Dear fellow audiophiles and other readers. Audiophile Heaven has successfully moved into its new home from the US. The speaker placement has now been optimized. In the end I moved them closer together and moved the listening sofa a bit forward which increased the soundstage definition and coherence.
Now the area to improve on are general acoustics of the room. To that effect I will place in due cource some furnitures (bookshelves, CD racks) against walls. Plants also help to naturally diffuse soundwaves. I will consider also some Shakti and Sound Resonator products later. I already changed the carpet from the one in the picture, to a larger one.
The installation of the GPA Monaco record player was professionally performed by my american dealer Barry Konigsberg of Transparent Music Systems, Macungie PA. I flew him over especially to ensure that I wouldn't foul things up. I have to say that the professional installation process is IMHO not something you can do right by yourself when you have NEVER done this before. Especially the unusual Dynavector arm is a high tech mechanical piece of art that has many adjustable pieces, and miniature screws, of which some are spring loaded etc. Needless to say that was a worthwhile investment in Barry's time. And I much appreciate him and his lovely wife taking the time out to come and visit us this January.
As those of you whole followed my threads since 2006 may have noticed I have taken a relatively short period to arrive at what I perceive to be one of the penultimate systems today. And at the pinnacle of that journey is the discovery of vinyl as the best experience to enjoy music reproduction. Don't get me wrong, there is much music out there on CDs that is great, most not available on vinyl, and some that is unbelievably well recorded. But none of that reaches the level of reality, palpability, and emotional connectivity as the very best vinyl does. The only caviat is that you have to be able to listen past some of the noise that comes with vinyl. And I'm such a fan of the dark inky black silence in some musical passages and great dynamic ranges! Especially on great classical recordings, but also some great female vocal recordings. Oh well, there's always a tradeoff somewhere. In any case music on this system just seems to float in my room, there is a sense of nearness to the performance. The giant speakers just "disappear" when your eyes are closed. The bass/mid/tweeter integration is seamless, the adjustability of the speaker to the room is absolutely fantastic. The base is extremely tuneful and not obtrusive, no booming. Micro detail is abundant, and as the system still keeps breaking in detail emerges that keeps your head shaking in disbelief. Micro detail that was otherwise heard before takes on a more clear defined dimension. In the next couple of months the system will be finally fully broken in and if what I am hearing now will still keep on improving... I have to come to the conclusion that I have made the best choice of components possible. And none of the choices were by contribution of ANY professional audiophile magazine/review(er), but by lengthy auditions and reading about other audiophile experiences.
Over the past two years I have amassed about 1500 CDs, now its vinyl's turn. I've started with about 300 LPs and slowly growing, some new and some handed down from the "family archives". There is so much vinyl to be discovered, and it doesn't even have to be very expensive. Of course there is the higher maintenance, but that comes with the hobby. Reminds me to get a record cleaner some time soon! Loricraft or Haenl? Later.
Long live the Audiophile hobby! May many (re)discover what it is to really sit down and listen to music as it was intended to sound like. For what would we be without that?
CD/SACD player upsamples to 5.6Mhz thru Meitner proprietary signal processing technology, and sports the worlds first and only discrete dual differential D/A conversion circuit. Using aerospace-grade composite laminate circuit boards provide superior performance enhancing musical reproduction. I never turn the player off, so the power supply is warm at all times. The player reaches its best after being on about 48 hours. It is much more analog sounding than when switching on/off every day.
Playback Designs MPS-5 CD/SACD Player
New CDP ... burning in 500 hrs (or 3 weeks non-stop) for optimum performance level. USB input, BNC 50 Ohm output (to Dartzeel pre-amp), easy SW upgrades, Esoteric transport, awesome DAC. Sleek modern design, nice metal blue backlit remote. Among the very top, if not the best, one box players around! I took off the standard feet and replaced them with GPA Apex feet with upgraded nitrate balls ... takes this CDP even higher!
Grand Prix Audio Apex Feet for CDP (x3)
I have 3 of these with upgraded nitrate ball bearings under the CDP for increased space and definition. Well worth it, highly recommended.
Grand Prix Audio Monaco Turntable Analog Source
Connected to the right system, with the Stealth Hyperphono cable and Dynavector's 507Mk2 arm & XV-1s cartridge this turntable will convert a diehard digital guy into analog. It did for me! This is easily the most simple component once setup. It consumes no power, doesn't need warming up, a true gem. I'm not surprised at all that HiFi+, the well respected audiphile magazine from the UK, declared the Monaco 2009 product of the year. Congrats Alvin!
