I love the silver minimus;  it is connected to the esoteric k3;

cerrot April 14, 2019 13:50

Thanks, Zephyr

cerrot April 16, 2016 15:11

Thanks, Jazz.  I did alot of research before trying the Cera Pucs so I went right for that.  I played with some symposium fat pads.  I have stillpoint minis undr my preamp and a SRA platform under my CD player.  The speakers rest on symposium ultras.

cerrot January 16, 2016 13:13

I just replaced the Nordost Silver Shadow 75 ohm spdif cable between the transporter and the clock/upsampler with a Valhalla - OMG! You get what you pay for. Bass is so much more musical and articulated and the highs even more extended. I hope I don't have to replace all of my cables to Valhalla! Makes Tidal music even MORE enjoyable. Add the iPENG 8 for the ipad ad I am in heaven.

cerrot September 05, 2015 13:32

The trnsporter is solidy well beyong anything the touch with an upgraded power supply can do (using digital out into a dac). The transporters soundstage is much deeper & wider and more full of information and detail than the Touch. Tidal is bringing on a slightly more emotional feeling. The midrange has really come to life. Not even 200 hours in yet on the Transporter.

cerrot June 13, 2015 12:47

System edited: I am loving Tidal so much, I upgraded my Squeeze Box Touch with Welborne Power Supply to the Transporter. new out of the box and it blows away the Touch. The front to back sound staging and gobs of more detail are awesome. Also, the low level retrieval of harmonics is pretty cool.

cerrot June 10, 2015 14:19

Thank you, Drajreynolds. I appreciate the comment very much.

cerrot May 30, 2015 11:34

System edited: Replaced my Benz Micro Glider with a Clear Audio Stradaveri V2. Incredible improvement. The front to back layering is astounding. Violins are so real.

cerrot May 24, 2015 21:46

Thank you, Jon. The Criterion is truly special. I have
come 'full circle' from preampless to this and the preamp
is absolutely 100% the heart & soul of the system. Merry
Christmas!

cerrot December 24, 2014 10:47

Grazi a mille, Guido, I know how fortunate I am to have this.
It is an amazing piece with an a great pedigree. It sounded
great when I hooked it up but the real magic started happening
late Saturday night. I was just sitting there with my mouth
hanging open. I can only imagine what is in store.

Thank you very much for reaching out. I have followed your
posts over the years (value them greatly) and have learned
alot for you. The Jeff Rowland was on my list due to your
posts and I learned alot about my K03 by reading your posts as
well. You are an incredible asset to audiogon. Thank you very
much!

Dennis de Chiara

cerrot December 22, 2014 13:43

First impressions on Criterion after battery charge and
warm up- the Criterion doesn't "get out of the
way" as my proir preamp did. Rather, it gets right
in the middle and takes everything over, taking up the
"Conductor" role, if you will. It tack's the
sounsdstage up to the walls a foot past each speaker and
throws a steel ring around the lower bass to make sure
nothing oozes out. It directs all the little ohhs and ahhs
into the right little places. It holds the microphones up
closer to the back up singers. But it does it very, very
quietly. You don't even know its there.

cerrot December 21, 2014 14:42

This is the first time that I am lisening to my rig and enjoying what I am hearing, as opposed to wondering what is missing. The Criterion is amazing. Guido Corona's legendary writings have sent me on a journey for the Corus - my having ended up with the Criterion is an audio story made in heaven. The sound even from a more divine place. Thank you Guido and Matt!

Buona Natale Tutti!

cerrot December 21, 2014 13:18

System edited: Santa is an audiophile and he came early this year. The new prreamp search has ended and we have a Jeff Rowland Criterion to take my system to a whole new level. Thank you to all involved for this INCREDIBLE treasure.

cerrot December 21, 2014 10:49

System edited: I just replaced the Symposium Acoustic Svelt Shelves to the Svelt Plus. I was hoping for some improvement but what I heard was even better than expected. Every speaker should have these under them.

cerrot December 02, 2014 15:08

System edited: I finally solved my PC music storage
problems. I decided to go with a Drobo 5N for network
storage. Easy installation and very cost effective.

cerrot November 23, 2014 13:34

My apologies.

