A few updated pictures of the new system, its night and I couldn't get good lighting to get a whole system shot, but its around the corner. Overall I am very pleased with this system its a huge downgrade from where I've been and its lower resolution allows me to forget about being an audiophile and enjoy music. While I have no complaints I have little doubt I will be playing with the big boys again in the not so distant future. I am planning on moving with in 2 years and at that time I will search for a better listening environment in my home and build a more SOTA system. At this time I just like the flexibility this system offers, it does everything good and has no real weakness, I feel all the components represent tremendous value, which is why they were chosen.
Hey Daniel- There are quite a few "younger" audiophiles here, though by no means the majority. It seems there is a lot of enthusiasm with most of the younger crowd, and a lot of the younger folks post fairly frequently and more importantly, like myself, read a lot of what's going on here to help us better make choices. As we all know mistakes can be very costly(at any age) and while I am doing well I don't have money to waste! And I am getting up there, recently celebrated the big 23- hell I am closer to 25 then I am to 20 now that is scary!
Your system is impressive for being one of the "kids" here as well!
And Brian if your reading this, I gave in and bought the new Emm labs transport- though I have not updated my system yet it is on its way. So while I made a great effort I still did not make it :( I am dissapointed with myself- so weak.
I read an old posting of your stating you where in your mid twenties......I thouhgt I was the only young audiophile here...guess I was wrong......Not too many people our age with systems of this caliber.....although still not up to Frank G's (I have heard Franks system and it is awsome). If you are curious, I am 27. Well, enjoy the DCC2..I love it..and will hopefully have the volume control thing fixed shortly.
Compared to the constant "BRRAAPP" of the air wrench in Tireguy's line of work, I'll bet this system sounds, well, better than the air wrench. Most people use live music as a comparison metric. As long as you use the the air wrench, Tireguy, you'll be content to come home to this rig.
Hey Bob, how's it going? The Emm labs gear has been here for a couple of months now and sounds fantastic! The waiting and suffering was well worth all of the trouble. Thanks for the suggestion though :o)
Still have the coincidence speakers? I am sure you still have purist cables ;^)
The Consonance CD-120 is a great cd player for the money and would make a great backup while you are waiting on the emm. Bought mine from Quest for Sound.
Just a few tweaks, I have a few more to do then I will update the tweaks. Components are staying for a while and I mean it! I am nearly to the half way point this year too, I am pleased with having not purchased a damn thing this year :o)
yeh, i can see how that would be tons of fun. my aerius i come stock with Solens, and i've been toying with the idea of modding the crossover, with mundorfs possibly, or jensen. a guy in my area, dennis murphy, is apparently one of THE crossover guys on AA, and offered his help. i'm thinking maybe once summer hits, of opening them up and playing around some. those are HUGE cap values... but the bypass would be pretty reasonable to try out...
anyway, it looks like you've got a great setup, and are really enjoying yourself. are you from upstate NY? i was born and raise part of my youth in schenectady...
I changed EVERYTHING. I am experimenting with various components but at as it stands I am using Solen caps for everything(I am planning on ordering some REL RT's for bypass caps on the mids and highs shortly). I am using goertz copper inductors on the highs and mids and some higher gauge then stock steel core inductors for the bass requirements- I don't recall which model I am using I think they are sledgehammers or somethink like that, I got them from madisound.com I have tried various coils including Solen Hepti-link coils and some steelcore coils, the goertz clearly are much better then anything else I have tried. I have not tried that many caps because the values that are required are quite unusual and it would be VERY expensive to use many other brands(when you need a 200uf, 100uf and 50uf cap in addition to many others its starts getting pricey). In addition to the REL caps I want to try the Mundorf's, the maggie comunity seem to like them an awful lot. I am also going to be experimenting with different wire(higher gauge) on the bass and possibly a biwire configuration to get more/better bass and clean up the mids/highs and further reduce distortion- in theory it works but we'll find out! Not only did this mods bring the performance of my system to a whole new level I never thought I would reach, its also a lot of fun!!
Menace, Dennis the- The crossovers are made using the original schematic. Wired point to point using various components and trying different layouts and configurations. But yes for the most part it is the original design with upgraded components- those who have tried altering the design don't recommend wasteing time trying.
Gallant_diva- I would never have expected a Parasound amp to impress me in the least- this amp is really much better then any parasound amp you have heard in the past. I have a friend who sold his Classe Omega for the JC-1's, more then a few people have sold there wolcott's for these. There are some dealers that will offer an in home audition if you are serious, Brian from Essential Audio might as might Duke from Audio Kinesis- try to get a hold of either of them and see if they can help you out. If you've been impressed with Parasound in the past be prepared to be blown away!
Thanks. No, the prices, lower or higher, do not fool me, no do magazines' ratings. It all depends on the synergy of one component with the rest of the system and ultimately my own ears.
Thanks for the info but I am not sure what you mean by not getting fooled by the name Parasound --- I have owned Parasound gear before and it is good value of money.
In fact my speakers are tri-amped now (not for more power but for driving the ribbons as purely as possible)
But I have another pair of speakers in another room that may need amps. Unfortunatley I cannot find a Parasound dealer in Dallas Forth-Worth area. I like to audition them first.
Gallant_diva- The parasound amps are fantastic, for the money they are unbelievable. I don't think they are fully broke in and I am still using RCA's so they should get a little better yet. If your looking for a high power amp at any price you owe it to yourself to audition these- don't let the price or the parasound name fool you, they are the real deal.
Way to go Tim, you keep up the good work and "Best of Sound to Ya"!!!! Hope your EMM front end arrives soon, curious to hear the "Review"!!!! Keep them tires rollin buddy !! .............Pat
Jimmyrod- The amps have about 4 weeks on them now, my dealer was kind enough to start the break in for me as soon as he got them- he knew I wanted them it was just a matter of time. For the first few days I thought I may have made a mistake, it was thin and unmusical- compared to how it sounds now. Every day when I come home it seems to get better and better, the soundstage keeps growing, freq. response keeps going lower, they are starting to get really fast and dynamic as well. I am still awaiting the Jena labs power cord(s) which made the bat lightning quick, so I am hoping for similar results here. This amp clearly has more power, the volume doesn't need to go up near as high as before to reach LOUD levels, it also seems the volume controls are more sensitive, which makes sense. The speakers are incapable of background noise now, its either all or nothing :)
Unclejeff- I find myself leaning towards listening to the Meitnerized philips most of the time through a placette passive pre(still awaiting the DAC)- SACD is so much smoother, extended and has dynamics galore- imaging is more accurate, soundstage is wider. Though the capitole is much more refined and musical- technically I think the philips is better, but for music enjoyment I think the capitole is better. I am not so sure swapping out components is as fun as some would like to believe, it starts getting expensive and then you question your sanity or lack there of.
I assure everyone I am nearly done! power cords, solar power, new interconnects and a few tweaks to the crossovers and component platforms(absorbation/isolation stuff) for the DAC and transport then I am moving this system to the done for now catagory. I mean it this time..........really!
It will be interesting to get your thoughts on the emm vs. the Audio Aero. That you are changing so much at once might, for lack of a better word, distort the comparison a bit.
wow. I am a bit envious that you can make such changes. It must be fun. My approach has been to do all of the research hereabouts that I can and then narrow it down to a few possibilities and then go give them a listen.
Tim, I am eager to hear what you think of new JC-1's with your modified maggies. I've heard this amp takes a while to break in. Give us some comparative examples agaist your BAT VK-500 you had. Maybe before you change to the EMMlabs front end.
I have yet to by pass the tweeter fuse on my 3.6R's, but I am planning on doing so when I have time.