Dynavector DV-507 Mk2 Arm
Among a handful of the best out there. A proven design that has been around for decades. A true audiophile piece with a bit of weight. Adjustability options are easy and in extremely small steps.
Dynavector DV DRT XV-1s Cartridge
Matching cartridge for the arm/tt. Many respected audiophiles and reviewers out there respect this cartridge to be among the best there is, with a superbly tracking needle combined with maximum detail and dynamics.
Stealth Audio Cables Hyperphono phono cable
Superb phono cable to transport that delicate signal to the phono stage in the Dartzeel NHB 18-ns. This phono cable ranks up there among the best today.
DartZeel NHB-18 NS Battery Powered Pre-Amp
Never heard before 18 no switches. This pre-amp is amazing. Michael Fremer, with regret, came to the conclusion that it smokes his recently purchased Musical Fidelity pre (see his review) and Manley Steelhead phono stage! Battery powered, extreme short signal path, revolutionary volume control that does not touch the signal path, fantastically quiet phono stage, Zeel 50 Ohm connections. An absolute marvel.
DartZeel NHB-108 Model One Poweramp
Never heard before 108 model one. This is the latest B-version with auto dc compensation. I have the dc compensation turned off and manually biased the outputs. I changed the voltage myself. It is extremely transparent, fast, natural sounding power-amp I heard. It's head and shoulders above my previous reference, the ML 33h. And to top it off its a true piece of eye candy!
Grand Prix Audio Monaco Isolation Amp Stand
For DartZeel NHB-108 model one power amp. Its a tri-pod and is waiting to be upgraded with the racing shelve and apex feet.
Evolution Acoustics MM3 Full Range Speakers
The next step in audio. At -6db 7Hz-77Khz, reported to have hit 3Hz at a high-end show! These speakers are awesomely beautiful and massive and still have the awesome capability to disappear entirely and leaving you just with the music. 4 powered subwoofers (1000 watts) treated paper in a closed cabinet design, adjustable for x-over, volume, bass style (tight vs full), octaves, and a rumble filter for vinyl lovers. I love the bass speed of this design, and the fact that it goes extremely low. The Aurum Cantus tweeter is also adjustable by -11db. The powered subwoofer takes the sonic character of the Dartzeel poweramp exactly because its not an active subwoofer. The midranges are the well known Accuton ceramic ones that many top designs use. These replaced my beautiful SF Stradivaries ... with no regrets. And what is unbelievable they've appreciated in value since I got them!
Acoustic Arts Powercord Silver (x2)
Silver powercord for the powered MM3 class D amps. Needed a sound but cheaper solution to go with the power strip.
Evolution Acoustics 1 Meter RCA Interconnect
Same as internal speaker wiring. This interconnect smoked my prior reference the balanced NO Valhalla. Massive, needs room, l+r connectors cannot be too close due to the big and oh so solid terminations. Comes in a flight case.
Evolution Acoustics 2 x 3 Meters Double Runs
Same as internal speaker wiring. Two dubble runs, one for the plus one for the minus. They easily creamed my Valhalla speaker cable in a direct a/b comparison before I changed from my previous system. They are resting on 8 ceramic cable elevators for improved space and clarity.
Jena Labs Model One Powercord (x2)
AC filter power cord, beat my prior $3000 Gutwire handsdown! Uncompromising. One is conncting my power-amp, the other the CDP.
Marantz ST-17 Tuner
Old tuner that I had lying around. You know the downside on radio frequency band etc. But when I listen to my favorite local classical music station I actually hear a lot of the originla recording, microdynamic detail that I didn't expect to hear through radio with cheap monster interconnects. Fantastic! Wonder how the Accuphase T1000 would sound with some real good interconnects...
Accustic Arts Silver Interconnect
From tuner to pre-amp. Cheap solution replacing my Oehlbach XXL interconnects.
Finite Elemente Pagode Master Ref Isolation Rack
5 shelve black and aluminium. I love the thought and technology that went into this rack design. The shelves are variable in height (except top and bottom) and they are resting on Cerabase feet. Will be replaced by GPA at some point in time.
Finite Elemente Cerabase Isolation Feet (x4)
A must with the Pagode MR rack.
Acoustic Arts Active 6 Powerstrip (x2)
As solid as they come, with net filter, digital and analog sections. Good value.
Acoustic System Resonators (x15)
1 platinum, 2 special gold, 2 gold, 7 silver, 2 basic, infinitely tunable, lot's of fun and UNBELIEVABLE positive impact. No other room treatment or component could do this, ever! One silver in the kitchen fridge! Read up reviews on 6moons.com
Acoustic System Sugar Cubes (2x17)
Tuning devices. 6moons review. I have two sets, also in my bedroom, we really do sleep deeper and better!
