System has grown in complexity of late (8/06) however the sound quality has grown as well. Pipedream reference 18's have taken the place of the Aerial 20t's. The "pipes" have a presence not many speakers can match, and give me the big sound I crave. The 4 18" woofers are amazingly fast, tight and tuneful. Bass dynamics and resolution are fantastic.
System edited: Added pic of new Mitsubishi WD-65831 65" DLP TV. This replaced my older Mitsu 65" CRT(gun) TV. DLP is the real deal. Sharp. no lines and does old-school TV (NTSC) quite well. Best, Paul :-)
Thanks for the compliments folks! Answers to questions follow:
The "dog": A good Nipper is hard to find. Ebay's got 'em, but you are better off to look local so you can see in person what you get. That's how I found mine.
The Room: 15'6" x 26' the speakers are on a short wall. Pic makes the room look smaller. The TV is a 65" 16.9 set. It's almost 6 feet tall. The mid/tweeter columns are about 6' out into the room. The woofers are out about 4 feet.
The Pipedreams have a nice active crossover that works well. I can increase or decrease the woofer level on each channel to suit. When I first got the pipes, I put the woofers in the corners. This was too much. Pulling them out in the room and behind the towers tightened the bass right up and the transition between the columns and woofers is transparent. These are the most articulate woofers I've ever heard. You can tell exactly what instrument is making the bass.
The "pipes" are completely different. I still love the Infinity sound, as I spent over 25 years with it, and still own a pair of RS1b's in the bedroom system.
However........ IMHO today's cones do things they couldn't back in the day. Te infinity planar drivers have a "coolish" sound that does not always serve the music as well as they could. Horns and female vocals come to mind right away. The slam of brass instruments cannot be heard with planars. I call it cone slam.
The pipes are very organic, image unbelievable well, and the woofers have the best integration and clarity combined with the towers. The Beta bass is very slow and undefined, due to the vintage servo drive system used. There is no comparison.
Too bad you are on the other coast, you would be welcome to come and hear for yourself. For the first time in quite a while I have a speaker I feel I can live with for quite a while.
Of course, take this advice at face value. What I prefer may be poison to you. Always remember the completely subjective hoby we both enjoy.
System edited: I swapped out the Transparent Reference speaker cable, for Verastarr Silver Reference. Pipedreams do not like network boxes. The Verastarr at 1/10 the cost has more synergy. Soundstage, imaging and layering all improved. Vocal sound far more real. Me Likey! Best, Paul :-)
Pics to come. I bought a set of 7' Pipedreams. System is in disarray right now as I need to move amps around and do some tweaking under my listening room floor as in the front of the room will be:
Pipedreams about 1500 lbs Levinson 33's about 900 lbs Levinson 33H's about 500 lbs and my 65" Tv that about another 300 lbs.
Lally columns and spreader are on the way!
I miss the resolution of my Aerial 20t's a bit, and the ease of the ribbon tweeter, however the Pipes have the huge sound I crave.
System edited: I've added a new pic with the second Billy Bags long rack. I wish both racks were an exact match, however the long racks are hard-to-find in these parts. It's nice to have the system spread out, room for turntable accessories, and the view in my listening room improved. Best, Paul :-)
Cal audio Icon MKII Meridian 508-24 Bat VKD5 Bat VKD5SE Wadia 860x Wadia 270/27ix combo Levinson 390S
And now the 30.6 DAC 31.5 Transport.
I have heard the latest reference digital "flavors of the month" and for me the Levinson combo still gets it. Plus I had made a decision to build a system with all the last of the Levinson Reference components, and I have accomplished that task, and now there's no money left!
The 390S is my favorite sounding single box player, followed by the BAT VKD5SE. The Wadias just don't do it for me at all, no matter what wire or digital cable styles I used.
The 30.6 is full of air without being bright, gets the details right and last but not least is music friendly. It makes my foot tap. The 390S wouldn't produce the same air and space, however it comes darn close.
