My system has indeed evolved over the past several years. I tend to keep components and cables that I like, rather than sell them when I get an itch to make a change.
Now I run two systems side-by-side, and just swap components or cables when I want a fresh experience.
I do get a a terrific level of musical and sonic enjoyment from the system.
My room also has great acoustics. Moderately damped, but retains quite good imaging and liveliness. No room treatments other than the furniture.
I have a soft spot for Soliloquy speakers, Monarchy electronics, and Nordost and Mapleshade cabling.
Very nice. Good bass and treble extension. Very good tonal color. Outfitted with Sophia Electric tubes. Substantial difference in solidity of sound.
Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro (pair)
Zero global feedback. Class A. Only 24 watts/ch in stereo mode, but a very nice sounding amp. Currently running each amp in stereo mode, but biamping into the Soliloquy 5.3 speakers.
Audio Refinement Complete CD Player Alpha Version
smooth sounding player, helped immensely by better power cords.
Audience Au24
two 1-meter pairs
Nordost Heimdall
A great sounding interconnect. I have two pair. Good bass, accurate and warm midrange with good tone, very sweet and resolved high end.
Mapleshade Golden Helix
Most satisfying speaker cable that I've tried. It sounds like hell right after uncoiling, but mellows after that to give fantastic detail, brightly lit colors, fast and full bass, and a smooth midrange. Great clarity also.
Soundstring PC digital
A good $40 cable purchased from Venus HiFi. Quite acceptable on my CD Player. Held up well in my tests of several other cords.
Audience Maestro Interconnect
This is a good sounding cable. Its balance is slightly warmer than the Au24. Currently used on my tuner.
Dedicated Line Furutech 15a Gold Outlet
I had a dedicated line installed, 12 gauge Romex, with a Furutech 15a Gold Plated outlet. A nice change. Not stunning, but over time I've noticed my system sounds consistently clean, where before I would get some "grime" on higher notes and voices.
Marantz DV 6001
Universal Player. Quite excellent for the price. Very refined sounding, bright with good tonal color.
Bang & Olufsen Beogram TX
Aquired in January 2010. It works and sounds pretty good for a 25 year old table! MMC-2 cartridge.
Hagerman Bugle
Inexpensive battery powered phono pre-amp. Sounds pretty good for what it is.
Morrow Audio MA-2
Two pairs. Wonderful sounding interconnect. It honestly gets me closer to the music. Extremely high resolution midrange coupled with a slightly laid back delivery. I really like it.
Apple TV Series 1
160 gb version. Works great as an inexpensive music server. Outputs to a second input to my computer monitor.
Musical Fidelity V-dac
A great sounding DAC and a good value. Warm and expressive.
Mapleshade Golden Helix Plus
Bought a 2nd pair of these great cables for the new amp which only works with banana connectors.
Tortuga LDR3x Passive
A light dependent resistor design. Remote control. Fantastic sounding preamp which I will switch in and out with my tube unit. Very good bass heft and balance which I did not find with other passives that I tried.
Furutech e-TP80 Conditioner
One of the few units that did not color the sound. Using it mainly for a power strip and surge protection.
Musical Fidelity V-90
Just getting to know it, but appears to be better in every way than my V-dac, which I like alot.
Kef 101
Reference Series from the mid 1980's. Still sounds wonderful!
Monarchy Audio SM-70
Mark II version. Purchased this model after I discovered that CC Poon was shutting down the brand. These amps are among the most transparent I have heard.
I'm thinking of trying a silver type IC to bring out some sparkle with the Audio Refinement CDP. The Signal Cable Analog II's have great bass and heft and good midrange tone and resolution, but are not extended sounding and don't have much sparkle. What could I try that is less than $300 that will preserve the rich tone and strong bass?
System edited: Made several cable changes to integrate the new equipment. I've gained alot of experience in the process. The rig is sounding great! I also added a bit of parallel noise suppression which made a noticable decrease in hash. I'll add those to this page when I get more time.
Sol322, I've had the Analog II IC's in I think for about a month. I ran it for a few days before really listening and noted its characteristics immediatelely which really haven't changed that I can tell. It actually sounds about right on brighter CD's that were too hot on my Rotel/Transparent IC rig, but then I put in the music that sounds fantasically open on the Rotel and I can tell I'm missing some air and openness on top. I kind of like having two source rigs with different characteristics!
