My system feels and sounds "done" to me, 14 yrs after I started. 2 channel and movies are better than I ever dreamed possible - the synergy is just remarkable. I have very fortunately been able to assemble a system that I will never grow tired of listening to. This is not in a dedicated listening room, but in my living room, complete with dogs, TV, open doorways, etc., etc. It really shouldn't sound any good, but it sounds GREAT!! Go figure... It has definitely been a learning experience and I've made my share of missteps along the way, as I expected to do.
My original goal was to be able to close my eyes and have the performers in the room with me. I have finally gotten there and actually beyond, to the point where the speakers disappear in the room. A pretty big deal considering the size of the speakers (BIG!) and the size of the room (19' x 20') I now just listen to the music and smile.
The latest additions - VAC Statement linestage, Focal Grande Utopia EM speakers and Critical Mass Systems Maxxum rackage made a huge impact to my system, both aurally and visually (as well as to what USED to be my savings.) :-). I finally have my DREAM system and couldn't be happier, as it sounds as good as it looks (some say even better). (edited 12/2014)
Valve Amplification Company STATEMENT 450 IQ Monoblocks
Great amps. IQ Continuous Automatic Bias System and Auto-Sentry System added on recent trip to VAC. Very good sound became off-the-charts sound. Literally best tube amps I've heard anywhere, at any price. With addition of the FOCALS, I can really appreciate the amps.
Valve Amplification Company STATEMENT Linestage
Added Seimens 7308s for break-in; will be installing CCA Telefunkens in several weeks. :-)
Esoteric P-02 Transport/D-02 DAC
SOTA digital. Phenomenal combination.
FOCAL Grande Utopia EM
WOW!
High Fidelity Ultimate Reference Rhodium and HelixPowrCds
Each run from wall to a P-10 power regenerator, which supply my system. They are "game-changers" for my system - the detail, imaging, separation and musicality are great. Helix goes to transport.
Critical Mass Systems Maxxum Rack and Amp Stands
Merlot 9-position filtered rack, with 2 Merlot filtered amp stands. Installed by Joe L. and my local dealer. All are movable for cable access, etc., a Maxxum first. System got even quieter, imaging improved and sound stage got both wider and deeper. They also make my living room look much better. :-)
High Fidelity Ultimate Reference Power Cable
Ridiculously excellent power transmission. Powers Esoteric P-02 transport from PS Audio P-10 power regenerator. Best I've ever heard.
Master Set Speaker system Tuning
Performed by Rod Thompson of Soundings (here in Denver). Took speakers to a much higher level than I thought possible in my room. Well worth the money for this system to perform to the level he got it to.
High Fidelity Ultimate Reference Speaker cables
SOTA for speakers
High Fidelity Ultimate IC's betw preamp and amps
Final piece of the puzzle. Entire system opened up tremendously.
High Fidelity CT-1Ultimate ICs from D-2 to preamp
New design with magnetic influence. Amazing low level detail with excellent musicality. Best cable yet between Esoteric D-02 DAC and Vac preamp.
Purist Audio Custom DC umbilical cords 4 Focals
Connects DC woofer external control modules to the Focal speakers. Custom made for this application (thanks to Albert Porter).
PS Audio P-10 Power Regenerator(2)
System protection as well as clean, steady power to all gear. Silver.
HighFidelity Ultimate Reference Helix Digital
Great digital cable clocking the p-02 and D-02 together using internal clock.
Hi Diamond P-4(4) and P-3(2) power cords
P-4s from wall to 2 P-10s, and from P10s to each amp. Also from P-10 to CD player and wall to sub. P-3 from P-10 to preamp and from Oppo to P-10. Extremely quiet, resolving and organic cables that get out of the way of the music. Macro and micro details in abundance, without any harshness or loss of musicality. Best PCs I've heard, at any price.
Pro ELITE 70 inch LCD w/full Local Dimming
Motorized wall mount allows TV to come forward and down for viewing. Retract to wall for critical listening.
Integra DHC-80.2 HD Processor
All the latest codecs for movies.
Legacy Audio Focus 20/20 rear speakers
Full range and great for movies
Oppo BDP-105
Video processing to 3D plus all latest Audio Codecs
Digital Systems Ultrabit Platinum Disc Treatment
The best I've found to help my CDs sound their best and remove scratches.
Hi Bob P - Congrats on your VAC. There are tons of places to get tubes - I have always gotten mine from Brent Jessee at audiotubes.com. Phone is 847-496-4546. Its very easy to get overwhelmed when you start out with tube rolling - Brent made it very easy for me and I couldn't be happier with the tubes he has recommended and i have gotten from him.
He will also explain to you the 7308's come in all flavors and price ranges, so in most cases, you get what you pay for. I'd give him a call see what he says. Please stay in touch so we hear what you end up doing.
