Speakers are Focal Grande Utopia EM in black finish
Analog music sources,
Technics SP10 MK3 with two Kuzma 4 Point 14" arms. Koetsu Blue Lace on one and Air Tight Opus One in the other. Studer A820 half track tape machine with three sets of cards, each rebuilt by Studer electronics experts so I can compare upgrade performance.
Digital
music source is Aurender W20 Special Edition into Soulution 760 LEEDH. THe best input for music so far is Purist new USB cable and AES/EBU close second place.
Soulution 725 preamp, Soulution 755 phono stage Soulution 760 LEEDH and Soulution 701 mono block amps for electronics. See image posted Nov 18, 2022 to see how it looks.
Cable is 100% top tier Purist Audio design. All latest 35th Anniversary, all ten AC cords are the new Purist 35th Anniversary AC.
My space is 18 X 31 and
acoustically treated with RPG panels, tube traps and fiberglass acoustic treatment
over triple reinforced walls and ceiling. The floor is lamination beams
over steel plates to concrete pier and beam. Two sheets of 5/8 epoxy
lamination sheets make up the floor with two inches of
concrete topped with India multi color slate.
Whisper Wall
rail system and fine textured acoustic cloth covers the work, making everything appear as a normal room of
painted sheet rock or decorative cloth covering.
The room acoustics were conceived by RBDG
and the entire space was torn out to bare dirt under the foundation and
bare studs in the walls. The combo of all new electrical and acoustical treatment resulting in best sound I’ve ever had.
The best offering from Focal, shown with Stillpoints Ultra 5. Ultra 5 was an amazing upgrade for the speakers !
RPG Acoustics QRD 734 (variation)
On front wall, now obscured by acoustically transparent cloth, is floor to ceiling RPG (similar to QRD® 734) in foam, so it's partially absorptive.
Studer Studer A820
Found a near mint A820 at a production studio in Illinois. I was so excited about it's condition I had it driven here in the back of an SUV, covered with moving blankets.
Head block sent to John French and all cards at Soren Wittrup who worked for Studer. This is the machine I spent more than a decade searching for.
Technics SP10 MK3 Rosewood with Stillpoints Ultra 5
Technics SP10 MK3 Panzerholz with African Ebony lumber (no Veneer). This is the original design by John Semrad and myself, copied to death now.
TTM Stainless Mat and Oil Damp Weight
Japan, TTM Stainless mat (6.61 pounds) plus TTM oil filled record weight.
TTM record stabilizer TTM three piece set
Very hard to find, grateful I was able to purchase this last week. Three piece TTM record stabilizer replaces my previous single piece unit.
Air Tight Opus
Air Tight top of the line phono cartridge
Mutech Hayabusa
Excellent MC cartridge, retail about $4500.00
Koetsu Blue Lace Platinum
Top tier stone body Koetsu, perfect alternate to Air Tight Opus One
Soulution 725 preamp
725, Soulution best preamp, shown in system
Soulution 755 phono
Soulution best phono stage, unbelievable amount of adjustment for cartridge including channel balance to 1 DB
Soulution Soulution 760 LEEDH
Soulution top tier DAC, really pleased with performance of this DAC.
I still prefer analog but many recordings that were digital to begin with (and vinyl cut from CD master) are better on Soulution than on turntable.
Soulution 701 Mono Block Amplifiers
Soulution top tier 2KW solid state amps from Switzerland
ORB-DF03 USA version DF03
Excellent LP flattener, simple to use and so far perfect result
Aurender W20 Special Edition
Aurender music server, model W20 SE with 16TB solid state storage on board.
Vibraplane 2212-01
Under my Technics MK3, powered by Silentaire DR-150
Degritter MK2 Ultrasonic LP cleaning machine
From Estonia, very powerful ultrasonic LP cleaning machine. The MK2 version is better than the original which was already the best I’ve heard
Degritter and ORB LP flattner Degritter and ORB LP flattner
View of two important pieces to maintain LP collection
Milbank Transocket three phase 750 amp
750 amp meter base. Pass through design, three phase power is a huge benefit in conjunction with our dedicated transformer.
Porter Port Cryo outlets 20 Amp
14 of these in my system, each to a dedicated breaker in copper based electrical box
Furutech NCF Booster
New NCF Booster added to majority of AC cords in system. Easy to see against light colored wall, arrow points to NCF Booster to my (previous) owned Allnic M-5000 amp.
