Beauty and the Beasts! (deceased)

by tboooe on Ever Evolving
My System
Listening position
The Rack 01
The Rack 02
View from the Throne

Description

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.
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Components Toggle details

    • Esoteric P-03 Transport
    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.

Comments 270

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Owner
Douglas, thank you for the response. I would want nothing more than to have a dedicated listening room however, living in Southern Calif, we do not have basements, nor do we mere mortals have very large homes with large extra rooms. Most of my audiophile buddies have to share a room (living room, family room, etc).

After really thinking about it, I think my best bet is to move everything to the upcoming loft. At least this area will be fairly large (at least 15' x 20') with one wall open to the downstairs. I may not be able to listen at the volumes I am used to but its better than the alternative.

Thanks again for the input! BTW, VERY nice system and room! I am jealous!

tboooe

In a 12x12 room you may as well turn your speakers on right angles and use them for a big pair of headphones. You have to be honest with yourself whether you can really be content in a small boxy room. I'd give serious consideration to building a dedicated room. You have a basement worthy of construction? If so, I'd look at that option. Makes for a nice HT/listening room environment.

douglas_schroeder

Owner
System edited: After months of trying I finally figured out the best speaker position. My speakers now have very little toe in. The inside front corner is around 1.5 inches further back than the outside front corner. The result has been amazing! The soundstage is much wider. The instruments now have room to breath and differentiate themselves. The sensation of depth has also dramatically improved. Now I can actually hear the drum behind the singers. Finally, voices are more holographic than I have ever heard in my system. My speakers now disappear. I cant believe that I did not spend more time playing around with the toe in. Needless to say I am very happy and this upgrade did not cost me anything!!

tboooe

Owner
peterayer, I am using the Sistrum SP-1 platforms. I like them because they do not take up anymore footprint than the amps (which are already pretty darn big). In terms of sound, it is difficult to say but I "think" I noticed a slightly smoother sound. My primary reason for getting the Sistrum was not sound improvement. Even if it did not improve the sound I think they were worth it especially considering the price of other amp stands I was looking at. Please let me know me if you have any other questions.

tboooe

Tboooe, I noticed your XA160's are up on spikes of some kind. How did this improve the sound of the amps? My XA160's are on the stock feet on my suspended wooden floor and I am considering alternatives. Thanks.

peterayer

Tboooe - thanks for compliment, the space presents alot of challenges but the sound I now have is very involving and I cannot wait to get back into another home some day with a well-built room. Keep me posted on the P3/D3; see my notes on using dual XLRs and various other config settings I sent you on getting the most out of this fantastic combo. Burn-in is no less than 250-300 hours; the magic happens upwards of the 250 mark and then just keeps getting better.

zephyr24069

Owner
zephyr, thanks for the kind words. Yes, I will be upgrading my X-03se soon (as soon as I am able to sell it) to the P3 D3 separates. I am very excited about this. Once I do this, I will have no reason to upgrade my digital front end again.

By the way, your system is incredible! Very unique residence as well!

tboooe

Congrats on a great system...I've seen your system at various points and read your thread posts over the last year or so and I can only imagine how great this system sounds.

I just sent you an email on your digital front-end upgrade; I've been through the Esoteric upgrade path from DV-50s on up.
If you want to chat about models above X-03SE, let me know. I'm not a dealer (just an Eso fan) and can tell you what I've heard along the way...

zephyr24069

Owner
Thanks Joey and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Let me know what you think of that chair...I may have to retire my fold up recliner.

Stay tuned...I am planning one last BIG upgrade to my digital front end.

tboooe

Tommy,

Everytime I open audiogon, I check out your page...

I gotta say dude, your setup has notched up a few levels in the past year. Love it man... wish I could hear them.

We've exchanged quite a bit of emails and pms over the past months and I gotta hear what you've put together. That Ref3/X160 combo must be a killer move on your part.

And I agree, the Cary house-sound just loves the Summits. I think the 05 is on my radar... but for now, I'm getting my Perfect Chair. It's my birthday gift... turning 25 in less than a week!

:)

Joey

joey_v

Owner
Pete, I have considered vinyl but decided against it. I have way too many cds (almost 10K) not to mention I am lazy. My wife already hates the fact that my cds take up so much space. Perhaps one day when I can get my own listening room and I am satisfied with my system I will dabble in vinyl.

