Arnie just got back from CES with Charles. The Absolare room was the best sound at the show. I am very picky and must say that the Rockport speakers are the best I have heard. I cannot tell you how musical the system was and transparent and so easy on the ears. The best Jeff

jwm January 12, 2013 22:18

Hi Pradeep,

That's great news about the Avior's arriving! I am sure you want to get home to get them set up and start listening to them. You will definitely enjoy them as they are wonderful sounding speakers.

Thanks very much about the Absolare preamp. It is a very purist design and doesn't have a remote control. At first, I thought that would be a problem for me but now I am OK without one. Especially given how good it sounds!!

Arnie

babybear December 30, 2012 01:17

Arnie
Congrats on the Absolare preamp. A non audiophile question : does it have a remote ?
The Aviors have arrived back home. I am in NYC for another ten days :(
Cheers
Pradeep

sunnyboy1956 December 29, 2012 15:06

Thanks very much Charles,

I have heard the Absolare Passion preamplifier and the Absolare Passion 845 amplifiers matched with Rockport Aquila speakers when I visited Absolare in Istanbul, Turkey this past summer. It was really, really good. I believe they will have a very similiar setup at CES this year with both digital and analog front ends. Have a great time.

Arnie

babybear December 23, 2012 20:34

Congratulations with the new Absolare Passion linestage.I`m looking forward to hearing both the Absolare linestage and their PSET 845 amplifier at the Las Vegas show in just a few weeks.
Regards,

charles1dad December 23, 2012 13:50

Hi John,

Thanks very much.

I did decide to go ahead and purchase the Absolare preamp. I did 3 comparisons between the VTL 7.5 Series 3 preamp and the Absolare Passion Signature preamp and every time I did this, the differences were consistent and obvious.

When I am at your place, we'll have to pick a day for you to come by here as well and do a lengthier listening session given all of the changes that I have made since the last time you did that (not counting the Christmas party).

Arnie

babybear December 22, 2012 14:42

Hi Arnie, sounds like you went ahead and bought the Absolare...I was very impressed with that pre amp in your system! Congratulations !!

jfrech December 22, 2012 11:52

System edited: I've been evaluating some new components for the past 6 weeks which have resulted in a few significant changes to my system. 1. First and most importantly is a new preamp, the Absolare Passion Signature Balanced preamplifier. This is a truly remarkable preamp that has a very open, transparent, effortless and natural sound that takes the performance of the system with the Rockport Arrakis even further than I thought possible, 2. Echole Signature power cord with an inline Purifier module to power the Rockport Arrakis external active crossover. This power cord with inline power filtering has helped to create an even blacker background and a more organic, coherent and refined sound. 3. The use of Stillpoint Ultra SS footers under the Allnic H3000 phono stage, the outboard power supply for the MSB CD transport, the outboard power supply for the MSB DAC and under the new Absolare Preamplifier.

babybear December 21, 2012 18:33

Hi Pradeep,

Thanks very much!

I find a glass of good red wine goes very well when I listen!

Let me know what you think about your listening with the VTL and when the Aviors arrive. They are wonderful speakers.

Arnie

babybear December 20, 2012 15:49

Congrats Pradeep! Let us know how they sound! Pls post here so we can refer back to this one to find your new post! Enjoy!

lloydelee21 December 20, 2012 09:26

Wow what a fantastic set up. No wonder the decanter is empty!
Many thanks for your help with the VTLs. Am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Rockport Aviors.
Cheers
Pradeep

sunnyboy1956 December 20, 2012 01:32

thanks for that...read the link as well. Impressive! Look forward to reading your notes on it!!!

lloydelee21 December 17, 2012 08:53

Hi Lloyd,

The preamp that I am auditioning is called the Absolare Passion preamp. It is made by the sister company of the cables that I use - Echole. I first got a chance to hear it when I visited Istanbul, Turkey this past summer where the company is headquartered.

Robert Harley was part of that same trip and he recently did a short blog about his visit and in the blog you can also see some pictures of the preamp as well as the amps. Here is a link:

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/absolare-launches-system-line-in-us/

Arnie

babybear December 16, 2012 16:27

Hi John,

Thanks very much and thanks for coming last night. Everyone seemed to have a great time. But we did order a little too much food!

Let me know when I can come by your place to listen to your system. Looking forward to hearing it with all of the new acoustic treatments. Most any time will work for me so whatever is good for you, just let me know.

babybear December 16, 2012 16:22

The Rockport's in general have better transparency and more natural presentation. I've head the Avior's extensively, Arnie's set up a few times now and Altairs once at the Rockport facility...I do have a friend in Austin with Alexandria's, I'll go listen to them again soon...

The Wilson's, but NO MEANS are wrong. I do think they do dynamics and bass power like no other. It's really what sound and signature you prefer...these are all degree's of perfection...it's like a Porsche can corner better than a Corvette..but the Corvette has better torque and power from the starting line and the straight roads...

jfrech December 16, 2012 15:38

Wow! Great to know you heard Babybear's system...wish i could do same someday.

What makes you think of Altairs over Maxx3s?

