Time tested spinner of tunes-embedded vinyl...work in process!
Minus K Isolation
Vibration Isolation for Turntables 2x Micro Seiki
Rockport Technologies System 3 Sirius
Floating saucer
Studer A810 Recorder/Reproducer
Just plain cool and a fine way to handle the Tapes. However, when recording me and my trusty guitar, I just sound deliriously worse than ever, but with much more detail!
dCS Puccinni
Spinning along those silver disks...
SRA CRAZ 2 reference isoRACK
Doublewide in the Sapele finish...thank you, Kevin and Tim
SRA Virginia Class Amplifier Stands
Amp Stands...very nice and a wonderful way to modulate the vibrations
Transparent Reference MM2
Speaker Cable
Wilson Audio Alexandria X-2
Mama's favorite in Desert Silver, however still rolling around on the casters
Wilson Audio Alexandria X-2 Back
Rear Connectors
Artificial Mice, random layout that changes daily
They are very helpful and necessary for chasing down and negating the ever moving standing waves.
Maybe Albert and I can fly to where you live now and sneak that Rockport out back to Texas. Although, knowing us, we'd put on a LP, start listening and forget about our original devious intentions :)
I bet your system just sounds amazing with Wilsons and the Lyra/Rockport at the front end!
Truly wonderful setup. I am envious of your Rockport - and your Olympos. Someday perhaps I will figure out how to get myself one (in the meantime I am slumming along with Mike's other former TT :^).
Hi Albert, Thank you for your kind comments! I am happy that I made it to the northwest ahead of you. I am still not sure if I visited Mike to buy the Rockport to get the Olympos or I was buying the Olympos to get the Rockport :-). Either way it is okay, many thanks to Andy Pryor and Jonathan Carr!
I enjoy reading about your quest to optimize your system and environment; I especially did enjoy my visit to see you a couple of years back.
I am looking to put a trip together to see what magic is happening in Bavaria. There is an experienced soccer player there that has really helped enhancing my listening experience.
Syntax, thank you for your kind comments. I have enjoyed reading about your observations and visiting your system page to continue enhancing my ride along the audio learning curve...thanks!
Okay, Scott of Found Music just finished dialing in the Rockport...I must say that it is just delicious...thanks Scott! The Olympos is just loving the experience of a dedicated phonocable and a Phonostage fine-tuned to bring out the best of the cartridge. Back to floating on air...
Radhe, thank you for your kind comments and I am very pleased to join you in the Rockport family. I am happy to hear that your two sets of Rockport twins are doing well! You have gone on an amazing journey putting together a current state of the art assembly of turntable machines...wow, and many congrats!
I agree with your sense of acknowledgment with what the Rockport brings to the table, it is a growing audio virus :)! My immediate first listening impression was that the presentation was involving, natural, and relaxed; I felt that it was a machine that I could be pleased building-up a system, further downstream, that could resonate with the unobtrusive flow of energy. I agree with you that the gestalt of the design holds its place with the desirable music making machines..as with other designs and methods, when done correct they are timeless. My TT silo of experience is not as broad, nor as deep as yours; however, I am enjoying with help of many new audio friends this beginning journey along the learning curve.
I was pleased when the previous custodian of this Rockport, I am the conscious third, agreed to send it my way.
Great set up I wecome you to the Rockport family which I still beleave is the finest turntable ever built period. I have owned a rockport since 1993 and currently own four of them two System 111 turntables and two of the last system 11 le mk2 with special revisions turntables andy built. One of the system 11 turntables uses the the Airtangent Reference arm with remote control which I thinks sounds just amazing on the rockport it has a custom made damped stainless arm plate. I also use the continuum caliburn and owned a criterion. In my collection I also have the Sme 30/12 turntable with 12 inch arm custom made with gold plated parts for the deck and arm.
The rockports just sound more correct to my ears they dissapear and have a inky black sound that I have never heard before with a huge sence of presence they dont sound over impressive in the Hifi sence but just natural with amazing solidity and controll
You have got your self a real bargain as parts alone these days for the unit are crazy the drive alone with the MDA system is over $60000 I know I am freinds with Tim Sheridhan the designer. The system 111 is the worlds most expensive turntable if you look at the cost of the parts even in 1996 it was sold cheaply as andy did not put a export margin on it. He infact lost money on the project and thats a fact the continuum has a 65 percent margin built in just for export and dealers but not the rockport. I sat down with Tim and andy one day and calculated what a system 111 would sell for today given all the proper industry margins it would come to over $60000 the parts alone would be $150000 each for a batch of 10. At $600000 it would be cheaper than other turntables that use a 8 times ratio but no one could afford one. Now you know why system V will never happen I have seen the drawings. Andy says it is very hard to improve on the system 111. In a sence all owners of system 111 turntables should guard them like gold. The cost of parts is far more than they paid all those years ago.
