Hi Mike,

The ASR's optional battery pack powers only the input stage of the amp. So it is a bit different from the battery-powered amps seen in the past.

It would be great to know what the ASR is capable of doing in your awesome system.

njkoh November 07, 2005 15:48

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.

henryhk November 07, 2005 04:27

Hi Mike,

I've changed my system a bit since then and have a few different things in my current listening room that I'm playing with.

I am currently running a pair of M.L. Summit's until my Talon Firebird Diamond's arrive. I currently have a bunch of different equipment including a Hovland HP100, BAT Vk-60 monoblocks, Vac Rennasaince 70/70 300B push-pull amp and the ASR Emitter I Exclusive.

I'm not doing anything with my current digital source until EVERYTING else is done, then I'll likely go with all Emmlabs. But for now my Trivista is doing just fine.

Source cables for the CD player are Acoustic Zen Silver Ref. II single ended and running Audience AU24 single ended from the Hovland to the Bat's (or the Vac). Also using AU24 speaker wire right now. I'm also using the ASR as it is designed, as an integrated. Phono stage is built into the Hovland, so I'm running the tape out of the Hovland into the ASR (when I'm using the ASR).

I won't make any final decisions on which equipment will stay and go until the Firebird's arrive. Then I can start working further on cables and wires (very interested in the Valhalla's). I am using the Audience Adept Response for power conditioning and it works very nicely.

Now at least your updated on what I'm currently running.

Shoot me an E-mail and we can chat about the room, as that is my next big project. But since the house won't be done for about 2 years between architectural and buildout (sigh) I've got plenty of time to play around with my current equipment; and maybe some new stuff! :-)

To be honest, my short list of equipment I still want to hear is getting shorter and shorter: Wavac, Tenor 150 Hybrid, DarTZeel, Vac Phi Integrated, C.J. Act 2 from an amp/pre-amp category and I will eventually borrow or buy a pair of Kharma Midi Exclusive's with it's matching sub to compare to the Talon's. Maybe consider a pair of those Schweikert's as well.

I would prefer the room be in the attic. The basement will be filled with Theater, closets, storage, exercise room, game room, bar area and party area.

My problem is, that we haven't sat down with the builder/architect (the house is a semi-custom design) to see truly what I can do in the attic. I know I can have a guaranteed 7'4" flat sheetrock ceiling with probably about 14-15' of width and 20-25' of length in a totally enclosed rectangular box - no windows at all. If we vault the ceiling into the roof line a bit, I could probably get another foot or so of height. but I would have 45 degree angles in the corners of the long parallel walls. I'm NOT an acoustician so I have no idea if that's good or bad.

You hit the nail on the head with listening preferences. I don't listen to a lot of large scale classical. Mostly Pop, Rock, Jazz, New Age, Small Courtet and a wee bit of true classical. My wife love's Yanni and Enya and show tunes, so they are in frequent circulation. I haven't started speaking to the guys at Rives in detail until after I meet with the developer to see what my true size restrictions will be. But if you are correct then the ceiling height restriction may not be as much of an issue as I thought.

-Matt

mattnshilp November 06, 2005 18:25

Matt; thanks. (blush, blush). there is a fine line between passion and being very nuts. i walk that line sometimes; which i suppose can be entertaining.

you have some pretty nice gear yourself (Parsifal, ASR, Hovland and VPI), you have come a long way from your Carver days (me too.....i was into Bose 901's and Mac in the early 70's). you are right; your gear can take full advantage of the best room you can put together. and you are very lucky to be figuring this out while building a new house. most guys here would kill for that opportunity.

and you are talking to Rives; a good choice.

my recommendation would be kinda pay attention to your feelings about the environment you would like to listen in. which place would you more likely want to be? is there any view or specialness to the attic? would finishing the attic add more value to your home than the same investment in the basement? as your kids get older will you need the basement for other activities?

from a purely acoustical standpoint; it's likely that the basement has more upside as ceiling height does make for a more open sound. Rives can make the short ceiling work; but you will pay some sort of price. is the attic ceiling square or vaulted? i do like the width and length; i would guess Rives could make a great room in that space...they know all the ceiling tricks.

