Description

Latest:
Well I moved again, this time to a loft so that the room would be big enough for the massive Kivas. My god what a difference - has taken my system from very good to among the best I’ve ever heard. Absolutely holographic and incredibly musical.

One change I made was switching back to the XX-2. I liked the sound of The Voice but it was not very good at inner-groove tracking. Now that I was able to compare them directly, the XX-2 is superior in every way - but it blows away the Soundsmith at tracking.

The biggest upgrade I’ve made in the intervening months was upgrading my Avid Volvere to the Avid Sequel. New bearing, new motor, new power supply. While that was getting done I also had the SME arm refurbished by SME. This was an absolutely astounding upgrade.

Previous:
So I moved and decided to finally get rid of the rack between the speakers and get an ultra-short throw projector and a Rack of Silence. Holy crap, what an upgrade - I can’t believe how much better my entire system sounds now.

I also upgraded my analog rig - I moved from the PS Audio Stellar to the phono card for the Aesthetix Mimas and replaced my broken Dynavector XX-2 with a Soundsmith Voice cartridge.

Previous post:

After decades in the hobby I finally have a system I feel incredibly proud of. It evokes all the qualities I look for in a system - musicality, warmth, and 3D imaging. 

With the pandemic this past year I’ve really accelerated my upgrade process, replacing my Hegel H200 with the Mimas and moving up in the Egglestonworks line to the Kivas. 

I’ll soon be getting another pair of the Tara RSC Prime M1’s to do a double-biwire, as well as getting some Isoacoustics Gaia feet for the Kivas. Someday perhaps upgrading my DAC as well. 

My rack is definitely the weak spot in my system, but since mine has an integrated TV mount I probably won’t be upgrading that until after the apocalypse.
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Room Details

Dimensions: 35’ × 20’  X large
Ceiling: 14’


Components Toggle details

    • EgglestonWorks Kiva
    Among the best speakers I’ve ever heard. I can’t believe these speakers don’t have more buzz.
    • Aesthetix Mimas
    Absolutely enamored with this integrated amp. I added the phono card (which sounds phenomenal) and rolled it with NOS Mullard tubes.
    • PS Audio DirectStream Power Plant 12
    • Dynavector XX-2 Mk2
    I ended up switching back to the Dynavector from the Soundsmith, which I found inferior at inner-groove tracking. Honestly the XX-2 blows The Voice away now that I’ve been able to compare them directly.
    • Avid Volvere
    • Doge Audio 7 DAC
    Underrated gem from Doge. Rolled with NOS tubes from Mazda and GE.
    • Tara Labs RSC Air Reference Power Cable
    • Synergistic Research Foundation XLR
    • Tara Labs RSC Air Prime M1 Speaker Wire
    • Tara Labs RSC Vector 1 XLR
    • Nordost Quattro Fil Tonearm Cable
    • GIK Acoustics Acoustic Panels and Bass Traps
    • Solid-Tech Rack of Silence Reference

Comments 5

I had a similar problem.  For months I tried everything but the most obvious.  Speaker positioning.  I followed Wilson Audio set up procedure   Called WASP.  You will easily find it in the net.

alfa100

Owner
I can’t stop making pandemic upgrades to my system. The latest addition: the Egglestonworks Kiva speakers.

They’re borderline too big for this room but my god do they sound good - planar-like imaging, incredibly musical, powerful and dynamic.

hudsonhawk

Owner
@joey54 thanks! Manhattan power is too dirty for that unfortunately, I’ve got the Mimas plugged into the Power Plant.

I’d love to try the cards someday - I’m itching to upgrade my DAC next, but having the card would certainly streamline my setup.

hudsonhawk

Nice system! Not sure if you have tried it but using the supplied power cord plugged directly into the wall is the way to go with the Mimas. I just added the internal DAC card and it's really good sounding. I may also go with the phono card as well.Enjoy the music!

joey54

Great looking setup and congrats on the Mimas! I bet it sounds lovely.

jond

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