The system components have remained largely unchanged, but for the additions of a large Minus K platform for the turntable, a pair of 15" subwoofers to augment the lowest octaves and the installation of a robust electrical sub-system--powered through a Controlled Power 10kVa isolation transformer. The main change is the room--we relocated from New York to Austin, TX in 2017 and I now have a longer, narrower room that occupies most of the 2nd floor of the house. I have added a few photos reflecting updates since 2017. Bill
I have not attended a hi-fi trade show for years- did the CES back in the mid-70's when it was still in Chicago at McCormick Place, and did a few of those Stereophile shows in the early days, but the Rocky Mountain show, from everything I've heard, is really worthwhile. Maybe I'll see you there. On the Kubala cables, reach out to Joe Kubala- maybe he'll send you some to try- just have your checkbook ready. (Though they are expensive compared to non-tweak cables, they are not outrageously priced, given some of the nutty numbers we are used to seeing today).
Thanks Whart - I have personally been a Siltech fan for many years now - I will attend RMAF this year and will look if Kubala products are somewhere there to give them a try at home here in Mexico. As for the Lamm - well - it is in my wish list.
Greetings, Fernando. I did have Cardas Golden Reference installed for almost a year before I switched to the Kubala. In fairness, a couple things changed; first, I went from short interconnect/long speaker cable to a long interconnect/short speaker cable arrangement. I'm not sure how much the changed configuration, alone, contributed, and I know there are different schools of thought on that. And, probably even more profoundly, I changed amps, from the Audiopax 88 to the Lamm ML 2. Altogether, those changes were profound, but I'm not telling you much about the cable, alone. One thing I can tell you is that we also changed out, one at a time, all my power cords, starting with a Shunyata Anaconda at the front end, powering a Hydra, to a Kubala Emotion PC straight into the wall (no Hydra). That change alone was worth the price of admission. But, of course, since Joe Kubala was there, and happened to have a few more cords in his bag, we continued, downstream, to replace each PC, including on the phonostage, linestage, power amps and woofer amps for the Duos. Each change was noticeable and improved the overall sound of the system (although the changes to the woofer PCs, while noticeable, were probably the least significant, overall).
I am reluctant to ascribe precise changes to the interconnect and speaker cable per se, given the change in amplifier at the same time. Overall, taking into account all the changes, way deeper bass, more relaxed sound, overall, and that ability to 'hear into' the performance without any suggestion of hyper-detail or exaggeration. Some of this, particularly the 'relaxed' aspect of the sound, I ascribe to the Lamms. Hope that answers your question fairly.
Humm I think you have almost created a FAQ on Buddha integration into systems.
Are NOS Buddhas required to achieve Zen? and Which of the 28 different Buddhas yields the best results? Has Cryoe'ing cleaned up the thought process? How much gold leaf provides the optimium connection?
Hummm many more questions about the buddhas must be meditated on now....(after some more music and a little drinking of course..) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha
I've been thinking of adding a Buddha to my system as well...but to really maximize the extension of para-frequency, I think I'm going to get a figure of Peter Belt himself. Sitting cross-legged, orange sticker on his left elbow.
You know, dusty, most people in the West think Buddhas are simply 'plug and play,' you know, pull the thing out of the box and instantly, achieve mystical results. First, of course, is the composition of the Buddha- aged woods are preferable. Then, there is the stand. You are really depriving yourself of the kind of results you can obtain with a Buddha simply by plopping it directly on the floor. I prefer a wooden stand to metal ones, but tastes vary. If you notice, I also have a variety of sorbothane pucks acting as an physical interface between the bottom of the Buddha and the top of the wooden stand. Made a huge difference in overall balance of the Buddha. I know some folks regard such tweaks as sheer 'cult' mysticism, but having heard the Buddha with and without sorbothane feet, I can attest to the difference. As you may have gathered I still have various Peter Belt tweaks I bought from a dealer in England, back in the 80's.....
How much has the Buddha added to your system? I've heard that mid-treble extension and upper-midrange response is greatly improved by a Buddha in the room. Is this true?
Cyto/CMO: Thanks, both for your kind words of encouragement. As to the power cords, I have for a long time fallen into the middle of two camps- I am not an "all wire is the same" skeptic, nor a flavor of the month tweaker. Long ago, I spent a weekend changing out interconnect and speaker cable on a system using Quad 57's- granted the speakers didn't produce deep bass, but what was there, in every part of the musical spectrum, was revealed in a natural perspective, and in nearfield listening, the differences in wires was not subtle. But, I ascribed much of this to synergies/filtering effects and, for lack of a better description, matching 'colorations' of the various components, including the wires. On the Shunyata vs. KS power cord change, in fairness to Shunyata, I was not running their top of the line pcs everywhere, although I was using a run of Anaconda from the wall to the Hydra that powered the front end components. The changes to the KS cords were made incrementally, starting with the elimination of the Hydra and the installation of the KS pc on the Lamm preamp. Change was not subtle- everything sounded more open, clearer, more natural and louder without being louder. Next, switched the pcs on the Lamm amps- even more dramatic differences, of the same type. I have no idea what the science or theory is but what I am hearing is not imagined. I also heard the pcs on my powered woofers that are part of the AvG Duos and, while the difference was not as dramatic, it was still there. So, I ordered a set for the woofers, too. As to enhancing speed on the Lambo, it is a joke. The car is virtually unuseable in normal circumstances, and is so big and fat that it would never make a track day. But, there is something about the torque of a big, NA 12cyl. motor when it is being pushed hard that makes you understand why the early big Ferraris must have been so remarkable in the 50s. The Lambo is a true exotic, at a price far less than the Enzo, or Zonda or K-Egg. I typically rotate thru these cars in a year or so, but I am now going into my 3d year of ownership on this car. I would probably be willing to replace it with a Carrera GT, but that's about it, short of spending ridiculous sums of money on a vintage Ferrari from the late 50's, early 60's. BTW, I bought a 993 air-cooled Porsche a few months ago and find that car so engaging to drive- at a cost little more than a Japanese motor appliance. REgards, Bill Hart
Love the new pics. I bet it made a nice difference getting those amps up by the speakers. Give us some more on what you are hearing with the KS power cords vs. the Shunyata stuff.
