My objective is to duplicate the sound of a good jazz venue as best I can. I'll never match it but getting close is fine. I've had various audio components through the years and tubes particularly DHT tubes/ASSET have gotten me the closest. So this is where I will settle down and appreciate.
Balanced AC power is fantastic !! 1800va balanced isolation transformer/conditioner. All aspects of music reproduction are improved for every single component.
Tripoint Tripoint Troy.
A wonderful grounding box component. When added to my system it increased the sense of natural sound quality and emotional engagement. The Troy has a humanistic and “soulful “ quality to it.
Coincident Speaker Tech Total eclipse 2
This wonderful speaker is transparent,open and involving. It`s large yet completely disappears as the source of sound within the room. Very easy to drive,94db and 14 0hm impedance (Minimum 10 ohm). I replaced the stock Solens capacitor with the Duelund CAST in the crossover.
Coincident Statement linestage
Superb performance. In my opinion , a masterpiece by Israel Blume. As would be expected, a wonderful match with its sibling the Frankenstein MK II.
Coincident Speaker Tech Frankenstein mark 2
A terrific 300b SET amplifier that is the foundation of my system. The EML XLS 300b tubes are a superb match with this amplifier.
Acquiring these 300b SET mono blocks changed the course of my music listening experience. They elevated the emotional engagement, tactility and “breath of life “ realism.
Yamamoto YDA-01
Wonderful music lover's DAC that has a very natural/organic sound quality. Duelund CAST addition(output coupling capacitors) makes it sound even better. It has a very minimalist circuit/design that was implemented well.
Ocellia Silver Reference IC
Very natural and pure sounding with excellent tone and timbre preservation.
Ocellia Silver Reference Speaker Cable
Same qualities/ comments as the IC.
Star Sound Technologies Sistrum Apprentice component platforms..
These Star Sound platforms are mandatory in my system. Effectively managing resonance and vibration leads to a very noticeable sound improvement with every component and especially the speakers. Excellent product.
High Fidelity CT1 Ultimate Digital cable
A highly impressive digital cable that mates beautifully into my system. Contributes to the natural sound presentation.
Pro-Ject Audio Systems CD Box RS2T
This is a superb Redbook CD playback transport. It’s both high resolution and impressively natural.
. I’m using the excellent Fidelizer Nikola II LPS. Splendid pairing.
Lavricables Grand and Master series Power Cables.
Pure silver wire and unshielded power cables. These are used with all of my audio components. They are very open, transparent, high resolution with beautiful natural tone and timbre presentation.
Abbas Esoteric Audio 3.2SE
Built by renown Ukrainian Abbas Zulfugarov. NOS DAC utilizing the classic Phillips TDA 1541 multi bit chip. Two 6080 tubes in the analog stage. 5 various rectifier tubes in the power supplies.
3 separate toroidal transformers (And 2 chokes ) for the power supplies.A very serious and successful upper tier DAC implementation. Using with the Abbas SPDIF and power cable.
Thank you for the comparison. It is very timely and interesting for me, as I ordered a pair of Frankensteins and should be getting them in 3 weeks. I am really looking forward to hearing how they compare to my Joule Electra OTL amp, which is also based on the 6c33c tube. I will let you know what I think.
Interesting Jwm used the Lamm ML1.1 in his system in place of his Absolare Passion amplifier driving his Rockports (4 ohm load). He had similar findings despite our systems being of very different make up.Audio is fun.
Jeff (Jwm) has a friend's Lamm ML1.1 mono blocks to listen to with his Rockport Altairs this week. He was curious to hear them with my Coincident speakers and I said sure, why not? They are in very good condition and very quiet as well. We listened to the Frankensteins, Lamms and Franks again. My speakers are an easy load to drive and the Lamm's 8 ohm tap was used (speaker is a 14 ohm load). The ML1.1 is a 90 watt class AB 6c33c twin tubes in push pull configuration(PP). The sound presentation has power and authority and the music reproduction was good.
Returning to the Frankenstein we both noted a more open sound that was also clearer and transparent. Relatively speaking the Lamm is darker and has more of a mechanical character.The most apparent difference is the Franks are more organic,emotionally involving and reveal more nuance and harmonic color tone. The Lamm has good bass heft, the Franks bass more articulate and agile(seperation of notes are cleaner yet with full tone/timbre intact), The overall presentation is more lively,palpable and engaging. On an easy to drive speaker the Lamm's obvious power advantage wasn't a factor. with more difficult loads it would of course matter significantly. The Lamm will allow flexibility with speaker choice as well.The music's flow and pace seemed a bit slower with the Lamm. The smaller SET was more fluid and just seems to get out of the way.
This listening session tonight drove home the point that efficient easy load speakers permit low power SET amps to sing and reproduce a beautiful natural sound.It just pulls you right into the music. There's much to be said for these pure and very simple circuits. I'd like to hear the Lamm SET version. I'm curious as to how different it'd be compared to it's sibling (my guess is it'd be superior). I posted a picture above of the Lamm,Frankenstein and my retired Bella Extreme 6550 PP amp(this is a very fine amplifier in the PP niche). Horses for courses. Charles,
Charles, I found that running the dedicated circuits easily made as much, and possibly more difference, as adding the CV387s and WE 101D replicas. The existing AC in the music room was pretty bad. Everything was very grainy, and I could actually hear a pop in the speakers when I turned the lights on and off in the room. Everything is smooth as silk now. I plan on adding the Environmental Potentials whole house surge protector and waveform corrector, as well as the EP ground enhancers for the two music room circuits.
