Hi Guys
Have'nt been here for a long long time.
The Island is moving forward, slowly but surely. Have decided to work there for the next three month to give it a big push. We are now shoring inside for the concrete roof which will take 60 Meters.
Window fabricated and will install once roof is completed.
Stairs from dock to house poured as is the heated crawl space.
Can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Haven't bought any music since last year but am enjoying the collections that I have purchased.
Think it's time for a road trip both south and east....... stay tuned.

rugyboogie May 06, 2017 15:24

Hi Dan

Thank you for the kind words and the nudge,nudge, wink wink
know what I mean.
When we go on our next road trip south you will our first stop.
Heading to the Island to get some work done as we are supposed to get a break in the weather today and then back to heavy rain again. At least it's not snow.
Take care and all the best,
Mike

rugyboogie February 08, 2015 15:09

System edited: Purchased the JBL Hartsfield locally for my Island retirement home which is off grid. These will require very little power to drive as electricity will be generated from solar panels along with micro hydro stations.

rugyboogie February 05, 2015 13:44

Hi Jeff
Both tables provide great music.
The Verdier was my first table after I gave up on Vinyl in the 90s.
The Platine is a tweakers dream as there are so many ways to improve or tailor the sound to your choice. Back when I bought the table I had lots of time to tune the table. Have to check the table's speed with the Sutherland Timeline and adjust table speed before playing. Simple ritual but it does take a few minutes. Vary happy with the Verdier.
Having said that the Beat provides me pure joy without a lot of table tweaking. Table speed is dead on.
It's almost set and forget.
The Beat gets most of the play time.
Hope that helps.

rugyboogie October 19, 2014 13:41

Sad to Report that Mr JC Verdier has passed away.
RIP

rugyboogie October 07, 2014 13:40

Thanks Islandmandan
Thank you for your kind words and help on the phone. Looking forward to coming down to meet you in August.

Received a new RCM made by KL Audio.
What a revelation this cleaner is.
Convenient and the cleanest/static free that I have ever had my Lps.

Purchased some new speakers KEF LS50 (great speaker), also a minty Classe DR3b and a McIntosh MX 110.
Realized that my photos are very out of date. Will work on this as time allows.
Thanks for reading.

rugyboogie May 24, 2014 20:59

System edited: ET-2.5 finally arrived yesterday and will get a chance to set it up on the weekend. Will post pictures as well .

rugyboogie December 18, 2013 13:24

Hi Sunny

Getting my ET-2 brought up to the 2.5 version..... yes tangent tracking arms.....
Bruce T is almost done, fingers crossed that I get it in the next few weeks.
Couple of cool finds, picked up a Garott Brothers P77 MM along with a minty Sony MC 44-XL.
FR66s is mounted but need to make another armboard in order to get more range for the VTA, just never enough time in a day.

Say hi to Sam from us.

rugyboogie October 29, 2013 13:50

Hi Sam and Mike, thanks for the notes.

Here is what I have been up to lately.

Three weeks ago I came home only to discover a small noise coming from within my listening room. Traced the noise and found that it was air leaking from one of my air filters that came with my Kuzma Airline arm. Tried sealing the filter but it didn't work. Ran into the attic where the compressor sits in order to turn it off.
The compressor must have been running non stop for hours as it was extremely hot.
Back in my music room the first water/oil filter-canister had almost one inch of fluid in it, second filter had nothing.
After several hours of waiting till the compressor came back to normal operating temp, started it back up and attempted to re-seal to filters, but no go.
Turned filters upside down in an attempt to reseal filters as per instructions from Frank Kuzma (thank you for numerous emails) but it didn't work either.
Further investigation showed that the filter housing broke up inside of the canister.
Well this was a first for me, so I have made some big changes to my " air system" for the Kuzma. Purchased an ET 2 recently which will need an air source as well.

The new Air System consist of the following.
20 gallon Air compressor with an output of 4.2 cfm.
Wilkerson particulate filter, which then leads to a large CAMAIR CT30 air dryer.
Then a manifold which has three air outlets.
Two regulators, one for the Kuzma set for 65psi and one for the ET set for 10psi. These air lines run from my garage through the attic and then to the music room.
From there each line has additional three stage and two stage filters before the air reaches the arms.
On the compressor I installed an auto bleed off valve.
Every 45 minutes the timer bleeds off air from the bottom of the tank for 6 seconds. The moisture is piped into a clear plastic catch can so I can see the water accumulate.
All this for tangent tracking arms....... it all worth it.
It is our hobby after all.
Take care

rugyboogie August 25, 2013 05:45

Hi Mike
Thanks on the Beat. You are a bad influence......lucky for me. Take care.

Hi Sam and Sunny
Lack of room in the music room forces me to keep the Studer in the Living room. Never far away, easy to wheel into the room.
Spinning a lot of vinyl on my new Beat. Tonight it's the DCD Spiritchaser and some Roger Waters Amused to Death.
The Beat is addictive as it is able produces music so effortlessly. The music makes me smile every night.
Bought a large Lp collection (over 3000 Lps) is proving to be a great way to spend the evenings unwinding and learning about new music.
Take care and all the best.

rugyboogie July 10, 2013 05:36

System edited: Added pictures of KODO the BEAT, Reed P3 and other various pictures.

rugyboogie June 09, 2013 16:04

Added two two arms, FR 24 Mk II and an ET-2.
Also sold the Nordost Thor which was replaced with an Audience ar6tT. This is for the three amps up front.
Will update pics once the Beat shows up. Steve will be here next weekend. The Bridge collapse in Mt Vernon will make it a longer drive.

rugyboogie May 25, 2013 19:26

System update.
The Beat tt will arrive this month which will be delivered and set up by Steve Dobbins.
Painted my room and also re arranged my setup.
Also new shelving for my Lps and cleaning station which is now outside the listening area.
Will post pictures next week.

rugyboogie May 03, 2013 14:04

Berony
Will do Berony, have another gon member that was interested in the Wyetech as well. Should I have to sell the two of you will get first dibs.

Syntax
Danke schoen for your kind words.
You have quite the system yourself. Have enjoyed reading many of your posts especially like the comics from yesteryear.
Yes the arm board for the Kuzma is a home made solution.
Fabricated the armboard of Lignum Vitae that I purchased back in the mid 80s.
"Very hard" pun intended to find nowadays. Have several types of armboard material for the Verdier, the LV worked best with the Kuzma.

Take care,

rugyboogie March 04, 2013 13:53

Change made to the analog part of my system. Switching the Aesthetix IO phonostage to an Allnic 3000V. The Allnic with 4 inputs which will give me greater flexibility with the new Beat turntable that should be arriving in January. The Beat will be able to support 3 arms, one of which will be my Kuzma Airline.
Allnic should be arriving next week. Will post pics once it's here.

rugyboogie November 30, 2012 05:00

No it will be a DD.

rugyboogie October 19, 2012 14:36

Hi Chris
That is interesting to read about the thermostat.
Glad that you ripped it out, really concerning knowing that the info is going out of the house to unknown monitoring people.
Little bit of George out there.
Took a plunge an a new turntable which will be delivered mid to late November. Now for another arm and cartridge.
Will post pictures once the table arrives.

rugyboogie October 06, 2012 04:15

Thought that I would post this on my thread as well for those that are interested re smart meters.

Hi Albert
Long to time no talk, follow and read your thread and noticed your smart meter.
Here in British Columbia, BC Hydro our local power utility, (owned by the provincial government) has been installing " Smart Meters". They have given us their reasons for wanting to install the meters but there are a lot of people opting out.
Here are some informative videos on the issue.

www.energynow

stopsmartmeters.ca

Take care and enjoy,

rugyboogie July 02, 2012 16:24

System update.
Added a Shunmook like ebony record clamp.
Have been playing around with a HRS Record Clamp along with a vintage EON clamp.
At the present time the Ebony clamp is getting more play than the other two.

Any Vancouverites interested in creating a meetup group to share music ? Probably wrong time of year to start such a group but thought I would put it out there.

rugyboogie May 07, 2012 13:45

Hello Hxt1

Thank you for your kind words.
Share your enthusiasm about the music on tape. It is interesting that your $40 thrift store deck would destroy your "humble" vinyl.
Listening to tape had the same effect on me when I listened to Mike Lavigne's tape decks and compared them to his not so "humble" turntable set up.
Mike at the time had his Rockport, Dobbins Technics SP 10 Mk 3 and also the Dobbins Garrard 301.
The difference was not suttle and the event at Mike's place became a game changer for me as well.
If you want to contact me you can through Canuckmart.
Take care,

rugyboogie February 18, 2012 15:59

Have some sad news that I received this week Wednesday.
Gary Kerr owner of The Audio Gallery in Lake Oswego passed away on Super Bowl Sunday.
Gary whom I had met years ago was very passionate, honest and and a very good man.
The Audio Gallery was the type of store where you would always be engaged in beautiful music and conversations.
The whole environment that Gary and Cindy had created in their store is rare in a "Brick and mortar" store. It was always one of my places to stop by on our way to Mogfest in Oregon.
Will miss you dearly and wishing Cindy my sincere condolences.

rugyboogie February 11, 2012 14:22

Hi Kevin
Thank you for your kind words, nice to see another Canuck member here on agon.
The privilege of being able to play piano is not mine. The pianist would be my wife, she also plays flute and violin.

