My starting system into audiophile heaven after two years of searching and listening.
Setup in small living room for now (220sqf). It has components from Mark Levinson, Emmlabs, Sonus Faber, Nordost Valhalla, Finite Elemente, and Jena Labs
Wish list: turntable (Transrotor, Avid, Grand Prix), cd rack for 2000 cd's, room treatment/bigger room, and more great music!
Suggestions are most welcome!
OK. Let's go back to the beginning. My first audio posession was a Telefunken one box mono radio turntable system, where the turntable colapsed inside the box for storage, it did 33, 45, and 78 rpm. This was back in 1973. I was the happiest boy on the planet, none of my friends had such a music box and therefore we allways came back to my room to listen.
Between then and now there have been many hifi components from various mass producers, Sony, Nakamishi (the best tapedecks back then), Jamo, Philips, Schneider just to name a few. Nothing interesting until I graduated from University in 1991 and purchased the following system: top of the line Technics CD player and integrated Amplifier, Tannoy loudspakers, bi-wired! This system stayed with the for 8 years after which I sold it to my brother. I turned to multi-channel in 1999 and was amazed at the (surround-)sound and thought this was the best ever. Yamaha Z1, the first Pioneer DVD player with DTS out, a set of B&W CDM SE speakers, silver based wiring. I guess not audiophile by any stretch of the imagination but I was extremely happy for some years, mostly movies though.
In 2003 I wanted to enjoy music more and I bought a sony dvp-9000 dvd/cd/sacd player through eBay and bought some SACDs to try it out. I was stunned by the increase in transparency, soundstage, and structure of the music. Particularly one song that convinced me to go on the path of the search for ultimate sound: When I look into your eyes by Diana Krall. And indeed when I first listened to this song at a high-end dealer, I was sold. The system comprised of a set of B&W 802Ds, a Classe CAP2100 integrated amp, a Marantz SA-11 SACD player, and home-made wiring. The next time I brought in my wife with me, and we were both absolutely blown away by how emotioanlly involving music can be played on an audiophile system. Subsequently we tried out many combinations of equipment B&W, Nagra, Denon, Cary, Broksieper, T&A, Octave, JPS to name some. And first we thought tubes was it, but after listening to excellent solid state equipment, the tubes idea was put on ice (maybe later in a second system).
This is when a 2 year search started. Which has been an interesting journey, and one that has the above outcome as a first true step into the audiophile world. To be continued...
This Emmlabs player replaced my first audiophile CD/SACD player, the Accuphase DP-77. Here is the reason: its sounded miles better, even after only 12 hrs of breakin! Biggest improvement is in the soundstaging ability, also increased ambient detail, the recording event, is significantly better. And last but not least, it fits better with my Levinson gear and Pagode rack.
Nordost Valhalla 1.0m XLR
What's a great system without great cables. Exactly, very limited. The 1m XLR terminated interconnects take the source material to the no 32 pre-amp.
Mark Levinson No 32
Mark Levinson's reference solid state pre-amp, now already 6+ years old and still a work of art. When I compared this to great tube preamps, tubes went down on my wishlist!
Nordost Valhalla 1.5m XLR
Continuing from the no 32 pre-amp to the 33H connected by 1.5m XLR terminated Valhalla's. Needed a little length so the 33H can stand about 2 meters apart if necessary.
Mark Levinson No 33H
Mark Levinson 33's little half-brother. Heavy at 220lbs per channel. But what great technology underneath and it was updated mid 2005 but not renamed...wonder why, and price increased by 20%! When I heard this power amp, I knew it was "the one" for me.
Nordost Valhalla 1.5m
1.5m stereo pair, spades into the back of the 33H and banana into the Stradivari's. I auditioned Audioquest Everest, Kimber Select 3038 and Nordost Valhalla. I wanted speed, transparency, wide and deep soundstage, pinpoint positioning of musicians in classical and live recordings, inner detail, emotion, great tight bass. Valhalla won my heart.
Sonus Faber Stradivari Homage
I have seen and listened to many, many, many speakers. But this pair just beats everything out there for looks, and on top it sounds absolutely georgeous. Best on female vocals, piano solo's and violin, viola any string instrument, brass etc. No need for a subwoofer as it goes down to 22Hz (not in my room now, but she goes still very low and very tight)
Finite Elemente Pagode Master Reference
The Pagode Master Reference from Finite Elemente is just loaded with the technology that befits a true audiophile equipment rack. I choose the black maple wood version to match the Mark Levinson gear, plus its quite neutral. Five shelves (model HD04/110) so I can go for a Turntable setup if I wanted too and some AC conditioner without taking it apart or having to get a bigger rack.
