- Wolf von langa wvl 23239 Chicago
Field-coil-dipole bass/midrange drivers with 1608cm2 cone area / dipole silk paper field-coil midrange driver / custom mundorf dipole air motion transformer / adjustable stereo base width and time alignment at listening position / 95db sensitivity / 35hz to 25khz frequency range. Townshend isolation podium base with customised integrated omni-directional tweeter support brass frame.
- Wolf von langa wvl 12639 SON - dormant
Field coil bass/midrange driver with passive cone and dipole air motion transformer / 93db efficiency / 25hz to 25khz frequency range / Townshend podium isolation.
- Tellurium Q Black diamond speaker jumper cables - dormant
For the biwire speaker binding posts of the SON
- Cube Audio Nenuphar (retired)
stock single driver full range TQWT floor standers - 92dB sensitivity / 30Hz to 18kHz frequency range / custom isolation stainless steel frame. An amazingly coherent speaker with nuance and resolution of mids but lacking critical balance of the entire frequency range.
- Tekton Design Moab (retired)
With beryllium tweeter. The classic ‘wall of sound’ speaker type, with cabinet colourations added to every track to the result of homogenised effect. Terrific depth of bass, to quite the lack of nuance in almost every other department.
- Townshend Audio Seismic Isolation Podiums
Size 3 / E cells for WVL Chicago
Size 2 / D cells for WFL Son
Enough has been said about these speaker isolation platforms - nothing floats speakers better to cleaning up slack in all frequencies.
- IsoAcoustic gaia isolation feet with customised speaker isolation platforms IsoAcoustics GAIA (retired)
Speaker isolation for the nenuphars had to be customised because the speaker employs passive downward porting for its bass frequencies, with a back tilt for greater bass impact to the front of the speaker - with clear gaps of 40 to 41mm at the front and 5 to 6mm at the rear of the speaker base to the floor, it was not possible to use any isolation products just off-the-shelf: regular OEM feet would have just raised the speakers a level height off the floor, ignoring the designed back tilt of the speaker for wave throw and something like the Townshend podiums would have put a damped platform right where a solid floor surface was planned to be for the downward exiting low frequency waves. The customised platforms are made of 6mm thick stainless steel and plate, cut and welded to design in order to be lift each speaker to it’s designed angled height off the floor surface, in tandem with three Gaia 1’s for each speaker, calibrated and matched by weight of speaker to Isoacoustic’s specifications. The jump in sound quality, of natural and dynamic timbre throughout, nuance of bass, and fleshy rather than ‘wet’ realism, was unexpected and gladly welcomed.
- Lessloss C-Marc loudspeaker firewall
These little skin filters sit between loudspeaker cable and speaker binding posts to help eliminate high frequency noise pollution from the signal. Counterintuitive as it may seem, having added points of contact along the final part of the signal chain, these small tubes of tech create a subtle but clear lowering of the noise floor, lifting the music to greater clarity and air.
- Siltech Cables Royal triple crown speaker cable
These cables brought a significant change to the realism of sound in my system - a small bottleneck cleared to allow more upstream to come through. I have not heard such change to sound balance or realism in any other speaker cable regardless of cost, than with the siltech triple crown cables. Other cables tested include range topping cables from Audioquest, Argento, and Inakustik, the Kharma Enigma Veyron, and Tellurium Q Statements. The Nordost Odin Gold came close, but was let down by a subtle exaggeration to the high frequencies, besides being unmanageably stiff along its flat axis and a handful to route. The only other speaker cable I would consider, siltech aside, would be the Inakustik LS-4004 pure silver cable, the best performance for money I know of.
Custom cable lifters have been made from plastic subsoil drainage piping and zip ties.
- Tellurium Q silver diamond speaker cables (retired)
stock locking banana connectors with custom plastic cable lifters made from flexible subsoil drainage piping and zip-ties.
