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.
Regarding my system page individual descriptions and pictures, one day they just vanished. I notified audiogon but never received a response. I've been unable to reestablish them. Charles,
Chris, At one time I was very curious regarding the First Watt SIT 1 and 2 amplifiers given their designer and very simple circuit implementation. I came to the conclusion that they're likely excellent amplifiers. I just don't believe they will match the very good SETs in believable tactile presence, pure naturalness and instrumental tone/harmonic overtones. No doubt that the SIT amps have their own unique strengths but I can relate to your direct comparison vs the Frankenstein. Charles,
Hi Chris, I'm gratified that your new system turned out so well and you're very pleased. No doubt that is quite a switch in direction from your Pass Lab/Thiel pairing. Your results with electronica/Rap doesn't surprise me. Although I am predominantly a jazz music aficionado, what ever music genre I choose to listen to sounds "really" good and authentic. The Frankenstein is a fabulous amplifier and you chose an excellent speaker to mate with it. I know you appreciate the natural sound quality they present. Charles,
Hey Charles, just wanted to say I decided to use your system as a blueprint and the switchover to Coincident has been everything you so politely advertised. The SEIIIs and Franks are really just loads ahead of the Thiel/Pass Labs (INT-30A) combo I had before. Unlike many others in the hobby, I listen to a lot of pop-rap, R&B, and electronica inspired dance stuff, and the Coincident gear is most certainly not just for jazz and classical.
Also, during the switch, I did demo the First Watt SIT-2. It imaged very spookily, but as I'm sure you expected, simply didn't recreate instruments as naturally as the Franks.
And I know it is a pain in the ass, but I suspect others would benefit from you re-filling in the system details.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Coincident gear, not a single regret for me.
- Chris
P.S. I did not know about how differently tube amps operated vs SS, and I am so lucky I did not destroy these Franks by leaving them on without a speaker load while I was switching back and forth during amp auditioning. Probably should have read the manual...
Spirit, You're very pleased with the state of your system and justifiably so. This suggests that the NAT SET 211 mono blocks were the right direction/choice for you (I'm not the least bit surprised). Charles,
Hi Spirit, Nice to hear from you. I am very happy for your successful results given that 4K isn't a trivial amount of money especially when spent on capacitors. I happen to believe that the Duelund CAST are a superior quality product and justify their cost. I feel that you would agree with with the high esteem I have for them. They have been stellar additions in my speakers and DAC and epitomizes natural sound reproduction and increasedmusical/emotional involvement. You'll forever appreciate this decision every time you listen to your music. I certainly do. Charles,
Charles, just installed Duelund caps on my Zu Def 4s tweeter filter network and Lundahl Hypex sub bass amps. A true Eureka moment, and these special spkrs have taken yet another leap fwd, the biggest yet, and maybe the last save for a few power related changes. First the mids and highs were a lot sweeter than I expected, since the fear w/Duelunds is that they can be pretty meh out of the box. What a bonus, and now so much to look fwd to over the next 500 hrs of break in. But it's the sub bass that is most spectacular. First the new modules have cleared up some persistent hum/noise the original amp modules were prone to. Second, the bass is just a quantum leap better in all respects - cleaner, punchier, more extended, just the right amount of warmth, and behaving like true sub bass for the first time, agile, sledgehammer, but w/zero overhang. My $4k has been really well spent, what an understatement!
Agear, I feel much more comfortable making recommendations regarding the 300b tube as opposed to the 845 tubes. My 845 experience is based on listening to Jwm's Absolare PSET amp. The Pavane W.E. Replica was clearly better than the cheaper Chinse tubes and his NOS RCAs. The results could be different with other brands of 845 amplifiers but it was certainly easy to hear with Jeff's amplifier. Charles,
Charles, the single word descriptor under your system intro page describes precisely how I feel inside about the photographs of your system.
Charles, the lead engineer at Viva recommends basic Sino 845s for the Solista. I have not tube rolled yet, but the stumbling block (apparently) is the high voltage. I am supposed to use 845s that can support it (845A or B?). Any recommendations? The US distro for Viva (Bob Clark) and other end users all recommend the basic Sinos and say the sonic differences of Gucci tubes are minimal.
Bill, you need to resurrect your system thread. How did the surgery go?
Hi Jet, I've enjoyed following your system thread and explorations concerning your custom 300b SET amplifier. So I look forward to your impressions of the Audio Note power supply capacitors. I am very curious to see how they affect the sound compared to the oil and also the polypropylene capacitors.
Bill, I was thinking the same thing about your amp. It is sounding so good, its in the sweet spot -:) I wouldn't upset the apple cart by changing parts at this time.
Pretty soon I'll have something to say about the new AN Kaisei power supply caps, but so far every time I've got home from work this week the sound of these caps change and I have no idea how long the break in takes.
Regards to all of you SET guys and here's to a great weekend!
Bill, Wow! A person with your experience/talent not modifying your amplifier is a significant occurrence and speaks to your satisfaction with it. I would have thought that the temptation/opportunity is too great for you to resist. Just as Joe said, it's so nice to be at a point where you can't wait to turn on your system and just enjoy music. Joe you nailed it. Charles,
Bill, It's nice to get to a point after all these years where we are finally content with our system. I'm happy for you. I'm at that point also, and every time I turn on my system it puts a smile on my face. No more analyzing the sound just sitting back and thoroughly enjoying the music.
Bill, I get your point, it is a matter of getting the right mix of components. This does require some trial and error effort but is worth the time. Given where you are at this point in time, there's no logical reason to upset this terrific balance you have.Is your personality that of one who can't leave well enough alone? Charles,