another consideration would be your musical tastes. if you are mostly into small combo jazz, more intimate classical, and pop/rock....the ceiling height won't really detract much at all from the potential of that type of music. OTOH if large orchestral works are your passion; ceiling height would be more significant.

i have not heard the ASR amps; but would expect them to be similar to the darTZeel. enjoy the ASR; if you do get a chance to hear the darTZeel i would enjoy hearing about what you think. just cuz i'm getting off on the dart's is no reason to doubt the ASR's.

if you would like to talk about the room issues in more detail feel free to e-mail me and we can exchange phone numbers.

mikelavigne November 06, 2005 06:32

Hello,

I'd like to offer thanks from the multitudes of audiophiles that have learned gobs from simply sitting back and reading of your experiences and opinions. I, for one, started off on this wonderful audiophile adventure when I was about twelve when I bought my first system: Kef C-80 speakers, Carver Receiver and Sonic Holography CD player and I thought it was heaven.

Fortunately for me, my finances have improved over the years and I am now in early talks with the gentlemen at Rives to design my custom listening room. Which is the true point of my interjection. My current listening room is approximately 12'9" X 18'7" X 8' with a majorly pain in the ass unusual shaped ceiling and back area that has all but defied my every effort to tame the beast.

I have the choice of putting my new listening room in a new house I am building up in the attic (Daddy's room!!!) or down in the basement with a separate theater, party area, etc... I would MUCH prefer the attic as it's isolated, secluded and away from the kid's and their never ending curiosity (it's actually the kid's friends I worry about, not my children).

OK, so after all my ranting what the hell am I writing for? Well my issue is that if I put the room in attic I will have about 14 or 15 feet of width and an easy 20-25 feet of length to play with, but a VERY restrictive 7-8 foot ceiling (probably more like 7'4" after rock and insulation, etc...). I can make the room whatever I want overall on the inside since I'll be it's primary user. But I have spent a lot of time and effort putting together some nice equipment (although I am always playing) and i want to really let it shine.

As an alternative, I can wait an additional year or so to build a room in the basement where I have 12 foot ceilings and whatever other dimensions I want to play with.

So I ask, my dear compatriot in obsession, what would you suggest with your years of experience?

Thanks.

And I must thank you for igniting an interest in the DarTZeel when I was very stinking happy with my nice little ASR Emitter Exclusive I ,thank you very much!

It's like having the best damn glass of wine you've ever drank and then you hearing at the next table that HE just finished what you were having and liked what HE'S drinking even better. Well, now I gotta try that wine too, DON'T I?????????

Ehem....

-Matt

mattnshilp November 06, 2005 02:30

thanks Larry.

To be honest; for a number of reasons i would not expect that batteries would do for digital what i hear them doing for vinyl.

with vinyl; everything seems to make such large differences compared to digital; where differences seem to be much more subtle.

i have followed Hooper's quest of improving the little silver discs over on Audioasylum. i have tried some of those myself (as you and i spoke about on the phone awhile back). it's possible that some breakthru with the media regarding digital could change things.

whereas digital's noisefloor has likely found it's practical limits; it sounds to me that every improvement in that area for vinyl seems to yield ever increasing significant performance gains.

the fundamental digital conversion process seems to fundamentally restrict the density and completness of the data (psycho-acoustic theory notwithstanding).

i know that my reasonings are just the same old things but they ring true to my ears. my yard is litered with the bleached bones of digital diehards that died.

to be honest; i can see where Hooper is coming from having lived with the same basic gear he has. digital sounds damn good and does some things better than alot of good vinyl.

however; this new dart battery powered phono stage simply plays by new rules. if digital had been getting close before; it is farther away now.

mikelavigne November 05, 2005 21:20

.
Mike,
.
It sounds like you have musically reached way beyond fun.
.
I am wondering if you could buy / build some sort of battery /charger system for your EMM labs gear.
.
Please do video tape Hooper when he finally hears your system.
.
Congratulations,
Larry
.

cello November 05, 2005 20:01

Herve Deletraz (Mr. darTZeel) sent me an explaination of why we had some problems with battery power initially that i thought i would pass on to those interested.

**************

Herve's message;

"this is ONLY for the pre-serial machine you have:

The preamp is always drawing battery current, even when the preamp is switched off. So when you received it, maybe that the batteries were severely drawn out due to no AC connections for a while. Restoring the full charge would take several DAYS to recover, so the problem you had with DC issues: Batteries were extremely low, much lower than the regulation threshold, so DC appeared.

