this room and system is the result of 10 years in High End audio. my
system has been stable for a couple of years (except for transport and
amplifier upgrades within the same brand). the room has been in the
planning stage for about 18 months and i actually moved in a little over
a month ago.
my audio philosphy is to have the system get out
of the way of the event. i like as pure and simple a signal path as
possible and, at this point, prefer passive to active gain stages. i
love all the formats and enjoy having lot's of music.....vinyl is my
favorite but i listen to at least 60% digital. the new room really
reveals the benefits of SACD over redbook.
the system and room
truely allow the event to be recreated before me. i love the way the
speakers disappear and i am transported to another place/time.
i have choosen my cables, sources, amps, speakers to have as little of their own sound as possible.
recently, i upgraded my digtial transport from the modified Philips
SACD 1000 to the new emmlabs CDSD.....this was a significant step upward
in performance.
i have written an article in Positive Feedback regarding my room building experience.....here is a link;
new version of these cables, a big step over the amazing TRSC model i have used for 10 years. fantastic performance.
WADAX SA Reference DAC
Wadax Reference Dac----state of the art dac with 2 separate power supplies. the best dac i have heard by a good margin. below is a link to a thread about my Wadax experience.
Arya RevOpod isolation footer (32 used under the 5 Wadax Chassis).
height and tension adjustable. the Wadax dac, server, and server power supply chassis all use 8 footers, so it's critical to be able to adjust height and tension to have an even support for optimal performance. RevOpod's are unique in those attributes making them ideal for this use.
https://www.arya-audio.com/revopod
CS Port LFT1 turntable w/arm
air bearing platter and air bearing linear tracking arm; string drive with zero feedback dc motor, low pressure, low flow air system with zero noise air box.
world class musical flow, nuance and delicacy, combined with authority and ease. serves the music completely.
Esoteric T1 Turntable
magnetic drive/rim drive idler turntable with torque adjustment.
with the deletion of my NVS turntable, i was able to move the Taiko Tana active isolation shelf to under the Esoteric T1. this has upgraded the performance of the T1 significantly. objectively small changes, but musically quite profound up tics in realism and immersion. more nuance, greater music focus, better bass articulation.
https://www.esoteric.jp/en/product/t1/top
Esoteric G1X Master Clock
Master Clock Generator for speed improvement for the T1 turntable. significant improvement in music realism.
https://www.esoteric.jp/en/product/g1x/top
Durand --Tosca tonearm.
gimbal bearing design. Tosca is on the Esoteric T1 turntable
Primary Control 12" FCL tone arm
Field Coil Loaded uni-pivot tone arm. with power supply. mounted on the Esoteric T1 turntable. amazing natural and very high resolution tone arm. link below.
12 inch tonearm, stainless steel. used for the Sumile mono cartridge.
https://glanz.tech/e/collection/mh1200s1000s900s/
Experience Music/Intact Audio phono corrector + silver wound MC Trio SUT combo for three different tonearms.
bespoke tubed phono preamplifier. silver wound, with custom dual power supplies.
https://myemia.com/LR.html
LFD -3- Phono Cables DIN to RCA
3 sets of very high performance phono cables. amazing performance. built by Dr. Richard Bews in the UK.
one cable uses a DIN to RCA short Dongle + an RCA to RCA interconnect. the Dongle improves the performance of the DIN connection. details at the link below.
two Etsuro Golds, ---a pair of Reference MC Phono Cartridges.
duraluminim (A7075) body, 24 carat 'Kinpaku' Gold Leaf finish, diamond cantiliver. .3mv output, 4 ohms. these are both special versions of the Etsuro Gold.
one is mounted on the CS Port linear tracker.
one is mounted on the Primary Control FCL arm.
finest cartridge i have heard by a significant margin. WOW!
Audio Technica MC-2022 60th Anniversary cartridge
uses the unified stylus cantilever design. which results in extreme lack of distortion and linearity. remarkable neutrality and ability to dig out detail and keep it natural and musical.
https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/at-mc2022
Murasakino Sumile Mono phono cartridge
MC cartridge for mono records, .04mv output. tracking force 3gms. finest monaural cartridge i have heard. competes on musical refinement with the top stereo cartridges.