Good all round cable, but in final estimate, not worth the cost over the super affordable duelund v2 speaker cable.
- Silversmith Audio Fidelium speaker cables (retired)
These cables were originally used between the AS125 211 amp and the Tekton Moabs, followed by the Cube Nenuphars and then the WVL Son speakers, in all cases to a loss of balance in the low frequencies. The cables are decent value for the money, but lack authority and nuance of bass.
- Duelund Coherent Audio V2 speaker cables (retired)
Where the silversmith fideliums lack control over bass frequencies, the duelunds fail to bring life to the highest frequencies.
- Elac 4Pi omni-directional tweeter
The little elac tweeter was chosen on account of its 360 degree ribbon driver. Many super-tweeters feature considerably more focused dispersion, with only the Arya Audio Airblade topping out at 180 degrees, to effect that they compete with the tweeter/s of the main speaker instead of performing the role of subtle augmentation, being the primary idea behind the typology - in many cases, the Airblade itself functions best when turned away from the listening position for its benefits to be best heard as reflections off the front wall.
The strength of the high frequency soundwave emitted over its narrow dispersion band is both the blessing and curse of the typical supertweeter.
Not so with the Elac 4Pi - with its fully omni-directional wave dispersing the intensity of the signal over 360 degrees, it recreates the propagation of soundwaves the way they would be heard in a venue of live music. The elac delivers the most nuanced rendering to the space and air of each recording in seamless congruity with the how the WVL Chicago dipole speakers function. The strength of timbre and decay from drum, violin, voice, piano strike or guitar, and the powerful way the resonant air of each recording venue distinguishes every track from another, creates a deeply palpable realism in the remarkable effect it has on the soundfield.
The tweeter sits on a custom frame integrated with the main speaker base, with lateral support from the audio frame of the WVL speaker. The tweeter frame has been fabricated from brass for the relative dampness of the material in relation to the required strength, and has been designed to be retrofitted or removed independently of the main speaker itself. The assembly for the tweeter frame is incremental, beginning with the level adjustable feet screw-bolted to the existing threaded holes originally intended for the proprietary feet supplied with the main speaker. The main speaker together with tweeter support frame thus rest on the same speaker base, with the entire assembly seated on the Townsend isolation podiums.
- Inakustik LS1205 silver air speaker jumper cables
The Inakustik line of silver cables have consistently been found to be the best value for performance through listening comparison with many others. In this particular case, by a wide margin. Connecting the elac tweeters to their respective channels via the main speaker cable junctions to the lessloss speaker firewalls, the LS1205 cables were customised with black sleeving instead of the standard white throughout, rendering them indistinguishable from the air copper cables. Sound quality from this addition is extraordinary - for inexplicable reasons, the realism of decay with piano strikes, strong instruments, the resonant air in whatever venue the track was recorded in, everything comes to life with the cables put to the omni-directional tweeters.
- Lavricables Master line v2 silver speaker jumper cables (retired)
These cables replaced the omega mikro flat cables to considerably greater realism in spatial texture and detail - its sound quality to cost value is extremely high.
- Omega Mikro Ebony speaker jumper cables (retired)
Connecting between speaker binding posts and Elac 4Pi omni-directional tweeter, these were the first cables used for the function. Far from the best value for their performance in all frequencies, fragility and durability aside.
- Rythmik Audio F12SE subwoofers
Four F12SE servo-assisted subwoofers in an asymmetrically configured distributed bass array. Fed from pure silver power cords from lavricables and supra subwoofer signal cables split wired from the high level signal path of the speaker binding posts. The subwoofers sit on basic douk audio spring isolation feet for the high amplitude vibrations experienced by low frequency excursions inherent in subwoofer drivers, which neither revopods, isoacoustic apertas, or other subwoofer specific solutions were able to tame. Currently working on an idea that will incorporate Townshend audio sprung isolation.
- Lavricables Grand line power cables
For each of four subwoofers.