Fplanner: I have a VAC Phi Beta pre; with the recent upgrade to allow tube rolling. I just had a bad tube in my stock 6DJ8; and changed my first tube ever! Now my right channel is putting out beautiful music. Where can you recommend I purchase a matched set of the 7308's...glad to hear that you think they are a big step up from the stock VAC tubes...I am new to this tube swapping and need some friendly advice. Thanks. Bob P
Newest meaningful change - replaced SR Apex 1m ic between Esoteric source and VAC preamp with SR CTS ic (copper-tungsten-silver), gray bullets. WOW.
Sound stage immediately got wider and deeper. Imaging got noticeably better and the system got more musical. One of my audio friends heard the exact same thing. Bass changed a bit as well, becoming more clear but less pronounced. In other words, the entire presentation got more balanced. The PRAT factor also took a big jump up.
I was concerned about losing some bass, an area where the Apex excels, but so far that has not been the case. Its still there, but its faster and better defined - the notes are more true to the actual presentation and more 3-dimensional.
This CTS ic is just a demo, but I will be getting 1 for real shortly from John at the Cable Company. It has made a very positive difference in my system, much more so than I could have ever imagined, as I finally incorporate some of the new technology from the SR Element Series. No desire to add more CTS cabling - it would definitely be overkill at this point, IMHO. I would quantify this change as about a 1.5 component upgrade, literally. Didn't think I would get such a profound, positive result from this cable - a very pleasant surprise. I guess you never know until you try. :-)
OTOH, those Seimens 7308's continue to improve with more hours on them - probably the best "bang for the buck" I've ever done to my system, by FAR... :-)
McCormack not hooked up yet (tomorrow?). I have the signal from each 300.1 amp going through a Galileo Speaker Cell and into the upper module only of each speaker. Mids and highs are as effortless and three-dimensional as I hoped they would be by this experiment. There is an obviously something missing that will hopefully be addressed tomorrow. Stay tuned... :-)
BTW, as the new preamp 7308s are breaking in nicely, the system sounds better than it ever has. Part of me says to leave things alone, but the adventurous part is glad I am experimenting with this passive bi-amping, as someone labeled it in an earlier thread.
Still haven't been able to edit my system - functionality just isn't there yet with this new web-site.
Additional cables are on their way - hope to get the re-arrangement of my system done Sunday.. :-) BTW, the 7308s continue to improve in the Ren SIg IIa, now with about 15 hours on them - can't believe I didn't do this sooner, but who knew?
Lots of changes, for the much better, about to happen. First, replaced failing Golden Dragon 6Dj8's in preamp with Siemens 7308's NOS from the mid-1970's. Much better, with more air, better imaging, deeper bass, etc., etc.
Secondly, upon the urging of my local friend Duawye, I've decided to introduce my old MCCormack DNA-500 into my system, to drive the bass units of the VR-7se's. It will pump 750+ watts of A power into each bass cabinet(4-6 ohms). Each of my current VAC 300.1s will drive the top module of each speaker. In other words, going from 300 tube wpc to in excess of 1000 wpc, properly allocated, per speaker. Should be quite a difference... I cant wait!! :-)
If your linestage is a MKIIa, there's a MP of 12au7 and MP 6922. From my experience, the 12au7 position is as sensitive to tube rolling as 6922.
One has to realize in order for a company to support a product line, they need a large inventory of tubes so are not going to use rare NOS as stock ... with the exception to Shindo. Also from what I've read and heard, most companies expect customers to roll tubes so why bother using rare NOS as stock.
Currently I'm using Pass XA160.5 but looking to purchase a tube amp soon. Considering Music Reference RM300 monos and waiting for Roger's test results on KT120s before making a final decision.
Wow - that's the first I've heard about the 12au7. I specifically asked Brent at VAC about those - he said it didn't matter since they weren't in the line stage(As I recall). From a "keeping myself sane" standpoint, I'll probably put the 7308s in first and see what I think of them. I don't want to be messing around with too many variables or I won't be able to accurately figure out what I like. I'm guessing the 7308s are a much more dramatic improvement over stock than ANY replacement tubes for the 12au7.
What amp(s) is/are you using with your VAC pre? I love my 300.1's :-) I put Black Treasures 181's in the front 4 spots of each amp - made a nice, positive difference.
Seimens 7308 is a very nice tube. I'm rolling 60's Seimens Cca in our/same preamp.
While you in there, you should also replace the 12au7. I found the stock Philips 6189w too warm and congested for my taste. I finally settled with Telefunken ribbed plate 12au7. It improved transparency, resolution, detail, speed and especially dynamics. I found replacing the 12au7s are as important as replacing the e88cc/6922/7308.
Kevin- Thank you for the compliments. Your system, especially the room treatments, is amazing. I wish I could do more with my room like you have, or even a fraction of wht you've done. However this is my living room, complete with with big dogs, sloped ceiling, sliding glass door, lots of openings, etc. In a nutshell, the room shouldn't sound any good at all, but amazingly its "not bad" as they say.
