System Strengths: Vocals are vivid. Great soundstage (wide & as deep as I can get for this room size & limited options for placement). Transparent. Fantastic bass. High "you-are-there" factor (IMHO!). Errs on the accurate side of neutral.
The CAT pre & RG4 ss amp is a very synergistic match.
Addition of dedicated 20A lines & cryo's 20A duplex outlets has been the "icing on the cake". The amps seem to "breathe" easier & there is more life in the sound.
SPEAKERS HAVE BEEN UPGRADED AS OFF EARLY JULY 2003:
Time-aligned & coherent sound, no boxy sound anymore, no midrange beaming anymore, no cabinet resonances anymore, tight bass, clear mids & extended highs, non-fatiguing sound as tweeter sounds almost like a ribbon.
SPEAKER UPGRADE AS OF MARCH/APRIL 2008:
Speakers are now Apogee Scintilla 1-Ohm version. If I considered my prev Green Mtn Audio speakers to be excellent, then, these Scintillas are even better! Love the highs & mids. Superb bass from the bass panel. Not thumping bass as you would get from a cone driver but very balanced w.r.t. the other frequency spectrum. The entire sound seems to be cut from 1 cloth - no separate-tweeter-separate-woofer. Hard to drive - need a big power amp with a very powerful power supply.
Dual plinth, non-suspended, dual speed, belt driven turntable. Handmade in Italy. Origin Live Silver 250 tonearm. Upgraded to Benz L2 MC cartridge
Basis Vector 3
Vector Model 3 unipivot tonearm. Superbly machined to very fine tolerances. Excellent sound & was a HUGE upgrade from my Origin Live Silver 250 Mk1 tonearm. Bettered that tonearm in each & every department.
Benz Micro L2
Benz L2 - 0.3mV (practically measures ~0.4mV)
JRS Scientific Instruments MOD-1
30"X24"X5.25" active vibration isolation table. Transmissibility curve says ~25dB attenuation at 5Hz & 40dB attenuation at 10Hz. Active isolation upto 100Hz & passive beyond.
Wadia 861 SE
Wadia 860 player with 1-upgrade effectively making it an 861 player. Upgraded to SE + GNSC Reference Level modification Using Golden Sound medium ceramic cones rather than the stock metal feet & a DIY roller block isolation platform. Marble tile (over a cork sheet) on top of unit for added vibration control. Using Virtual Dynamics Revelation I power cord to very good effect. The GNSC Ref mod has made this player an even better playback CDP. Wadia seemed to concentrate on the details of the music while the GNSC mods concentrated on bringing out the emotions in the music. This mod meshes the best of both worlds. I'm afraid much more time gets spent spinning that Al disc than before! :-oo
Sansui TU-D99x
1st introduce in 1984. A digital synthesizer tuner with the equivalent of 5 gangs and 4 3-pin ceramic filters. Good sound, with nice solid bass. Very quiet unit that has reception capability that may not be far off from a TU-919.
Convergent Audio SL-1 Renaissance
Tube preamplifier. Stock model. Uses Soviet 6N23 instead of 6922 & Telefunken 12AX7. Per Ken Stevens, the CAT design is optimized for Sovtek 6922 & EI 12AX7. Against Ken's advice, the CAT is decoupled from the rack shelf by brass spikes (I think that it was every bit worth it) & plugs directly into mains outlet using a Virtual Dynamics Revelation1 power cord.
Symphonic Line Kraft 300
Latest version of the flagship 250W/ch pure class-A amplifier now called the Kraft 300. Appears to be a sliding class-A design hence the modest sized heat-sinks (compared to the Krell KRS series, Pass Labs X & XA series, Threshold series, etc). Warm, life-like, tight bass, music flows effortlessly, excellent high frequency extension, does not call attention to itself.
Apogee Acoustics Scintilla
3-way floor-standing full-range ribbon loudspeaker. 1-Ohm impedance version. Manual says that frequency range is [lessthansign]25Hz --[greaterthansign] 25KHz. 140 lbs/speaker Taupe colour (not my favourite by a long shot but did not have a choice!). Midrange is spooky real. Plenty of bass from the ribbon planar. Love it! :-)
Audio Magic Liquid Air Illusion
1m RCA interconnect between CDP & preamp. Simply superb!
Audio Magic Liquid Air Socerer
8' speaker cable connected to the bass panel of the Apogee Scintilla. Very flexible. Superb sound. Long time to break-in (& still breaking in).
Audio Magic Liquid Air Illusion
8' pair. Non-metal, conducting liquid polymer based cable. Superb sonics, dynamics & very low noise floor.
Groneberg TS Premium
1m RCA interconnect. Used from tuner to preamp
ESP Essence Reference
5' power cord used for power amps & 6' for the RGPC 400S. Excellent power cord - even better than the original in that the emphasis in the mid-bass is gone.
Virtual Dynamics Revelation 1.0
Original Revelation power cable used on the Wadia CDP. This cable is like a component upgrade! The Wadia's playback sound has been rachetted up a few notches. It's sound is now a......err.....Revelation!