- darTZeel NHB-108 MKII amplifier
With CMS 2m isolation, this amp delivers a midrange and upper ranges with a realism I’ve not heard in any other amplifier. While its performance with bass frequencies may not be the very best, it still holds its place as one of the most balanced amplifiers available at any price.
- Kinki Studio EX-M7 power stereo amplifier - dormant
This amp may not be in current use in the system, but of all the tube and solid state amps tested and demoed, it has so exemplified the powerful equation between cost and value, that it has stayed while others were returned. In relation to everything the best amplifiers do, which is to get out of the way of the signal in merely amplifying it, this little black box may lack refinement in the mid and higher frequencies as compared with the Dartzeel NBH-108 model2, but I almost all other aspects, walks among the best. Armed with its internal fuse replaced with a solid rod of graphene, equivalent in sense, or perhaps even bettering the magnetic circuit breaker the Dartzeel amplifier employs, the kinki amp takes sound quality up very close to levels commonly the domain of Pilium and the Swiss amp army.
- Line Magnetic AS125 tube amplifier (retired)
18W 211 SET power amp - NOS RCA 211 power tubes / NOS Sylvania 6SN7 drivers (80s) / NOS Telefunken 12AX7 input tubes (80s) / / Hifi Tuning supreme fuses
The amplifier that began and tuned the journey of my second system was also ultimately what held it back, it’s western electric based hand-wound transformer insufficiently coiled to deliver the highest frequencies for timbre and air.
- Arya acoustics Revopod isolation
six in total for the base mass damper which the amplifier sits on - together with the independently sprung plinth beneath in vertical isolation from the rack, and the CMS feet above it in horizontal isolation from electrical vibrations from the amplifier, the mass damper provides a third intermediary isolation layer to complete the set up.
- Western Electric NOS RCA pink-sleeved twin-braid cables - dormant
with ETI research silver link banana RCA connectors and pink cotton dielectric between preamp and amp.
These affordable interconnects brought balance of midrange realism, nuance of low frequencies, fullness of bass depth and an uncanny sense of space to the soundfield, over and beyond the zeel 50ohm interconnects, uncomfortable as it sounds.
- darTZeel 50ohm interconnect - dormant
sitting between the preamp and amp.
Aside from a very high level of performance in the realism of midrange and soundfield, these interconnects bring a high degree of nuance to the lower frequencies, trading off only the final bit of grunt to bass depth.
- darTZeel NHB-18 NS mk2 preamplifier
With CMS 2m isolation.
- Line Magnetic AS129 preamplifier (retired)
tube preamplifier - NOS RCA 6J7 amplification tubes (70s) / NOS RCA 274 (5U4) rectification tube (80s) / Hifi Tuning supreme fuses
This preamplifier, cost for value, was easily one of the best components in the system, doing everything preamplification is supposed to do. Everything else levelled in my listening space, it came close to equalling the Pilium Ares preamplifier at close to five times its cost, with A/B listening required before the strengths of the Pilium could be identified over the LM129.
- Siltech Cables Royal triple crown XLR interconnects - dormant
Together with the siltech triple crown speaker cable; an amazing lift to realism of sound in my system. It does not, however, outperform the best RCA cables tested in listening.
- Western Electric NOS RCA braided cables (retired)
with ETI research brio rhodium-plated banana RCA connectors between DAC and preamp.
A component level of an interconnect cable in this specific system, specifically between the DAC and preamplifier. It elevates sound quality to realism in body and air. Its effectiveness between the preamp and amp varies depending on specifications of each, working qualitatively better for solid state rather than tube amplification.
- Ansuz Acoustics P2 RCA interconnects (retired)
Between DAC and preamplifier.
current reference DAC with CMS 2m isolation.
