A recently revised system that replaced my resident Apogee Studio Grands with the Vienna Acoustics Mahlers. My room measures 22'H x 38'W x 18'D so it allows the Mahlers to breathe and do what they do best. Those who visit & listen are amazed at the live qualities they convey. The Mahlers are in a league of their own in terms of soundstage, spacial qualities and detail. I drive the Mahlers with the Parasound JC-1 monoblocks & it is driven by the Mark Levinson 380S Preamp. Digital sources are the still sweet & accurate sounding Sony X-777ES player & a Sony DVP-9000ES DVD player that does the HT & SACD duties. LF is easily handled by the mighty "built like a tank" JL Audio Fathom F113. I have a HT system built around the new Pioneer Elite SC-05. The CC speaker is the very fine Usher X-616 with very clean dialog as well as impressive sound effect capabilities. By the way, I love the Samsung 50" 760 Series Plasma & oh what a mesmerizing 1080P image it produces!
Vienna Acoustic Mahlers... these replaced my long standing resident Apogee Studio Grands. They seem to really impress those who get the opportunity to listen to them. Soundstage, depth, detail and spacial qualities have to be experienced to be understood. The fit & finish are unrivalled by the finest Italian furniture and the bass is wonderfully low & tight.
Parasound JC-1 Monoblocks
Awesome power & finesse & control plus detail to name just a few qualities of these balanced differential monoblocks.... they are quite sweet with the VA Mahlers at 800 wpc into 4 ohms.
Mark Levinson 380S Pre
My lovely sounding & sumptiously built Mark Levinson 380S Preamp. What a jewel she is!
Sony CDP-X777ES
Still one of my favorite high end CD players of all time! The playback smoothness is simply great to my ears. Plus the product is beautifully built at 42 lb.s
Sony DVP-9000ES
A beautiful picture as well as awesome SACD & CD sound quality.
Pioneer Elite SC-05
The Pioneer Elite SC-05 with the new B&O Ice amplification has done a great job for me in the HT arena. The clarity & dynamics are quite impressive for a receiver and the DTS-Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD decoding are first rate.
JL Audio Fathom F113
An incredibly built & powerfully taunt sounding super sub that outclasses all the competition & of course offers balanced XLR & RCA connections for 2-ch. as well all HT applications. This sub is the definition of LF realism.
Usher X-616
HT Center Channel that does a great job with dialog as well as sound effects of any kind. Build quality is first rate with a wonderful finish.
Tice Audio Tice Power Conditioner
Power Block IIIB Signature Series with optional 2800 watt high-power audio option & enhanced 1400 watt high power output video upgrade sections. Worth hunting down to vastly improve the ac quality of any high-end system.
Samsung TOC PN50a760 Plasma
My newest piece to showcase ny HT system... oh my what a picture this 1080P plasma produces! I could not ask for more.
Analysis Plus Oval 8 bi-wire
A very impressive speaker cable that holds it's own against those that cost many times more!
wow! This system really looks like it holds up against age. I have been perusing audiogon for a time but decided to finaly pull the plug and get an account to document building the best system.. You seems to really know what you're talking about!
Hmmm, Rossman. . . I do admit that there is a special magic between Vienna speakers and the JRDG 312 amp. . . I heard again the 312 in Denver last week, both on the Mahlers and on the new Vienna flagship, Die Muzick. The combination was fantastic in both cases, but on Die Muzick it was simply awe inspiring. . . I am starting to save for the upgrade to Die Muzick. Guido
Looks are a little deceiving as the Mahlers are 3 ft from the rear wall. The entertainment system does not effect the imaging as the Mahlers protrude 6" out in front. I never imagined a cone based loudspeaker could sound this impressive but the solid enclosure (150lb.s each) as well as the very narrow speaker width really does the trick. These will remain my reference for some time to come. I am content...! Now if I could just afford the Rowland 312!
It's a great and carefully set up system, congratulation. I love the sound of V.A also and Marlher is one of my consideration when I can sep up an seperate listening room. Rossman, do find any problems when placing the speakers so close to the cupboard like this? May it due to the conditions of the room? Even my smallish Haydn Grand must be placed 70cm off the rear wall to sound fine and ofcourse, there's no item between them.
Correct Ross. . . also my wife, who is usually hypercritical of the looks of any audio components, has commented very favorably on the Mahlers. . . These speakers appear to have a rather high WAF. Guido
Thanks Guido.... so far I have been quite impressed with the Mahlers on a few fronts. It's imaging & soundstage ability is truly amazing. Having owned many Apogee speakers in the past, I never thought a cone based speaker could be so detailed & dynamic but my eyes & ears have been opened! The fit & finish of the Mahlers rivals the finest furniture available. The slim but thickly built cabinet is the secret to it's superior imaging abilities with no coloration. I have read your review and you were quite accurate. The Mahlers will remain my reference loudspeakers for many years to come. One more big plus... the wife loves their handsome appearance.
Rossman, I am delighted to discover in you another lover of the amazing Mahler speakers. I have been waxing poetic about these phenomenal speakers for a couple of years, and even reviewed them on issue 188 of The Absolute Sound. I found they perform best when set up professionally according to the method called Masters or MasterSet taught by Sumiko to willing dealers. My units were setup by the twin efforts of Dave Ellington of Sumiko and Rod Tomson of Soundings Hifi in Denver. My Mahlers V1.5s are likely to remain proudly my reference speakers for several years. . . 'til I eventually succumb to the lure of the Vienna Muzick.