Sounds like quite an assembly under your CDP. I almost hate to play around with that area much for fear of driving myself nuts. I need to get out more as it is.
I am familiar with the affect of cones (Audiopoints and Black Diamond Racing) under the speakers though.
Chris I tried brass cones DIY, but had WAY better results with aurios types again DIY. Currently have under digital source the following combination: special polymer cones directly in contact with source chassis, supported on 3/16 steel plate treated with dampening material( silicone caulk ) cut aways for the cones resting spots, rolling ball underneath the steel plate. For the time being.
When my room is assembled ( moved recently and haven't finished unpacking the house goods yet so, stereo has to wait) I have the steel rolling bearings that support the plate placed on top of a MDF sandbox which has another steel plate on top. Cumbersome but so far haven't been motivated to "mess" the nice sounds that come out of this contraption...... Have no rack. Every component seats on the floor on top of variations of the above combination. Floor is concrete in my case. How long have you been using the Signal Cable IC. Do you expect improvements with more time ?
I have several Jacques Loussier CD's and I really love his combo. Some of the most enjoyable music that I have.
My rack is a VTI 304. Great looking, not very expensive with spikes and MDF shelves. I actually have another one that I will press into service when I build a second low powered system.
Other tweaks are Vibrapods under the speakers (terrific impact on clarity and bass quality, tried many things here), and sorbothane under the Rotel CD player. Haven't done much critical listening with cones under the player so I can't comment much.
Oh yea, I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with speaker stand fills. I tried many materials and settled on a 50:50 mix of steel shot and sand as the best balance between liveliness and relatively low coloration; No lead!! kills the dynamics of my little speakers. Though I've not thought about it in awhile now that I use the 'pods to decouple from the stands.
Other tweaks (still in the wrappers) that I have yet to try is a Power Wrap for my fixed power cord on the Rotel, and Enacom capacitors(?) to try across the speaker terminals.
It was the newest Taipan. Supposedly broken in demo from a dealer.
I'm also currently using a Signal Cable Analog II interconnect with the ARC player. Its very punchy, vivid and colorful. My first time for experiencing this, but it has a very open midrange, but less air and extension in the very upper end.
Ssglx: I saw the Jacques Loussier CD at the bottom of your rack, one of my favorites.
After seeing the pictures and the system description, there is no mention about the rack or tweaks you are using.
What is the actual rack layout. Is the player directly on the rack, have you tried cones on it I've had great success in my system using vibration tweaks in player and amp.
Is this the original Taipan or new version? The original Taipan had a bleached quality in the highs, but the newer version is supposedly better and eliminates that "bleached" sound. If you tried a new Taipan, the cord will need at least 150 hours of play time to break in. Also, for interconnects for your Cd player, try to find a used pair of MAS Black. They sell for Around $40.00 and you won't believe how good these are. I haven't tried the Audio Horizons interconnects yet, but maybe you can try a pair( they have a money-back trial period) and let me know how they sound. Same goes for their speaker cables. By the way, I still have a Audio Refinement Complete integrated and you can do better than the stock power cord. There are some aftermarket cords that don't sound good. I currently have a DCCA Powerwave2( original stiff model) that is leaps and bounds better than the ARC stock cord. You can find them for around $150.00 used.
Geez, just borrowed a Shunyata Taipan power cord and the difference is quite large. The highs are now quite open sounding and present, with more sustain. The bass is definitely tighter and deeper and the music is more microdynamic. The system is imaging better and voices now sound more balanced and pleasurable. I'm impressed! On the negative side, the thing lists for $700 (more than I paid for the CDP) and the overall sound is maybe a little bleached (less tonal color than before), and female voices have a bit more sibilance.
I've had the Audio Refinement CDP in the system now for a few weeks. Its definitely different than the old Rotel that I know so well. The Audio Refinement's bass is not as solid or defined and it doesn't image as well, but it does seem more balanced and more listenable on some recordings.
I've been playing around now with power cords on it. First a Signal Cable Magic, stronger bass and much more extension and openness on the top end (a little too much maybe, and some hash); and the entry level Soundstring Digital PC, good bass, clean, but not as open as the Signal Cable.
From what I've read and what is available to me, I'm thinking of trying a Transparent Audio PC, a VH Flavor 1, an Audio Horizons, or a Eupen filtering cable.
