this room and system is the result of 10 years in High End audio. my
system has been stable for a couple of years (except for transport and
amplifier upgrades within the same brand). the room has been in the
planning stage for about 18 months and i actually moved in a little over
a month ago.
my audio philosphy is to have the system get out
of the way of the event. i like as pure and simple a signal path as
possible and, at this point, prefer passive to active gain stages. i
love all the formats and enjoy having lot's of music.....vinyl is my
favorite but i listen to at least 60% digital. the new room really
reveals the benefits of SACD over redbook.
the system and room
truely allow the event to be recreated before me. i love the way the
speakers disappear and i am transported to another place/time.
i have choosen my cables, sources, amps, speakers to have as little of their own sound as possible.
recently, i upgraded my digtial transport from the modified Philips
SACD 1000 to the new emmlabs CDSD.....this was a significant step upward
in performance.
i have written an article in Positive Feedback regarding my room building experience.....here is a link;
new version of these cables, a big step over the amazing TRSC model i have used for 10 years. fantastic performance.
WADAX SA Reference DAC
Wadax Reference Dac----state of the art dac with 2 separate power supplies. the best dac i have heard by a good margin. below is a link to a thread about my Wadax experience.
Arya RevOpod isolation footer (32 used under the 5 Wadax Chassis).
height and tension adjustable. the Wadax dac, server, and server power supply chassis all use 8 footers, so it's critical to be able to adjust height and tension to have an even support for optimal performance. RevOpod's are unique in those attributes making them ideal for this use.
https://www.arya-audio.com/revopod
CS Port LFT1 turntable w/arm
air bearing platter and air bearing linear tracking arm; string drive with zero feedback dc motor, low pressure, low flow air system with zero noise air box.
world class musical flow, nuance and delicacy, combined with authority and ease. serves the music completely.
Esoteric T1 Turntable
magnetic drive/rim drive idler turntable with torque adjustment.
with the deletion of my NVS turntable, i was able to move the Taiko Tana active isolation shelf to under the Esoteric T1. this has upgraded the performance of the T1 significantly. objectively small changes, but musically quite profound up tics in realism and immersion. more nuance, greater music focus, better bass articulation.
https://www.esoteric.jp/en/product/t1/top
Esoteric G1X Master Clock
Master Clock Generator for speed improvement for the T1 turntable. significant improvement in music realism.
https://www.esoteric.jp/en/product/g1x/top
Durand --Tosca tonearm.
gimbal bearing design. Tosca is on the Esoteric T1 turntable
Primary Control 12" FCL tone arm
Field Coil Loaded uni-pivot tone arm. with power supply. mounted on the Esoteric T1 turntable. amazing natural and very high resolution tone arm. link below.
12 inch tonearm, stainless steel. used for the Sumile mono cartridge.
https://glanz.tech/e/collection/mh1200s1000s900s/
Experience Music/Intact Audio phono corrector + silver wound MC Trio SUT combo for three different tonearms.
bespoke tubed phono preamplifier. silver wound, with custom dual power supplies.
https://myemia.com/LR.html
LFD -3- Phono Cables DIN to RCA
3 sets of very high performance phono cables. amazing performance. built by Dr. Richard Bews in the UK.
one cable uses a DIN to RCA short Dongle + an RCA to RCA interconnect. the Dongle improves the performance of the DIN connection. details at the link below.
two Etsuro Golds, ---a pair of Reference MC Phono Cartridges.
duraluminim (A7075) body, 24 carat 'Kinpaku' Gold Leaf finish, diamond cantiliver. .3mv output, 4 ohms. these are both special versions of the Etsuro Gold.
one is mounted on the CS Port linear tracker.
one is mounted on the Primary Control FCL arm.
finest cartridge i have heard by a significant margin. WOW!
Audio Technica MC-2022 60th Anniversary cartridge
uses the unified stylus cantilever design. which results in extreme lack of distortion and linearity. remarkable neutrality and ability to dig out detail and keep it natural and musical.
https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/at-mc2022
Murasakino Sumile Mono phono cartridge
MC cartridge for mono records, .04mv output. tracking force 3gms. finest monaural cartridge i have heard. competes on musical refinement with the top stereo cartridges.
