Main listening room with Audio Research Reference electronics, Esoteric P03 / D03 / G0s SACD / CD source, Wilson Audio Watt / Puppy 8, Steve Blinn Design custom rack, Kimber Select ICs and speaker cable, Shunyata King Cobra and Anaconda CX, four 20 amp dedicated lines fed by an isloation transformer. Hand painting on the walls by local artist.
Power cords used on REF40th, Ref 210s, Esoteric P03 / D03
Controlled Power Company 5 KVA Isolation Transformer
A CPC 5 KVA isolation transformer feeds an isolated sub-panel that feeds the four 20 amp dedicated circuits in the listening room. Receptacles are Hubell isolated ground type. The transformer has the Transient Voltage Spike Suppression (TVSS), High frequency noise filtering, K13 rated for harmonic suppression, options. Ground is maticulously maintained by multiple ground rods connected electrically in parallel with house ground at service entry point
Thanks for replying back....the SACD on the P03/D03 is stellar; no argument there! I have the P-03U and the DVD-A (for the few discs I was able to grab before they killed a great format) is also state of the art. I have a hard time imagining "better" when I listen to SACD and DVD-A on the stack but someone will best the setup someday I'm sure as is the nature of such things. Perhaps Esoteric already has with the new D-02 as an alternative :-).
Verrastar video/HDMI cables have proven to be excellent; I can only imagine that their 75-ohm digital cables are excellent as well!
Hi Jfrech. Good to hear from you again. I am using clock cables from Verastarr. The clock and cables belonged to my close friend and fellow Austin-ite, Babybear.
Zephyr24069, I too enjoy grabbing the discs and sticking them into the P03. I will tell you that the computer based set-up I have is as good as I've heard. It still does not beat an SACD played back by the Esoteric stack. The highs are much better on an SACD played through the Esoteric stack.
I am using Analysis Plus Digital Oval2 BNC to BNC 75ohm digital cables for my clocking. I've tried others that cost much more and there was no appreciable sonic difference. The AP cables (and others at reasonable price points) are reliable and appear to be error-free in their 75ohm signal transmission.
Thank you for all the info....I have extremely good power and a custom-run dedicated circuit of good quality here; I am thinking of adding a separate isolation transformer and sub-panel and further improving the grounding scheme for the system and the house as the next move as power is key as so many people have mentioned over the years. Thanks as well for the info on the Weiss converter. I have not made the jump into computer-based playback as I really like the process of grabbing a disc off the shelf, cleaning it and loading it up however for another system I am planning for others in the home to enjoy easily, this will come in very handy. Happy Listening!
Hi Zephyr24069. Thanks for the kind words. I just got the G0s clock a month ago and have not yet updated the picture. The clock has made a noticeable difference in instrument placements (much better defined), upper and lower frequencies extension and smoothness. The little box on top of the D03 is the Weiss INT202 firewire to S/PDIF converter. I use a MacBook Pro as a music server and feed the digital signal from the laptop via firewire to the INT202. I also use Amarra software to control the INT202 device and feed bit-perfect digital to the system. This is the set-up I saw Peter McGrath, Wilson Audio, use and discussed with him. I copied it! The heart and soul of power distribution is the transformer, dedicated sub-panel, and ground rod for the transformer. These were installed by a licensed electrician and have provided protection and clean power for the equipment in the room. I selected a 5KVA because I have audio only. If a home theatre will also be driven, a larger transformer may be needed depending on gear. The key is a low resistance ground. Our soil was conducive to a very low resistance reading and the results have been outstanding. I also ordered the transformer with filtering and harmonic filtering options.
Absolutely beautiful system and room setup! I'd like to know a bit more about your transformer, sub-panel and dedicated circuit setup as I'm sure it's part of the heart and soul of this great setup! Do you still have the G0s clock? What is the small white box on the top of the D-03?
Thanks for all of your kind words. The Audio Research Reference gear is truly special. The addition of the G0s clock to the Esoteric stack has made a noticeable improvement over what was great sounding digital. The Kimber Select 3038 upgrade from KS-3033 has provided additional detail and smoothness in the upper frequencies and solidified the bass response. Very pleased with the results at this point. Thanks again.
System edited: Updated system pictures. Added Audio Research Reference 40th Anniversary, Shunyata King Cobra power cords on REF 210s, back in June 2011. The Ref 40th Anniversary is now broken-in and stunning. I also feed digital music from a 1TB LaCie drive. Here is the chain: Apple MacBook Pro, Amarra, firewire to Weiss Int202 converter, Esoteric D03. Kimber Select 2020 cable. The music is stored AIFF on the 1TB drive and the drive is ethernet connected to an Apple Extreme base station. I connect the MacBook Pro to the Apple Extreme via ethernet as well when using it as a source.
System edited: System changes made June 2010. Added Esoteric P03 / D03 SACD-CD player. Components are so heavy that I had Steve Blinn design a two sheld extra wide for everything. Using Acrolink Mexcel 2500 digital cables.
I had Sophia-2s prior to the WP/8. I find the WP/8 to be more open overall, have better detail at the frequency extremes and have better bass impact. The color of my WP/8 is called Titan Red. The tube traps behind the trees are 16" round and 48" high. They have provided a definite improvement in bass in my room. Thanks for the compliments on the room. We do enjoy it.
I didn't even notice the tube traps hidden behind the trees. Whats the size your using to good effect in that size room? Also whats the color red that you ordered the WP 8s in?
Hi didn't you have Sophia 1s or 2s before if so what are your thoughts on upgrading to WP 8s. I just sold my Sophia 1s and was planing the same move. I only wish I had such great looking dedicated room to relax and turn off all the interuptions.
Hey Ralph, Great to see you posted your room. It looks great! Next time I'm in Dallas, I'll have to get in contact and make it by for a listen. I'm sure it sounds great.
