Description

My 2-channel system is part of my multi-channel home theater set-up. The Adcom pre-amp has a HT bypass. I have been putting my kit together for approximately 7 years making many changes as my listening and finances improved. Thankfully my wife is VERY supportive and has made my obsession even more enjoyable. Audiogon has been a huge help also, as it is a great place to buy gear and learn from fellow enthusiast. My goal is realism. Let the smooth be smooth and the harsh be...harsh!
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Components Toggle details

    • Edge Electronics NL 10.1
    Detailed, smooth, dynamic. Very enjoyable. 100 lb beauty.
    • Pass Labs XP-20
    So much more enjoyable than my X-1, which was a great linestage.
    • Pass Labs XP-20 Power Supply
    Innards! Use this for my X-Ono too.
    • Pass Labs XP-15
    Musical, smooth, detailed. Splendid bass. A real joy to listen to.
    • Von Schweikert Audio VR-IV SR
    Great imaging, dynamics. Loads of resolution. I LOVE these speakers!
    • Von Schweikert Audio VR S/1
    Fast well defined bass keeps up with the Sr. 4's. I have a stereo pair to fill out the low bass in my large-ish room in an open floorplan.
    • Von Schweikert Audio LCR-15
    The center channel for the HT. Very clear, fast.
    • VPI Industries Scoutmaster
    A truly wonderful TT. I added the ringclamp which I feel is a very worthwhile upgrade, especialy on regular weight vinyl. I also added a TT Weight center weight- very worthwhile. Added TT Weights adjustable feet. Nicely designed/built.
    • Zyx Airy 3 Silver low output MC
    .24 mv version with silver wire and silver weight.
    • VPI Industries JMW 10.5i Stainless
    Nice upgrade. On the fly VTA adjusment, easier azimuth adjustment
    • VPI Anti-Skating Device
    A must have with the stiffer Nordost wire. A really good design too. The set-up instructions are a joke though.
    • Mint LP Protractor
    Very worth the effort and $110. I really got so much more out of my cartridge with this.
    • Gingko Audio Cloud 11
    Nice isolation for the Scoutmaster.
    • VPI 16.5
    Record cleaning machine- noisy,but effective...A must have IMO
    • PS Audio Power Plant Premier
    Decent. It really cleaned up the sound. I like the steady power to steady my TT motor. Tight plug sockets screwed up the finish on a couple high end plugs though.
    • Onkyo TX-NR905
    I LOVE this AVR. Does all the new codecs, great DAC, versatile, easy to use, sounds great.
    • Denon DVD-2500BTCI
    Plays blurays nicely. HDMI out transport only.
    • Denon DVD 5900
    Built like a tank. Plays DVD's beautifuly, also does CD, DVD-A, SACD pretty well.
    • PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC
    I am truly impressed with this DAC. Seems to do everything pretty much right.
    • Harmonic Technology Magic Reference Tweeter
    These go to the Vons' tweeter-mid cabinets. They really make cymbals shine and fill out the beginning and ending of notes. Truly revealing cables.
    • Harmonic Technology Magic Reference Woofer
    Wow! These power the Vons' bass cabinets. A BIG step up from the Pro 9+ they replaced. These cables have great bass definition and are smooth and very clean.
    • Harmonic Technology Magic One
    I use these throughout the system. Really clean and detailed, free of grain. Loads of bass. I really like Harmonic Tech's products. Most of these have been modded with new sleeving and reterminated by myself with custom lengths.
    • Homemade Power Cords Oyaide Tunami w/ Oyaide Plugs
    Also have condutive carbon shielding jacket. I am proud of these. Great sounding/looking.
    • Harmonic Technology Pro Ac 11 & Fantasy AC-10
    Good cords. Reterminated and covered with conductive carbon sleeving. Used for the VSA subs and DVD and Bluray players.
    • Furutech e-TP80
    Passive line conditioner. Used for TV,and DVR.
    • custom made Granite Mass Sandwich
    I sandwiched two 22lb granite slabs together with some Scotch Foam Mounting Squares and stuck 5 silicone feet on the bottom (1 in the center, 4 about 2 1/2" from the edges.
    • Furutech FT-D20A
    Gold duplex receptacle. Did not expect much but a strong grip on my heavy power cords. I heard a tremendous improvement in bass and clarity. When my wife came home and asked what I had done to the system with a cheerful tone I knew that I hadn't gone crazy.
    • Scotch Foam Mounting Squares
    Removable foam tape. I used this to secure the point disc to my ceramic tile for the 2 VSA subs. WOW! Best cheap tweak ever!
    • Former Equipment below Former Equipment Below
    Former Equipment Below
    • Pass Labs X-600
    Another photo...
    • Pass Labs X-600
    Never ending headroom- soooo clean and detailed, dynamics that stun!
    • Musical Fidelity TriVista SACD Player
    RIP- $6500 paper weight.
    • VPI Industries JMW Memorial 9 Signature
    I upgraded from the stock JMW Memorial 9. The Nordost wire is a bit stiffer and made the VPI anti-skating device a must with my set-up.
    • Dynavector 20XH
    Nice match for the Scout!
    • Pass Labs X-1
    Replaced with XP-20
    • Pass Labs X-ONO
    Replaced by XP-15. This one was modded by Wayne Colburn at Pass. It was really good.

