The speakers are 24" from the back wall, 8' apart, and towed in about 20 degrees. We have a Mooi couch that is low enough to put the tweeter at ear level. We listen from 6.5' back. The gear sits on a Lovan Sovereign rack.
The Odyssey combination really has some magic - especially the Tempest, which really has an expansive and holographic quality to the soundstaging - very nice. The Stratos sounds great with the Strata Minis, which surprisingly benefit from having more watts. Even at lower volumes, the system has good bass and remains very balanced throughout the frequency ranges. That's especially nice as now I end up listening later into the evenings...
I recently got the SlimDevices SqueezeBox3 (in black/silver). I run it wireless, into a Bel Canto DAC2. All my cds are stored in FLAC format and I can browse my library on the web, check out the cover art, add tracks to the playlist. It's probably the most fun thing for me in audio in awhile and the sound quality is fantastic -- plus streaming SomaFM is great when listening to background music.
Thinking about a Shakti stone beneath the SqueezeBox3 and longer speaker cables as I now have the rack off to the left of the system (even better imaging). Ideas?
I had a new panel and dedicated circuit installed with 6 foot copper grounding rods and 8 gauge solid copper wiring. I'm using an HD Bulldog Tough 1 to 3 splitter (super fat and only $12 -- better than a cheap powerstrip but could probably be improved) on the bottom outlet into the DAC, Velodyne and Tempest; the Stratos goes straight into the wall into the other socket. The SqueezeBox3 is on another circuit and electrically isolated using a glasToslink connected to the DAC2. I'm considering other power options and moving to a SPDIF cable instead of toslink.
My largest upgrade was purchasing my first house, so the system will have to remain relatively unchanged for a little bit...
Update: I recently moved to Strata Mini speakers, and this has been the best thing for the sound - I wish I would have discovered the fast attack holographic sound of ribbons sooner!
Wireless networked music player with a nice screen, decoding loseless FLAC filse and the occasional internet radio station (SomaFM / podcasts). SPDIF output runs into the Bel Canto DAC2.
Bel Canto Design DAC2
Musical and enjoyable to listen for long periods of time; wide soundstage , tight bass and clean musical high frequencies.
Groneburg Quattro Reference IC
german cable - same as used internally in the Stratos and Tempest.
System edited: Moved to the Strata Minis. This improved transient response, high frequency imaging, front-to-back soundstage depth and width, and allowed the low frequency response to be dialed in perfectly. I no longer have the Velodyne hooked up - it is not needed with the Minis' built in powered 8" drivers.
sonicseth, I like your system. The tempest pre really helped my system in every regard. I've heard both the stratos and stratos extreme mono's in seperate systems. They're great, aren't they. I'm in the same boat as far as being in a new house... certainly restricts the "fun" money. enjoy!
