Switched coaxial cable to Black Rhodium Adagio cable. Most definite change in sound. I'll give them time to break-in but initial impression is very detailed and revealing. Bass is tighter. In general, upon first listen, I really like them. Much more presence, especially in the mid-range and treble but with no brightness or harshness. Seem quite excellent. Also the thinnest, smallest coaxial I've ever seen.
What a lovely system. I can only imagine how spacious and airy music must sound through that potent combination of excellent components. Congratulations....
Added Synology D118 with 4TB of network music storage accessible to all network devices. Relatively easy, sounds great. Primarily played through Node 2i.
Switched out last Cardas Parsec Cables, these were coaxial, for Blue Jean Cables 1505F coaxial. Immediately opened up, seems more neutral, tonally more realistic in my view and of course in my system. Very inexpensive replacement, price isn't everything.
Changed out Cardas Parsec speaker cables to Witch Hat N2 from the UK. I like them very much even after only a couple of days. The Parsec cables were good but seemed a little "dark and veiled" in my system sometimes.
Also changed out the Parsec RCA Interconnect from the DAC to the X3 to the Flashback Premier RCA to 5 Pin DIN from the UK. The combination of the Witch Hat N2 and the Flashback seems to have removed most, if not all, of that darkness and veiled effect.
I am very pleased with this change completely related to the improvement in the quality of the sound. Detail is still very good, bass is tighter and very clean, airiness may be slightly less but very much dependent on the recording. As a side note, the cost of the Witch Hat and Flashback cables is about 25% of the cost of the Cardas.
You are correct. Sideboard system is music only. TV with Yamaha, Klipsch and Sony for video only. Also a bedroom system with Naim XS2 integrated, Blumenstein Marlin Ultralight speakers, Mytek Liberty DAC, Auris Blume Bluetooth 5.0 receiver.
Just updated to Naim XS3. Seems to provide a little more clarity and presence, not that the XS2 was lacky in this. The XS3 is just more of a good thing. XS2 relegated to secondary system with Blumenstein speakers and Mytek Liberty DAC, which sounds great.
I really appreciate systems that are a part of a space and enhance how people live in that space. Visually elegant. I also have moved away from a listening position because...life.
Updated the DAC to a Denafrips Ares II. More open, airy and "raw", brand new out of the box. Reminds me more of live music at clubs and concerts I would attend. Mytek is excellent but maybe a little to refined, at least to my ears.
Thanks. Works great for me. I previously had systems where you sit in a "sweet" spot but just don't live like that anymore. The platforms are custom cut from a granite shop on top of IsoAcoustic pucks. I used the pucks that are good for 20 lbs each, I think they are the ISO-Pucks for studios. Will be trying a Denafrips Ares II next week in place of the Liberty DAC. I love the Liberty DAC and it does MQA but not sure about MQA and I wanted to try a ladder DAC, so we'll see. Art work is Dale Chihuly proofs. He doesn't do just glass.