I'm a ways off from the coupling caps. I noticed that VH audio has some new copper coil VCaps. I might be inclined to give those a try, given the recent hype about those caps and my previous very positive experience with VH audio.
Bill, Here are some impressions from one Coincident owner to another. Three additions that have yielded terrific sonic results (they're all well burned in by now). 1) Pavane W.E. Replica 101d tubes in the CSL. 2) Mullard 378 NOS rectifier in the Frankensteins. 3) Jupiter copper foil capacitors (input coupling caps) in the Frankensteins.
The combined effect of these modest changes (and very reasonable cost) is very impactful. It really advances what was excellent in stock configuration and moves up a definite step. I consider these 3 parts essential to get the absolute best from these components. No question in my opinion, this is money very well spent. Bill the particular qualities you and I value highly, tone,timbre,harmonics,musical flow, visceral presence and "naturalness" are all improved.
Hi Bill, Good to know you're settling into your new home so well. Given the combination of a good room and excellent audio system your result is no surprise, I agree with you regarding the importance of good quality AC power. You've established a rock solid foundation by addressing the fundamentals. You'll enjoy superb sound for many years. Charles,
Charles, I'm in the process of setting up the main system in Tennessee. I had dedicated circuits run a couple of weeks ago. Best move I ever made! Oh my, what a difference!
I'm using a long wall configuration. I'm sensing no room related problems for the first time, and the clean AC is just wonderful. I don't have the speaker positioning dialed in yet, and my rack is still in indy. Even so, this is the best I've heard from the system. Can't wait until all my stuff is here and I get finished with the AC. Wow, this is fun! Such lovely music!
Hello Mike, A friend installed the tweeter capacitors(1 per speaker) it was a fairly simple job. Be aware that the Coincident speaker vary in their crossovers among the different models. Some are easier toaccess and modify than others, mine are one of the simpler models. The Duelund CAST caps were worth their cost without question.
I would strongly recommend placing your speakers on the Star Sound Apprentice stand/plateform. These provide a significant improvement and are very reasonably priced.
Hi Roxy54, It's gratifying to know that you have no regrets with your move to a SET amplifier. As optimistic as I was for you, you just never know what another's experience/outcome will be. It helped your odds of sucess in that you chose a high quality 300b SET from the start. Charles,
Charles, Who did the mod on your speakers? I have coincident PE II's and would like to elevate their performance. My wife loves the looks, but I what to get rid of the grain and gain more resolution. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Regards Mike
Charles, Thanks for your help on the "Greatest Bargain in SET" thread for getting me on the road to what I hope will be a more musical and engaging listening experience. I appreciate your advice and patience. Audio Note Kit 1 should be here in a week or so!
Hi Bill, Wow! What you wrote is exactly how I view the benefits of this site. I absolutely accept and embrace the idea of reasoned debate and varying perspectives. I've learn that there are many approaches to achieving good music reproduction at home. I'm very "happy" with my results but know it isn't the path for everyone. Bill, I have enjoyed and appreciated your comments on this site over the years. They consistently demonstrate insight and wisdom. By the way, you have a wonderful system. Charles,
For what it's worth, I like Charles' mellow, reasonable approach to the forum. Am I wrong, or do A-gon (and to a degree other gear fora) seem to be more contentious on a personal, non-substantive level? There are some extremely knowledgeable people on this forum (and on others), but the non-substantive sniping is a distraction, and takes away from the value of the threads, and the forum at large. I come here to be informed, and to contribute when and where I can. I know that sniping attracts views, and is amusing to a degree, but it does get old. Reasoned, heated debate is fine. Charles seems to share the view that reasonable people can disagree, there is no 'one way' to all this stuff and that we are better served by leaving our egos at the door. At least that's a model to aspire to for Internet behavior. Best to all, Bill Hart
11-27-14: Isochronism You just made my Ignore List.
Have a great Thanksgiving, all. :)
Unfortunately, the truth cannot be ignored. Another tidbit regarding Buddhism: due to perceptions of it being escapist and selfish in nature (transcending the wheel of becoming), the concept of Bodhisattva was added later to combat this or add balance. The Bodhisattva "chooses" to return to help mankind. Maybe I am an audio Bodhisattva...:/
11-26-14: Isochronism Agera, Tibet has the highest mountain ranges in the world. Dali Lama is the head Monk of the Tibetan school of Buddism. You are the one who placed Charles on the mountaintop....... Do you get ironicism?
I am actually pointing out the error of his ways. It is a mission of mercy....
The real irony is the actual structure built around said Dali Lama in light of the buddhist tradition....if you meet him on the road, kill him or make him your man-god.
Agera, Tibet has the highest mountain ranges in the world. Dali Lama is the head Monk of the Tibetan school of Buddism. You are the one who placed Charles on the mountaintop....... Do you get ironicism?
