UPDATE (12/23/07): added the MBL 5011 preamp. After living with my Esoteric front end for almost 3 months without a pre, I came to the realization that a pre was definitely needed. Without a pre, the sound was a bit thin and lacking bass. The 5011 addressed these issues and so much more. I did not realize how poor my soundstaging was until I introduced the 5011. This pre does in incredible job of layering the soundstage as well as separating each individual instrument.
UPDATE (12/07/07): added the Ayre MX-R amps. These were broken in by my dealer for 2 weeks before I took delivery. I rarely am taken back by gear but I was startled at how much real these amps sounded to me than my previous amps. There is more detail, more immediacy of notes, very good separation of instruments, and a very nice holographic presentation. I can go on and on but by far these amps are the most realistic sounding I have come across. They are just so enjoyable to listen to!
UPDATE (9/29/07): added Esoteric P-03 transport and D-05 DAC. The D-05 has the latest 32 bit DAC from AKM. Even only after a few hours I hear much better separation between instruments and notes, better sustain and decay, and more authoritative bass. More updates to follow.
UPDATE (8/03/07): added the Oyaide R1 outlet for my amps. Everything is a bit livelier with much better detail. I am hearing so many little nuances I have never heard before!
UPDATE (7/24/07): added the Oyaide SWO-GX Ultimo outlet to my front end. What a difference! The bass now goes lower and there is more detail across the board. I will adding another outlet for my amps next. This is by far one of the best tweaks I have ever done.
UPDATE (7/13/07): I finally got around to adding some heavy silk drapes and they made a world of difference. Everything is much smoother. I will continue to look for ways to judiciously treat my room without making it look like a recording studio.
Beauty:
-The sound is just incredible. Vocals are holographic and textured.
-The MBL 5011 preamp is beautiful to look at. Luckily the sound is just as good.
-The Ayre MX-R amps are just gorgeous to look at. The casework is outstanding. And as my wife said, "they are so cute"!
Beasts:
-The Usher BE-10 speakers are big and thick producing a powerful yet delicate sound.
-The Esoteric P-03 transport is incredibly heavy (75lb) and big but it sure sounds good.
My system has undergone A LOT of changes over the last few years. This has been mainly to me figuring out my own listening preferences and understanding what I wanted to get out of my system. After swapping out a lot of components and spending too much money, I have finally settled down a bit.
I listen to all kinds of music but tend to favor anything with female vocals, particularly acoustic folk and vocal jazz. I also favor simple orchestration and basic instrumentation with a preference for acoustic guitar and piano. The less number of instruments between me and the vocals the better. I mainly go to listen to music in small, intimate venues where I am able to sit within a few feet of the band.
Given my musical tastes, I wanted to put together a system that is able to reproduce the sound as organically as possible. I want to hear every little detail like the quiver in a singer's voice, the sound of the guitar pick striking the string, the feeling of the hammer hitting the piano string. To me, these tiny nuances help to make the music sound as real (i.e. organic) as possible. To this end, I wanted a system that was detailed, dynamic, fast, and immediate with just a hint of warmth. I did not want anything that was too syrupy sounding though. My current system gives me everything I am looking for. It is as close to hearing musicians in my room that I have ever heard with any previous iteration of my system.
I love the Esoteric sound so much I had to get their P-03 transport.
Esoteric D-05
Anniversary model with new AKM 32 bit DAC
Esoteric VRDS-Neo
This transport is a work of art! By far, the best, most accurate transport available. The amount of detail it extracts is amazing!
Sonos ZP-80
Wireless digital music system. Digital output is sent to Esoteric D-05 DAC, a huge improvement over internal DAC. I enjoy my music so much more now that I have instant access to my 40K song library
MBL 5011
A very musical preamp with outstanding soundstaging and separation of each instrument.
Ayre Acoustics MX-R
I am so happy with these amps. They make everything sound so real it is startling! The transparency and dynamics suit my preferences perfectly!
Usher BE-10
Very dynamic and neutral sounding speaker. I am sold on beryllium!
Tara Labs The One
Very transparent and "tight" sounding cable that also offers weight and solidity. These give me all the virtues I admired in my previous speaker cable, the Nordost Blue Heaven while providing what it was missing.
Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II
Used between my source and preamp. Great detail without sounding bright or edgy.
Acoustic Zen Matrix Reference II
Used between my preamp and amp. Very smooth sounding.
Acoustic Zen MC2 XLR
AES/EBU digital cable from Esoteric P-03 transport to D-05 DAC.
Acoustic Zen Silver Byte
Used to synch the word clock from the Esoteric D-05 DAC to the P-03 transport.
Acoustic Zen MC2 RCA
Digital cable from Sonos ZP-80 wireless digital music system to Esoteric D-05 DAC.
Virtual Dynamics Nite 3
Being used to power by MBL 5011 preamp. Like all VD power cables I immediately noticed more dynamics, speed, and authority. The soundstage with the VD power cables are incredible!
Star Sound Technology SP-4 Sistrum Stand
Great amp stand that helped to add smoothness to my system.
Oyaide SWO-GX Ultimo
Double cryo'd outlet with 24K gold plating - used for cdp and preamp
Oyaide R1
Cryo'd ac outlet with Beryllium/copper and palladium plating - used for amps
HiFi Tuning Fuse
I added this "audiophile" fuse to my MBL 5011 preamp. I am not sure it made any difference but it was cheap and lord knows I have spent much more money on things that actually made my system sound worse! My previous preamp, Classe CP-700 did respond positively to these fuses though. I still may try some in my other components.
