Tidal’s smallest floorstanders. Finished in piano black. Nice compliment to the Vitus Electronics.
Vitus Audio SS-101 MK II
Always operated in Class A. Currently running as an integrated.
LUMIN S1
Streamer/DAC in one chassis.
Sablon Audio Panatela XLR Interconnects
Game changers. These displaced Siltechs. ‘Nuf said.
Sablon Audio Panatela
Speaker Cables
Sablon Audio Gran Corona and petite Corona
I’m using exclusively Sablon Power cables
JL Audio E-110
I have a pair of these but they’ve been disconnected since I received the Tidal Piano floorstanders. Once I’ve evaluated my low end needs, I’ll decide whether to re-integrate subwoofers.
Wadia 830 - GNS Reference
Reference upgrade performed by Steve Huntley of Great Northern Sound. I can’t remember the last time I used this component. I’m exclusively streaming Tidal HQ these days.
Perhaps Lyndorf's DPA-1 will do the trick for you,or the RP-1 which I think will spawn a digital version in the future. I have spoken to Peter Lyngdorf and this man has some nice insights. He says the inputs and outputs he uses are practically non sensitive to cabling so this suits your tastes too I think. The system I described earlier was wired with about a 100 dollars worth of cabling.
I have not heard the Lyngdorf products but I suspect auto-correction technologies are here to stay and will become more and more prevalent. Heck, now even Bose is doing it!
I was struck by how BAD flat response sounds to the human ear, at least to my ears. Once I achieved "flat," I experimented with BBC dips and other common curve adjustments. I found some very very good setups along the way. For sure, dramatic changes can be dialed in with these inexpensive and powerful devices. However, in the end the Behringer didn't fit my needs due to the onboard DAC/ADC converters.
Thank you for the compliments - it is a very comforable and inviting environment. I'll try to post a summarization for you, though it may take a day or two. Need to think about it a bit given the time that has elapsed. Good luck getting the Behringer, it's great fun though the jury is still out for me as to whether it's a tool or an in-line component.
As for the Speltz v. AU24, I'm undecided. I've read commments claiming the Speltz is superior to AU24 and vice versa. As always, I'm sure it's very system dependent. I've been very impressed with the value of the Speltz upgrade.
I have heard a complete Lyngdorf setup with sub(s?, which uses elaborate room correction, it was by far the most impressive system I have ever heard cosidering the price! Sure it did not beat a 100.000 Dollar sytem, but it was right up there costing about 15%.
Fsammet: Like your neat setup not just gear but room as well.
Ah,. when you make changes and you're prompted to buy more music, in my book it says you're on the right track!!
Could you somehow summarize the improvements you made to your system since posting the first time, i.e. put some grading using a 1-5 or 1-10 scale type.
Behringer is in my to do list....
You still considering AU24 upgrade from the Spelz?
Jarno, thank you. Recently, the fun part has been experimenting with the capabilities of the Behringer DEQ2496. Though it's currently employed as a subwoofer crossover, I have toyed with it to better understand the acoustics of my listening space and for room correction, connected between my wadia and plinius. While it's A/D and D/A converters are less than impressive, it's ability to shape sound is amazing. At some point I would like to use it in the digital domain between transport and DAC. Could be interesting!
System edited: I have replaced my Okara II monitors with North Acoustics' Kitty Kat Revelator and oh what a difference. Gobs more detail, pinpoint spacial queues, near full range extension, realism, realism and more realism. I'm going through my entire CD collection again and buying more music. That's what it's all about, right???
No doubt about it, ICs and SCs are now on the radar and the new speaker search is on hold until I get the signals cleaned up.
New info... Since the holidays are upon us (expensive), I've ordered anti-cables and anti-ICs as a fun experiment to get me through the next few months. I considering an AU24 audition soon thereafter.