Kevin that is a great story about your parents taking you to see Oscar Peterson. What a cool venue and to be see him up close. To be exposed to that at an early age, how lucky was that.
Very observant of you to catch the Oscar Peterson bit, yes I am an Oscar Peterson fan and saw him in Monreal and here in Vancouver a few times, love his music.
Should you ever be out west drop by.
Take care,

rugyboogie January 08, 2012 14:40

Hi Glen, Mike, Eckart, Sam and all members.
Wishing you and all a very Happy New Year and may we all enjoy the gift of music and the joy it brings us.
Happy listening.

rugyboogie December 30, 2011 17:07

System edited: System edited, added the Denon DP-6700, HRS Analog Disc and Dertonarm's P2S. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

rugyboogie December 24, 2011 15:22

Hi Natan
I am very glad that you are enjoying the darTZeel gear.
With the zeel one forgets about the gear and it's all about the music. The build quality and as you said and the support from Herve is really special.
Let me know which cables you settle on. Had the Kubala in my system for a short time and settled on the Valhalla's.
Take care and all the best.

rugyboogie November 24, 2011 03:36

The SS tubing is from a local steel fabrication shop in Langley , BC.
The tubing is 2" diameter, threaded rod is 1/2" brass, SS fender washers and nuts are also SS.
The shelving is assembled and is in a mode of compression.
The bottom shelf has the threaded rod protruding 2" in order to receive a brass cone, SS nuts to lock the cone.
Next 1/4" space then another nut then fender washer.
These four nuts get leveled.
Once all four nuts on the threaded rod are leveled, shelf gets installed. This is actually easier with the shelf installed.
On top of the very first shelf another washer and nut to "squeeze" the shelf as tight as permissible.
Then comes the 2" SS tube which gets filled with lead shot and sand. Once filled the tubes are hit with a rubber mallet in order for the shot and sand combo to settle down the tube. Tube is refilled to the top of the pipe and hit again until no more settling occurs.
Next shelf gets installed, washer and nut get tighten and the process starts all over again.
Hope this helps.

rugyboogie November 06, 2011 15:49

Hi Sam
Hope that all is well with you and Sunny.
Yes I would love to be closer to your neck of the woods.
Have my room apart so that I can rearrange my shelving system. The turntables were too high when sitting on top of the shelves. Therefore different height tube will be used to lower the overall height of the shelving units.
Purchased a Festool vacuum with a Oneida Air Box in order to extract and reuse all of the lead shot that is in the stainless steel tubes. This tool combo made the extraction a very simple process. No having to find and vacuum lead shot from the carpet.
The shelving will be back together today. It will take some time to get all of the gear back in, rewire and with some luck have it up making music again.
Take care,
Mike

rugyboogie October 30, 2011 13:23

Hi Vince and Nata

Hope that you get a chance to listen to the dartzeel. It is a very good preamp.

System change on the video side, have a Sony CX7000ES that is now keeping things organized on the Blue ray library. Took almost three hours to load the discs.
Installing tonight to see how the Gracenote interface works with the Sony.
This will make choosing a movie much simpler, I hope.

Audio side, installing new SS tubing for the shelves that I build. Presently too high for the turntables, therefore the SS pipes will be shorter to bring the overall height of the top shelf down by six inches.
Will post pics once done.

rugyboogie October 22, 2011 15:41

System Update:

Added the Uni-Protractor designed by Dertonearm.
Very useful tool for set up of tonearms and cartridges.

Happy Canada Day !!

rugyboogie July 01, 2011 12:38

Dmanikas

The Bat VK 6200 is used in my home theater set up, and not for two channel listening.
At the time of purchase I found it to be the most dynamic, best layering of sound stage of the multi channel amplifiers that I had access to.
The other amps that were auditioned were Arcam, Krell and Anthem.

Take care,

rugyboogie May 24, 2011 02:59

Hi Vince

Sorry for the delay, sent my 18 year old son to Japan last week and well you know what's happening there.

Have no personal experience in my room with the Krell or the VTL and cannot comment.

The dart preamp is exceptionally musical and can say that I do not feel that I am "missing" anything in the bass dept.
My personal references that I used in my room are the following.
ASR Emitter II Exclusive Blue Version, Convergent Audio, ML and Supratek.
Vince, I know that I have not answered your question but hope this helped. If you are close by, you are more than welcome to drop by for a visit.
You cannot go wrong with the dart, but that's my biased opinion. Biased because I own it and love it.

Take care,

rugyboogie March 12, 2011 20:58

System edited: Added two tonearms. SME 312S and a Fidelity Research FR 64S with their heavy VTA adjustment collar/base.

rugyboogie March 05, 2011 14:30

Mjcmt

Let's see if I can clarify this.

For two channel listening the darTZeel preamp has multiple outputs options. BNC, RCA and XLR.

The 50 ohm BNC zeelcable connects to the dart amp.

The RCA Valhalla connects to the Wyetech amp.

These two output connections are always plugged into the darTZeel preamp and the two amplifiers.

When using either amplifier I have to switch the Valhalla speaker cables. They are long enough so that they stay connected at the Wilson Maxx II speaker side but have to be changed at the amplifier side.
This is a bit of an inconvenience, but not to big of a hassle.

For movies the the darTZeel preamp, darTZeel and Wyetech amplifiers do not get used.

Processor is the Theta Calablanca.
The BAT VK6200 is a five channel amplifier which sits behind the center channel speaker. This is how I power the five speakers. The sub is self powered.

The Wilson Watt Puppy 5 are being used as rear surrounds and the Wilson Watch is being used as the center channel. These three speakers are connected with their own speaker cables directly from the BAT VK6200 amplifier.

The front left and right channel are the Maxx IIs.
Here is where it gets tricky.
The VK6200 front left and right speaker cables get connected to the back of either of two channel amplifiers binding posts. Another words the amplifiers binding post are being used as a connection/jumper post.

For example :
When the darTZeel amp is in use for two channel listening and I switch to movie mode.

First, all of the two channel gear is off.
The speaker cables from the darTZeel amp are connected to the Maxx IIs.
The five channel amplifier front left and right speaker cable get connected to the binding post on the back of the darTzeel amp.
This way I do not have to go the back of the MAXX II speakers to change to cables.

Whenever I listen to two channel, the speaker cables from the VK6200 get removed from the two channel amp so that there is no interaction.

Sounds complicated but its very easy to implement.

So, in a way I have three systems options in my room.

Hope I have answered your question.

Take care,

rugyboogie January 08, 2011 16:07

Papaya

Sorry for the delay, was in Panama for Xmas.

The dart drives the my Maxx II without any issues what so ever. Original concern was that the amp would clip, so far it never has. The dart pre and amp are a symbiotic match.
Congrats on the preamp, you will love it.

Happy and Healthy New Year to all !!

rugyboogie January 05, 2011 17:42

Purchased the 50 Ohm zeel-connect for my pre to amp.
Long run of 11M so that I can use it in my new listening room that should be ready (finger crossed) in two years.

On another note, will be going to the Roger Waters "THE WALL Concert" on Friday. Anyone else going in Vancouver, BC ??
Should bring back lots of memories.

rugyboogie December 08, 2010 04:00

Hi Papaya
You have a very nice system which must sound great.
Where about are you located ?
Unfortunately there is no ARC dealer here in Vancouver, BC.
Therefore I cannot comment on the dart vs ARC preamp.
I can tell you that the phono stage in the dart is very good.
My other phono stage which is my reference, the Aesthetix IO Mk II is very good, but the one in the dart is what gets used the most.

To answer your question of the dart SS pre loosing wide stage and grandeur presentation of tube preamp, I can answer no. I am thrilled with the dart's presentation.
My three previous tube preamps that I have owned were ARC LS1, Cat Signature MKIII with phono and the Supratek which also had a build in phono stage. The Supratek was the last one that I owned.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Take care,

rugyboogie November 09, 2010 03:46

System edited: System update. TEL Wire HC cord added to my system for my two for my power amps. Astonishing resolution and great dynamics right out of the box. Have them on my dart as well as the Topaz. Highly recommended. Also took delivery of a SME 312 that will be used on my Technics SP 10 mkII turntable. Getting close to being finished, too many things to do and just not enough time.

rugyboogie October 07, 2010 04:55

Hi Bflowers

Long time no talk. Have been watching the changes in your system as well
Belated congrats on your Wilson Alexandrias.

Had my first chance to listen to the Alexandrias on a recent road trip that we made in August on our way to San Diego. They sounded great at Oneobgyn's.
On the road trip we also stopped by C1ferrari and Mike Lavigne's.

The changes that I have made were procured by not wanting to have all of my gear at the front of the room.
The ASR Emitter required me to have five long sets of interconnects running to the ASR. Have long length's of Valhalla (3x 30') interconnect and honestly did not want to buy more. Using the other long runs of interconnects did not do the system justice.
For a while I kept changing the Valhalla interconnects between all of my sources. Some are single ended some balanced, just too big of a hassle changing cables and mounting XLR to rca adaptors back and forth.
Sounds lazy but when I wanted to switch from LP to CD and then to Tape....... you get the idea.

The question of having a SET 211 amp and the ASR* was more for a comparison between solid state and tube. So many people get into the debate of Tubes vs Solid State.
By having both in house I could hear for myself and
have the best of both worlds this way.
The acquisition was also the first step into getting my system back to the my preferred setup, which is sources at the side of the room and amps at the front. The Supratek Chenin is the preamp that I was using to mate with the Wyetech in order to do a the Solid vs Tube comparison.
After having had the ASR solid state and the Wyetech setups for almost 8 months it was time to make a decision. My personal preference was that I enjoyed the music for longer periods of time with the SET 211 based amp. It felt more alive, more soul to the music and dynamics were better as well. Soundstage was better too..
But the trade off was that I rolled tubes, almost becoming an obsession.
Finally received some NOS tubes from Andy at Vintage tube services which have remained in their respective positions and have not had to touch the tubes since then.

The darTZeel preamp interested me for the following reasons.
Battery power for the preamp just like the ASR.
Multiple phono stages, plus four more inputs for sources, remote control.
Build quality and lots of favorable reviews for the preamp.
Listening to darTZeel at Mike Lavigne's for four years and have always been impressed.
Made the preamp my Xmas present/bonus.

The Wyetech and the Zeel preamp is a very good combo.

The darTZeel amp was ordered in April and delivered in June.
The biggest concern that the dealer had was how it would pair with my Maxx II.
Normal listening levels at my house typically is around to 80 to 86 db.
Most of my listening is done after dinner when I want to relax and wind the day down.
Of course there is the odd time that the juice does get to flow, but to date have never clipped the darTZeel amp.

Enjoying music from both amps.

rugyboogie September 12, 2010 19:51

Hi Kwb

Sorry for the delay and thanks for the comment.

Room dimensions are as follows:

H 9'x W 14'4" x 22'5"

See ya,

rugyboogie August 26, 2010 00:54

System edited: New pictures posted, long over due.

rugyboogie August 23, 2010 02:56

Ricred1

Sorry to say that I have no experience with the Sophia II, only listened to the original Sophia.
Comparing it to the first from many years ago is not fair as it's been to long since I listened to them.
My impression of the new Sophia is very favorable.
Tight bass foundation, mids were sweet and the highs were extended without being shrill. Liked them in the set up.
In a real world environment such as a living room they would do quite well.
Remember that they need to be voiced as per the Wilson set up. This will take time but will pay off in Spades.
They made great music in the 2 hrs demo and I am sure they would sing in just about any set up.

