This reference system is used to evaluate, among other things, masters for our 3 CD labels - The Laser's Edge, Sensory, Free Electric Sound. The system is in a constant state of evolution. Our most recent change has been the addition of the Zyx Airy 3 cartridge which is breaking in quite nicely. The Accustic Arts digital front end has been a stunning revelation for us - it offers an extremely detailed but non-fatiguing sound. No edge at all but it presents precise imaging and the deepest soundstage I have heard from a digital source. Our next planned change is to replace the Classe monoblocks with a Boulder 1060 amplifer. Nothing at all wrong with the CA-M400s (they are great) but I expect great synergy with the Boulder preamp. Only a handful of people have been able to hear the Cerious Ceramic Reference speakers. These represent Bob Grost's latest state of the art design. Bob used to operate Unity Audio. The CCR takes the Unity Audio PARM 4 piece system to a completely different level. I would suggest that they can easily compete against any speaker at any price.
System edited: Made a number of changes to the system in 2013. New turntable, the first TW Acustic Anniversary in North America was outfitted with a Lyra Atlas. I installed a Mac Mini as a server to feed hi-res files to the DAC. It was modified by Red Wine Audio and is now powered by their Black Lighting battery power supply. All cables and power cords are Transparent Audio. Last but not least I had a grounding system installed.
To be honest I never had any issue with the original Cerious cables in that respect as I always felt they mated well with the Cerious Ceramic References that I was using previous to the Rockports. I can't say the Nano were a magnitude improvement but perhaps they are slightly more transparent but its hard to say with the change in speakers.
I can tell you that there are no softening of transients at all and the dynamics of the system are insane.
I have always been of the belief that there is a cumulative effect with the Cerious cables/interconnects. The more you add to the system, the lower the noise floor. They disappear which is all I could hope for. One obvious benefit of the Nano series is that they are much more flexible and less obtrusive.
I found the original Cerious cables to slightly soften attacks and round off transients. How do the Nano Reference cables compare when it comes to speed, dynamics, and accuracy?
Sorry for not replying sooner. I must have missed your comment. Bob took a different approach to the previous liquid ceramic interconnects. The nano cables are much easier to work with (much more flexible) and I feel that they offer an even greater level of transparency.
Just replaced one great DAC with another. I found a good home for the Accustic Arts DAC-1 and installed the Bricasti M1. Extraordinary transparency and dynamics. As more of these units get out into the public you will be hearing a lot about it. John Marks recent review is the tip of the iceberg.
System edited: Just added the Rives Audio PARC to the system. It tamed some low frequency issues I was having in the room. Bass is now tighter and more detailed - still getting subterranean extension from the Aquilas with no loss of transparency or dynamics.
System edited: Jeff Catalano of Highwater Sound just graced our premises. He installed the current motor controller for the Raven One. He also mounted the Ortofon MC A90 on the Graham arm. Sonic bliss awaits. Further I should note that the Aquila are breaking in and continue to amaze me with every listening session.
System edited: There have been some serious changes to our system. First we built a new dedicated listening room. The Boulder 2060 has been converted to run at 240v via a dedicated line. The Cerious Technology Ceramic Reference speakers have been replaced by a pair of Rockport Technology Aquila. We have also updated our cables to the Nano Reference from Cerious Technologies. We have on order the Ortofon MC A90 cartridge and a new motor controller from TW Acustic. Extensive analysis of the room is planned with new sound treatment as needed.
The CCR speakers are a different beast than the Two/Bass. One immediate difference is in the driver selection. The CCR uses the Scanspeak Revelator tweeter while the Two/Bass uses a less expensive (but very high quality) driver which is warmer and more rolled off. The CCRs are extremely detailed and soundstage better than anything I've heard apart from the MBL 101 (but those have different problems). The first question I'm typically asked is about the integration of the subs with the satellites. It is totally seamless. The bass response from the subs in subterranean and tight - most people are not used to actually hearing low bass and it can be quite jarring at first.
I've never heard the Evolution Acoustics. Frankly I've never heard a large speaker that I've liked. They don't scale the instruments properly. I don't want to hear a 12 foot guitar. The only large size speaker that I've heard that has impressed me is the mega-buck Gryphon and even those had a significant issue scaling the size of the musicians. It sounded like the Attack of the 50 Foot Neil Young! Not my thing at all.
I've been a faithful follower of Bob Grost and his designs going back to the Unity Audio days. He has a lot of interesting plans for the future and I'm sure you'll be hearing about them soon enough.
You can expect to see more changes to our system over 2008. Some cool stuff is about to happen...
Nice update Ken. I too am getting a new phono stage next week (Atma-sphere MP-1 MKIII - ever heard it?)
Care to post any further thoughts on the Cerious Reference speakers?
I know at one time you thought them to be better than anything you heard at the shows. But it seems there are some stellar new speakers out there like the Evolution Acoustics. I own the small Cerious Two/Bass which are shocking realistic (compared to acoustic instruments- which I hear fairly often) and quite natural. That being said, I am thinking of going to the Polymer with the diamond midrange. I still think Cerious has the best cabinets in the business though.
System edited: I didn't feel that the phono section of the Boulder preamp was on par with the line stage. I recently added the latest version of the ASR Basis Exclusive phono stage with the gold circuit board update. While it is still breaking in, I can tell that this is one extraordinary preamp.
