Hyundai? Ford, Escort?

warrenh December 23, 2004 11:02

And just how badly did you want a porsche? ;o)

ellery911 September 15, 2004 05:06

Hey sorry guys for the late response. I've been really busy with press checks the last few days, so I've been living in the printer's guest lounge. Funny thing is, last night we were having dinner there and a picture fell off the wall and smashed the AC plug of the power strip that their TV, multichannel Sony amp and the other A/V gear hooked up to it. Even one of the satellite speakers came crashing to the floor. The ground plug of the male AC going into the wall got sheared off and left in the outlet. I pulled it out with my plastic salad fork. I guess the painting didn't like having to sit over mass market Sony equipment! And maybe the artist of the painting was telepathically telling me to leave HIS lounge since I work for Sony too, heheh.

Zaikesman,
Yeah, I don't know what it is about the AU24 speaker cables having such a positive impact, but their interconnects not being as overwhelmingly great. The speed and transparency of the AZ Silver Ref II ICs combined with the naturalness of the AU24 SCs seem to strike a really good balance for my taste. I've read elsewhere many times similar comments to yours regarding the Audience ICs not being as impressive as their speaker cables. For me, having an all AU24 line up killed much of the PRaT and overall got a little loose sounding. Everytime I see a Mephisto IIX or a 47 Labs Flatfish come up for sale I think of replacing my Pearl/Hermes combo, but that would entail much more cost than my simple set up, and I love that the Pearl plays anything I put in it without a whimper.

Marco,
A lot of the cropping and lighting cues you're giving me credit for were purely accidental. I know I should be aware of those things being in the line of work I'm in, so I appreciate the props, heheh. Damn, you got good eyes being able to see the CD spines. I bought those old early '60s lounge music discs at an A'Gon auction. Kinda like some of the LPs my Dad had around when I was a just learning to play his hifi. Your remodeling is looking great! Keep the updates coming.

Andres,
I figure you're about an inch or two taller than me, so it's no wonder you keep hitting your head on your chin up bar! Although the setting isn't nearly as ideal as yours, I think the 2.5s are happy in my messy adobe. They're making sweet music among the clothes and electronic equipment. I call it natural real-world urban acoustic treatment. How are the Thiels and Linn gear working out?

Rene,
I live in a three bedroom apartment, and my system is actually in a bedroom with two computers and a home theater system. When I bought the ProAcs from Alcides, he urged me to set them up nearfield. Lucky for me, I already had experience doing that with my ProAc monitors, so I was already privy to that aspect of the ProAc magic. Amazingly, I feel the floorstanding 2.5s disappear better than either the 1SCs or Tab 50 Sigs, and those little monitors can't even come close to reproducing the broader, more articulated bass of the 2.5s. I sit in a Herman Miller Aeron Chair for listening so that I can roll forward or back depending on where I want to sit in the listening venue. Looks like you and ! have similar set ups!

Thanks again guys for the kind words!

gunbei September 10, 2004 20:31

Hi Gunbei,

is this actually a studio apartment? I'm right now sleeping, dining, and working in the same room (11 by 17 ft) as my dedicated music system. Nice to be forced to near field listening...

Rene

restock September 10, 2004 04:10

"Proac Sunrise"...hmmm - That's only one letter away from sounding like a musical ode to antidepressants ;^)

zaikesman September 10, 2004 01:50

Hey Gunbei,
is that a chin-up bar holding up those shirts behind the 2.5's? I put one up in the doorway of my listening room, but kept hitting my head as I walked in and out. Could explain how you got such a good deal on the speakers :)

Good to see the system updated.

alcides September 10, 2004 00:52

Nice light too Dean! I like the Proac Sunrise. And the "Dirty Carpet" shot has just a hint of a shower stall in the background...brilliant man! The Kora Hermes looks like somethign out of The Matrix, as if it's floating, the way you photographed it. It's one of those ocular delusions...is this DAC coming or going? Goofy Gilbert should just hire you to shoot his stuff as that shot is really sweet. Looks like you got some extra spikes to sell there too. So did you purposefully position the "Sex Kittens" CD so it would be in the foreground just below the "Exotic"? Looks like the green man is still having that ongoing orgy at his place. Are those Ben-Wah balls on next to the remote?

