milpai's system

by milpai on AccuphaseT+A DAC200MazdaRaytheonhq playerSignalystPuronCAT5StreacomSiemensClear DayTvcQuadParasoundCullen CablesGikBrickwallHerbie's AudioOppoPuresonicAurisProAcUDP-205D48RBackert LabsRhumba 1.3InakustikFurutechIsoAcousticsGaiaReferenzLS-2404 AIRUSBStreamingNF-2404 AIRISO-puck miniAudioQuest Fog Lifters
New
Rearranged Rack
Old
Back of room, listening position
Doorway to enter nirvana!
ProAc Profile
MTM Configuration
Ribbon Tweeter
Accuphase A-48S
Rhumba 1.3
T+A DAC 200
Audio Server
Control Center
Inakustik AC-3500P ON (blue)
Inakustik AC-3500P OFF (white)
Inakustik AC-3500P back
Power cable management
Bi-wire config
AIR Referenz
Matches the loudspeakers
Inakustik NF-2404 Air
USB cable
Cable Management
Inakustik 2502F power cord
Furutech connectors
Ceiling treatment
Puron filter
Gaia II
Gaia II closeup
AQ FogLifters

Description

February 
Added Siemens 12AU7 to the collection.

December 2025
Replaced the Parasound A21 with the Accuphase A-48S

December 2024
Replaced the Oppo UDP-205 with the T+A DAC 200

April 2024
Moved the GIK Monster Bass traps from back wall to front of the room to control bass. This tightened the bass as well as opened up the mid-range and treble notes. Did not realize that the change would be so profound. Should have done this years ago.

Feb-2024
Added another Puron filter

Jan-2024
Added a Puron filter

Oct-2022
Added the Mazda 1960s grey plates 12AU7 to the Rhumba. They opened my eyes (and ears) as to why people are ready to pay so much for NOS tubes.

Aug-2022
Added Isoacoustic mini-pucks beneath the Inakustik and audio server.
Added a custom built audio server to replace the aging Asus laptop. I did not realize how much profound effect a dedicated server has on the quality of the sound.

Oct-2021
Added the ISO-puck mini under the Backert Labs Rhumba 1.3 and Oppo UDP-205.
Added Isoacoustic Carpet spikes for Gaia II.

Aug-2021
Added the AudioQuest Foglifters. Initially added for "looks" and cable dressing. But found that it adds finesse and delicacy to instruments in the music. My guess is the contact area of the cable from the original wooden raisers has reduced more than 90% and that might be the reason. I am happy.

July-2021
Added the GIK 242 ceiling panel that balanced the sound from the left speaker, that was getting missed due to the unavoidable soffit in the room. So much to learn from your own experience.

Dec-2020
Purchased the Fidelizer PRO. This has immensely changed the listening experience. Folks using a Windows machine should certainly give a shot to the free version. You have nothing to loose except 5 minutes. The best part of free version is it is an exe files that you run and not install. So if you don't like it, just delete the .exe.

Oct-2020
Upgraded Asus K52 with a Asus S400CA, 8GB RAM and 1TB SSD. Again, this is an older laptop repurposed for audio. Also added a NAS server and all audio files are on that server. Connection to this server is via ethernet and not wifi. Evaluating the free version of Fidelizer which makes very audible, positive change in my system.

Jul-2020
Repurposed an old laptop for streaming Spotify/Qobuz and also digital files. The laptop was upgraded from 3GB to 8GB RAM and from 250GB HDD to 1TB SSD for DSD and FLAC files. Installed Foobar2000 with Eole skin on the laptop to play the digital files. Using an old iPad mini 2 tablet with MonkeyMote to control this laptop remotely. Love this app!
Installed the Inakustik Reference High Speed USB between the laptop and Oppo 205, which is now used as a DAC.

Jun-2020
Added Inakustik NF-2404 XLRs between Oppo-Backert and Backert-Parasound.
Will try to find some time to do a mini review of these cables, if I find time. These cables pull you into the music way too much.

Mar-2020
Added Inakustik LS-2404 AIR biwire loudspeaker cables

Nov-2019
Added the IsoAcoustics Gaia II footers to the ProAcs

Jun-2019
Added the Inakustik AC-3500p power conditioner in the system.

Nov-2018
Replaced the Promitheus Reference C-core TVC with Backert Labs Rhumba 1.3 preamplifier

Jan-2018
Replaced the Quad 21L with the ProAc D48R in Ebony.