Thank you.

cerrot October 12, 2014 02:16

They are good, regardless of cost. Roger sells direct, so, right there, we save 50% or more in retailer mark up and other nonsense. Truly silly to comment on these with the price comment.

cerrot October 07, 2014 13:30

System edited: The Sanders 10D's are fully broken in and they have surpassed the prior upgraded Eros Mk II, and my very high expectations, by an incredible margin. Coupled with the pair of Magtechs and modded digital crossoover, there is a sense of realism, musicality, timing, speed, detail and transparancey I only dreamed about. Roger Sanders really did an incredible job with the new speakers. The amps, speakers and crossover screamed for a preamp and when I added the Ayre, really allows the Esoteric K03 to shine on alomost all material. Speaker cable and IC upgrades were done (tara Labs The One from prior Tara RSC Air Ones) which just put the icing on the cake (and pushed my rear wall four feet deeper). Vinyl and FM also sound awesome. Computer audio is at a new high for me and I'm just enjoying music for the first time in a while. Reel to reel is blis and my new hobby is finding old tape.

cerrot August 24, 2014 16:19

It's the silver cable. Hope it does for you what it is doing for me.

cerrot August 23, 2014 00:30

Tbooe, I have the entreq attached to the grounding screw on my esoteric K03 and it put my dac on steroids. Faster, deeper soundstage, more detail. Really nice for the money.

cerrot August 22, 2014 22:43

System edited: I just posted some new photos to reflect my recent upgrades. I could not be happier. I can finally feel what I thought I would feel when I got to a certain point in this hobby. It has exceeded my expectations.

cerrot August 22, 2014 20:52

Enjoy the amp, Jazzkid. Its a sweet sounding amp with plenty of power. I am drooling as well. Roger really did something special with these speakers. Thanks for the post and enjoy that awesome amp!

cerrot June 29, 2014 11:57

Hi Jon, thank you for the kind words. I would like to upgrade my turntable in the future,, but, gotta say, even with my current set up, vinyl just sounds better. I can't describe it other than it's an emotion thing. My digital does it, don't get me wrong. Vinyl just does it... Better.

Can't really go 1to 10.

Careful if you go the vinyl route. It's like getting a puppy. Needs more attention than digital but when it licks your face, you smile.

cerrot April 29, 2014 02:59

System edited: I have had some fun upgrading. New Sanders
Stats, the aluminum driver 10D. Having alot of fun just
listening to music. I can really hear deep into whats being
played. Really makes me understand the difference between
tone and resolution. I finally have both.

cerrot April 19, 2014 13:43

I just put 10 hour or so on a new pair of Sanders Sound 10D Speakers. Just out with Aluminum Drivers, they take me right where I need to be. A few hours out of the box and no looking back for me. I am a stat guy for LIFE. Sanders Stats.

cerrot April 12, 2014 12:48

Thanks, Glen.

cerrot April 03, 2014 17:45

System edited: I replaced my 11 year old Innersound Preamp with a used Ayre K5xeMP and am thrilled with the improvement.

cerrot March 29, 2014 11:59

Recent upgrade-replaced Innersound Pre-amp with Ayre K5xeMP.

I always liked the Ayre but thought my preamp was quiet as a tomb so no reason to replace. Well, I was wrong and this is awesome and I am a happy camper!

cerrot March 23, 2014 11:20

Hi Tboooe,

I had started out with the RSC Air 1's years back so just stayed within the Tara Labs family. I took s shot a few years back on The One IC and have not looked back. It just seemed like the right progression for me. I truly cannot beleive what these cables can do.

Thank you.

cerrot March 04, 2014 15:25

Some more very recent updates:
Replaced an old monster sigma retro cable (IC between digital crossover & bass amp) with Tara Labs The One and the improvement was incredible. Gave a nice squared shape to the rear of the sound stage and just really gave a wonderful frame to the music. Once I saw what that could do, I replaced the Tara Labs RSC AIR One speaker cable for the ESL panels and upgraded to Tara Labs The One. Needless to say, the improvement is staggering. I also just purchased a modded Behringer DCX 2496 crossover from Simon Ashton in the UK and, even after just 24 hours on it, the improvement is definitely worth it. I will post photos when I can.

cerrot March 01, 2014 11:53

Hi Tboooe,

I have one in each of the front corners, for a total of 2 in Cherry. They really make a nice difference. The website says you cant overdampen so 4 should be easy enough.

