I am located on the Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin border on the mighty Mississippi river in Dubuque, Iowa. And you??

joneill February 07, 2012 07:19

Realism, energy, musical nuance, inner detail, outstanding musicality, etc...are all part of what I have been hearing. Each layer of Elrod cables in the system has brought more and more of the desired end result I am seeking. I am very happy with the system as a whole and greater than the sum of its parts; music listening has become what I always wanted it to be. You do have one outstanding system with the Merlin, JE and Wavelength equipment together with everything else. Where are you based?

zephyr24069 February 07, 2012 05:15

Zepyr,

Thanks for your kind words. Indeed, realism and energy are definite positives of the Elrod PC.

Looking at your system, seems you have put together quite an array of Elrods in the system and I'm sure all that attention to details has large pay-offs.

I will be auditioning the new cards Clear PC in the near future and will report my results here.

Thanks.

joneill February 05, 2012 11:25

That is one beautiful room and system; many of us without the ability to convert a room to that degree of audiophile nirvana are jealous :-) ! I have found energy and realism come into my system with the various Elrod PC, interconnect and speaker cable offerings that I'd never heard through any of my forays into high-end SOTA cables of many types. Has this been your experience as well?

zephyr24069 October 31, 2011 05:40

Tzh21y,

Sorry for the delayed response. Been "off the reservation" on business projects last 6 months.

The EAR 834P is a heavily modded version by Norther Audio. The board is stripped and all parts are replaced with the high quality "no cost" constraints parts and NOS tubes. While the stock 834P is no slouch, The Northern Audio Mod takes it to another level.

YMMV.

Jim

joneill May 15, 2011 10:49

System edited: USB cable wars. Demo on recommendation from a friend/dealer. Sound much improved over the RSA cable.

joneill May 15, 2011 10:43

How do you like the ear834?

tzh21y February 20, 2011 10:48

Keeping the Elrod Silver Statement and awaiting the Elrod Gold Statement(s) for audition on amps and PLC.

The cord was a "lock" on the JE Pre. Elrod provides Joule Electra with a proprietary wire of same design that Jud uses in his point to point wiring in the LA 300 ME.

Will keep you posted.

Thanks,

Jim

joneill June 20, 2010 19:57

Any updates on the Elrod power cables?

elescher June 11, 2010 07:14

Slipnot1,

Thanks for all of your kinds words and many thanks for all of the encouragement during the process. The room has been complete know for 6 months and the final room tweaks are pretty much completed.

You were correct in your assessment; "Best money you can spend" in stereo for sure. The Rives folks were a dream to work with and delivered the goods.

Off to listen.

Regards,

Jim

joneill March 23, 2010 19:04

Jim-

The room looks outstanding!! Congratulations. Now make all the hard work and planning pay off by spending time listening.

slipknot1 March 23, 2010 11:33

Nmanuel,

Thanks for your kind comments. Indeed, we are in very similar equipment arenas. I had a Capitole II SE for several years before I went the PC Audio route.

The CM platforms are excellent isolation platforms. Under the Joule amps as well as the Bam, expect to hear a much more focused, relaxed sound with better bass and definition.

Rives consults can be as invasive as one desires. Mine was a level 1 and I did my own sonic measurments. I was remodeling an office and my adjacent dedicated room that was treated with a variety of purchased/home made products. I was unwilling to move walls. I made that clear in my first interview and the project moved forward. I did agree to remove a large portion of the ceiling to build a diffusion array treatment. The rest of my solutions were stick built by my carpenter, cabinet maker or purchased from vendors.

I had read here and other places that a Rives solution would be the best money I would ever spend in audio. I would have to give that an emphatic two thumbs up as well. The room sounds fantastic and is a pleasure to be in as well.

