These speakers are version 2 of Aerial Acoustics' pinnacle speaker design. The workmanship is outstanding. They have 2" thick cabinet walls with heavy cherry veneer. The wiring and components are all premium grade. They use a 4" ribbon tweeter and proprietary Scan-Speak drivers. A true 20HZ to 20,000HZ speaker that is very musical.
Eversolo DMP-A10 and AMP-F10
These are Eversolo's top-of-the-line power and digital preamp, DAC, streamer and DSP components. They are designed to work together and to keep all electronic noise to an absolute minimum. The A10 uses dual power supplies - one for analog and one for digital. Its volume control is a stepped-ladder R2R. And, has a built-in proprietary clocking system. The signal-to-noise ratio is over 130Db!
The F10 power amplifier uses dual differential power modules, dual power supplies and a proprietary DC filtering system. I run two of them as monoblocks for an incredible 950 w/ch and 70dB of current
With the Aerial 20T V2 speakers these components present a huge soundstage that is silky smooth and powerful.
ModWright Signature Truth SCD XA5400ES
ModWright Signature Truth SCD XA5400ES with external tube rectified power supply. I've added Sophia Electric blue 6SN7 tubes to the output stage. I still have a significant CD collection. Overall, great analog type sound.
Audioquest Dragon Interconnects, Power Cables and Speaker Cables
Expensive but worth it if you want the absolute best out of your system.
Synergistic Research Black Box
The Black Box is a Low Frequency Resonator Array that works in conjunction with the Subwoofers, Atmospheres and FEQ X4 to solve bass node issues.
Synergistic Research ART System
This is Synergistic Research's older acoustic system that's based on resonators. It works very well with their current UEF system and provides excellent results. Complete ART systems are getting hard to find.
The UEF Panels, UEF Dots, Black Box, Risers, ECT and GCT are all types of sound resonators. I use an Atmosphere XL-4 (green ATM), Atmosphere (red ATM), FEQ X4 (2) (red ATMs) and Mini-Atmosphere (green ATM) - when used with the Synergistic Research control software they generate various frequencies of Schumann Resonances around the room. Bottom line they work: create a huge/realistic listening experience!
Synergistic Research Tranquility Pod
The Tranquility Pod hasowered UEF and grounding technology. It works with the SR Atmospheres that I have distributed around the room. Very effective with digital sources.
Electric Bamboo, ADD-Powr Sorcer and ElectraClear EAU-1
The Electric Bamboo is an excellent but very rare line conditioner. All hand-built around a massive transformer wired and grounded in the classic star configuration. The ADD-Powr and ElectraClear devices actually add electromagnetics (EM) to the AC line using an active circuit and algorithm. Contrary to popular belief not all EM is bad for sound quality in stereo systems. The proof is in the listening.
Vera-Fi Audio MainStream, SnubWay and Puron AC Line Conditioners
I use these conditioners as additives to my power conditioner. They give a more realistic presentation/soundstage and reveal more texture and impact to the overall sound especially in the bass.
Stein H2 Harmonizer system
I have 4 Stein H2s in my system.I went with one in each of corner of the room with a Stein stone on each and a Stein diamond on the ceiling in the center of the room. They add layers and layers of depth with each vocalist/instrument being in their own separate but integrated spaces.
Akiko Audio Tuning Stick; Kemp QA Plug (2) and Zero One (2)
The Akiko Audio tuning stick is another grounding product that works with internal crystals. The Kemp and Zero One products keep the electrons spinning around the electronic signals as uniform as possible and add a more standard frequency Schumann Resonance as compared to the Synergistic Research products which variable frequencies. .
Audio Magic Pulsed Electron Alignment
The PEAs are battery powered and affect Spintronics have the ability to control or manipulate how electrons spin. Electrons spinning around electronic signals carry audio information. The goal of the PEA devices its to get the electrons spinning as uniformly as possible. It opens up the sound and makes subtle cues in the music even more real.
StillPoint footers with risers
I use original Stillpoints (with risers) under my amp, amp's power supply, streamer and DAC. These are still some of the best footers available in my opinion.
This company has now closed because the owner has passed away. These products work to achieve a uniform and consistent RF/EMI and electron treatment around components.
Since I'm using this as my personal blog I'm going to discuss another little pet peeve of mine. The people that put "Best Offer" in their ads and then say in the ad (this is from an actual recent ad): "all requests for discounts or low-ballers will be ignored". Does this make sense? Getting the negotiation started is the key to any sale! Even if someone lowballs you - your response should be respectful and come back with a reasonable counteroffer. More often than not you will reach an agreeable middle point. Also, what IS a low-ball offer? I've made offers within 90% of the asking price and have been told-off or ignored. To me, thats crazy if you are truly trying to sell something!
I've purchased lots of used gear over the years and I'm dismayed at the amount of equipment that wasn't even broken-in when I received it. Many times they have sold it looking for a different sound or to try something else. To me, that means they didn't like what they heard. Well, without playing it for at least 50 hours or more, they simply had no idea what they had. I don't understand the the apparent lack of use of our expensive stereo systems. I guess people buy things just to buy things.
Just wanted to put in a plug for Klaus Bunge who owns Odyssey Audio. I'd heard his equipment and talked to him briefly at shows but really didn't have a chance to have direct conversations until recently. Very interesting guy who certainly knows how to build high-quality amps. As he would say "......that's no bullshit!!"
Well after a week of break-in and cable changes I can say this is some of the best sound I've ever had. Adding two major component upgrades at the same time is not good for determining the reason for a change in sound quality. But I can say both the Odyssey and Mytek certainly did not take me a step backwards. Good stuff.
