Agree with your assignment. I do need to supply new photography.

As for phase two "cute friends." The only option is my wife. My son was cute when he was a baby but he is all grown up now.

I hope to have Richard Gray here next week to complete the work on my amps. Then I can clean up the space perfectly enough to do new images.

I wish there was a way to add additional images without sacrificing the progress shots. It would be nice to have both "before" and "after" views.

albertporter April 03, 2004 19:34

Albert, we need some new pictures. Something with the gear, and maybe a couple of your cute friends. I want to see what the room really looks like!

nrchy April 02, 2004 22:46

Ed, So far I am pretty impressed with the VTL 750. I am still working on tubes to see what can be done to improve upper frequency transparency. I miss some of what the Wolcott Presence 220 did when running NOS Mullards. It's very difficult to get the EL 34 tube sound with 6550's, but I am going to try.

As far as listening together, I too am sorry you can't join us. Should travel ever bring you this way you are welcome to stop by.

albertporter February 28, 2004 00:28

Hey Albert,

I'm so excited to say that we now share something else. The 750's are driving my U-1s as well! Hope you are finding them as truly satisfying as I. I'm a VTL fiend. I hope to replace the 750's with a pair of the Sigfrieds, which will then have me in audio nirvana. I appreciated your prior response. It certainly feels we share the exact same audio opinions. Too bad I don't live closer, it would be awesome to be involved with your listening club. I really like the big Wilsons, I think I may get a pair of Grand Slamms to replace the Revel Salons that I currently have in my HT. Cones and solid state make more sense for the multichannel setup for me. Tweeking is much easier for the brainless with this stuff. As far as the 2 channel, I like to just dial in those tubes and let the music take me away. As far as those Kharmas go, I have been thoroughly unimpressed for the price. Pretty amazing for the sound that comes out of such a simple box though. I just feel there is much better sound to be had for such large coin. Anyhow, I'm so excited now I'm going to go light up my 6550's. Looking forward to hearing your impressions, as I respect your opinion highly.

Regards,

Edward

twothbeave February 27, 2004 08:32

VTL 750 Ref replaced Wolcott 220. Sold Clear Image line conditioner and replaced Purist single ended cable for balanced between Walker turntable and Aesthetix Io.

albertporter February 23, 2004 21:40

Albert,

I think I remember your system pretty well, but I'm confused--what changed?

tutordennis February 23, 2004 14:52

"...and the walls of the temple shook!"

Albert, this has to stop now! I don't have any more drool to spill. ;>)

Congratulations to mother and dad on the new arrivals.

vvrinc February 23, 2004 04:42

System edited: Images and text edited to reflect recent equipment upgrades.

albertporter February 22, 2004 04:43

Funny you mention Wilson and Dynaudio, two cone speakers that I have great respect for. One of the guys in my audio group owns Watt Puppy's, the other had Dynaudio Evidence Temptations. The Dynaudio's were recently sold to make way for Kharma Exquisite 1D, arriving in the next few weeks.

I heard the Kharma 1D at CES 2003 and they were excellent. World class, but with retail hovering around $120,000.00, they are more than absolutely out of the question.

There are more great speakers available than ever in the history of audio. Cone speakers have evolved the most, with electrostatics such as the Soundlab Ultimate One still being my favorite.

Soundlabs present fewer compromises for dollars spent and the compromises are easy to accept. I can listen for hours on end and not be conscience that my speakers are the source of the music. Almost nonexistent distortion and perfect phase accuracy with rock solid integration without sign of crossover (single driver design) that delivers 26 Hz to beyond 28 Khz.

The sound is excellent in every seat in my room from five to thirty feet away, both seated and standing. An accomplishment generally limited to live music venues.

The one comment I hear about electrostatics is inability to play loud or do deep bass.

With my new amps I get 106 DB (plus) at 14 feet, louder than a prime seat at our Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center downtown Dallas. I seldom listen above 85 DB, even with Rock music, so I have tremendous dynamics with headroom to spare.

Soundlab and I have been sharing tunes since 1989, when my son was only three years old. I've had dozens of opportunities to change speakers over the years, but realized time and again that other pieces in my system were holding back the Soundlabs. (Rather than the other way around). Hope yours make magic for you as well and thanks for the kind words.

albertporter January 29, 2004 05:30

Hi Albert,

Amazing system! So great that it looks like you've created a cult of your own. Deservedly so. Although many around have spent lavishly, sometimes it appears it just to spend. Without a doubt you are at the absolute pinnacle of audiophile community. Never seen such passion and attention to detail placed into almost anything. Nice to see others can appreciate your work. I feel lucky enough to share one component with your incredible setup. That's the SL U-1. Although you are biased, but do you share my opinion that these are without doubt the finest sounding loudspeakers money can buy? With your sizeable investment, I'm sure you could place any speaker that you desire in the system. What else have you heard to rival them? Anything tempt you to replace them (I know we audiophiles can never leave well enough alone and are always looking for the upgrade)? To me the level of detail and the soundstage is completely incomparable. Especially anything with a cone or horn. The only 2 conventional that I have heard recently that I liked or thought came close to our electrostats, are the Dynaudio Evidence Masters and the Wilson X-2s. Anyhow, really great to share something in common with a golden ear of your caliber.

Regards,

Edward

twothbeave January 29, 2004 00:37

Jayctoy, if you or other Audiogon members have plans that bring you through Dallas / Ft. Worth area, let me know and we’ll set aside a time for some music.

