Recently added Behold Gentle, with its 2 mono amps per channel, DACs for all inputs, Room-Tools digital room correction, built-in power conditioner, and more! Transparent, palpable, detailed, easy on the ears, neutral, it's a pleasure. More pictures to follow.
Full range speakers with horn-loaded ribbon tweeter, paper cone midrange/mid bass driver, and interior band pass subwoofer
Behold Gentle
Pic and description to follow
Behold PSD192
Digitizes at 24/192 after amplification in analog. Choice of 8 EQ settings, all implemented in digital. Connected to Behold Gentle by glass fiber toslink.
VPI Industries TNT Jr. Mk II
Has HRX motor and JMW tonearm
Benz Micro Ruby 3
low output moving coil
Kimber 4AG
Bi-wired, KCAG interconnects
Symposium Isis Rack, Rollerblocks, etc
Tricked out with Rollerblocks everywhere, even under the speakers
System edited: Replaced AudioValve monos with BAT VK-75 SE. Improvements in transparency and space, which give instruments and voices a more realistic quality, to my ears. A refined sound. Maybe not enough power for the speakers, though. That may be a function of the room correction, which increases the bass and places greater demand on the amp. One solution may be to bi-amp, using a solid state amp to drive the bottom. Stay tuned!
One of my friends in Portland just got a pair of Ascendos, not long after my last visit there, so unfortunately, I didn't get to hear them.
He's happy with them, and hopefully, he'll hang on to them long enough for me to hear them. Don't recall what model he's got, but they're very large, heavy, and look identical, so I imagine they are the same model.
Hi Jim, Congrats on the wonderful gear you have assembled! I too considered both the Ascendo speakers and Audio Valve gear but chose against it years ago due to no local (Canada) support. I think the ribbon tweeter can be moved forward or backwards to time align with the bass driver depending on sitting distance, no?
Do the pretty bottles behind the speakers resonate or their tops vibrate at all, or are they mass loaded with sand etc?
Any acoustical room treatments as not much of the room can be seen from the two pics?
Sure, I'd be happy to look you up the next time I'm on Whidbey Island. I'm from northern NJ, though, and I'm not quite sure when that will be. My sister is basically a transplanted NY City girl and it's a "Green Acres" scenario, but she enjoys the Island's pace and natural beauty. Here there is no shortage of audiophiles, clubs, and even brick & mortar audio stores; 'sorry that you're alone audio-wise, but this is an interesting and vibrant virtual community -- and no doubt many who are similarly situated. Hopefully we can meet up one of these days!
Yep, still here on the "rock", as we call it. The Captain Whidbey is not too far from me, about ten miles, I'd guess. It's funny, on this island, there doesn't seem to be any culture regarding audio. I've been here since 1971, and haven't met any fellow enthusiasts yet. I've been to Mike Lavigne's place in Northbend, a few years ago, and have a couple of close audio friends in the Portland area, but none on this island. I mean it's not too small, being 63 miles long, and well-populated, but not with audiophiles. When you next visit here, want to come over a hang a while? I'd welcome it. Though it's fun to share, but very rare (no pun or rhyme intended), so if you're interested let me know.
Thanks, Dan. btw, are you still on Whidbey Island? My sister and her significant other run the Captain Whidbey Inn in Coupeville. Neither of them is into this hobby, but it's a small world ... I have been out to visit them and what a beautiful place!
Thank you. The seller of the AudioValve amps made me an offer I couldn't refuse -- and they are a great match for the Ascendos. The Symposium platforms and doublestack Rollerblocks make a big difference, too, in just about every way. It's about getting further into the music ...
Nice list of "Not On List" components you have put together. Your system must be a great listen for you, you've done a good job of seslecting system components, I'm sure you do't have to be reminded to "Enjoy The Music".
System edited: This is almost a whole system change from the last one I posted and is a significant upgrade. Moved up the line from Ascendo C8s -- still available, btw -- to the Z-F3. The The laptop has become the source I use the most. Just following the instructions on for optimizing Windows 7 and J River, and listening to replay from memory, it sounds great. The hi-rez downloads are usually best, but now CDs get ripped as soon as I get them and then they go on the shelf. Then sometimes I'll go for a couple of weeks and listen to nothing but vinyl. Yes, it's still best.
