Happy Listening!
Dimensions: 20’ × 14’ Medium
Ceiling: 17’
Hey there RJ....thanks, and, nice to hear from you!
Some interesting points you make....and, I am actually pushing 60 years old, but have been very active in this high end audio gig for over 30 years!!
I am Canadian, eh...… It's interesting that the EMM Labs stuff I tried years ago, CDSA SE I believe it was, and didn't like it! EMM is actually about an hour from me......got a great story about picking up the DV2 from them but, another time! This DV2 is quite different from their older stuff, very very happy with it. No, I don't actually give preference to Canadian stuff! If something blows my hair back it doesn't matter where it's made! Well, maybe a little, it has to be good value in the sense that it has a chance of holding some market value and that's not always the case with some countries of manufacture. You were right on the EMM and Iso-acoustics, but the Absolare is a different beast. Parts are German, manufactured in Holland and fine tuning/design is led by a fellow out of Turkey.
Has the bar changed!? Hmmm. That's a long winded answer I believe. I don't have to tell you that synergy is king. Synergy and being true to yourself and what you like/enjoy. Also, so much can be squeezed out of a system with attention to detail. But has my bar changed? You know one thing I've learned is that you don't need a $250K system to enjoy it. If your system gets your foot tapping and a smile on your face, you are there!
Churchill No48..….wow they look beautiful. Very cool. The Atmasphere gear I tried a while back, well just the preamp......reference pre, can't remember the designation!!? I remember it because we always refer to a component removing a veil and being able to see more into the music. I felt the Atma preamp not only removed a veil, but blew the curtains off the wall and then dismantled the walls....soooo open and exposed! At the time I was afraid of tube amps and the sight of all those tubes in the Atma amps made my knees shake! lol Beautiful, but for me at the time they were over my head!
Very cool.....a very nice analogue setup you have! I have not been down the analogue road at all, but I have read enough and chatted enough to recognize all those names! I would love to hear a very nice analogue setup like that one day! Again, that was a direction that there was so much to know about, and it all made a difference, so it scared me to digital, which has worked out for me.....ignorance is bliss perhaps!!? lol
With regards to low level listening and micro-acoustics.....I recently picked up some Critical Mass footers......amazing! The Iso-acoustics under the Tannoy were also amazing. They made the speakers sound like they weighed 1000lbs. With respect to low level listening and micro acoustics....a few years back I owned a Grounding component called the Tripoint Troy! Amazing what after market grounding will do!! I ended up selling the Troy, long story...…..but the Entreq stuff looks interesting and a more reasonable price.....I'll end up giving that a try at some point.
Always interested in tips if you have some things that have worked for you! Also interested in great recordings if you have any recommendations!? Doesn't have to be any specific genre.
Thanks very much Balazs. Yes I've had a number of amps with the Canterbury speakers, including the Zanden, Manley, Rowland, D'Agostino, Absolare and Vitus. I would have loved to get my hands on the Zanden 9600 you mention. I did try, but was only able to find a pair of the 9500 available, which would have been fantastic as well, but the timing of the deal was off. ( I think that I had just purchased the Dag) Anyways....
The Zanden that I had with the Canterbury was the 6000 integrated. I absolutely loved the Zanden sound with the Canterbury. It didn't matter what music I played, it seemed there was always a particular volume that was the magic spot, the sweet spot....a spot where everything came alive right there in the room!! The only thing.....only thing, that I did not like about the Zanden 6000 was the design, visually. The 9500 and 9600 Zanden amps are gorgeous visually, works of art, but they are elusive to aquire! So, I had to go with the 6000 to get a chance to experience Zanden. I was torn about selling that amp because it was a beautiful sound, I just couldn't live with the looks! After that I believe I ended up going for all looks, with the D'Agostino. lol The Dag was a cool amp, could impress with it's power......that amp could really make those Tannoys move! lol However, after experiencing the sweet and beautiful top end of the Zanden, the Dag was too harsh for me. Now, that was the Dag Momentum Stereo 250 amp I believe.....and I've heard that those amps have improved considerably since the 1st bunch that came out! I will never know because I would never go in that direction again. Next up was the Vitus SIA025, which I love. I had owned the Vitus Mono amps years earlier and knew what Vitus was all about and knew that I would be very happy with the SIA025...…..and I was!! The Vitus had surprising authority on the bottom end, with the Canterburys, for 25 watts it was shocking how subterranean that amp could push the Tannoy. But it was a different bottom end than the Dag. Much more refined. The Vitus was beautiful from top to bottom, with a tad less midrange than I wanted, in my dreams! I still love Vitus and would buy another. Then.....I came across the EMM Labs DV2 DAC. The DV2 has volume control, so that opened my options up on amps and I got the bug to try a stereo amp again, and use the DV2 as the volume control. In came the Jeff Rowland 625 S2...…(I believe) (not sure on the S2 Part!!) I hooked up the JR and ran it up, let it settle in, playing low to mid level music for a few hours while I was out. I came home and thought ok its operating fine (purchased used), and I will listen seriously to the amp in the coming week, on my days off. At that point I shut the JR off and had a serious pop go through the system. Everytime I shut the JR off it popped through the system! I've never had that happen before! The fellow that had it before me was very respected and bought it new so if that was an "issue" he could have had warranty look after it! Seemed it did this from new and was "normal"!? Normal for JR!!?? I don't know.....it's the only JR I've heard so can't comment on the normal for JR part! Perhaps my system was sensitive with the 96db Tannoy!?? Again, not sure......but, I could not live with that situation and moved on from JR. I did of course listen to the amp a little bit prior to selling it and thought it did everything very well. Unfortunately my mind was already made up, before I listened critically, that I could not live with that pop, no matter how quiet or loud the pop was. The 625 is physically small but a beautiful piece. The sound was impressive top to bottom, but sounded a like it was trying too hard to be good! If that makes sense!? The Dag was like Raquel Welch, bam in your face and very real like it or not......the Vitus Sophia Loren or Audrey Hepburn. The JR was an unknown woman, and even though she had the same outfit as the others were wearing, she just didn't have that joie de vivre......and it seemed maybe implants as well. She was trying too hard to be them and just wasn't quite there! lol There are some analogies for you!!
Sorry about the run-on paragraph.....just got excited reminiscing!! lol
Out went the JR. At this point I'm tired of buying and selling and just want off the roller coaster. I had an opportunity to order a new Absolare Hybrid Stereo amplifier, and I jumped on it. The Absolare is awesome. It does everything awesome. The sweet spot of the Zanden, the top end of the Zanden and Vitus, the quality subterranean level of the Vitus and the speaker moving growl of the Dag. On top of all that I can, and do, change out the two tubes to refine things in one direction or another......not a night and day change, just a refinement!! I've sat in front of my system, in the early morning hours and had more "holy f@#k" moments with the Absolare than anything. So happy with that amp and the entire setup now. I spend WAY more time reading about music and what songs to check out, than I do about gear anymore!
I guess the point of all this is...….the Canterburys exposed all that to me. From one amplifier to another, the differences were exposed. Great speakers, AND, gorgeous to look at! What more could you ask!!
Hope that helps! Thanks for sparking the trip down memory lane!! lol
