Deja Vu all over again!

Owner

Thank you @alan2 !

jond October 26, 2024 15:32

Owner

Thanks very much @thegoldengoose much appreciated!

jond October 24, 2024 22:35

Owner

@reynolds853 thanks John much appreciated, and thank you on the Cognac collection. A lot of smaller producers there most don't know but Delamain Vespers is indeed a classic.

jond July 15, 2024 00:56

Owner

Thank you @scar972 that is much appreciated and liquid and organic is just how I'd describe it! :)

jond June 17, 2024 22:44

Owner

Hey thanks @pallad4024 such kind words are appreciated. And yes I am jonwoody over at SHF! ;)

jond May 26, 2024 23:08

Owner

@dlabovitz Thank you very much sir! And I am more of an instrumental jazz guy but it sounds great nonetheless. And you've inspired me to pour myself a dram it's just past 5PM here. ;)

jond March 16, 2024 21:32

Owner

An update my long lost AN Dac-3 Signature has returned after 2 years away waiting for a donor transformer. None appeared but Deja Vu's new tech Richard figured out a way to make 3 small transformers do the job of one big one and she is returned to me. Sounding as sweet as ever very happy to have my Dac-3 back!

jond February 05, 2024 03:41

Owner

@jayctoy I actually bought the Wisdom power stage due to the thread you started about it so thanks for the recommendation!

jond November 26, 2023 04:30

Owner

@jayctoy No Deja Vu Audio is a retailer in my area that also builds amps and speakers no connect to Bigkidz.

jond November 22, 2023 04:46

Owner

@jayctoy and @pehare thank you both so much it's in a great place right now I'm loving the SET 2a3 sound!

jond November 21, 2023 21:38

Owner

Another update added it to my system almost a month ago now an Auralic Aries G1 to take the pace of my beloved Mini. No issues with the Mini just Auralic had a demo sale and the price was too good to say no.

jond August 13, 2023 22:09

Owner

Hey @mdalton Not as of yet he's had the amp for a while and my AN Dac Sig-3 for a lot longer waiting for a donor transformer. I am not too bothered they always loan me gear if needed and I bought back my Yamamoto Dac so between that and the Wright monos I'm in a happy place. And sorry about your rug incident that sounds awful!

jond August 03, 2023 21:14

Owner

Thanks @mdalton what you see is more of an evolution I ran the Deja Vu EL34 amp for 15 years but it died on me. Traded it for the Deja Vu PP 2a3 amp that also went in for repairs. So they loaned me the Synthesis Encore amp which I still have. However I spied a pair of Wright Sound Co 2a3 mono's at a great price and snapped them up, so they are my daily driver right now. The Synthesis amp is still here but not currently in use.

jond August 03, 2023 14:47

Owner

Hey @islandmandan there are, the last two pics are of it if you don't see them just refresh.

jond July 04, 2023 20:54

Owner

And I almost forgot to mention i finally found an antique tube caddy in good shape from the 60s RCA branded and holds all my tubes!

jond July 04, 2023 19:53

Owner

Finally got around to updating my system and pics just added the Wright Sound Co WPA-3.5 2a3 SET monoblocks and loving them fantastically warm and transparent sound. And the very latest addition an Auralic Aries G1 streamer a solid upgrade to the Mini.

jond July 04, 2023 17:07

Owner

@weebeesdad Thank you so much for the compliments. And I honestly think my speakers perform fantastically well in their configuration. Obviously I have no corners but to me it hasn't negatively impacted their performance at all. I could probably have better soundstaging but my small room limits that anyway.

jond April 10, 2023 02:46

Owner

Thanks @maxdukecapone and yes over 20 years at this not as long as many here though. And definitely try tubes a headphone amp seems a nice place to dip ones toes in the water.

jond March 05, 2023 18:02

Owner

Thank you @thinkinginventor123 I dropped some NOS JAN Phliips 6922s in the preamp last week the system is singing!

jond March 03, 2023 00:08

Owner

Thanks @gregoriomtb16 and I would say they're more similar than different in that they both have a very direct sound nothing between you and the music. Also both excel at tonal color and musicality. The AN Dac I think was a bit better at longer decay of notes and maybe a bit of air between instruments but it's pretty close otherwise. Two outstanding Dacs for sure.

