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.
Well Charles, I just thought I'd say hello, it's been a long time since we last spoke together. I'm glad to hear all is well in your system, and it's treating you right.
Same here, just a lot of enjoyment in hearing diverse types and styles of music. It doesn't matter what it is, the old system seems to do it justice.
I wish us both, long continued enjoyment in this aspect of our lives.
It's very nice to hear from you. Since the Audiogon site changes years back, traffic here (System page) is a tiny fraction of what it once was. To the point where I hardly check - in anymore. Yes, I've had no reason to change my system at all. Still very much happy with what I have and listening to jazz😃.
Hi Mark,
I was just referring to "What's best forum" , their audio forums look under amplifiers and you'll find many interesting threads.
Charles indeed the camaraderie is really missed and glad to see your system is still the same. It means you love it just as much now which is a rare thing these days.
Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate that. I did receive an email notification regarding a comment on my system page. I truly miss the way it used to be on this forum. My system page was an open hang out site and generated a lot of responders and many fun and very interesting topics. You're right the changes made on Audiogon just killed that activity. I don't even look at this page anymore the last several years. I definitely miss the comarderie that was once here.
Hi Charles, I thought you might be happy to hear that Audiogon finally fixed (or at least partially fixed) the Systems notification system. If you've got the options enabled, you will get an e-mail notification whenever someone comments on your system and whenever you @ someone in your system page comments.
I'm also hopeful they'll make it so you get an email notification if someone comments on a system to which you are subscribed.
So many great and educational conversations happened on your system page. It was a shame when the forum update killed that functionality. Fingers crossed that it comes back.
Hope you're well and focused on enjoying music on your great system. Thanks for sharing your experiences over the years. As I've mentioned before, you've got the most reliable set of ears I've run into out here. I can always trust that I'll hear what you report...
Hey Charles. Hope you are well. We moved (neighborhood was not kid safe) and my magic "Energy Room" went bye bye but on a positive note, I did finally snag a pair of Trenner & Friedl RAs along with a Traumatic 300B integrated that is fabulous for an office system I must say: https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7635
Hello Charles. I wonder if there is any capacitor upgrade path to explore with Coincident Line Stage ( ..like you performed in Frankensteins). Any mods for line stage?
I see that you, like I, still have a Yamamoto YDA-01 DAC... Like you I've also been looking at possible new DAC's (Denafrips Terminator?) but so far after listening to a few more modern DACs than the Yamamoto (including Lessloss Echo), they have not convinced me at all. Do you have a more comprehensive understanding comparing the Yamamoto to others?
I also see that you've tweaked the Yamamoto with Duelund caps. How much of a change has that made? You'd obviously recommend? Did you try other caps?
I also made a tweak which I think made the Yamamoto sound quite a bit for the better: As you know the actual PCBs lay on a "floating" sub panel. Well that panel vibrates quite a lot - so I added 4mm bitumen to the casing bottom panel and tightened it back up so the bitumen just and just supports the PCB panel, thus giving it vibration damping. It's been some time since I did that, but I remember thinking it upgraded the sound quit a bit. You can also 'adjust' the amount of damping by tightening/loosening the bottom panel to your liking. Mine is not completely tightened. You may want to try if you already haven't done this. =)
Also IKEA bamboo cutting boards (the thicker ones) do wonders under the DAC (and also other equipment. ;)
Wow, SA, apparently I have been. I'm very curious what I've been doing to the amp/sound with that mistake. I bought my amp used and think it came with a 6SN7. Unfortunately the system is in storage for a year, so it'll take some time to find out how different the amps sound once I rectify the situation. So glad I posted and got corrected. Thanks.
I realize that your system's front end is digital, but I can't think of a better person to ask a question about the Coincident Preamp. You already provided me with good answers about the Statement, but do you have any experience or first hand knowledge about the Phono Preamp? After all this time, I just realized that the Phono has a second line input, and does not require a line stage. That's all I need.
Any input would be appreciated, including how the Phono might perform against the Statement for non-vinyl sources?
