Great, thanks! I already E-mailed him.

My power isn't bad at all. But I still feel as if I need to put something on it to protect it from evil humors and bad lightning thingies that will never really happen... :-)

I can't wait to hear the MM3's!

-Matt

mattnshilp October 30, 2007 01:29

Thanks Stereotaupei! And yes, it killed me to disburse my reference system. But it would have killed me more to look at the gear sitting in boxes for years in my basement...

I am going to take a listen to the MM3's when I get a moment. Apparantly there is a gentlemen/Dealer in Pennsylvania who has a pair set up with the Dart/Emm gear on demo. I'd love to hear them...

I seam to have lost his contact info. If anyone knows this guy and can send me his contact info that would be great!

Also, I am not familiar with the APL NWO2.5T player. Would you mind posting or sending me a link to check it out?

I am typically a fan of gain in my pre-amp stage but if the digital out has enough gain of it's own, or the amp is a bit more sensitive then sometimes skipping the pre- can sound great... And it certainly would save a few pennies...

What are most of the MM3/Dart/Emm systems using for power conditioning?

Happy listening.

-Matt

mattnshilp October 29, 2007 03:24

I thought your schweikerts would surely be in by now. Have you decided to keep the MM3's?

I seam to be seeing more and more systems with that simple combo: EmmLabs, DartZeel (Pre and amp), and E.A. MM3's, Dart interconnects and E.A. speaker wire.

It almost sounds like a no-brainer. Add turntable of choice, mix in a nice arm and cartridge and put it in a good room and it's a prescription for success...

-Matt

PS - Talk about full circle. I thought for sure that when I built my new home, I'd have ample room for a dedicated listening room. Well, there is... But it will be in the basement, which won't be finished for a few more years. And I have NO WHERE else to put my current system (Talon, VAC, Tenor Audio, Teres Audio TT, etc.). So I sold the whole damn thing except the turntable and TriVista SACD player and I'll be using a recently acquired TriVista Integrated amp along with the SACD and a pair of Aerial Acoustics Model 10T's in the family room with my Teres Audio table to keep me going. Sigh... Not that the TriVista/10T combo will be bad. In fact, it is quite musical. But nothing close to my reference system...

mattnshilp October 24, 2007 02:03

Thanks Mike,

I am intrigued by the MM2 and it may fit just right.

I'm not going to make any changes until I get what I have into my new room. My current listening room is on the third floor and it's only stairs to get up there. I had to hire a moving company to get my Friebirds, at 300+ pounds each, up there. And I think the MM2's would collapse my floor!

My new listening room will be in my basement, and it's a walkout. So getting them there would be WAY easier.

I just have to hunker down and wait for now. Who knows what will be out then. But it's good to know that you think the MM2 is pretty much as good as the MM3. I am hoping they will be at the H.E. show in NYC this May so I can hear them (and see them)...

Happy listening,

-Matt

mattnshilp March 26, 2007 18:27

I've been in contact with them and they are also coming out with an upgraded stereo version, the 175 U.R.A.

I'll check the web site out today.

For those interested, he said they would be coming out with these two amps (mono and stereo hybrids), and a pre-amp and phono-stage to soon follow. No mention of a new OTL was made - I think it's a much tougher market for them and a matching pre-amp is a more marketable and viable product from their standpoint.

My listening room will be quite small when it's built (about 18'6" X 13'4" X 8'6" high). I am intrigued by the MM3's, but I think they will be WAY too big for my small listening room. There are only five speakers in my list for when my room is eventually done: My current reference Talon's, the Dali Megalines, maybe the MM2 (i think it will fit my small space better), the new Pipedreams (I have not heard the newest version, but I always loved the older ones), and the Kharma Midi Exquisits. I need to chose a speaker that will sound best in a smaller room. I know the Firebird's will sound awesome in that size room (I have spoken with the gentlemen at Rives about this already and they will obviously be doing my room). I would assume they are pretty familiar with the Firebird since they bought the damn company. I am a bit hesitant to get the MM2's since I have heard over and over that the top woofer really brings the speaker together and makes it just right. Without the top woofer (basically, the MM2) it is great, but not as cohesive, full and musical as the MM3. I just don't want to put a speaker in that small room that will overwhelm it.