I would say you should upgrade your cartridge and phono preamp in order to give you the sound you are after. The Pass pre is very true to whatever sound it is fed.

tboooe

Tom,
I'm very intrigued with your Ref 3/XA160 combo. I listen 90% to vinyl and am considering upgrading my pre but I also want to upgrade my analog front end (cartidge/wires) before the preamp and then there is always the phono amp. Have you considered analog? I know it is a completely different animal. Your system must sound great.

I've always preferred a sofa for the company.

peterayer

Owner
Joey, the SLP-05 is a great preamp! In the end, I chose the Ref 3 because I preferred the slightly less tubey sound. Cary has a distinctive house sound which I actually wanted to get away from, having changed my cdp from the Cary 306 SACD to the Esoteric X-03SE. I think the Ref 3 and Cary are pretty similar in terms of texture and vocal weight with the Ref 3 sounding just a bit less syrupy to me. I think in your system with the ML's the Cary would be great! Let me know if you want more details.

Sol322, great ideas!!! I like the idea of a hammock. Now how do I convince my wife? Who cares! Thank you for the nice words.

tboooe

Tboooe:

Looks like you have strong bonds with your chair....
so maybe trying different strategies could be of use here

a. get a new one with a better decor color matching

b. sent it to be camouflaged painted to be less of an annoyance to your wife.....

c. Change it for a hammock, this way the music can really "swing"

Just kidding, man what a nice system you have

Enjoy

Luis

sol322

How was the 05, Tommy?

joey_v

Owner
Pete, thanks for the response. Before I decided on the Ref 3 I auditioned a bunch of tube preamps. I did not consider SS preamps because I already had what I consider to be a very good one, the Classe CP-700. While the Classe had a some great features and sounded extremely smooth, I thought it was too smooth and lacked some texture and emotion. After listening to my friends all tube setup I knew that I wanted to add a tube preamp to my system. I auditioned the BAT VK-52se, Einstein The Tube (awesome!), Carl SLP-05, and a few others.

Before I bought my Classe I did audition the Pass X.02 which was very nice. The sound was very clear and uncolored but its user interface, large volume steps, and the overall sound was not to my liking. I guess I like the tube sound while also having the control, speed, and dynamics of SS.

I hope this helps. Let me know if there is anything else Ic can do to help.

tboooe

Hi Tboooe,
The system looks great. Did you compare the Ref 3 to the Pass X0.2 or any other top preamps. I also have the XA160's and am curious about upgrading my X1 pre. Thanks.

peterayer

Owner
Thanks for the update Teajay. I am going to have to check out those cables. As for speaker cables I am embarrassed to say I have Nordost Blue Heavens...i know i know. I have been trying out a bunch of stuff from the cable company. I still want to try out the new Synergistic Research Tesla line. Whatever I pick I intend on upgrading my speaker cables soon.

tboooe

Hi, Tboooe, just wanted to share that I replaced my Acoustic Zen Absolute and Silver reference II with Stealth Metacarbons and one Indra and it raised the performance of my rig a few notches.

I still love Acoustic Zen wires, it's just that Metacarbons and Indra just sound more like real music. By the way what speaker wires do you use in your system? I still have not found speaker wire that I like better then AZ's Absolute in my rig.

teajay

Owner
Thanks Shadorne...I really appreciate the compliment! Now if I can only make it sound as good as it looks :)

tboooe

Cool - I love the symmetry and the black and white contrast - great amps great speakers great system!

shadorne

Owner
thanks joey...I will look into it.

tboooe

tommy,

Have you thought about the Perfect Chair? Im thinking about one....

joey_v

Owner
lol!!! mitch4t have you been conspiring with my wife?? She would want nothing more than for me to get rid of that green folding chair. So you have given me 6 months...that means I got 5 months and 29 days to continue annoying my wife.

tboooe

If you don't get rid of that folding chair, I will petition Audiogon to ban you from this site. There must be something in the 'Gon bylaws that prohibits listening to badass systems while sitting in lawn/camping furniture.

I suggest you re-read your Pass Labs and Audio Research warranties. Your warranty is voided if you listen to their products in a chair like that.

You've got six months to straighten up.

wink....wink

mitch4t

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