Henry! Power filtering or conditioning is next on my list. A few of my friends swear by the Furman products. In the past, I have used PS Audio and Hydra 8 but did not hear any improvement. Perhaps I am lucky because my home is fairly new so I am getting good, clean power?
Interesting thing, before the VD power cords, I did not think power cords made that much of a difference. I guess like everything else in this hobby, the right component in the right system makes all the difference.
I may be Belgium sooner rather than later. My customer there is having an emergency with our instrument so I think I need to go over there and smooth things out. I would be honored if I could have the opportunity to listen to your wonderful system and perhaps share a nice cognac or merlot.
Power to the power cords! I've got everything plugged into the wall directly for now (except for the 2 jena model one cords). Considered any AC filtering devices yet?
System edited: Added the Virtual Dynamics Nite 3 power cable to my system. After having heard what the Power 3 can do, I am planning on adding all VD power cables in the near future, most likely either the Master 3 or Master LE 2. For me, the VD power cables provide everything I am looking for: speed, dynamics, authority, and an incredible soundstage.
System edited: Added Tara Labs The One speaker cables. I am very happy. They replaced my previous favorite, the Nordost Blue Heaven. the Tara Labs are very transparent and crisp while also have good, deep, controlled midbass and bass. This weight and solidity was what made the Blue Heavens sound a bit too lean for my tastes. Too bad I had to spend so much more in order to get this improvement! But I know how this hobby goes...a lot more money for a little improvement, though I believe it is the small nuances and details that are critical to making reproduced music sound more real and natural. I am now thinking about getting a second set to bi-wire. I am not sure if I will hear any difference but Ayre recommends bi-wiring in this manner. I will be looking to try the Tara Labs The One or The 0.8 interconnects as soon as my finances recover a bit.
Hey Joey...gotta love this hobby! My system has not stopped changing in over 2 years!!! There is just too many cool things to try out. Perhaps single handedly I can try and keep this country from recession!
As for power cables, I am pretty sure I am set on Virtual Dynamics. I just got a Nite 3 in my system and I like it a lot.
Hi Tommy, your system is looking great! New amps and preamp. WOW! Let us know when you decide on power cables. I just added my system to Ever Evolving... Remember when I said I was done for a while? Well, I bought all new equipment. LOL!
Well I was thinking the Nuforce MONO Reference 9 special Edition, almost bought one two weeks ago. than Red Dragon Audio. Ryan" is a good friend of my, but his AMP is not tube! but sound just like tube. I was thinking BAT tube, or Audio Research tube. I have demo the Nuforce for three days now great AMP, very open, and dynamic, huhhhhh I'm not quite sure about the detail part, something was missing so......I also Demo "Ryan Red Dragon Audio, very nice...but!
sburton, the Merlins must be a nice match with the Cary amps. I have always thought the Cary sound was very nice, rich, and romantic.
Jean, I guess part of the fun is upgrading but believe it or not (I have said this several times now), I think my upgrading is slowing down a bit. What amps are you looking at to buy?
Tboooe,I know what you mean I have watch you changing Gear for the last few months, all I have to say WOW! very nice choice, like I said "more more more more In the past few months I replaced my Marantz SA8260 to Esoteric SA60, Bought my favorite Turntable ClearAudio, and all Kimber Kable, Oh Yeah just getting start it, I'm looking to replace My AMP to nice musical tube AMP or solid AMP. BTW thank you for the kind words! I look forward for more update
Thanks Henry. Yes my den is very small. Can I move into your dressing room? I promise not to play my music too loud. Maybe I should just get rid of all my gear and get headphones indeed! My brother is very much a headphone person. As for the MM2, those will take up the entire space in my little room. There will no room left for me!
I will be in Mechelen sometime in April I believe. I would love to visit and drool over your magnificent system.
Tommy, 99 sqft is smaller than my dressing room... The only thing to fit in that are headphones! I looked into that too a while back. Stax SR-007 MkII with a SRM-007t II would be the one to consider seriously. However, I think you should snap up those MM2s from Arthurp on the Gon, wait for the Dart integrated to come out and be done with it for the next 10 years. You have an open invite to check out my biases...
LOL!!! Thats exactly what I need, someone else egging me on!!! :) Seriously, I am thinking about the Alto and Miles but both of these are also pretty pricey. I am going to have to really sit and think about this next system change...it is looking more and more likely that I am going into my small den which is only 9x11. In a room that small perhaps I should just get some headphones and be done with it! Great, yet another option to consider....
Henry, your rack would look and sound good in ANY system!
As for the a replacement for the BE-10, I am not sure yet. I only started to think about this. Since I dont listen at loud volumes, I wonder if large speakers would be ok in a small room?
Peter, it makes me happy to know my ridiculous obsession serves as entertainment to someone. My wife definitely does not find it amusing at all! I know I am a total upgrade freak! I cant leave well enough alone! But in this case, I totally blame my kids! I am being kindly asked to move out of the living room since we want to get a baby grand piano for our oldest. Given how much I love music, I cant say no to that request! I agree that the Magico Mini's would be awesome! But boy do those cost some serious money!!!! I am not sure if I can justify that even to myself!!!!!! But we will see...I remember a time not too long ago when I was saying I could never spend more than $3k on a cdp.
Tommy, Just read that you're thinking of new speakers. Have you read the latest TAS? Magico would be on my short list. Man, you do a lot of upgrading. Your system changes make for some great reading. Keep it up. Peter
