An update is past due. Previously, I had tried using a long wall arrangement, and while the room looked very nice, that orientation was hardly ideal from a sonic perspective. Since this is a dedicated room, I can take some liberties with appearance. For the most part, this is my man cave. My wife rarely joins me for listening sessions. I do have a decent 2nd system downstairs that the family can enjoy for casual listening. I've replaced the Coincident Frankensteins with Atma-Sphere M-60s, and my ModWright Sony 5400 ES was sold since it was rarely used after I had the HAPZ1ES modded. With the benefit of consultation with one of our Audiogon gurus, I extensively modified the speaker crossovers. This was one of the best things I ever did. Amazing difference! Another recent change was removing the old Berber carpeting. I selected some luxury vinyl planks. My flooring guy had concerns about using hardwoods in the bonus room, so I went with the flooring you see depicted. I think it is very attractive and the room sounds much better than when it was carpeted.
Full range floor standers in rosewood. I recently rebuilt the crossovers and what a difference! All of the stock Solen caps and resistors were replaced. I used a Jupiter Copper foil with a Duelund Silver as a by-pass, followed by a Path resistor, for the tweeter. A Janzen Alumen-Z and Mills resistor was used for the midrange. Finally, Clarity CSA and Mills resistors were used for the woofer. The stock Solen inductors were left in place. These modifications completely changed the character of these speakers. Prior to modification, these speakers were laid back almost to the point of being rather boring. I could not be happier with the results. I replaced the stock outrigger spikes with Herbie's Audio Lab Fat Gliders.
Coincident Speaker Tech Statement Line Stage
CSL equipped with Psvane WE replica 101D tubes. I've got an Synergistic Research Black fuse in this unit. I bought several of those fuses for the system back a few years ago. The preamp seemed to benefit more that the other components. The preamp is powered by the PS Audio P-10 via a PS Audio Statement power chord. I found that the performance of this preamp is noticeably improve by close physical proximity to the Audio Magic Mini Ref II, apparently due to the Mini Ref's pulse gen activity.
ModWright Sony HAPZ1
ModWright HAPZ1 server equipped with Telefunken 6922 tubes. I am using a MW PS 9.0 power supply currently fitted with a Canadian Westinghouse VU-71 rectifier. This rectifier is my favorite 5U4 type tube. I am also using an Audio Magic Illusion Umbilical to the HAPZ1, which offers a substantial improvement over the stock Truth umbilical. VH Audio AirSine PCs are utilized on both the power supply and server.
Mapleshade Custom Design
The rack is a custom design 42" wide unit and uses three 4" solid maple shelves.
PS Audio P10
P10 power regenerator. Substantially reduces AC harmonic distortion and allows adjustment and regulation of AC voltage. Power suppy to the P10 is via a Voodoo Air Dragon PC.
Audio Magic Mini Ref II
Power purifier with Pulse Gen II module.
Audio Magic Standard PEA modules
Don't ask me how or why these things work but they do.
Audio Magic Blue dot
Grounds cleaner
Wood Shed 1002-3 CD rack
Large Oak CD rack. Stained to match mapleshade racks.
Wood Shed 1002-3 CD rack
Solid Oak CD rack. Stained to match Mapleshade rack.
VH Audio Symmetry Ag Balanced
This is a really wonderful balanced IC, which I am running from the HAPZ1 to the preamp.
Atma-Sphere M-60
The M-60's were purchased new and I elected to go for both the V-Cap and power supply upgrades. Having not heard the amps in stock form, I can't say how much improvement these upgrades offer. I can say that I am very pleased with these amps. They bumped the excellent Coincident Frankenstein 300Bs from the system, which is not an easy task. Power tubes are SED Winged-C 6AS7s. For the 6SN7 tubes, I am currently using one RCA grey glass in the left back outside position, with a Sylvania Bad Boy in the middle slot and the new Sophia blue glass tubes in the right back outside position. I recently replaced GE 6SN7 GTAs in the isolated front (driver) position with Shuguang WE plus tubes. Though the new Sophias and Shuguangs are pricey, I was amazed at the quality of those tubes. They are just better than the NOS RCA and GE tubes that they replaced. With the new tubes, there is an immediately noticeable reduction in grain. Also, the gap between the M-60's and the Coincident Frankensteins has been closed somewhat with respect to the alluring midrange sweetness of a good 300B amp. Short runs (~ 30") of 12 G Duelund Tin plated feeds the speakers.