Typically Wilson improves their line of speakers with each generation.

Hope this helps,

rugyboogie July 14, 2010 05:26

Spent the afternoon listening to the Canadian debut of the Wilson Sophia III at the local Wilson dealer here in Vancouver BC.
Met up with local Canadian Rich Teer who did the the 4 hour drive to Vancouver from the Okanagan.
Rich publishes an online magazine called VinyLPhile.

Website is http://www.vinylphilemag.com/

The Sophia III was being demoed by none other than Peter Mc Grath of Wilson Audio.
Peter had a great brought with him a great selection of music that the played for the crowd.
The source was his Mac Book Pro using an external hard drive. Music was both Redbook standard and high rez formats as well.
The room did not do justice to the speakers as the room being used is the store's high end room for their Video display. None the less the Sophia III was very impressive indeed.
The newest tweeter and the mid from the Maxx III's has trickled down to the newest Sophia.
The bottom end was tight and very well controlled.

After the event had Rich and his wife over for some music and some good conversation.
The stay was much to short and we need to start earlier in the day next time.

Had a great time Rich !
See you soon,

rugyboogie July 12, 2010 03:27

Hi Sonny

Anytime you guys are up, drop by.

Projector bulb expired which prompted for the whole room to be rearranged.

System update.
The components for shelving system is now complete.
All of the equipment and cables have been removed from the room. Speakers and amps remain in their locations.
The assembly of the shelves should take a few nights, and then to get all of gear and cables back into the room.

The Vancouver International Jazz Festival is now on.
Lots of great music in town. Will be taking in several concerts, which will delay the speed of the room getting back together.

Take care,
Mike

rugyboogie June 29, 2010 13:58

Hi Sam & Sonny
Weather has been terrible, we had our summer during the Olympics.
Having fun putting on the hours on the new amp.
The new glow of two red eyes reminds me of the eyes of the "Iron Giant" movie.
Should you make it up this way drop by, doors are always open for you.
Architect is finished with the drawings for the Island project.
Stop by in August and I will put you to work.......just kidding.
See you guys soon,
Mikel

rugyboogie June 21, 2010 06:18

System edited: Added pictures of the new amp.

rugyboogie June 17, 2010 05:41

Hi Tuboo

Yes the A90 with the Airline is a great combo.
Your purchase of a second A90 is a good decision.
This is one great cartridge.

System update.
Bought a Yamaha PX3 turntable from a fellow Agon member.
This I bought for my late night listening sessions.
Have a tendency to fall asleep late at night and the PX3 has an auto lift which will save my cartridge.
Tracking delivery of my new amp, which should arrive any day.

rugyboogie June 16, 2010 14:29

Hi Verneal

Agree with you that I should "spend a few buck on a quality stand."

Have been making shelving for my gear which has taken me close to 3 months to make on weekends.
I will post the pictures when it's assembled .
The amp stand is now in place for the Topaz

Raw Jatoba $1400
Stainless Steel Pipe $ 400
Brass feet/cones $ 500
Brass rod and hardware $ 300
Misc shop suplies $ 300
Paint shop supplies $ 200
Lead shot and sand $150
Sorbathane/ bushings $400
Yours truly time FREE

LOL ................................
Spent 63 hrs at the woodworking shop
Spent 4 hrs at the metal shop.
Spent 20 driving to shop and buying supplies.

Posted the amp stand picture.

rugyboogie May 17, 2010 04:39

Hi Sonny

Has not rained here for a while except on the Canucks...........
Have my new amp stand in place under the Topaz, considerable difference over the slate slab that I was using previously. Time consuming but worth the effort.
Effect of the stand is better imaging and better depth resulting in better dynamics.
Will ask some friends to come by to confirm what I am hearing.

Have the rest of the hardware for the racks except the feet, still not ready.
Hoping that by next week I will have them so that I can start with the assembly.

The Timeline is so accurate and easy to use that I highly recommend it to anyone wanting an alternative to a disc/strobe combo.
The Sutherland does both 45 and 33 1/3 rpm. The strobe line that it projects is very easy to see even in bright conditions.
When comparing it to the Clearaudio disc and strobe combo I can say that its much more convenient. Build quality CA is plastic vs CNC aluminium for the Sutherland. The boxes that Timeline comes in has a large MADE IN USA all over it. Nice to see pride in ones product.

Take care and say hi to Sonny,
The gang and

rugyboogie May 15, 2010 06:23

Adding a Sutherland Timeline as my Clearaudio strobe does not read properly anymore. Should be getting it Monday. Have read great things on it's accuracy.
Let's see.

Feet for my shelving system will be done by next week.
Then it's time to get the lead out, literally out of the existing shelving rack.
It's loaded with 600 lbs of shot. Not looking forward to this.
Buying lots of LP's but not enough time to listen to all of them. Will have to wait for rainy day's.

rugyboogie May 03, 2010 05:25

Update on shelves that have been a work in progress.

CNC'd the holes in the shelves and gave them a 120 grit sanding.
Had a chance to weight the different shelves.
Standart component shelf is 48 lbs each.
Turntable shelfs are 98 lbs each
Amp shelf is 78 lbs and 98 lbs each.
Two inch stainless steel tubing are cut as well in 6, 8 and 10 inch heights.
Made extra pieces for future component changes.
Threaded rods are brass and the final piece of the puzzle will be the adjustable feet.
Not sure on the final design so still sitting on the fence on this one.

rugyboogie April 25, 2010 01:44

Hi Audioblazer
Interesting stuff for sure. Seems the wood of preference is ebony.
Have access to a CNC machine and will try to make my own. I agree that the prices for these tuners are a bit hefty knowing the price to manufacture with wood. I will post pictures once it's made.

Bought a Boston Audio Mat 1
Nice performance upgrade over the stock mat that came with the Verdier.

Update on the Audio Research CD-7 to CD-7.5
Received the upgraded CD player from my dealer this week.
They replaced the two tubes of the three tubes in the power supply and replaced it with a single Sovtek 5881.
Improved bottom end , mids are the same but the top end seems to be a bit extended.
Audio Research parts were free and labour to do the work was paid by your truly.

Ordered a new amp SS, which should arrive in 2-3 months.
This way I will have best of both worlds SET tubes and SS.

rugyboogie April 17, 2010 19:03

This past Friday had a friend drop by to listen to some Lps.
He brought with him his record tuning weight. He said to give it a try.
Listened to a variety of music for several hours only to conclude that his record weight made a beneficial contribution to the music. He has a Harmonix Stabilizer Clamp. Never thought that this could have such an effect on the LPs.
The music had more dynamics, back ground was a bit quieter and the music had a better jump factor.
When I had my old Oracle it used a screw down clamp. This was more so for clamping the LP to the mat. But this "tuning stabilizer" throws a whole new perspective on my LPs.
Anyone else use one of these?

rugyboogie April 13, 2010 13:38

Hi Sam

As I am typing this I am listening to a pair of VIVA Aurora monoblocks that are on loan to me by a fellow agon member. Thank you Sdr.
Putting some serious music into my room, heat as well.
The unit is red and black and has a real synergy so far with my set up. Matches the darTZeel colour combo.....
These are by far the hottest looking tube mono blocks that I have ever had the privilege of having in my room. Very nice to listen to.

My CD7 was acting up and is therefor going in for an upgrade to bring it to a 7.5 version. Power supply and also the display will be dim-able.

Soccer season is over now ( kids won the cup hurray) which frees up my weekends for my shelving project. Have almost 21 hour into the shelving project. All of the main shelves are now glued up. Using Jatoba and not cocobolo.

Take care,

rugyboogie March 26, 2010 05:15

Hi Dgad

Have to agree on the tubes hassles, have 16 tubes for one spot.
Will send you a message via Agon re the Brystons.

Hi Sam
Great to hear that vinyl will be in your home.
The Triode Corp is new to me, let me know how it sounds.
Did you catch the closing ceremonies of the Olympics?
What can I see ehh, we poked fun of ourselves.
The Beavers, flying Moose, and 30 foot tall Mounties. We were roaring at home.
Nice to see Neil Young, Michael Fox, William Shatner come to the festivities.
Tace care,

rugyboogie March 03, 2010 04:45

Hi Chris
Congrats on the A90, you will love it.

Hi Sam
The Olympics are winding down and we have had a blast. The Robson Square events, Yale town and the Pavilions have been very enjoyable but the line ups are soooooo long. Parking has been no issues.
Canadian mint is displaying the medals, you can touch and hold them, One million dollar coin (now gold value is 3 mil) but haven't been able to get in 8hrs line ups, no thanks.
Big show down in Hockey for the gold between US and Canada. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Have a pair of monoblock on loan right now, the Brystons 28 SST squared versions. They have been at the dealer burning in for over a month so they should be up to speed fairly quickly.
Reviews that I have read are very positive and just had to hear for myself.
Take care,

rugyboogie February 27, 2010 19:34

Hi Chris
Unfortunately I have not mounted the A90 yet. I want to use it on my Technics SP10
project turntable along with the Reed arm that I have ordered. The plinth is not finished, still a bit to go before it's complete.
Have listened to the A90s at Mike L's place which he has now on both the Triplaner and the Rockport which is also a Tangent tracking arm.
The A90 is superb in both applications and would not hesitate on recommending it with the Kuzma.
Good luck,

rugyboogie February 26, 2010 13:51

DIY project.
Building two cocobolo shelving racks.
These will allow the gear to get off of the floor and get my turntables to a comfortable user height.
At this time my Verdier is at 20" height and not very convenient for cue up's.
The racks will incorporate 1 3/4" thick laminations of cocobolo for the main shelves and the top will be 4" thick for the turntables.
The posts will be made of 2" Stainless steel rods which will machined at a tool and die shop.
Will post pictures once completed.

rugyboogie February 14, 2010 17:06

Verneal
Thank you for your kind words.

Purchased some NOS vintage tubes for the Wyetech Topaz amp in order to do some tube rolling.
They are as follows:

Sylvania JAN-CHS-6SN7GT VT-231
Sylvania, Phillips, RCA, Sovtek and GE 6SN7 GTA
Raytheon 6SN7 GTB UNILINE

GE 211 from 1942 and 1945

Will be playing with these for the next little bit.