Hello Fcrowder, thank you for your kind remarks. I have very much enjoyed reading about and viewing your system...RED!... along with reading your audio reviews on Dagogo. The Lamm ML3 amplifiers have been here for a little over two years. I have tried different amplifiers, but always seem to come back to these amps...9 boxes with the ML3s, LL1, and LP2. I enjoyed listening to your AN Kegon Balanced amplifiers at Neli and Mike's wonderful place in Boulder; yours is a special amplifier, I have always enjoyed the 300b tube. N/M were very gracious hosts and we spun vinyl till 2AM. It was like a mini shootout with trying different cabling options with the Odin and Jorma Prime cabling interfacing with the AN Kegon Balanced amps, Ongaku amp, AN S9 SUT, and the AN M9 preamplifier. The Jorma Prime and the Nordost cables are really world-class. The Odin power-cord was a knock-you-over-powerful addition that gave a deeper view into the capablities of the AN M9 preamplifier. I understand that the Ognaku/Alexandria setup in CA is really a great match...the 211 tube is a very musical tube. David Anslem is really hooked on the NOS RCA version of the 211 with his AN amplifiers. The sound in N/M's room was really live and palpable along withprimordial setting in the mountains overlooking Boulder.
For the last three years I have been using the Transparent Cable's Ref MM cabling throughout. Recently, I became involved with a new audio company here in San Antonio. They are carrying some of the products that are in my system...Lamm Industries, Transparent Cable, and Ortofon. The Lamm LL1 preamplifier and one of the LP2s were acquired through this company. Additionally, I am picking-up Transparent Cable's OPUS IC's. Also, I will be having an OPUS phono-cable made that will run between the Rockport and the Lamm LP2 phonostages. These are great cables, but I do have somewhat of a confirmation and economic bias...since I have a long history with their cables and now a business relationship with TC. The rest of this system was aquired either through purchases from audio dealers, mfg-SRA, or through audio friends.
Gshelly and Tzh21y, thank you for your kind comments.
What type of interconnect, speaker wire and power cords are you using in your system? I have had excellent luck with Jorma Prime and my friend with the Alexandria's is quite high on Nordost Odin.
Needless to say, a gorgeous system! Nive to see that someone has mated a really world class amplifier with the Wilson speakers instead of the usual solid state monstrosities. I have a friend in California that is using an Audio Note Ongaku to drive his Alexandrias with excellent results. I think that you will be well pleased with the Sirius III. I have owned a Srius for almost 18 years now and have thoroughly enjoyed it.
System edited: System update... I few weeks ago I flew a out west and made a drive up a mountain to visit with Mike Lavine. For a couple of months we had been chatting about my taking a potential turn in the stewardship of his Rockport Sirius 3. He suggested that I get off the fence and head out to have a listen. So, off I went... i had a brief chance to meet his lovely wife before Mike and myself walked out to the magic room, his room is just a wonderful music machine. I must additionally say that Mike is a wonderful host and he really loves playing DJ. We spun vinyl for a few hours and had a chance to listen to some really great tunes on both the Rockport and Steve Donbins stellar Beat Turntable. Both of the turntables were just desirable and exciting with a different-in-kind presentation. Foolishly I asked to give the big Studer a listen, Mike warned me that I would be left in a terminal state of flux...this guy can sure predict the future. One project at a time... So, Mike put it to me this way, if you can help me lift the plinth, we can pack it up for shipping, done! Last week I was finally able to star building the machine back-up. The project was a little time consuming because I needed extra help letting the 200 Lb. stand. However, Mike was very helpful with assisting me to breakdown the Rockport, along with his detailed notes and Andy's instructions for setting up the turntable made it a pleasure building it backup in my listening room. Mike thanks again for all of your wonderful help, insights, and assistance. It was a pleasure to get a chance to see and listen to the fruits of his endeavor to maximize his listening experience. Herve's very tubelike solidstate darTZeel separates, Steve's turntables, the Talea and Reed tonearms, the Ortofon A90 cartridges, the wonderfully coherent Evolution Acoustic transducers, Willy Studers RTR, cabling by Transparent, Evolution Acoustics and darTZeel, the Palyback Designs player, the incomparable Equi=Tech juicer and of course, the superior source material. Just a great experience! Well the Rockport is up and spinning away, Scott of Found-Music is going to bring his expert ears and work his magic to finalize the setting up and tuning of the Olympos SL.
unoear on Ever Evolving