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.
Mike, not to worry ... your listening room is quite impressive, certainly defined by quality ... appearance and construction. No doubt about this. I think most of us would love to have a dedicated space like yours, but that doesn't seem to be the case for most audio enthusiasts. As for your system, even in my dreams I couldn't imagine owning what you have. I KNOW that it has to be overwhelming.
The "de-stress" needs ... I understand completely. I do the same, though I also use music to block out the world as I do prep work for the univ experience. My work world is probably less stressful than yours, but it appears we're both regaining balance in the same way.
. Mike / Islandear, very thoughtful and nice posts. . Mike, sorry we did not catch up with each other at the RMAF in Denver. Time flew by and before I knew it, it was time to go. I will make a point of getting to meet you at the next opportunity and definitely in Denver if you will be attending. . Rgds, Larry .
Islander; you said what i was trying to say; only better. thanks.
out my windows i see a mountian side; it is part of a wilderness area that can never be developed. very peacefull and complimentary to my target listening mindset.
Dalton, i use one small 'can' sitting on the floor behind each speaker with a 15 watt 'soft-white' light bulb (up to 25 watts seems to work fine without shadows that are too intense or sharp). i position the cans behind the speakers equally on both sides so the shadows are equal on both sides.
i bought the cans at a lighting store; about $15 each. the bulbs i bought at Home Depot.
I like your idea of putting spot lights behind the speakers to create a more intimate ambiance and listening experience instead of turning the lights off completely as they do in shows. I guess i'm still afraid of the dark after all these years... What are you using to illumine your speakers?
Arkprof comments are interesting. I assume we all aspire to find our spot in the world - what Castaneda called 'enabling' places - and that once we find these spots we are loathe to leave them. Mike clearly illustrates his need to retire from the daily grind and I am in sync with him. I'm a city boy from LA/SoCal and I have always aspired to escape the noise and claustrophobic rush of the megalopolis. My work takes me, on a very regular basis, to LA, SF, NYC and other large burgs; and while I enjoy these places for their culture, entertainment and restaurants I am always happy to get on a plane to return to my island in the NW. I can sit in my listening room, watch the shipping traffic on the Eastern Passage, and not be disturbed by anything louder than birds or an occasional chainsaw. I'm pleased that so many people prefer the city, it means less are trying to find a way to live where I do. And, for the record, I expect it's rather easy to lose oneself in a room like Mike's.
Cjfrbw; i agree. my lighting strikes the sweet spot where your brain dedicates most of it's computing power to your hearing; and you are totally relaxed into the music. yet there is enough light to feel comfortable and oriented.
that shot was taken at about 3pm in the afternoon.
i think we were listening to SRV 'Tin Pan Alley' at warp 9.
Arkprof; a question; does 'Arkprof' mean you are an Architectural Professor? if so; then please be gentle with me.
i appreciate that you see your needs (or other's needs) differently than i see mine; and 'you won't like this' is not an issue. any sincere or sufficiently entertaining comments are always welcome.
to my way of thinking; the perfect room for me reflects my view of the ideal.....and no one else's. i manage a retail company with 11 managers and 140 employees.....and work about 55 to 60 hours a week directly with those people. it is constant high energy and constant people interaction. when i get off work many times i need some time for myself....i don't need any interaction.
my home is my oasis from stress; on 4 and 1/2 acres. in my home i have a 'whole house' music system, a dedicated home theatre and a family room with plasma and music system. when i am in the mood for these particular approaches to music or movies then fine.
but for those times when i need to de-stress and really concentrate on the music i have my room in the barn. my sleeping habits are early to rise; my spouse sleeps in. i can get up as early as i like before work and listen as loud as i want without any problem. i like that.
i designed the room to have space for visitors; and more than a few times have had 10 or more at the same time. my wife and son visit me nightly to listen with me. i will agree that my best musical moments are those that are shared.....when you get into a groove and just play cut after cut and everyone is just having a great time. with this room those sessions can happen anytime and never need to end.....since we are not disturbing anyone else.
10 years ago my listening room was in my family room; then i moved to a large den. in both cases the noise of the house compromised my listening environment. i can still have those experiences if i want.
there is no right answer to one's perfect listening environment; it depends on the mood of the moment. i have simply decided to have one place without compromise for when THAT is what i want.
it will be interesting if i feel the same after i retire; my feelings may change when i don't have the stress to solve.....i may be less comfortable with the isolation of my room. i guess i will find out in 10 years or so.