Marco

jax2 September 09, 2004 15:43

I too had AZ SC (Satori) and switched to Au24. I agree that the Au24 IC's are very good, but not quite the home run the SC seems to be - funny, since it's the same damn stuff!. (FWIW, on the IC front I left HT PSII and settled on vdH The First and The Second.) Other similarities: I still have my Pearl, I got a Porter Port, and my listening room is alas also messy :-)

zaikesman September 09, 2004 06:48

I compared the Acoustic Zen Hologram II speaker cables versus the Audience AU24 for four months late last year and ended up switching to the AU24. I'm currently comparing all my AZ ICs to an all Audience AU24 configuration and so far am preferring the incumbant AZs.

And, I just finished constructing the VH Labs Flavor 4 Power Cord DIY and plan to compare it to the Virtual Dynamics cords I'm using.

As for my updated system pictures, as Marco said, "some creative cropping" sure helps. No retouching involved, I promise.

gunbei September 06, 2004 17:10

System edited:

Well, since I first created this messy virtual system I've experimented with five preamps, four amps, two different power conditioning schemes and an uncountable amount of wires, so I thought I should update this on going audio mess. The target stand has been replaced by a Magro 24 wall system. I plan to retain the metal side supports but will replace the MDF shelves with thicker solid maple platforms. I have a Zoethecus amp stand now under the VK200 instead of the chess board I was using before. The little ProAc monitors have made way for floor standing 2.5s I purchsed from a super nice guy locally. And because I went to full range speakers I no longer use the Bryston/Paradigm,NHT subwoofer system for music. I am considering adding a REL Stadium to fill out the very bottom octaves. I've also reintroduced Mapleshade brass cones into the system which I really like and BDR #4 Cones are now under the Neuance Platform. Placing loose 4x4 sections of Sonex panels at my first reflections has improved focus and reduced some lower treble glare. I've found the passive Furutech eTP-60 to be a very clean and effective method of power conditioning, and the Porter Port in conjunction with it contributes to a very transparent flow of power.

All in all I'm very happy with this set up. It may never make it into Interior Design or Audio Interiors Magazine, but it's a place I can relax and enjoy music. Peacefully.

gunbei September 06, 2004 17:02

The various outputs beyond RCA on the Pearl seem to have been extra-cost options (the most expensive one being the ATT glass optical, which mine doesn't have, nor does my Basic) - if the AES/EBU out is covered with a plastic plug, than I guess Theta would have to convert the unit. You might ask them what it costs, but it also may not be worth the bother unless your DAC, like the Basic, employs balanced dual-differential decoding architecture. I also can't be sure what part of the improvement I heard switching to XLR was due strictly to the balanced connection, because the RCA cable I had been running was a Cardas Lightning, not the same cable I'm using now. But the difference *was* greater than I had experienced before, switching among a few single-ended types. I would broadly characterize the improvement in my case as having been a more natural, easeful presentation across the board, with less 'electronic' texturing, fuller bass, freer dynamics, and rounder, more tactile images - clearly superior to any single-ended connection I had tried.

BTW, adding a DIP allows you to obtain a balanced digital signal as well, which is actually how I'm actually running things now (current '24/96' version). The DIP only accepts RCA or Toslink inputs, but reclocks the signal (as well as electrically decoupling it via transformer-coupled I/O) and provides XLR (and RCA) outputs, along with jitter-reduction of course. This might be just as cheap a way to go, but not everyone likes the sound of the DIP. I do, but it's a different kind of change on top of the AES/EBU change - it increases clarity and transient precision, which some have found to be akin to adding brightness, though to me it just sounds cleaner and a bit more extended and present.

zaikesman May 15, 2003 17:35

Dean,

Actually, the pics load up fine when I was using the computer at school. And, it is a PC using Windows 2000. However, my two laptops at home are using 2000 and Xp and neither can load ANYTHING after I am on this page. I have to X all the explorer windows and restart explorer to view pics on other pages.

