The single biggest upgrade to the musicality and quality of my system has been the result of the addition of the Audio Note Kit 1 300B Single-Ended amplifier. I am absolutely thrilled!
A spectacular-sounding 300B, single-ended integrated amp. I loved the experience of building this baby from a kit and the sound is sublime. A huge upgrade over the Manley Mahi/Manley Shrimp combo I had previously.
SOTA Sapphire
Recently upgraded this 'table with new titanium bearing, new, series V springs, new belt and dust cover.
Linn Basik-LVX
It's what I've got. :-)
Ortofon 2M blue
Not much to compare it to but well reviewed at the price.
Bottlehead Seduction
2-tube phono preamp
Music Hall CD 25.2
Beautiful build quality, great sound at the price.
Supra Classic 6.0
Bobby Palkovic of Merlin told me to look for a 9 gauge, stranded copper wire, and this is what I found. It's unique in that each copper strand is plated with tin, to insulate the strand and reduce "skin effect." The result is a cable that is, in Bobby's words, "stupid good," especially at the price. A 3 meter pair with spade connectors cost me $103 with shipping, direct from the distributor, Sjofn HiFi.
Musical Fidelity M1 DAC
Perhaps the single best upgrade I've made to my system, other than my speakers and new Audio Note Kits Kit 1 amp. A steal at the sale price from Needle Doctor, it has lifted the Musical Hall CD player to new heights.
Reference 3A MM De Capo iA
Latest version of this classic monitor. The white Surreal Acoustic Lens in the middle of the main driver is said to improve dispersion and clarity. They sound wonderful. Update, March, 2013: I have upgraded the tweeters to the latest, beryllium tweeters from Reference 3A.
AT Capital Audio fest a few years back, the DIY'ers room blew me away and put all the high priced gear there to shame in terms of price/performance.
They took inexpensive smaller full range drivers, mounted them in a small enclosure on the floor with upward tilt, powered them with a flea powered CLass A SS amp, and the results were phenomenal with ALL kinds of music thrown at it, in a modest sized room. After the usuall audiophile source fair, I recall them playing some Green Day and it sounded fantastic, a sound I could easily live with.
Another "trick" with "smaller" monitors for more balanced low end response I have seen expert DIYs use and I now use to excellent effect in my wife's vaulted cieling acoustic nightmare 12X12 sunroom with the little Triangle monitors there is to lower the speakers to just a few inches off the floor with a slight upward tilt. I struggled for years to get the right sound in that room and that finally did it, finally delivering "top notch" sound of a little box in that acoustically challenged room with little wiggle room for tweaks.
I picked up a pair of These Isoacoustic stands and have them set up at higher level with the slight tilt. The combo of ISOLATING rather than coupling the speakers to the room combined with the added reinforcement from the floor has delivered one of the most effective tweaks ever for me there.
Just another trick to keep up one's sleeve if ever needed....
I've used a diagonal type setup to good effect in my dedicated room/office in particular with all my speakers in there at one time or another (12X12, standard ceiling height, thin dense carpet/padding on concrete foundation, typical office decor including various decorative objects on most of the wall space to help break things up acoustically. Pretty standard non -audiophile stuff really. No need for acoustic wall panels there, though might still be useful. I use 3 2X2 acoustic wall panels at prime side wall reflection points in my bigger room with the big OHM speakers though. Have considering adding two more at ceiling prime reflection points as well, just to see....
"The electronics are here to stay. Those Manley's sound awesome. At this point, any changes have to around my amps and preamp. "
Famous last words.... :^)
Time to photoshop the AN SET into your system pics!! Then replace it with the real thing once done.
My system has changed a bit of late as well, mostly tweaks, and adding a dedicated setup for my STAX phones. I have a lot of time off coming up for the holidays and hope to get my system pics and such up to date as well.
I think I am with you regarding priorities and compromises.
I am of the opinion that most of the music occurs in the midrange and that is where our ears are most sensitive, so it pays to get that right first and go from there as needed.
I can vouch both the Triangles and OHMs both do this exceptionally well as it would seem do the Dulcets.
The Triangles "cross over" at ~5K or so, the OHMs at 7K, well beyond where most traditional 2 or 3 way designs do.
One need look only at this nifty little audio frequency chart I found recently Here to understand why this is a good thing!
You have to hear that kind of sound done well (omni/Walsh or otherwise) to appreciate it and be affected by it's absence.
Reading some more about the Dulcets, I can easily see how they could well be the perfect fit for you and your room.
I read an article by a reviewer who was enamored with the Triangle Titus years ago for many of the same reasons he liked the Dulcets, but it sounded like the Dulcets years later have refined the principles of the Triangle Titus type design further. There is a lot to be said for any speaker that can function like a highly coherent point source, which both Titus and Dulcet appear to do (as do OHMs except in the more omni sense). He also compared to the Dynaudio Contour 1.3mkIIs that I also still run so that helps me understand the sound even better. THey are very good monitors, probably closest in design to MErlin TSM that I have, but they are a more traditional 2-way crossover type design that has some disadvantage when it comes to absolute coherency through the midrange.
Those might be the perfect upgrade for my wife's sun room someday if needed from what I read.
In hindsight, I'm thinking that in your room upgrading from Microwalsh to 100s might have been a mistake and I wish I might have cautioned against it somewhat perhaps. I would expect the MWTs to perhaps fit better in your room. They would seem to be the closest thing in the OHM omni line to the point source coherent sound you have been zeroing in on and right-sizing to your room. You never know!
HAven't heard of those Dulcets, but I think I can see your path and why you are where you are. Sometimes less is more. My smallest speakers, the Triangle monitors are the ones I have levitated to in my wife's acoustically lively/challenged sunroom. Can't tame the bass properly easily in there with either OHM 100s or Dynaudios and formal sound treatments will never happen in that room. If only I could place the Triangles further out into the room without incurring my wife's wrath. Oh well.
The dog seems to be enjoying the sound. That's always a good sign!
I know your busy guy, but when you get a chance, how about new pictures showing your new acquisitions?
I ran into some technical issues with sending the recordings I had mentioned to you (ie I lost the files). I still have the vinyl to recreate but need to find time to do it.
I do have digital files of some old family heirloom 78s from the 1920s and 1930s that I recorded and came out very nice, if you are interested?
Another thing worth trying with the speaks in that location close to the right wall might be toe out on the right speak only to pull the soundstage in a bit on the right side.
That is a sweet little system, just as I envisioned it!
I had forgot you mentioned your room had hardwood floors early on. That can be a challenge but I think you've got a very practical system with which to take it on.
A strategically located area rug in front might be a WAF friendly tweak to consider if needed.
How about a pic with the OHMs in your current preferred listening location also?
That right OHM is very close to the corner. Bass could be heavy there, especially once broken in. Too much bass can have the effect of masking the detail in the mid range. You might play with plugging the port on that side with a loosely rolled up sock and see what that does for you if needed there.
As they break in, you should find it possible to move them further out from the rear wall and somewhat more from the sidewall for a deeper sound stage perhaps while maintaining a fulfilling low end.
