Novemeber 2016-Added 4 x LAMM m2.2 for biamping the TADS, driven by the LAMM LL1.1 preamp.A match made in heaven!( or in Brooklyn NY......) The LAMM amps will be set on 4 S
Also upgraded the siltech double cown i/cs to the newly developed TRIPLE CROWNS- a significant upgrade on its own.
April 2021—
Replaced my Lamm gear with the soulution 701s, and 725 preamp.
HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR STANDS W/ M3X ISOLATION BASES
2X4 SHELVES STANDS IN BURLWOOD FINISH.with 19x21 m3x shelves. adding these racks and shelves have been one of the most profound upgrades i have made to my system, period!
TRANSPARENT ACOUSTIC CLOUDS
10 CLOUDS TO TAME THE CEILING REFLECTIONS. BEAUTIFUL AND VERY EFFECTIVE!
AURALEX QUAD DIFFUSERS
SEVERAL DIFFUSERS IN THRUOUT THE ROOM.
YTER Flexum acoustical panels
a gorgeous maple diffuser/absorbtion from the kitchen of franco sorbin. extremely effective and also beautifully made to boot!
Sonus faber SE 17
True State of the art.
A major step up in speaker sound and looks.
HRS Vxr amp stands
Lowest noise floor .
PILlUM Olympus
ESOTERIC Grandioso P1x SE
Esoteric Grandioso G1x
Esoteric Grandioso D1xSE
Esoteric Grandioso N1T streamer
Pillium ZEUS STEREO AMP
ESPRIT CABLES Eureka interconnects, speakercables and all power cords
dev-- you are welcome. #1-1 external wall. #2 --see my notes above. too much absorbtion in that particular application. #3-- no way to gustimate acoustical impact of with/ without. i think it actually breaks some of the nodes in the upper sections of the room, but this is more of a hunch rather then a scientific measurment. #4--concrete.
dev-- lots of good questions. i'll try to cover them all. first, no , i wouldn't change a thing from the constructions stand point(mineralfiber between the studs, homasaut sheets, rubberblock all around and thruout, 3/8" sheetrock). the sofits were part of the room construction and alternating the a/c routing was not an option. i just have to live with them. if you are handy and have the time ,resources ,and plans to built your own bass traps, more power to you. i'm neither, so i had to acquire mine from gik and pmi. the clouds are not only beautifuly constructed ,but were perfect for taming the little ceiling zing , without "killing"too much energy in the process. everything elase i considered for the ceiling was too much. keep us posted and show some pics when it's all said and done. and yes, i'm enjoying this set up immensly!
"10-26-11: Podeschi Wow what a beautiful room. Great equipment but equally impressive decor/room treatments. I've noticed that two of my favorite virtual systems on Audiogon, especially regarding how good the room looks, are your's and Arthursmuck, who both run VAC gear! " thanks a lot,podeschi! arthur's room has been one of my models when i constructed my room from the studs up. a slightly different approach but at the end, similar results- we created an enviroment where good gear can shine and excellent gear excells!
well it's time to build my new designated room to tie me over until we move so I can in return build my dream room, looking at yours I see allot of similarities.
If you were to do it all over what would you do different if anything?
My room won't be as long or have as heigh ceiling wise as yours due to restraints but will be a bit wider and not have any side windows to contend with.
Room size finished will be 17' wide by 21'9" long with 9' ceilings, soffits lower of course.
I'm also looking at using GIK various acoustic panels and what I was reading in relation to yuor comments in relation to the clouds installed on your ceiling.
Any reason why you did not use GIK's product here?
Looking at rooms I see some have soffits, some not and some only on two sides.
Why did you decide to go with soffits, what are the benifits.
I see you built your soffits or had them built, how are they constructed? I'm doing the build my self.
The two front wall corners behind speakers instead of using GIK Tri-corners I'm thinking about just building my own bass traps on a angle.
Also looking at building a bass trap in the back wall.
Wow what a beautiful room. Great equipment but equally impressive decor/room treatments. I've noticed that two of my favorite virtual systems on Audiogon, especially regarding how good the room looks, are your's and Arthursmuck, who both run VAC gear!
the clouds haveeffectively tamed that zing i had in the room. and they are also a nice decorative addition. other speakers i considered but have not heard personally were the venture,& the egglston savoys. the yellowjackets ,fourplay and spyro gyra are some of my favorties!
Glad to see that the Stella's are still sounding great. I can only imagine what the VAC+Focal combo is like. I really hope to hear the Utopia EM at some point. I am doing my best to get my 1027's sounding as good as they can. Keep on enjoying your system.