Ampex twin ATR-102----one 1/4" and one 1/2" reel to reel master recorder
hot rodded by ATR Service Inc----Andrew Kosobutsky. significant upgrades over stock. each interfacing with hot rodded Ampex MR-70 preamps. the new tape deck performance standard in my opinion.
active isolation under 5 separate components: (1) the NVS turntable, (2) the MSB dac, (3) the darTZeel preamp, (4 + 5) both darTZeel mono block amplifiers. custom modifications by Taiko Audio add a linear power supply plus panzerholtz top layer + Daiza platform to provide full frequency resonance attenuation to each platform.
Taiko Audio Daiza isolation platform--22 used in the system
Panzerholtz Platform with spiral cutouts reducing mid and high frequency resonance while retaining life and energy and not changing tonality.
22 Daiza platforms in the system of various sizes under every piece of the signal path.
Evolution Acoustics 'system' power cables
a new version of the TRPC model i used on my darTZeel 468 mono blocks for the last 10 years. a big step up.
Sablon Audio King power cord
used on the Wadax Reference Server power supply.
https://www.sablonaudio.com/power
Absolute Fidelity power interfaces
power cords specifically designed for either motors (tt and tape decks), amplifiers, and components. 11 in the system.
Tripoint Audio Troy Signature
Grounding box for chassis grounding the darTZeel 458 mono block amplifiers + grounding the passive main towers of the Evolution Acoustics MM7 speaker system.
Tripoint Audio Elite
Tripoint Elite grounding box. this does chassis grounding for my sources. it uses a a pair of Tripoint Thor SE Master Reference ground cables for my dart preamp and the MSB Select II dac. there are also 4 Signature Silver ground cables to the two arm boards of the NVS tt, the power supply of the NVS tt, and the SGM server.
Equi=tech 10WQ
10kva balanced Isoltion transformer and distribution panel.
Furutech GTX-D NCF Rhodium duplex outlets
10 in the system. used with 10 Furutech covers and frames. uses NCF (nano crystal formula) material to reduce noise by emitting negative ions.
Wave Kinetics A10 U8 decoupling footers
8 sets-of-4 in the system for individual tuning of each piece of gear.
Auralex T-Fusor diffusers
i use 20 of these. 6 each on the front side walls, and 4 each front ceiling and rear ceiling.
Klaudio Record Cleaning System
automatic record cleaner
Acoustic Revive RL-30 mKIII CD-LP demagnatizer
for demaging any disc.
Furutech DF-2 LP disc flattner
will remove warps from Lps
Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Anniversary Ed.
will cook any cables
Winds ALM-01 Stylus Force Gauge
easy accurate, repeatable, measurments.
i-Tower by Koncept LED floor lamp
(3) are used. best audio light ever. 2 'warm', 1 'cool'.
Quietrock THX 545 drywall
specialized drywall with a 1/4" metal layer. used in my front sidewalls to establish proper room boundaries.
. Mike, . Congratulations on an amazing system and a gorgeous room - as good as it gets ! . Do you tend to listen more to the Koetsu RSP or the Van den Hul Colibri ? How do you compare what they do ? . Rgds, Larry .
curious; your comment is unclear......which of the tt's have you heard? where did you hear the Sirius III?......which was really the only question i was asking Roy (the specific context of his experience with the Sirius III).....and he never answered.......of course, his lack of specifics tells all.
if you are in the neighborhood you wouldn't get a no.
Seriously, You have to be one of, if not the luckiest Audiophile on this green Earth. I love your system, they are all components that I myself would choose, if I had the money. The only exception being the turntable. I know you are love your TT(I read your letter in Hi-Fi+, by the way it was sad that I knew who you were just by the listing of your components before I got to the name at the bottom), But I would probably go with the Walker, or the SME after actualy hearing one. But anyway, great system, and if I'm ever in your neck of the woods I won't take no for an answer, I'm spending the day listening!
Mike, I came over to Spain for a little R&R this week. I guess I should have headed west instead of east. Looks totally awesome!
