Awesome Ed!

I'll have to talk to you about your cord samplings. I've pretty much stood pat with my Jesus Cable set up, but would like to hear from you how the cords you tried differ.

I should be receiving a BAT VK3i soon to go with my VK200, and I almost bought an Audiomeca Mephisto II X. This crazy!!

Good to hear from you.

gunbei September 12, 2003 16:22

I took out the Furutech ETP60 filter and added some ERS carbon sheets at various places in my system most notably using some as CD mat. Changed some pictures out too.

It might look like I've been doing nothing much to add to my system, but I did audition some really good power cables from Michael Wolff during the past month. Along with the Silver Ribbon Source cord I have already, Mike also sent me a Carbon Silver and a Carbon Ribbon source cord with the latter being radically different cord and price.

Each cord has its own attributes with me liking the sound of the Carbon Ribbon the best. However, its resistance is higher than normal powercords and doesn't like to share AC such as when plugging it into a powerbar.

After much deliberation, I've decided on keeping the original Silver Ribbon cord. For the performance, it is hard to find a better cord for cheaper and doesn't leave me too much yearning to upgrade. That is a good thing.

Well, enjoy the pictures... I decided to use a flash this time on most them.

viggen September 12, 2003 01:41

Viggen- The headphones are the original "Hunts" (as in Tomato Paste). I got the Bedini practically for free (undoubtedly from someone who had the same observations I do). I've done some A/B tests and just can't say whether what I am hearing is my 'wanting' it to work, or it actually working. So if it does work I'd say the difference was subtle to my ears. I do use it just the same. I have yet to try it at home, which is certainly a more revealing system. The Furutech is supposed to be a better product by all accounts I've read. It sure doesn't seem to make the kind of difference I'd go writing home about. Perahps my hearing is just not as acute as others' here. The headphones on the other hand, are utterly amazing and worth every penny I paid for them! They're not all that comfortable to wear, but for the money how can you complain!?

Marco

jax2 June 06, 2003 18:30

Hey Marco,

Your pics turned out great. Are those headphones the original Stax? I see you got the Bedini clarifier. How effective is that thing? I've been thinking about getting that or the Furutech RD-2.

viggen June 06, 2003 17:46

Sheeeeeet Gunbei, guess you don't need no insurance for your system....I pity the fool who tries to rip you off! OK, so I did a couple of snaps with my digital camera of the patented "Boltz" heavyweights. These things weigh about 20 lbs each, so the items beneath them are to keep them from leaving a big dent in the chasis, and to distribute the weight. This is part of my work system. Thought y'all would like to see my headphones too so I pulled back a bit to show them up on the shelf. The cabinet is an old gas-station oil cabinet and holds some of my CD's. You can tell I'm way into industrial salvage items here. No heavy artillery on the stereo, though Herr Sig has his own special place here. Not crazy bout the choice to put anti-fatigue mat under the Planet. Gotta try some harder surface like I have at home (5" Maple). So you can see the "Boltz" right here

Marco

jax2 June 05, 2003 22:53

Thanks Marco! Can't wait to see it. I never got a Glock or a Sig, but I did pick up a .44 Desert Eagle over ten years ago. Also have a Beretta 9mm Border Marshall. I know, I'll balance my Benelli M1 Super 90 semi-auto shotgun on my transport! Hah!

How about: "I use old rusty ammo cans filled with 1000 rounds of FMJ 9mm for isolation and stability in my rack.

gunbei June 05, 2003 20:35

Hey Gunbei - I'll post a pic and URL when I get a minute later this afternoon. Meanwhile you could start a new thread of alternative weights for components: Glock vs. Sig vs. Desert Eagle. ....Go ahead....Make my day!!!

Marco

jax2 June 05, 2003 19:41

Marco, I gotta see them big bolts on your Planet! Maybe I'll just set my gun on my transport.

gunbei June 05, 2003 15:54

Hey Marco,

It's too bad you can't make it here. Atleast you can see how my system looks. It would be very nice to be able to see how your system is set up too being that your pictures must come out very sharp. I'd be waiting.

viggen June 05, 2003 03:32

Cool beans Viggen! Clean and simple. I really like what you've ended up with. A system that lives up to the 'Zen' title. I'd love to hear the combination you've come up with too, but the trek to SF from Seattle is not in my near future. I do love riding those Northern CA roads on my motorcycle! The rocks on the DAC are a nice touch too....are they cryo'd too? I've got two GIANT industrial steel bolts sitting on top of my Planet 2000 in my work system. I'll have to photograph them someday! Thanks for posting your system!

Best,

Marco

jax2 June 04, 2003 19:45

Hey,

My system has similar sonic attributes since you were last here, Dean. However, there are subtle improvements across the board. I'd say the sound is more refined than before. It no longer sounds like a system in progress. Atleast, I hope it doesn't.

And, regarding the toys, the more the merrier. The cables and dacs are good ideas. This way, I can hear how my system sounds with the "right" cables and compare how the "I am not a crook" DAC stacks up against the vernerable Kora. Most of all, bring your "MR. Critique" hat.

