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, I was reading your review for the VR9, can you please comment on why do you use bi amp on your VR9? I thought the active woofer with 1000W amp is more than enough.
Hello Mike. Is there any specific reason you have decided to use Transparent speaker cables with your Von Schweikerts? I ask this because I have ordered VR-7 SE's and I'm wondering which speaker cable is best for those speakers. My plan is to try Transparent reference (mm) cables with them. At the moment I use Shunyata Orions with my Acapellas. best, Mika
Thanks Mike that sounds pretty encouraging about the V-7se and since you have used the levinson gear years ago ,do you think the ML32/ML33H will gel with the V-7se?.... your thoughts on this combo when you have some time. when are your V-11`s coming in and are you planning to run them with your current dartzeel set up? best regards sam
second; relax....you made a perfect choice with the VR7SE's.....fantastic speaker. really on the same level as the VR9SE's but with a bit 'less' at frequency extremes. it may (or may not) even do a few things better.
later when i have more time i will get into more detail and post some pictures. i will just say for now that my system has never sounded better.
hi mike how s the session with the VSA VR7se going.( phenomenal audio set up- especially your dedicated Hi-fi room) Your honest opinion about the VR 7se would be most appreciated. I have just placed an order for the Vr 7se and its the first time I have placed an order absolutely blind ( without an demo- I am based in the south of england.UK and the local dealer does not have the VR 7se for demo)- I am getting a little tired of my current setup and hope to get a better pace and attack/drive at a lower listeninig volume ( late night listening) from my system which comprises of Mark levinson 32, 33H with the esoteric x-01 CD/SACD player and B&W 800N speakers with NBS blacklabel cables ( room size 14 X 30 feet). your opinion would be most wellcome. any new photos of your set up with the VR 7se bye for now sam
. Mike, . I am guessing that we can take your post as an abbreviated review and that you recommend the quality of the Zeppelin set and think it is worth the price ? . Did you get it from Acoustic Sounds ? . Rgds, Larry .
Got my Led Zepplin 45 RPM box set on Friday......48 one-sided Lps. i stayed up till 2am Friday night enjoying it. It was all i expected it to be.
some of the Led Zep music is a little rough and that comes thru even more on a 45.....but for the most part it was hearing 'the music of my youth' as i have never heard it. a few years back Classic did the box set with the first 4 Led Zep Albums and the 45rpm test pressing......and i bought 3 sets to get a life-time supply of Stairway 45's.....so i already had that one.......but every one of my fav's were magnificent.
this is really what this hobby is all about. my favorite music fully alive in my room.
. Mike, . I for one, am glad that you have your priorities in order. . I have always appreciated all of the time and effort you have put into sharing the progression of your system and the logic that has gone into all of the well thought out steps. It continues to be enjoyable, educational, and inspiring. . Thanks, Larry .
after the room, speakers define a system. since i already know how well my amps work with the 11's it was an easy choice that they would be a performance upgrade compared to the I.C.'s.
regarding $$$'s. in fact, i have not spent a dime on speakers (until now) since i upgraded from my Wilson WP6's to the Kharma Exquisite's (back in 2001)....and then not that much.
i will just say that my wife makes sure that keeping the dollars reasonable is always an issue. my room investment was considerable....but my home value was increased by at least that much. many spend much more on a Home Theatre than my room cost. other than my Grand Prix racks last year almost all dollars have been revenue neutral. 4 years ago my purchase of the used Rockport was expensive; but the net dollars was not that much after selling my other gear....and i could easily sell the Rockport for more than i paid.
my audio investment is considerable but i have spread it out over 12 years and always been able to trade up reasonably....and have not just blown thru a bunch of gear.
in any case, money is an issue and i don't just throw it around.
BTW, i took no offense at your comment even though my response may lead you to feel that i did.
I would have thought you would go for the Transparent Opus ic's before the upgrade ... next move perhaps?
Can't wait to see the updated pic's with the new 11's, I think you are now the 3rd or 4th owner in North America ... along with Lakefrontroad, Jtinn and Albert, am I correct in my assumption?
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).
the VR11's are 7 foot, 6 inches tall (90 inches). my room is 11 feet tall. so no problem with size. in the opinion of both my room designers (Richard Rives and Chris Huston) and the VR11 designer.......my room is ideally designed to take complete advantage of everything the VR11's can do. my ceiling is particularly capable of dealing with all that bass energy and dynamics so high in the room.
Thanks for the response Mike. Given the circumstances i would of done the same.