Cardas RCA covers (x 24)
Cardas RCA Caps fit over the unused female RCA connectors to eliminate RF and EMI noise absorption. Looks smart too.
Cardas XLR Male(pic)/Female caps (x 6)
Cardas XLR Caps cover the input with a solid shield of nickel and brass to prevent both EMI and RFI from entering the chassis. Looks smart.
Finite Elemente Cerabase Isolating Feet (x 4)
Here's what they say: Fast resonance transfer is provided by extreme hard high-tech ceramic balls. Combined with precision machined materials like stainless steel or aluminum the optimum balance between damping and deflection is achieved. The resulting vacuum effect draws off unwanted resonance directly where it evolves. The clear advantage: no resonance build-up, no overdamping, no loss of deflection. It really works well, improved sound stage, lower level detail, focus, longer tone decay. I'm wondering whether I should put cerapucs under all the components...
Jena Labs The One - 10 Feet (x 2)
Needs no introduction for those who are in the know, it beats the $3000 Gutwire X-Clefs squared PC by a huge margin, and I mean HUGE.
Alexsee, unfortunately I haven't done the comparison yet. I've been busy with my new front end, which was a new step up. The US importer here is Sumiko. The Valhalla's are what you can read in many blogs, fast, detailed, revealing, etc. As I am using the IC's as well these characteristics are increased across my system. I like them very much which is probably the reason I have not pressure to find an improvement soon.
Where are you based? What are you driving your Amati's with?
Hi Henry, wondering if you've managed to try the Yter cables? if so, how do you find them compared to the Valhalla?
i'm looking to try a new speaker cable with my SF amati anniversarios. both are under consideration (unfortunately there aren't any Yter dealers where i am).
Hi Chad, thanks for the invite, however I wouldn't have been able to make it. I've been ill for the last couple of weeks. and only just recovering. With regards to the jena labs cables, I've heard the power cord together with the Pathfinder on an emmlabs/dartzeel/harbeth system, which bar the relatively cheap speakers sounded fabulous. The dealer I heard this at is Transparent Audio aka Barry Konigsberg. I'm happy with my valhalla ic's and sc's for the moment, i'm not auditioning anything new. Valhalla's are very revealing, detailed and fast. So it depends on the music you play and the gear, I guess it works well on most systems, then it becomes a question of budget.
I'm intersted to join/find similar minded audiophiles in the Philly area for a while now. It would be great to join.
I am curious if you have ever tried Jena's speaker cables or innerconnects? I currently use Nordost Red Dawn and I am debating if I should move on to Valhalla or Jena cables...looking for opinions. By the way I found your system through another system listing...you mentioned Jena and that you live near Philadelphia...you should join our audio group. Drop me an email if you'd like to know more. It's very active and we are getting together this Saturday as a matter of fact.
Hi Teck5, I've had both plugged in for about 190 hours now. What a great sounding player! It towers above my prior Accuphase DP-77. A whole new level of resolution, for example, the infamous Jazz at the Pawnshop recordings are more detailed, more sense of the original recording space. On some Naim recordings that I use for reference there is much longer decay on piano notes, again more clear detail on softer played parts, or instruments in the background. A soundstage that is significantly deeper and wider, particularly noticable on choir music and orchestra recordings from Reference Recordings (I use Saint Saens Dance Macabre as a reference piece here). Also on female voice (Dinan Krall, Holly Cole, Madeleine Peyroux just to name a few) there is more sense of reality, also a sense that's the voice is coming from between the speakers. The power chords add mostly to the holographic presentation, and a significant reduction of the noise floor but als add to the increase in detail and soundstage.
Here are some downsides though, you need to have the volume on zero when turning on the player, otherwise there may be some static/electricity that will zap through the tweeters. Also sometimes the display will not come on when stopping a disc, and display ptions are very limited ie no rest track or disc time. Also the drive feels like from a $150 CD player.
All in all I would still recommend it based on its great sound. For the Jena chords, the best I've heard sofar.
OK, March 6th and I just picked up the Emm Labs CDSA SE and two power cables from Jena Labs "The One" with built in power conditioners. I've plugged it in 6:30 last night and as expected initially it sounds fairly poor, minimal dimension and depth, instruments not real, unfocused, voices are vailed. This morning after about 12 hrs it starts to sound much better alteady! Can't wait for 200 hrs to be over...
Dear Amperidian, on powerconditioning. My Levinson gear has built in power-regeneration circuits that takes the wall power and cleans it up (I know it sounds very loose, but it's technically very interesting). And I am getting two power cords from Jena Labs that have a built in powerconditioners (Model One). One each for the Pre-amp and Source.