TIC, as you know, we are in CA. So, if you are ever in the left coast...

viggen June 03, 2003 23:50

Hey David! How does July sound to you Ed? What should I bring? Maybe I'll relent and bring the Kora. Any suggestions?

Reubent, Viggen lives in Southern California, where all us extreme weather intolerant people roam, heheh.

gunbei June 03, 2003 21:08

Hi Dean & Ed:

I should be up for the trip sometime in July. Too much other stuff going on right now.

I can bring toys (47 Labs digital/analog cables and BMI PC's) if you like.

dekay June 03, 2003 20:15

Hey Ed, us old guys might need help up them stairs at your new place. It just ain't fair. How would you characterize the sound of your system since the last time I was there? How has the Richard Nixon DAC affected the sound? Heheh.

gunbei June 03, 2003 19:31

Viggen,

What part of the world do you live in? I would love to hear your system. I live in Cincinnati and visit SC often. Are you close? I may try to stop by Carolina Audio next time I'm in the neighborhood.

Thanks,

TIC (Tom In Cincinnati)

reubent June 03, 2003 19:00

Just to emphasize, Dean meant CIGARETTES!

Both you two are welcome to drop by on the weekends. Just finished finals last week, so I am pretty free. I just hope you old guys are up for the trek *smirk*.

viggen June 03, 2003 18:41

Ed, this is a great rearrangement of your gear. It looks so cool with the rack on the side. I'm sure your female roommate thinks it's nice too, heheh.

Hi David, the Gaincard has the gain control. So when are we gonna make a new date to drive to Ed's? I still haven't had a chance to hear his Nixon DAC.

Tom, the Carolinas sound very nice. Last time I was at Ed's we did some isolation tweaks and cable experimentation and got some nice results. A very natural sounding setup. Excellent imaging, enough bass for for many people and an overall coherent sound top to bottom.

Hey Ed, where's the picture of you smoking on the patio?

gunbei June 03, 2003 18:33

Hi Ed:

A bit confused as to what you are using for a volume/gain control. Is this contained in the DAC?

dekay June 03, 2003 17:49

I certainly think single drivers are the way to go. I never heard the Carolina speakers, but I know the Jordan drivers are very highly regarded, and a DIY with Jordan drivers won the Atlanta DIY Audio Fest "Best DIY Speaker" award, a year or 2 ago.

twl June 03, 2003 14:07

TWL,

There you go, Porter Ports it is.

Yup, I got tons of filtering going on. But, they are all passive filtering so no power choking going on here. Also, I do wish one of these days I can go about generating "green" energy as you do. Not only does this save the environment, the system should sound better to boot. And, is there any doubt that single driver speakers are not the best musical transducers? I've been looking at Cicadas, Rethms and Horshoppe's Horns as well as the Carolinas. I think I made the right choice. The Rethms are over my price range anyways.

viggen June 03, 2003 04:02

I agree that this is a very interesting system. I've found another Single-Driver listener! This is very exciting. I think a Gaincard/Single-driver system is real cool. I see that you have done alot with power conditioning, and I think that is very important. It is unique, and refreshing to see a system like this.

By the way, in case you hadn't heard, the Albert Porter cryo'd outlets are now being called "Porter Ports".

PS - The photos are cool too.

twl June 02, 2003 22:41

Hi TIC,

To say the least, I was also the most curious about the Nixon DAC and Carolina speakers.

1) Keep in mind that I am not a bass head, but the speakers actually produces gobs of tuneful bass when the music demands it.
2) The low output of the DAC doesn't seem to affect the Gaincard at all. I do however turn the attenuator up a step compared to when using the CD player's output. Interestingly, I do not invert the speaker cables to accomodate the DAC's lack of analog stage. I did invert initially, but then it sounded out of phase that way. So, I swapped the cables back to original configuration and then everything is right again. I emailed Scott asking how come the DAC sounds better without inverting phase. He answered that each CD is phased differently. So go figure.

System attributes? Well, the sound is very clean. I attribute this to the Nixon DAC which is completely quiet and has no boundaries in terms of background or soundstage. There isn't a hint of digitalitis anymore which were demons that plagued my system since day one. I attribute this to the Furutech power distributors and the Wolff cords which both have RFI/EMI abosorbtion properties. Thirdly, the Audio Magic Stealth Mini adds a bit of smoothness yet brings out more detail but in a more palpable way rather than a precise/etchy manner. Fourth, the transport is very flat in terms of frequency response. Lastly, the Gaincard is very good at doing nothing at all.

viggen June 02, 2003 16:41

Viggen,

That is one of the oddest systems I've seen on A-gon!!! I Like It!!!

I've become very curious about the Scott Nixon DAC and the Carolina JTM's. If possible, can you answer these questions?

1. Do the JTMs produce enough bass to live without a sub?
2. Does the low output and inverted-phase of the Scott Nixon DAC present any problems for your system? Did you invert the phase of your speakers to compensate for the inverted phase of the DAC?

I think your system is very much like the system I've been thinking about putting together. Can you describe some of its attributes for us?

Thanks and Enjoy,

TIC

reubent June 02, 2003 12:15