Ampex twin ATR-102----one 1/4" and one 1/2" reel to reel master recorder
hot rodded by ATR Service Inc----Andrew Kosobutsky. significant upgrades over stock. each interfacing with hot rodded Ampex MR-70 preamps. the new tape deck performance standard in my opinion.
active isolation under 5 separate components: (1) the NVS turntable, (2) the MSB dac, (3) the darTZeel preamp, (4 + 5) both darTZeel mono block amplifiers. custom modifications by Taiko Audio add a linear power supply plus panzerholtz top layer + Daiza platform to provide full frequency resonance attenuation to each platform.
Taiko Audio Daiza isolation platform--22 used in the system
Panzerholtz Platform with spiral cutouts reducing mid and high frequency resonance while retaining life and energy and not changing tonality.
22 Daiza platforms in the system of various sizes under every piece of the signal path.
Evolution Acoustics 'system' power cables
a new version of the TRPC model i used on my darTZeel 468 mono blocks for the last 10 years. a big step up.
Sablon Audio King power cord
used on the Wadax Reference Server power supply.
https://www.sablonaudio.com/power
Absolute Fidelity power interfaces
power cords specifically designed for either motors (tt and tape decks), amplifiers, and components. 11 in the system.
Tripoint Audio Troy Signature
Grounding box for chassis grounding the darTZeel 458 mono block amplifiers + grounding the passive main towers of the Evolution Acoustics MM7 speaker system.
Tripoint Audio Elite
Tripoint Elite grounding box. this does chassis grounding for my sources. it uses a a pair of Tripoint Thor SE Master Reference ground cables for my dart preamp and the MSB Select II dac. there are also 4 Signature Silver ground cables to the two arm boards of the NVS tt, the power supply of the NVS tt, and the SGM server.
Equi=tech 10WQ
10kva balanced Isoltion transformer and distribution panel.
Furutech GTX-D NCF Rhodium duplex outlets
10 in the system. used with 10 Furutech covers and frames. uses NCF (nano crystal formula) material to reduce noise by emitting negative ions.
Wave Kinetics A10 U8 decoupling footers
8 sets-of-4 in the system for individual tuning of each piece of gear.
Auralex T-Fusor diffusers
i use 20 of these. 6 each on the front side walls, and 4 each front ceiling and rear ceiling.
Klaudio Record Cleaning System
automatic record cleaner
Acoustic Revive RL-30 mKIII CD-LP demagnatizer
for demaging any disc.
Furutech DF-2 LP disc flattner
will remove warps from Lps
Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Anniversary Ed.
will cook any cables
Winds ALM-01 Stylus Force Gauge
easy accurate, repeatable, measurments.
i-Tower by Koncept LED floor lamp
(3) are used. best audio light ever. 2 'warm', 1 'cool'.
Quietrock THX 545 drywall
specialized drywall with a 1/4" metal layer. used in my front sidewalls to establish proper room boundaries.
Hi Mike..something different and i guess a reminder: I went a concert at Blue Note Tokyo to catch Cassandra Wilson...great concert...and a humbling experience at the same time. Got a long way to go to mimic that live sound.
Hey Mike, sorry for the late reply. Comparing Sooloos via the DCC2 vs. Metiner's own transport which I have....well I would loved to say no difference but it aint. Via the CDSD you get greater openeness and lively character to the sound which is a level up. Sooloos via DCC2 is really good, don't get me wrong, but there still remains a difference so on purely sound quality, using the CDSD is the clear winner. But the value proposition of Sooloos is different as mentioned earlier in my post. I use both obviously...sometimes just browsing and playing stuff via Sooloos gets me inspired, the whole re-disocovery thing, and then I pull out the CD and play it again via the cdsd. Whether this is due to cabling (I currently used an XLO digitial single ended for Sooloos), the fact that Sooloos only offers single ended digital out (no balanced, no optical), or the hard disc format (usually I find them perhaps too smooth?), I have no idea.