Virtual Dynamics Nite 3
Latest Nite 3 power cord used on the CAT preamp. Replaces the ESP Essence. Overall improvement in dynamics, clarity, overall tonal balance. A superb & worthy upgrade.
Lovan Soverign 2+2
2 7" spaced & 2 10" spaced audio rack with black MDF shelves.
Richard Gray 400s
4-outlet power conditioner. Mk 1 vintage. Per RGPC, the Mk2 version has only cosmetic changes & circuit is unchanged. Used to plug my source components only.
ASC Tube Traps
16-in & 12-in diameter traps - each 35-in tall - used thru-out room to contain mid-bass boom/overhang.
Target TTF-1
Amp stands for smaller amps - 20" wide max X 14" deep max, 65lbs max.
DH Labs Large cones
Large (1") ceramic cones under TT sandbox & CDP.
Dedicated 20A Lines
2 dedicated 20A lines installed using 10AWG romex wire. Wires drawn thru wall in a specific direction/orientation after I listened to both orientations. The orientation I have chosen has better image depth & height.
Pass & Seymour 5362A
Cryo'd 20A duplex outlets bought from Chris Venhaus. ALL Olin #688 brass construction that does not introduce any brightness/edginess.
PS audio P300
PS Audio P300 AC regenerator with Cullen Circuits Signature Mod (Multiwave 2 oscillator board, gold series capacitors, PS Audio Ultimate power cell, latest all-copper hookup wiring). No fan. TT, CDP & FM tuner plugged into P300. TT motor speed can be adjusted in 1Hz steps & fine adjusted in 0.125Hz steps. Totally awesome! I can come oh-so-very-close to exactly 33 1/3 RPM. Gave it 100+ hrs to break-in. Does not seem to have a sound of its own. Runs a little warm but I have plenty of open space all around it for very good ventilation.
System edited: CAT SL1 Renaissance preamp in service since April 2013 (forgot all about updating my system!). The K&K Audio step-up xformer is not needed anymore hence was removed (preamp has in-built Jensen step-up xformers).
System edited: Added a 2nd pair of speaker cables - a pair of Audio Magic Liquid Air Illusion to biwire the Apogee Scintillas. This pair connects to the tweeter/midrange. Biwiring the Scintillas took their sonic performance to a whole new level most noteably the bass performance as it got a whole lot better. Bass is now better defined & has even more impact. Great decision to bi-wire. :-) The cables are still breaking-in but they sound fantastic out-of-the-box: clean, clear, very low noise floor & very dynamic. :-)
08-07-10: Skljesus Hi, Nothing to do with hifi (though i'm deep into jazz & listen a lot) and have modest equipment myself, but may i ask why you call yourself "bombaywallah"
Simple - I hail from that Indian city.
i have a feeling you may ask why I call myself what i call myself
yes, you are correct - I would like to know, if I may, the origins of your username. Part of me want to pronounce "jesus" in your name as "hey-soos" thereby giving it a Hispanic origin but I could be off-base. Please write back. Thanks.
Yes, no TARA cables - sold some 3+ yrs back. They were the TARA Labs Master Gen II. Very nice interconects. No longer current & no longer manuf by TARA.
Hi, Nothing to do with hifi (though i'm deep into jazz & listen a lot) and have modest equipment myself, but may i ask why you call yourself "bombaywallah" i have a feeling you may ask why I call myself what i call myself plese write back thanks skljesus ps no picture of the tara interconnect
I will tell you how to make cables yourself with email.
thank you, I'd appreciate that. you'll have to let me know where I can buy kapton material. sounds like ribbon cables for ribbon speakers is an excellent match! :-) good luck for your surgery - looks like it's on a delicate part of the body.
No, I did not even look at Allen's cable designs. I came up with the idea for mine by owning both the Anti-Cable SCs, and the ICs. Speltz SCs run separate. Mine do too. The Speltz ICs are run separate as well, the negative wire is a no-see-em that runs through straight.
Mine are made of all nines copper for the positive, and heavy duty aluminum for the negative. The ultra thin metals are sandwiched between Kapton. They are meant to run separate. This is just common sense to me.
The music signal is a delicate affair. They each produce a magnetic field. Why would we want the music signal crossed by a foreign magnetic field?
Why aluminum? It's because it works after it's function. The Apogee bass panel is split under the cover with the narrow band being the negative cable. I just extend the aluminum ribbon.
The resultant sound is breathtaking.
In eight days I get my neck rebuilt. Depending on recuperation, I will be back to stretching cable parts down my work table trough by and by.
I think you live overseas from me. If you do, I will tell you how to make cables yourself with email.
Hi Muralman1, good to hear from you. yes, I'm also very interested in knowing what I will end up with. ;-) Right now, it's a mine field out there. I've analysis-paralysis with soooo many cable vendors & every review I read (pro or user) says that a particular XYZ cable is the best! :( Very hard to distinguish the really good cables from the not so good cables. My brother used the Anti-cables & really liked them a lot. Yes, we communicated several times & you did emphasize that unshielded cables gave you the best performance. I'm keeping that conversation in mind as I search. Did you get a chance to compare your DIY speaker cables to Allen Wright's speaker cables? is it the same receipe? Thanks.