Purist Audio Design Focal EM Supply cable
New four conductor cord, replaces stock Focal supply cord from EM drive box to back of speaker. Amazing upgrade
(1) Soulution 725 preamp to Soulution 701 mono blocks
(1) Soulution 760 LEEDH DAC to Soulution 725 preamp
(1) Studer A820 to Soulution 725 preamp
Purist Audio Design 35th Anniversary Bi-Wire
1.5 meter Bi-Wire, Soulution 701 mono blocks to Focal Grande EM
Purist Audio Design 35th Anniversary AC Cables
New STUNNING cable from Purist Audio, silver and seven stage network box. This cable brought so much dynamics, resolution and transparency to my system it qualifies as a main component.
Leica Disto D2
Super laser measuring tool. Indispensable for setting distance and alignment of your speakers
Albert, when the Mac Mini is feeding the DX-5, the treble notes tend to be a tad harsh, which is not the case when the DX-5 is playing a CD, DVD, or other disc, which suggests to me that the likely culprit is the USB cable. Given this, is there one that you would suggest over the other? 90% of my entire system is wired with Purist, and my components are Ayre, Allnic, Lamm, Wilson and your MK 3, so any harshness is always a surprise.
Thanks, Albert. My Ethernet Drobo and my Music Server Mac Mini is connected to my local hardwired network and the Mini is connected to the Ayre DX-5 via a Locus Design Nucleus USB cable (I think you had this cable, so you can probably tell me how much better the new Purist USB cable is). The DX-5 outputs are balanced XLR, RCA, HDMI audio, HDMI A/V for video only, and digital AES/EBU Audio. The DX-5 is connected to the preamp with Purist Audio 20th Anniversary balanced XLRs. All audio is output to the preamp and when playing video, the DX-5 outputs video only via HDMI A/V to the Lumagen 2123 processor and thence to the projector.
So, I should be able to run a second digital cable from the Mac Mini to a D5000 and have both the D5000 and the DX-6 in the system. We will have to talk about that.
Albert, I have a couple of silly questions about the Allnic D5000 DAC, but things are not totally clear to me. Does it have an on-board PS or an external PS? As for how it is connected in your system, is your Mc Mini connected directly to the D5000 by a USB cable and is the D5000 connected directly to your preamp (L3000?) and if so, is it connected by XLR or RCA?
Albert, is your music server cannister a RAID Thunderbolt system with HDD or SSD? How many drives?
I'm curious because I have a Drobo 5-bay with 5 1 terabyte HDDs connected via Cat 5 Ethernet to my dedicated Mac Mini music server in turn connected to my Ayre DX-5 via USB. What are your thoughts about performance enhancement by replacing my existing Locus Design Nucleus USB cable with the Purist Ultimate USB cable?
Albert, I thought I saw a post from you on the Plasmatron, but today when I looked I could not find it or any reference to it in your system. Have you heard or tried the Plasmatron and if so, what do you think of it?
Hi Albert. So glad to see you have the Focal Grande EM now. Would love to get a chance to come visit you again in the fall. By then, the Focals should be well broken in and dialed in. Best, Ed
Albert, I definitely want to be there for your Tuesday soiree. I'm thinking about one of these 3 dates: 3/5, 3/19 or 3/26. Any of them make a difference to you? Let's talk by phone tomorrow afternoon around 3PM CST if that works for you.
Albert, first, thanks so much for doing this. Second, I really value your opinion and am eager to come for a listen myself.
I think being direct helps a lot. The magazine reviews can rarely afford to be so direct. But at the end of the day, the high end of audio, especially the upper reaches of it, is all about the nuances and what floats the boat of the person shelling out all that money. Decisions will not be the same with everyone because different folks place difference emphasis on the nuances.
Albert, glad you have a fozgometer - will be interested to hear your take on it with the Graham & Triplanar. Really great that you now have the Mint Protractor for the Graham 12/Mk3/Porter Plinth. Looking forward to the results.
Have fun with your group tonight. Hope I can join you guys sometime soon.
I sent it in for an upgrade from the Phantom 1 to the current model. But what came back looked like a brand new arm. The finish was different, more satiny and polished, and the gold finish was much better than the original, which was kind of cheap lookimg. Also, the Supreme used a better wire than the original, so rather than replace the internal wire, the pivot system and pivot housing, the Magneglide stabilizer, and refinish what was left, which would not have retained much of the old arm, I think he just sent me a new arm.
True to form, you have the project well in hand, Albert. As the village wise man said in the movie "High Road to China," "The oxen is slow, but the earth is patient."
Woo Hoo, Albert! Sounds like the Graham will be up and running soon! I love that you can compare it against the V-12. That should really let you know where it stands.
It's been a while since I have looked at your system or chatted with you. You have been very busy upgrading your system! Read your thread. Your approach is typical Albert Porter, however! Very impressive. Pics are great too. Lighting is wonderful. Looks like a very comfortable room for listening.
albertporter on All Out Assault