding boxes, complete with grounding cables of my own design.

UPDATE 4: I finally removed the Synergistic Research Foundation speaker cable that connects the powered HD6 to the passive slave with Lavricables Grand line speaker cable. This solves a problem of one speaker being cleaner, and clearer than the other; which created a lopsided stereo image.

UPDATE 5: I changed the Kimber Kable Palladian for Lavricable's Master Series power cable. The Kimber Kable Palladian was then moved to the S8 subwoofer, removing my home-brew power cable from the system. The results were an incredible increase in micro dynamics and a tightening and re-imaging of the bass with very powerful, forceful hits.

UPDATE 6: I removed the Synergystic Research Foundation RCA interconnects that were going from the Audioengine HD6 to the Audioengine S8 subwoofer. I replaced it with the previously discarded Synergistic Research Atmosphere X Alive cable. I had not done this sooner because I wrongfully thought that it was better to have RCA to RCA connection for better bass response, rather than RCA to 3.5mm stereo pin, despite the Atmosphere cable being far better in quality and shielding.
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Components Toggle details

    • Kimber Kable PK 14 Palladian
    Kimber Kable's top of the line power cable. Connects to the Audioengine HD6.
    • AudioQuest Jitterbug FMJ
    "Full Metal Jacket" USB power noise filter, attached in series with the Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt.
    • Audioengine S8
    8 inch powered subwoofer with 250 Watts of power.
    • Sanus SF30-B1
    30 inch metal speaker stands.
    • Audioengine HD6 Wireless Speakers
    Flag ship powered bookshelf speakers. 75 watts RMS with dual mono A/B class amplifiers.
    • Shunyata Research Venom V16 Power Distributor
    Shunyata's mid-tier power distributor with 16 high current sockets split into two zones.  Uses various noise reduction techniques and technologies.  Also has their CGS grounding system. Attached are also the optional SSF-38 steel feet.
    • PS Audio Noise Harvester
    A device that plugs into the wall socket to capture low frequency noise from the electric line and convert it to light via a blue LED.
    • Furutech GTX Wall Plate + 106-D NCF Outlet Cover
    EMI protective plate and cover for electric socket.
    • AudioQuest NRG Edison
    Audiophile grade electric socket (15 AMP).
    • AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt
    A portable USB DAC that uses a ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip.
    • Acer Helios 300 Predator
    High powered gaming laptop I use primarily to play digital files and stream from music services.

    Processor: i7 2.60
    RAM: 32 gig
    HD: Samsung 980 NVME 500 gig.
    • Shunyata Research Venom V14 Digital
    This is an IEC C5 connection to the Acer Helios 300 Predator to ensure the best possible power to the computer.
    • Synergistic Research FEQ X4 - Frequency Equalizer + Red ATM
    This is a low frequency equalizer to mitigate all the various signals being passed around the office.
    • Synergistic Research Purple Fuse
    The fuse for the Audioengine HD6 was swapped out for this audiophile grade fuse.
    • Shunyata Research Alpha V2 XC
    An 8 Awg IEC C19 power cable that uses a hollow braided copper with a stranded silver core.  It uses Teflon as a dielectric.  It uses their proprietary, all copper plated connectors and uses carbon fiber shells.
    • Synergistic Research Tranquility Basik SR20
    This is an electromagnetic device used to mitigate an electronic device's internal EMI as well as mitigates vibrations.
    • Synergistic Research MiG 2.0
    UHF cups used with the Tranquility Basik to help mitigate vibration as well as any high frequencies surrounding and enveloping the equipment.
    • IsoAcoustics GAIA III
    Isolation feet, designed to mitigate any vibrations coming from the unit or from entering the unit. In this case, for my Audioengine S8 Subwoofer.
    • IsoAcoustics OREA
    Isolation feet for my speaker stands. They help mitigate the speaker's vibrations and driver movements.
    • Lavricables Grand - Analog Data Cable
    I had Lavricables build me a custom reference cable for this system.  This cable is 1.5m long and has their Gold-Plated Tellurium Copper 3.5mm stereo mini-pin to AECO ARP-4055 Pure Silver RCA Connectors.  This is their quad core 20awg 6N silver wire laminated in Teflon and treated with Graphene at key points.  The cable as well as the connectors have been cryo treated.
    • White Apple Multimedia Grounding Block
    These are another home brew item.  These grounding boxes consist of a 6 x 4 cedar box. The bottom half of the box is completely plated in Copper.  Approximately 1 to 2mm in thickness. The filler is composed of Hawaiian Charcoal Salt, Rock Salt, Tree Charcoal, local dirt, quartz crystal, copper filings. They connect via banana plug.

    In this system there are three boxes.  One for each speaker and one for the Chassis Ground of the V16 power distributor.
    • White Apple Multimedia Grounding Cable
    These are DYI cables. It's a 2 conductor cable that either terminates in a banana plug or spade.  They consist of a 10awg OFC copper wire, with an additional  20awg silver plated copper wire coiled around it.
    • Lavricables Grand Line - Speaker Cable
    This speaker cable features twenty 26awg 5n Silver conductors individually insulated in Teflon and cryogenic treated.  Then weaved into a hyper-litz construction. The connectors are also cryogenic treated and are silver plated copper. The connectors use 9% silver solder as well as use of Graphene.

    This cable links the slave speaker to the powered speaker. It was important to transport the quality of the incoming signal to the slave with little to no loss in quality.
    • Lavricables Master Series (Custom) Power Cable
    This is a custom design of their Master Series power cable.  It contains twenty 28awg solid silver conductors.  Each conductor has been encased in Teflon insulation.  Then those 20 strands are woven into a hyper-litz configuration.  The source end uses a Furutech C7 plug.  As such, there was no need for a ground cable. So the 20 strands were split into 10 hot and 10 neutral.  Which is closer to their Grand Line.
    • Synergistic Research Atmosphere X Alive (Level1) Phono (custom)
    I had SR create a custom cable using the Phono cable as a base template. This cable uses a 3.5mm stereo mini-pin connector and terminates in a left/right RCA connection. Cables of this nature are often used to transfer data from portable devices to sound systems. I had recently removed this cable from my system, but have added it back to run the S8 subwoofer.

Comments 5

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Owner
@redwoodaudio

My future DAC upgrade will be the GUSTARD X26 PRO.  I really like the sound of the ES9030Pro, which is what the Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt is.  Except the Gustard has two chips. One each for right and left.

The fun will basically start all over once I get a standalone DAC.  I will have to get a high quality USB cable, new Power Cables, and will have to get newer RCA cables. 


guakus

Bold choices.  In my experience, the quality of the sources (server/streamer/dac) are hugely influential on the quality of the sound, and I've invested more in them than in specialty power grounding (although I have expensive power cables and a $700 fuse in my power amp).  I wonder how much of a difference an entry level Lampizator Amber/Baltic DAC would have in your system?

redwoodaudio

Owner
UPDATE:  I just replaced the Shunyata Delta V2 XC 20amp cable for the Shunyata Alpha V2 XC cable.  It needs burn in time...but DE-ZAM!!! This thing is an python of a cable! Easily 2 1/2 times the size of the Delta.

As soon as it burns in, I can tell you what it sounds like. And if I can figure out how to edit my virtual systems, I will add photos and descriptions.

guakus

Interesting setup. I bet thats the best sounding hd6 setup in existence!

b_limo

Hey Guakus kudos to you doing your system your way. I'm sure it sounds incredible I hope you can get some work done in there!

jond

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