My regular group meets every Tuesday night at 6:00 PM. We go to dinner and then come back and spin music until everyone hears their favorites. Sometime we audition new gear or do tube swaps, but mostly it’s about having a good time.

albertporter January 02, 2004 00:05

Albert very nice set up,after seeing your system,I
dream to be your neighbor,and audiophile buddy.
Brian from essential audio, is inviting me, to listen
to his Soundlab also.I cant imagine,how much time, and
planning you spend on this well thought system.Salute
to you.

jayctoy January 01, 2004 01:00

WHOO HOO! 100TH COMMENT IS BY ME! ROCK ON!

slappy December 09, 2003 00:25

There have been several discussions on this subject and I always advise people to go with long interconnect. In any case, the quality of the components and cabling greatly influence the end results.

It’s common for microphone cables to be long runs. Many are terminated in fifty, a hundred feet or even greater lengths. Much of the music discussed here at Audiogon was recorded under these conditions. Microphone’s have the advantage of balanced which improves noise rejection and If my amps were balanced, I would likely give that a shot.

As for speaker cables, it seems more difficult to maintain signal integrity of a high powered amplifier over such distances. No doubt as to which is the more economical.

For instance, Purist Audio (which I use exclusively) when you compare their best speaker cable against best interconnects, the speaker cable cost four times as much.

I choose long interconnect not to save money, but because I got the best performance that way. Many people in the audio community such as high end amp and speaker manufacturers have arrived at the same conclusion.

albertporter December 08, 2003 02:14

Albert, I found your comments, as well as other member's, concerning long ICs. It looks like what I am going for is not an excessive distance after all.
Regards.

vvrinc December 08, 2003 00:42

Hi Albert,
Sorry to hear "Sweetie's" sis is spoken for (sniff)...so I'll limit myself to the technical side of your system.

I noticed the long cable run between pre and amp (single-ended.) I can't imagine that this compromised sound in any way seeing that you have settled for nothing-but-the-best when it comes to your gear. However, various threads have confused me a bit concerning this matter. Some members write that longer speaker cables are best and others that long ICs is the way to go.

I am thinking of making an 8 meter run of balanced ICs between my Pass X1 and Bryston 7SSts in order to keep my front end gear from undue vibrations. Could you comment on this? If you already have, I have failed to find it in my searches of the forums.

Thanks and regards.

vvrinc December 07, 2003 02:57

Albert,

What I really like about you (and it comes through in your posts) is that you are a real music lover. I said everything meaningful about your system in my first post to this thread.

Patrick

lugnut November 28, 2003 04:13

Thank you sincerely Sol. Lets not forget that the artists that create the works of art are the only reason for this systems existence.

I agree with your comments about joy. Tuesday night, after everyone else had gone home, my son arrived late , having helped a school mate build a computer. He was hungry and ask me to choose music for us to listen to while he ate his late dinner.

I pulled Jethro Tull’s “Thick As A Brick,” Neil Young’s “Harvest” and Jimi Hendrix, “Axis.” When we were too tired to stay up any longer he quietly told me how lucky I was to have grown up with such a diversity of music.

When everything is working right, sharing with someone you care about is worth everything it cost in time and money. Music has a way of expressing things when words fail.

albertporter November 27, 2003 19:58

I'm quite sure you have all pondered the signifigance of what your systems mean to you but I find it endlessly wonderful that instead of flipping on the TV or building a wacky country themed birdhouse in 'arts and crafts' style -
you can spend a reviving moment 'breathing in' the warmth and detail of near perfect musical fidelity. It just has to be good for a body to take such joy in simply listening to carefully pitched vibrations of a sort that can bring a smile to your face and a tear to the eye. A little sappy but isn't it all so damned neat.

I don't even have a reference for you're setup Albert but since you take such joy in it - here's to you.

sol5960 November 27, 2003 09:26

A wonderful room treatment device. After installing, mine were covered with an acoustically transparent cloth. I get the room treatment with the appearance of painted sheet rock.

http://www.rpginc.com/

albertporter November 20, 2003 03:34

Albert,

That is a fine looking system, with looks surpassed only by sound.
Certainly did alot of work there!

Ok, now what the hell is an RPG diffuser and what affect on accoustics do they provide?

slappy November 20, 2003 02:41

V vrinc, a good question. Unfortunately my sweeties older sister is also spoken for.

On the subject of mates, It’s funny how priorities can differ. When we were home searching I told the real estate agent to not bother us with any home that did not have a really large living room.

On the other hand, Patti was scrutinizing the updated kitchen, back yard landscaping, swim pool and fireplace. Guess we were lucky to find a home with features we both liked.

Slipknot. Agree with your assessment of the Walker turntable. Last night was regular music night for our group. We spun LP’s until after 11:00 PM in spite of the fact that two of the guys had to get up before 6:30 this morning. When a turntable is making great music it’s just about impossible to keep track of time.

By the way, I’ve made some radical changes in my system recently and when it fully settles in, I‘ll update the info and add some new photo’s.

albertporter November 20, 2003 01:05

Albert,
Last week I got a chance to spend a nice afternoon with another AudiogoNer and their Walker TT. It is heads and tails the finest sounding LP machine I have ever listened to. What astounded me most was just how deep, black, and quiet the background was. His is installed on one of Lloyd's oustanding racks. The sound of that turntable is so addictive...

slipknot1 November 19, 2003 21:36

I just ran into this thread and am very impressed with Albert's system and room.

However, my main question is:
Does your wife have a sister? Age and/or looks makes no difference as long as she doesn't have...
A) "how-can-you-possibly-listen-to-that-house-shaking-music-that-loud"
or
B) "fidelity-shmidelity"
in her arsenal of comments.

Congratulations on wife, system and room (in that order.)

vvrinc November 19, 2003 16:41

No, it might be 2003, a spacial oddity....

oops, sorry. Great system. the envy of the net.

unclejeff May 29, 2003 00:27