And what preamp is Arnie now auditioning?

lloydelee21 December 16, 2012 14:44

Hi Arnie, thanks so much for having us over. Excellent food, wine, fun and friends!

Your system has made some nice improvements, I know I only got to hear it with the others...but I could definitely hear the midrange and top end beauty. That was the best I've ever heard Rockport's sound...including the Altair's in Andy's room in Maine. These Rockport Altairs are really tugging on my checkbook now ;-) ...fabulous speakers !!

I have to assume the cabling changes and especially the preamp you're demoing has a lot to do with this beauty...

Best of everything this Holiday Season !!

jfrech December 16, 2012 13:25

Arnie,

For sure. Will do. Thanks again.

lloydelee21 November 28, 2012 23:54

Hi Lloyd,

You're most welcome. Let me know what you hear when you put the Ultra 5's under your speakers.

Arnie

babybear November 28, 2012 19:38

Wow! Thanks for the quick reply, Babybear! Great stuff! I realized i use HRS nimbus couplers and dampers, Artesania dampers and Auralex subwoofer isolation platform on: Transport, DAC, DAC PSU, CJ GAT and the Velodyne. Basically the Wilsons and the Gryphon Colosseum have no 3rd party isolation. The Colosseum has enormous 3" thick feet with a 2" thick methacrylate base of some sort.

And Wilson appears to use the same spikes since 1994...good ones...just wondering if Stillpoints will make the same material difference you seem to have found with your components. (I was very impressed by what Ultra SS did with Esoteric Transport...in fact, i would use the very same description you gave about what i heard with the Ultra SS and the Esoteric transport.)

And the Ultra SS/5s were primarily designed for heavy speakers...fingers crossed and thanks again!

lloydelee21 November 27, 2012 23:24

Hi Lloyd,

Yes, you are certainly correct in that I won't even try to put an Ultra 5 footer (or any other footer for that matter) under the Arrakis - not at 900 pounds for each speaker and given the substantial base and footers that the Arrakis come with.

As for the Stillpoints Ultra 5 and also the smaller Ultra SS footers - in my system they both perform exceptionally well. I have only used the Ultra 5's under my turntable and right now I am also experimenting with the Ultra SS footers under my phono stage, the outboard power supply of my CD transport, the outboard power supply of my DAC and the analog output stage of my preamp. I added one set of these footers at a time so that I can understand the impact of what each set does. With each set of these footers that I add, they have the same effect and it appears to be cumulative - increased resolution, increased focus and coherence and at the same time a greater sense of ease with the music. They also seem to increase the sense of the acoustic space that the music is played in. Overall, the performance just seems more natural sounding to me. I have been comparing them to what I was previously using - Pyon Sound Spira Ultra tuning feet. So far, based on what I am hearing, the Stillpoints Ultra 5 and Ultra SS footers are superior and by quite a bit.

babybear November 27, 2012 23:05

Just the man to talk to!!! Babybear - i have just asked to audition Ultra 5s for my Wilson X1s...any thoughts on this? I cannot imagine you would wish to try under the Arrakis, given the base that Rockport has built under the speaker. However in my case, with the Velodyne DD18 being so dramatically changed by the Auralex subwoofer isolation platform (recalibrating after installing it meant going from volume 9 to 32!!!)...means the floorboards are singing. so i am going to try them under the trusty old Wilsons.

Any thoughts on Ultra 5s...what they do...did you compare to anything else? thanks!

lloydelee21 November 27, 2012 22:14

System edited: I've added a fourth Stillpoints Ultra 5 footer under The Beat turntable. I've also added a Minus K BM8 vibration isolation platform under the turntable. I've added 18 pounds of ballast weight onto the Minus K platform to bring the total weight up to 129 pounds (the BM8 that I ordered has a weight rane of 90-130 pounds). This allows the Minus K to operate at its maximum. In my system, adding the Minus K under the turntable has further reduced the noise floor when listening to vinyl. In addition, performers sound more palpable, the upper frequencies have more finesse and the overall presentation just feels more effortless.

babybear November 26, 2012 20:50

System edited: Changed the Interconnect between the Rockport active external crossover to the VTL Siegfried mono block amps powering the bass drivers of the Arrakis 2 from an Echole Obsession IC to an Echole Signature IC. The Signature IC provides deeper and more resolved bass than the Obsession IC.

babybear October 10, 2012 14:17

Hi Aaron,

I have done the listening comparison in my room between the Platinum Signature DAC IV with the Diamond Power supply and the Diamond DAC IV (with the optional clock) also with the Diamond power supply both fed by the Data CD IV powered by the same Diamond power supply. I found the Diamond DAC IV to be (With the clock) in audio terms, a significant improvement and the Platinum Signature DAC IV is already really good. The other really significant improvement was when I auditioned the Data CD IV powered by the new dedicated Signature Transport power supply (which is a linear power supply) instead of using the transport power supply inside of the Diamond power base which is a switching power supply. Both of these are well worth hearing in your system if you get the opportunity to do so.

babybear September 26, 2012 21:35