If i remember right you live in the Seattle area, i live up near Bellingham. I havent found anybody "locally" that sells vons, so where are you getting yours? are you going straight through Albert? I have always wanted to audition somthing higher up the chain but traveling hundreds of miles makes it less appealing. Any info regarding that would be appreciated. thanks again, Justin
Mike, I understand about "things just presented themselves in a way that the opportunity was there to get the VR11's. so i took it." That is how I got my 1027's. The chance was there and I just had to jump on it. Man, VR11's. They are some pretty speakers. They are about 3 1/2 feet taller right? Do you feel that will cause any issue at all for the accoustics in your room? And congrats again. I am sure that it will biring you to another level of nivana.
what can i say? as my review/article/ramble mentioned; the only current product on the market that likely can go farther down my road is the VR11SE. things just presented themselves in a way that the opportunity was there to get the VR11's. so i took it.
i have no less love for the VR9's......they are basically the most balanced, capable audio product i've used......without a weakness. every attribute of the VR11's is present in the VR9's......simply to some degree less.
so 'why' the VR11's? 2 years ago at CES when i heard the VR9's and VR11's for the first time (and only time for the VR11's) i was very impressed with everything about the VR9's......i had never heard a speaker with the top to bottom dynamics and coherence of the VR9's. i could not imagine what more the VR11's could do.
then i heard the VR11's and the word 'effortless' attained a whole new context. it reminded me of the first time i played music on my Rockport Sirius III. you imagine how it might sound but simply cannot be prepared for that next level of performance. 'stunning' might be a good word. i had been all jazzed up by the 9's......then with the 11's all i could say was 'oh my god'.......'you gotta be kidding'. at the same time both the 9's and the 11's sounded like crap at that CES at certain times. both speakers really need considerable fine tuning. even though i knew i liked them i knew i had my work cut out for me to get everything out of them.
now that i am comfortable with the whole design approach and adjustment process with the VR9 i am confident i can optimize the 11's.
the 11's have twice the cone surface of the 9's, and are an easier load for my amps......so i will get more clarity and articulation with considerably increased dynamics and ease. with 4 1000 watt 15' subs instead of 2, bass control and slam will be 'silly' good. the bass enclosures are more optimally designed on the 11's for better accuracy. the crossovers in the 11's use a little more uncompromised approach.
considering the design of my room i expect to be able to harness all that neat stuff.
i hope i answered your question.
a week ago i shipped the VR9SE's to the new owner. i recieved a set of loaner VR7SE's until my VR11's arrive. thursday night i set up the '7's and am breaking them in as i type this. they do most things very close to the '9's and the remarkable thing about the '7's and the '9's as well.....they are soooo balanced. just like the '9's they do it all; deep articulate bass, clarity and punch in the mids, natural and extended highs with the right amount of sparkle and see-thru transparency.
it might be that i am so familiar with the Von Schweikerts but the '7's seem much easier to set up. i am enjoying them more now after 5 days than i did with the '9's in the first 6 months. my darTZeel amps are plenty in my very large well-damped room. these are great speakers.
the drivers are not yet broken in but they go deep and are completely coherent.
So what prompted the switch to VR-11s? After reading your "review" on the VR9s you sounded completely satisfied, you finally broke their code. Any insight would be appreciated, your thoughts and opinions always make for a fun read! Anyway good luck on breaking the code on the new vons and i cant wait to see them in your beautiful room.
Hi Mike, I noticed your solicitation above for my comments regarding our fun day at your "Audio Barn", you were a great host, Thank you. Really amazing system and room, top shelf indeed. I appreciate the kind words you spoke in person that day upon hearing the $4200 MSRP Theta Compli with a $995 upgrade by The Upgrade Company. I would like to reiterate some of your comments here: 1- The Upgrade Company Theta Compli to be "the best sounding player you had heard under $10,000" 2- "it is very musical" 3- "perhaps more listenable then the $22k EMM Labs but not as resolute". 4- You also stated that the upgraded Theta Compli was "very listenable but without the detail robbing drawbacks of tubed output stages present in most modded gear." I appreciate those comments, they will help other readers to realize the high value we can provide them. Thank you for the opportunity to respond in your thread.
If we stick to just the 2ch portion this is my setup A halo C2 processor an Esoteric DV50S A bryston 4b-ST and JM labs 1027Be's My next step is to replace the monster stuff I have with Shunyata. And then to get an Ayre K-1xe pre for 2ch only. But again, your system is just fantasic. I have heard VR4jr's before at the HE2004 show. I was just floored. They were some of the best sounding speakers I have heard. And I heard the VR9's but I trully think the room was too small for me to really enjoy them. But I left there thinking that VR should stay on my radar. And it has. Mike
