Poplar burl, w/custom crossovers by Deja Vu Audio using vintage parts; had to replace original paper woofers with hemp versions due to cat incident. AN Lexus LX 96 speaker cable.
Synthesis Art in Music Ensemble
Tube integrated amp, w/ Preferred Series NOS 8x7189/EL84 (Preferred Series NOS from The Tube Store), 4x 12AU7 (new production Tung-Sol)
Synthesis Art in Music Brio
Tube phono pre, 2x12AX7 (new production Electro-Harmonix)
Thanks Dan. Yes, it’s really gratifying to have something that sounds good and looks so pretty. Speaking of which, I love your custom Tannoys (and your 401 of course). If you haven’t already, you should check out my vintage system, where I run resto/mod Altec Santiago’s and another Chris Harban TT (a TD-124).
mdalton, I love the look of your system, especially your Garrard 401, with Reed tonearm.
I built my own Garrard 401 plinth, installed a Dynavector 501 arm I bought from Chris Harban, it sounds great with my Herron phono stage and Herron line stage.
Amp is an 812 SET built by Paul Birkeland of Bottlehead, his own design, it is the quietest tube amp I've ever heard, yet it powers my custom 12" Tannoys with plenty of grunt in my large room.
It's great when things work out so well, isn't it?
I just wasn’t willing to completely torque our furniture arrangement around for the speakers. It’s a cool room where we’ve always spent a lot of time together as a family and entertaining guests.
When my dealer originally delivered them, he had them toed in and placed slightly differently (but not in corners); he was surprised how good they sounded in this room. I’ve since moved them a little, and also now have them firing straight ahead, which improved the soundstage considerably; a friend and I spent a couple of hours with a speaker placement test disc, and this is where we ended up.
I’ve visited the AudioNote room at Capital Audio Fest the last two years and frankly prefer the overall sound of mine better than theirs both times (even though this year they were demonstrating the new field coil Es at $65k/pr.).
Bottom line, I’m very happy with how they sound where they are in the room, at the expense of some low end extension. (Btw, I would also note that the late Art Dudley, a long-time AN-E owner, preferred them 4’ from the back wall and 2’ from the side in his room when he reviewed them in May 2006.).
Thanks! I don’t think Vu typically does custom crossovers for AN - AN would likely have a problem with that. But in my case I got a deal on a pair of Es that had been in storage - Vu had lost the stock crossovers! (Alas, Vu and I had a nasty break-up a few years ago - not over the speakers - so I haven’t kept up with him.)
Regarding the Garrard, yes, I reached out to Luigi at Synthesis a few years ago to get the RAL paint code so Chris Harban at Woodsong could color match the plinth. He still features pictures of my deck on his website!
@mdalton not sure how I missed this what a killer system and great looking room! Looks like Vu and company did a fantastic job on those crossovers I didn't know they did custom crossovers for AN speakers. I have a very old great sounding Deja Vu preamp, it sounds fantastic. And your Garrard is a total showstopper and so cool it matches your Synthesis gear!
thanks. re the AN-Es in poplar burl, my wife was not initially a huge fan of the look cuz they’re the only wood furniture we have on the main level of our contemporary home. but i got a great deal on them, and when i had to replace the original paper cones (black), I decided to upgrade to the hemp (blue), which worked beautifully with our color scheme. Then, very recently, I replaced the original dealer diy stands (black), with the glossy white - now my wife loves the look (as fo I)!
No, I did all the work on the TT itself. I fit the chassis, located and installed the arm, made and installed the purpleheart top and sides, made and installed the insert trim pieces, and the hardest thing out all of it, putting the Waterlox Tung Oil high gloss finish. Twelve coats of it, with nearly 24 hours between coats. Just so you know, my employment was as a heavy equiment operator, but I built my own house as well. So high grade wood finshes was not in my reportoire of endeavors. It's hard.
I tried with polyethelene gloss finish, but I couldn't get it to lay down right, so I sanded it all down, and went to the tung oil.
It's not as nice as what I've seen Chris and others do, but it's good enough for me. The wood part was easy in comparison. When something went wrong, as it often does on one of my projects, I just saw the wood of the plimth, make new boards from 1 1/2" thick boards of Purpleheart on my tablesaw, shape them, install and sand them, and lastly, put the Tung Oil finish on the table.
It was a very long and engaging process, but I enjoyed it, and I love what I have to show for it.
Love your system, and your 401 of course! Did you paint the tt yourself, or did someone else do it? Chris H did mine in what looks like the same gloss black, and it’s perfect.
Beautiful system. I especially like your Garrard 401 with the blue Woodsong plinth. Chris Harban is a marvel at what he does.
I've never had any pliths made by him, but many years ago, I bought my Dynavector 501 tonearm from him. I recently installed a new armlift from a current 507 arm, and with some home machining, I was able to make it work perfectly.
If you'd like, feel free to check out my DIY plinth and Dynavector arm. It's a system that keeps me smiling.
Beautiful room and system. Are you a long time AN fan? I have heard them at audio shows and they sound pretty nice. Thanks for sharing the system. Enjoy your music!
thanks. yes, it’s very soothing. and I know how fortunate I am. my wife and I have guests to dinner fairly frequently, and invariably we end up in the sunroom spinning lps - takes everyone back to earlier times when that’s basically what we did with friends.
Thanks for posting your system. Looks great and very soothing window views. My system is in a basement room, so my "window" view is into a light well (although I do have some plants in pots out there).