Compared in the same listening space with a large variety of other DACs of multiple price points, the wadax atlantis possesses a degree of realism unparalleled by almost all others. It is more realistic than the stock MSB select II DAC in every aspect of timbre, soundfield, mid range, nuance and control of bass, bettered only in the highest frequencies and finest details. The select II exhibits better soundstage when running on XDMS, but even so, is unable to keep up with the depth of realism with the wadax on roon, which it’s architecture was built around and upon as a foundation.
- Siltech Cables double royal crown USB (retired)
The monocrystalline silver double crown replaced the laboga ruby USB for a month, until it became apparent its gains in nuanced bass and heightened air was too marginal to make up for lack of overall balance and loss of realism in the mid range.
- Holo Audio May KTE DAC (retired)
stock - previous reference DAC.
- Computer Audio Design CAD USB filter (retired)
Connecting laboga USB cable to DAC.
Connecting taiko extreme server to DAC, the laboga ruby is the most balanced USB cable heard in the system. Coupled with its mid range frequency nuance and magic outdid the others, including range topping cables from black cat, jorma, salon audio, nordost, argento, and siltech.
- Sablon Audio Reference USB Cable (retired)
Connecting between server and DAC.
- Computer Audio Design USB II-r cable (retired)
Connecting between server and DAC
- Tellurium Q Silver diamond USB cable (retired)
Connecting server to DAC.
- Tara Labs Digital AES/EBU cable - retired
Previously connecting PS Audio transport to DAC.
- PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream Memory Player - retired
with the router/switch/server/DAC chain comprehensively outperforming CD playback, the ps audio workhorse has been retired.
- Taiko audio SGM Extreme server
With CMS 2m isolation.
- Auralic Aries G2.1 (retired)
stock wifi streamer - much better externally streamed with ASus mesh satellite router with Farad super 3 linear power supply. No difference in sound quality hardwired, with or without audiophile switches and Ethernet noise reduction bandaids.
- Critical Mass Systems Centre stage 2m footers
For server, DAC and power supply, preamplifier, amplifier, and transport.
- Taiko Audio Switch and network card
Connected between Taiko router and extreme server with 0.5m DAC cables.
- Laboga Ruby Ethernet cable
Connecting satellite router to taiko router, and between taiko switch and taiko extreme.
- Taiko Audio Router / dc power distributor
connecting between ASus router and taiko switch with 1.2m sablon audio ethernet cable and 0.5m DAC cable.
8TB hard drive for music library out of the way of the main signal/power chain, and wired to the taiko router with a sablon audio Ethernet cable.
- Laboga 5.5/2.5 dc power cables
Feeding taiko switch and router.
- ASUS Computer International Zenwifi ax6600 XT8 mesh routers
Currently fed by a plixir statement BDC linear power supply with Arctand c2 cabling and sablon audio Ethernet cables from the stock network supplier UONU ZTE modem, the router is connected to the taiko router with a laboga ruby LAN cable, the objective of which is to isolate the specific WiFi connection between tablet and server from wireless traffic to rest of the home.
Fibre network supplier stock modem from UONU.
Twelve groundaray bullets plugged into the unused terminals/ports of various pieces of equipment - three into LAN ports of modem and two routers; two into USB ports of server; three into BNC and RCA ports of DAC; and four into RCA and XLR ports of preamp. The groundarays make the greatest difference to sound quality plugged into source equipment, removing haze and all the edge that characterise noise. Are passive grounding solutions such as the CAD grounding boxes and these groundarays better than active solutions with their connections to power outlets? Time will tell.
- Sablon Audio Ethernet cable
For connection between modem and ASus mesh router.
- Computer Audio Design GC3.1
Previously used in combination to route signal and earth ground cables separately to dedicated GC3.1 grounding boxes, each box in star ground configuration. It was discovered with deeper consideration and test listening that star grounding no longer applies to a system solely employed with the single source of digital streaming. Consequently, a single daisy-chained combination of CAD and Bibacord ground cabling silver-soldered to spades connect the grounding posts of components following the single signal path of the digital source.
