Following years of trial and error and after tweaking the hell out of my system, I have finally achieved a sense of "having arrived". Listening to the system is pure joy. I feel completely suspended in emotion, space and time. Even long listening sessions will not become fatiguing. However, with this setup every detail will be heard - good and bad.
Suspended hardwood floors in my listening room represented a severe challenge that was finally overcome with the SSC platforms, the high mass rack and, with surprising efficiency, the Svelte Shelves under most components, which provided a perfect mix of coupling and isolation.
Now I am finally enjoying music as I have always wanted to. One important lesson I learned: a system is much more than the sum of its components. Carefully matching and optimizing your setup offers longer lasting rewards than spending big $ on one particular component.
The classic that will not disappoint. Needs to be set up carefully to perform its best.
Linn Ekos
Matches the Linn Sondek perfectly.
Linn Arkiv
Excellent tracking and reproduction across the whole sound spectrum. Extended treble and solid bass.
Linn Linto
A perfect match for the Linn Sondek. Extremely quiet, great bang for the buck. Works with MC systems only.
Accuphase DP-75v
A liquid, analogue-like sounding digital front end. Very musical.
Accuphase T-109
Very musical sounding tuner with good receptive qualities. Makes radio shine.
Accuphase C-2400
This superb modern pre does not leave tracks. Controls volume without any mechanical contact points. Very transparent. Rather than adding its own signature, it will exactly trace the character of the recorded music.
Accuphase A-50v
Class A powerhouse delivers up to 1000W into 1 Ohm loads. Beautiful high end extension, goose-bump producing mids and rock-solid bass, all bedded into slam-dunk dynamic performance. Don't be intrigued by its 50W rating. This amp produces live-like sound and dynamics! A beautiful match for speakers that really sing on high current.
B&W Nautilus 800
When driven by the right electronics, this speaker system will be among the best you can own. It loves power but also does micro levels well. Very open, transparent sound reproduction. Can take ultra-high loads.
SSC Concept Custom speaker platforms
Two string-suspended platforms effectively isolate the speaker from vibrations. Cleans up sound and tightens bass. Almost a must on suspended wooden floors.
PS Audio Ultimate Outlet
Cleans up power and enhances dynamics.
Kimber Select 1030
Holographic presentation, airy, open with grain-free high extension and structured bass. Accuracy of timbre.
Kimber Select 1130
Balanced version of Select 1030. Holographic presentation, airy, open with grain-free high extension and structured bass. Accuracy of timbre.
Kimber KS 3038 (bi-wired)
Top notch silver cable. Very neutral, no traceable signature. Consumer version of the Black Pearl. Brings out the best (or worst) of your associated equipment.
Kimber Select KS 3035 (bi-wired)
Bi-wiring the N800s takes the imaging, clarity and decay to the next level. An absolute 'must' if you want to exploit these speakers to their max.
Kimber PK10 Palladian
Grain-free power supply, excellent dynamics and tight, dynamic bass.
Symposium Svelte Shelves
A huge improvement after the Sveltes took out remaining vibration and provided low mass/high rigidity coupling to my components incl. the Linn Sondek. Highly recommended if you have suspended hardwood floors or use resonant component platforms.
Symposium Rollerballs with Tungsten Upgrade
Lifted the performance of the CD-player into the analogue stratosphere after I placed the Rollerballs upside down between the player and its Svelte Shelf. Great improvement in ambient information. Puts 'soul' into your CD performance.
Boston Audio The Mat 1
Beats my previously used Ringmat and Extremephono Donut mats by a big margin, not to mention the original Linn felt mat. Fabulous bass, very quiet background and CD-like dynamics. Perfect match for the Linn Sondek. Well worth the investment.
I have the N802's and use a modified crown amp which pushes 480 watts high current. To me the B&W's need high current to really sing. I have looked at Accuphase but am a fraid because of the low power rating. You seem happy with the output how do they drive your speakers at low volume? Thanks for the reply.
How's the bass out of the N800s? I have a pair too but never could get the proper bass performance in my room 19 x 25 x 7 other than push them almost to the front room wall boundary...
Hi, you have a nice set up. Do you still have the Accuphase A-50V? I own this amp also, but I replaced it with Acoustic Reality eAR Figaro ICEpower based amps. Do you also like the sound of the DP-75V CDP? I have the DP-90/DC-91 combo, which I like. A friend of mine has the Wadia 7 & 9 --> Very good digital front end! I noticed you have Kimber cable through out your system. In the past years I'm switching relentlessly between various cables.
You bet. The A-50 produces lots of current which is what the B&W's are hungry for. But don't forget to bi-wire them. Makes a world of difference - at least on these speakers.
Really sorry for the extended radio silence but I have moved from Bermuda to Bahrain and my goods were in storage for almost a year...
Many of you are keen observers and noticed the off-axis positioning of the speakers. This is correct and was carefully arranged to cater for the preferred listening position on the seat on the right in the second picture. Not ideal perhaps but I managed to compensate for it in the end.
My new home features a dedicated listening room that will require some work before posting updated pictures so please bear with me.
"Carefully matching and optimizing your setup offers longer lasting rewards than spending big $ on one particular component" Clearly: one must spend big $ on SEVERAL components!!LOL
Absolutely love and envy your system. I bet it sounds unbelievable. If you ever feel like donating any of your equipment... well, you know where I am ;)
I do think that his sitting position is slightly to the right as there is an "island" right in the center of the couch.
On another note, I really admire your system! It looks awesome and is permeating hi-end audio at its finest. Your love for audio and hifi is clearly portrayed by the meticulously chosen components you have in your system and the trials you took in acquiring this synergistic setup.
Very interesting - I am guessing you must know exactly what you are doing, given your comments about tweaking and the obvious room treatments and things. In general, your room and system look very nice and very meticulous.
I immediately notice, however, that your speakers do not appear to be placed on axis.
Is this because you listen from the chair on the right hand side of the room? Does that yield better results or is there some other reason you have the speakers set up to fire ever so slightly across the room?
I would love to hear your thoughts and experience on this.
Perhaps it is a distortion of the photograph, but I can immediately spot speaker placement that is off by even a few inches. In my Magneplanar based systems, this has always made a huge difference in both the imaging and the tonal response.
Your system looks very nice! It is always nice to see an audio system set-up with attention given to aesthetics, as well as operational / functional considerations. It looks like a great environment to enjoy your music collection!
Bibibi, I am waiting for some parts to alter my Creaktiv rack so that the A-50V amp can fit in. Will post pictures as soon as I get done. Should not be much longer. Cheers, Andreas
