I'm a tube guy, you see; but seven years ago the winds of circumstance blew into my room a pair of 1993 B&W Matrix 800s. So I'm enjoying a (quixotic?) journey to make them sing with valves. They're designed to mate with big solid-state iron, but surprisingly are 93 dB efficient and drop to 3.4 ohms at lowest.
I took care of the bottom octave-and-a-half with a pair of REL 212/SE. They are amazing. Then with the low end a solved problem, we made our first amp upgrade in a decade: The Ayon Spirit III Mk 4, a KT150-based push-pull with 65 watts a side. It's settling in nicely.
I'm delighted with my DAC, a PS Audio Directstream with ethernet rendering from an internal Bridge II. Recent upgrade of its power cord, to an Audioquest Tornado, underscored the importance of source; it was a two-second, no-question improvement. You can't *improve* the signal downstream from your source -- you can only hope not to muck it up.
Roon on an iPad ties the whole thing together and sends me down a rabbit-hole of discovery nearly every time I sit down.
Perhaps the finest speaker that could be bought with money in 1992. (My friend reminds me that you can drive a Honda Civic off the lot today which will smoke a 1992 Lamborghini.)
Ayon Audio Spirit III Integrated Class A
65 watts per side in Pentode mode. KT150 power section. Zero negative feedback.
REL Acoustics 212SE
Precision and power. I use a high-level connection from the amp, and dial the crossover and volume low enough that you can't locate the subs with your ears.
PS Audio DirectStream DAC with Bridge II
This thing is stunningly good for the money.
PS Audio Power Plant Premier
It doesn't have the current to feed an amp, but on source components it's a no-brainer night-and-day improvement. No problems with this unit for nine years now.
MIT Cables Oracle v2.1 spk
From 2003, custom-terminated at the factory for bi-wiring the 800s.
AudioQuest Tornado Source
From regenerator to DAC.
AudioQuest Thunder Power Cord
From wall to amp.
AudioQuest Water XLR interconnect
From DAC to amp.
Pangea Power Cords AC-9
AC-9s from wall to Power Plant Premier and from wall to subwoofers.
Small Green Computer Sonicorbiter SE
i5 NUC runs Roon Core server in a separate room.
Blue Jeans Cable Ethernet Cable, Cat 6a
This cable blew away the MonoPrice Cat 6a it replaced. Highly, highly recommended.
Boltz Custom
Not the last word in isolation, but I let the wife pick this one for aesthetics. The glass shelves rest on DIY norsorene half-globes from a scientific supply company.
DIY Absorption Panels
Three hand-wrapped panels of 2"-thick Owens-Corning 703 fiberglass. They're positioned to kill the first-reflection points on the right wall for the right and left speakers, as well as tame some echo behind the left speaker.
GIK Acoustics CT Alpha Series Corner Bass Trap
In rear corners.
PorterPorts AC Outlets
Another product that hits my sweet spot for price to performance.
Melody (Onix) SP-3
My first hifi purchase, a $500 find on Craigslist! 38-watt push-pull. Tubed with Russian NOS 6P3S-E's in lieu of 5881s. I shall never part with it.
Just stumbled onto your system, very nice. I like the vibe. I just picked up a mint pair of Rosewood 800’s and also have a Rel S5. Curious as to where you have the crossover set at? I’m glad to see someone rocking the Matrix series. Seems like most people now just bash them. This is my 2nd pair of 800’s as I sold my original set ( bought new 98-99) in 2004. That was my biggest regret of a sale I have had.