Maybe my cable's bandwidth via the wireless router is not high enough, or your AZ cables are too bright, and my Thinkpads refuse to download them...

viggen May 15, 2003 17:04

Thanks fellas for the nice comments!

Sam:
My whole room is a messy ASIAN rug, hahah. I enjoyed your systems 1 and 2 as well as your nice headphone system. I need something like that at work. My Sony Discman with Grado SR60s isn't quite cutting it, but iTunes is great.

Sherod:
My Dad has BOTH Sansui 1000x receivers you gave us. We've decided that they look best resting on the nice teak credenza he bought around the same time he got his original 1000x. '69 or '70, I think. Very elegant. I hope your wife's guitar practice is going better than mine. :–)

Zaikesman:
My Pearl has the XLR outs covered. Is it just a matter of removing the plate or does the transport need to be reconfigured in any way? Thanks for XLR perspective! There must be something with the Super Secret G4 Macintosh Anti-Audiophile Filtering I embedded into the pics before I uploaded them. I wonder why so many people can't see them. I am a digital retoucher though, so maybe it was Anti-Microsoft Watermark I embedded. And I know EXACTLY what you mean by trying to place all CDs and DVDs into other mechanisms label down. I always have to catch myself from doing it at work.

Sugarbrie:
Maybe you can see the pics because we are fellow Blue Circle fans, hahah. It would be great to see the interior of one of Gilbert's mods. I still plan to do this with my BC21, when the funds are available.

Dtanclim:
Have you considered switching your speaker cables so that the Neutral Reference is on the bottom jumpers to your woofer instead? That should clear up your bass and I think placing the more forgiving Golden Reference on the tweeter jumpers would yield a mellower sound. Good luck!

I will post more pics soon! And I will send them to whoever wasn't able to view them here. Thanks again!

gunbei May 15, 2003 15:48

Hi Gunbei...I see the pics here, if that is the problem some have?? I found a pic of the inside of one of Gilbert's BC21 mods. I'll try to send it to you tonight..

sugarbrie May 15, 2003 13:36

Gunbei, just received the Golden Ref's yesterday and I'm running biwired at the moment with Neutral Ref on the upper binding posts and Golden Ref on the lower. Looks like the cable needs some settling in (even though its a used pair)as the bass was kinda muddy yesterday, much better today so I'll keep my comments till things have settled on the cables.

dtanclim May 15, 2003 13:32

"Gunbei Damn It!" - funny! :-) Can't get the pix either...are you sure you really overcame your embarrassment? ;^)

Besides my also having a messy listening room, I've got the Pearl transport in common with you. Mine has the balanced XLR output though - if your DAC can accept it, this does sound better in my experience (it took me over a year to get around to trying this, then I wondered why I ever resisted). For the record, I've preferred it plugged in with a Harmonic Tech Pro AC 11 (it's feeding a DSPro Basic IIIa, through HT CyberLink Platinum and a Monarchy DIP, as well as getting balanced AC from a Power Wedge Ultra, which does make a difference). I've gotten so used to this Stable Platter transport that now I frequently try to load CD's upside-down no matter where I am (and it's also the only piece of gear I've owned where the display-off switch has had a bit of discernable benefit). Have you done any experiments with supports for yours?

zaikesman May 15, 2003 06:21

I thought I'd chime in. Nice system, Dean. What did you do with all the Virtual Dynamics cabling? I looked closely at the pictures and didn't see that Sansui 1000X receiver either. I guess Dad's got it in "his" room. Happy Listening. Sherod

sherod May 15, 2003 04:03

Great to see other system pix, also where is the mandatory persian rug all audiophiles must own? (he he he)

megasam May 14, 2003 11:44

Dtanclim, for the last two and a half years I used biwired runs of Analysis Plus Oval 9, then Virtual Dynamics Audition, and my current Acoustic Zen Hologram II. To be honest, I haven't A/B'd any like cables, so I can't offer an opinion. But the way you're doing it by using two single runs is a good way of comparing. What did you notice as the differences?

gunbei May 14, 2003 01:54

I'll have to agree about finding the right match.

I've tried swapping between other makes HT, MIT, QED and finally stumbled upon first the Cardas Neutral Reference and then later the Golden Hexlink 5C (all used of course!) and I'm hooked.