System edited: Added Transparent Reference Phone MC interconnects and Reference XL speaker cable. Changed system name. Absolutely no money left. Grilled cheese sandwiches and Ramen noodles will be my fate for months......but....the music sounds great! ;-) Best, Paul :-)
System edited: Picked up the missing link in my Levinson Reference system, the 31.5 transport. I had been using my Sony SCD-777ES, however the 31.5 with Transparent Reference AES/EBU has taken it to a new level. Image, staging focus and placement of instruments is great. And for another milestone, I'm back to vinyl after almost 20 years. Picked up a VPI Aries with JMW memorial arm, van den Hul Frog cartridge, with upgraded platter and clamp. I have to read up and set up the table, and this will take some time, however the pieces are in place. I have updated the rack pic. Now I'm damn near broke. Nothing like audiophilia to keep the wallet thin and the CC statement high.....however the joy of music and the stress relief it provides cannot be measured in dollars. Best, Paul :-)
System edited: Added a Levinson 30.6 DAC a few weeks ago. LOL, it just gets better. This is not the latest flavor of the month, however it has withstood the test of time, and AFAIC, sounds as good if not better then the latest high-end DACS. Best, Paul :-)
The Accuphase happened to be at a local dealer when I popped in. Knowing full well it wouldn't be there next time, I had to do it. ;-)
I find the big TV doesn't hurt the staging. In the pic the room looks smaller than it is. The TV is a 65" widescreen Mitsu, it's huge.
What was fun for me is up 'til actually buying them, I had never seen Levinson 33's. When I saw them, I was amazed at the size, and then found just how hard they are to move!
Anyway, I'm lucky as my girl doesn't mind the audiophilia, in fact she enjoys it. For me, it's the absolute best stress relief imaginable. The music plays effortlessly thru this system, with large scale dynamics and punch. I count myself as being very fortunate.
System edited: Today I bought and moved a pair of levinson 33 Reference monoblocks. Let me tell ya....these puppies are real close to 400 lbs each.....and they sound as good as they are heavy. Compared to the bi-amp configuration of 33H on the top, and 336 on the bottom the 33's just plain blow it away. Weight, depth, harmonic texture, space between the instruments and slam and dynamics took a quantum leap. Soundstage come far forward and more "in yer face". LOL :-) I'm out of money......but the music sure sounds good and the 33's will help keep us warm this winter. Paul :-)
System edited: As luck would have it, I found a super rare Accuphase T-109V tuner last night and added it to the system. Currently this tuner is "king of the hill" at www.fmtunerinfo.com. My understanding is there are less than 10 of these in the US! I listen to my PBS stations for jazz and classical, and this tuner's intial impressions are quite good. Best, Paul :-)
System edited: Put up a new picture of the rack. The Levinson 32 preamp with it's generous quantity of inputs (10!) has me lugging out the toys. I'm really enjoying having the reel machines up and running. Life is good, and the system sounds nicely balanced now. The 32 preamp brought a smoothness and a locked-in soundstage that captivates me......without losing detail. I hear things in my sources I've never heard before. Best, Paul :-)
Thanks for your kind and totally factual comments. Over the years I have found the hard way that many speakers with traits that initially sounded good had a habit of wearing on my ears after time had passed. This current rig has me listening and enjoying more of my music than I had thought possible.
This gets all the subtle details and low-level retrieval for classical is exceptional, and will also present full-range orchestral passages without compression.
System edited: Added more pics. Some analog goodies. The low Billy Bags rack is new, pieces are not optimally placed yet. Perhaps I'm not "done for now" so I moved it to a new category. Best, Paul :-)
I'm biamping full-range. I have a certain well-known active crossover, however it offers no improvement.
I have found that active line-level crossover work best on their own, and most speakers with their own passive crossovers are best run-in full range when biamping. Speakers with removeable crossovers such as Magnepans respond well to line-level actives instead of the factory units.