Now, with that in mind would you still recommend a Powerconditioner? I don't live in a heavily populated area, nor near any industrial sites. Honoustly I don't think there is a lot more to be had by adding a Powerconditioner.
On a different note, more recently I've been getting into the Holly Cole Trio heavily. Heavenly when she - Holly - sings "Trust in me"!
with upgraded powercords/wall receptacles, these can bring the sound of your system to a new level, where you may consider postponing dedicated lines/room treatments for some time (although unfortunately these are inevitable).
Very glad to hear that you are discovering new music, that's what this hobby is REALLY all about.
Hi Remy, thanks for your kind remarks. No I haven't heard the Audio Aero Prestige in my system, or anywhere for that matter. I could run my current Accuphase directly into the Marklevinson 33H's because it also has a pre-amp section. I tried it, and as I was told by my dealer, it didn't sound better, quit a bit of the musicality was missing and a lot less ambient information. I've ordered the Emmlabs for now, so I'll use that for a while before I'll upgrade. I will read up on the Audio Aero as you suggest, you never know. Being an audiophile comes with neverending trying out of new gear I guess. I am really enjoying my setup, believe me at a rate of 5-10 new CDs a week, I'm not forgetting what this hardware is all about, music enjoyment! Have a great weekend! Henry
You have a very nice system. I will never forget the sound of the Stradivari's ... absolutely gorgeous.
Have you ever heard the Audio Aero Prestige player in your system? ... You could replace both a cd player and the preamp you use with such a player ... this player can compete with the Emm Labs separates (Mike and Neli at audiofederation carry both and you can read their posts on the comparisons).
In any case, I hope you enjoy what you have because it's really special.
Hi Larry, the Stradivari's are my first set of speakers. I have audioned many speakers before settling on these. For my price range these included Wilson Watt/Puppy 7, Dynaudio Temptation, Audio Physic Caldera, B&W 802D and 800D, and Piega amongst others. The Stradivari won it mostly on looks, but also the sound is absolute top. At first it played rock music pretty poorly, however after the breakin it really started rocking (ie Metalica S&M is absolutely spectacular!). Classical orchestral music is astonishingly good, especially with excellent recordings (ie most Referrence Recordings, Naim, Turtle Records CDs). I have heard other hardware that could get even more out of the Stradivari's, but its already at a very high level. As far as base, it goes very low (Morph the Cat by Donald Fagan is really amazing) but is limted by the size of my room (only 21 sqm). I purchased mine in the USA (set nr 277), with a standard 10% discount and the strong Euro this would equate to about 27000 Euro vs 32000 mrsp in Europe. Best regards Henry
. Henry, . Great assemblage of pieces. . I have had the Sonus Faber Extremas for the past 5 years and have been eyeing the Stradaveri for quite a while now. . Do you find that the Stradaveri do large orchestral pieces and big Rock well on the low end ? . What other speakers have you had in your system and how did they compare with the Stradaveri ? Did you buy your pair in the U.S. or Europe. . Thanks & Rgds, Larry .
Correct Joey, I'm getting my new Emm Labs CDSA SE any time now. I was, as you say "smitten" by its sound. So un-digital, so revealing, it's quit the player that may postpone my vinyl aspirations a little longer. We update picks when it arrives! Henry
Henry, I come back and visit your thread 3 months later and I find that you are smitten by the EMM? That's one killer CDP and one that I'm looking at very intently.
I hope to get this CDP sometime in the near future to propel my system further along the path to audio nirvana!
Not sure if you mentioned this, but are you buying the EMM?
Rhyno, where do I begin...Well its that much better that I am trading it in (will post new pics)
The music seemed more there, big tonal improvement. The soundstage definition was more clearly defined, the spacial queus of the recording venue were more present. Example, the Jazz at the Pawnshop recording nr 2 SACD (by Proprius label) just gave a much richer/detailed feel of that buzzing Jazz club in December 1976 when it was recorded. More detail, more natural sound, more ambiance...much more than before! More microdynamics came through I guess through a lower noise floor. Maybe some examples are in order. Maybe you know the famous 1965 Rome recordings by Artur Rubinstein of the 19 Nocturnes (by Claude Debussy), I have never heard his breathing on the CD recording before, or the scuffling of his feet on the peddles, until I heard it through the Emmlab. It really was no contest with the DP77...so the choice was easy.
The other things that would bring significant improvements to my system would be inserting a pair of Jena labs the one powercords, the Dartzeel pre and power amps, and a Grand Prix Monaco turntable. But that's for another day...
