Had reams of different gear last 15 yrs and need some time to realize what's important and what's not. The price of an item is as less important as the age.
E.g. replaced my 50k$ Burmester 808MK5 by a Klyne 7 for only tenth part but improved the performance of my system incredibly. Also done with my 911 power amp replaced once by a 20wpc Graaf GM-20.
And thats the next fact: Nobody needs amps with hunded of wpc in a good matching system. I started a complete switch from low-efficient (83-86db) speakers like Dynaudio and hugh ss amps to high-efficient (91+ db) with tubes in se-design. Started once with 83db speakers and 100wpc ss, than replaced by 200wpc, 400wpc, 630wpc. Always an improvent but never 100% satisfied. Increased bass control and dynamics a bit with every step but all this setups not really working in acceptable way on very low volume I listen most time. This can't be the right way, i thought; when and where will this arms race end? None of these systems were homogeneous in the way I liked to have. Than started to try other speakers; first 86db and 91db and at least a 94.5 and 99db pair. Decreased power of my amps in same way. Now I found the performance I've ever looked for in contrast I started my hifi career.
At least I've learned that most of so called test winners, product of the year,... are not even worth to have a look on it.
Btw since about 3 yrs I've no more digital equipment. Own large Dac/transport combis from Wadia and Burmester, also know the DCS stuff well. I don't want to start a religious war; there more than enough threads on this theme. I've not much time for listening music and none of the combis I owned or listened to was worth to share this time. Have an ipod in my car only for music not available on records.
I think in a few months I'll move this system to "done for now". There are some smaller improvements on start like a custom made 4.5W SE 300B for my midrange drivers, some improvements on mains supply (separate electric circuit and fuse,...) and some room tuning. I think that will be the end of search. My new appartment will also have a separate listening room.
Reincarnation of Bayer, Brakemeier & Partners legendary speaker system. Improved drivers, additional rear-side tweeter and passive bass unit. Improved cabinet with a state-of-the-art crossover. Double sub-system based on the design of the LaVoix. Custom Made Monitoring System. Special designed Crossover, selected chassis with no interaction to the room, Frequency range from 25 Hz up. A 3-way system - sealed enclosure - requiring an external subwoofer. Why an extra subwoofer if there are already 3-ways?? Because of the prime design goals. The prime design goals were: - maximum resolution - maximum possible constant sound dispersion - a real soundstage recreation - even if seated way outside the sweet spot - real 3-dimensional soundstage - with not only left - right and front - back location, but real heights differences The 8
Koechel K-300
Köchel K300 is a full-range, high-resolution, 3-way horn-loaded loudspeaker system. Including a 12" bass driver, and two time-aligned enclosures for the bass; and the midrange and treble, the K300's musicality cannot be expressed in mere words. Typical "horn colorations" have been replaced with a clear, neutral sound! The heart and soul of the K300 is the 13-element crossover filter. It allows each driver to operate in it's optimal frequency range and maintain a constant impedance load for the amplifier. The K300 is able to pass a 100Hz square wave without distortion,a feat unheard of by most speakers of any design. This is testimony to the speed and control exhibited by the Köchel. The Köchel K300 provides the neutrality of the finest dynamic and electrostatic speakers available without the colorations, beaming and poor imaging of lesser horn designs. It has a vanishing low level of distortion to allow the accurate portrayal of harmonics and the system features ultra-high resolution. But more than anything else, its' uncompressed dynamics (micro and macro) project the emotion of the performance to capture the heart and soul of the listener! K300 Specifications: * Sensitivity: 99db Avg. (97dB min) 1 watt (2.83V) @ 1 metre * Frequency Response: 52Hz - 22kHz @ -5dB (Avg in-room response) * Impedance: 8W (-1,+2) * Dimensions: 57.2" x 16.5" x 21.5" (HxWxD) * Weight: 150 pounds per speaker Drivers * Bass - 12" Back-Loaded Horn * Midrange - 2" Compression Driver CD Horn * Super Tweeter - 1.75" Compression Driver 140° wide-dispersion slot horn * Power Requirements: 3 watts minimum, 200 watts RMS maximum Upgraded with internal XLO Signature wiring.
Bayer, Brakemeier & Partner 300B
Maybe the best 300B ever made. No compromises on any part. WE300B's made in the 50'ties.
Jeff Rowland Model 2 BPS
Fine transistor amp. Very reliable.
