Well, it has all changed again, I should just relist it as it has changed so many times since creating this as the "3rd" system. One thing is for sure, Ever Evolving has been accurate.
Awesome little digital tuner from the late 1980's.
Audio Note AN-Vx - Interconnect
I have two sets; I run one from my CDP to preamp and one from my tuner to preamp. Symmetrical 99.99% silver litz coax 20 strands 0.09 mm
Audio Note AN-Vz - Interconnect
Silver IC, 1m RCA
Analysis Plus Big Silver Oval
Constructed of pure silver over a stabilizing strand of oxygen-free copper, woven into a patented hollow oval geometry in an oval-coaxial configuration. 9 gauge.
Clearwave Loudspeaker Design Symphonia 72R
The Symphonia 72R has a custom sandwich layered non- resonant 2 inch thick front baffle with a solid hardwood layer for driver de-coupling. The drivers are flush mounted level to the front baffle to eliminate edge diffraction, and the driver openings have chamfered flares at the backside of the opening to eliminate early reflections inside the box. Top of the line RAAL tweeters and Accuton drivers.
Wadia 170iTransport
I use this with a 160g iPod Classic.
PS Audio DigitalLink III
Mine has the Level 4 Cullen modifications.
Furman IT Reference 20i
This power conditioner and protection unit has made the biggest difference I have ever intruduced into a system; I wish I would have purchased something like this a long time ago!!!
LOL...nope, I only have one system Bruce, one more than my wife would like; I have just made a lot of changes over the years. I had the Wilson's prior to the Sason's.
Cool system B! I've never heard of Ridge Street speakers before. You mentioned that you have 3 systems!...Are they all in the same room?...I see Wilson's along another axis.
I do have the spikes, I just can't remember where in my house I put them!
I agree on the weight, they are clearly a two man job. On the other hand, the weight can be good.
I wish I would have spent time with good two-way speakers a long time ago; I have always had three-way speakers, except a short time with some S805's, which I liked. I am simply hearing more of the recording now than I ever have and I am greatly enjoying music these days!
Having had Wilson's, I know there is more music to be had down low and I am considering adding subs. This "lack" of bass was more of an issue at first, but the further I get away from using the Wilson's, the less of an issue it is to me. I am a bit torn as I know subs, done right, can fill in the bottom for a complete package, but I am not sure I want the hassle, expense and quite frankly I am enjoying music now...so we'll see, I am in no hurry.
After speaking with Steve and RSAD 3 spikes are required two at the back and one at the front this couples the speakers to the floor nicely I believe the spikes come included
My last pair of speakers were 2 way fostex drivers built by Tonian Acoustics they are very different from the Sasons
The one drawback to the sasons is there weight you definitely need a few guys to help to move these But they sure sound good to these ears
When you do get around to diaing them in some more I would love to hear what you experimented with and the results you get
I have not used the spikes as of yet. It didn't seem like an easy task of setting them up on the spikes so we passed for the time. Admittedly I would like to try them but I am not sure where I put them, I need to do another search.
I haven't really moved the speakers much from where I set them up; I have a friend that helps me with placement and he hasn't had a chance to come over. They sound very good so I haven't been too anxious.
The angle is something I may consider as well because I sit very tall.
Unfortunately I have no input on any of your questions. :(
Thanks for the tip on the music. Being that I now use my iPod as my source, I have it on shuffle 99.9% of the time, so I am getting a variety of music instead of playing a particular artist.
I am still enjoying the Sasons a lot. I went to the AKFest show this past weekend, it was a bit of a let down compared to last year. That said, Jim Salk had some amazing speakers he just created and the DynAudio C1's with Wadia and Octive gear were spectacular!
Brian what are you listening to? Wonder what songs and instruments jump out more since adding the Ridge Street monitors.
This week I focused on listening to Bob James and Earl Klugh "One on One" CD. It's a great Jazz CD that is easy listen and has great instrument chemistry on recordings. What stood out on the first and second tracks Kari and Afterglow...
Percussion- blending of triangle, cowbells, tambourine, cabaca, congas add layer detail and depth from the back of the sound stage Drums - deep floor tom-toms and the different cymbal work are excellent Guitar- great guitar work with lots of detail and air Piano - overtones of electronic piano hanging in the air (tubes baby) Bass - lots of upper and mid bass and some low end bass during passages
Spin the Yellowjackets (CDs Like A River, Time Squared, Run for Life) for more dynamic music on the Ridge Streets monitors.
I don't know what happened to one earlier posts I submitted here in response to your evaluation of the 7's and Sophias. I just saw the " your so right" post sorry for the confusion, thanks!!!
>I'm saving up for Synergistic Research Power Conditioner...
As I stated above, the addition of my power conditioner last December was one of the biggest changes I have made, all positive.
The punch is nice, but there is simply a lot of music down low. While I have adjusted, for the most part, to less bass, I know there is a lot more music down low I am missing, based off prior experience with the Wilson's, there are some songs that it is more obvious on than others, but I honestly could be fine without. The key, obviously, is getting it all right.
Ah...I do understand it's a great sound but you need a bit of a punch. There are songs I've listened to that have great Bass and Drum rifs and sound incredible on Dali Helicon 300s' paired with two MC275s. With the MC402 and Ridge Street Audio Sason Monitor that should be a good match where your not missing too much bottom end.
I have been thinking about borrowing my REL B3 from my HT system to audition with Helicon 300. But it's such a hassle to unhook the cabling that I might just buy additional wires.
I'm saving up for Synergistic Research Power Conditioner and Power Cords.
Lapierre - I wish I would have spent more time with good two way speakers a long time ago. Not because I don't believe in or like 3 ways, it is just that I feel, right now, that one can learn a lot from a two-way that will help in hearing "flaws" when using a larger speaker, whether it be the speaker or set up.
I was at a show last year, AKFEST, and heard the Ridge Street speakers and was very taken by them; I had known about them for some time but this was my first listen. This in part is what led to the choice.
I spent two years with the W/P 7's and only a couple weeks with the Sophia's and what I miss is the bottom end of both; I missed this much more the first couple weeks, but as time goes by I think about it less, I missed it greatly at first; I am considering subs.
Brian thanks those are some of the areas I've been wondering about. I'm still working on taming the Sophia 1's treble in my room and am starting to think I might like the Sophia 2's better or maybe I can put the 2's tweeters in the 1's!!!
Samhar, let me say right up front that I did not play much with speaker placement, while something I regret, it is also something I cannot do easily myself b/c of disability. The speakers were set in a position that some friends found to be nice on the first night we hooked them up; obviously one (short) night of setup isn't always enough. The same can be said for the W/P's. While the 7's were set up by the dealer, I later had a friend move them to a spot we preferred, but those are the only two spots I spent time with.
With the disclaimer out of the way, and noting this is results in my room/system...the 7's were more 3 dimensional, this was the Achilles heel for me with the Sophia's, as their presentation was flat and I couldn't get past this. (This may have been fixed with placement. I am quite restricted in speaker placement, as they are in our living room.)
Bass: The 7's bass was lower, but the Sophia's was punchier. Midrange: The 7's were recessed, something I wish were different; I preferred the midrange on the Sophia for this reason. Treble: The Sophia's were more aggressive than the 7's; I preferred the upper end of the 7's.