Chris, are you saying you tried a 6SN7 in place of the 6EM7? They are NOT comparable tubes. The 6EM7 is what is sometimes called a dissimilar tube; it has two triode sections but they are different from each other. One of the 6EM7 sections is a high-gain low-current tube very similar to a 6SL7. The other section is a low-gain high-current tube more similar to a 2A3 or 45 output tube. A 6SN7 has two identical triode sections that are medium-gain medium-current. Very different tubes and not interchangeable.
Charles, sorry for interrupting your system comments.
Hi Charles, I think I've read that you haven't noticed any significant changes from rolling the 6sn7/6em7s in your Franks... I had a pair go pretty far out of balance and ended up buying some RCA vt-231 (grey glass military). They were significantly better than any of the other options (some other old military tubes and some standard rca & GE), something that was immediately apparent to even a visiting friend from out of town.
Charles just wondering if you've auditioned any Audio Note dacs against your Yammie? I had an oops moment on a lark put in what I thought was a way too low bid on an Audio Note Dac3 Signature and won! So its on the way, going to make some comparisons myself obviously but since I trust your ears wondering if you have any AN dac experience? Thanks, Jon
The XLS tubes will only provide the additional wattage in amplifiers specifically designed to utilize the increased power. The Frankenstein is not designed to extract this additional power. It is strictly an 8 watt SET amplifier. I chose to use this tube due to its very rugged built quality and it sounds wonderful in the Frankenstein. Are you happy with the amplifier thus far?
Just missed getting a Frankenstein locally here. Of note, it was the XLS model that gets 18w or so out of the amp. Just curious, does the increased power being pushed out of the amp compromise the tonality or tube life? Seems like something has to give.
Man, I've often wondered what had happened to you, it's as if you totally vanished one day 😁😁. I hope you are doing well. Last time we talked I was using the Shuguang Black Treasure tubes and enjoying themselves. I still consider them very good 300b tubes. Better yet IMO are Takatsuki (very expensive Japanese tube) and the EML XLS (experience (European tube). Both are superb in the Frankenstein amplifier. In the past couple of years I've settled on the EML XLS. It is exceptionally rugged, reliable and really mates well with the Frankenstein. The Takatsuki is a superb choice by any standard and certainly some would prefer it to the EML.
Bottom line is that you can't possibly go wrong with either, the EML XLS is less expensive and for me pushes all the right buttons in my system. I also tried the German Elrog 300b, again expensive with superb sound quality but proved to be unreliable with the Frankenstein circuit 😣. The EML is a workhorse type of tube that possess wonderful sound. Field reports say that it has a life expectancy of 40,000 hours due to the heavy duty construction.
Tony, the Coincident Statement Line Stage is honestly fantastic and obviously a natural match with the Frankenstein. I have not heard the EAR preamplifier but it has earned much praise over the years. I don’t like to say that "this blows that away " just too many factors and personal preferences to talk in that manner. The CSL is utterly pure and natural sounding and exceptionally open, dynamic and transparent (just like the Frankenstein). Tony it's so good to hear from you.
I just saw your post today! Sorry about that. With the changes to the audiogon virtual systems section I find it more difficult to know when I receive new comments/postings. Based on Equi- Tech's reputation I'd feel very comfortable with them for sure. Balanced AC power is terrific IMO foraudio systems.
Been a loooong time. Moved a couple times, getting settled again finally.
Wanted to ask- how do you like the Coincident Linestage pre? I still have the EAR 868....Israel told me there is "no comparison." Which is what I expected him to say...both are solid preamps.
Also, I see you went with new power tubes on the Franks. May I ask why, and what have you experienced with the switch?
I have a question, not related to your system, a balanced power question.
I haven't been able to pick up another BPT 3.5 and would like to run my Mcintosh MC60s off balanced power. I have located an EQUI=TECH ET2R, puts out 20 amps. Do you think this would be more than ample for the amps?
Thanks in advance.
BTW very nice system. When I can find the funds I plan to go the SET route.
