Tigger's 2 Channel Stack

by tiggerfc on Getting Started
IMG_0752

Description

Added- March 4, 2011 - AAD 2001 Monitors in Rosewood.

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Components Toggle details

    • Apple Macbook Pro
    13.3" i5
    • Tube Fidelity Bada DC-222 Hybrid Intergrated Amp
    Cardas 15.5awg litz re-wire. Cardas Tri-Eutectic solder. Removed Bear trap pcb plates and binding post board.
    • Monitor Audio GS10 Bookshelf Speakers
    Cardas 15.5awg litz re-wire. Dynamat interior.
    • Sanus SF26 Stands
    Steel Foundations 26
    • Cardas Audio Crosslink Speaker Cable
    2.5m
    • Cardas Audio Cross Power Cable
    1.5m
    • Custom Zebrawood Shelf V1
    This is a custom built Zebrawood platform for my Bada amp made by Jud Dinsmore of Southside Woodshop of Norfolk, VA. It measures just shy of 1 3/4" H X 15" D X 20" W
    • Sonos ZP-90 (Transport)
    With the $36/yr subscription to the upgraded 192k bit stream you won't go wrong.
    • Cary Audio Design Xciter 32-Bit DAC
    44.1/48/96/192 incoming sample rates. Auto converts to 192.
    • Moon-Audio Black Dragon Digital Cable
    Cardas GRMO connector
    • Moon-Audio Blue Dragon Fiber Optic
    1.5m
    • Mojo Audio 8 AWG Cross-Helix
    Copper shield added and re-configured layout.
    • PS Audio Power Port Premier
    receptacle
    • Silnote/Moon Audio Morpheous Reference II/Black Dragon
    1 meter. Upgraded to WBT 0144 mid-line connectors. Rewired with Moon-Audio interconnect parts. Stripped both to nothing, the the best of each, re-wired and soldered. Cable actually does sound better than either on their own. Good use of time. :)
    • AAD Loudspeakers 2001
    Rosewood- Sold but will always be a part of me.

Comments 19

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Owner
Ktaillon,

Super late reply. Haven't been on in a long time. Surprisingly, the Bada is still cookin with no troubles. I recently watched a movie with Dolby Atmos using pretty much all the same components you see in the pictures (but put through the MAs, not the AADs) and it blew me away. That amp packs a punch for sure. It sounds great but honestly, quite a bit had to do with that "science experiment." 

But, I'm getting bored after 6, almost 7, years and plan on upgrading to the McIntosh MC501 monoblocks, Cary 200ts DAC and a tube pre-amp that I have yet to decide on. I see a dealer that has my beloved Cardas Golden Reference cables I've longed for and will likely snatch those up as well.

The speakers are here to stay. I've tossed around the idea of selling them a couple of times and even listed them. Twice. All ads were subsequently pulled down because I honestly can't find much that beats this setup unless I start looking at super high-end systems. Amazing what simple re-wiring and cross-over work will do! 

tiggerfc

Owner
System edited: Full re-wire of both amp and speakers. About 300 hours of playing time has elapsed and I must say, the changes are startling. Smoother, extended treble, and warmer mids. Bass didn't really change so that is a good thing. Also added a Silnote USB cable. Well worth the money.

tiggerfc

Owner
System edited: AAD 2001 Monitors added. Integrating into system after all internals are upgraded.

tiggerfc

Owner
System edited: March 4, 2011 - Purchased a pair of AAD 2001 loudspeakers. These will be my main speakers for quite possibly the rest of my life. :) The GS10s will find comfort being utilized in a home theatre setup.

tiggerfc

Owner
System edited: Updated description for accuracy.

tiggerfc

Owner
System edited: Definitely need a nice solid metal wall-plate if you plan on installing this item. You will break your plastic wall plate once you try to start plugging in your PCs. It also makes it very difficult to plug anything in at all if you don't.

tiggerfc

Owner
Jimbojrjb,

That is the plan, as a matter of fact. I want to get the entire system nicely setup and then I'm going to add vinyl when the funds allow. A/C proved to be so important that I couldn't even think about upgrading speaker cables or anything else without getting the foundation down first. If I could do this over again I'd have started at the wall. Maybe I would've heard what was meant to be heard from the beginning. Thanks for the remarks.

tiggerfc

Owner
The Mojo Cross-Helix PC is probably the single most improved upon piece of my system since the Cary DAC. I think I'm actually hearing now what this DAC is REALLY capable of and it is a true wonder. The Cardas Cross PC will be out my system shortly to be replaced by the Mojo Ribbon PC and eventually I'll be converting all my PCs to Cross-Helix for smaller items but the items that really count will get the Ribbon PCs.

tiggerfc

Owner
System edited: Added Mojo Audio 8 AWG Cross-Helix Power Cord.

tiggerfc

Owner
System edited: The Xciter DAC is in. Awesome. Now I need to upgrade my speaker cable. LOL!

tiggerfc

Owner
i was wondering if there was such a thing! i sprang for a sonos zp90 just an hour ago. i got bored. ill look into that mediaserver before i open the sonos. then ill order the dac sometime in the next week. thanks for the tip!!

tiggerfc

Owner
Oh, one more note... The McIntosh MCD201 at the local store is selling for $1,500. Should that be enough to sway me to stick with a standalone CDP or should I still invest in a DAC for more future versatility? Think I might get comparable results vs. the McIntosh CDP? And if I decided to go music server, I'll have the DAC already. Makes sense to me. Just having a hard time justifying passing on the CD201. Thanks again.

tiggerfc

Owner
You know I've been fairly happy with the PS3 so far. It has a lot of great qualities. I know the DAC in it has to be poor though. And yes I've been considering a music server very heavily lately. Almost bought an Apple TV today but I'm starting to see a lot of threads with people saying they aren't happy with it. What I originally wanted was a very simple 2-channel. I'm not looking to add a hundred pieces with various connections everywhere. In my eyes every connection adds noise and more disadvantages. And I'm not 100% sold on a music server/DAC yet.

WHAT IF... I just got a nice PS Audio DAC(I've only read great things about this DAC) and ran the optical output of my PS3 to it...??? Any thoughts on that? I'm ok with getting up and swapping CDs. Actually kinda fun for me.

I just want a very high-quality CD playback. That, right now, is my primary goal. On a budget. Please, no Gryphon CDP recomendations. I might cry. LOL!

BTW, My Cardas cables are installed and being run-in now. After 18 hours of play time, they are starting to show the weaknesses in the PS3 even more. The amp, thus far, is just a killer. I can't believe it isn't more popular. Imogen Heap's "Closing In" and "Hide and Seek" is just spectacular. But It could be better. Anywho... Any thoughts to this would be appreciated. I'm stuck on which path to take. Thanks for any and all comments.

tiggerfc

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