I'm really happy with my current electronics and have not heard anything better in my system, yet. But everyone who loves the Tenors seams to REALLY love the Dart's. So I would assume I will eventually try them out as well. I have seen many people say they found perfection in their Tenors only to replace them with Dart's and never look back. But the Vac/Tenor combo with the Talon's seams to be just right (in my crappy current room at least).

Oh, and the gent's at Tenor Audio DID say they will offer a trade-in program for owners of the 150/300 series so get them into the 175/350 series. But I have not received pricing yet. I think they are establishing a solid dealer network before announcing that.

mattnshilp March 25, 2007 19:17

Have you heard anything about the new Tenor Audio gear coming out shortly? New stereo and mono hybrid amps as well as a pre-amp and phono-stage to follow. Maybe your beloved Dart gear may be dethroned by the very brand it replaced!!!! :-)

Considering the impact a positive review from you can be, I would give them a call and see if they would ship you a pre-production unit to audition in your uber-system/uber-room. I know I'd love to hear your impressions.

I currently am running a Tenor Audio 150-Hps, so I am intrigued by the company coming back from the grave, bigger and better (hopefully). As long as they keep their products from melting or blowing up, then I think they will do well this time... I'm kicking around upgrading to their newer stereo amp when it comes out, but I'd like to hear it first since I'm SO happy with my current Tenor amp. And I tried a TON of amps before settling in on this one and the Vac Rennesance Signature Mark II pre-amp it's mated to. Sounds amazing with my Talon Firebird Diamonds!!! But I can't wait to get the whole system into a Rives room (still a few years away, sigh!).

-Matt

mattnshilp March 25, 2007 03:23

Hi Mike,

Haven't posted in a while. I was just thumbing through your thread when I noticed that there's no Schweikert speakers there anymore...

Last I read you had sold your 9's and where waiting for 11's to come in.

Are they still being built or have you decided to keep the E.A. MM3's in your Ubersystem permanently? I know you liked them a lot but I thought they where temp's until the 11's came in.

-Matt

mattnshilp March 16, 2007 18:46

Hi Mike,

I hope you enjoyed the show!

Congratulations on having your system copied exactly by the manufacturers/distributors. There has to be no greater sign of flatery then having the reps and manufacturers mimick your tastes and system matching to display and sell their product.

Any stand-out rooms at the show (besides yours)? Did you have the opportunity to hear the new Pipedreams?

Welcome home. I know it's always refreshing to go back to your own system after hear all that variety.

-Matt

mattnshilp January 16, 2006 02:44

Thanks MIke,

I wait with baited breath for your report. Man I wish I were going!!!

-Matt

mattnshilp January 05, 2006 14:55

HI Mike and Happy Holidays to all!

Just curious if you have ever given the Dali Megaline or the new Pupedreams (series V) a good listen and any comparisons between them and your Schweikerts.

I finally had my meeting with my architect and I am definitely limited to a listening room no larger then 17 feet wide. I still have not received my Firebirds, but they are going to arrive very soon.

I'm in no rush to replace the Firebirds. In fact, I am assuming they will fit every possible need I have. But I know that these two line source radiators work well in smaller rooms and I am always looking...

Of course, I am not going to make any huge changes until my room is done, which won't be for quite some time (as you know).

It was more of a curiosity. And since I won't be able to make it to CES this year, where I know the new Pipedreams series V will be, I guess this is a backhanded way of getting you to give them a good listen for us all. :-)

-Matt

mattnshilp December 25, 2005 16:58

Thanks Mike, for all of your input and experience.

Until my Firebird Diamond's arrive I can't really do much of anything. But your information and opinions have been VERY helpful. I'll let you know what my experiences are as I progress. I'm going to stick with my incomming Talon's for a while before considering any speaker upgrade. I have loved the sound of the Talons, especially the Firebird every time I have heard them. Plus, the Midi's are a bit out of my price range just now as I would rather spend the extra $$$ on my listening room itself; considering I already have a pretty damn good system I think it's money better spent.

The only concern I have currently is that I don't have a true reference pre-amp to try out the Vac 70/70 and Tenor with to compare to the ASR. I was considering using the pre-outs of the ASR pre-amp section for the Tenor and Vac amps. I do have my Hovland HP100, which is damn good, but not really up to the Tenor/Vac level.

