The Sanctuary

by subaruguru on Ever Evolving

Description

7.5' triangle in 14x24x8 asymmetrical damped room. Monos mounted under floor joists for WAF and cooler environment. EMC-1 MkII IS that good, and the Encores are stupefyingly natural! Interesting that the copper Essence is more detailed and lively than the silver/copper Silways. Quelle surprise! Don't yet believe in PC cords. System is DEAD quiet (probably due to that Aleph P), despite Red Dawn pre/power ICs (XLR, though). Monos double down to 200w/ch/4ohms, so the Encores get REAL punchy when asked to. Seven foot nearfield setup throws HUGE (12' wide by 20' deep!), multilayered stage, yet a bit asymmetric due to my Steinway angling back there. (Yup, Ms. Krall actually turns and winks!) Suggestions for TRULY beneficial, affordable pc? Thanks. Nordost and Pass mate well. Encores work extraordinarily well with woofers set up forward-firing, in the nearfield, in this moderate-sized room. The recent addition of the EMC-1 MkII has removed ANY and ALL semblances of glare, digititis, and treble crap from decent Redbook. Hooray!
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Components Toggle details

    • Electrocompaniet EMC-1
    MkII w/ 24/192kHz DAC
    • ErnieM Power Prelude N13 (Cu)
    CDP, Tuner, Aleph P.
    • Greater Ranges Neuance
    iso shelf
    • NORDOST SPM
    1M XLR (CDP/PRE)
    • Magnum Dynalab MD-100
    FM Tuner
    • ErnieM Power PCK13Q
    Power Cables (tuner + HD recorder)
    • Harmonic Technology Truthlink
    XLR (tuner/pre)
    • ALESIS HD Recorder
    Stand alone HD Recorder for recording my piano someday!
    • Nordost Blue Heaven
    XLR (HD/PRE)
    • Pass Labs Aleph P
    w/remote, fully balanced
    • Nordost Red Dawn rev II
    3+6m XLR (PRE/MONOS)
    • Pass Labs Aleph 2
    100w mono, each
    • NORDOST SPM
    8' SPEAKER CABLES
    • Verity Audio Parsifal Encore
    pair
    • ErnieM Power PCK11Q
    Power Cable
    • ErnieM Power PoBoxNAKEDS; 83803EST
    Four dedicated lines hardwired into 3 PoBoxes

Comments 6

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Owner
Hi Georgios. Wow...took me awhile to rediscover this old thread!

I truthfully couldn't imagine anymore cost-effective upgrades to my system, so it stays the same. I don't listen as often as I used to as I'm focusing on my piano-playing, kayaking, first grandchild, and more live classical and choral subscriptions here in Boston.

The Aleph P simply has NO signature, perhaps partly because the EMC-1's balanced output is so high that it acts only passively. Its input selector switch is goofy (as are many), but I haven't chased a replacement switch yet.
I predominantly bought the P to have a perfect impedence match with the Aleph 2 monos, so I suppose it's perhaps overkill as it runs passively, but I can't imagine a more transparent sound....

Please note that I still have a bunch of extra all-Teflon starquad cable and connectors, as well tons of Hubbell duplexes, to sell cheaply to anyone interested in great ErnieM Power Cables.

Cheers.

subaruguru

How do you like the Aleph P?

George

georgios

Owner
So THAT'S what I strung it up with in 01....
Well, SPM now connects the modded EMC-1 UP to the AlephP, as well the monos to the Encores. More full-bodied, richer presentation is the result. An MD100 tuner, linked by a warmer HT Truthlink sounds beautiful.
A month later dedicated lines of 83803EST terminated my "PoBoxes", and my ErnieM PCK DIY PCs added a blacker background, with consequent upper octave openness and soundstage depth realism. I think I'm done! Thanks to the many A'goners who've rowed alongside, and also now enjoy my Power Products. Cheers.

subaruguru

Nice set up! Dig the CD Player. I owned an Electrocompaniet integrated amp and always loved it.

Chris

the_kid

The Aleph 2's do not double down to 200 watts at 4ohms. They are 100 watts at 8 ohms and 160 watts at 4 0hms. The owners manual does say 200 watts, but the service manual says 160 watts. I spoke with Peter at Pass Labs and he confirmed that it is 160 watts. I've owned them and they are great amps. I upgraded to the Aleph 1.2's. They are 200 watts at 8 ohms and 300 watts at 4 ohms. They are by far the best amps I ever owned.

rsfphil

Yes, I know what you mean about removing digititis and treble crap from decent Redbook CDs. I bought a used Z-man ASE ($198 list) to use in a solid-state based system with B&W CDM 9NT speakers, the InnerSound ESL amp, and a Perpetual Tech/ModWright P-3A DAC, which accomplished the same thing. The Z-man uses high-quality Holco resistors, MIT caps and a single 12AX7 tube (I'm using a Gold Aero 12AX7b). This is an amazing little device, and took an already very good sounding system to another level. The sound became smoother and sweeter, and more immediate, with oh-so-delicate treble. The best part is that the bass, detail, and focus of the system did not appear to diminish, while voices and instruments appear more natural. I was playing a violin recording the other day that was just jaw-dropping in its authenticity. :)

plato

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