This is the system I have worked for 25 years to build. It is still going through changes although I'm finished for now. My room is 20x22ft and the roof slants up from 9ft to 12ft. There have been some challenges due to the fireplace and the windows but have been worked out. The real challenge has been compromises that my spouse can live with. That and the fact that stereo geeks like to change things. Am I right? My wife hates that!
unique solid state amp that sounds like tubes but none of the drawbacks and all of the benefits of solid state and tubes. S - mod and reground scheme and shielding. This without a doubt is the best sounding amp I have ever heard by a long shot. I've heard most of them.
Jolida Fusion preamp
Highly modified preamp with bybee power rails, time line, cryo'd transformer, furutech IEC, and GEC 12at7's, and bugle boy 12ax7's. Balanced input and output. Dueland caps swapped to take the place of clarity esa caps
Tannoy TS-10
A pair of fully balanced 10" 300 watts/ch subwoofers with fully adjustable settings for phase, crossover point, gain, and high and low pass filters. Fast and dynamic. the foundation that good bass gives cannot be overstated.
VPI Industries TNT HR-X
State of the art turntable with the 12.6 inch arm and the SDS speed control. Adjust on-the-fly VTA. New airless suspension. New main bearing and warp ring. I have modified this table and has resulted in a much better sound. I insulated the warp ring from the platter I also put an insulator on the bottom of the record weight. The result has been DRAMATIC!!!
VPI Industries JMW Memorial 12.7
Two arms, 12.6 and 12.7 one with original wire and 12.7 with Valhalla wire
Benz Micro MC Reference
Benz Micro Ref S giant midrange Holographic Smooooth
Tom Evans Audio Design Microgroove plus - X
solid state phono stage that is absolutely silent. with loading adjustment.fantastic performance
Bybee integrated power charger power cord
You won't believe the increase in resolution on front end components and amplification.
JPS Labs Superconductor 3 - 7 meter
Excellent interconnect. XLR or RCA The best I've heard.
UltraSonic Amp stand
Acrylic amp stand beautifully made with awesome brass and stainless steel spikes.
Ultrasonic Acrylic 28 X 21 X 1 platform
Acrylic platform made for my HRX wide enough for my mono arm on the back of the table.
JPS Labs Superconductor 3
The best I have used. They get out of the way of the music.
harmonic technology AC-11
great sounding cord. reasonable price.
Black Diamond Racing cones
Goes under source components and preamps to calm the vibrations.
stillpoints risers
isolation cones
JPS labs superconductor Q
I could not believe the quality of the sound. From this unassuming speaker cable.
audioquest power cord
The synergy thing just makes a huge difference. How much it costs, sometimes, doesn't make a difference. This thing made a huge difference on my CDP. All my other power cords cost over $1000.00. It didn't have that effect on anything else.
apple Ipod classic 160gig
fourth generation
Wadia I-transport
ipod transport- enables me to play hours of any music I want, uninterrupted. This music is competetive to anything out there.
Wells Audio Milo
Best headphone amp I've had and heard.
Arion Audio Pon-tuns
Isolation devices that had an instant benefit increasing resolution and slam to my amps. A+++
Advanced Cable Tech ACT
Very Good power cable at a reasonable price.sourced from wells audio
Electric Bamboo power conditioner
passive device that made a HUGE difference in my system. It solved so many problems that I can't explain it here.
High End sourced from wells audio power strip
a reasonably priced extremely well made power strip with filtering and phase protection . 6 filtered plugs and 4 direct plugs.
music hall 25.3
beat out my cary 306 D/A capabilities. highly modified with jps wire hard soldered connections, bybee devices and power rails, nos sylvania gold pin 6922 tube
Mr Speakers Ether C headphones
planar magnetic , closed back FANTASTIC sounding. the best I have ever owned!
System edited: I recently experienced a problem with my HRX. One of the motors started going bad. I had to get a replacement from VPI on warranty. I changed out the motor myself, this saved me a chunk of change shipping out that very heavy motor assembly. The motor caused a serious reduction in the fidelity of the table. After removing the motor it was fine. Changing the motor out was not beyond a normal persons ability with a modicum of mechanical know how. It was frustrating until I figured it out.
One thing about the Zyx, it does not gloss over any negative qualities of the record. If the recording has any weaknesses, you will hear it. The good thing is that with good recordings it is fantastic.
Latest word on the zyx universe. I borrowed a Graham Azimuth adjustment tool from a friend. I got the azimuth adjusted spot on and had to change everything else. I ended up at 2.2 grams vtf to get the tracking right. I am still at 28 marks above level for the vta. I was worried about being at 2.2 grams when everyone else said 1.95 - 2.05 grams but I talked to VPI and my friend and was told that unipivot arms sometimes require more vtf than lets say a SME V or a bearing type arm. One turn on the wire for anti-skate.