Hey Mike, re music servers....I use the Sooloos. Sound quality it is not a leap foward by any means, but it works when connected to a quality DAC (I use the EMM Labs DCC2). But the convenience, functionality and most importantly easy access to one's library just makes music even more accessible....at your whim. As most of us have large libraries, at times we forget we have certain discs or tracks, and using the music server...just browsing while listening, leads to a re-investigation and re-discovery. A great joy.
Mtkhl567, re speed of AR...well it was only an 1 hr of listening so you may be right, but I didn't notice it personally...perhaps if I have another extended session but I feel no need to as I am extremely happy with my Dartgear. I did try Wilson-Spectral a couple of times and was not my cup of tea. the beauty of tone, timbre was simply lost IMO. By the way, nice set up u got there. Those Strads are beautiful.
Hey Mike, don't know if you have tried them but I was at a dealer the other day,testing some home theatre stuff but noticed the much talked about Magico Model 6's...so obviously couldn't resist and had impromptu hour of listening. Rest of gear was all Audio Rsch Ref gear, CD7, Ref 3 and the top of line 610Ts, with MIT cable. All unfamiliar with me, spacious room like yours. Simply amazing. Jaw dropping. Far too big in size for my rooms, and pricey as hell. BUT GOOD GOD, it was the best system I have heard in my own experience period. Inspiring.
Hey Mike..probably should not make this into a home theatre thread so last comments on the subject (unless u prompt me!)
Agree on Parc in 2 channel: not needed but even more so given it would be inserted btwn the pre and pwr amps, the Dart 50ohm zeel connect goes out of the window: I say not!
I am still going thru an home theatre mutli channel set up, mainly for movies yes, but once in awhile want to have decent audio and experiment with multi channel audio as well...
As such one thing I have decided: the player will be TEAC Esoteric's DV 60: I prefer Meitner but it ain't DVD: the DV 60 is very good on all audio formats and upascales to 1080 P.
I thought about the EMM Labs switchman or other analogue multi channel per amps such as was it CJ that had one? But the thing is for multi channel set up bass mgmt is important....or at least for movies. So personally going to opt for pre.pro with bypass functionality (for all music)...
funny that Mike...over the years when I decided to upgrade my 2 channel system, I ended up with Meitner + Darts as well (including the Stealh Indra just like Fsarc)...speakers remain the same, which once gain will change as I finally move into a house I have purchased this summer....and
also building a HT system in living room (2 channel will be in my study)....so once again I see you are going thru a similiar journey though perhaps at a much more exalted level.
As I take into considertation room size, WAF etc and do some research, one thing I notice is that the main questions as I see it (given I too want to try multi channel hi rex music), are
1. HT processor: some of the best actually will re-digitize an incoming analogue signal: Goldmund, Meridian. But then SACD?
2. How does the HMDI and upscaling to 1080p work out? Externally? Processor? or Player direct?
3. Room Correction: more needed in case of multi channel?
Just some questions I am really wrestling with. Did notice that Rives Audio has come out with an analogue parametric bass equalizer for mutlti channel which could be of interest...though in a room such as yours may not be needed.
good call...music...some of my own recetn discoveries that I highly recommend
Antione Herve "Road Movie" and Gianluca Petrella " Indigo 4"...surprisingly I find some of the best jazz today comes from Italy..and check out Kenny Werner "Lawn Chair Society"....very investive stuff. Dave Douglas and Chris Potter, Scott Collet join in and its just incredible.
StereoTaipei.....do u use the Darts?: I was interested in the Magico Minis for awhile but noticed they may be a bit inefficient with a sensistivy of 87 into 8 ohms was not sure if the Darts could drive them well....have u tried them together?
Hey, Mike. My Darts are now pretty much fully broken in and....holy cow! I enjoy music again.
One update: I switched interconnects btwn the DCC2 (used only as a DAC now) and the Dart Pre from Kharma Supreme to Stealth Indra. If u have not audioned the latter, I strongly suggest you try it. The biggest thing which is so clear that it is unmistakable is that compared to any cable I have heard, the Indra has unique ability to simply make your speakers disappear in thin air. Yes, I said it. The sound stage explodes and you are no longer conscious of walls. I don't get it, but hear it most definitely. Try it, you may not like it but this quality of the cable is really noticeable in a very large way.
on dart pre break in...perhaps so but I got the dart pwr & the pre simultaneoulsy and the break in period I have heard abt was re the pwr amp....Mike in your exp is that the case as well? Sounds great already so....