jond February 06, 2023 23:36

Owner

@doyle3433 Thank you very much! Those are some impressive horns you're running!

jond December 27, 2022 15:52

Owner

LMAO I sure did the redundant post thing alright!

jond November 06, 2022 21:44

Owner

@lalitk Thank you it fills the space nicely and luckily I just share a single common wall and no one below. And I hope you get back to tubes hard for me to imagine not having them. And @ghosthouse thanks man you are welcome any time you're in DC. And that redundant post thing is happening a lot lately.

jond November 01, 2022 22:16

Owner

jond November 01, 2022 22:15

Owner

jond November 01, 2022 22:15

Owner

jond November 01, 2022 22:15

Owner

@herman Just letting you know I replied to your comment since I didn't use the @ function when I typed it. And I love your horns I am a big fan of horn speakers but no room to own them.

jond October 16, 2022 21:30

Owner

Hey Herman I suspect you had an outlier and by guts I'm guessing you mean my older EL34 amp which was a bit of a rats nest inside. That being said neither that amp or my current 2a3 amp use cheap parts, its a nice mix of vintage and modern parts and good quality wire. And as far as output transformers my old amp used vintage Accrosound transformers and my current amp uses vintage Eico transformers. Nothing from Hammond at all.

jond October 16, 2022 01:16

Owner

Thanks Farmer and as they say there are many roads to happiness some are paved with tubes other with SS.

jond September 24, 2022 15:34

Owner

Thank you edsel and nice beard!

jond August 28, 2022 00:29

Owner

Thanks Barry I appreciate that and yes Deja Vu always kills at CAF I hope they attend this year!

jond August 27, 2022 20:41

Owner

Thank you both Spencer and Dan very kind of you guys. I didn't know virtual systems was down glad it's back up its my favorite part of Audiogon. Cheers guys!

jond August 26, 2022 01:18

Owner

Thank you @kevinzoe very much appreciated!

jond August 24, 2022 21:21

Owner

What a nice thing to say @rman9 thank you so much!

jond July 27, 2022 03:54

Owner

thank you @digsmithd !

jond July 27, 2022 00:39

Owner

Thanks @zephyr24069 I appreciate that and indeed sweet and musical was the goal! ;)

jond May 08, 2022 22:19

Owner

Thank you @2psyop what nice things to say but I swear it feels like temperamental old school Jag these days always breaking down. ;) BTW a big VW fan here in fact I drive a GLI.

jond May 08, 2022 17:03

Owner

A few updates the system has been a bit of a struggle I lost the right channel on my amp about 3 weeks ago. Life being what it is, busy, I was just biding my time running the Arcam amp. Welp on Thursday night the Arcam went into fault mode and wouldn't play. Luckily yesterday, Friday, I finally had a few hours to run the amp out to Deja Vu where I snapped a few pics under the hood. Bias pots and tube sockets were cleaned but that right channel is indeed out the hunt for a lose connection commences. In the meantime Deja Vu as per usual kindly loaned me an amp the cute little Synthesis Encore power amp.

jond April 23, 2022 15:26

Owner

@ronrags Thanks for the kind comments and yes indeed a lot of effort, trial and error, and more than a bit of luck!

jond March 06, 2022 22:33

Owner

@rhodes Thanks Ken I really love big horns and your system is pretty awe inspiring thanks for the nice words.

jond January 08, 2022 16:42

Owner

Thanks @markusthenaimnut and I totally forgot to mention your gorgeous Garrard 401 a dream deck for me!

jond December 03, 2021 23:32

Owner

I did a bit of updating I've decided to keep the Deja Vu 2a3 amp, to my complete lack of shock lol, retubing it with better tubes, nothing fancy just Sovteks showed me it was a keeper. Also I added a little Arcam P35 SS amp to act as an emergency backup. My regular amp, the venerable Deja Vu EL34 amp is still in the shop as they search for the source of noise.

jond November 13, 2021 23:34

Owner

@mapman Cool I had no idea you were in Baltimore! Sounds great and same and stoked for the first UMD basketball game tonight!

jond November 11, 2021 22:44

Owner

@alexpoth1512 thank you! I run the amp off the variac set to 115v at the recommendation of my dealer. It's a 15 watt amp and a 2K transformer so plenty of current.