Acoustic System Phase Corrector (x1)
Phase correction behind the speakers when reflected sound inverts naturally, ingenious!
Acoustic System Diffusor (x4)
Diffuses resonating surfaces, three behind the speakers on the windows, one under the power-amp.
HannL Mera EL Record Cleaning Machine
Modern RCM that doesn't take forever to clean, has variable speed turning left and right, variable suction helps too. Using the HannL standard X2000 cleaning fluid for now. Dustcover from HannL to fit exactly, pretty good looking if I may say so! For all vinyl lovers, this is an absolute must have!
IKEA Hemnes Stand
Dedicated RCM (night!)stand with a handy storage space for cloths, fluids and other accessories, 15x15x30 (WxDxH) inches. The height is perfect, no bending forward needed as the record is cleaned at about 42 inches off the ground.
Ceramic Cable Elevators (x8)
Ceramic cable elevators, four each side under the double run Evolution Acoustics speakers wires. It helps to space the double runs the recommended 2 inches apart better.
Mike, it takes the room effects largely out of the listening equation besides adding subtle overtones, adding real three dimensional soundstage, lowering the noise floor, and managing other acoustical problems (ie base resonances). So, the right combination of resonators in the right spots actually has the effect of "no room" or at least a much bigger room. I thought Barry came to visit you to try it out? Didn't you hear any effects?
Here is the simplified way it was explained to me. A resonator placed on a reflective surface, ie a wall, takes the reflections and bundles them into a point source (the resonator). The reflection of a point on the wall is not noticable vs reflections on a full wall. Now depending on what metal you use and where you place them on that wall manages different aspects of sound and frequency range.
For me it really worked well beyond what I imagined. So well, that its the next item on my upgrade list.
Joey, its a pleasure to hear from you again! Are you still in Chicago? I apologize for moving even further away, as I remember I invited you over to Exton, PA where I used to live. If you're ever in Europe, the invitation still holds. How is the hobby coming along for you? I still don't see your system thread & pics, or is it private?
Yes, the Strads, funny you remember, I got an email yesterday from someone asking if they were still for sale!!! The Levinson gear is almost gone too. The step to MM3/Dart/GPA has been an absolute shot in the rose, couldn't be more happy. It's not a coincidence that there are quite a few of us with this combination out there... its simply absolute magic.
"Warm Tenor", Zoot Sims, Jimmy Rowles, George Mraz, Mousey Alexander a Norman Granz record for the Pablo label in 1979. If you love the lush sound of a tenor sax, there is almost none better than Zoot. Granz found him to be almost like Lester Young in Blues for Louise, when the recordings were less formally organized, a lot of improvised recording moments happened spontaneously without. Like Blues for Louise (side A song 3) in this case also a "warm up" jam session before the group was fully present. I loved all the tunes on this record, a great jazz recording, with some great names. Got to get some more Zoot recordings...
Nothing better than a little Sunday lunch jazz! Keep em spinning...
Gary, glad you like the pics! Some thought went into that :-)
I like the Blue Smoke entertainment system music server solution. I looked at the YouTube presentation and it seems that its a really good product. I like the fact that you could upload your vinyl collection at 24bit/192Khz resolution. Thanks for the headsup, did you hear it in your system or somewhere else?
Last week I was listening to a great LP. Natalie Cole (Nat King Cole's daughter) who issued a tribute double LP to her father called Unforgettable With Love (Elektra 1991). She has got such a nice soothing voice, and her singing her fathers greatest hits 20+ years after his death has some special magic to it. It also has a picture of her with her dad playing piano on the back and one of her performing at home when she was a little girl. It just exudes the 60s feeling... very enjoyable.
Hi Henry, Nice new pics / much better!!! The GPA stand & rack do make a major improvement, I was suprised by the improvement, more so than any other rack & stand I have ever used. I'm trying to get to the Monaco TT but have to move my TT first. May take some time. Spoke to Barry a few times, nice guy , just as crazy as me. Loves music which is good. You need to ck out the Blus Smoke system server, the best digital I've heard yet , very impressed.
One correction. I will order the GP in June. I think it takes a few weeks for it to be completely assembled and shipped. So some time after that I will have my important gear on it.
With regards to the room, I just meant more space to move around and breath in. I am severely limited as to what I can do because of my room size. But, I am trying to do the best I can. I should be getting the rack sometime after June. At that time I will have all my funds in place. Plus Barry is going to bring over some of those room treatments so we can see if would make a big difference in my setup. I am mainly a blues/rock guy but there is some jazz that I like. Luck for me, I really don't have a place for a TT. Then, really long term, I am probably going to look at getting the dart integrated.