Pescolar, thanks...I tried to integrate mine with a sub a few times in a few configurations and always went back to just the monitors. The sound is just more coherent and with my setup (cables, and vibrapods under the speakers) I get really all the deep bass I need. The little 5" woofers are also so quick and articulate that I don't even think about a sub anymore. However, with some of the cables I used, deep bass was weakened to the point that I could see using a sub. So my answer is, tweak the setup and you won't need a sub in my opinion.
ssglx, Nice looking system. I just bought my used Soliloquy 5.0 a week ago.And i am thinking adding a Klipsch KSW 15 powered sub .Do you used a sub in your system ? Should i add or leave it just like as is..Thanks.Pescolar
System edited: system updated: Spearit Sound is selling off their Audio Refinement stock so I snapped up the tuner and CDP. They both sound very good. I actually have never heard FM radio sound that detailed and extended. I've just broken in the CDP and now switched my main Transparent IC to it. It really sounds lovely. More liquid than my Rotel and more listenable with some of my more brittle sounding CD's. But the Rotel really just has no match for strong and percussive bass. The Rotel doesn't have the resolution, but it creates a more vibrant image. I'll try the ARC unit next with my Au24 interconnect. This sure is fun!
Most likely not warmth. They are very "fast" and very bright and open sounding. If you have Bryston gear and Theil loudspeakers, I'd say you would have waayyy too much upper end with Mapleshade. If you enjoy the balance of what you have, I'd leave it alone. If you want a warmer/darker sound then that is another path.
yes, the AR 3a's have a very perticular sound to them, and that sealed enclosure really likes to thump! Ive heard in this post about "mapleshade" speaker wire. do you think i should change out my transparents for the Golden Helix's? Would they add some warmth to sound of the bryston gear?
Philoman2, you certainly have a great system for a teenager. I was experimenting around at your age (in the 1970's!). A friend of mine had the AR 3a's at the time. Wonderful warm speakers they were.
Phd, do you have the Golden Helix as I do? or the Double Helix (plus treatment possibly?). I am thinking about upgrading the Mapleshade speaker wire to his top-line product.
Ssglx, yes I do, the Mapleshade speaker wire is tough to beat for its natural musicality, it just sounds right! Tried other cable but the Mapleshade has beat alot of other brands & after careful listening, the rest of the family is in total agreement. I now have two large bags of cable that is now unused & unwanted, at least for now.
Phd, thanks for the response! I did try some power conditioners to my CDP and did experience a difference; but on balance I did not like it. Most of the high end hash was gone, but so was my perception of openness. Also, the strong musical tones that I so love from my system dried out noticeably.
Ssglx, I have made the same cable choice prefering clarity, resolution & a higher degree of transparency over a warmer sound. When I get tired of that, I go back to the warmer sounding cables. You are correct about things getting a little tizzy with high resolution cables but I have managed to greatly eliminate this by the use of a power conditioner.
If everyone had the same components/speakers & the same tastes it would be easy to recommend a particular brand of cables but trial & error is the reality. By the way, you have some very nice gear!
I auditioned a bunch of cables (interconnect and speaker) and bought a couple to keep; but guess what? I mostly liked what I heard, but I'm right back where I started and happiest with the interconnect and speaker cable listed above.
Other cables I tried (this go-round) included Cardas, Transparent, Anticables and Audience. I ended up keeping the Anticables (spkr) and the Au24 (IC) too because I find them to be interesting and quite good sounding. The Mapleshades can get a little tizzy, but I prefer them because of the incredible clarity and bass punch; and the Au24 has very accurate timbre/tone and sounds lovely and forgiving, but the Transparent Link 100's just sound more up front and exciting on electric guitar and drum kits, and satisfy any need for a subwoofer with their strong deep bass response from my little 5" woofers.
I guess I'm most satisfied with a more lively and "hifi" sounding system.
"The Au24 is likely warmer? without losing the great tone? excitement? or punch?"
Yes, the Au24 will probably provide the attributes you desire, but they would be the highest quality component of your system by a wide margin. They would be something you could build a system around, if you ever desired to do so in the future. Today, it would be like putting solid gold rims on a Pinto.
I would highly reccomend the Speltz Anti Cable for what you are seeking...
System edited: pictures added. I've played around with deadening the speaker end of the room or my listening end and I didn't like the results. It took away too much of the terrific livelyness that I've got, especially at lower volumes.
