It's taken around 3 years, but I've finally reached a point, where I believe "Thats It, No More". The system is comprised of 2 Australian made items, the brilliant Osborn Epitome Speakers and the Supratek Pre-amp. The Osborn Epitome speakers, I believe compare quite favourably with the JMLabs Mezzo Utopia. The Supratek is a recent purchase (final link in the puzzle). I suppose I could play around with tube rolling, but what I hear this could prove to be an expensive exercise, especially here in Australia. The CD player is the fabulous French Audio Aero Capitole MKII with the P4.6 Chip and the PowerAmp is an Old Krell KSA 250. The Krell does the job, but may need updating, as I feel the Bass is sometimes boomy.
What do you guys think? Overall this system has enormous weight an authority which truely captivates any listner with tremendous macro and micro Dynamics. Furthermore, the soundstage with the Capitole and Suptratek combination is huge with pinpoint accuracy.
The Osborn RCA's are going from the CD Player to the Pre-amp. The XLR cables are going from the Pre-AMP to the Krell Power Amp. I would not mind trading in the Krell, but I have a limited budget nowadays.
Lastly, I'm not using any fancy powercords as such, with any of the components, just standard manufacturer supplied cords. Maybe this could be source of improvement. Someone said to me that in Australia with 240 volts, a better powercord will provide negligible improvements. Also, I don't have a dedicated line either, due the logistics of having it installed. Would this necessarily provide any greater improvements.
Exclusive 24 bit /192kHz inside re-sampler, subminiature tube output stage, digital input and remoted volume control.
Supratek Sauvignon (Cortese LineStage)
The Sauvignon is a line stage version of the Cortese and a very fine preamp indeed. It has a tremendously natural sound that is just bursting with
Krell KSA-250
I've always wanted a Krell and here it is. Yes, it's quite old, but it's all I could afford at the time.
Osborn Loudspeakers Grand Epitome
The Grand Epitome Reference features heavy lead lining to all exterior surfaces. The same heavy bracing is used, but all areas between the bracing are covered by a unique sandwich lining. Heavy acoustic felt is used to separate the heavy lead sheet from the cabinetry. A further layer of heavy acoustic felt is placed over the lead and the entire sandwich is stapled to the walls of the cabinet. This result is what is effectively a box within a box. Wrapping the outside of the speaker is similar to knocking on a brick. This totally inert cabinet construction results in the ultimate sound reproduction
Osborn Silverlink RCA Interconnects
Osborn Silverlink is the result of several years of careful experimenting with many different types of cabling and insulation materials. Silverlink is made from pure extruded silver wire which is specially made for Osborn Loudspeakers. It is extruded into one continual length. Many reference cables up to $6000 per pair were used as comparisons during the selection phase. Neither I, nor any of my customers have yet found an interconnect to match the performance of the Silverlink. Silver Interconnects often suffer from a brittle top end and a restricted bass performance. The sonic purity, transparency, inner detail and soundstage of the Silverlink is quite extraordinary.
DIY XLR Pure Silver Interconnects
I made these cables using 1mm thick pure silver (99.9999) with Neutrick connectors. The Silver wire in sealed in Teflon sleeves and and cable is braided with three individual wires and soldered with high content silver solder. A Good friend of mine help me put these together.
Nice system. Eye and ear candy. I owned the KSA 250 for years and loved it. It puts out a lot of heat. I am a little concerned about what's on the shelf above it. See if you can put a temperature guage on that shelf and monitor the heat. It may be fine. Enjoy!