Thanks to all for the continuing and useful advice. Fred
hey art, hey fred...as for speakers, plinius is a great match with sonus faber and dynaudio, both of which i've heard and i own dynaudio 2.8's (and don't care to switch) along with the plinius sa-201. always loved vandersteen and sometimes miss my 2ce sigs.
i have tried a ton of ic's and best for plinius deal goes to au24, analysis plus solo crystal and vh audio pulsar. but, best goes to siltech (i even purchased a pair from artg)....i actually like the g3 series better than the g5 (haven't heard the sq110 and can't afford the g6).
i'm still checking out speaker cables, but really like the bear labs silver thunder (bettered ap oval 9, xindak, dh labs and audioquest). i am looking forward to trying ocos (recommended by dyn) and a full zu cable ic/sc with varial/libtec soon....kind of a cable junkie i guess.
best pc i found for the plinius (tried many) goes to vh audio! way to go! i have the airsine.....second goes to the inexpesive giant killer audience powerchord whic is a little more forward than the vh airsine. kinda curious over the new dcca and never tried electraglide....liked elrod eps3sig too.
keep on rockin' and enjoy the tunes along the way.
"one good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain"
Hi Fred- Well there are many many fine cables out there. Do you have a local retailer that carries stuff you could take home and try, just to get a feel for the possibilities? I would borrow interconnects and speaker cables at the same time to try.
On the low-to-midrange price range, people like Audience AU24's, which are also thin and easy to negotiatie around tight bends. I had a set for a long time, and they are a VERY good value. I also owned Cardas Golden reference and Golden cross, Nordost Valhalla and several others, and auditioned Kubala-Sosna Emotion, and so far nothing beats my current reference stereovox cables, which of course cost a butt-load of $$. Of all these, the Audience AU24 is a nice start, and very affordable.
However, BY NO MEANS amd I a cable guru, as there is so much out there I've never heard (Kimber, Tara, Transparent, MIT, Ridge Street, Synergistic Research, Analysis Plus, Purist, Acoustic Zen, Stealth, Wireworld, and so on ....the list is seemingly endless), so get to a local retailer or hook up with a local audiophile and TRY whatever they got.
Thanks Artg. For some reason I haven't really thought much about speaker cabling lately, but that now seems an obvious weakness in my system. That may explain some of the glare and harshness I hear in complex music. Any suggestions?
Listening space looks nice. I can't say I have any personal experience with th speakers you have on your 'short list,' but have read nice things about them. I will say that if you are ready/willing/able to spend $10K, you can get a HELL of a lot of speaker.
I have owned Dynaudio (contour 3.3), Sonus Faber (Guarneri Homage + REL sub), and others from Thiel, KEF, and maybe a few others I can't recall - and for me, BY FAR the nicest sounding overall aremy current Verity Audio Parsifal Encores, which are easily in your $ range. They are very articulate (ton of info), yet also very smooth and fatigue-free, which is very important to me. And they look lovely as well.
Nothing against Signal, but you can definitely improve on that... Perhaps you should budget $10K for speakers and cables, since that will still get you VERY nice performance (i.e., $8K speakers + $2K in cables might outperform $10K in speakers alone)
Thanks, Artg - good to be part of the group, though I doubt I will get the "intervention" I probably need to stop my spending.
I'll have to look into the IsoClean 80A3 conditioner, though lately I've been considering dedicated power to the Plinius.
As to my speaker quest, I'm open on price but probably would not spend more than $10k. Currently, I'm intrigued by the Gallo Reference 3, Usher A10, and both the Revel Studio and Salon. I haven't begun auditions as I want to get a better short list together first. As with both my Wadia and Plinius, I will probably buy used.
ICs are from DIY Cables and speaker cabling is from Signal. I honestly don't recall the models and probably need to consider upgrading. As you may be able to tell, I really like DIY and tweaking.
Welcome to the audiophilia nervosa support group! I also have had very good expereinces with isoclean fuses, and use them everywhere (as well as their 80A3 power conditioner), and also have some of their very fine superfocus power cords.
As for speakers, how much you looking to spend? You have a very very fine amp to drive just about anything. Also, what kind of cables you got?
fsammet on 