Is your Placette passive upgraded, modified or anything? I don't need balanced inputs/outputs and Placette has the RVC listed as only $1000.00 while you list it as $2500 (with line-stage and bal in/out). You aren't using the Placette line-stage (I think), just the RVC. Considering how infrequently I listen these days (Sigh)I could actually skip the line-stage altogether and just plug in the phono-stage or CD source, when using it, directly to the RVC...

But I must say I have heard the new C.J. ACT 2 and was blown away. I have not heard the Calypso but have also heard great things about it. What a wonderful problem to have!!! :-)

To be honest, until I read your posting I would NEVER have considered a passive pre as I have been unimpressed with them thus far. But you and others have indicated that the inexpensive Placette RVC is a special little unit, and that it works very very well specifically with the Tenor. But you are back to an active line-stage with the DarTzeel.... Maybe I'll try to get my hand son the RVC just for the Tenor.

Hummmm.

Hey, did the Pipedreams or Dali Megaline ever pique your interest? They are a very different speaker then what you are currently running...

mattnshilp November 16, 2005 19:30

So I would assume the DarTZeels are staying? Did you happen to try the Tenor amps with the DarT pre-amp? And if you are planning on selling the Jena Labs Passive and Placette RVC let me know as I may be interested. Did you happen to ever try the Tenor's with the C.J. ACT 2 or one of their older Reference Pre-amps?

What pre-amps have you tried with the Tenors?

I am under the working assumption that a single 150 HPs Tenor stereo amp will have no problem with the Midi Exquisite's should they ever happen to grace my listening room???

So are you done now??? :-)

-Matt

mattnshilp November 15, 2005 17:46

Immensely overall. Thank you.

I wasn't really asking for flavor or opinions on the Lamm, Tenor, etc.; just stating that they all have excellent reputations and I am intrigued by them - especially the hybrid design. But your input is always appreciated.

I have spoken further with the gentlemen at RIVES and they have experience with the Firebirds, so I'm good to go.

I have just secured a Tenor 150 HPs for an amazing price and am having it sent to the guys at Tenor (or what's left of them) to have it fully upgraded and revised to current (more reliable) specs. Do your 300 mono's have this new "upgrade" so they don't blow up? :-)

I'll add more later, but thanks again!

-Matt

mattnshilp November 10, 2005 18:20

I'm still playing around with my ASR Emitter I Exclusive but so far I am very impressed. I have never heard anything else like it from a solid state amplifier. And the pre-amp is dead quiet (thanks to it's battery supply). Yes, the amplifier section has a separate power supply, not battery driven.

I have heard neither the Lamm nor Tenor hybrids, which both intrigue me greatly. As I said, I'm currently playing around with a very "tube" sounding tube amp, the Vac Ren 70/70. I would say the ASR is definitely more versatile, but what the Vac 70/70 does well, it does REALLY well. You just want to melt and die with vocals and chamber music. You know that moment when your muscles go limp and you just ooze into your seat, that's what the Vac can do at times.

I am waiting until I get my new speakers to make any keeper decisions though. And I know that a few more amps will pass my speakers before I'm done...

Since the new Talon Firebird's have a crossover design that now encourages lower powered amps (Mike of Talon is powering his with a 50WPC Wavac MD-805) I am thinking that the 150 WPC stereo Tenor Hybrid may be more then enough for my needs; especially with a smallish room. And I am always thinking about those Kharma Midi Exquisites (one day...). Mike powered 'em with his 300 WPC mono-blocks, but I don't know if they truly needed the extra juice. ANy opinions on less power for the Midi Exquisite's Mike?

mattnshilp November 07, 2005 17:17

Hi Mike,

I've changed my system a bit since then and have a few different things in my current listening room that I'm playing with.

I am currently running a pair of M.L. Summit's until my Talon Firebird Diamond's arrive. I currently have a bunch of different equipment including a Hovland HP100, BAT Vk-60 monoblocks, Vac Rennasaince 70/70 300B push-pull amp and the ASR Emitter I Exclusive.

I'm not doing anything with my current digital source until EVERYTING else is done, then I'll likely go with all Emmlabs. But for now my Trivista is doing just fine.

