Poplar burl, w/custom crossovers by Deja Vu Audio using vintage parts; had to replace original paper woofers with hemp versions due to cat incident. AN Lexus LX 96 speaker cable.
Synthesis Art in Music Ensemble
Tube integrated amp, w/ Preferred Series NOS 8x7189/EL84 (Preferred Series NOS from The Tube Store), 4x 12AU7 (new production Tung-Sol)
Synthesis Art in Music Brio
Tube phono pre, 2x12AX7 (new production Electro-Harmonix)
Garrard 401
Restored w/custom plinth by Woodsong Audio; Track Audio isolation feet.
Thank you! And yes, it sounds pretty awesome. The last thing I want yo tweak is my step up transformer - pretty sure I can get even more out of my koetsu. Leaning towards a Swissonor, with Hashimoto transformers.
Thank you! And yes, it sounds pretty awesome. The last thing I want yo tweak is my step up transformer - pretty sure I can get even more out of my koetsu. Leaning towards a Swissonor, with Hashimoto transformers.
The 401 is such a beautiful design. Mine was a UK machine, so platter markings are for 50 hz electricity. Because of that, Chris Harban (Woodsong) didn’t have the strobe light working. Always bothered me a little, since that’s such a cool part of the design. So just this past weekend, after 6 years, my nephew and I spent the better part of a day taking the turntable apart and installing a new strobe light kit from keystrobe; it’s an LED light with a transformer that converts 60 hz to 50 hz. Works beautifully, and speed of turntable is still spot on. What a design!!
Thanks. Yes it turned out really well. I color matched the tt plinth to the Synthesis amps, which themselves were a custom job. Had to reach out to Luigi in Italy (Synthesis founder) to get the RAL color code. One of my favorite factoids is that Sugano San voiced his Koetsu cartridges on his personal Garrard 401. So it was meant to be.
Thanks Dan. Yes, it’s really gratifying to have something that sounds good and looks so pretty. Speaking of which, I love your custom Tannoys (and your 401 of course). If you haven’t already, you should check out my vintage system, where I run resto/mod Altec Santiago’s and another Chris Harban TT (a TD-124).
mdalton, I love the look of your system, especially your Garrard 401, with Reed tonearm.
I built my own Garrard 401 plinth, installed a Dynavector 501 arm I bought from Chris Harban, it sounds great with my Herron phono stage and Herron line stage.
Amp is an 812 SET built by Paul Birkeland of Bottlehead, his own design, it is the quietest tube amp I've ever heard, yet it powers my custom 12" Tannoys with plenty of grunt in my large room.
It's great when things work out so well, isn't it?
I just wasn’t willing to completely torque our furniture arrangement around for the speakers. It’s a cool room where we’ve always spent a lot of time together as a family and entertaining guests.
When my dealer originally delivered them, he had them toed in and placed slightly differently (but not in corners); he was surprised how good they sounded in this room. I’ve since moved them a little, and also now have them firing straight ahead, which improved the soundstage considerably; a friend and I spent a couple of hours with a speaker placement test disc, and this is where we ended up.
I’ve visited the AudioNote room at Capital Audio Fest the last two years and frankly prefer the overall sound of mine better than theirs both times (even though this year they were demonstrating the new field coil Es at $65k/pr.).
Bottom line, I’m very happy with how they sound where they are in the room, at the expense of some low end extension. (Btw, I would also note that the late Art Dudley, a long-time AN-E owner, preferred them 4’ from the back wall and 2’ from the side in his room when he reviewed them in May 2006.).
Thanks! I don’t think Vu typically does custom crossovers for AN - AN would likely have a problem with that. But in my case I got a deal on a pair of Es that had been in storage - Vu had lost the stock crossovers! (Alas, Vu and I had a nasty break-up a few years ago - not over the speakers - so I haven’t kept up with him.)
Regarding the Garrard, yes, I reached out to Luigi at Synthesis a few years ago to get the RAL paint code so Chris Harban at Woodsong could color match the plinth. He still features pictures of my deck on his website!
@mdalton not sure how I missed this what a killer system and great looking room! Looks like Vu and company did a fantastic job on those crossovers I didn't know they did custom crossovers for AN speakers. I have a very old great sounding Deja Vu preamp, it sounds fantastic. And your Garrard is a total showstopper and so cool it matches your Synthesis gear!
thanks. re the AN-Es in poplar burl, my wife was not initially a huge fan of the look cuz they’re the only wood furniture we have on the main level of our contemporary home. but i got a great deal on them, and when i had to replace the original paper cones (black), I decided to upgrade to the hemp (blue), which worked beautifully with our color scheme. Then, very recently, I replaced the original dealer diy stands (black), with the glossy white - now my wife loves the look (as fo I)!
