Tony's HiFi Rig

by tonywinga on Dedicated StereoPass labsAyon AudioSota TurntablesAudio ResearchPurist Audio DesignROONAudioquest HurricaneWilson Audio Sasha DAWSME 309SoundsmithIsoAcousticsStealth XSNordostAudioQuest Niagara 5000Wilson AudioVPI HW16.5 Record Cleaner

Description

This is my 8th generation stereo system that started with a Kenwood receiver in college in the 1970s.  This is a great sounding analog system and the most musical yet to my ears.  I am soon to upgrade the digital side with a new DAC and transport.  Eagerly waiting delivery.  Until then I am spinning Vinyl and enjoying my new to me preamps.
I used the Golden Ratio for speaker placement.  The speakers are 7.6ft from the back wall to the center of the woofer and 4.7ft from the side walls.  The listening chair makes a triangle from the distance between the two speakers.  This room allowed me to set it up that way and it works.
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Room Details

Dimensions: 28’ × 17’  Large
Ceiling: 9’

Components Toggle details

    • Wilson Sasha DAW
    Great 3 way floor standing speaker.
    • Audio Research Reference 5 SE Preamp
    This preamp uses a 6550 and 6H30 for power rectification.  4 additional 6H30 tubes amplify the stereo signal at line stage level.  This 6550 tube runs hot.  My laser thermometer shows 230+ F on the top of the tube.  I had to lower the middle shelf of my rack to give this preamp at least 7 inches of clearance.  I did not want the shelf over it getting too warm.  Wonderful sound.  This is my first stereo system since the mid 1970s to have remote control (not counting a CD player).  I no longer need to get out of my chair to turn down the volume for my wife.
    • Audio Research Reference Phono 2 SE
    This has the same tube set as the Ref 5SE although it does not run nearly has hot.  I bought both the Ref 5 SE and this Phono 2 SE at the same time moving away from an older single box ARC preamp.  It is quite a step up in clarity, imaging and a much lower noise floor.  I have been very happy with the change.  btw- I love peering under the clear cover to see the circuit boards.  Beautiful layout of capacitors, tubes and transformers.
    • Pass Labs X-260.8 monoblocks
    Just upgraded to these new mono amps.  I noticed a bit bigger soundstage and clearer, more detailed bass as compared to my old X-350 amp.  The X-350 is a classic and hard to let go.
    • Aries-Cerat Hele'na
    This is a R2R ladder DAC with a SET tubed output stage.  Produced in Cyprus, this DAC also allows for adjusting the tube bias voltage with a built in voltmeter.  A GZ34 tube is used in the rectifier and two E280F tubes power the output.  This thing is a beast weighing in at about 85 lbs.
    • Antipodes K50
    This is the current Gen 4 K50 Player/Server.
    • Sota Nova VI w/Condor Eclipse motor and Roadrunner Speed Control
    This is my new Nova VI Turntable.  I got all the options.  This turntable features a magnetic bearing and the Eclipse Condor motor package with the Roadrunner spead control system.  The Eclipse Condor package is an A/C motor with a very precise sine wave controller- the Condor.  Lift of the motor cover and the Condor controller is visible inside the plinth.
    • SME 309 Tonearm
    This is a rock solid performer.  I find it works very well with both MM and MC cartridges.  It does prefer heavier cartridge bodies.  Benz, Koetsu and Soundsmith cartridges work out well giving this tonearm system a resonance at 10 Hz.
    • Soundsmith Zephyr Star MIMC ES
    I wore my Benz cartridge down to a stub.  After much deliberation I decided to try the latest Zephyr Star by Soundsmith.  It sounds great and has outstanding tracking.  A couple of old records that I was resigned to accepting distortion on a few tracks sound perfect with this Zephyr.  I am very pleased with this phono cartridge.
    • Ayon Audio CD-T mkII
    This is a CD transport with vacuum tube output.  This transport upsamples CDs to 88.2 kHz PCM output through I2S, BNC, AES, RCA, OPT, or it can also output the CD code in DSD format using three BNC connectors- MCLK, DSD L, and DSD R.
    • AudioQuest Niagara 5000
    Powers the front end
    • AudioQuest Hurricane
    Power Cord for the Niagara
    • Nordost Silver Shadow BNC
    I got three of these BNC cables to run between the Ayon CD transport and DAC.  It takes three BNC cables for MCLK, DSD R and DSD L output/input.  I know this breaks away from a complete Purist Audio Design cable system, but I felt these would be superior for the money.
    • Purist Audio Design Diamond Revision 30th Anniversary USB
    1.0m USB from the RS9 Music Server to the DAC
    • Purist Audio Design Dominus Rev B XLR Interconnects
    Big step up from the Museaus Line between my preamp and amps.  Wow! So musical.
    • Purist Audio Design Corvus Diamond Revision Power Cord
    Pair of Corvus Diamond Revision Power Cords for the Amplifiers
    • Purist Audio Design Corvus biwire shotgun Luminist Speaker Cable
    Nice upgrade from the Museaus line.  Better bass and more 3 dimensionality.
    • Purist Audio Design Venustas XLR
    This interconnect goes from the DAC to the Preamp.
    • Purist Audio Design Aqueous XLR
    This interconnect goes from the phono preamp to the line level preamp.
    • Purist Audio Design Aqueous Aureus (Luminist Revision) Power Cords
    These power cords are used on the Phono and Line Stage ARC Preamps.
    • Purist Audio Design Aquila Digital Power Cord 1.5 m
    This is their series VII Power Cord made for digital devices such as DACs.
    • Purist Audio Design Genesis Luminist Phono Cable
    1.2 meter Tonearm Cable that lowered the noise floor on my analog side.  The sound easily bests the cable that came with my tonearm.  Should have upgraded years ago.
    • GIK Acoustics 244 Bass Traps and Panels
    Wow!  Room treatments are an effective way to upgrade a system.  The biggest thing I noticed was clearer voices.  More detail as well as cleaner mid bass.  These traps took away the bloated mid bass.  I find these treatments to be very cost effective.
    • VPI Industries HW-16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
    Gotta clean those records.
    • LHY SW-8
    Network bridge with a built in OCXO clock.
    • IsoAcoustics Gaia Titan Theis
    Added these to my Wilson speakers.
    • Hifi 25 Watt Power Supply 5 Volt power supply
    This power supply replaces the wall wart used to power the network switch.
    • AudioQuest NRG Edison 20
    20 amp power outlet for the Monos.  I was surprised at the improvement in sound this outlet made.  Not cheap but it did something.
    • VPI Industries HW-16.5
    • Audio Additives Digital Stylus Force Guage
    This gage works well.  It comes with a 5 g weight for the auto calibration feature.  Quick and easy to use.
    • RSX Power 8 20 S
    An aluminum chassis power distribution box with a 20amp IEC type connection.  Using it with the subs and main amplifier.
    • No Name Cable Risers
    Designed and built by myself.
    • No Brand Audio Rack made by me
    I built this rack in my shop.  Took me a good week but was worth the effort.  I have almost infinite adjustability, superb isolation.  Best of all this rack is rock solid.  I did something right for a change.  I used butcher block boards, 3/4" threaded rod and brass acorn nuts.  The brass polished up nicely using my car polisher.  I mounted spikes on the bottom side.  The entire rack is heavy and it doesn't budge.