Please keep me posted on the MXr break-in and send me some diggie pics of the set up.

regards,

Jim

joneill March 23, 2010 04:57

joneill, absolutely great room design. we have very similar systems--i'm breaking in the VSM-MXR's as i type. i'm using the filarmonia intergrated, the AA capitole classic SE as my digital front end, and the TNT-6 hotrod for my analog front end.

i'm curious your impressions on the critical mass isolation platforms. in what what ways have they improved your sound? have you AB compared your master BAM on and off the critical mass platforms? i'm considering the CM decoupling system for my filarmona and capitole.

also, a dedicated listening room like your's is my ultimate goal, but not feasible in my current house. would a rives audio consult be helpful in your opinion in an open living room setting? do they advise for renovations?

nmanuel March 22, 2010 18:56

System edited: Added an Elrod Power System Silver Statement Power Cord. Ribbon power cord similar in design to the point to point signal wiring designed specifically for Joule Electra by well known cable designer David Elrod of Elrod Power Systems, Inc. Hopefully will be a match made in heaven with the Joule Electra LA 300 ME Line-Stage. We shall find out!

joneill February 21, 2010 18:56

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your comments.

In my discussions with Richard, I pretty much gave him carte blanche as long as we did not move walls. With measurements in hand and his CAD design, he produced an outstanding space both in its sonics and aesthetics.

The deciding factor was its 8' 1" height. Building a soffit was not in the cards due to this height. The cloth-covered panels (no insulation, just 2'x4' covered panels in white acoustic cloth material) on the maple grid ceiling is hiding an elaborate patent-pending array of alternating diagonal slats and insulation with the joist bays build up with ply, 5/8 dry-wall screwed and green glued.

We use slanted boards and absorptive material between the ceiling joists to create effective diffusion down to 200-250Hz. It's extraordinarily effective for rooms like this where you have limited ceiling height but relatively tall speakers that would otherwise turn the ceiling into the predominant room boundary. We couldn't really put anything on the ceiling since that would lower it only further. Richard thought it would be a mistake to not treat this large surface at all. The ideal solution then was to work "in the ceiling," the ceiling joist bays, then trim it out with the kind of fabric that matched my decor. This allows the ceiling to be taken out of the boundary equation. This room sounds much, much larger than it has any right too!

With saws-all in hand, CLD cut out the plaster ceiling leaving a small area of plaster to frame the new grid. The panels are simply velcro'd to the grid with a 1/4 reveal for shadow line.

Rives CAD design specified quite a lot of diffusion in this room because, relative to the speakers being used, it was on the small side (approximately 14' x 19' x 8' 1"). The Helmholtz resonators, 5 foot bank on each wall are used to broaden the soundstage. They absorb energy and then release it at an attenuated level to create a sense of ambience that fools the ear/brain mechanism into hearing this space as being much broader and wider than it is. In most rooms, they would not have this many resonators. They assist in smoothing out the frequency response, providing both diffusion and absorption. These here are fashioned from hardwood slats (Select grade Maple) with a 1/4 inch gap. The width and depth of the gap relative to the depth of the device determines the frequency it resonates at. Because these are convex the depth of the gaps isn't constant but varying to become effective over a broader frequency band. Most people think of Helmholtz resonators as high-Q devices and you can design them accordingly to attenuate specific bass modes. But these are not that. These are broad-band devices designed to improve the ambiance of the room.

While it looks great and sounds great, after working with Richard, it was obvious that between the CAD and his experience, I was in good hands.

See here for construction pics: http://gallery.me.com/joneill1155

Hope this helps. I highly recommend Richard @Rives. Rives/Richard were great.

joneill February 17, 2010 15:39

Devilboy,

Thanks. Your room also is a great looker. I love those Marten's. Have a brother-in-law with a pair making some great sound in San Diego with the Martens.

My wife in-deed has quite a flair for the deco thing for sure. Excellent with colors, textures, fabrics and wood. I'll pass your props on to her.

Thanks.

joneill February 17, 2010 15:35

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your comments.

In my discussions with Richard, I pretty much gave him carte blanche as long as we did not move walls. With measurements in hand and his CAD design, he produced an outstanding space both in its sonics and aesthetics.

The deciding factor was its 8' 1" height. Building a soffit was not in the cards due to this height. The cloth-covered panels (no insulation, just 2'x4' covered panels in white acoustic cloth material) on the maple grid ceiling is hiding an elaborate patent-pending array of alternating diagonal slats and insulation with the joist bays build up with ply, 5/8 dry-wall screwed and green glued.