Mike, big rooms also have big acoustical problems, mine is no exception :-) With regards to the red record on the GPA Monaco, I thought it was cool to do, as the Dartzeels have red in them as well as matching the reddish wood of the MM3. The record is As I Am from Alicia Keys, not an audiophile recording, but looks great huh? When are you getting your GPA racks? Let me know about the improvements you'll hear. I also want to move to all GPA racks, but you know, you can only spend a buck once...
You guys with big rooms make me sick :). That looks like a fantastic room to listen to music in. I like the red look of the GP. I am sure that it sounds great as well. I see that you are gathering all records to you. That should be fun as well. Again, great system.
System edited: Well, it was time for some updated pics with the new camera. Here they are, let me know if you like what you see. Next improvements in the pipeline are a record cleaner, room acoustics, and then digital. Loving every minute of the vinyl though. Yesterday evening we were melting away to the tunes of Holly Cole. Oh btw, if you are wondering about the red vinyl in the pictures, that's Alicia Keys latest... Enjoy!
Antone112, have a look at slim devices product (squeezebox or transporter). Best sound quality for the money. Transporter in particular is great. Little difference with top end CD player.
Hi Antone112, not sure why you are asking me. As you see I have no music server in my system (yet), nor am I experimenting with any at this time. But what I heard is that there is stuff out there capable of connecting streaming media to your system. I suggest you google on "Media Servers" or "Computer Audio" or alternatively go to the any audio eZine website and read up on reviews of the Olive Synphony or Sonos ZP or higher up in the audiophile world Linn and Naim have some neat new products. I heard and saw the Naim recently at a show and was very impressed, both with sound and the interface which could be run from a laptop.
I'd like to ask you a question about my system that I started to build. I have mostly Rotel stuff. other than my sonus faber speakers front mains. I wanted to run live streaming through my sound system through my laptop. Is there such an animal ?
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have talked to Herve as well and find him to be a very nice guy. I may be lucky because my room is really pretty small so I may be able to start off with a few for a while and just add on if I need to later. First the racks, then the treatments.
Hi Mikeduke, thanks for your nice comments. Barry and Jonathan indeed have the ears, experience and sincerity you can rely on that is sometimes difficult to find in this hobby. I am so glad to have bumped into them while I lived in the USA.
The Dart pre & power amps are amazing products indeed, as is Herve, their designer. On the resonators. They have an immediate positive sonic effect, however, it takes 2-3 days before they have fully settled in. I played with 2 basic, 1 silver and 1 special gold before for two weeks, but didn't hear the full potential until I tried the entire set of 11 properly (1 platinum, 2 special gold, 2 gold, 4 silver and 2 basic). Its not cheap but I rate it a better upgrade than any component I could buy. It basically allows your system perform without the negative impact of your room, and adds all the sonic benefits mentioned in the above couple posts.
That is a great looking system. I am dealing with Barry as well. He and Johnathan Tinn have rescued me from my self :). On their advice, I am getting rid of my wall unit and I am getting A grand prix rack for my most important gear. He has also suggested to me that I go for the Acoustic System resonators. I think what Barry recommend to start with is One basic, One Gold, and One sliver along with a phase corrector and a diffuser. I am interested to see what these can do in my system.
But your thoughts on them are very reassuring. I had Barry over my place so I could try out the dart amp. Man was that ever a mistake :). I think when Barry does my rack, he may bring some over so we can experiment. Was the change all of a sudden, or did it slowly change over time. Again, that looks like a well thought out system that I am sure sounds fantastic.
Totally agree with the above. I would add that, at least in my room it added an unreal three dimensionality to the soundstage with incredible imaging and detail ambient information. Boy, this was a rude wake-up call on the limitations of my room, if ever there was one.
I put in 11 resonators on saturday, was immediately impressed, sunday morning was an amazing wake up, and monday morning I was trying to scrape my jaw off the floor... the speakers and the room had disappeared!
Barry, how's that platinum resonator sounding? Btw, I was told you should put one or two in adjoining room(s) too.
Hey Chad / Henry, In my limited experience with the resonators, they do far far more than simply shape the sound. They transform the sound. They dramatically lower the noise floor, add micro and macro dynamics, add image density, bring out the tonal colors, add focus, detail and depth and many other positive things. They do all this without damping and muting (compressing) the sound. I'll know more after I finish the room this weekend.