October-2017
Replaced the Teac CD-1000 SACD player with Oppo UDP-205 universal disc player.

September-2015
Replaced the Marantz SACD player with Teac CD-1000.

May-2015
New room finished in April. Room is 19 X 15 X 8. Three walls were already in place (concrete). Had the 4th wall built with double drywalls inside/outside and using GreenGlue. 2 dedicated 10gauge 20 amp lines for amps and electronics. Speakers are 4 feet from back wall and 3 feet from side wall. Placement of speakers, chair, panels etc are within 1/8th inch tolerance. Replaced Signal Cable power cables with Cullen Cables Crossover Series power cords, because I needed longer and flexible cables.

Feb-2015
Replaced Signal Cable Silver Resolution RCAs between Marantz and TVC with Clear Day's RCA cables.

Sep-2014
Replaced Signal Cable Silver Resolution XLR between TVC and amp with Clear Day's XLR cables.

Aug-2014
Replaced the Signal Cable Silver Resolution bi-wires with Clear Day Double Shotguns and jumpers between HF and LF speaker terminals.

04-Dec-2013:
Replaced original wooden footers under TVCs with Ebony footers. Simply unbelievable - what they did.

February 2012 - September 2012:
Been exited to have a dedicated room for this "passion". This word was emphasized by a female family friend. She was amazed by how passionately I could go on and on about this hobby. She likes classical music. Soon after we moved into our first home, I did post some questions on this forum about french doors. Those are in place now and I am happy with their looks. Per my wife (touch wood), I need to place something on the door panels for preventing reflections and maintaining privacy. Her support for me in this hobby has been outstanding and I would not have reached this far, if not for her. So, that treatment on the door will come sometimes later this year. This is a small room with 13.5'X12.5'X9' dimensions. I painted this room myself (first time, never did this before). The speakers are placed along the shorter wall. They are 40" from front wall and about 30" from side walls. They are about 7' apart with some toe-in. I sit slightly more than 7' away. All measurements are within 1/10" error. Finding the optimum position for speaker took me about 24 to 30 man hours. Though this is painful, the outcome of this exercise is mind-boggling. Got some granite to go between the floor and speakers. These are 18"X18"X1.5". This has tightened the bass and has provided necessary isolation from the wooden floor below. At the same time, added Herbie Audio Lab's Extra Thick Hush Puckies under the speaker spikes and the granite. This causes the speaker to not "ring" and provides stability to the speakers, because of the dBNeutralizer base. Since this is my own space, I added some treatments from GIK. Bryan Pape at GIK was very helpful and actually told me to go easy on the treatments. We started with 2 Tri-traps on the corners and 2 Monster Panels on the back wall directly behind the listening position. I liked the way the bass tightened up. Bryan suggested the 244 instead of 242s on the first reflection panels to take care of any phase issues as well. And that has turned pretty nice. Also got the terminations on the speaker wires changed from spades to BFA bananas. I am totally sold on the BFAs. Superb contact and fit. Some of you advised me to move the equipments from between the speakers. Though I could not do it 100%, what I did was, to disassemble the rack and use the shelfs on the floor directly. But the resulting change in the sound staging is simply fantastic. I never imagined that a rack placed between 2 speakers can mess the soundstage. With all this in place I did miss some "meat" in my system. But I thought it was the size of the room that was causing the nulls and there was probably nothing I could do. What finally brought "life" in my system was the new XLRs between the preamp (TVC) and the amp. The move from RCA to XLR in my system was nothing short of drastic. I have mentioned this on this site as well as a forum dedicated to Parasound Halo products. Apparently, there was not enough gain in my system and so the "meat" was missing on the bones, if you will. This was not so obvious in the previous apartment room, since it was small and the speakers used to be closer to the walls. In the near future, I would like to add 3 242 GIK panels on the front wall, behind the speakers. Will first experiment with the existing Monster Panels on the front wall.


March 2010:
The Parasound amp has changed my system profoundly. I cannot believe the transparency and expansiveness it has brought into my system. And it seems a very good match for my TVC as I set the TVC volume to lower levels than my previous amp.

April 2009: Added the Promitheus TVC, which took my system to an altogether different level. I did not imagine of such a performance from my system. Looking for a good power amp now. Want a power amp with high sensitivity and power - to match the TVC and also in case I upgrade my speakers at a later time.

August-2005
It took many listening sessions, forums, mags, etc to build this starter system. Was worth every minute spent for building it. Started with recommended components list - but ended with what my ears liked.
Read more...

