Whats Next...

by markraz on Opinions Please

Description

Well this is what I have going on so fare. The whole upgrade process began with a friend of mine who also has his system posted (GStringer). Thanks to him I now have the startings of a pretty good system (well I hope I do anyway) and an empty bank account!!!

Project started from scratch with an MMF5 turntable. Then I came across a deal on a VTL ST 85 at a local shop here in Atlanta. Next a business trip to Seattle found me with an opportunity to pick up a Rega Planet and a set of Midnight speaker cables (couldn't pass that up). Final thing on my list (ya right like there is ever a final thing) - preamp. After many many hours of research I finally decided on a PremaLuna Three courtesy of upscale audio. I added an isolated remote volume control for convenience (laziness). Done right .. don't think so.

Now that I had all the components to my system I needed a new stand (the old one was no way near good enough for all this stuff).

The stand was custom built by a company here in Atlanta. I worked with the guys out at ND Contracting to design and build the stand. 2X4 steel backbone, 1X2 steel racks with 2" chopping block shelves and isolation spikes. The design was based off the Furniture Works rack.

So thatÂ’s it so fare. Looking for suggestion on what to do now (beside sit in front of it for hours and hours on end listening to music)
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Components Toggle details

    • Rega Planet
    Basic CD Player
    • Music Hall MMF5
    N/A
    • PrimaLuna Three
    with phono stage www.upscaleaudio.com
    • VTL ST-85
    N/A
    • Paradigm 11se mkII
    Courtesy of GStringer
    • Custom Rack
    Designed and built with the help of a local shop here in Atlanta.
    • IR Remote Isolated Volume Control
    Custom built IR external volume control with belt drive.

Comments 7

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Markraz:

Interesting your idea of bringing your friends speakers for comparison, that could be an "ear opener" experience.....

As you describe the enhanced bass response your system has and looking again at the pics, just for kicks would like to suggest that you try moving the speakers 2 feet away from the rear wall and compare bass response.

Additional suggestion could be to place a blanket on the rear wall behind the stand for getting a small glimpse of gains you can get.

sol322

Owner
Skuras:
I have been very happy with the PrimaLuna. Since this is my first "real" pre amp I am not sure I am the best person to give you a review of the quality or sound characteristics, but I don't have any complaints about it so fare.

Sol322:
I haven't made any real changes to the system. I have played around with different cables but nothing has impressed me enough to move away from the midnight cables. As for acoustics I haven't really done much of any thing. The space I live in is around 1000 sq ft and is one big room. Two of the walls are brick and two are drywall. The ceiling is 16 ft high and made of 2 X 8 's. The setup as a whole is a little on the bass heavy side, but I attribute a lot of that to the Paradigms. Given the openes of the space I am not really sure what options I have for acoustic treatment or if it would even help. I would really like to get my friends Meadowlarks over to see what kind of difference a real set of speakers makes.

markraz

Markraz

Have you made any changes to your system?
I'm particularly wondering if you have considered acoustic treatments for your room.

The stand really "stands out" interesting design.

Luis

sol322

how do you like that primaluna pre amp? i am particularly interested in the performance of the phono stage. i've been thinking buying one of these pre amps from upscale audio, but have not been able to find a lot of info from customers about how much they like this item.

skuras

I use Audience Au24 inteconnects and the Audience Power Cord and really like them, a good place to start or end up for sure. Thanks for the link on the blocks.

maineiac

Owner
The chopping blocks came from Ikea:
>http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10101&storeId=12&productId=10269&langId=-1&parentCats=10108*10216

Power cords and interconnections are next on my list. I have been hearing a lot about the Audience Au24 interconnects - so I thought I might start looking into those first. As for power cords I am not sure were to start.

markraz

Nice system - enjoying it is what it is all about! What have you got for interconnects and power cords? A good power conditioner for your cdp and pre might be an improvement. I live in Atlanta too and have been looking for some 2" chopping block shelves. Where did you find them?

maineiac

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