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.
Given the scale of this system and multiple components,the approach taken by mike makes the most sense by far. For smaller and less ambitious systems a one box conditioner that provides balanced AC power is very worthwhile and cost effective Regards.
the Equi=tech provides whole system power isolation and regeneration. it lowers noise, increases dynamics and improves the power supply linearity of all electronics in your system. this power grid is completely separate from my 'dirty' panel for my barn which runs lights, HVAC and other 'non-audio' needs.
stand alone power conditioning boxes are like toys in comparison. i respect that stand alone power conditioners can improve things in systems, and not everyone can logistically install a whole system isolation transformer. but many times stand alone power conditioners can end up being trade-offs reducing dynamics while lowering noise particularly on amplifiers since they can't store enough energy. i have no particular experience with the PS Audio so i cannot say how it works exactly. the other thing is that if you have multiple stand alone power conditioners (and some are very expensive) it might not be that much more to install an Equi=tech and be at an 'end point' and forget about those separate boxes forever. an Equi-tech wall panel system, depending on which one you get, will run you $10k-$15k installed all in. when you do it every piece of gear you own gets an upgrade. it is a very cost effective way to get a whole system improvement. you just need a qualified commercial electrician.
i also have 10 gauge Romex home runs to Furutech GTX-D Rhodium duplex outlets, with Oyaide WPC-Z outlet covers, for every component. for power cords i use 2 Evolution Acoustics (TRPC) triple run power cords for my dart 458 mono blocks, and 10 Absolute Fidelity (by Genesis Technology loudspeakers) power cords for all my other gear.
i take power grid management very seriously and the very best sounding systems i have heard use the Equi=tech.
Mike, I noticed you are not doing much with power. Have you ever considered trying the ps audio p10 or p5 regenerators? These things worked miracles in my system.
I would love to come over and listen. Trouble is, I might not want to leave! I hardly ever leave the "Rock", as we refer to it, but a visit with you may entice me to travel a bit.
My entire system has changed for the better, over the last few years, so I leave an open invitation for you, as well.
it has been awhile, 6 years or so since you visited. yes; i did order those VR11's but they never did build them for me (long story over an adult beverage of your choice some time). loved owning those VR9SE's for sure. and actually i had a pair of dart stereo 108 amps with the VR9's.
if you can stand leaving your beautiful Whidbey Island, it's time to visit me again. i think you might like it.
I haven't seen you since around the time you still had your VR-9's, in other words, a very long time. You had me over for a listening session back then, something I haven't forgotten.
I can't even begin to fathom what your system sounds like now. You did have the Dartzeel pre and power amps, though.
I recall you were in the process of ordering VR-11's, though you obviously found something you like much better.
I'm glad for you you were able to get the new Dartzeel amps, and the upgrade on your speakers. I know most of your system has changed as well, so congratulations, and enjoy!
thanks. i do agree completely on the art aspect of both the MM7's and the particularly the dart 458's.
the MM7's, for such massive products, are so organic that it's hard to tell their size just looking at pictures. and from the side and rear they are so delicate looking. fit and finish are top notch. i've visited the designer Kevin Malmgren's place a few times; and he has some of his various art works (in various media) on display on his walls. the look of the MM7's is not an accident.
as for the darTZeel NHB-458's, i'm still awe struck every time i come into the room. i get a kick out of just walking up to them and switching them from standby to full on, or the reverse. the silky feel of the chassis and switch is so cool. a visual feast to be sure.
i feel so lucky to be able to live with these products. i will never take them for granted.
Wow, is your room getting smaller or is the equipment getting bigger? Thanks for sharing.
you are welcome.
good point about the impression of size of the room from the pictures. those twin towers are monsters. each 7 feet tall and 600-700 pounds each massive. i thought about standing next to them in one of the pictures to give a sense of scale....but i don't want to be in any pictures.
the room is 21 feet wide and 11 feet high. wider and taller than most rooms. but MM7's make the room seem snug, they even make the amps look small. however in-room, the room looks big and the amps look big and bold.
the one picture looking toward the rear of the room gives a better perspective on the size.
thanks. the dart 458 side panels are etched tempered glass. the top panel of my dart stereo NHB-108 is also glass. the glass is used aesthetically to expose the beauty of the inner circuits. i've seen not only inside the top but i've seen underneath on the bottom of the dart amps. every surface of dart products are as perfectly finished as the outside.
the other reason glass is used is to minimize any circuit noise by allowing stuff to easily get out thru the glass. another point about darTZeel amps is that they are sealed; so no dust can get in.
the amps don't get hot to the touch, just warm. so plexiglass would be fine although it would not look as good as high quality tempered glass.
The system pics look awesome Mike. I'm curious, are the sides of the Dart amps glass ? I would assume plexiglass would melt from the heat of the amps...
System edited: added new system pictures. added MM7 speakers's and NHB- 458 monoblocks's. deleted MM3's, dart NHB-108 amp, Found Music 2A3 amps, Nagra T RTR deck.
Agreed....HRx would be incredible with that disc. I've been going back through al ot of classical over here and finding some great (older) recordings of the Shostakovich Symphonies (Mravinsky & Lenningrad on Russian labels), Janaczek (Glagolithic Mass & Sinfoinetta are huge favorites), Elgar Sea Pictures, Honegger Sym 2-3, Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony (Bournemouth is my current favorite) and various Bruckner and Mahler recordings. I've also been spending a lot of time in big pipe organ works from Widor, Vierne, Dupre, Bach, etc... The amazing thing about this hobby is that once you get a system 'right' you get transported into whatever recordings you listen to and it is incredibly difficult to tear yourself away (who would want to anyway?!?).
When are you going to be able to shoot new pictures of the room, new speakers and amps. It must look amazing in there!
i've had that RR Bruckner 9th CD for 10 years and like it. i returned late last night from a quick business trip and will be sure to enjoy that disc this weekend. that would be a great one for the HRx process or even a Tape Project title i think. an Lp would be good if they kept it analog.
Mike: Hope all is well with you and the new speakers! RR recordings are among some of my favorites as well even without an HDCD player. Have you heard Bruckner 9th with Skrowaczweski and the Minnesota Symphony? It's a drop-dead gorgeous performance and disc.
