My system evolved like this in time. I did not plan to buy an Asr team. From a hard learning budget enemy experience, i understood that buying a second hand equipment is a very good thing. For a long time i am monitoring second hand items and if i see anything i wanted, i am taking action. For a now i am planning to change my cartridge, maybe another turntable or anew turntable with a two arms, and a better phono cable.
Many things changed this year. Full Ypsilon electronics came, recently Techdas Airforce two landede, also I am waiting my new Stage 3 concept cables. Trying many tonearms I ended with Graham Elit, which is a good companion to AF2, I need a second tonearm to mount my heavy cartridges like Phasemation, Benz maybe Kansui. Ikeda would be a good and wise choice but who knows...
System edited: Kuzma 4point left the system. I hope to get Graham Elite. Also i tried clear audio universal 9 inch tonearm. It is a decent tonearm, but i think and hope Graham Elite will be in different category. Transparent Ref cables are greate, finally some cables beat my audioquest volcano+sky team.
System edited: Transparent Ref. cables added to my system, which my speaker internally wired transparent. Also Micro Benz Lp cartridge added for my tangential tonearm.
That's good to hear, they look closer than they probably are to the front wall, but it is encouraging to know that they don't need to 5-6' into the room..
The ASR basis is also a wonderful piece, my friend uses one and is very happy with it indeed..
Paul thank you for your kind words. Indeed rockports are not close to any wall, i think photos do not reflect the real distances. I know the huge rack between them has a negative effect on sound stage etc. , but i do not have any chance to change recently. Also i can say easily rockports are not very picky about location, but they are very deep, and of course they need a reasonable distance to breathe, otherwise its ok.
I'm sorry, I missed your system somehow, it is wonderful!
In particular the very even balance across all parts, which for me is very important. I owned ASR E2 excl for several years, and it is a good amplifier indeed, and i'm keeping a very close eye on the Rockport Avior for when the time comes to elevate my own system further. I currently use my highly upgraded ML Spire, there is little more available for me to do to maximise the performance of these speakers now, and in all honesty, I do not 'need' to change anything, the sound is really very good as it is, but having tried several coil drivers, there is always a trade off in comparison to the lightning speed and clarity of the panel speaker, especially after 5 years of careful upgrade implementation. The Rockports, while I have yet to hear them, may well bridge the gap between punch and speed/transparency, retaining the scale and depth that my modifications have brought to the panels. I noticed from your photo's that you have the Avior 'relatively' close to the wall, which you must find to be totally acceptable? This is important to me to use a speaker that does work well within3-4' from the wall to the front panel, certainly for now anyway, we will no doubt move house soon so things may change with a dedicated music room but for now at least, this is critical.
I tend to use digital exclusively at the moment, but I am in the process of building a TT with the help of Mr Tsuda of CF, ( Skeletal Denon DP3000 D/D heavily upgraded, SAEC 506/30/carbon fibre platter/Corian and Aluminium CNC'd plinth, cartridge TBC) but it will be another 4-5 months before It will be up and running no doubt!
System edited: I have added Oyide mj-12 alimnium turntable mat. It really makes a difference in good way. Darker backgrounds, better bass definitions etc. i can't recommendypu to buy because mats gives different reaction truntable to turntable. But i can highly recommend you to try!!
System edited: After a long time home trial, I decided up buying Clear Audio Master Reference with TT2 tangential tonearm. Turntable and tonearm are fantastic. In every respect it is better then my Blackbird.
Altan, well done with your nice audio setup. I am glad to see what is here! I saw you asked about Transparent cable. Currently all of my interconnectors and speaker cables are Transparent Reference XL (mm2 version). Since I got them never thought of upgrading since 2008. At least for me that tells a lot ;-) you can not go wrong with any line from Transparent.
Lately i am trying clearaudio master reference+tt2 tonearm+lyra titan i cartridge. if i am not mistaken, there is something special here. Sadly i cannot try different combos this weekend. But i think this turntable and tonearm needs a special cartridge and system to shine. On audiobeat, there is a review about clearaudio master ref. Vs vpi classic 4. Author finds vpi superior in every way.(author reviewed master ref. With tq1 souther tonearm not with tt2), interesting result, not in the same direction with mine. i will do the real comparison with kuzma 4point+lyra. i will try this combo on both table, and then i will give my decision.
Also i found a very good deal to change my feickert with clearaudio master reference with tt2 tonearm. i am thinking to change my feickert with brinkmann balance or kuzma stabi 4xl on the long run. Of course buying master reference, and using it with tt2 and kuzma 4point tone arm would not hurt my feelings nor my budget(i am going to buy with a very very good price, i probably sell it anytime with this price), but i really like to hear your thoughts if you have any experience.
Your Altair s are fantastic. i wish to have a proper listening room to put altairs.
