This is my first high end system. I first have to thank this community without which most of this equipment would be out of my range. So thanks!!
EDIT: Hi there. This is the second rendition. Had to send the Focal back to Canada for repairs. The woofer was off-center thus the rattle. I must say though customer service was great, with a quick turn around, no charge for shipping to and from, and no charge for the repair. A++ to Focal for that!!
Isolated the speakers on great maple stands. This definately brought out the best of the Focals. Deeper bass, nice tingly highs. Mids might be lacking a little for this mini-monitors though.
Changed CD players as well. Went from the marantz/bel canto combo to the audio aero prestige. As expected from an upgrade like this I was blown away. The detail, sheer musicality, and functionality of this player are just astounding. Really for the first couple of weeks I had this player I was just floored. And that feeling continues. Ultimately what I am looking for is a system that just makes me want to get up and dance, sing, keep my feet tapping and fingers snapping each time i listen. The prestige does this in spades.
Also upgraded power cords in the shunyata line. 20amp pythons now power the conditioners. I think big improvement in floor noise and my system just seems more extended.
Finally, with the recommendations of many fine audiogon folks, I stepped into vinyl. Man I love it. I love the sound, I love getting back into records and finding recordings that peak my interest. Just great. The Scoutmaster as is well known is a fine entry turn table. The Dynavector matches well. The tube based minimax gives me a nice touch of that tube beauty. Just lovely.
Thanks again for looking. Any comments suggestions appreciated. I am currently working on building a maple isolation platform for the table.
I have a very similar set up, speaker placement wise prior to your mapleshade speaker stands. How much of a change did it make moving the speakers closer and on stands? If this is in your write up, I apologize in advance.
Speechless and green with envy! Looks great brother! I just ordered my first Mapleshade tweeks; intercon's and double helix cables for the 2 channel set up. How do you feel about his stands and maple iso blocks?
Great system. I also have the Focal 1007's in my system and I love them. For me, the combination with tubes really brings out what i want to hear. Have you tried tubes also?
Great system you have there. I just read a post of yours on a thread about VPI arms/tables. I see you speak from experience. I can't tell from the pics, is your arm the JMW Signature, or the standard? I upgraded to the Signature, and found it to not be a subtle change. Something that may sound questionable, but has turned out to be amazingly effective, (and cheap), is Mapleshade's NanoMount system. Drains unwanted vibrations from cartridge body through headshell, tonearm, and into the plinth. Really cleans things up. Isolation has helped a great deal as well, using a Brightstar Audio BigRock with coiled springs below, ala Dave G. It all helps. Even a Scout can sound great with a few tweaks.
Looks great! Have you considered a ring clamp for you Scoutmaster? A wonderful upgrade IMHO. Tightens things up quite a bit. More speed stability. Flattens out not-so-flat regular weight vinyl. Looks super cool to boot! Also was wondering if you have experimented with speaker toe-in. Best wishes- Steve
Helicons are awesome! I cannot believe the sound that comes out of this speaker..."a pocket fullrange speaker that is full-bodied and refined." I believe matching components is really the key. Similar to you incorporating Rowland monos to maximize the Focals. I auditioned both the Focal 1007 Be and Helicons300. I would be happy with the Be 1007s... who wouldn't with that gorgeous Beryllium tweeter technology. But the Helicons ribbon tweeter, driver units, and cabinet design (woodworking is another hobby of mine)won me over.
The EMM CDSA SE player is also another good decision for my listening experience. I listened to a lot of gear in two years during my travels. My research led me to CD players that where designed with innovation either in hardware or software design. Then I listen to the players that could really separated complex music passages and the musicians instruments. I waited and took my time and selected the EMM CDSA SE player...I refused to buy a CD player that borrowed other components from OEM manufacturers without an ounce of innovation. EMM CDSA SE still has a ways to break-in but it sounds wonderful and provides a good match for the Helicons detail presentation.
The next change for me is ordering a new tube preamp by this Thursday. And then I have to determine power cables for my amps and preamp.
I should be auditioning several cables next week from the http://www.thecableco.com Synergistic Research Telsa 2 and Telsa 3 and maybe a power conditioner.
Lapierre, interstingly I was admiring your system today from a thread you posted on. Well done! The dali's were on my short list of speakers, how do you enjoy them? Plus the EMM cdp. Nice player. A the time I choose the Prestige, the Emm SE version was just appearing on the market and the reviews were great. I hope you are indulging in its sound!
Adding the hydra 6 reslly had little verifiable effect. What had a more profound effect was changing the power cord that fed the 6 from a copperhead to the python. Things changed dramatically then! My system seeemed to open up and the power loving Rowlands translated thier control over the Focals into an effortless relationship. It was really a cool cahnge.
Next tweak? My system has changed so much since this posting its hard to tell. You?
The JM Lab Electra 1007 Be Monitors... one my favorite monitors. I love seeing great components matched with well-designed monitors and your setup is a reminder of what you can accomplish in a small listening environment.
Couple of questions on you setup...
What did you notice in your system after the Shunyata 6 was introduced to your front-end?
Spencer thanks for the comments. I've though often about how to move this beast to the side and run longer interconnects betwen than amp and the doshi. Aesthetically, I think I would enjoy looking at just the speakers with an amp in between them plus the added benifit like you mentione dos imaging and soundstage. maybe even a measure of vibration control?
Beauty of a set-up for you as well. Lovely DIY rack which I always appreciate.
Peter, congrats on your new Doshi. I'm sure it's letting you hear even more of what your ScoutMaster & Dyna can do.
