Hi! just touching ground. It's been awhile, hope you are still around and 'in it'.. So no more evolving lately? ;))

bvdiman January 19, 2012 09:15

Well done Sir! How are you liking your new Kharma? I'm sure paired with full Nordost cabling and power conditioning you are enjoying an immensely resolute presentation now. However my guess is, if you have gone the Siltech route, you will most likely retain all those excellent traits plus the added gain in body, density and palpability as well ie.more organic. Anyway, congrats on your recent upgrades! Cheers..

Ps.Heard you have just got yourself a PSA PPP? Use their PW AC12 power cord from wall feeding them, you'll hear marked improvements - notably in weight, fullness and bass.

bvdiman October 07, 2010 10:58

System edited: SYSTEM 1 : Esoteric X-05 , Rega Planar 3 , ARC REF 3LE , ARC REF 110 , KHARMA CRM 3.2 ES , Nordost THOR , Quantum QX4 , power cord Nordost Valhalla-brahma-vishnu , IC Nordost Valhalla XLR , speaker cable Nordost Valhalla 4m SYSTEM 2 : NAD cd player 515 ARC integrated VSI 60 Quad 2905 Nordost Thor power cord Nordost Shiva IC and speaker cables Nordost Heimdall

antonoyuwono March 28, 2010 16:26

System edited: I replaced the quad with Kharma CRM 3.2 ES , a special version-factory upgraded of CRM 3.2 with special internal cablings and black ceramic woofer.. Initially I am afraid I cannot get what I got from Quad with Kharma.. but now I know that Kharma is even more transparent , as wide and deep in soundstage , only the soundstage height a little bit smaller than Quad. But , now I have a better system in listening to rock and large orchestral music. I also have more high freq informations , and better resolution too--more harmonic overtones especially in higher and lower freqs. As for the Quad , now I paired them with integrated from ARC Vsi 60 , with cablings from heimdall Nordost

antonoyuwono March 28, 2010 16:08

BTW , when I buy the Ref 110 , I also acquired a new Valhalla XLR ic..so now I can go full balanced and full valhalla.. ( cd>>pre amp>>power amp>>speaker )

the recording venue can be felt quite clearly...and then....

Step 3.

change the dv50 with Esoteric X-05..soundstaging becomes layered clearly..neutrality improved ( dv 50 seems a little bit on the mellow side--laid back--soft>>with rdot + fir ... if only using either one of the filters , grains and sibilance appears )

Not so with the X-05..very neutral , soundstage fantastic , and recording venue is very clear..

now , I think I'll have to trade the Rega.....because now the Lp is not so superior if compared to X-05...

the only thing heard better on the Lp remains the highs ( like on cymbals )--the lp's cymbals are very airy , shimmering with harmonics..and heard very very natural..

while the cd's cymbal is harsher , shorter in decay time ( which translate to less convincing reproduction )

antonoyuwono October 09, 2009 06:56

Step 2.
trade the aleph 3 with Ref 110 , the 1st Ref110 unit have some noise in the right channel after 2 days.. so the dealer replaced it with a new one..and it's been perfect afterwards..
I also noticed that the new one is perfect!! when I used the defected one , I can sense the greatness but still thought that the amp might not be as good as people say..bass is not full--and then after 2 days of testing--comes the noise on the right channel..

After I got a new Ref 110 , right from the start , I noticed the bass tightened a lot , went lower and deeper..soundstaging and focus improved again... and then....

antonoyuwono October 09, 2009 06:47

I'll try to explain the upgrades that I do..
step 1. relocate the room.. since I need more office space for me , I have to relocate my system.. previously , the system is in my office , but now I move them to my home theater room in my house ( my house is across the road from my office )
Since it is a home theater room , all the walls have been treated and finished in wallpapers.floors are concrete finished with laminated fibre board.
The room is not too dead , which is just the way I like it ( I do not like a too dead room )

The effect of this relocation is very positive... soundstage and focus is very good , but , I know my power amp ( aleph 3 ) is under powered..and so that is my next upgrade will be

antonoyuwono October 09, 2009 01:22

I have made a lot of revisions both to my system and to the placement..
I'll try to post full description and new pics ASAP , but the result is FANTASTIC.. in the meantime , the short descriptions are :
1.buy REF 110
2.go full balanced with valhalla
3.relocate the system to another room ( more suitable )
4.swap the dv50 with a new esoteric x-05

WWOOWWW......

antonoyuwono October 02, 2009 23:13

Thanks Lapierre n Microstrip..
I am prioritizing to upgrade my aleph 3 to REF 110 first rather than trading the REF3 LE with REF 5 ... I hope I can get the REF 110 sometimes near november or december..
in one or two days I'll post the REF 3 LE pics..
( one of the diffs between regular REF3 and LE is the torroidal transf in the LE )

antonoyuwono June 14, 2009 01:37

Great decision.

