My system is a collection of modern and vintage equipment I've gathered over the last 15 plus years, many I will keep with me forever.
I really appreciate having many sources and experiencing the sound of different formats, each is special in their own way. I currently have 8 sources connected, 3 turntables, 3 reel to reel, a CD player, and a Lumin D2 streamer DAC.
In the last few years, I've gotten seriously into reel to reel tape decks and playing copy of master tapes. Vintage turntables is also an interest of mine and I’ve acquired a Garrard 301 and 401 to go along with the modern TW Acustic turntable.
My room is dedicated to audio and the occasional family movie night....It is 14' wide, 20' long, and 9' high designed with a gradual 45 degree angle drop from ceiling to side walls to minimize in room corners and 90 degree angles. It is treated with a combination of bass traps, panels, diffusers, curtain, and furnishings. Wall treatments are used strategically and very sparingly to keep the sonic in the room lively yet controlled. Overall I'm very satisfied with the room though it is often cluttered due to the amount of gears I keep around.
Thank you for visiting my page, your questions and comments are always welcomed.
Custom-made tape/phono preamp by Charles King. It has two inputs, one for tape and one for phono.
It's built around an original design by the late Tom Colangelo of Cello Audio (a Mark Levinson company). I have it wired to the playback head of my Studer A807 as an external tape preamp and also as a phono preamp for the TW Acustic turntable.
smooth 300 watt stereo amp that is musical and a joy to own
Magico V3 Speakers
What's special about the Magico V3 is that as detailed and revealing as they are, they do not sound sterile and lean in my system. They are extremely musical, and music sounds beautiful through these speakers. From highs to lows everything sounds superb, of course component matching is of great importance.
Audiovalve Challenger mono amps
I've been using Audiovalve products long before they appeared in the pages of Stereophile. I truly believe Helmut Becker designs some of the finest tube equipment in the world regardless of price. Audiovalve remains an excellent value in a time of inflated prices.
These Mono-block amps I will probably keep with me forever. They are better and quieter than many current production amps on the market. Approximately 150 watt pure class A, cathode/self-bias with almost no noise. It's been modified for use with KT-120. Mine is the older version with glass all around, I don't think it was ever sold in the USA. Hand made in Germany.
Audiovalve Eklipse preamp
I've been using Audiovalve products long before they appeared in the pages of Stereophile. I truly believe Helmut Becker designs some of the finest tube equipment in the world regardless of price. Audiovalve remains an excellent value in a time of inflated prices.
NOS RCA clear tops. Natural, open, and detailed sound with very tight bass. Hand made in Germany.
Ampex ATR-102 reel to reel
Studio Mastering deck with Flux Magnetic heads configured for me by Dan Labrie at ATR Services.
Studer A810 reel to reel
This A810 belongs to a private owner for most of its existence and is in excellent condition. I have the original box and packing which is rarer than the deck itself. Fully restored by a great tech, Marc Bischoff.
Upgraded audio op amps, and power supply caps, etc.
Studer A807 reel to reel
The playback head on this Studer A807 is wired out to a King/Cello tape head preamp built by Charles King.
The deck itself was serviced and recapped to be a reliable transport by a great technician, Soren Wittrup.
TW Acustic Raven One turntable
Solid table with excellent motor and power supply..great speed stability.
Tri-Planar MKVII U2 tonearm
Lyra Kleos SL cartridge
I have the SL (Single Layer) low output version of this excellent MC cartridge.
ZYX 4D X-SB2 Atmos cartridge
low output .24mV , copper coil, silver base option.
This is a very revealing and muscular sounding cart with lots of low end energy. Highs is clean without edginess...Clear and neutral through the midrange, and powerful, tight, dynamic bass.
Benz Micro Wood SM cartridge
Musical and well balanced, doesn't draw too much attention to itself. I can see it being a good daily workhorse.