Comments 93

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Great system ,
How you like Pass with AR ?
Like your DIY rack too ,good job 👍

honeyooi

Nice system...& I absolutely love the Amityville room!!

infection

Owner
Appreciate the comments.  Good catch jeecc.  I had to check.  The "ES" is a sticker on the box that the cartridge came in but not marked anywhere on the body of the cartridge.  Also, you can see that I found another use for the blue tac. Besides using blue tac for cleaning the stylus it is also useful as a cable management tool.
I have had my Zephyr for a couple of months now.  It tracks so well and sounds fantastic.  I marvel at how perfectly the stylus is set into the cantilever.  Great workmanship.

tonywinga

Sounds like a great system, truly amazing how long the journey can take but so satisfying to finally arrive,  just breaking in the ES version of your phono cart. Highly recommended opens everything up even more.

jeecc

Your listening room is so well thought out! Everything is carefully  placed; proportions and acoustics seem great; oh and that window between the speakers, small enough not to interfere yet provides a wonderful view and natural light. Congratulations! 

enriqueh00

Owner
The Ayon CD playback system which already sounded so impressive continued to make a noticeable improvement up to the 40 hour mark.  I now have about 85 hours on it.  The 3 Silver Shadow BNC cable circuit (DSD 128k) edges out the I2S circuit (PCM 88.2 kHz) by a small margin to my ears.  3 generic BNC cables for DSD were not as good as the I2S circuit.  I also found that the single BNC cable path (PCM 44.1 kHz) was not as good as either the I2S or 3 BNC path but still better than my old CD player.
The overall sound of my system now is excellent to me.  I have been like a kid on Christmas morning everyday for the last couple of weeks.  I can't wait to put on the first CD of the day and be stunned by the sound and clarity.  It's a good thing I waited until I was retired to do all this.  I cannot get anything else done right now.

