I might actually be done. I find that this is the system sound I have been looking for. It can be played from very low volume levels to very high volume and gives me what I am looking for. The mid range defines the system and it is all there. The low end is present but not overwhelming and the system can be listened to for hours without being fatiguing. I have it tweeked with my room. My concentration has been on buying music. . Thats it for now. Stephen
Golden Reference Speaker cable, Interconnects: Golden Reference amp to pre am, Golden Reference CD to Pre Amp, 300B Microtwin DVD to Pre Amp, Power Cords: All Golden Reference except Twinlink on DVD Player
Running Springs Audio Haley & Duke Power Conditioners
Power Conditioners Haley for pre-amp, cd player, and dvd player Duke for amps
I hear you about the convenience of a music server but it does not appeal to me as i like having a disk vs a file and can't get to the point where i don't have something that i can hold. In addition, the sound as you mentioned is better on a disk.
I like your comment above about the personal diary. Also with you on the experience of buying equipment without hearing it before hand. My system though has settled in and I am not changing things much any more as I like what I hear. As for the music servers, for me it's not about the sound as much as it is about the convenience. A year ago I looked into it and ended up with a Mac Mini string my cds. After some tweaking I got the sound to be very good but not quite as good as my cdp. But the convenience, wow, so much easier to browse through the music and listen to whatever I want. I still have the cds on the shelf and when in the mood for critical listening go for the cd. Also, I have yet to download music as, like you, I'd rather own it in hand. If you use an ipod, making the next step is fairly simple once you get started.
I will up update this with a few new pictures when i have the digital source in place. I am wondering if anyone out there has used the Rowland Corus Pre-Amp and if so how did you fined it in comparison to the Capri which I use.
I am probably writing this for myself as I get the feeling that these system profiles kind of serve as a diary for the individual with the system. I reread many of my posts related to all the system changes and I can't believe all the components I have gone through. Speakers, amps, tubes, CD players, and cables to name a few. I was thinking about it tonight and I think part of it was I could not hear most of the equipment in my system before it was purchased. Most of it was shipped to me and that was when i heard it. But I keep coming back to audio. It has been one of my interests from being a kid all through my adult life. I just have to remind myself that it is the music that is at the heart of it.
These days many people are going to music servers and i am still stuck in the cd world. I guess i still like owning the physical disk and would rather have that than a file. At this point, i am happy with my Woodmeres, Pass Amps, and my pre-amp. I have been playing around with the cd players as i mentioned.
System edited: Going through a few changes. I got a new listening chair that made a big difference as I am about six inches higher and better aligned with the tweeters. I also experimented with speaker toe in and doubled my toe in. The toe in is not that drastic but it does make a difference in the sound. I will post the last change in a few weeks. I have been auditioning a variety of CD players.
I might actually be done. I find that this is the system sound I have been looking for. It can be played from very low volume levels to very high volume and gives me what I am looking for. The mid range defines the system and it is all there. The low end is present but not overwhelming and the system can be listened to for hours without being fatiguing. I have it tweeked with my room. My concentration has been on buying music. . Thats it for now. Stephen
Thanks for the response. Hope you are doing well. I really like the Woodmeres very much. They are very easy to listen to for extended sessions, very non fatiguing, smooth, and musical as you said. Take care. Stephen
Stephen, Cardas cables are an excellent match with the Woodmeres.I tryed Audience AU24 cables but found them a bit thin sounding compared to the more fleshed out presentation of the Cardas cables. They just seem make the music more realistic,imo. I'm glad to see that your are happy with the Woodmeres. They are so,so musical!,especially mated with Cardas cables. Enjoy!
As I stated in the system description, I changed the interconnect between the Ayon Cd player and the Rowland Capri Pre-Amp. I went from Cardas Golden Cross to Cardas Golden Reference. The Tyler Acoustics Woodmeres are a bit warmer than the Decades and the Golden Reference is a better match for them. I like both the Golden Cross and Golden Reference interconnects and have used both in many of my systems depending on the components.
Lol, i'm having trouble keeping track of the changes myself! My system will continue to evolve over the next 18-20 months.
