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.
My Sistrum SP-101 stands were delivered yesterday. I was unable to assemble them as the 'hex'bolts were missing(they did include the wrench however). I`ll call robert monday and let him know.Based purely on looks and feel they seem like a very well engineered product.The stainless steel support legs are heavy and have a very good finish,the brass cones are also nice.Hope to have them in use sometime next week. Regards,
Hi Chayro, I`ve not listened to them without the extended brass cones attached. They sure sound fine with them.The TE is 52" tall with a 9" width,they need the increased footprint and stability provided by the cones. Regards,
Just a thought - When I had my Coincident Partial Eclipse, which I thought were wonderful, I thought the speaker sounded better without the outrigger spikes, As I recall, I used the big spikes from the outriggers, but just screwed them into the bottom of the cabinet itself. Obviously, the result will be room and taste dependant, but it does tune the response to some degree. The PEs were great, but I felt I had to sit too close to them to allow the sound to fully blossom, whereas some other speakers allow coherence at closer distances.
Brf, I`m glad to hear that,the CAST will make your TEs absolutely sing.The CAST sound good straight out of the box(first few hours) and just get better and better over the next 150- 200 hours.There`s no painful burn-in period to put up with as with some products.I hope your experience with them will be as rewarding as mine. Regards,
Peter, I compared these two on this system page in December 2011.I think the Dude with the Duelund CAST and selective tube rolling would make many picky listeners very happy(the Dude I heard lacked the CAST).The Coincident just has a different sound and presentation due in large part to DHT tubes and only one stage of gain.Either will certainly satisfy critical listeners but I would`nt exchange my CSL for any other linestage I`ve heard so far.Many Dude owners will feel the same about their units for sure. Regards,
Brf, All comments and perspectives are welcome and appreciated here.You reported your experiences as they were, not everyone will have the same outcome, that's how it goes. I get my stands tomorrow and will see what happens. I have high hopes and expectations. Regards,
Brf, 80 lb monoblocks would be better served by 101s. I presume it was a cost issue.
Material science is an interesting field. the composition of brass used is supposed to effect the sound. Most brass used today comes from China. Where the points are fabricated does not alter that fact.
Agear, I really don't want to hijack Charles1dad's system thread so I'll keep my answer short. Cary 805 at 80lbs each. Symposium Ultra. Coincidents brass feet are sourced and machined in Toronto.
I'm curious if you folks have experimented with removing the adhesive pads on the extender feet which hold both the brass spikes and which bolt to the bottom of the speaker. I have been playing with various aftermarket footers and spikes for my Total Eclipse (a treatise unto itself), and have found some degree of benefit in removing the pads from the side which faces the bottom of the speaker. Since the other side of the foot faces the visible side of the speaker, I've left that in place for fear of marring the finish. I've also dispensed with the PITA allen bolts in favor of stainless hex head bolts with stainless washers. When installing the extender feet, I also use a bar clamp to firmly push the extender feet into the sides of the speaker. To my ear, the combination of all this seems to firm up the mid/upper bass clarity of the speaker through the virtue of better coupling of the extender feet to the speaker and hence the floor.
I have`nt heard those. I was considering the SRA amp base also(very highly praised) but I like the premise of the Sistrum design,we shall see. Regards,
Hi Brf, Yes I don`t think the TE is a good candidate for these platforms(too narrow 9" with the tall height).The wide base heavy brass cones by Coincident are very stable.I`m getting the SP 101 platforms which robert says is superior to the lesser models. I`ll use them under my SET monoblocks and see(hear) what happens.Brf,I hope my experience with the Sistrum is more sucessful thsn yours.
So far bill and andrew`s suggestions have been on the mark and both are enthusiastic concerning the Sistrum stands(they may be using the higher levei SP 101).Afterall they did say "Duelund like" effect(smile). Regards,
Brf, what amps and how much did they weigh? Did you remove the rubber feet? What were the amps sitting on before? What did your system consist of at the time?
The 004s are more for diminutive front end gear IMO. The 101s or now backstage are the way to go. Every system and component is different, thus the 30 day trial. The new thread system I mentioned above will make the speaker as or more stable than stock points.
As for the argument that all brass points are created equal, it comes down to whether you believe in the engineering principles at hand and whether material science has any value. If the stock chinese points sound best, have at it. People say the same things above chinese versus custom, US made transformers. If they "specs" are the same, they must sound the same....
I've tried Sistrum SP-04s under my tube mono amps and did not notice a change/improvement in performance. I also own the Coincident TE2 and I would never consider using the Sistrum stands under these speakers for the fear of them toppling over. I thought about replacing the Coincident brass spikes with Audio Points, but I am skeptical as to an improvement in performance since the Coincident spikes are very well made and robust (similar in looks to the AP). I still may give them a try under Star Sounds 30 day trial period. Have you ordered the Sistrum platforms?
My short answer is Sistrum by a country mile. However, the overall impact of mechanical grounding is influenced by "noise" levels. Regarding Sistrum, my personal experience has been that entities that either generate and or are exposed to the most vibrational energy (room>subs>speakers>amps, etc) are the most amenable to Sistrum. Amps do well do presumably to transformer issues. Furthermore, components that do attempt mechanical grounding or other competing schemes may be less responsive.
I think caps and resistors make a big difference as well particularly in circuits that are well designed and low noise. A cap or resistor cannot necessarily redeem a crappy design. The "impact" of replacing caps and resistors is partly dictated by the quality of parts used which sadly enough is often Kmart quality even in equipment that is uber pricey. It's disconcerting to spend big bucks and find 3c resistors...:(
Andrew, you think highly of the Dueliund CAST and the Sistrum stands.Which had the greafter effect in your system? If you could only have one which product would you keep? Regards, theSistrum
Charles, the newer Sistrum "backstage" has the option for threaded inserts. I will be converting my speakers from stillpoints to the backstage. My preliminary experiments comparing Stillpoints to SP101s favored the Sistrum product despite my speakers being designed around the Stillpoints. I am pleased with this outcome because it makes my speakers much safer for my little Hannah.....:)
Hi Onemug, I''ve not heard either of these tubes but have always been interested in the true woven mesh plate. Iknow Jeff Day is very fond of the Sophia tubes. I bet you are going to really like the EML. If I did'nt have the Takatsuki it would have been the RP or EML mesh most likely for me. Regards,