The Room! Dedicated Listening Room
The room is a bonus room that has been dedicated for 2 channel listening. It is roughly 20 Ft long and 13 wide, with 8 foot ceilings, that are beveled at the floor and side wall junctions. This room has been a bit of a challenge to get right, and I've learned a lot in the process. I'm a long time Maggie guy, which means I have mostly had systems with limited output below 40 Hz. I had no idea it could be such a challenge getting full range speakers to achieve their potential. I'm using a traditional short wall arrangement, with the equipment rack located along the side wall as far back in the room as I could get it. I have two dedicated 20 Amp circuits feeding all of the equipment with the exception of the amp on the left. I have 5 bass traps in the room. I'm using two GIK Soffit traps in the corners behind the speakers along with two Mondo Traps from Real Traps on the walls. A third Modo Trap is used in one rear corner behind the listening position. Treatment of the 4th corner is not possible or necessary, since the room door is in that location. The traps significantly improved clarity by reducing excessive decay times. I also have a couple of homemade traps on the ceiling at the first reflection points. First reflection points on the side walls was effectively addressed by clever placement of the CD racks. These were carefully placed and angled out slightly from the side walls. This arrangement either deflects first reflections back to the front of the room or channels them behind the rack. I have not yet settled on an approach for addressing first reflections off of the floor. But imaging is pretty good as things currently stand, which is not all that easy to accomplish in a room with these dimensions.
Cymbop, Thanks so much! The system is capable of pure bliss, but I have not quite gotten things totally right just yet. I have found the Super Victories to be no small challenge in terms of getting them to integrate well into the room. As I reported in a recent post, the speakers have been moved to the short wall on either side of the window. They work much, much better there, but now of course early reflections are more of a problem. I began the process of using room treatments to level the frequency response, reduce low frequency ringing, and cancel early reflections. I've had the room set up in such a way that I have had the best 3 dimensional imaging I have ever had, but this at the expense of having some pretty deep nulls to the point where certain notes just drop out. And in the midst of all of this work, I had my 2nd set of Elrog 300b's go out, which broke my heart. They are superb tubes. Nevertheless, I persist, and I will find a way to make these speakers work in this room. By the way, the Super Victory IIs have 92.5 dB efficiency, which means the Frankensteins work a bit to drive them. The Coincident Dragons, or perhaps an Atmosphere M-60, might be better choices with these speakers.
bdp, the paint is a custom color I had made at Sherwin Williams. Look at my post below from Oct 3, 2015. If you take that formula for an S-W store they can produce the exact color.
Do you happen to recall the brand and color of the paint? I've been looking at everything available at Home Depot and Sherman Williams, and all the greens look too "olivey", like Army uniforms. Yours looks like a "dusty" green, the perfect shade, hue, and sheen (flat, no shine at all).
bdp, Thanks. I really like this color for the room. I like the way it looks during the day, and I also like the dark color at night when I typically listen with very low lighting. I've got two floor lamps, and usually have one of them turned on. One 25W bulb for the room gives a nice soft lighting. BTW, I've been in the process of installing room treatments and changing from the long wall configuration you see pictured to a more traditional short wall configuration. The long wall configuration worked pretty well when I had the Coincident Triumph Extreme II monitors in there, but has proven tricky getting the Super Victory IIs to sound good in this room. Changing to the short wall configuration proved mandatory. I've added about 5 bass traps from RealTraps and GIK Acoustics so far. The standard gray color from the two companies is a close match, and looks very good in the room with the green walls. I suspect when I get done, the room may not look quite as good as before, but it sure does sound a lot better. Treating this room has been a fascinating project.
Judomaniak, Sorry, I did not see your post. With respect to the ModWright gear, I had the Sony 5400ES sacd player for a year before I sent it for modification. When it came back, I was just stunned at how much better this already good player was. Blackest background I had ever heard from a source. Better resolution too. Also, for what ever reason, the modification really seemed to close the gap between rbcd and sacd. They both improved, but the redbook improved so much that I no longer sought sacd exclusively. The HAPZ1 was a whole 'nother beast. The stock Sony HAPZ1 was already on a level with the ModWright 5400ES. I sent the HAPZ1 for mods after having it for just a few weeks. When it came back it outclassed the sacd player to the point where I rarely used it. I got a nice offer on it last Summer and it is now gone. Dan Wright is now doing mods on the Marantz player, and claims it is just superb. So that would be the way to go if you want a player. If you want a server that can stream, the Sony is your ticket.
sorry about my last comments, that didn't come out right. Of course you probably heard the sacd before you sent it in for mods. I am curios of the before and after sound now that it is modded.
one of my favorite systems on this site, lots of tubes. did u listen to your modwright equipment before u sent it to them ? I am asking b/c i am very seriously thinking of this going this way for my next system. I have read lots of good reviews of the modwright equipment but not one that compares the before and after
Bill, Israel is generally the epitome of brevity with his written replies(however in person he's engaging and generous with his time). Every now and then he'll surprise me with 3 or 4 paragraph responses, so it just depends I guess.
Charles, the only way up for you is the PRE, in my estimation. The acutron tweeter is special. I have not heard the Total Victorys, but based on my experience with the SVIIs so far, I don't think the performance improvement with the ribbons over the scanspeaks is huge. I also think the sloped baffle in the TEIIs, SVIIs, and PREs is pretty important.
I would also like to hear Mr. Blume's comments on the ribbon vs scanspeak. He clearly knows what he is doing, but he is a man of few words, at least with me.
