Description

I like the WP 8's ability to reproduce whatever the Joules can send their way. Speed, they can handle the Joule's lighting fast attack transients. The wonderful harmonic textures, decays and inner details the Joules reproduce are handled deftly by the WPs. The bass is strong, tight, detailed and textured.
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Components Toggle details

    • Basis Audio 2500
    Active suspension with oil and spring.
    • Basis Audio Vector 3 Tonearm
    The 3 is less congested providing more inner detail with more extended hi's and bass. It has a VTA micrometer that will help with finer adjustments.
    • Basis Audio Signature motor
    Had original motor upgraded to Signature. The new Signature is quieter with less cogging.
    • Basis Audio Revolution Belt
    "It occurred to A.J. that the belt itself may be playing a role. He measured a range of the belts on hand, selecting the most accurate (consistent thickness), and found that the tighter the tolerances, the lower the speed variation and better the sound. So how to increase tolerance was the question. A.J. embarked on a crusade that eventually led him to design his own process and apparatus which grinds the belt and to an astonishing accuracy of one-ten-thousandths of an inch!"
    • Basis Audio counterweights
    Lighter main weight with two smaller fine tuning weights positioning larger weight as close to pivot point as possible should result in a quicker reaction time.
    • Walker Audio Ultimate Precision motor controller
    With Valid Points and Control Discs and upgraded teflon circuit board. The improvement in the total presentation is impressive, smooth and clear were the first impressions. The bass seemed more pronounced and better defined; the highs were smoother resulting in a .."more natural sound".
    • Air Tight PC-1
    Just a fantastic cartridge!!!! Loaded at 240ohms, VTF @ 2.1grams. "Like most vinylphiles, I've listened to a lot of fine moving-coil cartridges over the years. The Air Tight PC-1, TAS' 2006 Phono Cartridge of the Year award-winner, is, IMO, the best yet in nearly every aspect of phonographic reproduction - the most complete." - Jonathan Valin, 2007 Golden Ear Award Winner, The Absolute Sound Issue 173, August 2007 "In plain English, the PC-1's magnets produce a much stronger magentic field, greatly lowering noise and coloration and greatly increasing resolution in every regard. Details are clearer, timbres are truer, air is more plentiful, dynamics are more lifelike, and stage width, depth, and height are expanded... a leap forward in moving-coil design." - Jonathan Valin, 2007 Golden Ear Award Winner, The Absolute Sound Issue 173, August 2007
    • Koetsu Urushi Black
    Warm with detail.
    • Koetsu Rosewood
    I need to remount this cart and find if my recollections are correct!!
    • GamuT CD-3
    The best player I heard at my pay grade in my system, coupled with the Joule LAP-150 Mkll it produces an enjoyable sound.
    • Joule Electra LAP 150 MK ll
    The top unit is the separate power supply, the bottom is the pre/phono. Me likey!!!! Changed the tubes to: 3 x Amperex 7025 '66 in 5751 sockets 2 x Amperex JAN 7308 '62 in 6DJ8 sockets
    • Joule Electra VZN-160 Grand Marquis MKV Musicwood
    OTL immediacy/speed, wonderful inner detail, dynamic, delicate, attack matched by incredible decay AAAAA+++++ piece of gear!!!! A privilege to own a joy to listen through!!! The amp themselves can be tuned by adjustments to the voltage with the variacs, biasing the 6C33CB's between (25) to (33) and with a dial provided for adjustments of negative feedback creating the sound you prefer. Presently running Amperex Holland 7025's and Amperex Holland 6DJ8's.
    • Wilson Audio WATT Puppy 8
    I've been changing positions and tuning by ear only. I measure at the top outside rear corner of the Puppy for both back and side wall numbers. This allows a fixed point for side and back wall numbers while toe in is adjusted, this corner being the easiest spot on these speakers to permit this for me. My normal listening db level is 72db to 83db so I'm optimizing the placement for this volume range as I think the boundary distances are dependent on the db level. The outside rear corners are now at 39 3/4" to back wall and 23 3/4" to lt side wall and 23" to rt side wall. The celling rises from 9 1/2' at lt wall to 10 1/2' at rt wall. The tweeters are 101" apart and my ears are 120" from the tweeters with a sliver of the inside of the WATT visible. This is the best sound I've had in my room!!!