I like the way you've displayed your gear without sacrificing attention to isolation. It looks great, and I'm sure it sounds great.
One idea for you if space, etc. allow. If you ever could move the big rack to a side wall and run longer speaker cables, or leave the amps only there, and run longer interconnect to the Doshi, give it a try. The open space between the speakers will help imaging and soundstage immensely. Just a thought...Cheers, Spencer
Thanks guys. Tvad, I always welcome it when you visit my system. Dewald, Mechans, thnaks for the kind words. The sound, well it certianly is an improvement.
Actually played my first SACD yesterday. These are hard to find where I live so had to order one online. Wow, their really is a vast improvement over the standard redbook. Of course I have no a past expereince to speak from but I imagine the prestige holds its own in the SACD playback realm. The sound is clear, detailed, and emotional. It draws me in and keeps me there even at lower levels.
Overall I am impressed with the prestiges ability to keep me interested in the music emotionally. The bel canto/marantz did this only in finite amounts. The prestige does this in spades and is the cornerstone of my system. I plug it directly into the Rowlands. The Rowlands being fairly neutral allow to tubed output stage of the prestige to shine. Very musucal. Not having a preamp, I have not had the opportunity to try the prestige in this format.
Then there is vinyl. This is truly capturing my imagination. I fully enjoy the ritual of playing vinyl, the little bit of work that has to go into the process before that glorious sound arises. Something about slowing it down makes the enjoyment that much more. Of course, I have to move slowly here as my better half is certianly cautious about the vinyl scene. She doesn't want me to become one of those nuts who won't let others touch their records, has to wear white gloves, and in general obsesses over turntable tuning. Will I become this person? Maybe I already am.
Thanks again. Let me know any ideas or suggestions you have. These improvments were certianly not my own doing but the culmination of suggestions from wiser folks than me in this community. More of those is always welcome.
For a person who has not tried to achieve great sound inexpensivley you certainly are precocious. It would have been my final destination but I am caught up in the upgaditis cycle. Congrats on selecting components that make that system the envy of even seasoned audiophiles.
I have not read all the thread, but looks to me like a pretty nice system but with a challenge in speaker placement.
I would suggest to you to try to place your speakers in dedicated stands and place them at 1/3th of your room lenght size and 1/5 of your walls (L-R) and give it a try from there.
Again, maybe this was recommended earlier in the thread, so it would be adding up to such comment.
Thanks for the responses. Mike, I have decided from this forum feedback to take the speakers off the credenza and put them on stands. It seems like this is an overwhelming consensus here.
Also, the rattle only got worse. I took off the back panel, peered in there a bit with a flashlight, fiddled around but really could not determine what was going on. Not wanting to negate any type of warranty be fiddling around, I just boxed it up and sent it back to the manufacture. Thankfully, they paid for shipping to and from as well as telling me so far, i should have to pay nothing to get it fixed. Bummer is, as soon as I got my system up and running, its down now and a month turn around on the speaker. Oh well.
So in the mean time I am looking to make some improvements. A balanced tube preamp seems to be a good place to start plus people have qued me into a player from Audio Aero called the capitole which some have said has a great "analog" sound. All of this to add some of that tube sound to my digital world. I am considering aethetix calypso, valve audio black widow and various models of BAT for a balanced pre. Any thoughts on anything really!
I am using the Graham Slee Era IV gold preamp with good results. I am sure there is better but it fits in nicely with the performance level of the rest of my gear.
As far as the platforms go, I haven't experimented much with different ones. Basically I will build a platform and try it. So my comparisons have been basically with or without. My best results were for my sub. I built a platform around 6 inches think using 3/4 inch maple ply and filled it with about 75lbs of sand. It really tightened up and defined the bass. Much cleaner and deeper. I think it also helped to decouple the sub from the floor for the sake of my other components as I don't feel they are gettng as much resonance/vibration through the floor anymore. My speakers are towers and they are spiked to the floor so I can't offer knowledge on platforms for the speakers themselves. You mentioned the mapleshade catalog and I believe they make several different platforms but I have no experience with them.
The Valve Audio gear is hand made in South Africa. It does have balanced outputs and it is a absolute stunning performer. I doesnt have a phono-stage but it is a bit better to use a external dedicated phono pre-amp like the Graham Slee... Valve Audio also recommends Graham Slee.
Send me an e-mail at: [email protected] then I can send you some 'inside' pictures of Valve Audio...
Maria; beautiful setup, congrats. you are starting at a pretty good place.
do you continue to have the 'rattle'? i read thru the thread and no mention of a solution.
if the space issues require the speakers to set on the credenza; you need to somehow 'de-couple' the speakers from the top of the credenza to attain the refinement that the gear is capable of. it appears you are using some sort of wood 'footer' to ground your speaker to the credenza. this grounding to a vibration rich piece of furniture will be counter-productive to the best sound.
i might recommend trying to find a set of 'Aurios' or 'Pro Aurios' for sale used. you would need a set of 3 for each speaker. they will allow your speakers to 'float' on top of the credenza. you will be amazed at the additional image focus, detail, and bass articulation that would yield.
in any case, thanks for sharing your system and pictures.....and enjoy the music.
MATT, thanks for the response. I just ran across the marantz today for the first time. A real beauty! What are you using for a pre amp?
i also built most of my own isolation, rack and cut the granite and maple to form for my platforms. Tell me, how thick are your isolation blocks. Are you seeing better performance from say 2" to 4" or anything like that?