Comments 58

Nice system! Quality equipment and set-up.

sbayne

Owner
System edited: Added the Pass Labs XP-20 and XP-15. I'm a happy camper!

srwooten

Owner
That's rough. The foam mounting squares are really what makes the system shine too. ;-)

srwooten

I was looking at your system again. What's striking is this.

I also use DIY power cords with similiar connectors Furutechs. My only set of upper end interconnects are or nearly the same as yours the Harmonic Tech Magic II's.

Same table and arm. I have a Dynavector cart too but the XXV Mark II.

I also owned the Denon 5900. Pass amps, Power Plant premier and DAC - Weird.

Well I don't have the foam mounting squares..

desalvo55

Owner
I'm excited to hear the results!

srwooten

The Mint LP Protractor will be ordered soon. The TT is plugged into the PPP. TT To PPP.

I already own the MBL's. I'm holding on to them to compare with the Decade's and share.

I'll need to sell the MBL's and buy a preamp. That is if the Decades turn out to be inferior on mids and highs. MBL 121's don't do low bass, that's for the F113. As I had mentioned, the MBL's to be fully realized should have a pair of subs. SO we're hopeful that the D1's can hold a candle to the MBL's. Stay tuned.

desalvo55

Owner
The XP-20 is great, one of my best purchases, and much more of an improvement than I expected.

The best tweak I've done for my ScoutMaster is the Mint LP protractor.

Do you plug your TT motor into the PPP? That helps stability a bit.

Are you purchasing the MBL's and D1's to compare? I'd love to see pics of your rig!

srwooten

Srwooten, You and I share a similiar system.

Pass X350.5
VPI Scoutmaster with Dynavector XXV MKII unknown simple arm
PS Audio PerfectWave DAC and Transport
PS Audio Power Plant Premier
Harmonic Tech balanced interconnects and DIY'ers.
The Pass Labs XP20 is next.

MBL 121's and Tyler Acoustics Decade D1's on the way.

I have to press your brain for TT tweaks.

desalvo55

Owner
Thanks! Give me a shout and we'll hook up!

srwooten

With the addition of your new XP-20 preamp you are one step closer to heaven. Having heard your system before and coming away very impressed, I can't wait to hear the changes with the better pre amp! Your suggestion for a killer DAC and a hard drive system is a good one; better than my Krell recommendation! See you soon Woot for another listen.

hifimaniac

Owner
System edited: Changed my linestage from a Pass Labs X-1 to a Pass Labs XP-20. The bass has faster front end impact and is more tuneful yet much more dimensional and weightier. There is more detail, with more natural timber over the entire frequency. It is cleaner and much quieter. There is more air and better imaging. Also better separation of instrument. More low level info. The highs clarity really is astounding. I can't get over the change in the sound of the bass. It reminds me of when I went from the big Pass monos to the Edge. A improvement much larger than I expected!

srwooten

Owner
Tzh21y
They put in a new updated back panel which utilizes a better grounding scheme. Much quieter now!

srwooten

What did pass do to your X1?

tzh21y

Owner
System edited: Lots and lots of changes. Added a Perfect Wave DAC and a Power Plant Premier, moved speakers, added new feet and center weight to TT, re-arranged all the equipment, tried a Aesthetix Calypso pre amp for a while. Also made a bunch of new Oyaide power cords and customized some Harmonic Tech Magic IC's. I am still working on speaker placement. Had to fix both VSA subs (bad caps). I had Pass put in a new back panel in the X-1 and Wayne Colburn did some mods on the X-Ono. It's sounding smoother than ever! Pass is a GREAT company.

srwooten

Owner
Yes I really like the Edge! Strong AND sweet! I really have no complaints about the VPI tt. Their upgrade path is nice to. Someday I may try something else, I know there is ALWAYS better!

srwooten

I see you like your amps also big bold and powerful, good to see somebody else enthousiastic over the VPI record player

andromedaaudio

Owner
Verneal-
The Mint protractor for sure, and getting the sub coupled to the floor. In my case that was accomplished using the granite sandwich and the Scotch foam squares. Also the Final Labs Durama II's are a great tweak. I use them under my pre, phono stage, power supply, Dish box, etc. BTW- thanks for your kind words. I have to up-date my system thread as I have made a lot of changes not shown here.

srwooten

Lots of time and thought seems to have gone into tweaks. What one or two do you recommend to everyone? And...Nicely done

vernneal

Sr: Sorry for the delay in responding on my system thread; work and a death in the family (my father) have taken me off the boards for a while. I am glad to hear about your new Calypso, did you get it yet? How do you like it?

zephyr24069

That's cool....I'd like to talk to you sometime about the process of building your own power cords and ICs...

zephyr24069

Owner
My outlets are Furutech FT-D20A's. I was really surprised at the difference they made. I've done some business with Chris- I learned quite a bit on his site about cable-building, and he is a good source for supplies. I build my own power cords and a lot of my IC's.

srwooten

You are very welcome...on my dedicated 20-amp circuit, I'm using cryo'ed Oyaide R-1 outlets from Chris at VH Audio. Those outlets are very much to my liking and well worth the price!

zephyr24069

Owner
Thanks for your suggestions Z. Much appreciated!

srwooten

Owner
Yah. I've got a dedicated 20. I'm looking into the Ground Zero.

srwooten

Sounds like a classic ground potential difference. I also love the 'blacker backgrounds' and everything that star-grounding and a properly run electrical circuit bring to the listening experience...

zephyr24069

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