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, glad you're "getting" the effects of grounding via Troy. In my system, Entreq Silver Tellus has been transformative, with several "did that really happen?" moments, and an amazing sense of ease, solidity and transparency enhanced in the presentation. And I couldn't be happier with the cost at c20% of Troy! My next step after recent completion of 5 grounding leads completed is the add-on Atlantis which will aims to take the grounding capacity of the standard Silver Tellus to a much higher level. We shall see when I test it.
After reading about your Yamamoto YDA-01 DAC, I went to their website, where I discovered they are offering this item in kit form.
I'm very interested in this, but could find no information re dealers, or where to order their products. Where did you get yours? If you would, please email me:
Sal, It seems that addressing grounding in an audio system at even a basic level is still worthwhile. It must be satisfying to know your ground box is providing positive results. Charles,
Charles, the reason I asked is that I put together a very simple common ground box this morning and I noticed the sound changing a bit from record to record. That didn't surprise me since some of the wiring is new and some hasn't been used for a couple years. But when I left everything powered up for 5 hours in between sessions I didn't notice any change. Hence my question.
The ground wires running from the box to each component are going to be pretty important sonically since they are basically in parallel with the ground lead on the interconnects between components. At least they will be if the components do not have ground buffer resistors. So I can understand how the cable breakin would be faster with music playing.
So far I have to say I am quite intrigued by what I am hearing with the common ground box. Of course, I am sure a Troy would take what I am hearing to a much higher level given all of the time and care that Miguel has spent on it. (Plus my primitive box doesn't even have any filtering inside.) Unfortunately, a Troy is pretty much out of my price range.
Brett, When you see the Troy in person the beautiful fit and finish just draws your attention, its appeareance matches the sound. Brett the room is 14x 25 and opens to the left side into a slightly larger room(there`s no wall or door to seperate the space). 8 watts is enough power to fill my room at the volume levels I listen to. Charles,
Bill, you may have contracted the infectious SET bug in it's early stage, and the 300B suggestion is one I agree with. Charles, I like your updated pictures. The new expanded pic of your room gives us a better idea of it's layout and configuration, and I see that Troy is top-center. What a beauty!
Hi Bill, I always thought if you heard a "good" SET amplifier you`d like what they can do.The 45 tube has a great reputation for sound quality,the drawback is its low power(1.5-2.5 watt) output. Pleasantly surprised it drives your Coincident as well as they do. The Korneff was considered one of the better quality 45 SET amps.I`m sure with your vast DIY experience you`ll squeeze more out of this amp.
With a higher powered(8-10 watts) 300b SET amp and your speakers you could play any genre of music. It`d be fun for you to have one of each type of SET.Bill, you`re having a lot of fun with this hobby,keep it up! Charles,
Charles, your SET ways caused me to try a SET amp, class A with no negative feedback. I am listening to a 45 tube amp and I am amazed 2.5 watts works so good with my speakers. The 45 has a very intimate and resolving sound. I am going to upgrade some parts and beef up the power supply a little as I like it! Great on the right music like vocals, some jazz and instrumentals.
It is a Korneff 45 clone made by Min at Tube Audio Lab. Fun little amp!
Charles, Now you have me thinking. I could park my Dialysis Machine in such a sweet spot. Hmmm.... ( I should not joke) I am happy that you are attaining your "Higher Ground" (Stevie Wonder:)
Brett, All I can offer is this,my Troy MK II is simply wonderful. Word of mouth says the current Troy Signature is even better(I`ve no reason to doubt this).People do just fine with one kidney by the way(food for thought). Charles,
Charles, The Audio Exotics thread I had referred to regarding the Troy was titled "Can one live without a Kidney" My Kidneys are in prime condition! Should I hold out for the new Signature model in trade??
Agear, Miguel says it may take up to 30 days for the sound of the Troy to fully settle. Fernando Cruze said 2-3 weeks for the new grounding cables to completely burn in. . So time will tell ultimately. From intial listening on 9/12 thru last night I can confirm considerable improvement. I`m a genuine supporter regarding the very high musical merit and worth of this product. All the praise and admiration it has received in the last 5 years is legitimate. Charles,
That's great Charles. I sometimes do that test when I am unsure, but in this case, it seems to be redundant. I assumed it would take a week or more to settle and bloom.
I am going to put my unit on an apprentice stand. Miguel was going to reach out to Starsound and experiment with their newer stands....
I love McBride too. Night train is a fabulous test track.
Brett, You should have had Christian sign your copy of "Finger painting". Was this a chance meeting or were you at a concert?
Agear, in all honestly there's no need to remove it and compare, the impact of the Troy is overwhelmingly apparent, it won't be disconnected. I know you plan to get one eventually and I assume that will be the latest Troy Signature which is an improvement of my MK II version. You'll be in entrenched in sonic heaven.The sound is still evolving and improving tonight. Getting the Tripoint Troy has been one of the best audio purchases I've ever made.
Brett, "Royal Flush" is good.I`d suggest "Motor City Scene" this is Hard Bop from the early 1960s done very well.Donald Byrd,Pepper Adams,Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan,Paul Chambers et al. Excellent playing and well recorded, I think you`ll like it. Charles
Sal and Brett, Atmasphere is speculating like a lot of others(nothing wrong with that). There are various grounding products available with different approaches, for example the Ground Zero mentioned in an earlier post. Agear tried this produce(as did Tbg) and its effect was much less impressive according to both of them. A number of Troy owners have also used other grounding products and all reached the same conclusion, The Troy is a superior solution. This is why although electrical grounding is a stated objective, it seems more is involved. What does that "more" consist of? Charles,
Charles, Btw, Albert recently spoke of album: Donald Byrd "Royal Flush" I have a 24 bit Japanese Release coming. It's already good, even before I hear it!
