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.
Onemug, How are the EML mesh plate 300b tubes working out? I would like to hear them in my amp one day. They have a great reputation for their sound. Regards,
Andrew, The SR Quantum fuses initially were a step backwards, the sound loss it's organic character and became a bit clinical and hifi.After about 120 hours or so it just regained the naturalness but with better clarity and resolution.Similar to the Star Sound products but to a lesser degree. The tone and body of instruments are full and complete with very good overtones and harmonic information. I have to say the brass audio points are the first metal devices that I enjoy.Apparently good quality brass is a musical metal.There's no edge or artificial coloration, just nice and natural, the way I like it. Regards,
Now they`re beneath all of my components and without any question this product is beneficial.There is a lowered noise floor, resolution, nuance,spatial information and dynamic contrast are better.The "you are there" perception is heightened.
Charles, you are on a roll. The Sistrum effect is definitely additive. One of the principal attributes that I enjoy is the impartation of ambient energy. That is the essence of a plausible, sonic illusion.
Charles, was the fuse experiment a bust? Try reorienting them? I am still curious about the magnet idea.....
I placed the Star Sound brass points beneath my DAC yesterday and the improvement was immediate.Now they`re beneath all of my components and without any question this product is beneficial.There is a lowered noise floor, resolution, nuance,spatial information and dynamic contrast are better.The "you are there" perception is heightened.
They preserve the organic tone and character of my system(perhaps even improved it). Other metal cones and carbon fiber produts I`ve tried before altered the tone.The sound became mechanical with an added edge and loss of natural bloom and fluidity,not this time.Mechanical grounding is is worth striving for.I had always preferred the Herbie`s Tenderfoot over all the others but these Brass points are an improvement in comparison. Regards,
Chuck, that is an excellent point. What markers dictate orientation? I know that was true for the HiFi stuff.
Tom, magnets are being used by a bunch of guys, including tripoint audio, and Rick Schultz. I believe Rick is the one who actually popularized their use in the signal path...
Concerning the SR Quantum fuses. After they have enough time to break in, this is what I've found.
Tbg, in his fuse review said it perfectly. In one direction the fuse sounds perfectly transparent but thin. When it's reversed, it sounds more full while still transparent.
Both ways sound good, it's just your personal preference. With my Spectron amp and it's transparency, the direction with the fuller sound works the best for me.
The real answer is I don't know why the magnets work for me so well. The same thing happened in my friends system including two additional needed in each of his speakers. They made a greater impact on the ac side of things in my system than the dc. There is a definite difference when orienting the poles with the direction of the dc signal flow internal to the electronics. From what I have read many of the same laws that apply to magnetism also apply to electron flow. I want to know more. Tom
That is intereting Tom. Is that a Rick Schutlz thing?
My tubed preamp and amp have no fuses...just a breaker/switch as Bill referenced.
I have a single fuse in my source. Replaced stock fuse with HiFi tuning supreme and now the Synergistic. The later takes 300 hours. It still may fall flat. They have a 30 day return policy. U should a good sense by 100 hrs....
Well my preamp has no fuses, but rather the on/off is a very high quality breaker. Works just like a fuse with no sound degregation .
On my current CD player modified my TRL and me, I have no issues bypassing the fuse. Not an issue and very little risk of there ever being an issue. So, no big deal on my digital source. I have been using this source for several years now.
Now, I also have monoblock tube amps made by Art Audio. They have fuses, I wish the builder knew how or had incorporated a breaker. I don't feel good about bypassing the fuse in these tube amps.
I may modify with a breaker soon however.
I feel the sonic improvement is on the order of a nice cable upgrade. I know several folks using copper rods in place of fuses in their class D amps. They also experienced significant sonic improvements in the order of a nice cable upgrade etc....
I would not run tube amps without a fuse or better yet - high quality breaker.
Bill, Do you feel you`re taking a risk by running the components with fuses(or is that a small risk). How much sonic improvement do you feel you gain? Regards,
Tom, can you help me understand why magnets are used instead of a pure copper rod or bypassing the fuse by hard wiring? What about magnets are better if anything?
I know fuses greatly degrade sound and few really understand how profoundly they do.
I use neodymium magnets instead of fuses. The difference in sound quality was quite profound. Density, texture and slam, sound stage wall to wall. My mains breaker box is present in my lower level listening room in case I have to run in that direction. I do have to be more thoughtful about warm up times and being present to monitor. I have a friend with some BAT gear he now uses the magnets and proclaims it is the single greatest up grade he has made to his system. Enter if you wish at your own risk. Tom
My preamp has no fuse in it for best sound. I bypassed the fuse in my digital front end for best sound also. I know this is not a good idea in your amps.....
I played with fuses and found that whole process to be fruitless and a bit frustrating after extended listening. Best not to have them at all if possible.
Andrew, At this early stage the results are mixed.With the SR Quantum fuses in the amplifier and linestage there seems more clarity perhaps, however the character has become a bit clinical and cooler and is`nt quite as holistic with an organic flow as it had before.they may simply need more hours,I`ll wait and see.
With the addition of the Takatsuki 300b,Duelund CAST and Sistrum plateform there was no downside.Resolution,information and transparency improved with no loss of the natural-organic character or musicality.If the SR improve with more time,good,if not it`s back to the original fuses. Regards,
Spirit, I`m as big a fan of SET amplifiers as you`ll find,but realize they are`nt the answer for everyone.If you`re truly pleased with your present amplifiers why change them?(unless you just want to try something different).You`ve put together a very impressive system and it makes you happy(is`nt that the point?).Reading various posts on audiogon you find people who`ve spent quite a bit of money(and sometimes frequent component turnover) and yet never seem happy(at least for long)with listening to their systems.I really enjoy music with my system and if others don`t like the sound I have it would`nt bother me at all.Spirit, it`s clear from reading your posts that you appreciate and enjoy what you have.As Ricky Nelson once sang "you can`t please everyone so you have to please yourself". Regards,
Thanks Charles. Like you, I have specific boundaries on how much/where to spend cash. The main one is not the endless replacement of components in an upwardly expensive merry-go-round. A good example is that even though I know going SET would really work with my Zu Def4s, my Hovland amps show excellent synergy with the spkrs, and as a result I'd rather maximise their performance (and the spkrs) by tube rolling (in the pre) and in effect cap rolling/support upgrade in the spkrs.
Charles, going to take the plunge on the Duelund VSF Black Cu network (cap and 2 resistors) for my Zu Def4s. Re supports under the spkrs, I've had such good results with a Symposium Acoustics Isis rack for my main components, I'm going to try Symposium Rollerball Jrs instaed of the stock spikes (4 per spkr) on a Svelte Shelf (1 per spkr).
Andrew, You make a strong point regarding long term value (which is an individual determination), this is something I always factor in my decisions. It's very easy to pour hard earned money on audio gear only later to recognize it may not have been good return on actual performance gain. Obvious each one of us has to make this call via our own standards. I'm pretty certain this new stand will be a very good product.It will be up to me to judge the relative value/performance outcome. What I may find too expensive may not be the case for someone else. I'm in a fine tuning mode now, just extract the most from my current components as I have no desire to change them.But fine tuning within reason. Regards,
Charles, I think that is a wise philosophy. However, given the potential impact under your speakers and a presumed trial period, it is worth a shake. I have to confess that it gets old spending big bucks for lateral movements only. It is refreshing to find something that works and is worth the investment. I look at it as a long term investment towards a foundational element in the system....