    • Purist Proteus Provectus I/C pre > amp
    All copper
    • Purist Proteus Provectus S/C amp>speaker
    Copper
    • Purist Aqueous 20th Anniversary P/C CDP
    This is has been moved from the CDP to the LAP-150 Mk ll.
    • Purist Musaeus P/C pre-amp power supply
    Using to the Joule LAP-150 Mk2 power supply. Will try different cords eventually. This pic is when it was connected to CDP.
    • Purist 20th Anniversary P/C wall to VZN's
    To the tube section of the amps
    • Purist Musaeus P/C 15A to Walker control
    Cable upgrade for TT motor controller.
    • Solid Tech Rack of Silence 4
    Quieter and much nicer to look at than my old racks.
    • Black Diamond Racing The Shelf (2)
    Two 21" X 19" X 3/4" shelves one under TT and one under the pre amp give quieter backgrounds with much greater detail "Made entirely of BDR’s proprietary Carbon Fiber Composite materials and finished with clear acrylic on both sides for an elegant and understated appearance, the BDR Shelf is massive and extremely non-resonant, absorbing enormous amounts of vibration: a BDR Shelf is only ¾” thick, yet it is 25x less resonant than an 8” thick granite slab and has 4 times the vibration absorbing power of 2” thick MDF!"
    • Black Diamond Racing The Shelf (2)
    Two 19" X 15" X 3/4" shelves one under the Joule LAP-150Mkll's power supply and one under GamuT CDP. "Made entirely of BDR’s proprietary Carbon Fiber Composite materials and finished with clear acrylic on both sides for an elegant and understated appearance, the BDR Shelf is massive and extremely non-resonant, absorbing enormous amounts of vibration: a BDR Shelf is only ¾” thick, yet it is 25x less resonant than an 8” thick granite slab and has 4 times the vibration absorbing power of 2” thick MDF!"
    • Solid Tech Rack Of Silence ROS 1
    Amp stands with cross braces suspended by springs and amps feet sitting on Sims Novcom pucks.
    • Solid Tech Rack Of Silence ROS 1
    This is a picture of the ROS 1 Ref without the spring suspension. Currently set up with 1.6
    • Acoustic Sciences Corporation Tube traps
    (2) 16" Supertrap tube traps, (2) 11" Tube Traps, (2) 9" Tube Traps,(2) half round 11", (2) half round 9"
    • Real Traps Mondo Traps
    (4) traps at first and second reflection points
    • GIK Acoustics 242 & 244
    (2) 244 on top of the record cases, (3) 242's on front wall, (1) on wall behind chair
    • Mint LP Mirror protractor
    Fantastic tool for checking stylus alignment
    • Cable Isolators ESD
    Made of Electro Static Dissipative Polyurethane. The jury is still out on the effect these have on the sound but they have helped separate and organize the cables.
    • Sims Vibration Dynamics Navcom silencers
    Used between Rack Of Silence and BDR shelves under preamp and CDP. They are also under the acrylic shelves under Direct satellite box and Walker speed controller shelf.
    • Purchasing Department I-Mac & inter net
    Without this tweak the rest would have been near impossible, at best very difficult and a lot slower.
    • Hickok 539 b
    Roger Kennedy digital mods and calibration. A must have for matching sections, power tubes and to protect equipment.
    • VPI 16.5
    This was a great buy it really make record cleaning a snap!!!!
    • Digital Tachometer no name
    Reads strip of tape on the side of the platter.
    • PHONIC PAA2
    The PAA2 can perform full acoustical analysis using its real-time spectrum analyzer. Thirty-one, one-third octave bands are displayed on the screen real-time with selectable response times (35ms, 125ms, 250ms and 1 second) and weighting options (Flat, A and C). The operator needs to select the SPL (Speaker Pressure Level) range (30-90 dBSPL, 50-110 dBSPL, 70-130 dBSPL) for the test being run. The user can select any of the center frequencies and display the level that was measured with the numbers displayed above the real-time graph. The peak level can also be displayed for reference. There are a total of sixteen memory locations for storing data. The measured spectrum data can be stored to any one of ten memory locations. Averaged data from any or all of the ten memory locations can be stored to the remaining six memory locations.

