Sonic Bliss

by slowhand on Opinions Please

Description

This is as good as it gets for me. I love the sound. I have owned my Supratek and my Gallo speakers the longest. I have never felt a need to look for other speakers or preamp. The Magtech amp is my newest purchase. I loved my Berning, but the Magtech plays everything without a hint of strain. I want to thank my friends Andre and Larry for helping me get the sound just right.
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Room Details

Dimensions: 22’ × 14’  Medium
Ceiling: 8’

Components Toggle details

    • Supratek Cortese
    Hand built by Mick Maloney in Western Australia. Two piece preamp with seperate power supply.
    • Sandersound Magtech
    Solid State amp with a very neutral sound. This amp will handle any speaker with ease. Dynamics are huge. 500 wpc.
    • Gallo Acoustics Nucleus Ref
    Unconventional looking, but the sound is beautiful. Bass down to 24Hz and a midrange to die for with crystal clear highs thanks to Gallo's exclusive electrostatic like tweeter.
    • Graham Engineering Phantom 2 arm
    Wonderful sound with VTF on the fly.
    • Lyra Titan i cartridge
    Best cartridge I have ever owned. Very dynamic with great detail.
    • Acoustic Research Master Series interconnect
    This cable is a fantastic bargain. Wonderful sound for little money.
    • TW Acustic Raven One turntable
    I love the looks and the sound of this turntable. I took the feet off and placed the turntable on computer gel wrist pads. They do a better job isolating the turntable.
    • OPPO BDP-95 Blu Ray/CD player
    I don't listen to cd's very much, but I like this player for it's ability to play cd's, SACD's, Blu-Ray's.
    • Vandersteen 2wq Subwoofers
    I bought 2 of these. These subs blend with my Gallo speakers perfectly. I get nice deep. If you close your eyes you would swear the bass was coming from the Gallo's only.
    • Innovative Cohesion Engineering Raptor Phono Stage
    The magic pixie dust of my system. This is a custom built phono stage with a stand alone power supply. Killer sound!

Comments 7

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I'm sure it's a great sounding system. David Berning's stuff is hard to beat. I have a couple of his amps that I got(used!) back in 1985: the tubes haven't even worn out yetand it still sounds very fine.
I have a question about the Syrah preamp. I just put in my order for one, but I'm wondering if I should hold out for the Cortese. Since it will take something like 4 months, I will have time to collect some more pennies. My main source is vinyl/classical with a moving magnet cartridge. I keep getting seduced by the MC's but end up hating them after a few days and go back to my $1200 Grado, and more recently to the terrific $750 Music Maker II. I too have VPI Aries with JMW arm; Manley 440 monoblocks; Maggie 20R speakers.
Any thoughts out there? This is my first visit to the site as a member, but I have been impressed with the conversations I have witnessed as an observer.

throwback

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