I wrote the comments below years ago. I will keep them for a while as a reminder of my newbie thinking at the time. This hobby is a series of plateaus. I have reached a new one with my current gear. Having a lot of fun.
Have made quite a few changes to this system as my fledgling knowlege of audio has begun to mature. I still have a long way to go...in the knowlege department! I probably won't change components for a while. My goal is best possible 2 channel playback with secondary theater application. Have dedicated room 24 x 17 x 11. There are 5 dedicated 20 amp circuits. My recent focus has been on minimizing negative effects from the room. I have recently added ASC tube traps behind the main speakers and in the ceiling behind the listening position. The most interesting thing I did was to cut a 50x12" hole in the double sheetrocked wall behind the main speakers. There is a large floor to ceiling enclosed cavity that I filled with fiberglass. Then we covered the opening with an ASC custom built sound plank with an open back. The other issue I have worked on feverishly is speaker placement. Getting that right really improved clarity. timbre, and air. Before there was a bit of "congestion" in the sound. Finally, the bass trapping did more for the quality of the bass than I would have expected. Now I have zero bass boom; very tuneful low frequency. Nothing is perfect, but I (with the help of many others!!), have really achieved an outstanding quality of 2 channel music reproduction. Maybe now it's time to focus on the theatre side for a while.
Replaced 1012 DAC/pre. Similar neutral sound with significantly more detail yet musical.
Goodwins Silent Server Server
Custom server for High Rez downloads. Connected to an 8Tb NAS drive
Wilson Audio watch
center channel
JL Audio Fathom F113
Pair of stereo subs. excellent quality. Integrates well with the Wilsons
Theta Digital Casablanca 3
with extreme DAC'c
Oppo BDP-95
DVD/Blu-Ray
Balanced Audio VK 250SE Mono
Center channel amplifier. Replaces BAT VK 110 mono. Sounds great and not nearly as hot.
Balanced Audio vk-220
SOLID STATE for surrounds (pair)
B&W SCM-8
side and rear channels
Transparent Audio Opus MM2 Speaker cable
12 ft pair. Great synergy with my equipment
Transparent Audio Opus MM2 Interconnect
2 ft pair from preamplifier to amplifier.
Nordost Odin
analog interconnect from Vivaldi DAC to preamp
MIT MA-X Digital Proline
3 Digital cables, Vivaldi Transport to Upsampler and Upsampler to DAC
Tara Labs Zero digital
Stereo Pair from Vivaldi Transport to Vivaldi DAC for SACD. Clearly one of the best digital cables made
Tara Labs The One XL Cobalt Power Cable
On pre-amp, and all Vivaldi components
Tara Labs 0.8
balanced 50 ft interconnect run to right and left channel preamp from Theta casablanca
Kimber Hero interconnect and speaker cable
balanced from processor to center channel amp and from amp to center
Running Springs Jaco
power conditioner on theater front end
Sound Application RLS-1
Very transparent. I used this in the past with my Maxx 2's than changed for the Audience AR6T. The Sound app is better on the alexandrias.
Sound Application Brass Alloy Power Outlets
Highly conductive modified Hubbell outlets. Remarkably better that the PS Audio. Used on 2 channel front end and amps.
PS Audio Power Port
Modified Hubbell power outlets used in 2 dedicated circuits on theater front end.
Pagoda Finite Element Master Reference
Rack for Pre amp and transport. Also master reference amplifier stand for Boulder 2060.
ASC Tube traps
This photo shows 16" full rounds behind Maxx's. Recently added a second pair of 16" super traps behind speakers. Unbelievable improvement in imaging. Can't understate the difference this made. The panel on the rear wall covers a 12" by 50" hole cut into the sheetrock which allows low frequency to pass into a floor to ceiling enclosed cavity which is filled with fiberglass. Homemade (sort of) bass trap. There are also 3 16" half rounds on the ceiling behind the listening position.
Sony SXRD
1080p projector
Room Acoustics Custom
Custom designed combination of diffusors and absorption covered in fabric on walls and ceiling.
if you are running two loads in parallel you need to know input impedances of your Boulder amp and your Fathom sub BUT it is most unlikely you need a tube buffer because your system is all solid state so not to fret
Brian, IMO these little tweaks such as cables and power cords aren't going to make a violin sound like a violin. There is something amiss with your components and/or possible incorrect imaging on the upper modules
sorry it didn't work out because you missed out on a match made in heaven for that speaker. As for your room acoustics you said that it has a fairly "reflective" fabric so I am at a loss for how the room is more to the damped rather than to the live side. That makes no sense. I have a VERY damped room more heavily treated than your own and I have to really crank the volume to make those amps clip but if you are only getting clipping by turning the volume 15% above normal listening volume then who cares. IMO the ability or lack thereof of the amps to perform in your room has little if anything to do with your cables so to rewire the whole room is completely unnecessary. When I talked to Marty about your problems IMHO the unknown factor was not your wire or cables but perhaps lack of synergy with your preamp and the Lamm ML 2.1. Now we need to convince you about a tube preamp as well. This would make the best overall result when used with the ML 2.1 but sounds like you made your mind up. I suggested to Marty that if and when you are in the SF Bay area I would love to host you and let you hear what your speakers can achieve
I swear by this tweak. Many are bogus or not as good but this is the real deal. I have used it since his version 1.0 to this most current iteration and it does what he claims and don't ask me how. It opens the soundstage, and lowers the soundfloor and creates an airiness to what you hear
Leave the amps on and just run a signal through them non stop for several days OR use a burn in disk. I use the System Enhancer from Jim Auld at Purist Audio Design. You should have something like this to use in your system on a monthly basis for maintenance or to use whenever you add a different piece of equipment. Ity is worth the $150.