Sam
With the Olympics approaching things are getting pretty crazy with all of the traffic restrictions, road closures, Olympic only lanes, army presence and all of the helicopters buzzing around.
Once it's all over drop by.

Take care,

rugyboogie February 02, 2010 05:06

Hey Guys!
The darTZeel has been in my system now for a month. The music that's coming through the system is like nothing that I've heard before - it's the darTZeel allowing me to hear music in a completely different way.

How it differs from my previous setup is as follows:

The darT gives me a fleshed portrayal of the musicians at the recording-I use the word "fleshed" because the position of the musicians in small ensembles are as solid as I have ever heard.
When I go to a live venue and listen to the band play, you feel the music and energy in the room. That's what I get with my system - this is the most engaged that I have been in a long time.
The energy of the players is conveyed with ease. The attack of the instruments, the tones and vibrations of the individual instruments and their locations is the best that I have had in my room.
The music draws you in, my feet are tapping and all I want to do is listen to music.
One of my sons had friends over for a project and they wanted to listen. Comments were "sounds like the guitarist is right there and the trumpet is a silver trumpet which is right there", and "wow".
The reviews that are written about the darTZeel pre are much better written than I ever can.
To conclude I can't stop playing music and look forward every day to listening.
That's it for me. Now how good can the stereo amp be ??

Dgad
The Topaz can drive the Maxx II with no issues what so ever.

Take care,

rugyboogie January 27, 2010 05:02

System edited: System update. darTZeel and Wytech up and running with my Maxx II's Sold the ASR and also the Supratek. darTZeel has over a month's worth of playing/burnin time now. The music is utterly staggering.

rugyboogie January 22, 2010 06:40

Hi Sam

Yup still have the Aesthetix IO, and a second yes to to I am exciteted to have taken delivery of the darTZeel. Now for the hours to tick away before it gets to become it's prime.
Looking forward to meeting you at Mike's place on Sunday.

See you then, and have a safe trip.

Mike

rugyboogie December 23, 2009 13:12

System update.
Took delivery of the darTZeel yesterday.
Very nice eco packaging, first time a box with no foam or chips.
The dart is now in play mode in my system.
Have the CD player on repeat and hope to get some hours on it.
Using the ac mode as per dealers's instruction.
Hope to do some serious listen by Xmas day.
Shutting down work on Wednesday and take delivery of my other toy in the afternoon. Its a mog.

Will post the latest setup pics once the room has been rearranged.

See you on the weekend Mike.

Take care

rugyboogie December 23, 2009 05:24

Hi Sam
Thank you for the kind words. You have quite the system your self.
Maybe we will get a chance to meet at Mike L's place over the holidays.
He is a very special person and has a great place to listen to music.

The new preamp will arrive next week. Received confirmation today from UPS, just in time for the holidays.

Take care,

rugyboogie December 12, 2009 05:36

Received the Orotfon A 90 today.
Now to get the plinth finished for the SP10 MK II so that I can start to listen.
Too many projects on the go around this time of year.
Looking forward to the holidays this year to do lots of r and r.
Will post pics of the A 90, very cool packaging.

rugyboogie November 27, 2009 04:51

Hi Mike
Thanks for your note, confirmed with JT that it will ship by Dec 1 .
The deal fell through on Sunday, so we decided not to drive down.
Heading your way after the Xmas to do the Portland shopping spree.
Have to keep the kids and wife happy.
As we both know, wife is happy we are happy too.

Talk to you soon and will send the pics of the plinth to you.

See you soon,
Mike

rugyboogie November 22, 2009 00:42

System edited: Ordered a Dartzeel preamp with two phono stages. Hoping for a pre Xmas delivery. Also working on the plinth for the SP 10 MK II. Getting to the assembly stage, weight is 170 LBS plus the SP 10.

rugyboogie November 19, 2009 14:45

Artale
Used the Aural on the power supplies only.
For the battery i am using a stock cord.
Hope this helps,

rugyboogie August 25, 2009 14:00

Hi Artale
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, was on vacation.
I would play with AC cables first. In my set up I am using Aural Symphonics with nice results.
All of my sources are Valhalla both for direct and rca.
Speaker cables are Valhalla.
Never played with the dip switch.
Good luck,

rugyboogie August 24, 2009 14:27

System edited: Added pictures of my Studers. Picked up some Mercury Living Presence and some RCA Victor 7" tapes. Talk about dynamics. Also received notice of the arrival of my first TAPE PROJECT TAPE at my PO Box at Point Roberts WA. Heading down today to pick it up.

rugyboogie June 04, 2009 14:46

Dchendr

The Mark Levinson 33 mono block that I owned required 220 V and a minimum 40 amp for each amp.
The dealer and several owners here in Vancouver also had them on 60 amp breakers. They strongly suggested in order to have no power resrtriction to the amps that I go with the 60 amp breaker if I had the ability to do so.
So naturally I had to have 60s for my amps.
Take care,

rugyboogie May 07, 2009 04:08

Hi Slipknot

Thank you for your kind words.
I have followed the journey of your system, and your Walker TT has always intrigued me. Very nice.

Yes the Supratek and Wyetech are a very nice combination.

The Tape Project is on my next to do list, so I am a little late to the party but I did make it !!!
My post/thoughts on the tape format are posted over on Mike L's system

" Siriusly, the room's the thing! "

After the visit to Mike's place I found a new religion.

I will post the pics when I have the room finished.

Thanks and take care,

rugyboogie April 30, 2009 14:07

System edited: Having purchased the new tube gear will mean new stands for Supratek and the Wyetech. Have to reconfigure the room to accommodate the new gear as well. At the present time in the process of building the first plinth for the SP-10 Mk2. Awaiting the arrival of some Micro Seiki arms that will be used with the new turntable. Also getting the Studer set up. Nothing like having the candle lit at both ends.

rugyboogie April 29, 2009 01:58

System edited: Purchased the Wyetech Labs Topaz 211 A with the Audio Note Transformers and also picked up a Technics SP 10 MK II.
The Wyetech is getting a check up from Roger in Ottawa. Once he has given it a clean bill of health then it will get shipped to the West Coast.
Starting to make plans for the Garrard 301 and Technics plinths.
I will borrow heavily from Albert plinth design and some Japanese designs.
Will post pics once the room gets rearranged.

rugyboogie March 26, 2009 13:41

System edited: Getting a tube based system in my main room. This system will be fed via my Audio Research CD-7 and the JC Verdier which I will be powering via a battery. The preamp is the Supratek and I am auditioning different monobloc SET amps. I will update once my amps are confirmed. Also set up a mini system in the living room with the Totem The ONE using the Transporter as a source being powered by a Naim Nait5ii.

rugyboogie March 07, 2009 16:45

Hi Nrostov
I want to apologize for not sending you the pictures. They will be on their way real soon.

Hi Kevin
Thanks for your kind words. You have quite the system yourself.
I had a chance to listen to the Art Audio in Seattle, very nice sounding stuff.
The acoustical treatment for the room was made by yours truly.
The panels were made by using Dow Corning semi rigid acoustic fibreglass sheets that come in a 4'x8'x1" size. These were cut into six pieces of 32"x24". The frames were made of MDF using biscuit joints. The fibreglass and the MDF was spray painted on one side in black with a laquer so that when the acoustical transparent cloth would be stretched over the frames the yellow would not show through. The back side of the fibreglass did not get painted except for the wood frame which did receive paint.
The panel size is 38"x60" of which I have three on each side of the room.
At the front of the room I have two on either side of my Stewart screen and one large one that is the same size as the screen, behind the screen. All of the panels are mounted via two french cleats. This way they are secure and are spaced away from the wall by one inch. This also allows for them to be moved along the wall for fine tuning.
The big panel behind the screen is also spaced away from the wall by one inch but this one is screwed into the wall.
The ones on the sides are located to remove the first reflections of both of the Wilson Maxx II and my Wilson Watch center channel.
The back wall has no treatment and neither does the ceiling.
I have had several Golden Ears come by with their instruments and their friends in order to demonstrate how important the room is in our quest for great music.
When we did the demos we removed all of the panels off of the walls (except the one behind the screen) and replaced them one by one in order to show how effective room treatment is. Their reaction was predicable and in two cases the guests asked if they could came back but this time with their boss (the wife).
Hope this helps,

rugyboogie November 15, 2008 15:11

Hi Bflowers
I have looked at your system many times drooled over the Maxx II. Now I do the drooling over my own......... very nice indeed.
The balanced vs single ended question with the ASR .
As far as I know the ASR is not a true balanced design. I use only balanced Valhalla with the ASR as I do not own single ended Valhalla therefore I cannot comment on the differences, sorry.

I have never heard the Boulder but I am sure that they are great. As good as the ASR ...... you will have to let me know. The closest Boulder dealer in Canada is 2300 miles away and the dealers is well how shall I say..... better not say.
Please let me know how you make out in your comparison, I am curious.
Thanks and take care,
Mike

rugyboogie September 09, 2008 04:50

Hi Mitch and Nrostov

We are so busy during the summer that there is not a lot of time for Movies or serious Music listening. We head to our place on Gambier Island which consumes all of our time and effort. Summer only lasts so long.
Yes the CD-7 is now fully broken in. At the beginning I was playing lots of music to get the hours logged but it being summer I only get to play one CD every couple of nights.
Listening to CDs with this player is a real pleasure. The player can convey the emotional energy of the musicians when listening to certain CDs.
The bottom end is to die for, sound stage is absolutely huge in all three dimensions. Dynamics are the best that I have ever heard.
Yes I do enjoy listening to the CD-7 tremendously. So much so that I have not spun any 12 discs for almost two months. The Lps will get back into rotation when the weather gets cooler. I have been buying lots of LPs but I am saving them for the winter. This will give me lots of listening time when it starts to rain around here.
Nrostov, I will still send you pictures once my room is cleaned up.
Take care,

rugyboogie July 29, 2008 13:45

Hi Bart_nl
I am glad to hear that ASR was able to get you all fixed up. Great news.
A few years ago I had a minor issue with my ASR. It was back to me in less than one week. Terrific service from ASR absolutely outstanding considering that I live in Canada and they are in Germany.
Take care,

rugyboogie July 17, 2008 07:04

Hi Nrostrov
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. Summer time around here means cabin time with the family.
Received the Aural Symphonics Magic Gem v2t several weeks ago.
The cable has had a chance to juiced up in my system in conjunction with the Audio Reasearch CD7. There is great synergy between these two in my system.
The low bass has better attack and much better pitch right into the midrange. The sound stage is much better in terms overall presentational placement of the musicians. The height of the players and the placement of the drummers are just stunning. When listening to wind instruments their movement on stage is clearer than ever before.
I am a very happy man and may get more of these cables.
One thing that puzzles me is that there aren't to many people using these cables on Agon and that there is not a lot of ink on thee cables.
My system pics will be updated later this week and will send some to you directly.
Take care.

rugyboogie July 15, 2008 14:31

Hi Bart
The temperature on the fins measures 98 F.
Hope this helps and good luck.