I'm not sure if its because of the synergy between the Rowland/Proac or just my personal preference but the Cardas came out tops. The Neutral Reference displayed much more transparency whilst the now discontinued Golden Hexlink 5C is without a doubt warm and rich in its presentation. As I understand the Golden Ref kinda combines both characteristics and it'll be fun to have that in my rig.

Hey have you guys tried biwiring, I know its a sometimes hotly debated topic in forums all over...........but I tried hooking up both Cardas speaker cables (what the heck I had 2 sets of cables anyway) and what the heck, outstanding!! Have left as is since then.

dtanclim May 14, 2003 01:28

Yup, I agree that the Cardas has a special sound when mated with the right components and cables for that matter. I had magical results with the Golden Cross which I borrowed from Gunbei and used them as digital cables with a pair of D-60s as ic between dac and integrated amp. That combination harvested the most glorious mids I have ever heard in my system. But, at $3-400 a pair for Golden Cross, that's some expensive digital cable.

Also, Dean, regardless of messy or not, the Japanese are always known for creative uses of space. Maybe that's why 47 Labs make their components so small and speakers so flat, so they can fit in those tiny Tokyo apartments. And, I still have your "messy" pics. I might just post it on my virtual page *smirk*.

Regarding the audition, bring it on. I finally got my system to sound good about an hour ago. I hope this last until the weekend atleast.

Oh, and, what is it with the pics on this page. Whenever I open this page, I can't upload pics from other pages either. And, I just got a new IBM laptop with Centrino processor, you know the one designed for web (and portability).

viggen May 13, 2003 19:12

Dtanclim,

That Concentra is a sweet piece. I love the minimalist looks and the solid vault-like build. I always wondered how it sounded.

The upgrade bug is a bitch ain't it? I was sitting happy with my system, then BAM!!! I changed amps and even borrowed Viggen's Aleph 3, then changed all my cables. I bought the VK200 just for the heck of it, and all the Acoustic Zen because I thought they looked neat.

If you're enjoying the sound but still have the bug, maybe you should consider the power cord upgrade before a cable change. The Cardas do have a special sound when mated with the right components. It really depends on what kind of improvement you're looking for.

I bet the D15 are awesome as well. I'm considering the Response 2.5 DIY project as a future goal, and possibly finishing them with padauk veneer to create some individuality.

Dean

gunbei May 13, 2003 19:00

Ed,

Yeah, you've seen these pictures before. Remember my 4am photo shoot? And actually, you're the only one that has seen the REAL messy photos. I posted JPEGs, I don't know why you and Dave can't see 'em, maybe you both need to get Macs, hahah.

The Blue Circle is RCA out only, although I'm sure Gilbert can make any kind of custom mod a BC owner would like. The nice fellow [Thaiq] that sold me the VK200, threw in a pair of BAT RCA to XLR adapters free. They do the job nicely, but I have thought about a fully balanced preamp.

So Junji of 47 Labs has a disheveled listening room like me? And you thought all us Japanese fellars were neat. The genious of Japanese acoustic theory is that all items such as freshly laundered clothes, toilet paper rolls and trash are valid and effective sound treatment.

Dave. Ed. When should we plan a Carolina/47 Labs listening session?

Dean

gunbei May 13, 2003 18:51

David,

I'll e-mail you these pictures. Nothing special since I did my best to hide the mess, but you'll get an idea of my listening "environment". And stop visitng those Russ Meyers websites or you'll go blind.

Dean

gunbei May 13, 2003 18:39

Gunbei,
The Concentra II/Proac is a heavenly match, the music that comes from the combo is rich, warm and definitely full.

What I continue to enjoy as well is the way it let's you hear so much more...the manner in which it resolves the piano information on the Norah Jones album for example, the clarity.....ahh heaven

At the moment the virus has hit me again so I am looking into tweaking around with speaker cables and maybe later power cords. Just managed to get a used pair of Cardas Golden Ref's speaker cables to replace the existing Golden Hexlink 5C, looking forward to hook them up (should get delivery hopefully tomorrow).

dtanclim May 13, 2003 10:59