Audio Technica AT33PTG/II cartridge
Low output moving coil, Microline stylus, boron cantilever, occpc copper coils. A very nice audio bargain that delivers.
Garrard 401 turntable
mounted on a birch ply plinth finished in piano gloss Macassar Ebony. Thomas Schick tonearm, and Lyra Kleos SL cartridge.
Thomas Schick 12" tonearm
A simple and solid arm that matches well with the Garrard Turntables.
Garrard 301 turntable
Late production oil bearing Garrard 301
with 12” SME M2-12R tonearm.
Plinth is layered birch ply finished in piano gloss Macassar Ebony.
SME Model M2-12R tonearm
12" modern tonearm built on a classic design
Nakamichi DR-10 cassette deck
the last good deck Nakamichi made
Lumin D2 Streamer with Sbooster
Streamer and DAC with Sbooster external linear power supply.
Effortless and smooth with no sign of harshness.
Sony SCD-XA9000ES SACD player
CD/SACD player.
Detailed and extended.
Element Signature Connoisseur interconnect
Element Signature Terminator cord
copper 16 conductor braid. Sweet, warm, and musical
Element Signature Matador
nice round, and smooth sound. Warm side of neutral. The Matador and Terminator cords are musical cables and a good match with the Magico's.
GIK Acoustics Impression Pro panels
Attractive absorber/reflector product.
Auralex MetroFusor diffusor
Two panels on each side wall at the first reflection point, these polystyrene grid diffusers made a huge improvement in my room.
ATS Acoustics bass traps and panels
Audio Power Industries Power Wedge 112 conditioner
AC conditioner
Furman PST8 power strip
power strip/surge protector
DIY Line Conditioner
4 outlet cryod, line conditioner/surge protector built using article from 10Audio
VPI Industries HW-16.5 RC
Vacuum Record Cleaner
Home Theater System
B&W and Paradigm speakers in a 7.1 set up, Rotel amp/pre combo with DTS HD-Master Audio. Optoma HD 3D projector, 110" motorized screen.
Jasmine Audio LP2.5DU phono
This phono preamp is an audio bargain! I’ve compared and prefer it to some much more expensive units. It has two switchable inputs for two turntables, a MM and MC switch, a convenient selector knob for MC load impedance adjustment, low noise very balanced sound that is not clinical nor overly ripe, and up to 70db of gain. Build quality is really exceptional. The chassis is sturdy with 1/4" thick metal top and bottom plates, front panel is glass like with a logo that lights up when powered on, not to mention a power supply built into a separate chassis and connected to the main chassis by an umbilical cable. A really attractive package overall.
I've replaced the main audio caps with Mundorf Supreme Evo silver gold oil. All other caps in the phono and power supply are replaced with Nichicon Muse Fine Gold.
Hi robforst1, I've had good results using LPR35 purchased from www.splicit.com, he runs a small operation but the service has been great, especially if you're new to r2r.
Hi scar972, i see that you own the D'agostino classic amp can you please discribe how it sounds. I'm considering this amp for my future upgrade but don't know what wood be the outcome if mated with the Dartzeel NHB-18NS linestage. I haven't seen anyone running this combo yet.
Since I've been listening to digital more the last few weeks.
My setup now consisting of a MacBook Air as a music server running iTunes and BitPerfect. Digital to analog conversion is handled by the Ultra-Fi DAC-41. This is a DAC that just gets the music right! No oversampling or upconversion of any sort. All files are AIFF stored on a WD external drive. USB cable of choice is the Audioquest Carbon.
What were your thoughts of changing from the suspended Michell Gyro (with Orbe platter) to the non-suspended deck? I'm at the crossroads considering upgrading my Gyro SE's powersupply and platter and wondering if I'd be better off going the VPI Classic Signature route. (Some of suggested upgrading the tonearm SME IV as you have done with the Moerch).
It's certainly great to hear from ya! Yeah my analog and speakers has changed a lot over the last couple of years, and to another level as you said. I think this is going to be it for a while since I will be a father next month.