Nrostov
I will post pics this weekend.
Yes I think I will take the plunge on the Aural Symphonics, dnd my local dealers sells more of this PC than any other.

rugyboogie June 11, 2008 14:23

Hi Bart
The temperature on the heat sinks gets warm but not too hot to touch. I will measure with my pyrometer tonight, sorry I was to busy with sports on TV yesterday.
F1, Euro Cup and the NBA all in one day.
Talk to you soon.

rugyboogie June 09, 2008 15:06

Hi Nrostov
Thank you for your kind words. You have quite the system yourself.
I will have to take some new pics of my room when I have the time.
The Shunyata V-Ray has not been auditioned yet in my system.
I have never been a brand shopper but there does seem to be some synergy between the Nordost products. That said I am using the Thor for the gear at the side of my room and the Audience ar12 for all of the gear at the front of the room.
The Audience is a great conditioner for my amps and my new CD player, better that the Thor in that same application.
Interestingly when I did my cable shoot out for the CD-7 overall I preferred the Aural Symphonics power cord over the Nordost. Maybe time to make some changes........and win the lottery.
Take care and thanks again.

rugyboogie June 09, 2008 15:00

Hi Mitch
Leave to beaver. It should read Lessloss power cables.
The shootout that I had on the ac power cables in my system was conclude on Tuesday night.
Result was that the Aural Symphonics sounded or rather had the best synergy in my system. The sound stage was much bigger, the instruments had better localization both in height and in width. The depth was absolutely stunning. Dynamics at low volume and at high volume was terrific.
The CD7 is sounding better every day. Thanks for the nudge to get it.
Take care,

rugyboogie May 22, 2008 01:49

Thanks Mitch
You were absolutely right that I would enjoy this CD player.
I am hooked like a drug on this player. I get a good 2 hrs of music on it nightly.

At this moment I am doing a comparison of power cables for the CD7.
Cables on hand are the following.
Shunyata Python VX Helix
Aural Symphonics Magic Gem v2t
Synergistics Research AC Master Coupler
Nordost Brahma
Audience Power Chord "E" version

All of the power cords are plugged into the Audience aR12 Adept response conditioner.
I know that there is quite a spread in regards to their cost but I am doing this to satisfy my own curiosity.
It is to bad that I did not have the lossless cables on hand. I have been reading good things about these cables.

This is proving to be very interesting and also time consuming. We have had only one night for the comparison.
The differences are noticeable yet overall subtle.
Today we will have a longer listening session as its a holiday up here.

rugyboogie May 19, 2008 17:17

First update on the CD7.
The unit has now 81 hrs of play time on it. The CD7 is great no let me correct myself, a phenomenal sounding CD player. The note in the box from Audio Research states that " This player will require 600 hours before truely sounding its best" I can hardly wait.
Dynamics are excellent, transients are lightning quick. The low end has lots of extension, really making the Maxx II put out lots of bass. The pitch of the low frequencies and the attack on some musical pieces is staggering. The space and height of the instruments along with any changes made on stage by the musicians is easily discernible. The player has so much going for it that all of the music that I have played so far sounds like a high resolution format. Compared to my previous CD player even with SACD being played on it, the AR CD7 playing CDs is much better and more enjoyable to listen to.
Music comes forth very naturally, piano is stunning.
My reference for piano is my wife's newest piano (now two in the house). The new one is a Beckstein Concert Grand. Talk about BIG sound. The piano is huge and takes up some serious real estate in our living room. When listening at live venues the pianos never look quite that big but now that its in the living room....
Talk about dynamics and tone. This is one sweet sounding piano.

Wondering if anyone has had any first hand experience on a powercord for their CD7?

Shunyata Helix VX Anaconda seems to be popular....

Will update again around 200 hrs.

rugyboogie May 14, 2008 05:58

The CD7 arrived today.
UPS left it at my back door on its side. No one signed for it. Nice one UPS.
I am glad that my wife came home in the middle of the day to find it. Otherwise anyone could have found it.
Getting it unpacked tubes installed and the break in-period starts.
Will post pics in the next few days.

rugyboogie May 09, 2008 04:01

Mitch
You must have ESP. Audioark from Edmonton Alberta phoned me to give me the tracking number of the unit. It should arrive in a few days. You will be the first that I contact once its out of the box. How is your Slimserver doing ?
Hope that it's up and running. I am still importing music onto
my computer. I am managing close to about 40 Cds a day but when I look at what still remains to be brought in......
Anyways it will take some time before there all in.

Foster_9
Thanks for your kind words.

rugyboogie May 07, 2008 03:26

Thanks Moemoney for the link.

Up date on Transporter. Have been running it now 24/7 for the past 6 days. The dynamics are starting to come on now and the sound stage imaging is improving. Depth of sound stage is improving as well. Yes it does sound better with hours on it.
The early mornings are now being spent importing my Cds onto my Mac. I can see why some people send their Cds in to get burned on a hard drive. Very time consuming.

Stiltskin
Welcome to the ASR club. Yes Emitter's are really in a league of their own. I have had one small issue with the amp which was rectified within 7 days. Their after sales service can only be describes as first rate.
The only comparison that I would love to hear it against, is the Swiss Dartzeel components. The designer from Dartzeel also uses a battery for his preamp. So I think they are both onto something.
If this comparison between the Dart and ASR will ever happen who knows but this is still a big temptation for me.
The Stillpoint with risers make a noticeable improvement under the main box of the ASR. It becomes even more dynamic and also improves on depth of the soundstage.
Congrats on your new ASR and enjoy.

rugyboogie April 20, 2008 14:38

SYSTEM UPDATE
Received the Transporter and had it set up over two nights.
I am using the ethernet connection for the link between my Mac and the Transporter. I did require help from the slim people and their support was great.
First impressions......it smokes the Pioneer that was pressed into service until I get my new CDP. Very good sounding player, can I call it a player ?
The transporter has good depth, good soundstaging and and very good imaging. The one thing that it lacks is big dynamics. Having read the review from Srajan Ebaen www.6moons.com/audioreviews/modwright3/transporter.html on the Modwright Transporter along with the Music Vault I am tempted to get my new Transporter modified but will hold on to the stock unit for a bit so that I can learn all of its abilities.
But talk about convenience. The Transporter can play according to albums, genre, songs and artist. Hit the shuffle and I hear music that I have not listened to in years. This makes me dig out the CDs and want to listen to them. Only thing missing is the CD player.
Today I pulled the trigger and bought the .......
Audio Research CD7 in the silver finish.
Dealer said it should be here in about two weeks. Bought an extra set of replacement tubes, figure might as well.
So now back to listening.

rugyboogie April 16, 2008 02:04

SYSTEM REVISED
The new chair arrived(second chair was damaged in transit). It is starting to be moulded by yours truly. Still a little bit hard but nothing that seat time wont fix. The sitting position is very good and easily adjustable. A good feature is that it does not need more than 3 inches behind the chair to go from upright to full 180 degree/sleep mode. Highly recommended for long listening sessions.
Slim Devices Transporter will arrive tomorrow, so know on to the hard drive world. It will be interesting to see how this dinosaur (your truly) will make out with this. I will use my Mac to start with and will see how it goes from there. The dedicated hard drive may appear but too early to tell.
CDP is next.
Sold my SONY SCD-1. I honestly hope that I will not regret this sale. It was build like a battleship and was so cool with its loading mechanism.
Last night I used my old Pioneer DV-59AVI with some SACD last night for a music fix but..............YUCK.
My SACD collection is not a large one so I am leaning to a CDP and not to a player that can do it all. Audio Research CD-7 is starting to really get my interest right now.
Nice chatting with you Mitch. Thanks for your time.
Jonathan's new machine is also going to be interesting.
So for now just YUCK from the Pioneer and lets see what tomorrow will bring.

rugyboogie April 09, 2008 02:10

Well I finally joined the server community. Bought the Transporter in Black which should arrive next week.
This should change my listening habit and make my non audiophile wife happier that now she will be able to have her playlist at her finger tips.
Will it sound better than the CDP? Probably not but the convenience that it will provide for non critical listening will be huge.
Now on to the new CDP.
I am still deciding which CDP I should go with.
Wadia, Ayre, EMM, Audio Research........

rugyboogie March 28, 2008 02:39

Hi Vito

Thank you for your kind words. You have a very nice system and a great room as well.
The ASR gear is being used for listening to music with the Maxx II only. I am still using my Watt Puppies but now they are for my rear channel. They served me well for over 10 years as my main two channel speakers.
I had owned the 33h for a long time (great amp). After I bought the 33s I used the 33h s for my rear speakers, at that time with the Wilson Cubs.
I found when upgrading from the 33h to the 33 it made a significant step up in performance.
The areas that were the 33s improved were the depth of imaging more 3D like, micro and macro dynamics improved at both ends at loud and quiet listening levels. When we were comparing the 33 to the 33h my wife asked if I had the Watch Dog on with the Watt Puppies, it was not.
The big drawback with the 33s is their size and heat, but the sound is really much better, hence the Mark Levinson Reference term. As for the difference between the Maxx II and the Watt Puppies it is significant in all aspects.
The Maxx II vs the Watt Puppies well......
Everything that you have read about the Maxx II in the magazines is true as to how good they are. People that have own the Watt Puppies and friends that know my system well are awe struck with the differences in spades. They have made a big difference to the amount of time that I listen to music.