Having left the preamp hooked on AC enough time has restored batteries so now you don't have DC issue when in battery mode (except that you still must turn the volume down when changing input source).

When you talk about "switching in battery mode", I suppose that you remove either the AC cord (edit; yes i do exactly that) or the umbilical, since there is no real switch to do that.
When the preamp has enough charge (after several days, or even a week), the power led will eventually goes off when the preamp is off. As long as the power led is illuminated when the preamp is off, charging is not completed and the preamp doe not run in battery mode until unplugging AC cord.

When not using the preamp it is very important to plug it on the AC again, or batteries will be drawn out again. In case of non use (unplugged) for more than 1 day (or for shipping) it is strongly recommended opening it and unplugging the battery connectors inside, located at the middle of the preamp, on the bottom of the main PCB.

When the machine is in battery mode, you can still hear slight difference when the umbilical in plugged or not, even if the external power circuit is fully switched off. This is due to some residual coupling with AC mains, but the difference is marginal. (edit; this means it gets even better).

The preamp you have is also suffering from all software bugs, so the use is not the most convenient one you could expect... My own sample behaves as yours, but with full software fixes. Battery behavior remains the same, but after some days they were charged, and provided I do not listen for more than 6-8 hours a day, they are always charged for the next day... I mean that a "standard" user can perfectly live with a pre-serial - debugged - sample... :-)"

**************

Herve also sent me info on how the production (commercial) units will work that i thought would be of interest.

**************


"All the following for the coming commercial release:

The new release will NOT drain current when off, and the charging process will be much smarter: always battery mode when switched ON, always charging when switched OFF. If batteries will go low during playback it will switch to AC mode, but if you will switch it off, you won't need to wait for the full charge before benefiting for battery mode: if you leave it for 1-2 hours off, you will have 2-3 hours on battery mode at power on, and of course more if you leave it off longer. No memory effect on batteries guaranteed, whatever the charge state. When leaving the preamp always on you will cycle the batteries continuously (about 8 hours charging, 12 hours discharging) and the total span life will be around 3 years. When using the preamp "normally", say, with quite intensive listening 4 hours a day and 5/7, you can expect a life span of 5-10 years (the figure is no more precise at the moment since we have to complete our tests; we think it is closer to 10 years than 5).

As most parts of the preamp will NOT be energized when the preamp will be off, it will take about 20-30 minutes to sound good. There is little difference, since small devices are much faster at right temperature than power devices.

This time, there will be NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL in battery mode with AC/umbilical plug removed or not. We will add AC relays in the external power supply, so in battery mode these relays will be activated, opening the AC circuit, EXACTLY as if you would unplug the cord: doing so would not improve things further, as you cannot better switch off a bulb you already removed from the lamp... :-)

______________________________________________________________


As for the sound, both machines are completely identical, and there is not a single component or layout change about the signal path in both versions. Differences will be mainly addressing the battery behavior, removing some remaining small caveats in the volume control command, and also a - hopefully - less directional, more sensitive IR receiver."

************

i contemplated trying to explain the above myself but figured it would be better to just quote Herve's e-mail to me. however you describe it; the sound is miraculous.

mikelavigne November 05, 2005 17:05

Andy,

i was pretty fired up last night when i wrote that.

hummmmmm.

i would guess i'll feel the same next time i listen too.

i guess it's pistols at dawn.....or at least formats at dawn.

Andy, you gotta come out for a visit. it is much more than a matter of taste or tradeoffs. or maybe we need to get emmlabs to do a battery power supply.

btw, i can handle a few arrows.....fire away.

mikelavigne November 03, 2005 16:50

fascinating Mike, this new dart gear seems to be it for you, at least until they bring out some monos ... LOL ... what a silly and beautiful passion: MUSIC!

amperidian November 03, 2005 08:55

for the last 3 and 1/2 hours i've been listening to vinyl. i've been pulling out Lp after Lp and i'm just stunned by the just how beautiful music can be. not the gear, or the room, or the pressing, or the battery powered preamp.

the music.

when you strip away the crap in the reproduction chain.....and you have the music from a good Lp it's really wonderful.

i wanted to listen to the best recordings i have.

i started with some 45's.

