Welcome to my De-compression Chamber. This is where I go to relax and enjoy music or movies when I can find the time.
*MUSIC comes First, with stereo being my primary listening mode. Surround and movies are secondary...but not by much. The system is better for movies than any theater I've ever been to. The system was designed with a few primary goals in mind. I've listed these goals below in no particular order as they're all critical to me.
Audiophile Criteria: *Full Range Main Speakers *Very good Pace, Rhythm & Timing *Zero Listener Fatigue *As upgradable as possible wherever it makes sense *Even, natural sound. Meaning, no parts of the sound or imaging are emphasized over others unless that's how the recording was mastered. *The entire system had to be time and phase aligned. (Yes, it makes a big difference.) This is a much bigger deal to me the more I listen. Non-Time Aligned speaker systems have a leading edge to the highs that I find fatiguing and un-natural. *Precise imaging without exaggeration or loss of micro or macro dynamics.
System edited: Howdy! I finally added in the final balanced digital interconnect to the system. This gives me a full balanced cable set all the way through from transport through CBIII and into the Gen VIII. The other item I added is the newest version of the BEL jumper cables. Having the digital cables being balanced has made a significant improvement in my system due to the Theta being optimized for balanced operation. The audible differences are: improved texture and clarity, deeper sound stage, more resolution from top to bottom. Although not a huge improvement, it was easily noticed and welcome. Going from bi-wiring to the new jumpers was interesting. The jumpers improved the bass in two ways. First, there was simply more of it coming through. Second, there was better definition and texture. I actually had to turn the Q down a notch! The changes we easily noticed in the mid range as well which prompted me to lower the Q. Essentially, there was so much more bass and articulation that it was muddying the midrange. This is normal with too much Q in my system. When I made the change in Q the improvement was readily audible even from behind the speaker. As things break in I'll let you know if anything changes. So far though I'm very happy with these incremental improvements. Next I'll be getting another pair of BEL High Pass filters to try again in the system. They're less expensive than the Vandersteen versions and will hopefully sound just as good. More on that later...
System edited: Got the Quatros in and tuned the other day. WOW! Once you get the bass tuned they come alive. There is no question that they sound better than the 3A Signatures. None at all. They sound amazing. The mids and highs are superb...reminiscent of the Model 5s. In fact, I'd say they are about 85% as good as the original 5s were. The differences are in the bass where they simply can't beat the 5s subwoofer. They also don't have the same ability to stay silent between notes that the 5s have. Last, they still don't have the transparency and level of natural sound they had. The Model 5As are still twice as good...especially as you listen longer. This may seem damning by faint praise, but you have to have a pair of 5s I guess to understand how glowing this really is. Understand, this is the smallest speaker I've ever heard that's dead flat in the room at 31hz. That, and they play with a clarity and engagement that very few speakers can equal at any price. Take a look at the pictures and you'll understand how small they seem. When they play they totally disappear from the sound stage. I'm very impressed by Richard's latest handy work. Anyway, that's my latest (heavily biased) opinion. YMMV, Michael
News Flash! I'll have Vandersteen Quatros in the next 3 business days. Once I have them in house, burned in and playing I'll let you know how they sound.
Quick Update: I finally got the balanced digital interconnect into the system last night. (I finally installed an auxilliary digital input board.) Going from the CBIII to the Gen VIII with the new connection made a significant improvement all around. The largest benefits being clearer vocals, better PRAT and an overall more natural sound. I've ordered a new glass fiber Toslink cable to try as well from the transports. Depending on how it sounds I'll use it or balanced digital interconnects from now on as they also improve the sound. The Levinson's coax connection is a little heavy sounding compared with the AES/EBU. The Theta Carmen is significantly different. It goes from a bit edgy and digital to smooth and musical. Once I've completed the final tests I'll post again on my findings. Cheers, Mike
Last night Mikej invited me for an extended audition of the Gen VIII. Music through the Gen VIII was utterly relaxed but tremendously dynamic as well. Certainly captures the soul of a performance. If you closed your eyes, you would have no clue that you were listening to a pair of speakers in boxes. Granted the Vandy 5A's are not ordinary box speakers but when used with the Gen VIII in the front end, you could certainly be fooled into thinking you were listening to a pair of large dipoles. They were completely transparent and holographic when the source permitted. The source material was revealed to the very last detail. If something was on the recording, you certainly were going to hear it. However, I wouldn't call it analytical in the least. Musical nuances were always revealed to the fullest but the soul of the performances were always preserved. Possibly the most revealing comparison was with the "River of Tears" cut from Eric Clapton's One More for the Road DVD. We switched between the Gen VIII and the Superior Dacs on the CBIII and the difference was astonishing. By itself, you probably would find little fault with the performance through the CBIII's Superior Dacs but the Gen VIII revealed the microdynamic subtleties of Claptons picking technique to a degree that simply did not get across with the CBIII's Superior Dacs. We had a marathon 4 hr listening session in which we also listened to Nora Jones, Susan Tedeschi, Pink Floyd's The Wall, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Rachmaninoff on piano, Hugh Masakela, Rimsy-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Bill Evan's Waltz for Debby, Kodo drummers etc. I could have listened all night. Thanks to Mikej for the experience.