I made to Definitive Audio's Music Matters III night in Seattle last week and I can say that I am REALLY good time.
Dave Wilson was playing the Alexandra II with the Ayre mono blocs. Ayre and also had their new Preamp there. It sounded great but the volume knob made so much noise when changing volume settings that all I could think of was a mid evil torture chamber stretching device. I was not the only one that made that comment.
They sources were the Ayre universal player, SME 20 and that Ayre phono stage.
It all sounded good, but my set up sounds much better.

Off to Portland this weekend to go to Powells ( HUGE bookstore ) and then cruise the record stores. Yes my wife will cruise the shoe stores in the Pearl district. Her Hobby.

Take care,

rugyboogie February 14, 2008 07:06

Any one going to Definitive Audio for the "Music Matters night" ?
I will be heading to Seattle on Wednesday to buy some music and to take in the show. Anyone want to meet before going to the show ?

rugyboogie February 06, 2008 01:50

System edited: Updated photos, and the newest member of the gang the Audience ar12 20 amp model. Why are the photos getting cropped? Anybody???? If you have not had a chance to audition the Audience ar 12 you owe it to yourself to do so. This is a unit where you have to scratch your head to try to figure out how this can be.. The unit is plugged in to a dedicated 30 amp plug. I have the ASR, Sony, Bat, Watch Dog and the McIntosh plugged into the ar12. The improvement in sound quality is truthfully unbelievable. More later

rugyboogie January 15, 2008 04:38

Hi Mitch4t
I have to say that the difference lies more with the recording vs format.
But the SD-DVDs ( of which we have over 500 ) look much better with the Toshiba HD-XA2. This is due in part to Real video chip/processor. Images are much more solid, contrast of blacks are also better. Colours are much more 3-D like

Movie night at our house during the year is on Saturday night. My three kids alternate every week. The calendar is already marked for 2008 B,T,A.
This X-mas we watched lots of movies, bought lots of Blue Ray and HD-DVDs movies for our theater. Had lots of fun.

As for "You must work from home", not really but I do build homes for clients. At the end of the day I make sure that I listen to music for one to two hours every day. Some nights I fall asleep in my chair listening to my music CD only . I have had this chair for 25 years so it fits like a glove and it is so comfy. But the chair is showing its age ( unlike me ) so time to look for a new one. The looking started about a year ago, tried the zero gravity, ekornes, several home theater chairs but none worked for me. Last weekend came across the HTL chair model # 8018. This one fits like a glove and I ordered two.

Enjoy your music and have fun with the movies,

rugyboogie January 01, 2008 00:08

Just bought the 20 amp Audience Adept ar12.
Should be getting it next week. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the Nodrost Thor that I am presently using. I will report the results when ready.
Also the Toshiba HD-XA2 has a stunning picture, quite a bit better than the Sony BDP-300 when using SD-DVDs.
This weekend should have time to get some new pictures posted.

Happy New Year to all !!!!!!

rugyboogie December 29, 2007 06:51

Ok, finally have the Maxx II in their final resting spot. It took over 3 months to get them just right and boy does it sound good.
The Watt puppies are now being used for my rear speakers. Also I now have the Sony Blue ray for watching high def movies. Awesome for blue ray but so so for SD-DVD. I have decided to try the Toshiba HD-XA2, it is supposed to be spectacular with SD DVDs and a bonus that I can watch HD DVDs.
Will upload pictures this weekend on the new room setup.

rugyboogie November 27, 2007 04:11

Hi Voaratc
The ML 33h's are a wonderful amp. Your room size is very similar to mine, my ceiling height is 2.8 m.
The ML 33h have lots of slam and are very dynamic. They were able to drive my Watt Puppies to very high spl with no problems. I bought my ML s in 1997 and used the CAT SL-1 mk 3 preamp with great results. I also used the ML 32 with the amp as well.
When I compared the two combinations against the ASR I can say that the ASR sounds more realistic in many ways. It has the ability so suck you into the performance quite easily. The dynamic shadings the macro dynamics along with the overall presence is just more real sounding.....to me. And yes the ASR is very dynamic, but the 33h will play louder with no protests.
How the 33h will be in another system will really depend on speakers and preamp. There are so many great preamps out there so it is really worth a listen.
If you are able, you are more than welcome come and listen for yourself at my home.

rugyboogie November 06, 2007 13:17

Bigpond
I did get a chance to listen to the MM3 but that was early in 2006 in Portland.
The MM3 that I listened to was a really early prototype of the MM3. I am sure that the finished product is a great speaker but I was not able to compare the two under proper circumstances.
I plan on visiting Mike in Seattle in November who has a pair of the MM3s. It will be interesting to see how they have evolved and how they sound.
The Wilson Maxx IIs that are in my system are so much better than the Watt Puppies that I have had for so long. As you can tell I am very happy with the Maxx IIs. The Maxx II are a phenomenal speaker in every way.

rugyboogie October 13, 2007 14:52

Hi Bigamp
You have a very nice system yourself.
Your idea of a music server sounds like a good idea especially when using the Meitner dac. I will look into this. Have you listened to the different servers made by Arcam, Mc Intosh and others?
I also see that you are using the Exact with the Thor for your power conditioning. I have the thor and I am quite happy with it.
Big improvement when used together?
I want to get some protection for my amps at the front of my room.

rugyboogie October 05, 2007 04:55

Bart nl
I was watching the Agon for the Maxx II for 7 months before the right ones came up. The Maxx II have changed my listening habits. I listen to LPs for about 2 hrs and then to cds after that every night. My wife listens with me as well and we are re-discovering all kinds of my music. There is so much information that just never came through the Watt Puppies.
Spent 4 hours with my 3 kids on Sunday catalogueing my cds and then put into alphabetical order. This was way overdue and makes it much simplier to find things.
You have a great system, much nicer than the one that I had when I was 19.
Enjoy your music and take care.

rugyboogie October 03, 2007 13:00

System edited: New picture posted of Maxx II in room.

rugyboogie September 27, 2007 05:22

Thanks Dgad, I use the Thor as well but still want to get some kind of protection for my ASR , MLs and the BAT.
The speakers are getting closer and closer to their final resting position.
These speakers can present the music so effortlessly. The speakers are getting lots of late night listening session. They are so dynamic at all volume levels and image like crazy. For a big speaker to disappear is relly quite something.
I will comment further and post pics once I have the room cleaned up.

rugyboogie September 12, 2007 14:23

Hi Dgad
No I did not get the jack for lifting the speakers. I can see why I will need one after getting them into the house. I was glad to see them on casters after I got them out of their crates.
As I write/type this the speakers are now onto 300 hours of continuous music playing.
The speakers are now ready to be placed/rolled into positions so that we can voice them according to the "Wilson method"
I will update pictures once I have them in their final positions.
Any thoughts on the BPT power conditioning ?
Thanks,

rugyboogie September 05, 2007 05:33

Well the Maxx II arrived today.
Their boxes are the size of small refrigerator and weight even more.
You need a small army just to get them into the house. Thankfully I have strong kids 13 & 15.
Now to read all of the pages before assembly, always a good idea.
Will post pics when set up in room.

rugyboogie August 24, 2007 04:51

Thanks Dgad for your info.
Once the Maxx IIs arrive I will play them to break them in. I will leave them on their castors so that I can play around with their placement. They are supposed to arrive early next week.
On another note I bought the Sony Blue ray Bdp s300 and so far it has worked without any hiccups. The Samsung 1200 that we tried lasted only one night, it froze up, skipped and could not decode DTS. Best Buy took it back with no hassle.
The picture quality with the Sony is exeptional with the Blue ray discs and very good with SD DVD.

rugyboogie August 07, 2007 18:12

Thanks Dgad
The Maxx II are Piano Black with the grills being black as well.
I listened to them at the Seattle dealers store for hrs on end and finally decided to go for it.
This way I will spend more time to listening to music that watching the new listings on Audiogon.
It will be interesting to see once I have the speakers in position whether to integrate the sub or not.
Do you use your for two channel mode?

rugyboogie July 28, 2007 15:23

System update, purshased Wilson Audio Maxx II, arriving in two weeks.
Will update photos once they have arrived.
Contemplating the Tact Audio RCS 2.2xp gear to see how well the gear works but have heard that they they are tricky to set up. Any comments would be appreciated.

rugyboogie July 27, 2007 14:29

System update.
Purchased the Balanced Audio Technology VK-6200 for the home theater set up.
Will update pics when it is set up in the system.

rugyboogie June 19, 2007 12:53

Hi Dgad
To use the AT 666 is time consuming but I make this part of the ritual of playing Lps.
Before listening to Lps, I clean with the Loricraft, turn on vacuum pump to suck down the record on the AT 666 , clean stylus, turn on the air for the tonearm and then finally engage the stylus.
This is my ritual before enjoying Lps but worth the effort.
When I do not have the time then I listen to the Cds.

rugyboogie May 10, 2007 03:32

Mitch4t

Thanks for your kind words.
The reason I want to get into a tube amp is so that I can change the flavor of the sound by changing the amps. This will allow me listen to three different amps with the same source.
I will be using the tube amps strictly for two channel and not for the theater set up.

The Pioneer Blue ray player was upgraded to the 2.1 software. This version has stopped the freezing problem.

rugyboogie May 10, 2007 03:21

The recent update to the turntable with the Audio Technica AT 666 is simple stunning. Overall presentation has changed in ways that no platter has a right too.
Music flows much better, the low frequencies are more refined and more articulate. The midrange has improved with it's presentation so that there are no spotlights on the music but a much fuller presentation across the sound stage.
The tubes that were replaced in the audio stage of the Aestethix IO were the following:
Telefunken pefect matched set of 12AX7 Ultra & micro low Microphonics cross star top's 8 in total.
Amperex 6DJ8/6922 perfect mirror matched pair date code on both 70-51.
RCA 6SN7-GTB Perfect mirror matched pair1962 .
These tubes were supplied by Andy at VINTAGE TUBE SERVICES.
These new tubes transform the IO from being great phono stage to a reference unit.
I was happy with the IO's performance but Albert Porter put me onto Andy. His tubes are really in another league. Highly recommended to anyone looking for great tubes.