You have to be kidding right??? There is simply no comparison in any way between those two amps especially with those X-2's. You're right...the ML 2.1 is indeed a match made in heaven. I will be surprised for you to find otherwise. Did you eliminate the ground loop hum?
I'm curious what the funky interactions were. Bear in mind that the X-2 is front ported and can literally be placed against the front wall without compromising the bottom end BUT at seriously narrowing the depth of the soundstage. Wilson purposely front ported the speakers so that they could be used in the Asian market where typically the rooms are much smaller than ours
If you think about it you are bringing your bottom up only between 21-22 Hz, far from huge. I bet you can do better by crossing over higher but not at the expense of adding too much mid bass
I would have you try crossing over a little higher as all your subs are doing are the very lowest of the bottom as compared to the X-2 which as I stated go down to 20 Hz. My subs cross IIRC at 45 Hz but I can verify that if you are interested
BTW I prefer to call it tubephilia and not tube sickness
Brian I do admit that I have been ragging on you lately about tubes BUT having spent a small fortune here on these speakers which IMO are second to none I want you to have that WOW experience. From some of your recent posts I would suspect that you are having problems with your sub(s) and where to cross over. If done correctly the sub should be completely invisible in the room and you should not be able to point to it. Bear in mind those X-2's play from 20 Hz to 20Khz and the ultra tweeter playing as high as 32 KHz. If you cross your subs over too high you will bring in to much midbass information and the sub will muddy up the sound let alone be distinctly obvious as to its location in the room. Phase and time alignment are likewise important. I would recommend that you and I talk privately as to set up but would also suggest you get a program such as RTA which can be downloaded from True RTA at a nominal price. When played with an inexpensive microphone purchased from Radio Shack and used through your laptop. It will take time and patience. It took me 3-4 months to get my Gothams dialed in properly. marty and I can help with this
Great post and I agree completely even with your opinion that I am driving him to Lamm. In the end it is he who pays the piper gets to sit his ass in the sweetspot. My mantra in this hobby has always been "let your ears and your wallet be your judge." So Brian if you like Boulder I am cool with that BUT you really need to explore tubes. My biggest concern is you never heard the speaker and now that it is set up you have yet to hear that "wow". That tells me something is not right with your room, be it acoustic room treatment, front end, back end or speaker placement. IMO speaker break in is not a factor as there should have been a wow right out of the crate at first play with it getting even better as the drivers settle in after adequate burn in. Brian I have invited you to my house many times starting when we met at CES 4 years ago. I even referred you to Paul for all of your HT as well as audio gear. I have been to your house and heard your system. As Dev says you owe it to yourself to come on west to my place for a listen. You have bought one of the top 3 speakers made in the world today and number one for me. I am stunned that you did not get that WOW at time of listening. Just my $0.02
considering it takes less than a minute to bias the amps it is for me a no brainer.I guess that if something is tough to look at and you wouldn't own one, then what am I missing in the "eye candy comment"? Please don't take offense, but IMO gear that is used in our sound system is for an auditory not a visual experience. BTW, the Lamm ML 2.1 is IMO the ugliest amp in the market today but with the X-2 speakers, the magic appears
Brian...there is absolutely NO reason to avoid tubes. As far as heat is concerned the Lamm ML2.1's generate hardly any. You will never get to the next level or appreciate what tubes can do for those speakers. There is no concern for out of control bass and I am uncertain where that comment really comes from. You need to get over the issue of a component being "eye candy" and buy it for the sound it produces rather than the way it looks. Besides when the lights in the room are off no one can see the gear anyway. Unfortunately you have some ill preconceived notions about tubes that are just too far fetched. Finally I would love to prove to you that my 18 wpc SET Lamm amps will light up your ears more so than the 600 wpc SS Boulder amp that you love so much. I wish I, Marty and others who I see posting to your site can convince you in which direction to take your system to the next level. I had solid state (Krell 750 MCX) on my X-1 series lll's and then the huge ARC Ref 600 Mk lll tube amps. Once I did that I knew I would never go back to SS and then when I went from 600 wpc push-pull tube mono amps to an 18 wpc SET mono amp, I knew that this was the combination that truly makes music. Finally, Dave Wilson doesn't use Boulder in his sound room but rather uses the Lamm ML 2.1's. What more can I say
It took well over 100 hours before they "began" to open up. Brian , as per prior conversations, the Holy Cr#$!moment comes when you see the light and get tube preamp and amp...not before. I think Marty has also iterated the same to you
Your Maxx ll's will sound like book ends compared to the X-2 series ll. Now if you only get rid of the SS and put tubes in you won't need anything further
BTW, I was reading your post from 8/30/07 and my advice is NEVER plug your amp into a power conditioner but ALWAYS into a Dedicated AC wall plug. Trust me on this one
It was a treat to have rekindled our friendship this weekend when I visited Dallas. Thank you for taking the time to allow Marty and I to enjoy your ever evolving system. You continue to give great thought in the growth of your components. I found the room not only attractive but very pleasing to my ears. You had thought of modifying the room treatments and for my ears things sounded great.It was only a few years ago that you and I met at CES where you were pursuing your quest to build a system. You have done extremely well. Having owned the entire Wilson line over the last twelve yers I am more than familiar with the Wilson sound. Please give some thought to my suggestion of ever so slight toeing out of both your speakers as I would bet that this will open up your sound stage immensely