Hi, Mikelavigne ... you won't like this, but what if one were ... perhaps somewhat claustrophobic? The components command total respect, and the sound has to be much like, perhaps better than, what one would find in the best listening rooms in the finest hi-end audio shops, but as for being a true in-home listening environment ... I would find myself very unsettled tucked away from life and all that surrounds it. You'll correct me, I'm sure, or perhaps not bother at all, thus offering the ultimate response, but this doesn't bother you?!? All the dollars it took to build your listening room, and yet listening isolated from the world doesn't bother you? I guess not.
If it weren't for this glaring deficiency, I'd trade with you right NOW! I can't, though. My music can watch the street, play against it or with it, turn cooking into an even greater pleasure, allow my table-bound PC to seem less tiresome as it hides in an adjacent room, and turn my smallish 14x22 listening space into rhythm city. I love everything about your music nirvana ... everything ... except that it has chosen to live away from the world ... clearly you could have afforded to integrate these spaces, but you opted for total separation ... music away from life.
Great to hear you're enjoying the new dart gear, the swiss know a thing or two about quality, no doubt about that.
My mistake on the TA cables, I misread the ones you use, ... I know they introduced the MM technology throughout their other lines ... but the Opus benefitted from it since its conception. Maybe I should give them a call and ask how much it would cost me to have all my favorite artists over for some true music? .... a few million? I might get 50% off if I'm really lucky :) credit to them though, the Opus are a work of art, it's not about cost/performance but about the best out there ... maybe if I win the 649 ... I'll get those live musicians and we can all get together and enjoy some live unamplified music ... might give the rockport a run for it .... :)
Thanks for the kind words on the capitole, I got it used from Francois Lemay, Robert still has the other one ... great piece for the money though ... and I got the anaconda vx for it from Steve (yes, he told me how he went to vinyl after one session at the barn) ... I'm happy to see that you share your enthusiasm with so many other audiophiles who lack the means to go all out in their quest for nirvana.
Any experience with the Rites of Passage from Joule? ... out of curiosity.
I'm sure that I'm not the only one out here who appreciates your posts.
OB, you have asked me a question 2 different times and for various reasons i had not yet answered you.....my apologies.
i was fortunate that yesterday i again took possesion of the pre-production darTZeel preamp......i drove to Portland and back.....got home at about 7:30pm last night.....plugged it in......and listened until about 3 in the morning. for the first few hours digital, then vinyl until i couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. i got my second wind at about 10;30pm and my third wind about 1:30am.
so my aurial memory is now 'real-time'.
so what the hell do i mean by 'liquidity, palpability, and delicacy' when describing this preamp?
when i say 'this preamp' i mean the pre-production dart pre, the pair of Stereo dart NHB-108 amps, and the BNC cables connecting them. since i can only use the proprietary connection at this time i cannot assign cause and effect between the pre, the amps and the cables.
by 'liquidity' i mean 'liquid' as opposed to 'dry'. real life has a lack of edge; if you close your eyes and concentrate on real life sounds (not reproduced) there is no real edge to sounds, even fingernails on a blackboard have no 'outline' or abrupt starting point. real sounds are not 'dry' and lifeless. real sounds are rendered in a context of 'air' around them; they exist in relation to what else is happening.
an SET amp typically sounds 'liquid'......althought usually at the expense of immediacy and lack of frequency extention and speed. the tube warmth of a typical SET amp does portray a type of liquidity, or lack of 'dryness'. the darTzeel combo's liquidity is more a removal of distortion than an added something. my interpreation of what i hear from the dart pre is that a layer of 'hash' or distortion is removed from the music that leaves that more real liquidity that more closely resembles real life.
the tangible benefits of this lack of distortion or 'liquidity' is more real detail. this is easiest to hear with massed strngs or choral works; where it is easy to tell what is different. whereas previously, these musical events were percieved as 'those musicians or instruments over there'....now they are percieved as that group of players over there singing/playing together but now each 'voice' has a purpose and message. it greatly enhances the musical gestault and draws me into the music. i am listening to an event and not the playback chain with it's own character.
palpability is the sense of realistic size and shape of things; also of true flavor, texture, and action. is there something real connected to that sound? is dis-belief suspended? is there a sense of natural scale and feeling? can i taste it? feel it? am i there?
is it palpable? is it real?
delicacy is simply the ability to complete tiny things correctly; and not obscure or artifically interpret the tiny but all-important heart of acoustic music. when music is delicate......it moves me.
these three issues are connected; the dart combo does these things at another level or two higher than i have yet heard before. at first it is a little disorienting; since some of your reference recordings have such a different feel. but after relaxing into the music i have found that everything is just more real.