My listening room is about 4.5 meters x 7.5, allowing for the dining table/chairs at the other end. It's a somewhat challenging listening room. I have my kitchen dining at one end & an open atrium with timber venetians at the other, with a staircase rising over my audio rack. The Coltrane Altos however are perfect for my room, both in size and nature. The Altos are large 3 way standmounts made from a carbon/kevlar monocoque and use ceramic Accuton drivers. Marten design their speakers to be easy to room friendly & can be placed close to rear walls.
I cant keep up with all of your changes but it sounds like you have a great system. The Modwright KWA-150 has gotten many good write ups. How big a room do you have? Take care Stephen
Hi Stephen, It's been a while since i've caught up with your system & I was (pleasantly) surprised to see you've moved up to Pass xa-60.5 monos. I think they're great amps matched with the right speakers, and intuitively I think you've made a good choice. I also agree there are significant sonic benefits to having separate channels (and therefore separate power supplies) for each channel. I've taken the same approach with my Modwright KWA-150 which is a true balanced dual mono design. The MW was a no brainer in my system as it is a perfect match both sonically & power-wise with my Martens and fit's into my limited rack space. Dan also recently released an 'SE' upgrade which i'll be getting done later this year.
I've also been busy with some recent upgrades and am currently upgrading my speaker cables & ic's to Jorma Origo. My Martens are internally wired with Jorma No1, so by running all-Jorma cable from source to driver results in notable improvements in musicality and coherence. It's all trucking along really well! Regards, David.
I did post the review on the amp section and added a few more words to it. Yes, I am very much into Native American Indian artifacts. I have more stuff in my house. Anyway, I listen to a full range of music but am a rocker from way back. I listen to current bands like Arcade Fire, Blitzen Trapper, and Spoon and Porcupine Tree but also like Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Colin Hay. Big fan of Lucinda Williams, Indigo girls, Wilco, Dave Matthews. In addition, I like baroque music, lute, harpsichord, etc. Stephen
Stephen. Looking at "The Room", I noted that we have/own the same Indian blanket, fortunately, it's not currently hanging in our audio room like yours. Instead there's one with a different pattern in a similair location. I found that by hanging Native American Indian artifacts in the audio room increases natural aural awareness and therefore adds to the audio experience, didn't you? This of course along with our Shumann frequency generator set at 7.83 Hz...
I agree with Timrhu, post in the amp section. It's certainly interesting to me owning the X350.5.
Excellent review and much appreciated. Darn it I'm thinming of downsizing amps and now you got me thinking about mono's.
What have you been playing Stephen? What is your musical passion?
The D1's are making music, serious music. I just spun John Klemmer Touch. Never sounded better. This followed Frank Sanatra "The Concert Sanatra". Pretty special evening and I just learned that Bin Laden has been killed. A special evening indeed.
Thank you for the feedback as it is always appreciated. Our minds must be working together as I just added a few more words to it and submitted it to the Amp Section of reviews so take a look. I slightly expanded in one of the paragraphs. Anyway, I am really enjoying the music and the amp is not even broken in. Have a good week. Stephen
That's an excellent review. You really should post it in the Audiogon review category for maximum exposure. I think there would be a lot of interest in this.
Background: I had been running the Pass XA30.5 Stereo Amplifier for about the last year with this System: Tyler Acoustics Decade D1 Loudspeakers, Ayon CD-2S CD Player, Jeff Rowland Capri Pre-Amp. The Tyler Acoustics D1 Loudspeakers are 8 ohm and are fairly efficient and the Pass XA30.5 did a wonderful job driving them. The sound of the XA30.5 is something special for a solid state amp. I would define it as very smooth from the highs to the bass and the mid-range is what distinguished it in my mind. The voices seem to be right there in front of me with so much realism and feel that it seemed the musicians were there in my listening room (also my living room). Well, I made a change from the Tyler Acoustics Decade D1's to the Tyler Acoustics Woodmeres. The Woodmeres are four ohm loudspeakers and they each have two seas 10 inch bass drivers. They may have similar sensitivities to the Decades but they are a larger load to push. I found that the Pass XA30.5 gave me that same midrange with the Woodmeres but was lacking some punch, especially on passages that were dynamic. Then comes the big debate! How does the Pass XA30.5 Stereo Amp compare to the Pass XA60.5 Monoblocks? I made a post on Audiogon and got a wide range of responses. Some people told me that they felt that the difference of 3 db would not make that much of a difference in my system. Many people seemed to feel that putting the money into the monoblocks was not the way to go. Some other people talked about that I was underpowered for the speakers I had. Someone suggested that I think about more efficient speakers. Anyway, I got a variety of responses.