I am interested in hearing from guys that have or are using the Lamm ML2.1
The magazines all have good reviews on the Lamm and I want to add a good tube amp to my system. The other amp that has my interest is the Convergent Audio JL-1 or the JL-3.
Any comments or opinions?

rugyboogie May 08, 2007 04:31

System update, vinyl and digital.
I bought an NOS Audio technica AT 666 vacuum hold down platter from another Agon member. I can hardly wait to try this out. Over the years I have always liked the idea of the vacuum hold down so here is my chance. Anybody else using the Audio technica AT 666 ?
Now for my Asthetix IO, I received a full replacement for the audio section of my phono preamp. Andy from Vintage Tube Services was able to get me some beautiful NOS tubes, I am sure that they will make a huge difference. Thanks Andy and also Albert Porter for turning me on to Andy.
I have been checking out the Blue ray forums (thanks Mike Lavigne) and have decided to return my Pioneer Elite Blue ray to my dealer. The freeze issue continues with this player but only with SD-DVD.
When my dealer has the new Elite Blue ray I will do a PQ shootout with the Sony Blue ray and also the Toshiba. Until then I will keep using my Pioneer Elite 59 AVI.

rugyboogie April 01, 2007 22:23

Lookig at the new Pioneer Elite blue ray, any opinions?

rugyboogie March 13, 2007 13:48

Mitch4t
The Wilson Watch Dog.
With the Casablanca in the home theater mode I use it with the balanced out from the Theta at 50 hertz.
When using the ASR in two channel mode the following happens.
The ASR has a left and right subwoofer output in single ended mode. This is a full range signal which gets sent to the subwoofer. The subwoofer has been set at 47 hertz. This meens that my Watt Puppy see the full range signal from the ASR and the Watch Dog only operates below 47 hertz.
It took many nights to over several months to dial it in but I am very happy with the results for both movies and music.

rugyboogie February 10, 2007 18:10

Thank you for your kind words that you left on system posts.
You have a great system going, if I can be of help e-mail me and I would gladly help you in any way that I can. You will love the your new phono stage. I had it on loan and just loved it.
Take care and enjoy the music.

rugyboogie February 03, 2007 20:53

I want to go the next level with the video in my room. Want to know if anyone has any experience with the new video formats?
BLUERAY vs HD DVD for picture and sound quality. Have read some but have not seen both at same time.
Any comments?

rugyboogie February 03, 2007 01:57

Hi Dgad
I am hooked on the Thor. I wrote about to Tympani.
The vinyl thing, I am with you on that. Everything that I listen to is just so much better, involving. It just sucks you into the venue and space of where the musical event took place.
The cartridge that I have been using is the Dynavector XV-1s. This with the Aesthetix IO is giving me great pleasure with many late night listening sessions.
Very happy with this one.
I am looking for a good second arm, still looking.
Where are your pictures from your system. I miss them. You must be enjoying your MAXX II. I am looking at the new EVOLUTION MM3 right now.
Happy Holidays to all.

rugyboogie December 19, 2006 14:00

Tympani
Each one of my outlets in the room is a homerun in 10 gauge back to the panel.
Both my sparky and the inspector said I was nuts, well maybe........but what do they know.
I have the three 110v ML 33h and the ML 335amps on the same leg in the elecrical panel. The ML 33 amps are on 220v so they use both legs. The ground does not go back to the panel but goes to a dedicated ground rod and also a ground plate that is just outside of my room. The ground wire is not daisey chained but also home run to the rod/plate.
I experimented with conditioner/isolators in my sytem. Products evaluated were the Monster,Nordost Shunyata and the PS audio.
To my ears the Thor had the bigger hammer ( I couldn't resist) in my system.
In my previous house the circuits shared the ground and had two outlets on the same 20 amp circuit. The old room had 6 20 amp circuits.
In the old room I always had to put a cheater plug on one of the amps and also on the pre in order to eliminate the ground hum.
This is no longer required with my present setup.
I can say that in my sytem/room that the dedicated plugs are much quieter and more dynamic vs my old room.
Take care

rugyboogie December 18, 2006 06:31

Will update new picture of the system. Spinning lots of LP's, almost endlessly.
Hakancez thanks for the kind words. I agree that the JC Verdier is a great turntable, and that for the money it is very tought to beat. Lots of turntable designers are now implementing magnets. Never too late but JC has been doing this for over 20 years.
My combo which now includes the Aesthetix IO gives me great pleasure. I have had lots of friends drop by only to be amazed with the collosal (better) sound that LP's give me vs Cds. Why did most of us switch ???
With he recent addition of the Aesthetix IO to the system my system has never sounded better. Thanks to your help Albert Porter my system is KILLER.
I know it sounds corny but it really does sound good.

rugyboogie December 12, 2006 04:00

The Sony SCD-1 was in IHO better than the Linn and almost as good as the Ayre. In the CD mode the Ayre was better the Sony and the Linn was but not quite as good as the Sony.
In Sacd mode I felt that the Sony can hold it's own against both players. With modifications and a great power cord the Sony will trump both players. There are a number of people that can hotrod the Sony eg Richard Kern is one of the better ones. With his upgrades the Sony is very hard to beat at any price and one of the things that I like is its battleship transport. The Sony transport is rock steady and was too expensive to implement in other players because at wholesale the transport was almost 2- 3 grand.
I am spinning mostly LP's and listen to digital less and less. So at this time im my life digital is not as important to me right now but I still enjoy.
Good Luck

rugyboogie October 28, 2006 14:52

Loricraft PRC-3 is the best addition that I have made for my analog playback system. The playback is so dead quiet that the lp's surface noise is just simply gone. The music comes forth with no more distractions. Even new records benefit from being cleaned. Highly recommended to anyone with a turntable and people looking to get the most out of Vinyl.

rugyboogie September 27, 2006 13:58

Statman
You have quite the system yourself. Yes the Watch center blends really well with the Watt Puppies. The big thing is to make sure that you play with the tweeter alignment for your sitting positionrelative to listening distance and ear height, and of course the output level control. This is in the Watch manual and is really easy to adjust. The stand also plays a big part in the equation relative to height. Get your stand's height high enought so that when your Watch is sitting on the stand it will be just below the bottom of your sreeen.
Just saw a good deal on Agon for a Watch center today.
Good luck and enjoy.
Mike

rugyboogie September 20, 2006 04:49

Bflowers
Nice choices to have for your system.
The Valhalla that I now own was additioned in 3 meter lenghts. My local dealer did not have anything longer to try out. I also tried out Kimber cable, Transparent, and Kubala. I had to bite the bullet and hope that in longer lenghts that it would still sound the same. I also use long runs of the Valhalla, 33 feet for my front three channels in balanced mode.

Digital source, tought question to answer. I have not listened to any of the new gear accept the the EMM labs and the Audio aero. The Meridian received a great review but I do not trust all of the reviewers.
I would not use the analog pass through on the Casablanca if you want the best sound. I had to use it for a short while (loaned my ASR to a friend) and did not enjoy at all. If the CD source has a volume control as the Wadia and others do, use it and do not use the Theta in the loop.
Theta makes a outboard anolog box, Six shooter and they also make a 2 channel box. This way the Casablanca is only used for volume control only and the analog signal never goes into the Casablaca.

I have never had the chance to listen to any of the Boulder gear so I cannot comment.
The ASR was on loan to me for a weekend. It was so GOOD that I bought it same Monday. The unit was hooked up and played for 48 hours on repeat, listened with my wife on Saturday until 3 AM. The listening session went by so fast and was so enjoyable that I just had to have the ASR. It is by far the best amp that I have ever listened to.
Over the years I have demo'd lots of gear over extended time periods but this ASR took just one night to buy. To this day I am extremly happy with my choice.

I will now digress and recommend if you can and want a true high end 2 channel system try a good turntable. I did and it really blew me away.
That is why I now use my new turntable 90% of the time.

rugyboogie September 17, 2006 23:22

Perfectionist
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you.
The four post are made of 3 inch steel tubing and the horizonlal pieces are 2 1/2 inch steel. All welds are heli arc type and the connections are openend so that the lead shot and silica sand can flow freely when being filled. The lead shot and silica sand are filled in three lifts so that everything can setttle by using a concrete vibrator touching the bottom of the shelves and columns. It is critical to wrap the the vibrator with cloth so not chip the powder coat finish when making contact with metal shelves or posts.
The spikes/feet are made out of a combination of stainless steel (contact with ground) and aircraft aluminium in a cone shape to allow for leveling of the rack. The feet/cones are 3 inches tall.
The shelves are made out of combination of materials.The lamination from top to bottom are as follows. Black South African granite, MDF, Black Brazilian slate(known as Mustang slate) and then Baltic birch. I used Bostich best latex glue, PL premium polyurethane, and epoxy to glue the layers together.
I am right now experimenting with small inflatable inner tubes between the last layer (mini air suspension system) to see if I can hear any thing different.
The weight of the rack including the lead shot, sand and shelves is 815 lbs.

rugyboogie September 17, 2006 22:26

System update.
I just received my new Loricraft PC-3. This is such a great LP cleaner that anyone that enjoy's analog, this is a must have.
My turntable and tonearm are working every night now, re-discovering my old LP collection and buying lots of new and used vinyl.
When I have more time I will write a review on the the Kuzma airline. (IT IS GREAT)
Too busy with all of the summer time activities to write anymore.