jond November 10, 2021 00:37

Owner

Thank you @donnedonne that's olive wood actually.

jond October 07, 2021 13:37

Owner

Thanks @tomic601 it's singing right now with some Bobby Enriquez cheers!

jond August 28, 2021 21:37

Owner

Thanks @bslon that's very nice of you to say!

jond August 16, 2021 00:12

Owner

@cymbop It wasn't expectation bias or whatever they call it either I really assumed there would be no change. Easily the best $35 I've ever spent on my system!

jond August 01, 2021 16:42

Owner

I just last night took a flier on Blue Jeans ethernet cables $16.75 each basically Belden cable that they terminate. I was expecting either no improvement or a subtle one over the stock ethernet cables being replaced. But holy crap it wasn't subtle at all, the system seemed quieter, better tonal color, crisper highs and a bigger overall sound. Needless to say I was shocked and up til almost 2am listening!

jond July 30, 2021 14:17

Owner

Thank you @knollbrent and thank you @pinotnoir! I've been distilling this system for about 20 years now and it does sound smooth and musical. On the Black Quantum fuse I'll be honest I didn't hear any improvement in my preamp but my preamp has a very robust power supply. I will say I put a Hifi Tuning fuse in my previous Dac a Yamamoto YDA-1 and got a nice improvement.

And I love Cognac and Armagnac very much as you can see I have never heard of Dartigalongue but I have heard of Laberdolive though I've never tasted it.

Cheers!

jond July 21, 2021 22:47

Owner

Thanks @knollbrent !

jond June 14, 2021 21:14

Owner

@earlflynn That's what makes the Systems page so great so many wonderful diverse systems and different ways of getting to, roughly, the same place. Cheers!

jond June 13, 2021 16:13

Owner

Thank you @scar972! And good news my preamp is back in house and the c-j PV5 has been returned. It gave excellent service and it's funny I found it to be very smooth and musical, I didn't feel like I was missing detail. With my preamp back it's still smooth and musical but a lot more detailed. I really appreciated now the ear's ability to adjust because I enjoyed my system with the c-j in it.

jond June 05, 2021 15:29

Owner

@arafiq Thank you very much! I take no credit for the decor that's all my beloved partners work she has a great eye for interior design. And thank you I feel very fortunate to have found some components on Audiogon and also to have a fantastic local dealer. The sum really does sing well together.

jond April 30, 2021 17:45

Owner

When it rains I guess it pours, my preamp started having issues the other night. It's in the shop, for the first time in the 14 years I've owned it so not bad. The good folks at Deja Vu were nice enough to give me another loaner! So I have a venerable conrad-johnson PV5 preamp and it's a nice sounding unit. A bit soft and warm but not overly so and very listenable. Fingers crossed on an easy fix on the preamp but at least I'm still listening to good gear thanks to Deja Vu!

jond March 30, 2021 01:21

Owner

@cymbop It's definitely fun I've heard a pushpull 2a3 once before many years ago a one off Cary integrated. Having now had this amp for over a week I will say it sounds great in the detail department but can veer into brightness on some recordings. But the clarity and level of detail as well as the very deep extended bass are a bit addicting.

jond March 08, 2021 21:58

Owner

I've been running, for about a week now a loaner Deja Vu pushpull 2a3 amp, my amp needs all power supply caps replaced. At 20 years of age that sounds about right and taking the opportunity to not just replace but upgrade all power supply caps to Black Gates which is exciting! In the meantime this loaner amp is also great with that incredibly clarity I always get from 2a3 tubes and with a very useful 15 watts. I'll upload a pic of it shortly.

jond March 07, 2021 16:50

Owner

Hey @celtic66 thanks for the kind words and yes it doesn't look like much in terms of bling. But the tube glow does usually suck the uninitiated in :) And thanks for the rec I know well about dirty power being in a city apartment but my combo of the Exactpower conditioner and Variac for my amp seems to do the job nicely.

jond March 04, 2021 23:08

Owner

Thanks @tvad and 22 is an amazingly long life Kima must have been quite a kitty. I do plan to get another cat sometime post-pandemic.