Hey Mike finally got my dart combo. Christ, right out of the box its amazing...and everyone seems to of an opinion that they take longer than usual to fully broken in...can't wait. Last night I was listening to Nicolas Payton's "Payton's Place" (highly recommended) first track zigaboogoloo got me up, nodding my head with big big silly smile on my face. Listening to music is fun again.
Hi Mike...having ordered them still waiting for my dart pre+ pwr to arrive...ah its looooooong wait when u are sooooo longing for them. In the meantime I've been discovering some new music....if you like modern jazz: highly recommended are Manute Katche's Neighborhood (w/ Tomasz Stanko, Jan Garbarek) and Steve Khan's The Green Field (w/ John Patitucci and Jack DeJohnette).
Mike, the thing is it was by deduction....guesswork. THe dealerships where I live do not loan out equip for home audition. Some of the details and problems therein are in my system thread.
For what its worth, the ASR to me was all about being dead quiet, no disortion whatsoever, has the air thing going, and gave the impression that you were being transported to there as they being transported into your room..if you know what I mean. Quite stunning, really. Bass may have been just a bit light? Very neutral in the strictest sense of the word.
No doubt a great amp. But I ended prefering the NHB which is really I think a taste thing: The NHB had a sweetness of tone while detail retrieval was excellent. Soundstage wise while ASR tended to provide a mid hall perspective, NHB just made the speakers disappear. I felt more immmediacy (SET like?), and thus compelled to be more involved with the NHB. There is that warm feeling that stops short of being intrusive. More than anything else it was the difference in character that titled me in favor of one over the other.
In a way, its kind of the difference between Wilson and Kharma speakers to me. One earns my respect, the other just seduces me.
Hey Mike...i've recently been auditioning various amps...Dart, ASR, Gryhon, ML, CJ etc....and ended up ordering the Darts. Can't wait! Boy oh boy those things were truly truly musical.
fyi i have been posting my auditioning results in system thread Finally Over, I Think (yeah right!).....currently investigating speakers....wanted to try the Von Schweikerts (probably the 7s?) but a) currently not available in HK and b) may be too big for my room.
My current speakers are Kharmas 2.3Fs...before the diamond tweeter etc...just experiementing as I do luv them...so far Sonus Faber Amati, Goldmund Epilogue, Dali MS5, Vivid K1, Marten Design Coltranes, Zu Definitions have been auditioned, albeit at dealers...and none have led me the urge to chg...and then I heard the Magico Minis today. Holy cow. Bass extension though certainly not as good as your VS9SEs but you will be surprised. But everything else is wow. Need to try them several more times myself but recommend u check them out one day...for your room think VS9SEs are better (my room pales in comparison including size) but these are really really good indeed.
Referring to Mike's earlier comment on ASR (though perhaps unintended), I think the battery power is for the line stage of the amp, not the power amp section. Mattnshilp can clarify? One thing that confuses me on the ASR is that is has evolved over the yrs, so its a bit difficult to understand which version everyone is talking about at times! Never tried it myself. I will be investigating amp upgrades over Dec-Jan (too busy w/ work now) and from reviews, feedback and design, it seems both NHB and ASR (not just because HP's commentary by the way!) are audtion musts.
Mike, let me me know when u start listening to rock/jazz/blues post the pre....I am more inclined to those types of music so quite interested out the pre-power set up you have is having an impact compared to others u have had in the past.
for what its worth I use Vivid: makes things smoother and firms up mid bass a bit...but effect is not dramatic. On Sacds makes less of a difference as I suspect the format's higher resolution leads to such marginal incrementalk gains less audible. Works on DVDs pretty well though, picture quality definitely does improve with better resolution; or more accurately cleaner images and a tad brigher colors
Mike, I truly appreciate this: not just your system which is source of envy for all, but your constant feedback with regard to your journey: very educational...a shame I am in Hong Kong and can't ask if I could stop by to hear it for myself. That would be a treat.
