1978 vintage horn speaker with rebuilt drivers from Great Plains Audio and Werner Jagusch crossovers. Replaced Harbeth M-40.2 Anni's. Big sound, very dynamic and very enjoyable.
McIntosh MC-30
Purchased from Audio Classics in March 2024. Added GE 6L6GC's from VTS, Tungsol 12AX7's, RCA 12AU7 Cleartops, CBS 12BH7 black plates and Tungsol 5AW4 Rectifiers.
deHavilland Electric Ultraverve 3
Most enjoyable and complimentary preamp I've owned, by a large margin. Responds well to tube rolling. Currently loaded with NOS Tung Sol's in all positions. Exceptional value.
Weiss Engineering DAC 202
Replaced an outstanding Audio Aero Capitole Reference DAC/CDP/PRE. I can't say the Weiss is better than the Audio Aero, but it's more neutral. This DAC is a bargain on the used market.
Roon Labs Nucleus
Roon Nucleus server paired with IFi Zen Stream as a Roon end-point, connected via Black Cat Silverstar SPDIF cable to Weiss 202 DAC. Streaming Qobuz. Surprisingly nice step up in sound quality and enjoyability from my previous Aurender N10 at 1/4th the cost.
KCI Silkworm RCA Interconnect
Gold based RCA interconnect cable. Outperforms the Purist Venustas it replaced by a large margin.
Silent Running Audio VR-2 & 3 isolation platforms
I tired of messing with the various footers on the market. These are the real deal... excellent construction, visually appealing and effective.
Salamander Synergy Triple 20
Cherry Finish
GIK Room Treatments Tri Traps, 244 panels and Alpha 4 diffusion panels
This is the 2nd room I've treated with GIK products. Highly recommended, especially 244 panels.
Acoustic BBQ 12 gage Dueland speaker cables
I've had significantly more expensive speaker cables from Stealth and Auditorium, but prefer these. I also use ja pair of these in my secondary system. Great bang for the buck.
iFi Audio Zen Stream
Acting as a Roon endpoint centered between a Roon Nucleus server and my DAC.
Pdreher, thanks for the response. Yes, they look pretty good. Just a small note on the placement of the GIK panels(or the equivalent RealTraps panels). Usually corner placement will yield better results in terms of addressing low frequencies down to 50Hz(or lower) as the effectiveness of broadband absorbers is higher when there is a gap between the flat panel and wall boundaries. Additionally, bass frequencies will usually gather at the corners of the room where walls meet perpendicularly so corner placement of bass traps is usually more ideal. I am guessing that the GIK panels work in the same principal. Just a thought.
Pdreher, may I ask how the GIK Acoustics panels improve upon the bass of the 40.1s in the room? Are the areas of improvement solely in the bass department or it extends to the midrange and high frequencies? I am particularly interested if the GIK panels managed to overcome bass boom or bass overhang issues that may be masking the midrange articulation WITHOUT robbing too much life out of the music by absorbing some of the midrange and high frequencies. That is my greatest concern as the Harbeth is by nature a warm and smooth sounding speaker. I do not want them to sound even warmer and smoother by adding these bass traps. Are all your GIK panels the GIK 244?
I am asking this question because a friend of mine recently had his room done up with RealTraps panels and reported a massive improvement. He had a total of 18 pieces of Mondo/Mini/Bare traps in his room that looked more like a full-fledged recording studio than a domestic listening environment.
I am glad to hear that. My very brief experience with the Mac reveals the amp to be an overall more musical and resolving unit than the Plinius. At that time I was just using a modest preamp in the ARC LS16 and all tubes on the Mac were stock tubes. I can imagine the Mac to take on a whole new level with superior tubes coupled with the excellent Aesthetix preamp.
Are the GIK Acoustics 244 panels purely absorption or absorption/diffusion? You might want to try removing those panels from your side walls if you find the 40.1's to be not very exciting and see whether they are the culprit.
Let me relate an experience that I just went through recently. I have absorption panels on both side walls of the room for the past three years and they have worked great even before I got the Harbeth SHL-5. Most of my previous speakers sound awful without treatments on side walls since the width of the room is narrow at 11'. When I got the Harbeths they still sound great with the panels. It was when I took them out the sound came open and alive. The macrodynamics improved without any issues in brightness and listening fatigue. This has reinforced my belief that the Harbeths are very room-tolerant even when placed close to wall boundaries, bare walls that is. Harbeth speakers are designed to sound good in a live room, even with the large M40.1's.
Another factor to consider is the Plinius has a lush and warm sound.
Pdreher, good to know you have pulled the trigger on the "king" of the Harbeth line. I am also equally interested to know the outcome of the comparison between the Harbeth M40.1 and Dynaudio C4 you just recently sold. You would be getting a close to optimum sound as Harbeth speakers and Plinius amps match reasonably well. Harbeth speakers need further distance apart for better soundstaging hence your new M40.1's may need to be placed closer to the side walls compared to your previous setup with the Dynaudios. I hope you would not be disappointed with the M40.1's once they are set up properly. Your benchmark is high and pretty hard to beat but I wish the M40.1's would surpass your expectations.
Is there a substantial improvement going from the Plinius CD-LAD to the Aesthetix Calypso? What are the perceived improvements going from the C2 to C4? You must spending countless of hours on your new components now I guess. Hope the double upgrades are taking you into the right direction.
Great system you've got there. I particularly like the Dynaudio C2's. These are really classy statement speakers.
If you are still using the Plinius CD-LAD as a preamp, believe me, it's your weakest link. Plinius power amps are great but their their older preamps aren't. I have owned the Plinius M12 and heard the CD-LAD before upgrading to ARC LS-16. Day and night difference. Just thought you might want to know.