Keep us posted on the different changes you notice.

lapierre June 12, 2009 16:21

Now you have the REF3 (an excellent preamplifier, I sold mine to buy a REF5 and I am missing it a lot ...) , try to listen to a CD8 or even an used CD7 - an wonderful CD player with electrostatics.

microstrip June 12, 2009 14:20

system edited :

At last!!! REF 3 Limited edition !!!
Yes , I upgrade to ARC REF3LE , I know I know
in the near future REF 5 is coming , but I am sure
The REF3LE can still stand proudly beside the REF5 ,
and I also will be able to trade the REF3LE to REF5 if
it is really that much better..
Anyway The REF3 had already stand the test of time by being one of the best ever preamp..

I'll post new pics showing the REF3LE , in the meantime I'm happy to report that it is a major advancement from the LS 17 , even in it's fresh out of the box it already reveal it's superiority..more clearer sight to the stage/the musician are very very easy to spot , clearly distinguished between each other , much much less grain , and low level detail is also more easy to heard , and the vibrato of a singer is also heard clearly...listen to the first few bars of Pat Barber's Cole Porter mix song no 2.

antonoyuwono June 12, 2009 04:24

System edited: I substitute a FREY interconnect to Valhalla XLR.. what a change!! tranparancy , air , timbres , black background , all went up for the better..LOT better.. , I still want to but a second valhalla to substitute the snow lake.. ( I'll not sell the snow lake--it is on excellent cable too --if possible , I want to buy the emperor and compass lake cable to form a complete siltech cablings ) For Rega P3 , it is one fine turntable , but I don't find it too be high above the DV50..rather , it excells only in palpability --we can feel the singers/players in front of us better.. , but there are many things also better on the DV50--blacker background , transparancy

antonoyuwono March 30, 2009 16:53

System edited: I post several more pictures of my rooms , including one picture which shows my listening position.. hope these pics could be of some help for you fellow audiophiles..

antonoyuwono March 13, 2009 20:58

Lapierre,

Reading from your office system forum thread , I am sure you will be satisfied with quad 2905 in your system , my room is 350cm ( 12' ) x 575cm ( 19' ), and I put the quad in the short wall , around 120cm ( 4') from the window and just 20 cm from the side wall.. , what I don't know is how will the quad paired with macintosh..as it is not a brand that a lot of people use in my place..

antonoyuwono March 13, 2009 20:33

Good analogy.

ARC Ref 110 should kick-it up a notch.

lapierre March 13, 2009 13:56

Lapierre ,

I'll try to post the room plan , but , here's some data :
speaker distance from each center , 280cm , distance from inside front baffle 210 cm , 2905's width 70 cm.

Listening position , I prefer 280 cm from front baffle , so it's near field listening.. If I sit about 240cm from front , stereo image a little blurred and sometimes bass definition suffer..

I'm sure 2905 should handle orchestral music/complex music passages well , but we need more power.. I once try 2x70watt solid state ( exposure 2010 ) , it defines better the players in the orchestra , and spatial information ( width and depth of sounstage ) , but , unfortunately exposure is still solid state , so less air and less palpable..

That's why I plan in the future to upgrade to Ref 110 from ARC

One thing I found out , electrostatics soundstaging ability a little differ from a good cone speaker's soundstaging ability , we can listen to reverb of the recording venue better with a good cone speaker ( I have de capo i ) , and so we can feel the atmosphere of the recording venue more palpable..( we can feel the space )

antonoyuwono March 12, 2009 22:03

Well done!!!

What distance is your listening position?

Regarding Orchestral or complex music passages I thought the Quad 2905 would handle this with ease.

lapierre March 12, 2009 12:43

Hi Tiverson,

Aleph 3 is quite sufficient for listening Jazz combo and
chamber music , or acoustic intimate music..although indeed
the bass will becoming a little bit boomy..but usually I just adjust (furthering) my listening position to minimize the effect.
Orchestral music is not reproduced as well as smaller music combo..

Overall Aleph 3 for the quad 2905 is quite satisfying , although I have planned to buy ref 110 and ref 3 as my future upgrades.
( Once you heard the air and palpability of a tube system ,
it will be quite difficult to accept solid state )

I also have a primaluna prologue 1 which right now I am pairing it with the quad , compared to ls17 + aleph3 , the primaluna wins a little better in palpability , but lose in transparency , bass control and sound staging ( singers feels a little bit shorter and not too pinpoint imaging )

prologue 1 is much satisfying when paired with de capo i ,
which is my second system..but that is another story...

Hi Emailists,

I once owned a ESL63 too , and I noticed it makes singer
a little bit shorter than should be..so I made a custom made stand to raise it off the floor.. but , ESL63 is one excellent speaker too..

antonoyuwono March 12, 2009 04:19

Yours is the 3rd or 4th new virtual system this week that use Quads. (I used to own Crosby'd ESL-63's)

emailists March 11, 2009 21:04

Nice setup, I always wonder what the aleph 3 would sound like thru quads. Does the aleph have enough power for the quads? I have a pair on Totem model 1 that I use with the aleph in a small room and, it can get loud or at least loud enough for me.

tiverson2000 March 10, 2009 15:31