In my small dedicated listening room with vault ceilings this is the best system so far. Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage's which were some of the last pair to be brought into the US along with new Jadis JA 30 Mk2 Mono Blocks utilizing KT150's and Smooth Plate Telefunken tubes, a CAT SL1 Renaissance Black Path BPX with phono. The Linn LP12 Radikal D, Karousel/Kore is the front-end with a Lyra Kleos. Esoteric DV60 SACD player, Esoteric D-05 DAC, Alternate ss amp: Jeff Rowland model 8T modded by Jeff. Room tuning devices include the Real Traps Mondo Traps, Mini Traps and Shakti Hallograph's. Grand Prix Monaco amp stands. Audio Art SE-1 power cords with Furutech connectors.Zenwave power cord PL1 with Furutech NCF 50, Zenwave D2 Ultra ic's, Graceline 1.5 meter ic and Black Cat PC-1 Silverstar power cord for Rowland. Two REL T5i subs...running high level off the amp outputs and with Signal subwoofer cables and Supra pc's. Nessie Vinylcleaner.
Pavpet, This seems like a wonderful combination and you are obviously very happy(you say they better your prior CJ amplifiers). These amplifiers likely have superb transformers and very stout power supplies.Proof is in the listening, congratulations.
I'm driving my SFG with Roger heberts wyetech labs ruby 211 RCA SET monoblocks , incredible sound as I used to own CJ push pull monoblocks , the differenc incredible , more natural liquid sounding ,
Baggs1, I don't know why you think I have Sold the ARC D70Mk2. I have NOT sold it. Still holds a very valuable place in my system. As for the ARC D115Mk2, I like this amp too, BUT I think that the smaller output amp (The D70mk2) is a little more magical in the midrange and has slightly more resolution than its larger sibling. IF you need more power than the D70Mk2's 65 watts, then the D115Mk2 is a great choice. If not, then I would go with the D70Mk2.
Davey, i noticed U sold The audio research D70-mkII, Why? What R U'r Thoughts on The ARC D-115 MKII? please respond back to me at [email protected] Thanks looking forward to hearing from U...... Best regards Baggs1
Davey, i noticed U sold The audio research D70-mkII, Why? What R U'r Thoughts on The ARC D-115 MKII? please respond back to me at [email protected] Thanks looking forward to hearing from U...... Best regards Baggs1
I was surprised to. Room is 14x12 with a 10 ft ceiling. Smooth jazz sounds great. Chuck Loeb, Paul Hardcastle most recently. Volume levels "most" of time run up to 90 db and it only take about 1 or 2 watts to do that and I'm fairly nearfield.
Onemug, I am a little surprised that the GH's work with flea powered amps, such as your 7wpc 300b SET, or for that matter with your 30wpc PP 300b. I presume you are listening at low levels in a very small room. In my room ( also very small), my JR model 8 gets fairly warm driving my GH's and it puts out 250watts/ch. I would have thought that my ARC D70Mk2 which puts out 60watts/ch would be the minimum power that would work with the GH's. What type of music are you listening to with the 7wpc amp? +1 on thanking Mr.Serblin, I think the GH's were as it turns out, his piece de resistance.
Pretty much, day in and out, I use either a 7 wpc 300b SET or a 30 wpc PP 300b. For the type of music and level I listen to, they are more than enough and the sound is just gorgeous.
So many "right" things went into the making of the GH's. Thank you Mr. Serblin.
Hi Onemug, Thank you for posting that. I do remember Martin Collom's review of the GH's. When he says you cannot expect really high sound levels, especially in the bass, I have to agree with him. OTOH, yesterday I was listening to the Sheffield Labs Track LP, which as you know has some serious bass from the drum. With my REL T5 handing that duty, the music was as loud as anyone could want, the drum was in the room! The GH's exhibited no strain at all even though they are paired full range with the sub. My only point being that the GH's are lacking in bass....I believe everything from about 50Hz on down is MIA, but are a perfect candidate for matching with a fast sub..like the REL T5. BTW, I would love to hear the GH's with the Marantz 7c/8B combo you have, I'm sure it must sound really great. The GH"s LOVE tubes...I think I'm going to hook up my ARC D70Mk2 again today..Great listening.