Acoustical Systems Omnigon
Ultimate Phono preamplifier w/optional line stage. All triode tube design. Full symmetrical. Unique passive phono EQ. Each tube with its own independent heater supply. Unique double mono PS with bridge-type tube rectification (8 single-wave rectifiers - 4 each channel) and pure foil CLC-PS. 100 lbs - dual chassis, 6 Phono inputs (50dB, 63dB, 68dB, 72dB, 77dB, 81dB pure Phono gain), Output AES Studio specification, (600Ω, digital 110Ω) No-loss- of-Signal-Parts, the best out there (TKD, Silver plugs, Tubes from US Army rocket defensive stations, Silver soldered, Tantal, Caddock, all Parts internal decoupled via Electron microscope devices...) Result: Superior Detail, accurate specs, no coloration and lifelike Reproduction. The sound ? Well, it is no longer about sound. Dynamics, colors, soundstage, 3-dimensionality - yes, all that and much more. But it goes a few significant steps beyond that. Imagine opening the windows of your room on a clear early summer morning. A breeze of fresh air comes in.Go further in your imagination and tear down the walls of your listening room. All a sudden there is fresh air, the warmth of sun rays on your skin, a world of color, beauty and a flood of details around you. Touching your senses - with brute directness, unfiltered, unaltered. Involving, dramatic, breathtaking and demanding. Nothing between you and the nature, virtually dead silent, free of any colorations with tremendous gain results in a sense of weight, impact and dynamics that is at once thrilling and unique. You can no longer move your attention away from the music. VERY different from anything else I have ever heard - anywhere. Quality inspection from Science Lab for every single piece incl. Tubes, final quality report Engineering Lab, Warranty 5 years incl. my Tubes. Custom made. Serial No: 004 / 012 Never a Mk II version. Tested in University Lab for accuracy before delivered. This one is final. (Thanks Syntax for this description!)
Verdier La Platine
One of the very, very best in the world. Old model from the late 80ties with Jaques Mahul/Focal magnet bearing. At moment one FR-66s/FR-7s and one FR-64s/B60 with Lyra Titan i are mounted. Custom made alloy arnbases. Motor & motor-control from actual TW-Acustic Raven AC.
Fidelity Research FR-66S
One of most wanteds. I know why!
Fidelity Research FR-64S
Now two of them are running. One on my Kuzma; other on my Platine Verdier. Arms fitted with optional B60 base and VTA on the fly.
Lyra Atlas
The best.
Lyra Titan i
Yeah!
Lyra Helikon
Still one of my favorites.
Fidelity Research FR-7fz
FR's top model; still hard to beat!
Dynavector DV30C Ultimo
Inregrated system. Using same magnets as the Lyra Olympos. Best buy for money.
Denon DL 103 C1s
The rarest of the 103 series. Got one NOS original from Denon fundus in Japan. Think there is no second one in this condition.
Ortofon T-7500
Custom made MC- transformer. Best had ever in my system.
Fidelity Research XF-2 Type L
FR's best MC transformer
Cotter MK-2L Transformer
Great transformer, connected with my Titan i.
Sound of Silence Vibraplane
model 1210 from Kinetic Systems for my turntables. Best platform ever heard.
System edited: 3 years have gone, it's time to update my system. Some things have changed but strategy is still the same: Efficient speakers powered by tradtitional amps build with very best available electronic components on the market. Everbody listened the Silbatone WE demo at Munich's High End Show 2013 should understand that 2 wps are sufficient for a well matching system (even for 3k listeners ;)).
Hi- I see you Klyne pre and wonder if you ever compared it to an Ayre and what your thoughts on that might be...I still have the inefficient Dynaudios, but find them a pleasant listen with a Plinius amp. I was using a Dual CS5000 with a Tom Evans Microgroove, but am going to go with either a Klyne 7lx3.5 and -p or an Ayre K1xe with phono. Best, Art
Couldn't agree w/you more. My 14 year journey mirrors yours to a T. Looking back at all the tens of thousands of dollars I've spent I get sick. The system I have now easily competes with anything else I've owned for 1/3 the price.
Hi, Heradot. I owned a lot of very expensive components and I made many and many tests (A & B tests) with most of the best components worldwide. Of course, like yours, It's my experience that is different from yours. At the present stage, as you red well in my posts, I consider Burmester one of the best Hi-End Maker.
Hi Hr1, I can see dozens of posts you hype another Burmester component. Maybe it's your passion but does not match with my experience at all. But pls carry on buying German products ;)
Hi Jfrech, Transfiguration Temper V and Zyx Uni played very well with the Tri. Lyra, DV and others I like more on arms with a higher effectice mass. At the moment only two FR's are in use on my PV.
Hi very nice system ! Congrats! What cartridges have you ran on your tri planar and which ones did you like best? I see the transfiguration mounted in one photo....thanks in advance
I know very well the Graaf products and also the GM-20. Very good Italian components. A good friend of mine, drived the Opera Tebaldi with a pair of Graaf GM-20 with the Graaf top preamp 13.5B. Six months ago, he tested a Burmester 911 MK3 with the preamp Burmester 011. At the end he replaced his combo Graaf, because the improvement in sound quality was huge with German Gears.