Heifetz, Glazounov; Violin Concerto, disc 1. really beyond words. my mouth was just open in wonderment. unchained and without distortion i assume this is about how the master tape sounds. sooooo dynamic, soo 'continuous', the violin so sweet yet vibrant and strong. the music filled every molecule in the room.

if ANYONE has ANY doubts about just how far away digital is from vinyl they just need to listen to this. bring your digital masterings on your hard drives and wimper away with your tail between your legs.

Mussorsky; Pictures at an Exhibition, disc 4; At the Gates of Kiev. hearing the transients without distortion for the first time was off-putting. my cartridge had been telling me the truth but my system had not been able to handle it. the dynmaics really grab me and propell me along.

Ella Fitgerald; Let No Man Write My Epitath. as good a vocal recording as i have heard. i play this all the time as a system check. again; i am startled by the ease and effortlessness that i hear.

Ricki Lee Jones, POP! POP!......the guitars are completely real.

Van Morrison; Moondance. sooo dynamically alive. Van's voice is so powerful and 'there'.

i just love 'into the Mystic'.

Abbey Road, MFSL, side two. not the greatest recording in places; but magnificent in spots. more real than ever before by a wide margin.

this is one of my favorite all-time 'sides' of music.

tomorrow night i'll be at Key Arena to see Sir Paul in person. i'll be a guest of the tour sponsor and the seats are suppose to very good. i hope the sound is not disappointing.

i know i am suppose to be comparing cartridges but i just wanted to listen.

mikelavigne November 03, 2005 07:33

i may have heard the Edge battery powered pre; but i don't remember for sure. seems like i did at CES; obviously, it had no particular effect on me if i did. if i had heard anything like what i now hear i would have expected it to have gotten my full attention.

i wonder the same thing about AC. the ASR battery powered amp is said to be very special; but my previous experience with battery powered amps is a bunch of trade-offs at best; and not overall sonic satisfaction.

darTZeel feels that amps need AC for dynamics; but sources and pre's are best with batteries.

mikelavigne November 02, 2005 01:35

Islandear; i agree with your comments. the system has taken significant steps in the recent past but the emotional impact has not sustained itself like this step.

the compelling nature of the battery powered darTZeel preamp and it's phono stage is not wearing off. the system performance has turned a big corner in an objective sense; things are different now.

maybe why this is so profound is that all i need to do to hear where i was is to plug in the preamp......which is where i start each listening session. then there is the immediate undeniable jump in performance when i pull out the plug.

my opinion is that the darTZeel preamp plugged into the AC is still better than any other pre i have heard. OTOH at some point it might be good to get another SOTA pre in that i can compare the dart pre to with and without battery.

i am very curious as to how i personally 'feel' a week from now about this. will the system performance be as fresh and new as it seems at the moment?

another issue is that the amps should be getting close to the 30 day point of really opening up; how will the effect of that added to what i am now hearing play out?

fun stuff.

mikelavigne November 01, 2005 22:43

Mike, elk and bears are good, moose are even better! Let me know when Rocky and Bullwinkle show up.

You know, I've been following the development of your room/system for some time, and while you've written enthusiastic reports of the changes that have been made I don't believe you've ever sounded so happy or satisfied. I have never heard the Edge battery-powered pre, have you? Just wondering if AC is a beast to be removed rather than tamed.

islandear November 01, 2005 18:29

FYI, i am now listening to the pre exclusivly thru battery mode; i will never go back. since i am still breaking in the dart amps i do leave it in AC mode when i'm not in the room; but switch to battery mode when listening. I am using the remote without incident including muting; whatever 'gremlin' caused the initial battery mode issues has vanished. i do still need to power down to switch to battery mode (unplug the pre); the regular production run of dart pre's will automatically be in battery mode without the need to worry about it. i have not found a limit to the length of time i can be in battery mode or even the slightest clue that the batteries are running down; i am told that the pre will do 'at least 12 continuous hours' in battery mode and likely longer......i have done 7 continuous hours with no issue except my body's need for sleep.

there are so many amazing aspects to the performance of the pre in battery mode that it boggles the mind.......but i keep being startled by the effortlessness of everything. it's like the damn AC power was a chain around the sound......no matter how you try to make the chain 'pretty' or palatable......it limits what can be done in music reproduction; at least in terms of preamps.

however over-the-top this reads......it is my feelings at the moment.

mikelavigne November 01, 2005 14:56

Mike,

Thank you for the update and please continue :^)

I couldn't wait for the arrival of the preamp and hope it could reach me the soonest.