The daisy-chained ground line connects modem and router power supplies; the DC distributor, taiko isolation router and switch; extreme server, DAC and accompanying power supply; down to preamplifier and finally terminating in one GC3.1 grounding box. Power amplifier and power distributor are grounded directly to the same grounding box, with the either channel of the dual-mono amp Y connected to a single ground input of the ground box, now used as a grounding router.
The uplift to sound realism with this grounding path compared to the previous twin star-ground configuration was profound and far beyond any need to A/B the result.
The grounding solution now awaits its dedicated eight foot long solid copper ground rod planted in a nine foot deep marconite column six inches in diameter set in garden soil. The top of the copper rod will be connected to the lower middle input of the GC3.1 grounding router.
- Swiss Digital fuse box 240V - 10A / 4A / 3.15A / 2A / 0.5A
The little device that will fundamentally change how electrical protection systems for audiophile equipment are designed, has replaced the traditional fuses in my server, DAC, and linear power supplies for modem and primary router, and DC distributor to isolation router and switch. Another serves the power supply for the field coil drivers of the WVL speakers, with four more for each subwoofer in the distributed bass array. The swiss digital fuse box is the single greatest value for cost addition to my system.
Prior to the final configuration of fuse boxes in my system, they were tested on all downstream equipment which employed fuses that could be replaced. The effect on these yielded better sound quality than any power cord change, but not as dramatic an improvement as with their effect on source equipment, meaning from the DAC and everything else before that, including linear power supplies for switches, routers and modem. The effect on the modem and mother router was almost equal to that of the server.
Above and beyond power supply being the most vital part of any sound system, the swiss digital fuse box has shown it is specifically on power supply to source equipment that creates the greatest difference to the dynamics, timbre, and realism of sound depth, more than any other part of the signal chain in a digital audio system, with just one significant exception. The preamplifier in my system is the Dartzeel nhb18ns, which employs an external battery power supply. This being the case, I did not think the replacement of its fuse with a sluggo would be of any consequence whatsoever. I was wrong. From initial belief that source equipment benefitted most from the digital fuse box, I was stunned to hear the tremendous effect on the sound depth and timbre of realism brought by the graphene sluggo in the mere battery power supply of the preamp. The fuse within the pre has not been replaced with a digital fuse box and sluggo because it’s battery supply is hardwired to the pre, and the fuse within will require opening up the pre to replace - leading to more difficulty than I am willing to currently endure.
The set up currently has graphene sluggos in the server and DAC, the external battery power supply for the preamp, all linear power supplies for the modem, routers and switch, and rhodium coated tellurium sluggos for the subwoofers.
- Revelation Audio Labs Modified Furutech FI-28 rhodium 3-pin NEMA to C13 iec adaptor
These adaptors were customised by Brad Vojtech using solid cryogenically treated silver connections within. The adaptors were commissioned as a less compromising and more compact alternative to the pigtails connecting digital fuseboxes to components.
- Plixir Statement BDC linear power supply
Feeding the modem, asus router and the taiko DC distributor to power the taiko router and switch. The soundfield produced by this power supply is deep and powerfully nuanced - its definition brings timbre of realism to instruments and voices created by the character of each venue the recording may have been done in further differentiating one track from the next. From having demoed other power supplies working off super capacitors in the system, it is apparent super caps degrade soundfield quality when used on source related equipment of modems and routers. The plixir statement sits shoulder to shoulder with the Sean Jacobs DC4.
- Zayin Suprereg Lite linear power supply
This little power supply currently feeds just the taiko DC distributor, which powers the taiko isolating router and switch, to effect of greater detail to the soundfield, and a lighter more realistic character very different from the thicker sound of the farad super3 power supply.
- Farad Super 3 linear power supply (retired)
With custom level 2 silver cabling and fuses replaced with graphene coated sluggos, for previous power feed to all source equipment of modem, routers, and switch. It was discovered over time that the supercapacitors in the power supply, presented a weighty sense to the sound and a more opaque view to the soundfield.