Comments 268

I find it very bizarre that such an expensive system (that probably sounds really nice) could sound so bad that just a simple adjustment of 1/2 inch could make such a profound difference. What does that say about the equipment it self?

zippyy

Owner
So it seemed at the time. Why the snide remark about the cost?

samhar

So, your $100,000 system was giving you "instant headaches" because one speaker was 1/2 inch higher then the other? Very interesting!

zippyy

Oh, you have many pleasant listening experiences ahead :-)

-Sam

c1ferrari

Owner
Sam thanks! I recently (two days ago) changed preamp, phono and amps. I upgraded to the Joule VZN 160 MK V Musicwood amps and Joule LAP 150 MKll pre/phono. So far, everything is still settling in, the new system's sound is much more synergistic with the Sophias.

samhar

Hi,

Just came across your system...the sound from your Joule OTLs and Wilsons must be very satisfying!

Congrats,
Sam

c1ferrari

Owner
Wilson Sophia 1 with Pass XOno I consider myself lucky to be at 475 ohms!!!!
I'm wanting to audition an EAR 88PB which I'm hoping may be a good choice with the Wilsons.

samhar

Sam,

I gland some experimenting paid off. Given the rest of your system, now that I think about it a little more 1k may lack "body". You could be very near or at the sweet spot in your system at 475 ohm. Given, your willingness to tinker, I sure you will find it ; 0 )

David

dlanselm

Owner
Hello David,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience!!! It became immediately apparent how slow and congested 30 ohms sounded!!! I tried 1K but just couldn't get a sound I liked so I dropped to 475 ohms and VTF of 1.922 gr. This has most of the dynamics and imaging of 1K but with a bit more timbre. Just to check I reset to 120 ohms but it was slow and the imaging became more congested resulting in a smaller sound stage. I will try 1K again after some time at 475 ohms just to give it another try!

Once again thank you for helping me!!!

Sam

samhar

Owner
Hi David,

Thanks for the recommendations; I'll try the settings this week and post my findings. BTW as a common reference point I also thought the V-4's had a great sound and at their price were difficult to improve upon.

Sam

samhar

Hello Samhar,

I am a big fan of the Koestu sound. Despite what Koetsu recommends, I always enjoyed my Koetsu loaded at 1K, with a VTF 1.92-1.94, surely this is system dependent, but worth a listen in your system IMO.

David

dlanselm

Owner
Trying Koetsu recommended 30ohm impedance (29.96 in the XOno) and a VTF of 1.869 with very good results.It was necessary to increase VTA when impedance was lowered to tightened up the base and extended the highs. With the changes some sibilance appeared in the left channel; anti-skate was increased until it disappeared.

Partial list of music used:

"Things Are Getting Better" Cannonball Adderley with Milt Jackson/side1/ trac1
"The Cape Verdean Blues" Horace Silver Quintet plus JJ Johnson/side 4/ trac 1
"The Koto Connection" New Koto Ensemble of Tokyo /side 2/tracs 3&4
"Joan Baez Gulf Winds" /side 1/ tracs 2 & 3
"Rapsodie Espagnole" Revel Paul Paray / Detroit Symphony /side 1
"Going Home" The L.A. Four /side1 /trac 1
"Scheherazade" R Korsakov Erenest Ansermet/L'orchestre de Suisse Romande /side 1

samhar

Owner
System edited: Added Pass XONO phono !!! Started at 100 ohms and low gain then reset to 89.19ohms which so far I like better with the Urushi. Tomorrow I'll try lower settings and find out how low is to low. The improvement beyond the Nova is huge, similar to going from a Glider to a Urushi.

samhar

Owner
Switched the Purist PP and Cardas GR I/C's positions. The Purist now runs from the phono to the preamp and the Cardas from the CDP to the preamp. The Purist seemed a little more forward with more detail enough so that I changed the VTA (lowered the back of the cart) to soften the highs and bolster the bass. I like the CDP with the Cardas so I'll wait until everything "settles in" before any positions are finalized.
Also downloaded the AccuTrack Universal Protractor from Vinyl Engine and used the Baerwald alignment= effective length of 237.5mm (offset : 23.17*) set tracking weight at 1.836g and loading @100 ohms.
This cart (Urushi) has taken the system to a different level even with a not to expensive SS phono the sound is just so beautiful I listened for seven hrs stright the other day!!!! Can't wait to try some other phonos especially tubed ones!!!

