Eventually will settle on "final" analog front end including phono stage, but the rest of the pieces are likely here to stay. It's been a loooong journey...
My WB Full Circle with ACT 0.5 arm has a Clearaudio Maestro strapped to the business end.
EAR USA 834P
EAR 834 phono - the deluxe chrome version, w/o volume. Mullard CV4004s really sing in this application.
AMR CD-77.1
Tube CD player using TD1541A chip, various remote-switchable filtering and upsampling options, and USB input for external digital sources.
Cary Audio Design SLP-05
Two chassis all-tube line stage using eight 6SN7s (four NOS Sylvanias and four Electro-Harmonix) and NOS Philips Holland metal base 5AR4 rectifier. Replaced the Cary SLP-98 in October, 2011 (moved to office rig).
Lamm Industries ML-2
The ML2s are a dream come true, and 18 WPC is plenty to drive the Avantgarde Duo Omegas. Best amp I've ever heard.
Avantgarde Duo Omega
The Avantgarde Duo Omegas use 107dB sensitive Alnico magnet horn mids & tweeters, with no crossover on the mids. The powered subs have 200 wpc internal amps driving a pair of 100 dB sensitive, 10" woofers per channel, with adjustable crossover point & volume. Now have Grand Prix Audio Apex carbon fiber footers (not pictured).
Crystal Cable MicroConnect
Replaced previous Nordost stuff throughout my system.
Crystal Cable Micro
Replaced Nordost in my system.
Grand Prix Audio Monaco Modular rack & amp stands
These are the goods - expensive but worth it! Have two of the F1 carbon fiber shelves (under sources), and Apex feet under equipment rack and amp stands.
Shunyata Hydra 6
Very happy with this - formerly used Transparent Audio conditioner.
Miguelito, only the front end components are connected to the Hydra. My tube amps and the Duo Omega sub amps are plugged directly into a dedicated 20A circuit.
I did not want to "current limit" the amps/sub amps, though I never tried them through the Hydra and therefore cannot comment specifically on that configuration.
For interconnects & speaker cables, I previously had a mishmash of Nordost, Transparent and others - now love the Crystal Cables and have gone exclusively with them; never heard the K-S stuff but the word certainly seems universally good on them.
For power cords & conditioning, have always leaned on Shunyata for the most part. I do have an old Goldmund power cord, which for whatever reason(s) is always great with digital source components.
Dvdgreco - I bought the AMR used, after it had already been upgraded by the US distributor, so cannot compare the sonics of '77 vs. '77.1.
No mechanical problems to date, just glorious sound (to my ears, the reviews which have called it "digital for analog lovers" are on target) - unforced/unhyped detail, musical flow ("lets go" of the notes) and exquisitely powerful center-of-the-earth bass. I have to significantly upgrade my analog front end now, as I'm not playing nearly as many LPs as before...
Bmwmcab, see my earlier posts on this page for tips - in addition to the basics (leveling with a quality bubble level, same distance to rear wall), the key is getting the minimum listening distance so the drivers can cohere (12' from tweeter to your ear for each channel, IMO) and the right ratio of width between speakers versus the listening distance - I use the 83% ratio as taught by the former US distributor, e.g. in my rig the top dead centers of the tweeter horns are 10' apart, and the front plane of each tweeter horn is precisely 12' from my ear on that side, with toe-in as noted in earlier post.
The crossover from woofer to mid horn actually kicks in higher than as indicated on the control - I use an indicated 140Hz, and a modest volume level on the woofer amps (around 11 o'clock as I recall) - but every room is different. Mine are closer to the back wall than is ideal (wish I had a deeper room).
And the Apex feet from Grand Prix Audio are a worthwhile upgrade. Enjoy the ride!
Bmwmcab, polarity on the sub is swapped by simply swapping your L&R speaker leads back & forth at the sub binding posts. You want the most output at your listening seat at the crossover point, so test it each way.
The '98L is a line stage only; the pre with integral phono stage is the '98P. I have never heard the latter so cannot comment, though I like the house sound. I do strongly recommend the F1 version (direct coupled and with oil caps).
Drw50, one must sit at least 12' from the drivers, then I sense no discontinuity. Also, the Avantgardes allow you to set both the output level and crossover point on the subs, so with patience one can obtain very satisfactory results indeed. In some rooms the subs are best with + phase (like mine), but negative phase is best in other rooms.
Thanks for all of the kind comments. Sorry for the delay in responding to the above queries:
- room is 19' by 14' with 9'4" ceiling (there's also a small kitchenette off to one side by the right speraker; listed dimensions are just the "main" rectangle if you will. - treatments are limited to those small RoomTunes triangular pillows in the ceiling corners, and a couple of RealTraps bass traps (one can be seen in corner behind left speaker). No real problems with severe bass nodes, very happy with the sound - I think being on 2nd floor over the garage helps (springy floor). - the subs run from 22-170 Hz. - the GPA amp stands resulted in definite gains in clarity & ease; I was surprised at how effective they are (amps were previously on big brass cones spiked into the carpet). I definitely plan to get the Apex footers for the Duos at some point. - do not recall exactly how far out, I'd say approximately 4 feet from front of horns to wall. One of the great things about the Avantgardes is that the sub level & crossover point are continuously adjustable, so it's fairly easy to dial in the right bass level in widely varying locations.