jond February 16, 2021 04:11

Owner

@tvad Thank you yes I do love my cognac. :) And that is indeed cat food though a sad story there my cat Trixie passed away this past October at age 14. A full long love filled life but she is missed.

jond February 16, 2021 04:02

Owner

@cymbop I've always found sketchy details to be indicative of a very good time. :-)

jond February 12, 2021 17:07

Owner

@cymbop Thank you it's been some good fortune and many years but I ended up in a good place. My pandemic haven also!

jond February 11, 2021 19:03

Owner

@jamiek Thank you very much! And I hope you nailed the positioning of your Kharma's!

jond January 28, 2021 23:19

Owner

Dan I would say keep checking the listings AN stuff does pop up used from time to time. The Dac was a total fluke btw it popped up in an auction on here I bid the minimum $1500 on a flyer never thinking I would win and no one else even bid! So keep your eyes peeled you never know what deals may pop up.

Cheers,

Jon

jond November 12, 2020 22:56

Owner

@islandmandan Thanks that's much appreciated coming from someone with an awesome system like yours. And no the Dac is Audio Note UK not kits so built in Old Blighty back in 1995. It's been mine for 3 years now and singing with a recent output cap upgrade.

jond October 29, 2020 03:57

Owner

Thanks @mitch2 I love my DAC the PCM63's are super musical and my local dealer reps Lector so I've heard their CD player and also their DAC both were super musical indeed! And my dealer said I had to get the SA stands nothing else would do when I ordered my speakers and he was right!

jond September 06, 2020 01:02

Owner

Thank you @nwres I appreciate it! It's been over a very long time but I am happy. All I need now is a great turntable like yours!

jond September 04, 2020 23:20

Owner

@devilboy Thanks for the kind words and Deja Vu Audio is my local dealer they are in N. VA and build their own gear. They are also my local Audio Note dealer and they know tubes as well as anyone and don't mind testing tubes for me! And sorry to hear about your Exactpower I didn't know they had issues with failure. I bought mine used for $500 back in 2014 so I've certainly gotten my moneys worth its on doing the job 24/7. Cheers!

jond June 05, 2020 02:38

Owner

@rixthetrick Thanks! I am not a DIY guy but love looking under the hood at others gear so thought I would return the favor.

jond May 31, 2020 16:09

Owner

@islandmandan Thank you! I was really saying that a bit sarcastically and I will keep it up. Sometimes I wish I had more changes to take pictures of. Cheers!

jond May 30, 2020 18:23

Owner

@ianengel Thank you! And yes we do for sure been hooked on valves for 20 years now and lucked into some great gear over the years. And those 60's Aerovox's were a huge improvement Deja Vu really knows their stuff when it comes to great vintage parts. And thanks the AN's are really the cherry on top that lets my gear show off I love them!

jond May 04, 2020 01:47

Owner

@oranfoster Thank you Oran warm and organic is pretty much how I describe it. Early renaissance is way out of my wheelhouse however have any recs?

jond April 19, 2020 02:15

Owner

Man I wish Audiogon gave you a heads up on system comments! @ozzy62 Thanks I appreciate that and glad you've been to Deja Vu. Meeting Vu and listening there pretty much got me off the gear merry-go-round. And @gunther11 Thanks I really love the sound of my speakers and the Sound Anchors were at the rec of my dealer and I see/hear why solid is a perfect description.

jond March 25, 2020 03:54

Owner

@moofoo Thank you! And yes I love seeing interior pics of gear so thought I would post some myself. Tubes R' Us is right I have enough extras to fully re-tube my system!

jond January 30, 2020 23:25

Owner

@salectric Thanks Dave it really does! The switch from using wifi to a hardwired ethernet connection also was an improvement. Things are sounding better than ever here.

jond October 04, 2019 03:32

Owner

My AN DAC-3 Sig is back with upgraded AN copper foil output caps and sounding better than ever. Deeper bass and more depth and color to instruments and more precise imaging. And the caps are still breaking in!

jond October 01, 2019 03:29

Owner

@mjcmt Thank you that's the Olive veneer and yes I am still very satisfied by far the best speakers I've owned and a great match with my amp. I looked at the Seas A-26 looks like a nice little speaker though if I read right a lot less efficient than my AN's 92db vs 88db. I previously drove 90db speakers with my amp and though it was a solid match I find the AN's much faster and more lively. Not knowing what amp you have tough to say if 88db will work well or not.