Enjoing the summer.

rugyboogie August 17, 2006 14:28

Henryk
I spent the better part of 4 hrs listening to the two Emitters.
The ASR I is extremely good under all circumstances. In my opinion, it lacks the overall dynamic slam of the ASR II. If you listen at moderatley loud levels the ASR I will be fine, but if you like to play your music loud then you can overtax it.
IMO the ASR II will give you better dynamics with your present speakers at higher listening levels, but if you don't push like crazy, the ASR I is a real honey.
The ASR I is extremely quiet and has tons of resolution and it is very dynamic.
If the ASR II did not exist I would not miss a thing.
I listened to them with Avantegarde DUOs and the new JM Labs. I really enjoyed listening to both speakers. The difference on the DUOs with both ASR s was not very big because of their high effciency. On the Labs it showed more of a difference at higher listening levels.
I don't think you can go wrong with either unit. If your listening room is not of gigantic proportions then go for the ASR I.

rugyboogie June 10, 2006 05:29

Henryhk
I am seeing my ASR dealer his Friday. I will see if I can borrow the ASR Emitter Exclusive I or at least audition the two side by side. The dealer also carries the JM Lab speaker line so that is what I will be using to evaluate if I cannot bring the unit home. Once I know what the differences are I will report back to you with my findings.
How efficient are your Kharmas?

rugyboogie June 08, 2006 12:29

Henryhk
I am enjoying the ASR immensely with all types of music. The control that they have over the Wilsons is really something special. Before the purchase of the ASR I was looking at speakers. I thought I needed, or was lacking a little bit more control and heft in the bottom end. The Wilson and ML33 combo are great but none of the preamps that I tried really allowed the 33s to shine.The CAT that I owned was to my ears the best that I had access to.
Along came the ASR and how things have changed. The bass is tighter and goes deeper that the CAT, ML combo. Now this might be because of the tubes but when I compared the CAT to the ML32 it was not night and day especially in the bottom end.
The whole presentation is just so much more ALIVE with the ASR.
The dead quiet comes from having the battery as a supply for the critical stage. The ac power disconnects from the PSU battery once the ASR is in music mode. I believe this one of the big reasons why I get so much of being there when I listen to music.
You mention the "transported to the venue". I enjoy this every night.
I listen to so much more music since I bought the ASR, buying more music and rediscover my old music again. I even bought a Vinyl rig which I play every day as well.
It is like a drug. I want it over and over again.
Hope this helps

rugyboogie June 07, 2006 05:13

System edited: Playing Vinyl once again. Having lots of fun and really enyoying the music.

rugyboogie June 04, 2006 06:12

System edited: Today I received and assembled the JC Verdier, my new turntable. The tonearm is on order which should arrive next week. Looking forward to having it all come together.

rugyboogie May 23, 2006 04:30

Nrostov your welcome. Hope it helps
On this coming Monday I will pick up my new turntable. I will post pictures but of course no arm. The decision to buy the arm has been made easier by posting KUZMA VS AIRTANGENT on Audiogon. Thanks to the helps of those that have posted I will buy...... the Kuzma Air Line Bearing Tonearm.
My next biggie will be the cartridge. Koetsu, owned one and was happy but Dynavector, ZYX, Van den Hul are also contenders any advice or opinions.
Thanks as always.

rugyboogie May 21, 2006 18:54

Nrostov
Yes, it was the Hydra 8. But please addition the Hydra as well as the Thor. Things as you know are very system dependent and I am sure you would be happy with either, but do try them both. Let me know what works in your setup.
BTW nice system especially the speakers, heard them about a year ago and really liked them.

rugyboogie May 17, 2006 01:01

Nrostov
The Thor has become a component rather than a tweak. The Shunyata and Monster were the other filters that I tried. The Monster did not make the music come together. It made the sound stage sound one dimensional. Not too much imaging, sounded better with no treatment.
I have done extensive wiring, isolation, along with dedicated grounds, dedicated breaker panel for my system. Wraped lead around wires, every wire minimum 14" away from each other.
The Shunyata was a very good unit to have up against the Thor for evaluation but after two weeks we (Wife and I) came to the conclusion that Thor stays. The source was always my Mark Levinson digital gear for two channel audio.
The differences were suttle but still clear in favor of the Thor. Low frequencies were more articulate, faster and pitch was better. Female vocalist were just "more there" in the room with us. The stage or the recording venue was much easier to distinguish along with all of the suttleties of the musicians stage presence.
A point of interest was that when my Theta and the Pioneer was plugged into the Thor the resolution in picture quality was much sharper, better solid colours and better depth. Sound is much better especially low level resolution when I use it in my Home theater set up.
So yes I am happy with the Thor and will be buying a second one for my vinyl set up once it all comes together. Tone arm hunting right now.
To all of the Mom's Happy Mothers day.

rugyboogie May 14, 2006 16:48

Dgad
Thanks for the tip. Just read the review at 6 Moons and what a review it was. I have contacted the rep for North America to find out availability for the Conductor tonearm. I will be taking delivery of the Platine next week and will have to find an arm to play my LP's with. Otherwise I will be staring at the table.
I guess it is better than looking at pictures.
By the way NICE system. I saw and read about your turntable a few weeks ago, very impressive. The review was in german and luckily I can read german.
Nothing but praises for the table. I will look to Ebay for the Ikeda tonearm since there is no one on Audiogon that sells the arm.

rugyboogie May 11, 2006 04:38

Well I just about drove myself nuts, but I finally pulled the trigger and went with the JC Verdier table. This decision was probably one of the most difficult due to the fact that I could not audition the tables. I posted the question Galibier vs Verdier and received lots of great input thanks to all that answered. Tom at Galibier has been great, first class all the way but my heart decided to go with the French table. Next is to figure out which tonearm/cartridge combo. There are so many tonearm's, looking at a SME 3012 (thanks Addi), Graham Phantom (thanks Mike L), Ikeda Triplaner (big thanks to Raul for all your help and answers), Schroeder and maybe a tangent tracker?
Then comes the cartridge....

Any advice or opinion?

rugyboogie May 09, 2006 05:09

Opticaltee
I just saw your system with the big Dunlevy set up, really nice. I bet there great for the theater set up. In regards to the extreme vs superior dac's I honestly have to say I never listened to the superior dac set up. My local dealer only made demo's with the extreme dac's. He never brought in the superior dac's for the Casablanca's. He is now out of business. In regards to the better DVD player, I am waiting (have been for two years now) to get the Blue Ray or the HD DVD.
Finally there is some promise that it really will be for sale in the next few months. Then I will see if either format really takes off. If it does then I will choose but only once the movies companies back it. Samsung is rumored to have a Universal player that will play both hi def formats. I can hardly wait to see what unfolds.

rugyboogie April 01, 2006 05:01

Henryhk
I am using the cables that came with the unit. Between the ASR power supplies (two of them) and the ASR battery you must use their cable due to the fact that the are terminated with their own connectors. I also use their AC power cords that come supplied with the ASR for the power supplies. I have not had a chance to play with other power cords. The battery AC cord is not supplied, their thought is once charged it does not matter which type of cable is used to charge the battery. I have used my Brahma and it made no difference. I visited Mike L. on my visit to the USA. What great music he gets in his room (Siriusly). After the visit I have decided to get back into Vinyl. Leaning towards the Galibier,SME and the Basis. The sound at Mike's place especially with LP's was awe inspiring. Therefore my quest begins.

rugyboogie March 29, 2006 15:28

To Bart nl
Nice system for any age let alone 19 years of age. Yes the dust with electronics components is always a hassle. I found that a ostrich feather duster works best and I always use the remote control, so no finger prints to clean. With the Emitter power supply try using a dampning rubber mat cut into strips to lay between the plexiglass cover and the walls of the unit. Then play with the torque on the allen screws. Also try shielding the power supply inside with a sheet of lead. Happy tweaking and enjoy the music.

rugyboogie March 07, 2006 14:32

To bartverwaaijen
Yes the Emitter II exclusive with battery was not very expensive in Canada. USA price $28000????? ASR was allowing dealers to buy direct but no more. The distributions rights for North America were bought by a US company and in turn raised the price a whole lot. Somebody is making a lot of money. My dealer is quiet upset, but such is life. The ML gear that you see is used for my home theater set up . For my two channel set up I use the ASR. I find that I enjoy the music more so with the ASR that with the ML. Maybe I will find a great preamp and again use the 33s for my two channel. Don't get me wrong the 33s are really good. But for now the ASR is my ticket.

rugyboogie February 23, 2006 02:51

ML 33 for the Wison Watt Puppies. ML 335 for the Wilson Center Watch and the ML 33h for the Wilson Cubb II. Each ML 33 outweighs each Watt Puppies by 180 LBS. Have the ASR phono stage on trial right now. Bought the clearaudio cartridge alignment gauge for my Oracle. I will be tuning tonight. Does anybody know the the tracking weight for the black Koetsu? My memory tells me 1.6 to 1.9 grams. Thanks

rugyboogie February 15, 2006 03:57

System edited: Added the Norost Thor and the Sony scd-1. Bought the ASR basis for the phono section and setting up turntable.

rugyboogie February 14, 2006 04:54

To Hobby
Looks like you have a great sounding system as well. Where and what type of chairs are you using in your Second system. They look really comfortable. I neglected to say that in my system the Watch Dog sub is used for both theater and in the two channel set up. Balanced in theater mode and single ended for two channel.
All I need to do is flick the switch on the Watch Dog to go from balanced or single ended input. That makes it simple for in my set up.

rugyboogie February 10, 2006 05:24

For my theater set up I use the 33s amps for the Watt Puppy's which are for the left and right. The 335 amp, one side only of the amp for the Center Watch, the 33h' s are used for the rears speakers which are the Cubs II. All of them are connected to the Casablanca via balanced cables. The source for playing the DVD's is the Pioneer 59 AVI . The video signal is sent via DVI cable to my Sony VPL-wv 100 (The RUBY 1920x1080i) . All of the speaker cable, interconnect and digital cables are all the Valhalla's. The Theta, ML31.5,30.6 Mac Intosh MR78 and the Pioneer are all pluged into the Thor. Thor to wall is the BRAHMA.
For my two channel, the ASR is used to power the Watt Puppies. I use two sets os Valhalla speaker cables. One Meter from the 33 in theater set up and 2.5 M for the ASR in two channel. The source is the ML31.5 as the transport and 30.6 as DAC. Just bought the Sony scd-1 but have not hooked it up yet. The turntable is not seeing any action right now. Shopping for a phono section, ASR, VTL ,The GROOVE are all in the running. The Casablanca is used only for theater only. It's set up is really flexible and in my opinion it's the best sounding processor by far.

rugyboogie February 10, 2006 05:10

I will post new pictures this coming weekend. Bought a new digital camera that will allow me to shoot in manual mode. Did buy a Sony scd-1, delivery this week.

rugyboogie February 07, 2006 03:39

Hi Mattnshilp
Yes I agree , just bought 16 elevators from Ryan at cable elevators. I have also used syrofoam cups to bring things up off the floor. The mit evo 850 are to heavy for the foam so thats why the bulk. (I will Post new photos) Just bought the kubala sosna Emotion to try out. They have a 30 day money back and am awaiting their arrival.

Thanks for your suggestion
Mike

rugyboogie December 01, 2005 08:51

Harry's praise is on the button.

rugyboogie October 25, 2005 14:15