Hi Pierre, sorry have been rather busy the past few months, no time to reply.

Each item in my system has a history and came about from listening to them in different systems and ultimately in my own before it replaced the older unit. So it's difficult to say which 2 items made the most difference. They all did and in such a significant way that I bought the item.

That said, I would have to mention that it was vibration control that allowed the components to perform to their peak abilities. And secondly room shape is important too - I used a room shape calculator to get the basics right then sort of guessed the rest. I choose to follow one of the Louden room shape ratios (1:1.4:1.9) which satisfies the Bolt, IEC and EBU good sound design ratios also.

A good room shape allows you to find a good spot for the speakers (this is still very much a requirement) so they can play deep smoothly without boom. Good choice of room finishes allows the HF to play well. And good vibration control allows your components to show all they can do.

flkin August 25, 2008 22:24

Kin very well done.

You are an audiophile and the next design star.

What two components helped you achieve your listening goal the most? That includes the Lamb and the room as well.

I'm asking you this because it seems like you really put a lot of thought into building your system.

Pierre

lapierre June 23, 2008 16:31

Hi folks! Thanks for your comments - the system's sort of reached a very nice plateau right now and so I've stopped tweeking it for the time being and am just enjoying software. Currently looking to buy a heap of great audiophile jazz and classical CDs from Taiwan at a good price. Lots to listen to shortly...

Islandmandan, I'm in Bangkok and will reply your questions in more detail via email.

flkin June 23, 2008 01:27

Hello Flkin,
Beautiful system, got to be great to listen to. You mentioned you were in Thailand, and that brought up several questions. My wife is from Thailand, and I am considering retirement there. First, where are you located? How clean is the power, and lastly, your compnents all have to be 220volts, right? All my equipment is currently 110volts, and I hate the idea of starting over to get back where I am now. Any ideas or suggestions?
Congratulations on your system, and thanks for any info you might be able to share.
Regards, Dan

islandmandan June 20, 2008 10:39

If your current set-up doesn't allow you to 'get into the music' I am afraid nothing will, bravo, nicely done and I would like to echo the above comments on a great looking room.

nissancrazy June 20, 2008 07:04

I like the sheep tweak. Nice!

audiobroke June 16, 2008 14:45

Thanks Tito for your kind words. My music room happens to be my kid's drawing room also. The table I have in front of the sofa is covered with paper and I encourage my daughter to draw on it. So Mommy can't complain that I spend too much time with the hifi and not enough with the kid! Although I don't allow her to touch the system I have a programmable "Weemote" remote that is kid friendly (large buttons and damage proof) and she sometimes tricks Dad by muting the music..

The last bit of bass tuning was achieved with the Ultra platforms under the CD and pre-amp. So I'm not planning to mess with the WPs anymore. But I'll check out the stuff you mentioned anyway. I was considering the MinusK instead of the Ultras but eventually decided against it but hear it's a pretty impressive device. I'll check out your review later.

Cheers! Kin

flkin May 19, 2008 23:09

Lovely room, Flkin, the silk-wrapped treatments look gorgeous and that child baiting "tweak" should be patented, lol! Along the same lines as your choice of stands, have you checked out Core Furniture? Also, regarding placing stands under the WPs, I know a reviewer who's used Taoc stands under his Kharmas and, in terms of bloom, it just might work for you.

tmij May 16, 2008 14:44

System edited: System Updated: Added 2 Symposium Ultras under the Watt Puppies in replacement of the original spiked feet. Trying to tighten up the bass a little and possibly reduce the cabinet colorations even further. Didn't work. The sound was over damped and both air and bloom disappeared. Image became smaller and recessed into the sound field. I suppose the design of the speaker's crossover included the feet and changing the feet would require a corresponding change in the crossover. So the Ultras ended up under the CD and BAT where it made a huge difference! Details, imaging and bass tightness has improved.

flkin May 14, 2008 04:50

Hi Elberoth2, we chatted on tube rolling recently on another thread. I was going to update that thread once I finalized the sound in my mind. In a nutshell, yes there is an improvement but not a lot. Slightly more dynamic, tighter and more solid image, more air and details.

During the burning in process of around 70 hours or so, the sound started hard and gradually softened up with the harshness replaced by better detail.

Mind you, it is rather difficult to make a comparison between the DRs and standard Sovtek tubes. You have to unscrew the top plate of the CD7, wait till it cools to change the tubes, refit all the dampeners and screw the top plate back on. Then wait for the warm-up again. I went through the process many times, with different combinations of Herbie's 6H30 dampeners and the original ARC double rings. And with the Herbie rings, different positions on the tubes.

Ultimately, I concluded to use the Herbie dampeners closer to the top of the tube than the original ARC double rings and to stay with the 4 DR tubes in the gain stage. I still use the original Sovtek one for the power stage.

While I was doing this, I was also experimenting with different footers and concluded that either using the original ARC 5 feet or using Symposium aluminum couplers to my Isis rack sounded the best depending on whether I wanted slightly softer and sweeter sound or clearer and more detailed sound. I settled on the latter.

flkin April 10, 2008 22:08

I have noticed that you have upgraded to DR tubes. Did you hear any difference ?

I have a quartet of DR sitting on my desk for several weeks now, but did not have time to put them in.

elberoth2 April 10, 2008 08:03

Thanks for you kind comments folks. Since posting the initial pics, I've added more pics to show the latest setup now.

Yes Goheelz, you're pretty observant re the sound panels :-)

Both the front and back panels are thin acoustic panels wrapped in a silk covering (we have a lot of the stuff in Thailand!). The back panels has strips of glass at the sides as part of the room design. The panels are not the type that absorbs all sound but only makes the rooms less alive. I believe that a dead room doesn't sound very nice at all. The best acoustic rooms I've been in are pretty lively.

Where the ceilings meet the walls, I've installed 4 Cathedral Sound Panels - the controversial ones that reduce sound pressure by the Venturi principle. Seems to have a good effect on bass.

flkin April 10, 2008 02:21

Really a fantastic looking room & very nice gear. Congratulations... you should be proud of your system!

pdreher April 09, 2008 18:54

Now, that's the way to do a listening room!

darkmoebius April 09, 2008 17:34

Beautiful room! Looks like a great place to listen, and the system is excellent. You mention that you've used as little acoustic paneling as possible. But is the wall behind the speakers made up entirely of acoustic panels? Best regards.

goheelz April 09, 2008 08:14

System edited: System changing all the time, last big change was the ARC CD7 and it's just about burnt in fully now. Sounding quite wonderful especially the treble. Bass a bit fat so currently playing with power cords and adjusting the position of the Watt Puppies. The optimal position has changed with the new CD player (old one was ARC CD3mkII). I wonder why? Considering to add some Symposium Ultra platforms under the speakers to better control vibrations. Anyone any experience with this technique?

flkin April 09, 2008 03:56

Finally got around to grouping my gear together on-line. Will try to get some pics together soon. My room is built around the Louden Ratio with as little acoustic paneling as possible. Still working on one corner as there is a bit of slap echo.

Feel free to make comments. Thanks.

flkin April 09, 2008 03:24