I know I am losing some depth of the center image due to the TV - (AVS suggested throwing a blanket over it last time he was in the room), but the layout of the room, complete with all the furniture you can't see in the pics, pretty much precludes me from doing very much experimenting with placements. So I haven't really been able to try moving the "boxes" due to spatial constraints.
I've toyed with the idea of putting the TV on the wall, but as my eyes get older I'm not so sure.. :-)
In an attempt to quiet some tube noise out of the speakers, I tried the balanced version of my SR Precision Ref cable between my preamp and amps, but it didn't work. Instead, my music got BETTER - lower noise floor, better resolution of quiet passages, etc. I accidentally fixed a problem I didn't even know I had!! Lots of cables running behind my gear, so balanced would have been a no-brainer, had I given it any real thought. Additional benefit is that the VAC gear is truly "balanced" and was voiced that way, so I am now maxing out the performance. Who Knew?
Brent at VAC then told me it was the tubes in the preamp that were making the noise I was hearing. So. I am trying to upgrade to a pair of 7308 Seimens NOS tubes to replace the stock VAC tubes in the preamp. They are supposed to be several steps up from what I've been using and will hopefully take the system up a notch or two. That would be terrific, once again "fixing a problem I didn't even know I had"!!
I've been very fortunate to be able to put together my system such as it is, and one of my greatest pleasures is sharing the music with friends, both old and new. If you come through Denver, shoot me an e-mail and we'll see if we can arrange for a listening session. Thanks again for your kind words.
Great gear Fplanner! (I assume Fplanner means financial planner and your gear quality reflects your book of business - kudos.) I've heard that tall equipment and TVs between your speakers can reduce the centre image - have you experimented with say side wall placement of your numerous boxes? Any acoustical treatments to further reveal the quality of your gear? Do you have multi-channel music sources (other than 5.1 movie sound tracks) you enjoy? Love the speakers and the looks of the VAC goodies. Congrats on the great system.
Installed the Integra DHC-80.2 to replace my DTC-9.8. Money well spent. The sound is noticeably better (actually pretty amazing) as well as the room calibration/steering by the Audyssey 32 and other advanced DACs, etc.. Its close to a night and day difference - even greater than I had expected.
I'm still using the video out of the Oppo, which is quite nice, although I'll probably experiment as time goes on with the 80.2 video. For now, couldn't ask for a better solution - had no idea this was such a no-brainer until doing the upgrade... :-)
Oppo in - wow. Discs load in 30 seconds, as opposed to the 5 minutes with the Sony (a/k/a the new "boat anchor"). Oppo's video is considerably better than what I was getting from my Integra 9.8 as well. 2nd HDMI out into the Integra for audio works flawlessly as well. For now, this is meeting my HT needs quite well, actually exceeding what I thought I'd have to settle for due to system conflicts.
Spent past week integrating front end with HT. Thanks to Brent and Kevin at VAC, was able to eliminate a very problematic ground loop issue so now everything plays well together. Oppo BDP-95 arrived yesterday and will replace my Sony "antiquated" (and slow) Blue-ray player. I'll be running 1 HDMI out to my TV and the other HDMI out to my Integra processor. I may still upgrade the Integra at a future point, but really should not have to anytime soon if the Oppo performs as advertised.
So far, I am very happy with the results and the Oppo isn't even in the system yet. All the tube power now being used, as well as the sub, both warms my living room (its cold outside) and very well complements the already movie-like experience presented by the new TV. The dogs aren't sure what to make of all this, as they track sounds and voices moving all around the living room, but I'm sure they'll get used to it.... :-)
The Pro-Elite 70" TV arrived yesterday. WOW!! Lots of adjustments possible to really tweak whatever kind of picture you want. Very bright, but that is easily adjusted, and nice to have it there when/if I need it. Out of the box, has a similar picture to my 46" Sony XBR-4, only bigger and more detailed. So far the TV is exactly what I'd hoped it would be. I'll probably try 3-d over the weekend. Sound much better than I thought it would be from a TV.
Making a large upgrade to the Video portion of my system. VAC 450 monos may just have to wait.... PRO ELITE (Pioneer/Sharp 2.5 yr SOTA joint venture) 70" LCD/LED on its way......
GGGRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...... ;-) How about finding someone whose life would be dramatically changed for the better by owning a pair of 300.1's? Much better use of your time....... :-)
you know this hobby is addictive and I had to chuckle reading your last three posts in reference to the 450's.
It's okay I know you want the 450's soooooooooo badly, I bet you dream about it at night. :)
I'm just sitting relaxing and listening and while writing I have found myself just getting loss within the music, loosing track of time so it has taken a long time to write this little blurb.
I would prefer to sell my great-sounding VAC 300.1s(with the cool dials) domestically within the next 4-6 weeks. My appetite has definitely been whetted by Kevin for the 450 Statement monos, HOWEVER I won't upgrade without having the 300.1's sold first. If that doesn't happen, my sound with the existing amps is wonderful already, so not much downside here. I also got a bit more of an analog sound out of Alex's tweaks to the NWO-M - its all good!!
