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.
yes; last week I was a 'very bad boy' (as the wife says) and did buy the MSB Select II dac. it is black in color, has a single power supply, and the 33 Femto clock upgrade. I promise to try and update my system pictures as soon as I can.....along with some details about my experiences with the new dac.
the Select II is a revelation in digital performance......and it has me under it's spell fully. all the accolades this dac have received are indeed well deserved.
Hi Mike, What interconnects and speaker wires are you using? Have you heard or tried any High fidelity products? We, me and a couple friends, had the good fortune to visit you some, maybe 7, years ago. Regards Charles
Congratulations on your achievement. After reading your blog and comments on WBF we share the same vision in system/room designing. If you get a chance please add the Tripoint Thor SE grounding cable that Is on the DartZeel to the list of components.
Worked very hard in this concept wire. Thanks and enjoy your beautiful system.
Congratulations on your achievement. After reading your blog and comments on WBF we share the same vision in system/room designing. If you get a chance please add the Tripoint Thor SE grounding cable that Is on the DartZeel to the list of components.
Worked very hard in this concept wire. Thanks and enjoy your beautiful system.
hi Guys, sorry I'm way behind in responding here and have not updated my room info for a year or so, I will try to do better.
audiogon member 'Bonzo75' recently traveled from the UK to visit my room and wrote up his experience on a blog he created. I thought it might be a good way to let you know what is doing on my system currently. here is a link;
Quick question; did you run subtle light in the ceiling above the diffusors? I just got a quote from my electrian to run rope LED's around the perimeter of raised trey's. Expensive!
I have finally retired and relocated to Castle Rock, CO. Our new home is approx. 1/2 complete. We're hoping to move in around Feb or March of next year. My new dedicated room is framed and the elecrical has been started. The finished dimensions will be 29 L x 21'-10" w x 11 h at the soffit with the six individual treys another 18" higher. I will hang the diffusors similar to your setup in the raised treys. After Much thought I have decided to go all hardwood on the floor and then use nice heavy throw rugs to fine tune the balance between liveness and absorption.
Thanks very much for your insights and advice on room setup. This will be my third dedicated room and it is going to be my best! Excited and very anxious to get started on setting up and using the room.
BTW, I picked up a Audio Desk Systeme Vinyl Pro Record Cleaner at the RMAF this weekend; this thing is awesome! Highly recommended!
Mike,...thanks for jumping on the phone late this past week and talking through various topics concerning speakers, cables, etc....the help is very much appreciated!
Seriously Michael, after fourteen years you have GOT to get a hobby...:-)
Things look beautiful at the Barn these days... You seem to have dived in the DEEP end of the analog pool!
When did you get even more turntable's???
The room acoustics you put together seem to have served you well both cosmetically and sonically and with all you have it is a wonder you ever leave that room!
...And to those nasty early posts you received...Let them gaze upon your THREE ROWS of seating!...:-)
Seriously, i hope all is well with you and the family and when you get a minute to write PLEASE tell me about that EMT 948 and custom plinth...She's a beauty!
Hi Mike - love to hear what all this wonderful equipment sounds like. Some serious audiophile. With all these turntables keeping them dust free must be a problem. Not sure if you go around cleaning the platter on a regular basis but there is another option. Take a look at dust-o-disc on amazon and the .com website. It may help. Of course the acrylic needs cleaning but is effective for dust free platter. Of course there may be no dust in your room. If so don't bother.
Hello Mike, I've been long time absent from here ... and WBF - just came across your last comments on current status of system, and, sounds like it has entered the "good zone". Congrats on reaching this point, it can be a hard journey but it is a remarkable place to stumble upon - once experienced, never forgotten ...
Still fiddling with ordinary gear at my end - experimenting with quite decent NAD components at the moment, which now have been tweaked to the point of being able to project that "convincing" sound you speak of.
Hi Mike, Congratulation on the Troy Signature. I have the original Troy with the stock ground cables. Pure realism is the best way to describe Troy. Last month I pick-up a Tripoint Orion AC power conditioner and Miguel told me to plug the Troy and the transport to same outlet in the Orion. After 2 days of settle down I am at a lost of words to describe what I am now hearing. The combination of the Troy and Orion gave my system realism, greater transparency,clarity, more details, increased speed, tighter bass and bigger soundstage. Like you I just want to sit back and enjoy the music.
the new year is an especially busy time at work for me and exhausting. I've been listening intently but I've had little energy for anything else.