Room Details

Dimensions: 19’ × 15’  Medium
Ceiling: 8’

Components Toggle details

    • ProAc Response D48R Loudspeakers
    Ebony with Ribbon tweeter.
    • Accuphase Laboratory, Inc A-48S
    Class A power amp. 50 watts X 2 at 8 ohms.
    • Backert Labs Rhumba 1.3
    Tube preamplifier with 2 X 12AU7 tubes
    • T+A DAC 200
    True 1-bit converter - processes DSD files in their native form
    Uses 4 32-bit Burr-Brown converters per channel for PCM processing
    • Custom build Audio Server Audio Server
    Custom built audio server for streaming FLAC/DSD files and also other streaming services. Based on Streacom FC10 Alpha chassis. Running HQ Player for converting files to DSD 512
    • Signalyst HQ Player
    High quality file processor/player for converting FLAC files to 512 DSD
    • Inakustik Reference Power Station AC-3500P
    Power Conditioner
    • Inakustik LS-2404 Air
    Bi-wire speaker cables
    • Inakustik NF-2404 Air
    XLR Cables
    • Inakustik Reference High Speed USB
    USB cable
    • Inakustik 2502F
    Power Cord
    • Furutech FI-28(R)/FI-32(R)
    • Cullen Cables Crossover Series 10 AWG
    Amplifier Power Cord
    • Cullen Cables Crossover Series 12 AWG
    SACD player power cord
    • IsoAcoustics Gaia II
    Isolation footers for loudspeakers
    • IsoAcoustics Gaia II Carpet Spikes
    Carpet Spikes for the Gaia II
    • IsoAcoustics ISO-puck mini
    Footers under the preamp and DAC
    • AudioQuest Fog Lifters
    Cable dressers and system enhancers.
    • World Market Kendall Chair
    Very comfortable chair. Suede. No support directly behind the head which means sound is not distorted. I was searching for something like this for quite some time. I looked at some LC2 and LC3 knock-offs. But they were all leather that could reflect sound. Chocolate color which also matches the GIK panels.
    • GIK Acoustics Tri-Trap
    For front corners behind the speakers, in coffee color.
    • GIK Acoustics Monster Bass Trap
    Mounted on the wall behind listening seat.
    • GIK Acoustics 244 Bass Trap
    Absorption panel in Coffee color, mounted at first reflection points, that also takes care of phase related issues. Plan to get 2 more to go in the center of the room behind the speakers.
    • GIK Acoustics 242 broadband panel
    2' X 2' absorption panel
    • Porterhouse Audio Porter Ports
    • Puron
    Power filter
    • Apple iPad Gen 9
    iPad 9th generation for controlling Foobar2000 using MonkeyMote, Spotify and Oppo UDP-205 remote.

Comments 324

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That room looks like a dream. Could use a little furnishing though.
As you have plenty of room and are experimenting with speaker placement I'd like to make a suggestion. Set your speakers up in a diagonal configuration. Even with plenty of room treatments the diagonal thing worked wonders. Worth a try as you're experimenting.

timrhu

Owner
System edited: Moved to new room last month. Initially I placed the speakers on the floor without spikes and using "rough" measurements. They sounded muddy. In the new room they sounded thin compared to my previous room. This is when I realized that TVC sounds so nice at low volumes that the owners never think of raising the volumes. It was only when I raised the volume dial, 3 levels up that I got back the life of the music. In fact I had to move the speakers more into the room so that the bass does not get boomy. I feel I still need to pull the speakers couple of more inches to reduce the bass boom. Currently speakers are 4 feet from back wall and 3 feet from side walls.

milpai

Owner
Build for new room started 03/30. Room will be 15X18X8. 2 dedicated lines on 10 gauge wire, 20 Amp switches at board, same phase. Thanks to members on this forum and others who have made many good recommendations.

milpai

Owner
System edited: I ordered the RCA cables from Paul, since I liked his speaker cables and XLR cables so much. I let the cables burn in my system for 24 hours before sitting down to do some critical listening. Did not take much to decide to buy the cables. The guitar strings that start Dar William's Iowa song in Mortal City, simply had an awesome timbre that was so close to the real thing. One thing I have found with Clear Day cables - in my system - they bring out the truth in timbre. I love how it makes the music sound so natural.