I've also moved to a Odyssey Kismet amp. I'm breaking the amp in along side the Mytek Brooklyn DAC. I've got about 40 hours on them and they are sounding very nice but I think I can squeeze even more performance out of them with some cable changes and some SR Black fuses. Will report back....
Thanks. My typical day is get home from the office. Eat a light supper then relax in my stereo room (with a nice pour of something) for about a hour or so. I'm partial to analog but I had chance to hear a Brooklyn recently and decided to pick one up. I'm going to check out MQA recordings if I can find them.
Congratulation Scott. Will be interested to know how you like it and how it enhanced your listening experience. Room looks nice. I am sure you enjoy in that cozy place :-)
I've purchased a lot of Synergistic Research (SR) gear over the years. Alfred at High-End Electronics stands out as the best SR dealer I've dealt with. He is no nonsense and reasonable. He will give you his best price with shipping right away. There is one SR dealer who advertises a lot on the internet who will not give you a price for shipping until after the sale. The reason? His shipping prices are extremely high! Alfred communicates fast and efficiently. So many times I've had convoluted communications with SR dealers either because they were slow in responding or seemed to "not sweat" the details of the transaction. Stuff like not sending tracking numbers or not explaining they had to order the product from SR because they didn't have it in stock. Bottom line: just avoid the hassle and use Alfred!
I recently had surgery on my foot so I've been listening to my stereo literally throughout this entire Labor Day weekend. I'm, obviously, using this forum as my "stereo blog" - putting down my thoughts about my system. Today, I just want to say a little more about the VR-7 HSE. I was very fortunate to find these locally for a very reasonable price. I heard these exact speakers a number of years ago and was very impressed. So, when they came up for sale I bought them even though I wasn't in the market for a new pair of speakers. The VR-7 HSE were built to a very high level. In today's market, I'm sure these would cost well over $20k. I've thoroughly broken them in and further tweeked them with Synergistic Research HFTs. At this point, the sound quality is very hard to fault. They are big speakers that simply disappear yet explode and fill the room when the music calls for it. They throw a 3D soundstage with music presenting well past the sides, behind and to the front of the speakers. Yet, when its an individual with a guitar and mic the soundstage "smalls" down and its like he/she is sitting right in front of you. You can hear when the musician moves away from the mic or changes head position. The bass literally shakes the room on some tracks but isn't boomy. I may experiment with some big ass tube amp at some point but even being driven with a "modest" solid-state integrated the VR- 7 HSE are a joy to listen to!
I have enjoyed battery psu with Macs in the past, and have read details about Vinny's dongle for the mR, but thought that is only targeted towards LIO owners. For the best sound from mR, a top quality linear PSU is what to shoot for. I am fortunate that I have a friend who is an accomplished builder who made a custom LPSU for the cost of parts which rival those in very expensive PSUs. So I won't go down the battery road with it.
Yes, you are correct that mR is ethernet input / USB output. I've read about a good ethernet power line adapter kit on the CA site, if you need that. My past has been mostly analog, but everyday I am liking & listening to the digital more and more for first time ever. PM me if I can ever be of assistance. Cheers,
Spencer - I've been running the MacBook off battery power and removing the power leg of the USB connection during playback since my DAC is self-powered and doesn't need the power running through the USB connection. Both of which adds considerably to the sound in my opinion. Vinnie Rossi has a power option coming off his DHT for the microRendu which folks over on AudioCircle claim helps the microRendu because its no longer on the grid. Have you tried your microRendu with any type of battery power? Also you need a Ethernet connection for the microRendu correct? I could use a wireless extension I suppose and run an Ethernet connection from there. I play mostly analog but I will continue to check the microRendu out. Scott
One more suggestion for you, when you are ready to improve your digital further, check out the Sonore microRendu as a replacement option for your Mac. It works with Roon/Tidal, iPad remote too, but will give you better sound quality and is great with your library stored on a NAS. Cheers,
I had an inquiry about the performance of the Pro-Ject Xtension 10 and (what he believed) was a Shun Mook record clamp. First, let me say the Xtension 10 is a very high value turntable. Its well designed and gets most things right. It almost seems made for the Sumiko Blackbird cartridge. However, its performance was significantly increased when I added the Cardas phono box. The ability to use your own interconnect cables was big for me and it also seemed to lower the noise floor. As to the record clamp, it is not a Shun Mook but its very similar. Its made out of Ebony Root from Africa and is very dense. I've not had a Shun Mook in my system but I do know this record clamp outperforms the stock clamp and a number of others I have tried.
Currently using the excellent Parasound Halo integrated with built-in DAC and phono stage. I've also incorporated a music server based on a MacBook Pro. Getting excellent sound.
Based on Spencer's comments below I've removed the coffee table and a number of pictures from my listening room. I've also followed the placement guidelines for my Synergistic Research UEF Acoustic Panels more closely. Overall, its made a tremendous difference!
I was looking at Synergistic Research's Facebook page today and saw they commonly have the Black Box in front of the speakers. Sent a brief message to them and they said sometimes that location works best. Since I took Spencer's suggestion and moved the large coffee table out of my listening room I was now able to experiment more with the location of the Black Box. And...I've now moved the Black Box out in front of the speakers and very close to my listening position. It has made the entire presentation a little more smoother and cohesive.
Roon is the best library management available - no doubt. It organized my music and combined it with content from Tidal to make categorizes which now make a "complete" library. Very impressive. The user interface is beautiful and easy. If you have more than just a passing fancy with digital music I don't know of a better choice!
