My first two channel. Whad'ya think?

by mariasplunge on Opinions Please
100_0634
OLD SYSTEM
100_0653
100_0654
100_0638

Description

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.

Cheers,

Peter
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Components Toggle details

    • Jeff Rowland 501s
    these monblocks are real beauties that fits well into my limited space
    • JM Labs Electra 1007 Be
    Nice Monitors. Unfortunately on arrived and upon playing it sounds broke. Bummer.
    • Acoustic Zen Silver Reference
    Nice used pair
    • Aural Symphonics Digital Echelon
    No longer using due to built in DAC in the prestige
    • Kimber Kable 3035 Select
    Kimber's copper silver mix.
    • Audience Power Chord
    These two run the marantz and the bel canto.
    • Purist Audio Opus
    Nice cords but still burning them in
    • Shunyata Hydra 6
    Powers my front end dac and transport
    • Shunyata Guardian 2
    This one powers the Jeff Rowlands
    • Audio Aero Prestige
    A fine player. Also acts as my preamp, plugs diretly into my Rowlands (balanced) and runs my phono pre
    • VPI Industries VPI Scoutmaster
    This is the one with the signature tone arm and Valhalla wiring
    • Eastern Electric Minmax phono
    This is a stylish tubed phono. has a bit of background noise , not dead quite but for my first definately worth it.

Comments 36

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Mariasplunge

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.

matt54321

Hi, very nice setup. I have the JMLab 937bes in my system and love them. As noted above you could certainly benefit from stands but if you don't have room you should at least put some isolation platforms under your speakers. I custom build most of my own isolation devices using hardwoods like maple filled with sand and use vibrapods for feet. I have had very good luck and the price is right. If you find it doesn't work for you then you are not out alot of money.
I also recently got back into vinyl within the past year. Rega and VPI are certainly excellent and provide a good upgrade path. I ended up getting a Marantz TT15S1 that I am extremely happy with. Very easy to set-up for a begginer and excellent performance. I am also using the Graham Slee Era Gold IV for a pre and it is a great value.

matt54321

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