samhar

Owner
System edited: Mounted a Koetsu Urushi Black this afternoon on the Vector 3 arm!!! It's very different from the Rosewood much more inner detail with a tighter low end and a more extended high end. Now an Ear 88PB seems like a great fit before I was worried the Ear and Koetsu would be to tubey!!

samhar

Owner
System edited: Added a VPI SDS and will test it out tomorrow!!! Still looking for a phono, so far the Ear88pb is #1 but still haven't completely ruled out hybrid or SS.

samhar

Owner
Papermill thanks! It's been moving along with some degree of direction but now the Pandora's Box of vinyl presents so many directions/choices, there's just so much to learn. The quality of sound is just so beautiful that the rewards are more than worth the effort!

samhar

Sam...thx for the advice. I don't think you can go wrong with any of those tube phono choices. Have a great time checking them out and I will let you know how I make out. Thx for your advice again.

cmalak

Owner
C.... thanks! I'm considering Nagra VPS, CJ TEA-1.., Manley Steelhead and ???????
I checked in your threads and saw you have ARC Ref3, Ref110 and CD-7. My novice advice to you has changed. I think you need to get a quality table similar to the Basis 2200 Signature/Vector 3 on AgoN if you don't get a good table the CD-7 will perform close to your analog rig and you'll wonder why you went to vinyl it may seem an unnecessary hassle!!! I don't think your a tinkerer so something like the Basis/Vector combo is great just have the local TT shop set it up and go, no adjustments to think/worry about!!! Pick up a PH-5 OR PH-7 and your set for some great listening sessions.
FWIW I auditioned the 2200/Vector and Classic together, I was considering The Classic until I heard the two side by side. If you have the cash go for the 2200/Vector your system deserves a good rig not to mention your psyche!!!!
Also you'll spend 3-4 grand and not have much for you money like I did, granted you'll learn something like I did but you'll still waste some money that could go for a good cart in tje 2200!!!

samhar

Ever evolving is right! Yikes! Beautiful system.

papermill

Congrats on the upgrade to the Basis 2500 and vector 3 tonearm. I listened to a Basis 2200 with modded RB250 tonearm and Dynavector 20X cart being driven by a Nagra BPS phono and I was blown away with that combo! Your setup with the Koetsu Rosewood must be awesome. What tube phono are you considering? By the way, don't know if you remember me Sam but I am still evaluating tts and haven't pulled the trigger yet. Waiting to hear a VPI Classic before making a final decision. Enjoy.

cmalak

Owner
System edited: Decided to keep the Basis and the Koetsu Rosewood. I will add a tube phono next then.......? It's exciting how dramatic the improvements are when upgrading the TT and cartridge, much greater than when I upgraded digital front ends. There are "bugs" to work out and tons of information to digest but it's really worth it for the improvement in sound quality.

samhar

Owner
Auditioning a Basis 2500 TT with Koetsu Rosewood cartridge. The improvement is beautiful and very impressive! I wanted to pair the Basis with the Nova Phonomena to hear what the Nova is capable of and I'm surprised it's as good as it is!! That being said the Basis/Koetsu makes it very obvious I'm listening to SS phono and missing some of the beauty a "good" tube phono provides. Think going from a grainy EH 6922 to an full smooth Amperex 6922 PQ this is what I'm imagining will happen with a tube phono.

samhar

Owner
Bobheinatz

Thank you for the kind words!
Sorry for the delayed response I've been on a cruise.
I've wanted to hear the LA 300 SE but haven't yet, are you using this with the Air Tight 300B amp?
How would you characterize the two preamps?

Lloyd it must be beautiful as well as effective!!

samhar

Hi Samhar,

My rack has similar thickness shelves and otherwise, has minor differences:
1), The cabinet sides are on the edge, so the shelves do not extend beyond the sides
2) The cabinet sits on top of 1.5" thick slab of slate to decouple from the floor...I am told NOT to couple the slate and cabinet together
3) Finish is piano gloss, african mapele...almost black-brown, "rippled wood" finish...laid out in matched butterfly across all sides.

Hope that helps...good luck and keep us posted!!

Lloyd

lloydelee21

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