These speakers are version 2 of Aerial Acoustics' pinnacle speaker design. The workmanship is outstanding. They have 2" thick cabinet walls with heavy cherry veneer. The wiring and components are all premium grade. They use a 4" ribbon tweeter and proprietary Scan-Speak drivers. A true 20HZ to 20,000HZ speaker that is very musical.
Line Magnetic LM-845 Premium
The LM-845 Premium is a SET integrated amp that uses massive output transformers and a massive separate power supply. The driver tubes are 300B and output tubes are 845. I've upgraded the tubes to Western Electric. The authority, richness and soundstage this amp provides is outstanding. With the Aerial 20T V2 speakers it presents a huge soundstage that is silky smooth and powerful.
Eversolo Play & Gustard A26 streamer/DAC combo
This is Eversolo's all-in-one component which I have found makes an excellent stand alone streamer. I'm feeding it to a Gustard A26 DAC that combines two AK4499EX DAC chips with one AK4191 modulator from Asahi Kasei Microdevices. With independent power supplies and grounding for each channel when run fully balanced it makes a huge, natural soundstage and very realistic presentation of the music.
ModWright Signature Truth SCD XA5400ES
ModWright Signature Truth SCD XA5400ES with external tube rectified power supply. I've added Sophia Electric blue 6SN7 tubes to the output stage. I still have a significant CD collection. Overall, great analog type sound.
AR-ES1, SME, Origin Live, Hagerman Labs and LTA analog system
Heavy modified custom AR-ES1 with Origin Live speed box and SME 309 tonearm. Phono preamp is a Hagerman Labs Trumpet MC with LTA power supply. Very high value and excellent performing analog system.
Audioquest Dragon Interconnects, Power Cables and Speaker Cables
Expensive but worth it if you want the absolute best out of your system.
Synergistic Research Black Box
The Black Box is a Low Frequency Resonator Array that works in conjunction with the Atmospheres and FEQ X4 to solve bass node issues.
Synergistic Research ART System
This is Synergistic Research's older acoustic system that's based on resonators. It works very well with their current UEF system and provides excellent results. Complete ART systems are getting hard to find.
The UEF Panels, UEF Dots, Black Box, ECT and GCT are all types of sound resonators. I use an Atmosphere XL-4 (green ATM), Atmosphere (red ATM), FEQ X4 (2) (red ATMs) and Mini-Atmosphere (green ATM) - when used with the Synergistic Research control software they generate various frequencies of Schumann Resonances around the room.
Synergistic Research Tranquility Pod
The Tranquility Pod has powered UEF and SR grounding technology. It works with the SR Atmospheres that I have distributed around the room. Very effective with digital sources.
Electric Bamboo, ADD-Powr Sorcer and ElectraClear EAU-1
The Electric Bamboo is an excellent but very rare line conditioner. Hand-built around a massive transformer thats wired and grounded in the classic star configuration. The ADD-Powr and ElectraClear devices add electromagnetics (EM) to the AC line using an active circuit and algorithm. Contrary to popular belief not all EM is bad for sound quality in stereo systems.
Vera-Fi Audio MainStream, SnubWay and Puron AC Line Conditioners
I use these conditioners as additives to my power conditioner. They give a more realistic presentation/soundstage and reveal more texture and impact to the overall sound especially in the bass.
Stein H2 Harmonizer system
I have 4 Stein H2s in my system.I went with one in each of corner of the room with a Stein stone on each and a Stein diamond on the ceiling in the center of the room. They add layers and layers of depth with each vocalist/instrument being in their own separate but integrated spaces.
Akiko Audio Tuning Stick; Kemp QA Plug (2) and Zero One (2)
The Akiko Audio tuning stick is another grounding product that works with internal crystals. The Kemp and Zero One products keep the electrons spinning around the electronic signals as uniform as possible and add a more standard frequency Schumann Resonance as compared to the Synergistic Research products which have variable Schumann frequencies.