The resonators are very good...I only have 4...1 silver, 1 bronze and 2 special gold. I started with two and 4 made a big difference...I imagine 6 to 9 would be about right.
The wood body coresponds to the metal...for some reason the company belives certian woods sound better with specific metal bowls...therefore the two should always remain together...can't recall which metal with which wood type...read the 6moons.com article if you get a chance...I think that is where I read it.
To everyone that asks I tell them that the resonators shape the sound rather than change it. If you room supresses sound it can draw it out...if you sound seams to be behind the speakers you can pull it forward...etc. etc. Sounds like you are having fun...Keep in touch.
Chad, good to hear from you! Hope all is very well with you. Yeah, the sound in Barry's basement is out of this world. Especially in the "sweet" spot. Never in a system have I heard more of just the music/recording as opposed to the room and system. And f course a bigger well treated room would take that to yet even higher levels...
About the resonators, I'm interested to hear what your sonic experiences are. Which ones do you use and where have you got them placed. I have seen some coloured ones, where the wooden body is white for example. Not sure if it was ordered like that. I had a set in for 2 weeks and it made a huge difference, increased soundstage, added clarity on microdetail, but depending on location they could also do strange things too. Having an expert over this weekend to help me with a full set. Let's see what happens!
Ran into Barry the other day and he said he and his wife had a great time while visiting you in January...I'm the guy that contacted you way back when about PAAG. Anyway, your system looks fantastic. I got a chance to hear Barry's system and the Dart/Evolution system is out of this world...I'm attempting to get the essence of that sound on a small scale/budget...here's to trying. I've been using the Resonators for a while now and they are quite amazing...like your system I have mine in my family room. The only drawback to the Resonators I've experienced is that they don't look great stuck in the middle of one's wall...I'm attempting to find ways to hide them from sight.
System edited: Added some Acoustic Arts powercords and strips. Lowered the noise floor and increased the black background from which the music emerges. Very good value for money products. Not sure what I'll do with the Jena's model ones now...
OK, obviously the last 6 weeks I have been busy doing all sorts of auditioning. I have had some interesting components to evaluate and also been burning in my record player. It is sounding soo good now that the gap to digital has widened significantly, making my Emmlabs CDP sound less and less satisfying to critically listen too. Here is a list of stuff I tried:
Acoustic Arts activ 6 powerstrips. Whow, with 3 meter extension cords build as solid as they get, heavy too. They made a good deal of difference vs a stock strip from the local DIY. And they should! They have digital and analog sections with each their separate filter. The noise floor dropped, revealing more detail and allowing the detail that I heard before to be better defined. I compared this to the PS Audio Premier and for the price difference the latter wasn't worth it. Needless to say I ordered 2 AA active powerstrips.
Wire world gold eclipse powercords and interconnects. Made a good impression, but not to make me spend several thousand. The Gold Eclipse PC retails in Europe for $3000, and second hand on the Gon they go for $600, go figure. So I ordered a set of AA Silver Powercords, just for the speaker subs.
Accoustic Arts Tube DAC II. I am in total awe for this DAC. Using my Emm as a transport (!) into this DAC with a Wireworld Digital XLR made for a wonderful analog experience. The best I have ever heard from digital and in my system. Drawback, it doesn't do SACD. It's tubed, and you can play with that. I'm wondering what I heard was coloring of the tubes or increase in realness. Not 100% figured that out. But this 32 bit DAC was sounding superb. Maybe I'll try it out again with their new Drive II transport after it comes out at the Munich Highend Show.
PS Audio Premier. It's a nice piece of gear. However with my active Jena PCs it didn't make all that much of an impact. It actually took some dynamics and fluidity away vs the AA powerstrip. And it doesn't help that it retails for $4200+ over here. So it went back. The store siad I was the first one to return a loaner. So be it.
Acoustic System resonators. UNBELIEVABLE. These little guys are making such a big difference, that I am starting to save up for a complete set. I have now in the system for the next couple weeks 1 silver, 1 special gold, and 2 copper resonators. Silver and gold between the speakers, copper on the side walls. The increase in openness, widening of the soundstage, more detail, clarity increase across the board. Base is more defined. Better than any upgrade of a component. I knew that my acoustical room characteristics were not a plus, but this test really showed it and, well I'm not going to need any ugly visible room treatment. I think. Recommended highly!
I was looking at the Harmonix feet too, as the stock EA's are pretty basic. But we'll do that some other time. I've learned that when you audition something do not try too many products out at the same time, as it will diminish the ability to identify the improvement and attribute it to the component added/changed.
Hope some of this has been useful reading. Enjoy the music!