Well, I've finally had a chance to listen to the system more. The Gen VIII has given it a significantly better reolution and natural sound than it had before. I had originally thought that it may be a hair polite, but what I'm finding is that it really has no signature I can pin down. That said, it's not an agressive sound no matter how you cut it. I've played all types of music from classical to Zeppelin and it all sounds great. Functionally, it has been working fine. No issues. Regarding the Phantom Center: If it's only me, I listen with Phantom. If there are more people there, then the CC is definitely the way to go. Cheers, Mike
Ok, here are some initial impressions: *The Gen VIII is sublime. All the music and detail is there, but it's not forward. I'm still getting used to it...and it's a great job to have. ;-) *There were several comments about the Phantom Center Channel option being better than the Center Channel. I'm finding that depending on the recording there are three major options. First, straight stereo. Second, Surround mode of choice with CC. Third, Surround mode of choice with Phantom Center. All sound great, but one will normally sound better than the others. Sometimes, it's a draw and they're just different. Luckily, with the CBIII I can have all the major options programmed into the "inputs" and toggle between them. Lots of fun! *I'm VERY happy with the system. The Gen VIII is slaved to the CBIII for power and volume now. So everything is easy to use. The sound is unbelievable.
The Gen VIII has arrived and is warming up/burning in now. The new surround card with DTS NEO 6 is awesome (CBIII)! I watched finding Neverland last night and had a great time.
System edited: I'm adding a Theta Gen VIII to the system next week. It will be slaved to the Casablanca III. I'll let you know how it goes. At the same time I will be installing the new surround sound board for the CBIII as part of it's CBIII Upgrade. More on how that improves the system soon too.
Thanks to Mikej for letting me participate in the audition of the Citadels. It was also the first time I had an opportunity to hear the system with the Theta CBIII and Vandersteen 5A's. The system definitely rocked the house with the Citadels in the loop. Along with tremendous dynamics and bass drive, the soundstage was HUGE! There was lots of air which gave a sense of the recorded space. We wondered if the Citadels were creating an effect or simply revealing the space recorded. Hard to say. Still the effect was intoxicating. I say bring it on! Imaging extended vertically as well as horizontally and the system displayed layered depth. You could even tell on the live Zeppelin cut that Jimmy Page had his Marshall cabs side by side rather than stacked! Quite a contrast from the Bels, which presented a smaller but somewhat more precise stage but still a very dynamic sonic picture. The Citadels did sound much better with balanced interconnects than it did single-ended. The resulting sound was more open and detailed. All in all, it was a great evening. We listened to selections from Brian Wilson's Smile, some James Taylor, the Who Live at Leeds(Young Man Blues was tremendous!), and lots of Zeppelin.
Quick Review of the Citadels: Based on what my guests heard in my system with the Citadels they liked them very much. They were especially good on live rock such as Santana and Led Zeppelin. Plenty of power, very stable, no problems at all, very quiet too. Highly recommended if you like live rock music.
No, they won't be replacing my BELs. If you can afford them, I highly recommend listening to the BELs and the Thetas to see which you prefer. You won't have any problem hearing the differences.
Just got in a pair of Theta Citadels for audition. Beautiful looking amp with amazing build quality. Will be trying it with different cables and speaker tuning to see what I can get out of them.