milpai

Owner
B_limo, good to hear back from you. I had left a comment on your system page. But there was no updates from you. I though you had abandoned this wonderful hobby. But good to see you active on this site.
I am exited about Bryston's new DAC that will come out in Jan. The configuration it sports is what I was looking for. This is because I wanted a DAC that not only does DSD through USB, but somehow able to support the SACDs I have. I plan to visit AXPONA this coming year. I need to hear some new loudspeakers and digital front ends.

milpai

Hey Mil! Long time no talk; good to see you are still here. The rig looks better than ever! I see you made a few changes. Paul at Clear day is awesome. I tried some of his cables awhile back; Paul is a true gentleman. PM me, I cant seem to figure out how to PM you!

b_limo

Owner
LaPierre,
I meant to write about the Clear Day in a separate thread. But I was busy with family and work. With these cables in place, I have never experienced such a humongous and clean soundstage. The experience reminded me of going from Nordost 4Flat to Signal's Silver Resolution. But in the case of Clear Day, the impact was much more. The images of singers and instruments are placed very precisely in the sound stage.
But it was the naturalness or the truth of timber that captured my attention, with these cables in place in my system. I made sure that it was not a psychological thing and changed back to my Signals. I did this test with my wife and she could also easily make out the difference in sound staging and naturalness. I always test components with older recordings. The reason for this is, if older recordings can sound good with the new component, then the newer recordings (nicely mastered only) will no doubt sound amazing. So I went with the "Sweet Misery" from John Denver's Farewell Andromeda. This is an older recording and my system is bass shy on this disc. With the Clear Days in place, the bass was so nice and full. A few days later, I inserted the Clear Day ICs in the system and listened to this same song. The one thing I did this time was to compare how the initial guitar strings sounded on the Signals vs the Clear Day. It was pretty apparent that the Clear Days were in a different league all together, albeit at a cost. There was this "hang" or resonance that a guitar should have with the Clear Days in place. The Signal XLR did not have this much body of the guitar. Same thing with Eva Cassidy's Simply Eva CD. There is some sort of jump factor in the classical recordings that I have not heard before. I feel this is happening because the cables are able to deliver more current from my amp to my speakers.
One more thing - I am enjoying the Blue Coast Collection - The E.S.E Sessions with the Clear Day cables. This SACD used to make me sleepy previously. I am enjoying my entire CD collection all over again. I am really exited about these new cables.

milpai

What are the sonic differences you hear in the upgraded cables?

lapierre

Owner
System edited: Major changes in cables during Aug/Sep. I had contacted Paul in 2012 and hesitated to try out his cables. What a mistake! These cables made a big difference in my system that a $4K preamplifier could not make. Every audiophile should checkout the Clear Day cables, especially when they are ready from budget to mid-priced cables. These are giant killers.

milpai

Owner
A recent comparison between the JC-2 and my TVC proved that expensive need not always be better. Though the JC-2 had issues in it's board and the dealer would correct it and let me have it for demo again, I really wonder "how much" of a difference would $2600 (price difference between the preamps) make?

milpai

Owner
System edited: Looking for a nice active preamp currently. The JC-2 is on top of the list, but also seeking advise for competitions in the same price range.

milpai

Not suggestion that you change speakers. If you did change to lets say a larger speaker that is three way that will likely be a big difference than current Quad. I kept my Helicon 300 for ten years before upgrading to Ascendo F. However, I ensured I could squeeze every micro detail I could get out of the electronics by using good power condition, power cords and power cables.

Parasound JC-2 would be my first selection since your amp is the same manufacture. I do believe in component synergy. You might look into Bryston BP-26 with optional DAC module.

lapierre

Owner
Lapierre,
Why do you say that the loudspeaker will provide the most change? I love the Quads. And even if I have to upgrade my loudspeakers, I will probably have to spend more than $5K to justify the upgrades.
I was thinking of the Parasound JC-2 as a upgrade this summer. Or any SS pre-amplifier in that range.

milpai

Nothing wrong with having two or three year plan.
Determine your objectives and what your want to improve in your system.

More likely the loudspeakers will provide the most change in your system.

lapierre

Owner
Lapierre,
Thank You.

Recently I visited Dallas. And during my time there, I visited Audio Concepts. Landon Swindoll from AudioConcepts was kind enough to demo me many of their setups. It was a awesome experience to hear some big league stuff - especially their PMC and Boulder room. I was carrying some carrying my own CDs with me. One was "Big Joe Maher" from Mapleshade and it was as if the band was playing right there in front of me. Of course the system was more than $150k with all Valhalla cabling - but an awesome experience.