Source cables for the CD player are Acoustic Zen Silver Ref. II single ended and running Audience AU24 single ended from the Hovland to the Bat's (or the Vac). Also using AU24 speaker wire right now. I'm also using the ASR as it is designed, as an integrated. Phono stage is built into the Hovland, so I'm running the tape out of the Hovland into the ASR (when I'm using the ASR).

I won't make any final decisions on which equipment will stay and go until the Firebird's arrive. Then I can start working further on cables and wires (very interested in the Valhalla's). I am using the Audience Adept Response for power conditioning and it works very nicely.

Now at least your updated on what I'm currently running.

Shoot me an E-mail and we can chat about the room, as that is my next big project. But since the house won't be done for about 2 years between architectural and buildout (sigh) I've got plenty of time to play around with my current equipment; and maybe some new stuff! :-)

To be honest, my short list of equipment I still want to hear is getting shorter and shorter: Wavac, Tenor 150 Hybrid, DarTZeel, Vac Phi Integrated, C.J. Act 2 from an amp/pre-amp category and I will eventually borrow or buy a pair of Kharma Midi Exclusive's with it's matching sub to compare to the Talon's. Maybe consider a pair of those Schweikert's as well.

I would prefer the room be in the attic. The basement will be filled with Theater, closets, storage, exercise room, game room, bar area and party area.

My problem is, that we haven't sat down with the builder/architect (the house is a semi-custom design) to see truly what I can do in the attic. I know I can have a guaranteed 7'4" flat sheetrock ceiling with probably about 14-15' of width and 20-25' of length in a totally enclosed rectangular box - no windows at all. If we vault the ceiling into the roof line a bit, I could probably get another foot or so of height. but I would have 45 degree angles in the corners of the long parallel walls. I'm NOT an acoustician so I have no idea if that's good or bad.

You hit the nail on the head with listening preferences. I don't listen to a lot of large scale classical. Mostly Pop, Rock, Jazz, New Age, Small Courtet and a wee bit of true classical. My wife love's Yanni and Enya and show tunes, so they are in frequent circulation. I haven't started speaking to the guys at Rives in detail until after I meet with the developer to see what my true size restrictions will be. But if you are correct then the ceiling height restriction may not be as much of an issue as I thought.

-Matt

mattnshilp November 06, 2005 18:25

Hello,

I'd like to offer thanks from the multitudes of audiophiles that have learned gobs from simply sitting back and reading of your experiences and opinions. I, for one, started off on this wonderful audiophile adventure when I was about twelve when I bought my first system: Kef C-80 speakers, Carver Receiver and Sonic Holography CD player and I thought it was heaven.

Fortunately for me, my finances have improved over the years and I am now in early talks with the gentlemen at Rives to design my custom listening room. Which is the true point of my interjection. My current listening room is approximately 12'9" X 18'7" X 8' with a majorly pain in the ass unusual shaped ceiling and back area that has all but defied my every effort to tame the beast.

I have the choice of putting my new listening room in a new house I am building up in the attic (Daddy's room!!!) or down in the basement with a separate theater, party area, etc... I would MUCH prefer the attic as it's isolated, secluded and away from the kid's and their never ending curiosity (it's actually the kid's friends I worry about, not my children).

OK, so after all my ranting what the hell am I writing for? Well my issue is that if I put the room in attic I will have about 14 or 15 feet of width and an easy 20-25 feet of length to play with, but a VERY restrictive 7-8 foot ceiling (probably more like 7'4" after rock and insulation, etc...). I can make the room whatever I want overall on the inside since I'll be it's primary user. But I have spent a lot of time and effort putting together some nice equipment (although I am always playing) and i want to really let it shine.

As an alternative, I can wait an additional year or so to build a room in the basement where I have 12 foot ceilings and whatever other dimensions I want to play with.

So I ask, my dear compatriot in obsession, what would you suggest with your years of experience?

Thanks.

And I must thank you for igniting an interest in the DarTZeel when I was very stinking happy with my nice little ASR Emitter Exclusive I ,thank you very much!

It's like having the best damn glass of wine you've ever drank and then you hearing at the next table that HE just finished what you were having and liked what HE'S drinking even better. Well, now I gotta try that wine too, DON'T I?????????

Ehem....

-Matt

mattnshilp November 06, 2005 02:30