I told my wife that at some point in time, if you permit, my frequent flyer miles are going to be reduced to head up your way. It would be great to hear Kharmas in a location they should be in.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy and hope to contact you when I get home to get some more impressions from you.
i do have other chairs....but for me comfort is king.
this particular chair does have a high back; but the high back is narrow and not 'cupped' like many high back chairs.....all the surfaces roll away from my ears so don't really reflect, and the headrest keeps my head away from the back. i have compared it to my chair without a high back and the difference is quite marginal (more different than better or worse). my room is large enough that any rear wall reflections are very diffuse and not significant.
furthermore.....it is, by far, the most comfortable chair i have ever encountered. it is the 'zero gravity' chair since it removes the weight of your body from your spine and distributes it over your entire body.....i can (and do) sit in that chair for 10 to 12 straight hours.
life is balance.....and i have balanced comfort and performance.
Your setup is totally impressive, showing your love for audio and taste in room setup. Congratulations!
I am currently going through a major change in my own setup. I am building a new house with a dedicated media room. A lot of thoughts have gone into designing and building that room, but with a modest budget. The house is now complete and I am ready to move, naturally my audio stuff will move first. I will start posting some pictures on my system.
Your room gives me some ideas and inspiration as to how to setup the interior. I particularly like your shelves for CDs and records. I will also do extensive acoustic treatment, all in DIY style.
Again, your room is awesome. I do have a humble suggestion though. I would buy a listening chair with its back height lower than your ear level. With your ears free of any obstacle and the sound reflection from the back wall will make tremendous improvements in your sound quality. And of course, such a seat can still be comfortable and exotic in its looks.
Albert, thanks. you know you are always welcome. sometime i'd also enjoy visiting your room and attending one of your 'nights'. hopefully we will both get the chance.
Rgains, thanks. Rives has a few pictures of the room on their site now.
hi,oh,what a wonderful world what a beautiful listening room i love it nice system too you have lots lots of you're collection of music all i can say one of the best
thanks Gary. my wife enjoys music, but not as an active listener. she does come into the room and linger to talk or listen. occasionally she will lock into some music i'm playing and sit and focus....but that is rare (despite my continual requests).
in the main house we have a whole house Bang & Olufsen music distribution system (which came with the home when we purchased it last year) that my wife will use for background music; which she enjoys on a regular basis (my system is intimidating to her).
i am very happy with my Lamm PL2. that said; if i had the chance to audition the Connoisseur Definitions or the Boulder 2008 i would jump at it.....just to see if they might be better. for now, my budget is shot and new gear is not on my mind.
when budget permits; my top current priority is to catch up on all the new Lp and SACD releases in the last 18 months since i got into this project. i have plenty of Lps (not as many SACD's) but the urge for more great music is always on top of my list.
from all i have read, the Connoisseur Definitions is likely the phono stage that might light my fire over the Lamm. i have listened to it twice at shows and very much enjoyed it.
The room does look amazing. Out of curiosity, does your wife share your passion? Have you identified anything you might do differently with the room, now that it is all done? At one point I recall you mentioned changing your phono stage, connoisseur I thought was discussed. All the best, use it in good health
Lee, Tim, Slipknot, and Santiago.....you would all be most welcome anytime. Tim....we have talked about a visit from you many times....hopefully soon it will happen.
Lee, when i first learned about the Rives Audio approach i didn't agree with it as my experience had been in my small room where i was trying to keep the SPL's from overwhelming it. as i considered the whole picture i decieded that of all the approaches i had seen it made the most sense. so i had Rives do everything that they felt was necessary and i built it exactly to their specs.
i'm glad i did. it is interesting how my intuition about room acoustics has changed by this process. it was facinating to listen to my system as they finished one acoustical element and then another. it allowed me to really see cause and effect.
Interesting; I had not considered LEDE a function of room size. Makes sense when I reflect upon it (sorry for the pun). Thanks for the link to the article.
I will say your room appears to be a perfect recital hall, which would be my summation of the article you linked me to. Thus, the Kharma's are the performers. It would be interesting to record in your room as well.
Anyway, I would love to hear your room one day with different recording mixes and hear the result.
Mike- Amazing, its the only thing that comes to mind. If I ever make it to the north west I am sure you'll be seeing me with Jonathan in tow :o) Enjoy the music, you've earned it!
Mprime, here is an article written by my room designer that explains why the whole "live-end-dead-end" approach is not ideal. i can tell you that the result of that hardwood behind the speakers is very positive when used with other diffusive surfaces.
i did use the 'live-end/dead-end' approach in my old room......but i had huge speakers in a 12 foot wide room. absorbtion has it's place but is best minimized.