Yes, the Magico's has been a superb addition to my system, the best speakers I've had for sure. Extremely detailed while still sounding sweet and musical, this quality is hard to find. I've had Von Schweikert, Legacy's, Avalon, in the past few years. I try to stay away from lean analytical sounding amps, they can make any great speaker sound mediocre.
Zanden is triode magic /nothing but music and also detailed . And that is coming from a high power /big power supply / dynamics lover . It has someting i cannot describe and i have never heard before , also not from very expensive kondo stuff which i heard a couple of times , there is great ease of sound and a kind of see through quality that gave me a :yeah thats it feeling , certainly on my buy/try list ,only funds restrict me nothing else
yeah i like the ascendant also . Ascendants driven by all levinson /chord are still one of my most memorable listening expiriences. I heard magico with zanden also top .
Yes, I still have the Ascendant, they will be up for sale in a couple of weeks, I've also listened to Eidolon, Ascent II and know the Avalon sound.
Comparing Ascendant to V3, the V3 is more detailed from top to bottom, the difference is not night and day but noticeable. Their tonal quality is suprisingly more of the same than different, keep in mind the Ascendant does not use the ceramic midrange that the upper end Avalon uses. The Ascendant is an exceptional value IMO. What's special about the Magico speakers is that as detailed and revealing as they are, they do not sound sterile and lean in my system. They are extremely musical, and music sounds beautiful through these speakers. The bass of the V3 is different than any other speakers I've had (this is my first acoustic suspension). Both has plenty of mid bass in my room but with the V3, I sense the drivers are moving a lot more air, while the loudness level sounds about the same, slightly tighter with the V3 actually. The bass of the V3 goes deeper than the Ascendant. With all I've said so far, I don't think I've gotten the max out of the V3 yet. My amps give the Magico's 110 watt of tube power, I'm modifying the amp to give 140 plus watts, hopefully this will raise the performance level a tad.
Nice system ,....nice speakers . I see you ve traded the avalons(ascendant?) for the V 3 s , can you describe the differences , im just currious , i like both brands.
Thanks Peterayer, your system is very nice as well, I bet your Mini II sounds amazing with the Pass Labs XA160.5.
As for comparing the XP-15 to Xono, I've never A-B these two phono's in my own system but my friend uses the Xono with Ortofon A-90 and I have an idea of its qualities. Both are very neutral and quiet, they sound more alike than they are different, the XP-15 may have a bit more body compared to Xono making it sound more musical overall. Xono could sound a bit analytical if surrounding components aren't chosen cafefully. Of course, this is just my opinion, I could compare XP-15 to my former Tom Evans Groove much better.
Thanks Kabaraka! The Tom Evans Groove is an exceptional piece of equipment. It is ruthlessly revealing, transparent, fast, and dynamic. The downside of this phono is, it's not flexible. There's no cartridge loading option, and very hard to match cartridge with, many cartridge sounds crude and unlistenable. Sounds amazing if you know how to match it, haven't heard anything like it.
Nice system! I just got the Eklipse and it's sure a very wonderful pre indeed .How's Tom Evan phono? It was on my radar once but didn't take a chance to listen to it.
System edited: Since my last update, I've changed the cartridge to ZYX Airy 3x, and phono to Tom Evans Groove. It was a journey before deciding on the Groove, I had Linn Linto, Dynavector, PS Audio, and Musical Fidelity phono in my system. All has its strengths, but more important was that the Groove offer the type of sound I wanted to listen to at this point. My analog is now very fast, detailed, dynamic and exciting to listen to.
It was fun talking with you, and I certainly appreciate your honest opinion. I listen to a lot of vocals and prefer my system slightly forward which brings out the vocalist, great on a few of my rock albums such as Brothers In Arms, and Steeley Dan abums. Will let you know when we can listen to my friend's system. He just sold his amp and pre.