This system is the best sounding, musically speaking,set up i have put together to date.
several friends(among them one who is a classicly -trained pianist)commented the other day on the complete transformation between my previous set up("'too hifish ""was one of the terms used repeatedly), to what now they , and i, considere to be a very musical, and true -to -form itiration of sound.
you can't go wrong with upgrading to the 450 statements- these amps are a pinnacle in what kevin has achieved. and the stellas are a stark improvement over what focal offered with the nova be,or the grand utopia be, both of which i had had about 10 years ago. it is ,as you so eloquently pointed out , the synergy of all the parts , not just the dominance of one element.
Ozy- GREAT ROOM!! Very impressive. I was actually talking to Kevin at RMAF today about upgrading my 300.1s to Statement 450s and actually began doing measurements, etc.(Already have the Sig Mk2 preamp). Coincidentally, I also had lunch (still RMAF) today with a Focal manufacturing partner who I believe can get me a pair of Stellas if I want them. I had never seen nor heard them before, so he showed me pictures of a pair in black. Yours look very much better and I have to believe they sound amazing in your room with all your VAC gear, Siltech cabling, Esoteric gear and custom room treatments. I also have an Esoteric front end, with mine modified to an APL-NWO-M by Alex Peychev (20 32-bit DACs/side, double tube Class A output stage, etc., etc.)plus a rubidium clock.
Now this evening I discover your system and I must say, I am quite envious. Great job of putting it all together, in effect reinventing your system and room after the Tidals. IF you were nearby and open to it, I'd definitely want to hear your system while sampling some world-class scotch(I'd bring :-)) Again - very impressive. Congratulations.
focalfan-- yes, i like the stellas very much! they are breakin in nicely, and and are openning up further. it seems that the be twitter is the main element to be broken in. i did hear the focals in my room for a short while with the gryphons. here we get into the old argument- tubes vs.solid state, bmw vs. mb, etc..... having had mostly s/s gear, i now personally prefer the tubes sound all around. tubes render a certain quality to the sound that is unmatched even by some of the best s/s gear out there.
I agree with Focalfan, the Focal is indeed very very musical. the Tidal will sound harsh if the recording is harsh, and excellent if the recording is excellent!
looking at your pics of your room which looks great, a few things that stand out to me that you might want to check out.
1. louver window coverings, my set-up currently being in a living room space and I have wood ones I found there were some interaction at times, vibrations, rattles which I was able to address.
When I have music on, nice stand up bass I just walk arround the room to see what it sounds like. You would be surprised what one can find doing this.
2. your couch and particularly the back part and possibly sides, if you tap it with your hand does it interact like a drum sound. Obviously have no music on and tap it like you were hitting a drum sort of speak. I recall years ago in my designated room I added a leather sofa in behind my main seating area so others visting could sit and my sound just did not sound the same. Took me some time to figure out that the darn couch was the culprit, basically interacting, vibrating.
3. leather, leatherit couch not being the best choice because it reflects allot.
4. the door on the right side, is that a interior or exterior door. Interior door should be a solid core door otherwise if it's a hollow core door for sure it's interacting. Check the door to ensure there is no rattle, snug fit, ad door seals if needed. I also noticed a gap on the bottom that you might want to address with a door sweep, brush type.
5. also noticed your panels are a bit different on the sides, specically on the right side. You added one ontop of another one.
6. heat grates, you might want to check the louvers inside to see if they rattle. Allot of times they are metal and have two and will rattle at specific frequencies, there are other options.
7. your valance, "bulk head" hopefully you have addressed inside that along with the pipes for the venting using flex ones with the insulation bag around them so they aren't interacting and when air comes threw you can't tell.
8. Looking forward you might want to address the corners in the bulk head area section and if it's the same at the back do the same.
Ozy ... thanks for the compliments .... I will look at a company DAAD ... I hope someday to have a facility such as your back ..... my most sincere congratulations. Hello ciro Valuta la traduzione
ciro-- very nice! there's an italian acousitcs comapny called DAAD. their products are being imported to the usa by avalon speakrs. google them, and i'm sure they'll be able to offer you several room treatments options. ciao mio amico.
I am very pleased with the performance of my system ....... ....... but you can always improve Now I would like to improve the performance of my room ....... but I do not know where to start. Hello ciro.
Please ... I was about a week I own the Maestro focal speaker ..... spectacular .... I dare not imagine the focal Sella .... I would be very pleased to hear a plant so well done. Hello ciro.