jond September 20, 2019 21:53

Owner

@exupgh12 Thank you! It does sound great even with my Dac "in the shop" getting a cap upgrade. A loaner ANKits Dac 1.1 is filling in and things still sound lovely.

jond August 03, 2019 21:48

Owner

@smortega Thanks for the kind words and it does sound great to my ears! Right now I am streaming both Tidal and Quobuz I may cut one but not sure yet. Genres are classic jazz 50's-60's, alt-country, jam bands, reggae, blues, funk, occasional classical. So all over the map basically and the system handles it all well.

jond March 22, 2019 23:43

Owner

@agear thank you so much for the kind words! I enjoy it every day and will for a long time. And grrrr I wish Virtual Systems would give notifications of comments or I would have responded sooner.

jond February 09, 2019 17:23

Owner

@sisyphus51 Thank you! I like your cool minimalist apartment setup also.

jond June 12, 2018 20:33

Owner

@sbayne thanks very much for the kind comments! And my preamp does have a synergistic black fuse in it and sounds great.

@pops thank for the kind words and having been to Deja Vu I know you understand I am continuously blown away by their knowledge and ears. Cheers!

jond March 31, 2018 22:46

Owner

@barrysandy Thanks for the kind words and it's been singing lately dropping the Kondo cable in was a huge improvement last week. And I always think Vu's systems are the best at Cap Audiofest. I highly recommend checking the store out you can get lost in there for hours. Cheers!

jond March 21, 2018 19:12

Owner

@noramnce Ha that's actually my laptop sitting on the coffee table in front of me! And @lak thanks for the nice comments, time yes, thought perhaps. A fair amount of trial and error and a lot of help from Deja Vu. As they say if I only knew then what I know now! But super happy with the result! Cheers!

jond January 27, 2018 15:52

Owner

@writeface Thank you so much and glad you like the olive finish! You will love your E's and the olive looks even better in person. Congrats on your speakers and let me know how they sound when you get them.

jond January 06, 2018 01:33

Owner

New interior pics of my AN DAC-3 Signature added and just retubed today with NOS Mullards!

jond December 19, 2017 23:26

Owner

@salectric Thanks so far so good they sound great and should keep getting better as they break in. I also think they look fantastic very happy with the olive wood finish!

jond September 17, 2017 22:56

Owner

New pics added!

jond June 22, 2017 03:28

Owner

Just ordered a pair of Audio Note AN/Jlx's in olive wood veneer with Sound Anchors stands from Deja Vu Audio. Speakers will be here in 8-12 weeks from the UK. Very excited my first new speakers in 10 years and I've always wanted AN speakers. Vu as usual was awesome with his advice getting me into just the right speaker for my small space! Will post pics and impressions when they arrive.

jond June 04, 2017 19:19

Owner

Updated to my current system and new pics added!

jond January 24, 2017 00:41

Owner

@sbank thanks for the kind words and @cymbop thanks I love how it sounds! However this page is somewhat out of date. I'm going to update this and close my other system thread as it seems to have gone unnoticed. So a bunch more pics and updates coming soon!

jond January 22, 2017 16:09

Owner

I wanted to edit my system and post some new pics but kept getting an error message, so I had to make a new system using the new Beta page. Here is the link to that new system...

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/5188

Some new pics were added I hope you guys like it!

jond October 16, 2015 22:39

Owner

System edited: Just dropped a Cerious Technology Nano Sig power cable into my difference and wow I'm finally a power cable believer!

jond June 21, 2015 20:21

Owner

System edited: Just replaced the Kimber D-60 digital cable with a Nirvana T-1 and a nice improvement a bit more natural sounding and eliminated a smidge of glare I with certain recordings. My system is overall on the warm side of neutral and I was right in guessing the D-60 was the culprit, very transparent but just a touch bright for my tastes.

jond May 31, 2015 16:02

Owner

System edited: Finally got around to cleaning up my virtual system posted some changes and a new updated rack pic.

jond March 28, 2015 18:12

Owner

System edited: New system pics added.

