I think one of the unique point of the system is the speaker setup. My room allows me to pull them apart to 16ft and plenty of space from the sidwalls. The sytem produces very nice imaging and the feel of "live" music. Living in my area it is very difficult to have dedicated power. Would apreciate inputs on power "tweaks" and conditioning. Front end is running on 110V with PS Audio PS300. The poweramps are converted to 220V.
Thaks for your compliment on my living room. In my experience it is not easy to get a good synergy with the Utopias, but it can be done quite well. In that case it could be magical in my opinion.
I am passionate about life music. I even enjoy staying during the break in the opera to listen the tuning of the instruments, just becasue love its netural sound in a good accoustics.
Hello, Audiophile people said this the best design speaker, I don't think so. High frequency is too bright, Midrange is too weak, Bass is too heavy, totally unbalance.If they say so, they don't know what's music and real sounds, change equipment are doesn't help but people love that way. You have a beautiful living room.
System edited: Replaced most of my cables with Purist Audio Dominus. Very, very good match for my system. Biggest improvement I heard from any cables. Comparable to changing a front end or the amplifier. I always loved the Utopia for its details. With these wires has beutifull balance without any harshness or edginess. Last IC will be changed with a switch to a 2chanel EMM Lab DAC/Preamp
I share you thoughts on the JM Utopia line (the old ones). I especially love the Utopia. It is magical when driven right. I admit also that is extermely "picky" and easy to make it sound harsh and lean. It needs quite a bit of work, but well worth it.
My other favorites are the VTL poweramps. I think it could be a very good match. Again the "mating" is not straighforward. The resolution of the VTL and JM can revael many flaws in the other parts of the system.
System edited: Major improvement by replacing the IC (pre-poweramp) and the PC on the preamp to Purist Audio Dominus (fluid) line. Signficanlty lower grain and more "fluid" sound even at higher volumes. Thanks to Albert Porter for the recommendation.
Janos I would just like to VERY VERY NICE I am a huge fan of JM LABS product`s I`ve listened to alot of different speaker manufactures and while many came close to my taste of listening, none gave me the same synergy and depth of JM LABS I have lived w/ the Mezzo`s for about 2 years.
16 ft and 11 back I can almost hear the soundstage as I`m posting this. The Utopia line does many thing right weather it`s the Grande, Utopia, Mezzo, Micro, Mini or the new BE line. Hows the VTL mate up w/ it? cheers David
I'm in Herbeys, near Eybens, south of the city, and will be here just until Sunday. Wish we'd connected earlier. What's with MAURIN? Got kind of a cold shoulder there (although that may been after I laughed following their extreme praise for the N804 that they push hard). They were lauding the Siltech PC they offer at 1K Euros, too. Wish to heck I had brought along a Prelude or Fugue to compare. Au revoir.
Subarugure, I live in the suburb of Grenoble, less than 10miles from the city center. I read several of your threads. We could hook up if you have some time. Cheers
Yikes, I'm in France NOW! (swapping houses in Grenoble). Too bad I didn't bring a suitcase full of 83803EST eh? Interestingly the house we're in suffers from the all-too-common ultra-live acoustic, making even conversations painful. The owner has a huge pair of old JBLs poorly situated, fed by a broken MAC receiver and an old Ampex reel. This is all sitting there rotting, as an incredibly bad new 5.1 Pioneer HT with 2" speakers dangling asymmetrically on wall hooks tries to keep up with their nice flatscreen. Sigh....at least their Xantia's AC works. Sorry to bend the thread...congrats on your nice system!
Took the bullet and used up the dedicated lines of my electric heater to power the VTL amps. The improvement is substantial. A lot cleaner image with very nice (clean) transients (eg. piano). Base is also cleaner and fimer. There is still a grain on the top end. Next try is to replace the IC between the preamp and poweramp and the PC on the preamp. For both of them will try Purist Dominus.
Gregm. Thanks for your advice. I am not sure about the origin of the grain. For sure I see big impact on changing the PC's. Also, when my system was in the US I had dedicated lines and separate grounding pole, which made nice improvements. So my first instinct says clean up the power. By the way out of those 3 missing PC I received the first one (Harmonix) yesterday. I tried on the CD player/transport. Made very nice improvement towards the direction I am looking for. Expect the two other cords (Anaconda VXs next week). Will try to borrow a Nordost IC, what single core speaker cable would you recommend? The tranny will be more difficult. Would need to find a 2.5kW 1:1 tranny, that is not easy.
Sounds like peaks in the 3-6kHz region. I assume you're sure it's a matter of electricity? Can you TRY (i.e. borrow) out a small gauge I/c, say of the Nordost variety, to see if it goes away or changes? Similarly with appropriately shielded single-core spkr cable?
A more difficult option, before you tear the house down:):
Any way you can try out a big 1:1 tranny just to check (a transformer will filter out some power sector grunge at the expense of some losses)?? Studios, RF people, use these. Assuming the PS is doing its job, try the tranny on the amps, plugged into the wall, amp plugged into tranny.
Thanks for all of your kind comments and complements. I admit we enjoy quite a bit that room. It has a vaulted, tall, wood covered sealing which is quite nice acoustically. I have a curtain behind the sofa to reduce reflections.
Jond, I will post a picture about the electronics. I have only a few boxes so it is easy to hide. Will have my camera back next week.
Gregm, yes those are the covers from the Utopia on the wall. Instead of putting in storage we hanged them there. I think it looks cool and it is quite practical. It is easy to take off to protect the speakers when it is needed.
Besides the esthetic arrangement the distance of the speakers is quite unique. My "imaging freak" friend recommended this setup and it makes a magical experience on a well recorded music. Have any of you played with similar speaker setup?
On a power question: I am trying to clear up glare on the top end. (By the way 3 of the power cords have not been installed, they are on their way. Did not expect this many responses after the post so I put them on the list in advance). I am considering getting an Equitech 5Q which could source my whole system (5KW) it is running on 208V so could take back to the US. Have you had experience using this unit with high powered amps?
In a short term will "take the bullet" and disconnect my electrical heaters (it is very common heating setup in France and it is summer now) to "create" some dedicated lines (would need more power on those tube amps to heat the house in the winter). I am also about to get some high quality outlets. Will keep you posted (it will take a couple of weeks to do that).
Thanks again for your comments and pls do not hesitate to post your experience.
Beautiful looks -- as Albertporter notes, it's worth just sitting there (and, maybe, listening too:), after all. Since one's there). Are those the Utopias covers hanging on the front wall behind the equipment?
I'd better not let my girlfriend see your system or she'll wnat to know why our's doesn't look like that. All I can say is wow! Great sound and high style, an unlikely combination. Congratulations! P.S. Where are you hiding all the gear?
I can't help agreeing enthusiastically with Albert Porter.
Your difficulty with dedicated lines reminds me of the stories I've heard about getting any construction done in France. I've had good results substituting Belden double shielded wire from Ernest Meunier (Subaruguru), but that kind of thing may be out of the question for you as well.