- Plixir Statement DC cables
The cable that outperformed cables such as the audionote silver, mundorf silver/gold, and farad level2 silver, and used to feed both UONU modem and ASUs router.
- Puron 240v line conditioner
These are plugged into three sets of power distributors - five into the distributor powering two Farad super3 linear power supplies for the modem/mother router front end; one for the first shielded and unfiltered distributor for the subwoofers and Farad LPS for the satellite Wi-Fi router; and four more into the second shielded and unfiltered wall outlet feeding the power cables for the preamp and Furutech power vault unfiltered distributor.
- Inakustik AC-4005 air reference power cable
Feeding the Furutech power vault distributor from a dedicated e-TP609 NCF wall outlet with a C19 connector, and between distributor to amplifier, preamplifier, server, DAC, and power supply for speaker field coil drivers with regular C15 connectors. A separate 4005 from the same dedicated e-TP609 NCF wall outlet powers the SA-TT7 filtered distributor, from which two more 4005s supply power to the linear power supplies for DC distributor, modem and routers. Comprehensive listening tests place this unheralded cable in the realm of range topping power cables from Ansus, Furutech, Argento, Nordost, and Siltech, with shortfall, if any, only in the nuance of bass frequencies, discernible only with A/B/A testing.
- Furutech Project v1 cables (retired)
Good as they were, the project v1 power cables have been entirely replaced by the Inakustik 4005 power loom which perform at a significantly higher level of resolution to the soundfield.
- Inakustik AC-4004 air reference power cable (retired)
Formerly feeding amplifier and dc distributor for the taiko switch and router.
- Lavricables Grand power cable
For power connection to all subwoofers.
- Ansuz Acoustics C2 power cable
Serving as a pigtail between the Swiss digital fusebox and the WVL speaker power supply; and as power feed for the linear power supply to the QNAP nas.
- Shunyata Research Alpha NR V2 power cable (retired)
For connection between Furutech wall outlet and preamp external battery power supply.
- Synergistic Research Powercell SX (retired)
With all components previously connected except for the power amplifier high voltage input and the preamplifier. This power distributor was disappointing.
- Synergistic Research SRX power cable (retired)
Connecting the powercell to the Furutech shielded wall outlet.
- Furutech power vault - shielded/unfiltered distributor
The power vault serves the power needs of server, DAC, preamplifier and amp. It sits vertically in its wall mounted custom isolation holster bracket, with two large Isonode hemispheres for the base and four small hemispheres to isolate the upper body within its holster. A brass clamp beneath secures the incoming power connector to the vault. The vault with the SA-TT7 which powers the source components of modem, router and DC distributor, forms the foundations of power delivery for the entire system.
- Sound Application SA-TT7 240v filtered power distributor
The SA-TT7 feeds the entire source chain from modem, to router to DC distributor, with the distributor itself powering the taiko router and switch. It was ultimately felt that whereas supply to the power hungry components had to be well-shielded but completely unfiltered for the least constrained flow, that the more power sensitive source equipment would benefit from the nuanced filtering afforded by the SA-TT7. To this end, the filtered distributor profoundly elevates the soundfield to fresh depth and nuance.
- Furutech #1 and #2 e-TP609 NCF unfiltered AC Power Distributor
with internally rewired CB10 cabling enhanced with NPS1260 contact fluid, installed as a six plug wall power banks with Furutech NCF booster bracing for all outlets; and hardwired to the house mains distribution panel with Furutech CB10 10 gauge wiring to a 50amp circuit breaker.
- Wellfloat Delta isolation base - 20mm height
Four isolation bases for each leg of the tower audio rack. The one kiloton capacity of the deltas have replaced four Townshend seismic isolation corners that were barely holding up to the extreme load of the rack.
