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.
PS. Fred: here's a link to a description of the steps to reagent water- deionization is just one step. I think you are using reagent water which is of a higher purity than simply deionized water.
I can give it a try Fred, but how would you dry the rinsed record? Going back to a vacuum type cleaner for that seems to defeat the purpose of using the AD. (But yes, I still have the VPI). As to water volume in the AD, did you get a one page insert sheet with instructions- I'm not saying 4.5 litres is bad, the insert sheet just said, basically, don't worry about it if you use a gallon rather than 4.5 litres. (If memory serves, the difference is like 1.189 gallons = 4.5 litres when i checked-it isn't much.) BTW, I think there is a difference between deionized water and the lab water I'm talking about- the latter is supposed to be pure enough to use for medical/drug making purposes- thus the restriction on availability. Like Mike, I have used deionizing water systems to detail cars- the water doesn't leave 'spots' on the surface, like most tap water would (i think it is the mineral content). PS I don't know if you remember, but when i first joined this forum and was asking about transitioning from my Crosby Quads to horns you were very helpful. Best, (Hi Mike- not to take over your thread :) Bill
Funny, when I spoke to the folks at Ultra Audio, they insisted I just use plain old supermarket distilled water. Those come in gallons, not 4.5 litres, as originally specified by the Audio Desk manual. However, there is a single, updated 'insert' sheet with the instructions I got with mine (three or so weeks ago) that says using a U.S. gallon is 'fine.' I have been putting an entire vial of the fluid into the gallon. I have noticed foaming only periodically, with records that I know were cleaned using more conventional cleaning fluids- my thinking was, perhaps the foaming was due to residue from previous cleaning agents that were not completely removed by vacuum cleaning of the VPI/wand type. Also, I am not filling the unit to the very top, the 'float' in the window is a tad below the top of the little window. That means I have to 'top off' more (I add a little more distilled water to the unit, then dump a full vial of fluid into the the slightly less than full 'spare' gallon jug, which stands by for 'topping off' purposes). So far, so good. On the lab water, I ordered mine online from Optic Planet. But, they will not deliver to a residence; apparently federal law restricts them from doing so, since lab water can be used to make illicit drugs. Having the water shipped to my law firm in Manhattan didn't seem to be an issue, though. I was using this water in place of the third step in the Walker Prelude regime since I could get the equivalent of 5 gallons of it for the same price as 64 ounces from Lloyd. Wonder where Walt on 'Breaking Bad' gets his? :) Best, Bill
Mike: the concept of 'less interpretation by the brain' is a very apt way of describing why some systems sound musical and others sound like reproductions. I'm going to borrow that concept in other discussions. Thank you. We are fine, thanks for asking. Lost power, etc. but no structural damage or personal injury. The village closest to us looks like a disaster movie, boats on the street, riverside homes flattened, debris everywhere. I posted some pics on WBF in off topic. Pretty horrible, we have many friends there.
From your first reactions, Mike it sounds like the word that sums it up is 'effortless.' And I imagine that with the big amps coming, that quality will be even more apparent. They look just right, now. Sort of 'system in balance' or whatever the Eastern concept is. I look forward to your reading about your experience as you get in deep. Best, bill hart
Mike, the pictures are very good. Two reactions: first, the existing speakers towers look almost lonely without the accompanying bass towers, not matter how absurd that seems, given the size of the speakers already in place. Second, I like how uncluttered your room looks. Lot's of over the top systems (and you gotta admit, you are in that league) are so filled with gear that, while it makes the gearheads happy, the aesthetic of the room is swamped by 'stuff.' That is not the case with your room- I think part of it, as we mature, is to pick out the stuff that works, and make it simpler, rather than more complicated. I look forward to seeing pics of the bass towers in place. Enjoy. We are battening down for another storm of the century. We've had 6 or 7 in the 9 years I've lived in this house.
Mike: thanks for sharing the pics- how do the pieces stay together- are they bolted? and what's the blue thing sitting on top of one of the woofer cabinets once in your room? Those things look humongous! Looking forward to listening reports as you break them in. Are your Dart monoblocs in place? (sorry, I didn't go back in the thread to see). Best, Bill
I gotta say, i spoke with Mike over the phone to talk about doing a new room, and he is one of the most down to earth, refreshingly curious people I have spoken to in this hobby. I've been fiddling around with hi-fi for more than 40 years, and know a little, but always have questions and am curious. Not wedded to a particular approach to get to the music. And Mike's considerable system ( and I include in the word system, everything he has done, from the room, to the power to the little details) is obviously a labor of love. In the process, he seems very open to exploring new ideas, and that to me is quite refreshing and a contrast to the sort of know it all, been there, done that, attitude that sometimes comes with the hi-end territory. Spirit, I'll post some comments on your system if you have one up on the Gon, because I have been using an air bearing arm with good results for several years (Kuzma) but hate, I stress, HATe, the pump!
If you are free on Tues nite, March 27, an interesting group of musicians will be at BB Kings on 42 St. While it is ostensibly a celebration of the Million Dollar Quartet, Rob't Gordon has put a band together that should be killer- Rob Stoner, Dylan's bass player from the Rolling Thunder revue will be playing- Rob is one of the most musical bass players in the business and an absolute joy to listen to. And, it ain't a bad room, but it's apt to be crowded. Enjoy.