Bill, Your observation on coherence is astute. Not sure how Israel does it but the Total Eclipse II is superbly coherent. 1st order 3 way crossover with 5 drivers that sounds like a single large full range driver. So I can imagine how well your 2 way Triumph Extreme II pulls this off as well. He did wonders with the scanspeak drivers. That's why Israel's approach with a ribbon tweeter has me curious. Charles,
Charles, A preliminary comment on the ribbons based on not having the speaker positioning dialed in, as judged by my 62 year old ears. I would say that the coincident ribbons do not match the wonderful Maggie ribbons in my old 3.7Rs. That is a very high bar, and remains my personal benchmark for tweeters. The sweetness, purity, and extension in those ribbons is just wonderful. The scanspeak domes in my TEIIs are different from the ribbons in the SVIIs. With respect to coherence, I personally prefer the scanspeaks, which integrate extremely well with the midrange driver. While coherence in the SVIIs is very good, it is not up to the level one hears in the TEIIs or PREs. I can't say these ears detect an improvement in air or extension with the SVIIs over the TEIIs. I think where the SVIIs show their strength is in reproduction of the low frequencies. I began to shore up the TEIIs with a couple of REL subwoofers, and despite the fact that they really can't be expected to integrate well with the TEs, once one becomes accustomed to hearing the bottom octaves, you really can't go back. The TEIIs and SVIIs are both excellent speakers, but the SVIIs should not be thought of as TEIIs with bass. They are different animals.
Bill, I believe my Total Eclipse II and your Triumph Exreme II share the Scanspeak revelator tweeter. The ribbon could be more detailed and extended, but that scanspeak sounds so natural. I'm very interested to read what your ears detect when you compare the two speakers. Both are excellent choices with different presentations and perspetive is my guess.
Charles, I think my TEIIs use the Scanspeak soft dome, and yes, the ribbon in the Super Victory II is different from both the scanspeak and also from the wonderful ribbons in my Magnepan 3.7s. The Maggie ribbons were capable of a sweetness that is tough to match, much less beat. I can't say the ribbons in the Super victory IIs match the Maggie ribbons. Do they better the scanspeak soft domes? I'm not sure they do. I will not know for sure until I get the speaker location nailed, at which point I can bring my TEIIs back upstairs for an A/B.
Charles, Everytime I try to dial in the speaker positioning I get drawn into the music and just listen. That is a good thing, but it is frustrating when I loose my focus for 45 minutes and havent moved toward the goal. However, as you have pointed out, getting drawn into the music and forgetting everything else is the point. More later.
Hi Bill, Please continue to keep us posted on the results of these rectifier tubes. I'm curious to see how they do compare to each other in your Frankenstein amplifier. By the way, have you locked in your speaker arrangement and placement yet? I have always been curious to hear the Coincindent ribbon tweeter . I love the Scanspeak soft domed tweeter in my speaker, and wonder how the two differ in their sound, which surely they must. Charles,
I have received the additional Canadian Westinghouse VU 71 (5U4G) tubes, and now have them in my Coincident Frankensteins and both ModWright power supplies. These are wonderful rectifiers, but nearly impossible to locate. In the Modwright Power supplies (both the PS9.0 and the PS 9.9) it is immediately obvious that these tubes are superior to every other tube I have tried, including Blackburn Mullard GZ34 and Blackburn Mullard CV387 skinny bottles. There is a complexity and sophistication in the upper harmonics that is uncanny. The top end is extended with lots of air, but it is also smooth as silk. Lower registers are strong and well defined. I also found that for the first time, I liked the PS 9.9 more than the PS 9.0 as the supply for the Sony HAPZ1. The 9.9 with the VU-71 was more resolving and dynamic than the 9.0. It will be very interesting to see how the fat bottle Mullard compares in these two supplies.
I have ordered a Mullard High Wycome fat bottle CV387 to evaluate in the PS 9.9 and 9.0.
I want to do a bit more A/B on the difference between the Vu-71s and the Skinny bottle CV387s in the Franks.
Colorant.........OZ..32..64..128 B1 black..........--....45...--.......1 G2 new green.--......5....--.......1 N1 raw umber.--....21...1.......1 Y3 deep gold.--......56...--......--
Sherwin Williams I used the top of the line interior in satin, but I would advise matte. The coverage,levelers, and resistance to running, dipping, and splattering are superb. Best paint I have ever used. Made in Cleveland, not Pittsburgh. Audiophile approved!
Regarding the retirement tip, I know what you mean, having been retired for a number of years now. No good deed goes unpunished :-) In my case it's my wife who does most of the volunteering, in local civic and government-related endeavors. I provide some support to those activities, and it generally works out to everyone's satisfaction.
Al, right, front wall is what I meant. Retirement tip. Watch out for volunteer work. It is a temporal black hole. It has been a hard day. At any rate, I will chew on the info you provided. I do have a dB meter and stereophile test disc, so I can get a feel for pronounced spikes or dips in frequency response. I should give that a try. When you say in the vicinity of 94 Hz, I take it that the dip would not correspond to a discrete frequency, but the dip would be a band of some width centered around that frequency. Correct?