The speakers were recalibrated by my dealer the other day. That included moving them to a better spot as well as playing with the controls on the back. The effect has been eye opening. They were great before... Now they're better. A problem I had run into with the Casablanca's software had necessitated a different position for them in the room. With that ironed out in the upgrade they really sing now! I think I'm going to leave things alone for a while and just enjoy. Cheers, Mike
System edited: I brought the Model 2Ce Signatures downstairs the other day to listen to them with the new improvements to he Casablanca. WOW! They were amazing! I was truly shocked at how good they sounded. I still can't get over how revealing theses speakers are and how little they cost. Unbelievable...
System edited: Howdy! I just upgraded to the Casablanca III. The performance of the unit has improved dramatically! This is a bigger sonic upgrade than when we went from the CBI to the CBII. It's quieter, textures really come through, tones are more true and the controls are much easier to use now that they have no delay. Last, the macro and micro dynamics are VASTLY improved. If you're a Casablanca owner you owe it to yourself to do this upgrade! The system has really come to life with this change and the upgrade to Model 5A speakers. I'm finally getting to hear what the 5As are capable of.
Hi, the rear channels are actually on the sides in front of the listening position a bit. It's not ideal, but there was no place to put them otherwise. Performance and imaging are 8.5 out of 10 so I'm pretty happy. If I had a place for them I'd have put them slightly behind the listening position on the side walls. Thanks, Mike
Quick Update - Spent Sunday night finishing "Phase One"...
Here's the list of what it takes to tune the Model 5As (in brief): 1. Play a few select cuts of music until you get the places (with sub amps off) in the best spot for mid-bass through highs for imaging and tonal accuracy. 2. Adjust the speakers for tilt. 3. Plug in the amps 4. Begin bass tuning - a. Make sure all 11 adjustments in the back are in "neutral positions". b. Determine volume level by measuring to see where the 11 pots have half above and half below 75bd (using a Radio Shack Meter) c. Begin adjusting the pots on the back to "flatten" out the bass response below 120hz. The goal is to reduce the variance...not to truly make it flat. d. Adjust the Q level for the bass to where you like it best. (Tonal richness without bloat.) 5. Listening Tests to see if you got it all right...or, if you need acoustic treatments. Which I do. ;- )
So that was about 2 and a half hours of work for 2 people...
The sound is...well...really good. Rich, but not bloomy, detailed without etch, extended without fatigue. Anyway, you get the picture.
So while the system is now "tuned" I don't feel I'm getting the best from the current setup. I'll be working with my dealer on acoustic treatments and some more tuning refinements. That will be Phase Two.
The speakers are mostly broken in now after over 100 hours of play time. I've put them back where they used to reside as Model 5s in the interest of saving time. I sat down and gave them a serious listening last night (finally). They're definitely much improved over the 5s. Without final placement or tuning they're still much richer and detailed than the 5s. I can definitely hear where the bass tuning is needed too. The textures and increased information I'm getting now is simply amazing. I wouldn't have though my modest front end could provide this much music! Before I do a final set up and tuning I'm going to look into some room acoustic tuning for the ceiling corners behind the speakers. I think that will make the room more flexible for the voicing...hopefully allowing me to move the speakers to a better spot in the room for bass. We'll see. Once I've got all that in place I'll let you know how it went. Cheers, Mike
Got the speakers un-boxed and set up (roughly) on Friday. They are burning in now with the radio playing 24hrs/day. The few things I've put in for half-hearted listening confirmed my previous listening session notes on how good the 5As sound. My girl-friend says they're 30-50% better that the old Model 5s...and that's before they're broken in and tuned! (She has a music back ground and a great ear for the changes.) Most notable of all the changes is the richness and increased information that comes through the speaker now. Piano really has the richness of piano now. Before, it was close...now it's almost as good as the real thing. More soon!
System edited: Howdy! My Vandersteen Model 5As finally arrived back today from being upgraded. I'll be unpacking them and burning them in starting this weekend. Stay tuned for updates... Cheers, Mike
Spoke to the factory and everything has been worked out with the shipper. So the speakers are being re-finished now and should ship in about 2 weeks. When they arrive I'll post about how long break in takes.
