I've built this system after a number of years and a lot of trial and error. After going through many modern tube and solid state integrateds in the $1k -$3k range the Scott came around and really amazed me with it's bandwidth and musicality.
The cables and tweaks all help the sytem reach it's full potential bringingout a very open and transparent sound.
The Vecteur is the latest addition and it is quite a player. Excellent extension at the frequency extremes and very transparent and accurate sounding.
The centerpiece of my system really are the Carolina Audio Speakers.. They really have to be heard to be believed. They disappear with an amazing coherence from top to bottom. Fantastic accurate bass. Simply the best speaker I have heard.
The system throw a wide and deep soundtage with excellent dynamics and tonal accuracy. I couldn't be happier.
Chelillingworth, I am considering an upgrade to my CD player and was wondering just how good the Vecteur really is. I have a stock Sony 9000ES which I use for Cd,SACD and DVD now. It sound good but everyone tells me to get the best in CD sound I need another player. I have built a nice system with VAndersteen 5 speakers, Sim Audio amp and PSE tube pre-amp. How good is this player what have you compared it against? How was your Sony modified and by how much does the Vecteur beat it? Thanks for any help you can give me.
These speakers can be placed right up against the wall with no loss of depth or soundtage... that is part of the reason that they are only 4 1/2" deep. This is copied from the Jordan Website and explains the placement well. Also it is so refreshing not to have speakers that have to be way out in the room to sound right !
"Again, despite convention, there is strong argument in favour of placing the loudspeakers as close to the wall as possible. This reduces the time lag between the direct sound and the reflection from the 'virtual images' and substantially improves coherence and spatiality. (The ideal, but usually impractical, solution, is to mount the drivers in the wall where there would be no virtual image)."
A brought my speaker sover to a friends house who has the Audio Refinement integrated and they sounded very good.... so good that he has ordered a pair. Another feelow just posted his system with the Carolina JTM's and is using the 47 Labs gaincard with great results. The speakers are very accurate and neutral so I would just try and match the with components that have those attributes.
Mr Chel You got them right up against the back wall! Were they designed to be placed that way? I looked at their website and noticed models that come in the traditional box look as well as your "planar-like" appearance. Whats the rationale? Have you tried any solid-stae amps with the Carolinas?
I'll answer a couple of questions.... Viggen the pictures of you set up with the JTM's looked great. The Vecteur cd player is quite a machine... very live sounding with a great level of detail, much more than my modded Sony 9000es not to mention bass extension and control which the Carolina's paas through beautifully.
Clueless... nice picture... looks like they're coming along. Ronnie said that he built those cabinets and they sounded good. You can see from the dimensions that his are a little deeper. He also made other changes with the damping and by tapering the line to give the speaker a deeper and more accurate bass response and make it more dynamic. The finish on the speaker is really first class.
I'm really not kidding when I say that you have to hear these to believ how they sound. Ronnie is a big blues fan BB King, Buddy Guy etc.. and has built a lot of transmission lines so you can tell that he like a speaker with some bottom end. You ought hear these on a good action movie... oh man.
I do listen to a lot of acoustic Jazz and the sound is great... the drums and cymbals etc... are very real and the acoustic bass presnts the most ideal balance of attack, string and body sound that I have heard. The bass lines move and really drive the rhythm and pacing. Not at all thin or boomy.
When you put on some good electric blues than the speaker gives you whats on the recording and will really play loud and clean.
Orchestral music is very nice as well with a high levels of detail. The speakers can be placed very far apart, I sit about 10ft back and have the speaker about 11ft apart with a very wide and deep soundstage and very dynamic.
What I really love about this set up is how transparetn and detailed it is whil still sounding very musical. It gives me a new level of appreciation for the musicianship of the artists that I listen to letting mere here the subtleties and nuance that really bring the recordings to life.
Clueless feel free to shoot me an email if you need any tips for set up etc.... also let the drivers break in a good while with some good bass heavy music.
Does the 18 watts give you all you need for all types of music? Not a HE speaker.
I've ordered a pair of the Jordan JX92S drivers and, while I am going to experiment with a few things I am going to use your enclosure for the final speaker. You bought yours from Carolina. Do you know if the enclosure is the one at the Jordon site? http://www.ejjordan.co.uk/enclosures.html
Certainly looks like it. The exterior dimensions are nearly identical to the ones at the Carolina site.
If so, do you know if he has done significant tweaks to the enclosure at the Jordan site. Probably better to ask what the tweak is as he has almost certainly added his own twist. Did he share a state secret with you???
My bet is that it sounds as good as you say and that, for a relatively modest outlay, you have a killer sound. How does it go with R&R and full orchestral? I tend to love these set ups for quartets/chamber, jazz, acoustic blues but have sometimes found the weakness is RR/Orchestral.