We use slanted boards and absorptive material between the ceiling joists to create effective diffusion down to 200-250Hz. It's extraordinarily effective for rooms like this where you have limited ceiling height but relatively tall speakers that would otherwise turn the ceiling into the predominant room boundary. We couldn't really put anything on the ceiling since that would lower it only further. Richard thought it would be a mistake to not treat this large surface at all. The ideal solution then was to work "in the ceiling," the ceiling joist bays, then trim it out with the kind of fabric that matched my decor. This allows the ceiling to be taken out of the boundary equation. This room sounds much, much larger than it has any right too!

With saws-all in hand, CLD cut out the plaster ceiling leaving a small area of plaster to frame the new grid. The panels are simply velcro'd to the grid with a 1/4 reveal for shadow line.

Rives CAD design specified quite a lot of diffusion in this room because, relative to the speakers being used, it was on the small side (approximately 14' x 19' x 8' 1"). The Helmholtz resonators, 5 foot bank on each wall are used to broaden the soundstage. They absorb energy and then release it at an attenuated level to create a sense of ambience that fools the ear/brain mechanism into hearing this space as being much broader and wider than it is. In most rooms, they would not have this many resonators. They assist in smoothing out the frequency response, providing both diffusion and absorption. These here are fashioned from hardwood slats (Select grade Maple) with a 1/4 inch gap. The width and depth of the gap relative to the depth of the device determines the frequency it resonates at. Because these are convex the depth of the gaps isn't constant but varying to become effective over a broader frequency band. Most people think of Helmholtz resonators as high-Q devices and you can design them accordingly to attenuate specific bass modes. But these are not that. These are broad-band devices designed to improve the ambiance of the room.

While it looks great and sounds great, after working with Richard, it was obvious that between the CAD and his experience, I was in good hands.

See here for construction pics: http://gallery.me.com/joneill1155

Hope this helps. I highly recommend Richard @Rives. Rives/Richard were great.

joneill February 17, 2010 15:32

Wow! Gorgeous dedicated room. Your wife did a good job.

devilboy February 17, 2010 14:42

Beautiful room!(I bet it sounds great too!!)
I am curious about your ceiling design. Could you describe the ceiling better? What is behind the absorbers? It seems different from most of the Rives designed rooms I have seen on A.Gon(Bass trap soffit design). What led you to pick your design over the soffit?
Thanks, Jim

jim94025 February 17, 2010 10:32

Srwooten,

Thanks for the info and the link. Much appreciated.

joneill February 15, 2010 15:03

"How do the motor risers work with the new feet? Are they part of the footer upgrade?"

They are 3 brass machined to order feet securely attach to a (acrylic?) platform. On top of that there is a carbom fiber disc for additional dampening. Tell Larry what your TT is and the shape of your motor (round or rectangular) and he'll make you everything to order. The riser is extra $. Here is a link to a couple pics of the feet:

FEET

Note-
My TT motor riser is NOT in these photos.

srwooten February 15, 2010 13:39

David,

Thanks for your kind words. The room was a blast to do and the results have been spectacular to say the least.

Your system looks to be right up my alley as well. Nothing like tubes and Merlin's for a match made in heaven.

joneill February 15, 2010 13:13

Joneill,

Congratulations on a beautiful room, and might I say, excellent choices on the Merlins and associated gears! I did hear a similar combo here in NY, back in 2005 during the Stereophile show. Enticing, to say the least.
I like the Critical Mass isolation/Bam combo, nice touch. I'm using the Reference for my Fila, and very pleased with the results.
Once again, bravo, and thank you for sharing the pics!!!!

David

toudou February 15, 2010 10:49

Srwooten,

New feet are on the upgrade list. How do the motor risers work with the new feet? Are they part of the footer upgrade?

I already have a center weight I purchased with the outer ring.

Thanks.

joneill February 15, 2010 07:18

What a great and beautiful room! Congratulations!

When you get your upgrades for your TT I highly recommend TTWeights. I purchased new feet/motor riser and a center weight for my Scoutmaster and a record clamp for my VPI record cleaning machine. I am thrilled with them all. No affiliation BTW.

srwooten February 13, 2010 19:32