For Asr easy word, i love them. Most of the folks says they are between tube and solid state(in good ways). i found them naturel, not emphasizing on any spectrum of sound. Everything comes, as it should be, also they are very good company for my Asr Emitter :) i compare them with, audio research ref2 which i found fantastic in many ways, making settings with remote(ohm.etc), also toxicating vocals are fantastic in my opinion, but tubey sound is a tubey sond, if you are fan of them, stick with ar ref2 also Amr phono, which has a adc, which gives you a chance to rip your vinyl. But again tubes with amr. Also i demoed naim superline, i think with super cap sound fantastic, i may easily buy it, but i have two tone arms, and two superline with two supercap costs unmeaningful at least to me. i wish to try boulder and burmaster phono pre s but they are not available here.
You have put together a very nice system so congratulations.
I read your description of what you have heard for the all of the speakers that you have auditioned. I have heard all of those as well except the ATC's and I would say that I agree with your descriptions and conclusions. I used to own Magico M5 speakers and now own Rockport and I also have the same opinion about the differences between these 2 great speaker companies.
Altanpsx Congrats on your Aviors and an exquisite system. As a fellow Avior owner I can't commend you enough on your impeccable taste :-) Regards Pradeep
Hey, what an amazing system. I know your Rockports are awesome !! I am considering a new phono stage. I use a Allaerts MC2 Finsh (.2mv and 38 ohm internal impedance) and a Lyra Atlas (.56mv and about 4 ohm internal impedance)
The Lyra seems easy to match phono stages. The Allaerts is very picky. How do you like your ASR Basis? What did you have before to compare?
THANK YOU so much for taking the time to write our detailed response. It is greatly appreciated. As you mention, each model within a certain will also have different qualities. For me, I am interested in some 2-way monitors. At the moment, I really like the Sonus Faber because I listen mainly to acoustic, female vocals. To my ears, I think SF midrange is just wonderful. I will definitely check out the speakers mentioned in your post as well during my auditions.
i like uncolor sound production. i listened tad evolution with their electronics, they are sweet actually, but too much sugar makes you ill :) Tad s sound wonderful but from my point of view they are not naturel, They are very colored, they are hi-fi. i cannot say this for their big brothers but they were out of my budget. Also i cant find a reason for someone to pick tads against magico, atc rockport.
Mbl's were also terrific in some ways, biggest sound stage, details were extraordinary, but again in my point of view it is a mbl house sound not naturel. Also with out their electronics, they lack of something.
Sonus Fabers were a different kind of animal. i demoed elipsa and amati futura again they are in my budget range. i think if i had to make a buying list, sf and tad were the last speakers i like to buy among these. Sf has its own sound too. They are terrific with classic music, but they are not responding same in different type of music. i think they are not allrounder. i found them very hifish too.
Atc100 active tower was on the top of the list, until magico/rockport. These speakers are one of the most naturel speaker on earth i think. What ylu feed them is what you get. They have extraordinary bass, also very good mid and top. Because they are active they are in line top to bottom. i can not say anything bad about them, i think they must be on the anyones shortlist. Downside is they are big and ugly, i cannot say it is a problem, but thing to consider. Also because they are active you may pair them with a choice of your good preamp. if my dealer had in it stock i may bought it the time i demoed.
Bw 800d, as a previous 703/803s/803d owner, i nearly know what should i expect from 800d. Also my wife likes the style of the bw's. After listening 800d's for an hour, i understand that my bw days are over. They sound too forward, they have an beatifull bass but i did not find the context, quality of the atc's. Also yhis kind of forward sound production is coloration. i think bw is a hifish like sf. İn my opinion a veteran audiophile would not choose this speakers.
Wilson line is exceptional at the very first 10 minutes or so. You may think that you found something special, but after the first magic, wilsons conception of natural sound production become unnaturel. i found them hifish in a way but not in the same league with sf and bw. They are in a better league, but in my point of view they are not naturel.
Focal's look beatiful, sound good but again, they cannot compete with atc. i cannot write too much things about them because they were nearly the first speakers i demoed, and no fancy memory...
Magico and Rockports.......they are above all these speakers in my opinion(comparing same level speakers) first of all, they arenot hifish, no not at all. They are exactly high-end, or in my point if view colorless speakers. i did not listened all models of course, rockport atria/avior, magico mini2/q3. if i did not listened these speakers i may easily end with atc's. Again in my point of view, magico's are little bit cold or more analytic side of being naturel, which means they have coloration too. But the sou d production is beyond any speakers i had mentioned. i found rockports completely naturel, thats why i pick them. No shortcomings in Rockports in sound production. Also you may feed them nearly anything, of course better feeding, better result, but Magico's you must feed them with the best to get a result in my opinion. Magico's wont give you a time to upgrade your electronics, but rockports are very forgiving, for Good results you do not need to feed them with a 1000 watt monblock. i think this is an mportant issue to consider.
Short version, my top three rank rockport, magico, atc.
All of these are my findings, any opposite ideas are wellcome. i do not wish to hurt anybodys feeling.
