Sound room was not professionally done, but uses 1/2" over 1/2 drywall throughout, "staggered" fire-box wall studs 12" on center, "floating" furring strips on outer walls, extensive sound batting behind drywall. Concrete floor, dedicated AC lines with 30 amp runs. Approximately 14.5' by 19.5' with 8.5' ceilings.
The speakers are keepers and are my 6th pair of Logans. Am always eager to try new and different front end gear, cables and amplification as the Logans truly are a clear and open window to whatever is hooked up upstream from them...
P300 with Multi-Wave and de-magnetizer sweep chip.
Quantum Acoustics Symphony & Symphony Pro
(1) Sym. Pro and (2) Symphonys used in system
Auralex Transfusors
The white 2' x 2' panels spread throughout the room. Diffusion without absorbtion so as not to
Acoustics First Double Duty Diffuser/Bass Traps
The burnt orange bass traps in ea. corner on wall behind speakers.
Infinity Intermezzo 1.2s
Surprisingly fast and articulate subwoofer. 850 watt amp, Ceramic Metal Matrix cone material. Placed BEHIND my listening chair, at a just audible level, seems to even out bass nodes in the room while adding a nice
Shakti Stones and On Lines
Used on top of amp and P300. On lines used on speaker cables.
Esoteric UX-3SE
Universal CD/DVD/SACD player.
CCA Crystal Clear Audio Siler Reference XLR
Open "clear" (as the name suggests) and incredibly transparent cable.
CCA Crystal Clear Audio Silver Reference Bi-Wire
Same as interconnect, all solid silver, fast, detailed and musical!
Hi Denf, hope you still are enjoying your wonderful system. I was curious regarding what tubes you use in your Flora, I have been enthralled with Tong Sol black glass oval plates, very hard to get and quite pricy, over any other tubes I have tried in the Flora. So, let me know what tubes you are running in your Flora and what your experience has been with this preamp. I'll thank you in advance.
System edited: Recent changes - have gone full circle. Briefly tried the Gallo 3.1 References. These were great speakers, but ultimately I felt they could not offer the utter transparency and coherance of a well designed electrostat, so went back to Martin-Logan. This is my 6th (!) pair of Logans. The Vantages actually seem to 'gel' better in my room than the fantastic Summits. The Summits overpowered my room to some degree and I could never tame a bass peak with them(despite the bass contour controls). The Vantages offer virtually the same mid and high freq. performance of the Summits but in a smaller package. Also the soundstage seems more stable in my room than the Summits. Go figure. Also, the new additions of two fabulous pcs. - the Antique Sound Lab Flora preamp and NuForce 9V2 SE's have taken my system to a whole new level of reproduction.
Denf I came across your system while I was looking at Nuforce threads. You have an awesome room congrats on your hard work. I see you went to Spectron do you still have these and are you happy you changed? I've considered both but never listened to either so you thoughts would be helpful. Thanks and again I'am envious of your room
System edited: Well I thought the Nuforce's were the last stop in the amplifier road, but they evidently just couldn't handle the wicked below 1 Ohm of the upper frequencies of my Summits, as they would occassionaly shut down during loud passages. (Also, while they are very good amps overall, I could her a discontinuity between the upper frequencies compared to the rest of the audio spectrum). Enter the Spectron Musician III. While not fully broken-in yet, it has nonetheless added greatly to the pleasure of my system. I don't know if it's all that clean power on tap or what, but it is the most "complete" amplifier I have ever heard. Review to hopefully follow soon.
Hi Den: I'm currently using CCA Signiture speaker cables, which sound great in my system (all SS by the way) and will soon be upgrading to the Master Class series. I will be buying a pair of the NuForce 9SE's in the near future as well. Why aren't people using these cables more? I took a chance on an auction, and I can't beleive my ears. I have owned NBS Pro's and Nordost Valhallas in the past. These cables come very close in performance for a fraction of the price. Thank you for posting your virtual system. You have really helped me in my quest for audio bliss. Best regards, Jeff Lazicki
System edited: Recent additions of a BAT VK-3ixSE, Esoteric UX-3SE and the "SE" version of the NuForce amps have brought my system to a whole new level. All three components have made equally great contributions, but the Esoteric in particular has really added a new level of "refinement" to the sound. The UX-3SE took FOREVER to break in (something on the order o 500+ hrs.) so the changes wrought by this 45 lb. work of state-of-the-art wasn't fully appreciated until just recently (thanks to "Audiofanki" for telling me to be patient!) Have never heard the soundstage and images within so incredibly stable and "locked-in", with all the timbre and essence completely intact. Might have to move this thread to the "Have finally arrived" !
I ordered a pair of Nuforce Reference 9 SE's from Tweekgeek today. The owner ordered a set for himself which he will get by Thursday, break them in over the weekend and ship to me on Monday for 30 day trial period. He is selling them for $3900.00. Do you think that is a fair price for the SE version? I love your listening room. I wish I could do the acoustic mods in my bedroom but the wife factor prevents it. I know it makes a huge difference in the sound. If these Nuforce amps sound as good as you say they sound through my Von Schweikert VR4SR's, and you did say that you had the Halo JC-1s as I did also, which I thought sounded a bit better than my McIntosh 501's, the Macs will go. It is kind of neat that you can take your amps to a friend's house. I would have to own my own forklift to do that.
