This system is my daily therapy. The addition of the Soundsmith Hyperion has opened up a new level of vinyl enjoyment. Two new OL tonearms along with the cartridge upgrades may be the final level of my vinyl pursuits. The entire system now has a balance that is felt even at low volume. The combination of Gryphon and Rockport are special in my opinion and they make every listening session special. Now I just need to order more albums…
Thank you shadorne. They have been playing 24 hours a day and with the dealer over yesterday we did some final placement adjustments and spiked them. The Spendors are exceeding my hopes. Great soundstage width and depth with nothing eccentuated. The clear detail is drawing me into every song. If I could just get some sleep...
Spendor D9s arrived today. Initial thoughts are very positive, but they need some time to settle in and then fine tuning of their setup position. Should be exciting the next few days.
They should arrive the middle of next week and I will update after they have some time to settle acclimate to their new home. I have the house to myself the following weekend so I’m sure many hours of music will be played.
Received my motor pod back from its visit to the Origin Live factory for the Light Speed Controler upgrade. The upgraded speed stability of the TT is more of an audible upgrade than I had ever imagined. New Spendor D9s are traveling my direction and my Thiels have become available for a new home to enjoy. Using my KEF LS50s in the main system presently and as always they surprise me with their performance.
A beautiful VAC Renaissance Mk5 preamp has replaced my VAC Renaissance Mk3 today. The reduction in gain from 22db to 10db is a nice change allowing for increased use of the volume control range. Giving everything time to settle in but already extremely happy with this upgrade choice. New tubes on order from Andy at Vintage Tube Service for the line stage and that should be another interesting change to enjoy. First preamp I have had with 6dj8 tubes so I let my upgraded 12au7s and 12ax7s leave with the previous pre amp to make the eventual new owner very happy.
I picked up a used Salamander rack on Sunday and it has allowed me to add my 40 year old Optonica DD turntable to the system. Mounted my backup Cadenza Bronze Cartridge aligned with the SmartTractor Löfgren B IEC. Very different than the recommended cartridge mounting position from the original manual. Connected to a VAC SUT into the MM phono inputs of my Renassaince 3 preamp. The table’s speed continues to be stable. It is a 6 pole AC direct drive. I have owned this table since new in 1978 and have stored it for many years. Glad to have it out again. Now I will have fun comparing it to my Original Live kit. Cadenza Bronze to Cadenza Black. Belt Drive to Direct Drive.
Thank you for the comments beetlemania. Are you running balanced between your Ayre components? I ran the Codex with RCAs for a while awaiting the cables I ordered to be delivered. I had very high quality RCA interconnects and the improvement with the XLR cables was not subtle.
I just acquired a pair of CS2.4SE. They are incredible, especially at this price point - all the more so used! IMO, close to SOTA resolution, transparency, and neutrality, give up just the last half-octave of bass. I think I would need to spend north of $30-40K to get a significant improvement in SQ.
And of course I admire your system. I'm driving my Thiels with an Ayre AX-5 Twenty and the pairing is nothing if not magical! I think the Ayre is a big reason the Thiels are singing at such a lofty level. The only upgrade I fantasize about now is replacing my QB-9 with a QX-5, but I already broke my budget with the AX-5. Maybe if the QX-8 is released . . .
If you ever get the upgrade bug for speakers, I recommend you first replace the capacitors in the CS2.4s. That is supposed to be the only sonic improvement of the SE version.
Thank you Jafant. It has taken 6 months Since moving to get things to this point, but the system has never sounded better. Still need to get the last couple of panels mounted. The largest change was starting over on speaker placement and following the “Master Set” speaker placement instructions. I have had a friend over recently that has listened to my system many times with both the VAC amp and now the Ayer and he agreed the presentations improvement was almost startling. I had been even considering trying different speakers. Now the 2.4s sound better that i ever imagined they could. Many hours of sleep lost to listening recently...
The holidays brought a few very positive changes. Added Audience balanced cables for the Codex to replace the Audience AU24SE RCA cables. More improvement than I was expecting. 2 corner bass traps and 4 additional 2’ x 4’ wall treatments from ATS were also added. Finally reset the speaker placement using the online Master Set instructions. I’m sure it can be improved upon since it was my first attempt, but the improvement was not subtle. Overall a great start to the new year.
New Codex finally through 200 plus hours. I have experienced a lot of equipment breakin but the codex was the most drastic. I was well warned, but there were times I questioned the purchase. It has now settled and opened on both the bass and treble and I love it! Also upgraded my Audience Conditioneer to the ar6-TSSD (AU24 cord). Another change/improvement that exceeded my expectations. Now it's back to room setup at the new residence and again comparing the Cadenza Bronze to the Black.
I like Ayre. Never a stinker from Charlie. Always balanced and musical IME. The Exogal is exquisitely detailed and lively sounding with no glare or treble nasties. That combo is hard to find IME, especially in this price range. I am told that Exogal is coming our with a new DAC so you may want to wait a bit and try it if the timing is right for you.
The Codex had synergy with my system providing more soundstage depth and separation of individual instrumentations. Also noted a lot more distinct aspects of the recording venues that I am more familiar with on my vinyl recordings. The sound really drew me into the music emotionally. I previously enjoyed a Lector CDP for a few years that had similar properties, but was much darker in its presentation. Back listening to my basic level Meridian Exploreer2 while I continue to decide my next pursuit. Though my dealer did make me a nice offer on a new Codex...
I will look at the Comet Plus and appreciate the suggestion. I have been focused on analogue and using a Meridian Exploeer 2 as a "tempoaray" DAC for a while so now. More auditions will need to be done.
My local Ayre dealer loaned me a Codex DAC to audition this past weekend. I have it running Roon>Logitech Touch>Codex. i have a feeling that I want one to live here full time. Not quite the same as my vinyl, but ...
The past few years I had used a VAC PA100/100 that VAC upgraded its driver and splitter curcuit to thief "phi" topology vs the original Williamson curcuit. The bass is tighter, but not necessarily more powerful. The VAC midrange was special but I now have a more cohesive top to bottom presentation. There is a special synergy emerging as the amp settles and I am really enjoying it with the Thiels.
Ayre VX-5 twenty is now in the system. Started the breakin tonight and it is already sounding excellent. The past 15 years have had tubes in the power position so this is a real change, but this amp is doing something special in my system. I will be upgrading to XLR in the near future, but the initial hours will be with my Audience AU24 SE rca cables until the ordered XLRs arrive next week. The next major upgrade will be in two weeks when we close on out new home and I have a new dedicated room for this system to occupy.
The system sounds beautiful with the new Origin Live Resolution MK3-1 turntable. Mounted my Illustrious Mk3-c tonearm and upgraded to the Cadenza Black from the Bronze. For the enlightened of what a little more power my local dealer is loaning me an Ayre VX-5 twenty for a few days starting tomorrow. Should be an interesting weekend comparing my phi upgraded PA100/100 with the latest Ayre.
drrsutliff on Done For Now