So far, I am very happy with the results. Truly unexpected and well worth the cost.

cerrot December 27, 2013 02:06

Added two Vicoustic Super Bass Traps in each corner behind the speakers and RPG Diffusers on the wall between the speakers. I was not prepared for the improvement. Startling.

cerrot December 26, 2013 13:09

added silent running audio platform under the SACD player.

Jaw-dropping results. Could not believe it. The player just play's more music.

cerrot December 21, 2013 10:42

A little update - the Magtech amps and Esoteric K03 are fully broken in and the overall improvement these components brought to my system has been nothing short of mind boggling The K03 is direct into the amps via a digital crossover. Th amps are very dynamic and incredibly resolving with a presence and bass slam that needs to be felt. The Esoteric digs deep into the digital pits, retrieving the most beautiful digital I have heard yet in my listening room. Detail doesn't quite describe it.

cerrot November 27, 2013 12:17

Thanks, Tboooe. I do have Shatki Hollograms behind the speakers as well as Echo Busters in the corners (with pillows behind them) but the stats are very directional so I don't have those dreaded first reflections.

Thanks,

cerrot August 20, 2013 13:58

K03 approaching 225 hours and much better an experience breaking this in than the prior X03, which was brutal. The K03 has been sounding sweet throughout.

cerrot August 17, 2013 11:51

System edited: I just replaced my X03SE with the K03 and even with just a few hoours on it, has truly amazed me.

cerrot August 11, 2013 12:33

System edited: I have completed some upgrades. Upgraded the Innersound ESL Panels to Roger Sanders new ones (amazing~absolutely none of the ESL limitatons and ALL of the splendor), as well as added a digital crossover and just put 120 hours on a new pair of MagTech Amps (OMG!). Also added a Teac Reel To Reel, replaced the Innersound Phono Stage for a tubed Rhea. On the digital side, we added an Esoteric G25U Upsampler & clock as well as a PC based music server with an ESI Juli@ soundcard into he G25U and then Berkeley, directly into the MagTechs. PC runnung JRiver/JPlay and sounds pretty good.

cerrot July 21, 2013 12:57

I have. I am running a shunyata power cord, a Python. I also have the PC on bright star footers.

The SB has digital out into clock/upsampler into dac; there isn't any double upsampling. The berkeley does not upsample. I use the JRiver player in native mode so no softwear upsampling (I have been running an ESI Juli@ soundcard with 30 feet of spdif into the esoteric clock/upsampler. blows away the squeezebox).

cerrot September 01, 2012 19:37

System edited: I added the Berkley Audio Alpha Dac a few months ago to go with the squeezebox, It did blow away the benchmark but I do give the benchmark credit for being as good as it was. It has absolutely no business sounding so good at it's price. The real fun came when I added my old Monarchy DIP upsampler from my PC system between the dac and the SB. WOW! That was a revelation. I just upgraded to the new Monarchy Combo and it is even more resolving than it was with the old DIP. I also just added an iPad with the iPeng app and have access to all my CD's on an incredible touch interface. It's been real tough throwing a record lately.

cerrot October 06, 2010 23:41

System edited: Made a few changes, the most dramatic being bypassing the preamp and hooking up the Esoteric direct to amps. Major, major upgrade in sound. I also got rid of the Brightstarr Isolation that the TT was sitting on. It was filled with 100lbs of sand and I believe it was causing leveling problems (change in humidity or temperature may have effected the sand???). The sound opened up very nicely when I put the TT directly on my Billy Bags Pro Rack and bypassed the Brightstarr.

cerrot July 24, 2010 10:45

Thanks, Glen. Appreciate your kind words.

cerrot August 09, 2009 18:13

Thanks, Rich. The Eros are truly special. Tough to upgrade once you have them.

Happy listening.

cerrot February 17, 2009 23:15

Thank you, Rich. I appreciate the time you have taken.

I am very happy with the sound. Very detailed and resolving and I shake my head many times when I hear something I haven't heard before. I can only dream of the next step.

cerrot February 14, 2009 00:17