Cheers,

Sjmgr

sjmgr October 31, 2005 06:43

seductive?

well maybe a little. a little collective musical seduction is good for the soul. last night there were more than a few moments where we were both 'stunned' by what we were hearing. very special.

i don't have any boats floating by so don't worry. OTOH i do have some Elk and the occasional Bear.

mikelavigne October 31, 2005 04:02

Not bad Mike!

mburnstein October 31, 2005 03:58

Mike, this is exactly why I'm hesitant to hear your system. Talk about seductive...[insert grin here]

islandear October 31, 2005 00:05

DarTZeel Preamp
Battery Power....WOW!!!

an update on the darTZeel preamp.

a week ago i retrieved the darTZeel (pre-production) preamp from the distributor. i am still breaking in my 2 darTZeel NHB-108 amps (another 10 days to go) so this last week i've been investigating the internal phono stage of the dart pre; trying to put a few hours on it and wanting to compare it to my Lamm LP2 phone stage. when i previously had the dart pre i only listened briefly to the phono stage and my comparisons were were quite limited.

there were a few challenges i had to get my answers. first, some deep background.

my long-term reference cartridge has been the vdH Colibri XCP 8.5mv output. i have always loved the clarity, naturalness and explosiveness of this cartridge. over the last couple of years as my room and system changed; i found that the balance of the Colibri XCP had made many of my favorite recordings too edgy for my tastes. i had gone from my Tenor OTL's to the Tenor Hybrid amps; from my old very damped room to my new very live room, from my old forgiving Kharma Exquisites to the VR9's.......my system was much more alive and told me more but was unforgiving of the Colibri's vividness. so after playing around with the Colibri and trying different setup approaches i tried the Dynavector XV-1s. the XV-1s had a much lower gain (.24mv) but was much more forgiving.....i gave up some of the excitement of the Colibri but more of my music was enjoyable than with the Colibri.

during this same time i had been using the darTZeel amps on and off. one significant issue was that the darTZeel was not an ideal match for my Placette passive and Jena Labs switchbox. i did not get the gain with that combo that i had got with the Tenor Hybrids and the Placette. the darTZeel design without global negative feedback and lower overall gain still worked with the .85mv output of the Colibri but was quite marginal with the XV-1s at .24mv output. there were not only gain issues but also impedence issues when using my Placette.

in any case i had been enjoying the XV-1s thru the Tenors and Placette and also thru the darTZeel amps and Placette (although with less dynamics and gain).

then at RMAF, a friend offered to allow me to try his ZYX Universe cartridge (also .24mv output) as a change of pace to the Dynavector XV-1's. To properly audition the .24mv output ZYX i did re-install my Tenor's 10 days ago so would have enough gain to properly hear it. compared to the Dynavector i found the Universe to be less lush but more energetic, similar in some ways to the Colibri but more buttoned down.

fortunately, last Saturday i found out i could again try the dart pre so i drove to Portland and picked it up. i then removed the Tenors and reinstalled the dart amps and installed the dart pre. the dart pre only has the proprietary 'zeel' outputs active so i had no choice of amps. the ZYX Universe remained and during the last week i listened to the Universe thru the dart pre and dart phono stage. the Dart phono stage had plenty of gain for the Universe.

sorry for the long explaination; but without that background; the following wouldn't make much sense (it may still not).

this brings me to last night; the challenge......how to compare the Lamm LP2 phono stage and the dart pre internal phono stage. i friend came over yesterday about 4pm to lend his ears and moral support.

i found that when using the internal dart phono stage (which is listed at 62db of gain) i had plenty of gain for both the ZYX Universe and the Dynavector XV-1s. OTOH when playing the Lamm LP2 thru the dart pre and dart amps; there was not enough gain to properly judge the performance of the ZYX or Dynavector.

so.....if i wanted to compare the two phono stages; i would have to install my trusty Colibri with it's .85mv output; this would allow the Lamm to have plenty of gain thru the dart combo (when using the dart pre as strictly a line stage).

i actually removed the ZYX and installed another of my cartridges (a Colibri XGW .65mv output) first...but had some sort of hum issue; then i did install my Colibri XCP and did a rough (5 minute) setup.

first, into the Lamm. very nice; with plenty of gain the Lamm and Colibri made a beautiful combination......probably the best overall vinyl performance i had yet heard.

the playlist;

Buena Vista Social Club, 'Candela' Classic 45 version.

