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 - I'm with Angela, when are the new pictures getting posted. I can only imagine how good your system sounds but It's obvious how good it looks. Come on, a great photographer like you and no news pics?!? I'd love to be a fly on the wall some Tuesday night!
hands on hips..... toes tapping...... oh, Allllllllbert........ when do we get to see the NEW pictures????? I am starting to feel a whine coming on ;-} -aj
Avnut. The larger of the two Sound Anchors has the Walker Prologue base sitting directly on it. I followed Loyd Walker's instructions and used a lead disk and chunk of damper putty (supplied) at each corner.
The stand supporting the Io phono (in order top to bottom), Io phono stage, twelve small Iso Bearings, a two inch granite slab, four upside down mod squad feet, and Sound Anchor stand.
Dear Albert, this surpasses anything I had ever dreamed of, or imagined, in aesthetic simplicity, refinement and quality... You are setting a benchmark!
Albert, those pictures look all blurry. As a photographer, i would have thought that you would have stopped using a Kodak Insta-Matic years ago : )
All i can say is that i am in awe. Given how your room re-design came about and what we discussed privately, i can't wait for something bad to happen to my house : )
Honestly though, i bet that Arnie has already contacted you about doing a small spread on A-gon. If he hasn't, you need to contact him and start talking turkey. After all, you did mention Thanksgiving : )
With the quality of work that was done and your top-notch photo's documenting it step by step, it would make for one helluva interesting and educational reading experience. I'm sure that anyone and everyone that visits these forums would like to see something like this. Hell, it would've made a GREAT series on one of those home improvement shows on tv !!! Sean >
The walls with the rough cedar lumber were torn out to the bare studs, as were all the walls in the room.
Then the entire space was rebuilt using single sheets of 5/8" mahogany, two sheets of 5/8' sheetrock, single layers of 5/8" acoustic, finished with the rail system and cloth covering. The cloth is manufactured by Designtex of New York, and has tighter specifications than Guilford of Maine I had originally intended to use.
The biggest challenge was calculating where the finished wall would be after all the material was in place. The base boards, wall trim and corner mould had to be shimmed. All the electrical boxes had to be mounted on separate studs so they flushed even with the acoustic cloth. This was necessary for all lighting switches, electrical outlets, telephone receptacles, and the B&W in wall speakers.
In the image showing the RPG treatment the three PVC pipes are visible. These were constructed into the foundation and pass through the concrete and slate into the listening space. Clearly visible in that first row of slate, this is identical on both sides of the room.
When new interconnect is required, the old run may be used to pull the new run through. All the PVC runs are about 36 feet long. That is why I have the 11.5 meter run of Purist Dominus RLS listed as the interconnect between the Callisto and Wolcotts.
The other PVC runs provide a pathway for interconnect cables to surround sub woofers, DVD and DSS video feed, and Atmasphere amp driving the Vandersteen dialogue channel.
The wood doors were re hung to reduce vibration and refinished with the same color as the bookcase, ceiling beams and trim moldings.
Two parts of the project I am especially proud of are not obvious. The wall between the bookcase and turntable is shielded with copper plate behind the sheetrock and there is a channel that provide a path for interconnect cable. The nine foot balanced Dominus runs from the IO phono stage, goes behind the turntable and disappears into a hole in the door frame. It comes out inside the bookcase and plugs into the Callisto.
In addition, there is a solid core door accessible from the photo studio that opens into the rear of the bookcase. From there I can access tubes, electrical and do any cleaning of contacts or equipment without having to move anything ( and while standing up, thank goodness!).
The other point of pride is the floor construction beneath the speakers, turntable and phono stage. Constructed as a grid instead of the traditional eighteen to twenty four inch spaced studs. Once the one and a half inch laminated floor was liquid nailed and screwed to the grid, it felt like a slab foundation rather than pier and beam.
Another part of this project increased WAF. I took advantage of the old fireplace jutting into the room.
The RPG treatment is installed into the built up space provided by the fireplace. The framework was acoustically treated and then had the same rail system installed. The cloth on the walls installed on the face, providing the same appearance as the side walls.
The entire room appears as ultra smooth wall construction ( no texture at all ). Finished with paint and fabric attached directly to the sheetrock.
The people who did the acoustic work is AEC. They are currently working on NFL studio's, and completed the acoustic work for Sony CBS, Whitney Houston and Woody Allen's private NYC apartment (he wanted noise reduced).
The design followed the existing space, as the room dimensions could not be increased easily. Both sides of the room are load bearing walls. The wall that had the wood ( Old picture ) was originally the outside of the house. I designed my photo studio to go along that wall of the house, which wound up being seventeen feet by fifty four feet. The exterior brick is exposed on that whole wall of the photo studio.
The project began in August of 2001, and was promised to be complete no later than Thanksgiving. The last of the inside crew left three weeks ago, over five months late.
I then had to deal with the moving company and the sixty seven boxes of vinyl, plus my entire (factory boxed) stereo system and wrapped up furniture. I spent two weeks putting the software back in order, setting up the turntable, installing the new cores in my U-1 Soundlabs, and reinstalling my lighting.
The system has not had enough break in time, nor have I tweaked anything. I am still in shock at having furniture and music in the room after so long without.
I will probably be in a better mood here at Audiogon now than I can play my favorite tunes again.
I am truly impressed! Who did you work with on this project to design the listening room? This may be another post all together - but I am curious. Did you do room analysis, simulations, etc....
Could you share some of your trials and tribulations?
Thanks Albert. I see them in the first pic now that you point them out(the second pic is very helpful). That explains a great deal for me about my friends system as well.
System edited: Three new images added. First shows where floor to ceiling RPG diffusers are hidden in cavity behind right Soundlab U-1. Second show application of fiberglass damping on vertical walls of skylight. Third shows application of the rail system that holds the acoustic cloth in place. This is used to hide the RPG diffusers mentioned above, and all other wall and cavity treatments.
Problem now is that I fear some of you will be disappointed with the TOTALLY new look.
Every surface in the room has been changed by either the acoustic people, the foundation repair or the new construction materials.
I am under a lot of pressure to make the completed project image perfect. Maybe I should post some of the acoustic installation images to buy some time.
Albert,The room is very pleasant and inviting and it comes to mind that you must not be on welfair. My only question is judging from the sound of a friends SoundLabs in a similar room with mostly hard surfaces, how do you deal with the back wave, and isn't it a bit too reverberant? My friends system has great potential but can be very hard to listen to at times and my conclusion has been that it is his room. Is that a tube trap I see on the right?
Albert, Please thank your wife for her good taste as well. I am SURE that this was a joint effort. Just shows how the WAF and a killer system can co-exist, eh? and, Hey, we want to see the "in process" pictures, too. you know the ones where the conduit is sticking up from the floor and stuff! all my best! -aj
What impresses me, is how well integrated a first class sound system is into the living room. My system is impressive by audiophile standards, but to put it bluntly a neighbors wife explaimed "THAT WOULD NEVER BE IN OUR HOUSE", when she saw my system. Mind you, it is in a dedicated room. But I think what Albert has done is remarkable--it's the beauty and the beast.
albertporter on All Out Assault