I did make a few adjustments and additions to my grounding connections. first off; I moved my dart pre power supply/charger so I could plug the darTZeel preamp power supply/charger to the same outlet as the Thor power cord from the Troy. Miguel recommended that as significant; although he did not know if it would be as significant since the dart is battery powered. I did ground the stainless steel arm board.....along with the power supply of the tt as I previously mentioned. I also grounded the outboard LPS of the server.
I've been listening in this way for the last 10 days and it's been sounding great and staying about the same......until.....yesterday afternoon. when I returned back to listening after watching some football (the Seahawks game about killed me) something kicked in and things improved almost as much as the original jump. maybe another 75% of what the original step was.
I was really impressed with this large step.....blown away might be a good descriptor. this big next step was 11 days after install as a data point.
the soundstage increased noticeably, noise lowered, dynamics increased; but that does not really relate what happened. it's more that the music became more real and organic in the soundstage, the reality quotient increased by a few orders of magnitude. how do you exactly describe that? I don't know. a magical experience. profound. the music is more nuanced, greater ease and greater musical tension at the same time, more holographic, much less processed and less sense of the reproduction chain. like multiple pieces of gear all improved and became more synergistic.
I'm impressed and just want to listen and not think about it.
started listening to the Troy Signature around 8 pm last night. listened till 11pm last night, then today since early.
I have the Thor Reference grounding cable connected to the phono ground post on my dart pre, and a standard silver grounding cable connected to the Tara Grandmaster grounding system on the Golden Gate. the Thor power cable is currently plugged into it's own dedicated outlet (Furutech GTX-D (R) -> Equi=tech).
a place to start.
from the first note this is awesome. it's a whole new ballgame, anything but subtle, and I'm still getting my brain around trying to define the ways it makes the sound better, and the music more real. for now I just want to experience it and enjoy what I'm hearing. and try not to analyze it. but my brain is reacting to new information and new degrees of realism in every recording.
lower noise; yes. more dynamic; yes. better flow and timing; yes. but more than that it seems to supercharge the musical energy.
I just grounded the power supply of the NVS tt. I need to go to the hardware store and find a small screw so I can ground the stainless steel arm board of the tone arm.
again.....sorry for the long delay in my response.....
[quote]Have you ever heard Winston Ma's room. That is a fairly serious affair as well....[/quote]
Winston is a friend, and before i moved to my current home, i lived about 2 miles from his home. I've been to his room quite a few times; although not for quite a few years now. he did visit my old room occasionally, and my new room a few times too. Winston's room is very special. and, of course, it always sounded great when i was there. sadly; Winston is now in failing health. he is one of the great gentleman of our hobby.
[quote]Mike, are you still getting a Tripoint Troy? I am going to get one soon....:)[/quote]
finally yes. my Tripoint Troy SE Signature with Thor power cable and Thor SE Master Reference 1.5m ground cable has shipped to me. it should arrive next week or the following week depending on the shipping.
I apologize for being away from my system page for so long and not answering your questions. so in case you still have an interest....
the front chambers are larger; but that is not any sort of acoustic design imperative. it's just the result of how large the center chamber ended up....and then the longer speaker end relative to the listening end. and the listening position location.
since I took those pictures I have added more fabric treatments to the drop soffits in the middle and rear and that did help. i need to update my pictures.
as far as the hardwood floor; the idea is to mimic a concert hall. so the front hardwood is the stage and it's designed to retain as much energy as possible. the rear seating area mimics the concert hall seating and is somewhat absorptive. i do like the look of hardwood everywhere and add throw carpets. but acoustically the rear wall to wall carpet is better. it's all about acoustic energy balance.
from your room photos it appears that the two middle soffits with the hanging diffusors are actually longer than the front two and two rear? Is that correct? Your thoughts above make sense; I don't want to design the soffit size and spacing such that the Magnepans end up firing directly into the leading edge of the front of the partition. I'm thinking that the speakers should sit just about flush to the ends of the first soffits on the speaker end. The middle soffit section would be around 1.3 - 1.5 times as long as the front. The back two soffits would be the same length as the front two.
Did you ever consider using hardwood on the entire floor?