For Duke, 'Take the A Train', M&K DTD.

It Might As Well Be Swing, Sinatra/Basie, 'Fly Me To The Moon', Reprise original pressing.

Hasten Down The Wind, Linda Ronstad, 'Crazy', Asylum

Cantate Domino, 'Julsang', Proprius.

The Royal Ballet, all of side 1, Classic 33rpm reissue.

we eventually played many more but these were played initially on the ZYX, then the Colibri with the Lamm, and then the Colibri thru the internal dart phono stage.

i had not played the Colibri thru the dart pre before; i now heard the magic of the Colibri that had captivated me for three years. the naturalness of the dart pre, combined with the dart amps and Lamm was all there, similar in dynamics to the Tenor/Placette but less edgy and with more body and transparency. the Colibri was doing things i had not heard from the Universe in terms of overall naturalness and clarity; it sounded effortless....alive.

we now switched to the internal dart phono stage; things were the same but better somehow; much more microdynamic, lower noise floor, more expanded soundstage. overall, the complete picture was better.....not night and day...but better. even though the Lamm has tubes and the dart does not; you would have a hard time choosing which phono stage had tubes. the Lamm may have been slightly 'darker'......but tonality asnd textures were at least as good with the dart phono stage. the Colibri thru the dart phono stage was just a little more 'compelling' and involving.

remember, the dart phono stage had maybe 15 hours on it at this point, was a pre-production version, and had loading at 100 ohms (the Colibri likes 400-500 ohms ideally....the Lamm is loaded at 400 ohms)......and we were listening to the in AC mode.

at this point my friend turns to me and says...."ok Mike, you can sell the Lamm with no regrets"......which had been the question of the night. the Lamm sounded great.....but the Dart was a little better.

it was now about 6:30pm last night and my friend needed to get home. i suggested that we try battery mode on the dart pre. i cautioned that i had only tried it a couple of times but there was some sort of 'gremlin' in this unit that was not sorted out and in battery mode it was somehow outputting DC and would likely blow fuses in the amps within 5 minutes.....but it would be a spectacular 5 minutes and it was not that big an deal to change the fuses.

i had only tried the battery mode briefly on digital but i guessed that it might actually make more difference on the phono stage.

so i carefully turned the pre volume down, turned off the amps, turned off the pre, unplugged the pre, turned the pre back on, waited 90 seconds, and turned the amps back on....so far, so good. i would avoid using the remote control or switching anything so as to avoid anything that might send out DC.

i put 'Fly Me To The Moon' on the Rockport, dropped the needle, turned up the volume and turned down the lights.

from the first note there was something very different; in fact before the first note you could tell.....the 'air' was different between and before the note.....it was more there. Frank's voice was more than a voice, he was there. i was not thinking in 'sonic checklist' terms.....more in human terms. dis-belief was suspended......for about 4 more hours it was suspended. my friend didn't need to leave after all.

i assumed the fuses would blow after about 5 minutes; i kept cringing whenever i would turn the volume up or down. we played another cut, then another. there was never any problem. i would just turn the volume down when cueing and there was no noise, hum or ANYTHING. dead silence.

the listening was simply one 'Oh My God' after another. in battery mode the dart pre phono easily stomps anything i have personally heard in many ways. first, it is soo quiet that everything is just soo effortless. there is no strain. music just flows. dynamics, both micro and macro surpass anything i have heard. microdynamic action makes things so alive and vivid. the tonality and textural nuance can only be described as like 'life' or lifelike.

we played 'Nojima Plays List'...the Mephisto Waltz. playing this music on a system with full frequency capability and thru this gear brought the piano fully to life in front of us. i don't have the words to describe it. if you have heard a concert grand piano then you know how it sounds....that is how it sounded.

we played The Royal Ballet, side 1. i can only say WOW and double WOW. the orchestra came completely to life in the room. i get goosebumps just thinking about it.