Slipknot; i did get the pre-production dart pre back in my room last night......and stayed up listening to vinyl half the night......WOW!
i do have a music 'hangover' this morning but what the hell. i have some Haydn String Quartets playing right now......perfect 'Sunday morning' music (Quatuor Mosaiques Opus 76, Astree CD)......very sweet.....they are playing right here, right now.
Frank, i have heard the Acapella speakers at shows and was quite impressed. i'm not exactly sure which one's i have heard; but it seems like they were around $50k list price a few years ago. it would be difficult to really judge the Acapella based on my limited exposure.
Mike and Nellie (Audiofederation) have invited me to visit their room in Colorado when it works out and listen to the 'big' Acapella's. so far it has not worked out......i was disappointed that they didn't bring them to RMAF......although i did like the Martin's.
Remy; thanks for the kind comments. please forgive my tardyness with my response......i have been busy and such.
i have purchased (2) darTZeel NHB-108 stereo amps to replace my Tenor Hybrid monoblocks. but it is possible i may keep both sets of amps. the pre-production version of the dart pre that i tried only had the BNC output active; so i was not able to try my Tenors with the new dart pre. when i do get my own fully functional dart pre i will try it with my Valhalla cables and Tenor hybrids; i may like it better than the dart pre/amp combo. in any case, that is my plan. i still love the Tenors. except for the dart amp/pre combo; it is the best amp i have yet heard.
BTW, to be clear; i am using 2 stereo darts in vertical bi-amp configuration on the VR9's.
i have not tried the Dynaudio Arbiter gear.....but it does sound interesting.
are you saying that there is a new Transparent cable above the Opus line? i had not heard anything about that. that must be where the musicians simply arrive at your home and play in your room. for what Transparent might charge for a better cable one might as well employ musicians.
;^)
i always enjoyed the AA Capitol; very musical and non-digital sounding. i did hear the Whest at the Denver show; i could imagine that it might work well with the Capitol.
Mike, the best laid plans of mice and men... Sorry we missed each other at RMAF, I will endeavor to trek up to your place as soon as my travel schedule permits (and, assuming your invite still stands).
Yes, that is a very impressive system and I'm sure it sounds MUCH better in a dedicated, treated room. While the Marriott is better than the AP in LV there were really only a few rooms that lent themselves to the sophisticated gear on hand. Mike Verretto hung what looked like quilts on the side walls of his room and the damping did help.
Also enjoyed meeting Jonathan face to face...fun guy. Anyway, still look forward to hearing your rig/room.
Great system Mike, your experience in the audio industry shows in what you've accomplished, easily among my top 3 favorite systems here on audiogon (along with Mike and Neli's Reference systems and Ramy's main system) ... a no-compromise approach for sure.
I noticed you have introduced the dart gear into your system recently. Will it replace the Tenors? If so have you ever considered or auditioned Dynaudio's arbiter gear? I know they introduced the battery operated preamp with some pretty stunning results, in fact they are still considered by many to be the best in the world and have to be heard to be understood.
Also I see you use Transparent Audio speaker cables. Their new model may also be of interest to you since you have the means to an end, the low end kicks up a notch (for a ridiculous amount of money ... bargain no? :) )
I'm in awe of your digital front end Mike, that's something I'll probably never be able to afford ... ever! By comparison I have a modest audio aero capitole mkII SE player (no sacd playback possibility here) that I use as my transport/dac/preamp combo with YBA passion amplification. All gear is isolated with symposium rollerblocks (series 2+ in double stacked configuration) with Shunyata powerconditioning (a hydra 4 with a Revelation Audio Labs 20 amp IEC Precept to it). I did find that the performanc of the system was significantly affected by introducing a Whest Audio DAP .10u in the chain ... also something you may want to consider, it made a believer out of me!
In fact, I am trying to make the point that it is very important to look at every interface with the darTs (cables, isolation, electricity ....)
I should admit these are quite obvious especially for gears at this level. But for the darTs, the design is executed in such a way that they will continue to amaze you if increasingly quality resources are devoted ....
Sorry for the repetition. As you have done the experiment on cables, I am sure you could understand this well.
I am excited and very glad that your system is reaching the new heights.
Dalton, you can contact Jonathan Tinn (jtinn on Audiogon) at www.chambersaudio.com in Portland. the phone number and e-mail address is on the home page....that is who i purchased my VR9's from. you can call him on Sunday if you like.
he is a friend of mine and i highly recommend him.
there may be another Von Schweikert dealer in the Northwest......but i am not familiar with any.
