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.
Charles, great to see you doing well and you keep listening to great music ! By the way , your Tripoint Troy MKII was the last MKII revise of its kind before the new Troy signature arrived. I am glad you got this unit, it is very special indeed.
Bill, The only negative I have with the Troy is its high cost. I was very fortunate to find a used one (an ultra rare occurrence) and it still wasn't inexpensive. It is a honest to goodness wonderful addition to my system beyond doubt. I hope you succeed in building your own version. Best of Luck, Charles,
Our amp was built this way 12 years ago as were our speakers. I use these today with many parts upgrades and refinements and more to follow. Enjoy the process Bill, keep the path short and direct. Tom. Star Sound Technologies
Charles the whole grounding thing is my current interest. I am reading a ton on it. Gosh I would love to hear the Tripoint stuff, but I will never own a unit based on the pricing. I am looking into building one. It's seems pretty straight forward, but I can see how the cost can add up quickly when buying large hunks of copper and other grounding box stuffers :).
What you and others have said about the impact is totally what I am into.
I will continue to ask and learn from others and read on the net. One day I will build a reasonable facsimile.
Good choice for your Romulus CD player Bill. The Apprentice are an obvious benefit for my transport and DAC. When my Apprentice for the Tripoint Troy arrives I'm going to let Jwm try it with his LampizatOr Big 5 DAC. Charles,
I would love to build a tube amp on a special made Sistrum stand that I would use as the bottom plate. The Sistrum stand/bottom plate would have channels running all over the place for tiny brass points and components to be mounted on. Large can power supply caps, transformers, tube stands etc....
I am ordering the Apprentice stand this week for my CD player.
Professor Peabody light up the time machine...if you go back that far.
Next time we get to a show I would love to have a cellist in the room play a comparison piece..direct coupled and not.
A special affect that can be heard is when the ground point is established with the instrument which takes a few minutes. When this happens the instrument suddenly blooms in size and the whole front face lights up. When you move the cello's ground point the instrument still sounds good but takes a couple of minutes to find itself again and take off in flight. I really believe this affect is what occurs when audio cables are disturbed or power cords or really any electro mechanical device is moved, energy flow is corrupted. It seems as if these instruments telegraph minor changes in hyper speed thru a telescope. Pretty darn cool. Tom. Star Sound Technologies
Tom, Thanks very much for your informative live music/musician observations.I can imagine how pleased this bassist must be with his improved sound.
Roxy54, I'm actually using the Apprentice beneath my speakers and the Sistrum SP-101 platforms beneath my SET mono blocks. Same principle at work and same wonderful results with both. Charles,
Charles, I remember way back in your system thread suggesting the SP 101 platforms to you for your speakers (which I know and love). At that time, you were concerned about the stability factor, and did not want to go that route. I recall being really happy to read some time later that you had changed your mind, because I knew what a profound improvement you were experiencing. It is really great to be able to find a few people on the forums whose opinions you can trust. I have taken that chance over the years, and have realized some great improvements as a result. I will never move away from Starsound to another brand for speaker or component supports.
My post on instruments was sparked by your frequent comments and suggestions on jazz music selections as I am a big fan.
We attended a show over the weekend and were listening to a local bass player who uses the Brass Endpin mounted on his upright bass. This extremely jazzy and accomplished musician expanded his sound by placing Star Sound Sistrum Platforms under both his stage amplifiers linked by our custom power cords and electronic pickup line cables. He states that he would never return to the days of performing without these innovations.
In high end audio, the coupling/decoupling campaigns rage on to this day. I remember taking quite a few black eyes in the early days of Audiogon forums as back then most members thought resonance transfer was nothing more than a myth or sales gimmickry.
As for Roxy's desert metaphor, it has taken well over fifteen years to make our way across the sands. Its a much slower trudge proving that classical instruments, buried deep in tradition 400 years well before the phonograph was first introduced, can benefit through direct coupling with the proper geometry, material science and technical application.
Our commitment to research and testing acoustic instruments has helped confirm the results from direct mechanical coupling provide many benefits for audio and musical reproduction. The trick, as in all applications of vibration management, is to get it right, and that feat is not as easy as it sounds.
Roxy54, I like your desert metaphor, it's appropriate regarding Star Sound. They don't make any outlandish claims. Based on certain principles of physics there are predictable outcomes that one should expect. Their platforms perform as promised and are "very" reasonably priced for what they deliver. Charles,
In the desert of audio gimmicks, Starsound is an oasis of truth based on real science. I was reading what Bol1972 was saying the other day in a thread about expensive power cords. He is very passionate about the way that certain high end cords have a profound positive effect on music systems. I feel the same way about Starsound products, and I would be curious to know if he has ever tried them. Incidentally, there is a review of the Apprentice rack on the Home Theatre Review site, and the reviewer finds the Apprentice to be superior to the top of the line Stillpoints.
Tom, When you think about it that result with acoustic instruments makes sense.The principles of mechanical grounding would predict such an outcome. Instruments and audio components should both benefit. Charles,
You guys should hear the benefits from mechanical grounding acoustic instruments in the first person. Most all instruments that touch the floor are actually decoupled from the flooring via non metallic materials and various non conductive footer systems, very similar to those on most electronic component chassis.
When you couple a cello, stand up bass or bass clarinet with materials that are conductive of resonance and transfer the amplitudes of Coulomb friction away from the instrument there lays the ability to unleash another 0.5 db to 1.5 db of gain (volume) from the instrument including a quite stunning and appreciable rise in dynamics and harmonic structures of which the musician will attest. These instruments also become easier to play and are more reactive in hand.
After all, the musician and the instrument is the live dynamic we are in constant pursuit of.
Always learning something new from sound and technology,
Andrew, I'm fully sold on the merits of mechanical grounding given what it has done when applied in my system.Avoiding efforts to "limit" and "damp" vibration makes sense.The concept of "let it vibrate naturally" and then effectively channel it to ground makes sense{that's what my ears are telling me}. Charles,
I spoke with Robert of Star Sound this evening and as usual he was friendly and informative. He has threaded brass discs that screw into the Tripoint Troy bottom plate in place of the original feet. This is welcome news and will allow the heavy Troy to remain stable on the Apprentice platform. He's quite confident and enthusiastic about this match ands says harmonic richness and tone becomes even better(that's right up my alley!).Based on my experience with his products I'm a believer for certain. I placed my order tonight. Charles,
Jazz lovers here are two very good recordings I really enjoyed last night. 1) Steve Nelson (Vibraphonist) "Sound-Effect". 2) Greg Osby (Alto saxophone) "The Invisible Hand". Both of these artists are playing with other top notch musicians and they perform beautifully. Charles,
For fellow fans of jazz trumpeters I happily recommend the under appreciated Johnny Coles. 1) "Little Johnny C". I have the XRCD 24 version. 2) "The Warm Sound". Regular CD version. Both are very enjoyable tonight. Beautiful music! Charles,