I wanted to update on the Zyx universe cartridge after I had a chance to play with it for a few days. I had to wait till I got a new scale, due to the fact that my cartridge man scale battery died after 6 years. I only used it 9 or 10 times. I was finally able to get the VTF dialed in to where all the forums say it should be. I ended up with 2.07 grams and the VTA is about 28 gradations above level if using a JMW 12.6 arm. This cartridge is very sensitive to VTA and VTF like all cartridges but when you hit the right spot, you won't believe that your system can sound like this. I have never heard this level of reality before. Set up can be finicky but its worth it. CD's aren't even in the same 'Universe'.
Just got my Zyx universe in my system and it is amazing. Not even an hour of play time but the single best I have heard so far in my system. When my colibri gets back I'm going to have some fun. Maybe some of the SFO locals would like to get together. Drink some wine and listen to some music.
Jeff, Congratulations on a beautiful system and room.
If I may ask, please: Are you still quite happy with the Zeus and how hot does it get when driven? (Are we talking space heater or just hot?) I am seriously thinking of buying one.
Thanks Ken I really enjoy my record collection. I sure like your Usher speakers. They are a beautiful adornment to any system and from what I hear they sound great too. I love your McIntosh tuner. I was just looking on the listings to see what it would cost me for a good tuner. Regards Jeff
Just a beautiful looking room and set up. I appreciate your kind words on my system post. Im just in love with your analog rig. Got to be a dream to have the HR-X and own some of the finest pick ups in the world in one system.
Congratulations on a beautiful system, Im sure its sonically excellent as well. !
Thanks From every forum I have seen, all of the Zyx's are a bargain and perform way above their price level. I hope you find a copy of Trio Jeepy. Its well worth the trouble. Ciao Jeff
Hello Jsquattrin,Congrads on your ZYX! I am getting a ZYX R20 in a couple days.The whole Marsalis family is very talented!!! Ill have to look for "Trio Jeepy"! Ray
System edited: Just picked up a Zyx universe s-sb. Can't wait to put it in my system and put it up against the VDH Colibri. Too bad I have to wait till the colibri gets back from VDH. Regards Jeff
Just wanted to turn jazz fans on to an album I heard and purchased last week that is kickin! It was used vinyl that I got from my buddies store. The artist is Branford Marsalis and the name of the album is 'Trio Jeepy'. The recording is amazing quality for 1989 columbia records. No remastering or heavy pressing, just regular 120 gram double album. Bass is fantastic and the players are equally fantastic. Tempo is from ballad sleepy to burnout crazy. I haven't been able to stop playing it for the last week. My wife's getting sick of it. Ciao!
Thanks for the kind words. It has been a long time in coming. My wife added a woman's touch to the room. I just had to make sure those touches didn't sacrafice the sound. I am happy with the speakers. They are relatively unkown, so maybe this help to get the word out. Ciao!
System edited: You can see in the TNT HRX picture the absence of the air filler cap that was present with the air pod system. The new suspension uses rubber balls filled with air to suspend the table.
A correction is neccessary concerning the stated frequency response of the James Grand Symphonic 10 speakers. I have recently been notified that the stated frequency response in the owners manual of 20-20,000 hz +- 3db is a misprint and should read 30-20,000 Hz +-2 db. Sorry for potentially misleading anyone. This does not change how much I like the sound of the speakers. The speakers have a ton of low well defined bass, which is why the original specs were believable to me. Any vibes missing in the lowest octave is provided by the James EMB-1500 subwoofer. Ciao!!
I just receved the new airless suspension system from VPI for my TNT HRX. Installing it was a snap. Removing the air pods was a little dicey but went ok. The new system is a replacment of the air pods with a new leveler and a ball resembling a raquetball. After removing the pods they insert easily and require nothing more than releveling the table. There is a dramatic increase in the sense of space and depth. The whole spectrum gains a new level of smoothness and clarity. This is noticeable immediately. Can't wait to get my Colibri back from Van Den Hul. The best thing is not having to add air to the pods any longer. Taking the life of your cartridge in your hands every time you did it. especially for the pod behind the arm weight.
Thanks! I still tweek from time to time but I like to tweek with it. I am having a repair done to my colibri cartridge due to my four year old droppong a balloon on it while it was playing. That's why I have my stand by dynavector on instead of the colibri. I don't mean to say that the Karat is not a great cartridge, but not as good as the Van den hul. I am constantly surprised by how good the james speakers are. I just happened on them by accident, I loved how they looked. I decided to listen to them for the heck of it. I bought them on the spot and sold my Gallo references. I have been happy with them for over a year now. Other priorities in my life make sure that I am done for now. However, its fun to try new stuff. I looked at your system. Nice stuff!I love Watt puppies.I really like your Sim audio moon cd player. A real work of art. Thanks for looking at my system.