Chris
BTW, Lloyd Walker say's if you use his SST contact goop on your Lambo you'll get another 2-3 mpg..... ;-)
Awesome system.. Love the turntable table, rustic with elegance! Thanks for posting the a$$ end of the Lambo, I think all audiophiles are excessive with other aspects of their live's toys... (you see threads about high end watches, bicycles, motorcycles, wine, spirits...etc) I love it!
Some day I need to hear the dynamics of that crazy segment of Horn audio! Can't think of a better way than powered by Lamm's.
One of my other loves is exotic sportscars. So, just as I share my hi-fi passion with some of my car friends, I share my love of 'Corvettes' with my hi-fi friends. :) Glad you didn't ask about Joey B.
System edited: Changed out Audiopax 88's for Lamm ML2s- Cardas Golden Reference wire replaced with Kubala-Sonsa Emotion throughout. (The K-S power cord is amazing). Took all Shunyata Hydras out of the system.
OK, next upgrade in process- report to follow- Audiopax 88's- out, Lamm ML2s-in; Cardas Reference- goodby- Kubala-Sosna Emotions, hello. Also changing from short interconnect/long speaker cable to long interconnect/short speaker cable. K-S jumpers on Avantgardes as well.
OH, and I finally got that pile of records (approx. 4,000 albums) that comprised the late Chuck Lamonica's collection. Many, many good things, particularly in the jazz and classical genres. I think it is going to be a fun weekend. I'll report later on what I think of the differences in amps and wires.
Hey, Aball. The Lambos have been sorely underrated- granted, the SV variant of the Miura has always been highly regarded, but now the earlier iterations are starting to fetch real money. I have had my eye out for a very early Countach as well, periscope-style LP400- the later cars, with the flares, and wing, detract from the purity of line. The drive train on these cars is amazing- they pull like crazy. So what, if the company started as a maker of tractors. :) The 6.0 is an interesting mix of newer technology on an old-school set-up- drives like a modern car, with oodles of power, but still a handful, and while it feels smaller at speed, it is a wide, low, heavy beast. Despite the gold chain, hairy chest image of these cars, they deliver an extremely high level of exoticness for the buck. The newer Ferraris leave me cold- granted the Enzo is quite exotic, but 4-5 times the money, and ugly, to boot.
My neighbor has a couple beautiful and desireable Lamborghinis. One is a 1982 LP400S (with the needle bearings) and the other, my favorite, is a 1969 Miura P400S with a Jota body package (has had a split-sump conversion). There is nothing like the wail of a Miura when you floor it at 100 mph. I helped adjust valves on an early Diablo and installed a fuel pump on a Urraco P250. Great cars - many of the older ones are really underrated. I hope to get a steal on one of them some day.
Hey, Chris. Thanks. The Lamm is a very good component, and a welcome addition. You were one factor in nudging me to try a linestage. At the time 6moons did their initial review of the Steelhead, Jeff Day, the reviewer, claimed that he couldn't make the Steelhead work with the Duos, just too noisy and claimed that adding a line stage made a big improvement. Turned out, he had a grounding problem. See his revised review. I wrote to that pub to state that I had no problem using the combo, and I know E. Manley wrote to the same effect- and helped them solve the grounding issue. I then wrote to her, and asked her what she thought about the Steelhead 'straight-up' and her response, to paraphrase, was essentially that she was following a 'less is more' path- why add noise, fake 'warmth' (my words, not hers),etc. Well, I thought the Steelhead straight on might have had clearer, more dynamic bass- the Lamm is notorious for being very reticent- it's there, but not pronounced. However, with the addition of the big Kuzma table, I get pretty unbelievable down deep bass- my complaints about integration seem to have been based in part upon the original set up with the Well-Tempered table that I carried over from my old early 90's system. And, the Lamm seems to add body and grainless dimension to the soundstage. Of course, I have made so many changes to the system in the last couple months that it is not fair to single out one component, but the Lamm is a keeper. I'd love to hear his 'small' tube amp on the Duos.
For CD's........ Let's not forget that they make very nice little bowls for party nuts......... Just put them in the oven until the edges curl up (or run down) and presto.... I still haven't figured out the hole in the middle though.
BTW....... Bill, Your system is looking fab. How is the addition of the Lamm line stage to the proceedings?
Dear Whart, I have changable Arm Boards for the Basis, the Arm is completely fixed on it, I can change it in a few seconds. Well, the Quads, yeah, these are special with Horn loaded speakers ( MM ---- > Midrange Magic ). Sometimes I connect them and I wonder, what has really happened the last 35 years ... It is a Collectors item for me, they were modified from Russ Andrews in GB at their time and have the original Tubes in it. Not in regular use, too.
Let's not forget the Altec Lansing Voice of the Theatre. great for disco when I was in college. CD's-They also make great frisbees, coasters... for a real treat have your wife or girlfriend make a dress out of them.