Audio Magic Pulsed Electron Alignment
The PEAs are battery powered and affect Spintronics: electrons spinning around electronic signals. The goal of the PEA devices its to get the electrons spinning as uniformly as possible. It opens up the sound and makes subtle cues in the music even more real.
This company has now closed because the owner has passed away. These products work to achieve a uniform and consistent RF/EMI and electron treatment around components.
System edited: Went back to an idler drive turntable. Been around the block with a Garrard 301, Lenco 75 and now Thorens 124. All classics - fun stuff!
Made some major changes. Going battery powered. Life off the grid is a whole new audio experience! Also been using a DYI sound resonator. All I can say is WOW! More to come.....
I haven't posted in over a year. Nothing has changed in my system! What that means to me I'm finally off the merry-go-around of equipment!! Its all about the music now. Peace.
Bernardo - I agree they mostly help with imaging/soundstage. By changing the angle of the top diffuser you can literally tailor the soundstage to your liking. As you problem know many people use bass absorbers in the corners of their room to help with standing waves and other problems. I'm probably going to reexamine my room treatments this year - maybe even bring someone in to give me a professional opinion on it.
What if any affect do the Shakti Hallograph's have on bass response? Just curious as from appearance it seems like they would only affect imaging/sounstaging. I'm trying to decide what route to go with roomm treatment.
Bimbamboom - Speakers have been the bayne of my existence (pun intended, my last name is Bayne). The Philharmonic 3 looked good on paper because I've really enjoyed that planar midrange sound in the past but attaching them to a cone, dynamic bass driver always seemed to be a problem for speaker designers. I went the low watt, high efficiency speaker route for a number of years which was excellent but again I couldn't get the bass right. I think Dennis Murphy finally solved the problem by using an absolute top quality bass cone in a carefully crafted transmission line enclosure with semi-open baffle, and then, of course, the carefully crafted crossover to get it to be seamless with the planar midrange. Its a remarkable achievement IMO for any speaker, let alone a $3k one!!
Just a few comments on my "new" system. First, Shindo is probably the best you can buy - I know, I owned it. I wanted to buy another share in a very good friend's business so I sold off my Shindo gear. Do I regret it? A little bit. I've replaced it with the best value equipment I know of. Every component has been chosen with value in mind, but it MUST be musical. What I mean by musical is provide an emotional response when MUSIC is played. I could careless about sound effects and synthesized sounds. If you can't sit-down in my living room and play it for me without a rack of equipment then its NOT music....ie, if you need a vocalizer and digitizer to repeat the song then forget it. I have a decent receiver in my home theater to play sound. I want to listen to music.
The TRL, Philharmonic and Dobbins analog is the best value hi-fi I know of. I can still come home from a long day in the office, listen to my system and relax - not thinking about the electronics but just loving the music. Thats what this hobby is all about!!!!
System edited: I've been tweaking my Logitech Touch by adding a Welborne power supply and using a SimAudio 100D DAC. This has brought dramatically better sound to the digital side of my system. The Shindo 301 still walks all over it, but there is no debating it is convenient way to listen to your music!
Adamaley - You're right, no dedicated DAC. The Touch meets my current needs for digital which is: convenience. The internal DAC does 96/24 decoding and it has a nice interface. The analog outs sound fine. I'm just addicted to analog I guess.
Very nice system you have here. I could see myself living with such a system without a thought of change for(ever) a long time. Kudos! What do you think about the Squeezebox touch in your system? I don't see a DAC in your system, are you satisfied with the analog outs?
I'm just looking for the best speaker for my room and equipment. The doesn't mean the Devores and Altecs are not excellent speakers. The Salks just seem to load the back enclave area in my room better. I think it has to do with the large open baffle midrange in the Archos.
System edited: I've been enjoying the Salk Archos in my system. They are very tube friendly at 94db and the open-baffle design throws a huge, balanced soundstage.