Blues (Muddy Water's Folk Singer), Rock (Neil Youngs Greatest Hits), Folk (Lorna Hunt, All in One Day)......everything was just really silly good.

after 4 hours of battery mode my friend did go home; i then listened to digital in battery mode for another 2 hours; then this morning listened to digital in battery mode for a couple more hours. same basic things......although not quite to the same degree as the phono stage is more significant to the vinyl perfromance.

battery mode dramatically lowers the noise floor, dramatically increases dynamics, and really brings an effortlessness to music that has to be heard before you could appreciate what it does.

i expect healthy skepticism to this post; until a few people are able to hear what this does for themselves in battery mode that is reasonable.

i still need to re-install both the Dynavector and ZYX to see how they compare in battery mode; hopefully i'll ge to that in the next few days. my new dart pre should be here by late November hopefully.

i type slow and i've already lost too much of my Sunday to this.....but i wanted to share my enjoyment.

mikelavigne October 30, 2005 20:34

Cello; it is too bad RMAF was over so quick and we missed each other (same issue with Islandear). that having fun stuff can be hard work.

next year for sure we'll connect (assuming there is a next RMAF).

BTW, i have been listening to a mutual friend's ZYX Universe for the last week or so....very interesting.

mikelavigne October 30, 2005 17:45

Lohanimal; yes, the OSIM message chair has it's place. I have used one and they do make one feel brand new. OTOH they are not ideal for extended listening sessions (up to 10 hours straight) as they have 'hard' spots. Also, as they are mechanical they can 'break' and make noise.

my chair; the 'Relax-the-Back' store zero gravity chair is designed for almost permanent use. The 'Zero Gravity' chair was originally designed by NASA for space flights to minimize body stress during long flights; and minimize stress on the body at launch and re-entry.

This chair distributes the weight along the entire length of the body for zero stress on your spine; doctors perscribe this chair for patients to use that cannot sleep laying down.

My particular chair uses visco-elactic foam that forms to your body with heat to eliminate points of stress. My chair also has a very narrow top section for minimal acoustic influence. the head rest (also visco-elastic foam) keeps my head out from the top section and both the head rest and top section curve away from my head; which reduces the acoustical influence.

there is almost zero difference between the sound i get with a low back chair and my chair. most other high back chairs (including the OSIM message chair) have wide backs and head supports that have a 'cupping' effect and really affect sonic performance.

i have spent 20 hours straight in this chair (excepting bathroom visits) with no back strain or stiffness. in fact; if something does hurt; an hour or two in the chair usually fixes it.

i have had my chair for 5 years and they will likely bury me on it.

mikelavigne October 30, 2005 14:05

Islandear is right on the mark ... we're all doing what we need to do with music ... which turns out to be quite the same thing, but with different approaches. Mike's system, guarded by safe retreat (which centuries ago was referred to as the "beatus ille," again a designation for that safe retreat that regenerates and soothes), can do no less than transport effortlessly. As for an island in the NW and being able to watch shipping traffic ... I'm now suffering pangs of envy. Oh well, the overseeding is working too well, so I need to attend to the lawn this afternoon. I'm forunate ... I don't give classes on Fridays.

arkprof October 28, 2005 16:44

Nrchy, it's amazing what a bit of space can do for one's perspective. After 10 years on island I realize that the entire world is mad...whoa, now I'm starting to sound like the Peter Finch character in 'Network'.

Arkprof, I empathize with you. Nearly twenty years ago I put in a stint as an administrator in the largest public university system in the US. Talk about layers of bureaucracy! At the end of the day (long days as I recall) I inevitably needed my music and some other salve to purge all the toxins. Despite moving 1500 miles north and relocating in a garden spot I still need my music and accompanying salve...I just enjoy them more!

islandear October 28, 2005 16:39

Islandear wow, I was contented living on a quiet side street. I have seen lots of movies of west coast homes built right on the water, and thought it an admirable fantasy. Now I want to get off this quiet street and disappear...

nrchy October 28, 2005 13:58