Our homestead (a 1971 brick rambler) does not have the space available for a formal listening room. As some of you may remember, I had a very tricked out, dedicated listening room co-designed by Starsound Audio and Dale Pitcher of Mosaic Audio and Intuitive Design fame. It was absolutely spellbinding, but we had to move for a host of reasons the primary of which was the neighborhood was unsafe for small children (Hannah, 7; Julia 4 and Daniel 7 months). We love our new home, but like many ramblers of that era, space is at a premium, and I cannot configure a room with standard floor standers or even an average sized monitor. Enter the Trenner & Friedl Sun loudspeakers. They are tiny, fit nicely into the bookshelving, and produce a full and rich musicality which I adore. The stereophile review is indeed not hyperbole! They are also aesthetically very pleasing and blend right into the beautiful shelving that was built by the previous inhabitant who was a German contractor. The Heed Elixir is a perfect match (thanks Bob at Profundo) along with the LaRosita, Duelund wire, etc. The wife was thrilled as she detests obstructive and ugly audio gear (I have owned plenty) and are also out of harms way in regards to the little people.
Wonderful but inexpensive integrated out of Hungary that is organic and tube-like in its sonic signature but also has the muscle to drive an inefficient speaker like the Suns. Its synergy with the Suns is superb and thanks to Bob at Profundo, I own both!
Trennel & Friedl Sun bookshelf speakers
Stereophile class A bookshelf from Trenner & Friedl. A diminutive, concentric design that is utterly seamless and musical. Much of Micaleff's Stereophile review sounds like hyperbole, but its accurate:
More info can be found here: https://www.trenner-friedl.com/index.php?menu=product&sprache=en&second=sun
LaRosita Die Loreley
French wifi streamer/dac. Provides an elegant, one-box solution with a smooth, fatigue-free presentation.
https://www.larosita.fr/en-la-rosita-die-loreley
AcousticBBQ SW and ICs
Based on Duelund's analog of the WE wire of yore. Great, rich tone. Due to the presence of the bookshelving, I needed thin and flexible wire that could snake through a labyrinth of shelves. It worked perfectly and thanks again to Bill Dion at AcousticBBQ!
Thorens TD-160
Vintage deck lovingly restored by Vinyl Nirvana. It was fitted with a Moth (Rega) tonearm, mounting board, and interconnects along with a Denon DL-160 high output moving coil cartridge. Simple to use and care for with great sound and of course beautiful vintage aesthetics to match the homestead.
Hey jond! Thank u very much. Nostalgia and vintage is a good thing in my book. The videos play on my end but let me investigate further. Happy listening.....
Absolutely gorgeous home and a smart system that blends in very well. Your youtube vids are no longer active was curious to "see" it in action! Very well done just like your office system agear!
Ha! Yes I have. As you can see, I had two rather oddball spaces to outfit and T&F offerings fit the bill with two very different speakers. Bob at Profundo (the T&F distro) is a sliver tongued devil with a PhD in German literature from Berkeley who I enjoy very much. It was one of the few speaker makers that made my wife go "oooo." She is the queen of all things midmod and having speakers that grafted easily into normal living spaces spoke to her. Nuff said.....
You sure have drunk the T&F kool aid I see. Did their dealer serve it to you? But in any case the new room looks great, and congrats on the family additions as well!
Hey thosb. Thanks. Elegantly integrating a system into a normal living space is almost harder in some ways especially when the wife has an allergic reaction to goony, overbearing audiophile rigs! I am a fan of the BBQ wire. I have it in both my office and home rigs. As you may know, its based on the Duelund remake of the WE wire of yore and sounds organic (to me ears). Its also fairly thin and flexible and works well in my application.
Beautiful job integrating a high end system into a real living room with minimum fuss, mess, or distraction. Well done! How do you like the BBQ cables?
Outstanding news Matthew. I think you will be pleased. My little Suns are hogs and they drive them with ease. The specs are deceptive. I also enjoy tubed sound, and the Heed stuff has a tube-like sound in terms of decay, etc. Let me know how it shakes out.
Don't ask me why MCM resonates with me, but it does. It adds to my listening joy.
Your beautiful setup has inspired me to take the plunge on the Heed Obelisk SI MkIII. I'm patiently waiting for it to drop ship from the manufacturer. A lot of folks tell me the Totem Rainmakers crave more power, but honestly, I don't crank my music, and everything I've read about Heed integrateds has checked all the right boxes. As a bonus the dealer I ordered through is extending a 30 day return window so I feel confident with my choice.
Love looking at both your systems and spaces. My wife and I are big fans of MCM design and furnishes as well.
Hi bomd. Thanks for the kind comments. Heed is a sleeper company for and I am obviously a fan. They do indeed punch above their weight class and are stable down to 2 Ohms (I believe). The tiny Suns are hogs, and the Elixir fleshes them out nicely. The phono stage is also surprisingly good.
Glad to read you’re loving the Heed. I’ve been eyeing their Obelisk SI to pair with my Totem Rainmakers which are rated at 87.5 dB into 4 ohms. All reviews are consistent in saying Heed amps punch way more than their modest ratings.