I will be interested in what you have chosen to replace the VD's.
I still have my Anti Cable ICs. They have kept up with all my upgrades, still, I think I can build a better IC. I have made my own speakers cables, and they are the best ever on my system. After my spinal operation, I am going to continue what I started, making the SCs for sale.
Update: Sold several of the Virtual Dynamics interconnects & my Virtual Dynamics speaker cable. I did not sell my Virtual Dynamics Master 3.0 interconnect as yet - it's between my pre & power & doing a fabulous job. As far as the other interconnects & speaker cables, I'm looking to change to silver or something else.....
System edited: Just got hold of an active vibration isolation table from my turn-table. Big heavy unit but it seems to be doing it's job well. Plugs into the wall for AC power & provides 40dB attenuation at 10Hz. I like it! :-)
System edited: Added a PS Audio P300 AC regenerator. The impetus was mainly to control the TT motor speed. However, now I also have the CDP & FM tuner plugged into the unit. TT motor can be adjusted in 1Hz steps & fine adjusted in 0.125Hz steps. I love it!! Broken in with 100+ hrs of playing a CD on repeat. Does not seem to have a sound of its own.
>> 12-09-08: Shadorne >> Spooky real midrange! What a great description. >> Seriously nice setup and great choice of gear. You are >> tasting quite different sounds I see!
LOL, Shadorne! Yes, the quality of the midrange kept getting better. These Symphonic Line amps are really very good. I've managed to convert quite a few people now into using them. They all are very happy to say the least. The RG4 wrestled the DM604S2 woofers to the ground & smooth hi-freq tamed the aluminum tweeter of that speaker. The coffered ceilings also helped a lot. The midrange got even better w/ the C1.5i. At that time it was really "spooky real"! ;-) Now, with the ribbons, it's even more so - the ribbons are essentially massless hence the transients are really very fast (if the amp is capable). The performers seem in the room & the naturalness of the midrange is quite unbelievable. I understand from other Scintilla users that is a forte of the speaker model. Believe it or not, the C1.5i sound matches the tonality of the Apogees almost exactly! Sometimes I feel I did not change my speaker!
Bombaywalla, a number of Scintilla owners are using the same amps as I. They stay quiet about it, because class D amps are a lightning rod for controversy.
Henry Ho is a Scintilla owner himself. Actually, he owns or has owned all Apogees.
Dear friend, I am using the kraft-300 with symphonic line rg3 mk4-turbo psu SS preamp. This is the most amazing set-up I have ever listened to. The speaker is magico's mini mk1 speaker that alows this set-up to show it's exceptional quality. The kraft does not sound like a very good amplifier. It is really a creation of great engineering and art(by the means of great sonic tests and decisions done by symphonic line crew). My feeling is that the kraft-300 has the rare ability to recreate the exact sonic pulse fed to it (and this is what most amplifiers lack, even the most expensive ones !!) AMAZING tonality, colors, vividness, speed, bass accuracy and detail ,slam, sounstage etc. Not just perfect, but mainly an extremely enjoying amplifier.
Schwinnindia Thanks for your kind words! I like what I hear from the Scintillas. I always wonder if this 250W/ch class-A amp is up to the tough job of powering this 1 Ohm beast?? The only way to find out is to try other capable amps. Yes, It would be a good exercise to re-visit the C1.5i after a month or so just to see what has been gained by the Scintillas. The Scintillas are very heavy - 140lbs per speaker & nearly 5' tall - so I have to be very careful moving them lest I should inadvertently puncture the ribbons! Will keep you posted.
Bombaywalla, you have heard, I presume, nearly all amps driving the Scintilla will change character. Of course, most can't do anything with this 1 ohm speaker at all.
One type of amp has always been a sure bet, and that are the true class A amps, of which there are few.
I have not heard the Symphonic you are using. I don't know anyone using the same amp. I would bet it sounds better than the Krells often used, being a modern design.
I heard some very able Perreaux class A amps on my Scintillas. This is a brand new amp too. Detail was exceptional. There was excellent bass. Depth was exemplary, mids liqid.
Suffice to say, it didn't move me, and I couldn't wait to get these refurbished speakers home.
Hi Muralman1, >> Still, I am quite surprised you hear anything beyond >> root boxless resemblances between the Green Mountain >> and the Apogee Scintilla. Their driver systems are as >> different as they come. Indeed! That was the message I wanted to convey - despite the vast differences in drivers the two speakers are far more similar than one would have imagined.
Your speakers will play well through Mr. Rolf's Amplifiers. I have had the opportunity to listen to the Apogee Ribbons a few years back with Krell Amplification [when Krell was Krell].. That was a rather tall ribbon [I forget the model name now]& it sounded magnificant;
I am sure your set up must be having a cracker of a resolution; The ribbon should resolve much much more than than the dome [dynamic] tweeter on your GMA !! Give the Apogees a month, let it settle in, get the 'position' finalised & then revisit your GMA - just for the jazz !!!!!