jond August 16, 2014 19:12

Owner

System edited: Just replaced my old Ridge Street Poeima with a pair of Acoustic Zen Silver Reference 2's between preamp and amp and well, wow! What an amazing change! More transparency and deeper tauter bass! I think I am done messing with this system for a good long while.

jond April 30, 2013 22:58

Owner

Thanks Charles1dad and I forgot to mention the bass is amazing with this dac much deeper and fuller.

jond April 27, 2013 18:43

Owner

System edited: New system pics added.

jond April 27, 2013 18:41

Owner

Thanks Charles1dad actually when doing some research I read some of your posts and they were quite helpful. All in all I could not be happier, I love the color and liveliness of the YDA-1 and it fits great in my all tubed system!

jond April 23, 2013 22:13

Owner

Sorry Lapierre i don't know that model and honestly i mostly picked up the Sirius up because it was in my price range $300 used and luckily it sounds really good. And thanks!

jond April 22, 2013 02:39

Owner

System edited: Well my Tube Technology CD player finally bit the dust. Since I was already addicted to the convenience of my Squeezebox Duet, I added a DAC the Yamamoto YDA-1. All I can say is wow! I also managed to snap a lead on my RSA Poeima speaker cables and replaced them with the PAD Musaeus a very nice and quietly resolving speaker cable. Also got a real power conditioner again, the Isotek Sirius. The system has never sounded better!

jond April 21, 2013 22:38

Owner

Colin doing some research on Acro 2020 and it seems that it's not a brand of transformer but actually an EL-84 power amp from the 50's? Is this correct and does this mean that the transformer for my amp was taken out of an Acro amp? Just curious. Thanks.

jond October 12, 2011 20:28

Owner

Hey Colin yes that was me, just a month or so ago! The Aerovox's have really transformed what was already a great sounding amp, the sound is much bigger and 3-D. And actually I didn't exactly know what brand the transformers were so I appreciate the info. And thanks for the kind words about the system, sadly my cd player just bit the dust so I'm at a bit of a digital crossroads. Hey when I picked the amp up post-upgrade Vu told me that one of the guys had been lusting after it, was that you?

jond October 09, 2011 21:17

Owner

Thank you Pierre. I love my little Micro's and they fill the space perfectly. I love my Deja Vu amp as well, it's wonderfully rich and organic sounding. The three tubes up from are all three 6sn7's. Do you have any experience with Vu's amps? I would put them up against anything out there. Cheers!

jond May 11, 2008 21:42

Owner

System edited: I just added a Richard Gray 400S power conditioner as a little tax refund gift to myself. A very nice and affordable addition!

jond April 25, 2007 21:14

Owner

Sdatch,
Thanks very much! In fact my previous speakers when we first moved in were a pair of Alon Lotus' and they were freaking enormous in that space! It wasn't working and the boss said that they were dominating her living room so out they went. I think I got really lucky with these monitors, they give me just enough bass to keep me happy. Plus they sound great!
Cheers,
JD

jond October 11, 2006 02:02

Description

Components Toggle details

Auralic Aries Mini with Sbooster Power Supply

Audio Note UK DAC-3 Signature

Deja Vu Audio Full-Function Tubed Stereo Preamp

Deja Vu Audio Custom EL-34 Stereo Amplifier

Audio Note AN/Jlx in Olive Wood Finish on Sound Anchors

Cerious Technologies Nano Signature Power Cable

Furutech FP-S032N With F1-11 Gold Connectors

ExactPower 2000 AC Power Conditoner

Variac 2000VA

Jorma Design Digital Cable

Kondo AudioNote Japan KSL-Vc

Auditorium 23 Interconnect

Audio Note Lexus Copper Speaker Cables

Gregitek Aries Graf Footers

Combak Corp Brass and Ebony Footers

Synergistic Research Black Quantom Fuse

Synology DC 214 Play

High Fidelity Cables MC-0.5

Blue Jeans Cable Bonded Pair Cat-6a ethernet cable

Deja Vu Audio Custom Pushpull 2a3 amp

Arcam FMJ-P35 Stereo Amp

Wisdom Cable Technology Power Stage ES-10

Yamamoto Soundcraft YDA-1 Dac

Auralic ARIES G1

Wright Sound WPA-3.5 2a3 SET Monoblocks

RCA Tube caddy

Comments 207

Showing all comments by jond.

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