Nice system heradot, wonderfull vinyl based. Im also kind of done with digital , its nice to impress , but boring after 15 minutes i miss the soul. You and thuchan made me seriously considering lamm .
Your remarks about a Klyne preamp struck a responsive note. I bought a 6L about 20 years ago, and eventually gave it to my daughter, who continues to play it with no need of servicing. I've thought of moving up to the seven series with balanced in and outs, but instead have a Krell Evo 202 driving a Burmester 911 Mk3. I've thought of buying a Burmester preamp (011 or 077) for synergy with the amp, but your enthusiasm for the Klyne gives me pause. The 808 Mk5 that you had is sometimes described as one of the world's best preamps. How would the Klyne sound with my 911 Mk3? (which has an ultra low input impedance)?
Dear Marco: Thank you for your clarification on that subject.
We all people are so different. When I'm stressed by work or other issue there are are two things that put me in true " relax ": hear music ( around 80db. ) and/or read a good book.
For me the music is realy something especial and relaxing. When I her music in my system or live events ( every single week. ) my brain/mind " disconnect " from the outside world and focus on the music enjoying: there is no stress on me that can't change this fact but like I say it every single person is way different.
Btw, nice to read somewhere that you add to your systems audio items the Continnum, good!
Hi Raul, my system(s) has/have no distorstions affecting sound quality even playing on a limit to leave the room. I just don't like it listening to music that way, that's all. It's simply not my conception of enjoying an evening with music after a stressful day and has no techncal reasons. Rgds, Marco
Dear Marco: +++++ " I listen at low volume cause I'd like ro relax and enjoy the music and not to get it hammered in my brain. . " +++++
I undertand you and agree with you on the " hammered " subject because I don't like it either.
But the interesting issue here is to know from where/why comes that " hammered " sound quality and IMHO that " hammered " are ( mainly ) heavy distortions generated elsewhere the audio system and that's why I always preach that we have to take care to work on lowering distortions ( any kind. ) all over the whole system ( each audio link. ).
When we lower at minimum our audio system distortions this fact permit tohear and enjoy the music at a little higher SPL ( 75-82db. ) with out almost no " hammered " in my brain but a relax one. Think on it.
You are taking a radical alternative to lower the distortions: hearing your system at very low volume, but IMHO this is only an Aspirine because if that same system " hammered " your brain at higher level than 70db then something is wrong somewhere.
I like you am very sensitive to distortions, I can't endure distortions more than 10 seconds but I don't try to hide those distortions lowering my system volume but what I do is try to find in which places around are those high distortions and then try to fix it ( lowering. ) till my ears are confortable.
Hi Raul, have a second sideboard on the other side of the room but still no space for all my stuff. So some parts are always stored and I change from time to time. Added two more pics. My new speakers are an improved version of Synthax previous system.
Sovereign is made in Germany. They are very rare; for detailed information you should contact the manufacturer: http://sovereign.hifi.net/ I used the Sovereign for my old Dynaudio (already sold) and the Kharmas. These amps are made for very low effiency and very low impedance (0.5 Ohm) speakers.
I listen at low volume cause I'd like ro relax and enjoy the music and not to get it hammered in my brain. Think it's below 70db. There not many systems really working and playing homogeneous at low volume.
Dear Marco: An impresive list of audio items. Where do you have installed all those TT? I ask because you pictured only the Kuzma.
The Klyne are very good electronics and something that I like and for its price very good investment. I see that you have the Temper V that I owned and IMHO maybe the best Transi ever.
So, you have new speakers that for the moment I can't identified because I don't know if what you have are the previous Syntax similar speakers or the new that he describe in his virtual system and that are the same Daniel own.
Now where do you use that Sorvereign amplifiers? where can I find info on it? its price is impressive so its design and build execution has to ve at the same level, right?. I ask because now that you own new speakers that are self powered the Sorvereign are running with..??????
Marco, I'm curios : why do you hear music at very low volume? and how low? 70-73db?
Hi Raul, you're right, the Köchel is not really working below 60Hz. I use the Köchel SW250 active sub with the K300. Else there is something missing.
But this is not my main system. I listened most time with the Kharmas; few days ago I got installed a custom made monitor system similar the one of Synthax but with two active woofers. Two 4.5W SE 300B are following for the midrange drivers.
Dear Marco: Still under construction and with a lot of money on it!
I read the information on your K-300 where I assume that those speakers does not goes to low on the bass ( -5db at 52 hz. ). You don't say it but do you have external subs? or the K-300 are enough for you.
System edited: Improved power supply of the components using two Reimyo ALS-777 AC line conditioners in series connection. Huge improvement of performance especially in bass section.
Thanks a lot. It seems to me being on the right way but need much more time for fine adjustment. Think next time I need no more new components but much time and perhaps some tweaks to optimize. Bye, Marco