Have my GH's hooked up to my vintage tube system this weekend (Marantz 7c/8b). Found this in my notes. Thought you might enjoy it if you haven't already read it.
"At 1m on the reference axis (a few degrees below the midrange driver), the sensitivity was 86.5dB/W/ma good result for a miniature speaker. This was not prejudiced by the impedance characteristic, and I got an average value of 8 ohms with a minimum value of 5.8 ohms (fig.12, lower trace). Many tube amps will be happy driving this load, as I found in the auditioning.
I applied various input powers to the Guarneri; it proved very capable in the mid- and treble ranges, the linear magnet and suspension systems keeping distortion down to 0.2% or better, even above 90dB spl. Below 100Hz, the system was working harder, with distortion above 2% below 70Hz, but this was of low order, and insignificant if judged subjectively. The Guarneri's power handling, like the Minima Amator's, was well above the average for its size, but you can't expect really high sound levels, especially in the bass. Nonetheless, it can play 6dB louder than a BBC LS3/5a, which will be enough for many applications. In a typical listening room, two Guarneris will raise 102dBA with 100W peak program (undistorted) per channel.Martin Colloms"
Tboooe, you have a very good eye. I do indeed have no toe-in. The GH's are 38" from the rear wall and 19" from the side wall. My room is small...only 10' X11'! But the saving grace is a vault ceiling that goes to 13' at the highest point. Without acoustic treatments, this is a VERY tough room. With room treatments and precise placement of the speakers and sub, the system works great, IMO.
daveyf, I noticed in your setup, you have no toe-in? Would you mind letting me your speaker placement in reference to width and distance from side and front walls?
Hi Onemug and Tboooe. Onemug, LOL at the moment I have misplaced the owner's manual. I know it's somewhere in the house but I haven't seen it for a few months. ( Hope the wife hasn't gone on one of her throw it out jags, gulp!) Anyhow, as soon as I put my hands on it again, I'll get back to you. BTW, almost all of the M user's that I know who AB'ed against the GH's ended up selling their M's. Tboooe, my room isn't much bigger than yours, I would suggest a couple of Mondo Traps and maybe a couple of mini Traps. BTW, the Real Traps factory is good at answering basic questions. In some ways, I believe the smaller the room, the bigger the impact of room acoustic treatments. I highly recommend them.
Thank you Daveyf. I am beginning to think about room treatments. My listening room is rather small (9x10x9)with a half wall behind the listening position so essentially its open behind me. I am trying to figure out what I need in this small room. Frankly I have no idea. I am thinking of starting with minitraps in the corners.
Excellent system. Can't believe I never commented here before. I know we've been on the same side of the fence in "discussions" over the better G...Momento or Homage. H's all the way!
Circa 2008: I always wanted the H's just for looks alone (love walnut) but never found the right pair so I bought a pair of new M's. As fate would have it, a month later the perfect pair of H's came my way. So I owned them both at the same time and for over a year. I used both of them with tubes and ss and the H's were my favorites every time. Eventually let go of the M's, listening to the H's as I type this now.
Curious, does your owners manual have Franco Serblin's signature written in it?
Tboooe, I have the Real Traps Mondo Traps behind the speakers and a Real Traps Mini Trap behind the listening position. Improvements are easy to hear with acoustic room treatments, IMO. A general ease in the presentation due to a quieter environment allows one to hear more finite detail, more defined placement of instruments on the stage, more depth portrayal and more precise bass definition. IMHO, room acoustic treatments should be the #1 upgrade that people make to their system. In my case, it has elevated the system more than any other change I have made. BTW, If you can source a pair of original GH's vs. M's that is the way I would go. I think they would be a nice improvement over your Auditor's.
VERY nice. I am looking to upgrade my Auditors to Guarneri within the next year or 2. Curious about the addition of Real Traps. Did you just add them behind the speakers or anywhere else? What kind of improvement did you get?
Thank you Highend64. I am still awed by the Rowland model 8, IMO it's still one of the very best ss amps, and I have heard nothing else that is significantly better. I think Jeff hit one out of the park when he came out with this amp.