Beautiful system Den! I hope to have something to that extent someday! I, too, own the Summits and am an budding audiophile at 23yrs of age. I hope to learn about ways in which I could tweak my system by vicariously living through systems like yours.
Denf, I like the way you described the Nuforce Reference 9's performance in your system which left nothing to the imagination, well said! It is intertesting to view your photograph & notice these huge Martin Logan speakers towering over these small insignificant mono blocks that are deceptively powerful.
After owning a few digital amps, I also have to agree with you that they are unforgiving of any inferior component that is connected to them but will greatly enhance a high quality piece of gear, there is no question, they are definately a technology to be reckoned with.
Currently I am using a ARC Reference II MKII preamp connected to the PS Audio HCA-2 in balance mode, unbelivable sound but intend to give the Reference 9s a try in the near future. This was my primary reason for asking your opinion on these mono blocks & I appreciate your indepth response.
Phd - without gushing too much and being labled as a "shill", the NuForce's are a revelation in every parameter of amplification, IMHO.
I know that threads here @ the 'Gon have been all over the map on these, but there's probably a reason why TAS rated the 9.02's as their "Power Amplifier of the Year" for 2005, and why I have read comparisions of the 9.02's to the ultra-expensive Dartzeel, ASR Emitter, etc., etc.
The sound with the NuForce's is at once dynamic yet TOTALLY effortless. I am struck by hearing things previously unnoticed in recordings that I have listened to HUNDREDS of times. They maintain all of the "tube timbre" coming from my Droplet CD, so midrange is natural, with body, without sounding syrup-y or slow. The sound stage is incredibly wide, deep, layered with lots of depth. The highs are crystal clear and seem to extend to infinity. I cannot comment too much on the bass, as my Summit's have their own built-in amps for the woofers, but the bass is fast, tuneful and musical.
There's just no coloration or shortcomings, in any part of the spectrum, that I can detect so far. As I recently pointed out to another 'phile, if the NuForces were priced based soley on performance alone, they would easily be over $10k a pair. I think part of the reason why some 'philes don't like them is that the NuForce's are truly a transparent window to evrything hooked up to them. I have heard EVERY cable change, speaker position change, etc. that I have thrown at them. Trust me, other electrostatic owners will attest to this - if there was anything a-musical about the NuForces, my Summits would ruthlessly reveal it in a heartbeat.
Bottom line - I have owned well over twenty tube, hybrid, solid state, and other digital amps since the early 1980's but have never heard ANY other amp that can bring so many postive things to the listening table as these little 7 lb wonders (and for so little $$!). I always imagined that this would be the type of sound reproduction I would have if I could have afforded one of the ultra expensive amps out there. Maybe I just got lucky (for once!) with the right synergy of components, ancillaries, etc.
Denf, very nice job on the room! Anyway I am glad you brought up the Nuforce Reference 9.02s. I was curious, in what ways have these mono blocks transformed your system? Previously I owned the Nuforce 8s (probably not in the same league as the 9s) and couldn't quite warm up to them, however the insertion of a tube preamp was the ticket for better sound.
System edited: The recent insertion of the NuForce Reference 9.02's has re-transformed my system, for now...(this is the "Ever Evolving" virtual thread after all!)Incredibly "synergistic" match the the Logan Summits.
Again, thanks for all the nice complements. Makes all the sweat & effort worth it (of course the sound ain't bad either!)
Calanctus - Yes, I will attempt to post a review on the Summits after I've had a chance to live with them for a few more months. Will be borrowing and swaping some other gear, so I want to really get a handle on their sound character with various electronics.
Denf, That's a great story, and your efforts clearly have paid off. My own room is, well, less than acoustically ideal, yet the speakers and the system still manage to sound phenomenal, with stunning 3-D imaging, etc. It would probably only improve if the room were acoustically optimized like yours, but that's not in the cards for now or anytime soon.
Thanks Bill! My room was a "labor of love" (and maybe more to the point - necessity!) as I have three small children, so I needed my own space under lock & key. I did the entire room by myself, using many construction ideas that I picked up from threads here at the 'Gon. The only thing I can't take credit for is the color & texture treatment ("sponge-ing") on the walls, which was down by my endearing and tolerant wife.
It's amazing what you can accomplish when your system is in moth balls, it's winter time, and you're really itching to hear some tunes! Completed it in about 2 mos. typically about 4 hrs. every evening.
Magnificently beautiful! WOW! Only "problem" I can imagine is that it would be hard to close your eyes while listening to music because the room itself looks so wonderful! I'm guessing that you can live with a "problem" like that--LOL!!! OK, seriously, you said the room wasn't professionally done, but hey, it sure doesn't look like an amateur hack job at all--not even close. It's very highly impressive and cool to see, at least for me. Thanks for posting a glimpse. Bill
Audiofanki - the Room Lens is one of those items that I initially purchased for a different pair of speakers, in a totally different house/sound room. In that system (which was not a dedicated room), the Lens' really helped smooth out some bass anomolies while at the same time literally help "focus" the imaging. Frankly I do not hear as much improvement in my current set-up because this room is much more uniform and the Summits are already imaging champs, but I still use the Lens' all the same.