With that and some other system, I really think I am up for some upgrades. I want to start looking into either upgrading the SACD player or the pre-amplifier. Another upgrade is probably the room, but it will not happen at least in the next 2 years. If the Marantz SA-11S3 could do DSD files, I would order one right away. I am hoping that the Axpona in Chicago has some up nice toys that they show off.

milpai

Nice information on first reflection measurements and other links. Did you correct the bass issue with adjustments?

What's next on the HiFi roadmap?

lapierre

Owner
Adding 3 useful links:

First Reflections
Room Modes calculator
Loudspeaker placement calculator

milpai

Owner
System edited: Adding 3 useful links: [url=http://www.acoustic.ua/forms/calculator4.en.html]First Reflections[/url] [url=http://www.bobgolds.com/Mode/RoomModes.htm]Room Modes calculator[/url] [url=http://www.hunecke.de/en/calculators/loudspeakers.html]Loudspeaker placement calculator[/url]

milpai

Owner
Thanks B_Limo.
Yes, enjoying the music ever more! It is crazy what some footers can do in your system. Besides that I got some cool LEDs for my room. Will put out some pics during the holidays.

You got better toys than what I did. Those Jamos look cool. How do you like their sound compared to the Paradigms that you had? You need to update your system pics soon with the Jamos. I am sure they look great in your setup.

I want to get a nice SACD player. The Oppo 105 is a good option. But I am waiting to see if anything new comes up during CES 2014. I generally hang on to my players for a long time. I wish I could get a SACD/CD transport and a DSD DAC for about $4K. No options like these in the market. They are all ultra expensive.

milpai

:-)
Looking good Milpai! Good to see you are still enjoying the music and getting new toys for the rig.

I just added a porter port to the set-up today and am listening to some new speakers I got two days ago (some Jamo 803 with Seas Excel drivers!).

Anyways, hope you and the family have a great holiday season.

b_limo

Owner
System edited: This site is dedicated to people who believe in good sound and music. Yes - SOUND - because that is what fascinates us audiophiles. We love some good music and the way it is re-created in our homes. We go to any extent to achieve the best possible sound within our reach/means. And we do stuff that ordinary folks get baffled with. Like these footers that I recently put under my TVC - replacing the original footers that came with the TVC. I have been meaning to replace the original ones for quite some time, but could not decide on the replacements. Finally I decided to try the ebony cones that Promitheus themselves and some members here and other forums recommend. I purchased them from ebay from a genuine seller. I installed it last week and somehow been regretting. Not regretting purchasing the footers, but regretting why did I now do this 3 years back! All I can say is - now I am a big believer in what some good footers can do. Here are a few things that I cannot explain why the footers do, in my system: 1. Increased upper bass and bass definition 2. "Definition" improvements in all areas 3. "Lengthened decay" at the end of a song - but not ringing 4. Added more "naturalness" to the instruments I cannot explain the last one enough. It is like going from arid to moist. The sound stage seems to have come forward a bit and I have to go down on the sound level by one notch. The improvements by these ebony footers are almost what I heard when moving from Nordost 4Flats to Signal Cable Silver Resolution speaker cables. Localization has improved so much that sometimes it seems uncanny. I should also mention that I have added 2 more GIK 244 panels on back walls to tame more reflections - about 2-3 months back. They also helped improve the sound stage. But these footers are something else. Happy Holidays everyone and enjoy your music.!

milpai

Owner
System edited: Changed the title to "Searching...." today. Because I have started my search for a new source. I initially wanted the Marantz SA-11S3. But I have also been considering the Oppo BDP-105. And reading all the positive reviews of the Oppo, I have started asking myself, if the Marantz is worth the price difference? I would like to hear from anyone who has experienced both these players in their system.

milpai

Owner
Thank You Lapierre.
I am more eager to see your new room/system, as I have gone through many of your "Answers" on this site and I know that you have collected tons of info to improve your system :-)

milpai

Good question. Will do my due diligence.

lapierre

Owner
Congratulations on the Florida house. And good to know that you are all settled with the new house. I will be eager to see your system updates soon. I know that you have done a lot of research on various equipment in the past few months.

If you are at the New York Audio show, please do try to find out from the manufacturers, whether they plan to do a firmware update on SACD players so that their USB inputs can be used to play DSD downloads. I am surprised to find that all SACD players what have digital inputs, including USB type-B, cannot be used as DSD DACs.

milpai

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