The Real World: The real world answer that that you don't know how anything is going to sound until you hear it. We can speculate all we want about how we think a particular component is going to effect our systems but until you hear it, you really don't know. I have said it many times but the biggest issues in most systems are the rooms the systems are in and the secondary issue is the synergy or lack of between the various components. I have been down the path myself many times worrying about how a cable change would effect the system. Well, the cable changes don't effect the system anywhere near the level that the loudspeakers, the amplification, the pre-am, and the source. And my room makes a big difference in what type of sound I can achieve. Well, I am getting off the track which is why I don't typically write reviews but lets talk about how the Pass XA60.5 Monoblocks effected my system. In two words, MAJOR CHANGE. The Woodmeres are being driven in a totally different way. The sound is effected whether I am playing the system at low, mid, or high volumes. My sound with the Pass XA60.5 Monos has all of the great qualities that the 30.5 stereo amp offers and much more in addition. Here is what I get. I get a much fuller, richer sound (much more weight to the sound). I get an even greater realism to the performances of the artists. The dynamics to the sound is dramatically different . The pacing seems different and the system is delivering a much bigger sound. Bigger is not just louder but more importantly, is that sense of involvement and engagement with the music whether it is the highs, the midrange, or the fantastic bass response. In my system in my room, the monoblocks just electrify me so much more than the stereo amp. The bass response is much tighter as the drivers are being controlled in a much different way. Having separate power supplies to each speaker makes a big difference in my system. I spent a tremendous number of hours listening this weekend and keep coming back to how wonderful the music sounds. By the way, having a terrific dealer like Mark at Reno HiFi makes a big difference as I was able to try the Pass XA60.5 Monoblocks and compare them to my Pass XA30.5 Stereo Amp and either buy the monoblocks or send them back to Mark and keep my stereo amp. Mark, unlike many dealers I have worked with in the past, is willing to have as many conversations about the products all through the various steps of a purchase and is someone who is honest and very easy to work with. You never feel guilty calling and having as many conversations as you want about a product. Thats just the way it is with Mark.
Conclusion: Sorry, if I rambled to much but speculating how a particular component is going to sound in anyones system is very hard to do and it is best to try try to hear a product before you make a judgement to purchase it. Audiogon thoughts and opinions are wonderful and we are lucky to have such a great forum to express our thoughts but in the end, your ears will determine how something works or does not work in your system. It is a trial and error and certain components work better with other components than others and all components are most effected by the room in the end and that is our biggest challenge, to get the most out of the room. By the way, I am certainly no expert , just another person who enjoys music and keeps listening. These are just my thoughts and I respect other opinions as long as we treat each other with respect and allow disagreement in a constructive way. Stephen
The title of your system page is perfectly apt. Those are some beautiful new amps. and the additional pics are great. Seeing your room I would like to make a suggestion. Get a low-back chair for your listening position and check the difference. I had a similar chair, although it was leather, and when I got a low-back chair the difference was very noticeable. It was an improvement. You could use any chair as a temporary experiment to see if it works for you.
Took delivery of the D1's yesterday. According to Ty, he put ~100hrs on them. I've put ~8 hours.
Slight damage on 1 speaker where the finish was rubbed smooth. Bummer.
These speakers are so transparent I'm blown away. Familiar music isn't so familiar anymore. I can hear so deep into the recording. I wonder if part of this is the Jantzen Z-Superior caps? More breakin to come!