On the analog side I added the Purist Audio Genesis Phono cable.  For years, decades actually I used the basic phono cable that came with my SME arm.  It sounded decent enough but I always wanted to try a better phono cable.  The Genesis cable came to me already burned or broken in.  The seller put it on a cable cooker for 3 days.  They said it is nearly impossible for a phono cartridge to break in a cable due to the low signal levels.  Ok.  This new phono cable improved the sound with an overall smoothness, and it adds more resolution and detail by lowering the noise floor.  There is good and bad with this.  The good is that I hear more detail in the music.  The bad is that the ticks and pops in the grooves are more apparent.  Quiet records are still nice and quiet but some of my 70s records have a bit of groove noise.  Before, the groove noise usually disappeared once the music started.  Now, due to the lower noise level in the system I can hear the groove ticks in the music.  An interesting side affect of lowering system noise but I have been playing vinyl since the 70s so I have learned to tune out the little ticks.  The other side affect is that pre echo is now more apparent.  I hear it more frequently and more clearly now.  Pre echo is what I call master tape print through.  It's hearing a loud passage that is about to play moments before it actually starts.  But despite these couple of side affects I still much prefer the sound of this new phono cable.

Coming next is a network bridge.  When I started this venture to upgrade the digital front end my goals were twofold.  I wanted to still spin discs with improved sound and to be able to play Hi Res audio files.  Streaming is a side curiosity for me at this point but the Network Bridge will allow me to do both.  

tonywinga

Beautiful system.  I appreciate all of the detailed descriptions you left about your components.  Very educational.

rush21

Never mind the system. I love the window and the lights......hahahah....Great system as well. :-)

mgolpoor

Owner
Thank you everyone for the kind words.  I received my new Ayon CD transport and DAC.  I updated the pictures to show the new gear.
The Ayon gear easily bested my ARC CD 3 mkii straight out of the box.  The ARC is still a good sounding unit, but with 15 years of progress some improvement is to be expected.  After running the Ayon gear for 8 hours the sound improved even more.  Right now, I am using an AQ Cinnamon RJ45 cable between the I2S ports of the CD Transport and DAC.  With the I2s the CD Transport sends out a PCM, 88.2 kHz signal to the DAC.  What I noticed most with the Ayon system is sweeter, airy highs and more detail/resolution.  The soundstage goes beyond the speakers now like my analog rig.  The imaging is also more focused than before with my ARC player- and I thought that was good before.  Next up is to try out this CD playback setup using the 3 stock BNC cables that came with the Ayon gear.  This allows the CD transport to output a DSD signal to the DAC.  After that, I already purchased 3 Nordost Silver Shadow BNC cables to try out as well.  I'm curious to see if upgraded BNC cables will sound different.
Finally, once I get to know this gear better, I will try some isolation ideas on the DAC and Transport.  Interestingly, I found the ARC Ref preamps sound better standing on their own feet vs. using cones or Sorbathane pucks.  

tonywinga

I have the same light towers that you have pictured. I love them! Beautiful system.

roxy54

Great job building that rack and great looking system!

jond

I got to hear Tony’s system two years ago. It was fantastic then. A whole different level now.

larrybody

Nice Thiel's.  Bought sound great with Pass Labs.

I have CS2's in the same finish.  Bought new in '88 for $1,650.  I still love them.  Enjoy!!

linnie01

I have a rack similar to yours but your one is at a higher level. Great work. I bought mine.

yyzsantabarbara

Love the room and your gear. Bet it sounds great.

skypunk

Nice rack!

billheiser

Owner
Appreciate that.  Thank you.

tonywinga

Fantastic setup and choice of gear!  Nice job on the rack too and overall listening room.  Looks great!

b_limo

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