System edited: I had faint thoughts of changing some components around until recently putting in a well mastered disc and tacking some blankets to the side walls. WOW!
Linnie, I like to listen to anything from George Shearing, Yusef Lateef and Bela Fleck to Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, Coleman Hawkins, Thelonious Monk, as far as Jazz goes along with many others. Bill Frisell plays some good jazz guitar along with Bucky Pizzarelli even. My favorite's to listen to in prog rock is Genesis, Soft Machine, Yes, King Crimson, and lots of others. As always there's tons to discover, I just picked up Emerson Lake and Palmer's live concert double cd and think that it's pretty remarkable but dont really quite know how to mark it as far as enjoyability goes.lol
Velocity...nice system you have! Solid components from source all the way through the speakers. I've always wondered how the Crescendo speaker cables sound with Thiels, I can tell you I have a pair of Maestro II's and they sound very balanced from top to bottom. Enjoy!
In a nutshell i'm just another guy who really enjoys the music that has to contstantly remain restrained from buying every new and better gadget produced. Vinyl and tube amps are next it's just that I still remain a little apprehensive about a turntable and all of its setup responsibilities and all its different options for components. Heck considering that I dont even have a phono installed into my preamp and it's also easier for CD(which all my tunes are) I may go for a listen to the VTL monoblocks soon to see what they sound like compared to the Krell i've always had and used
Well it's been almost two months with the straightwire spkr cable and I am convinced it was a much needed upgrade for my system. Truly fantastic sound with good recordings
Next step Vinyl and tube MB-450 SIGNATURE monoblocks
System edited: Would like to know other's opinion regarding my thoughts of getting a turntable for broader and better sounding music collection. By the way, I had a horrible and frustrating time building my equipment rack,(great quality nonetheless) Am mostly lazy when I get home after work, and I have zero records to play.
I have just replaced the Cardas quadlink spkr cable with Straightwire Crescendo. My thoughts so far after only one evening of playing music through them is that the sound isnt as warm and sheltered sounding, The way vocals are revealed is almost ery, I can hear even more detail, Bass is also not as loud and boomy(small room also) as it was with the cardas which is a welcome character. Too much bass doesnt allow me to turn it up and enjoy the rest of the instruments without the neighbors thinking your sledge hammering the walls in.
System edited: Stand has been adjusted and modified so that I can now fit the amplifier onto the shelf without the chassis resting on the brass fittings that hold the shelves into place.
Thanks for the kind comment Timrhu! It has been a work in progress let me tell ya, A few things that I have going IMHO is a dedicated listening room with laid back upstairs neighbors. The equipment rack I bought from Mapleshade and had better look awesome being that I spent nearly a grand on it.Ouch!
Exceptional system. Quite an eclectic choice of equipment that must work well together. I'd love to try those Thiels. Is the equipment rack DIY? It looks awesome.
System edited: Need to get some cones in order for the amp to sit properly on the 19" wide shelfs. I also need to add an extra set of upright fittings to bottom level so that all shelfs even as well. This takes some patience let me tell ya!
Velocity - was just noticing that I've seen the first four of your music selections live. Never seen anyone list the Soft Machine before - I saw them as one of the opening acts for Jimi Hendrix, ah, many years ago. Can't say I remember much of their act as the Electric Flag and then Hendrix finished off the night with increadible sets. Was also just listening to King Crimson's Matte Kudasai, one of my favorites. Saw them on the Three of a Perfect Pair tour in Berekely in the early 80's. I'll have to check out some of the artists you list that I'm not familiar with. Nice music & system.
Chadnliz Thanks for the kind words. My system is currently playing music to the level I could'nt have imagined possible and am very happy with it's sound. For instance the Tom Petty "wildflowers" CD was un-listenable before getting the VTL, In that I mean it had almost zero weight to my ears. For now not only am I very happy with my setup with the exception of a better isolation rack, I am also content with my current collection of cd's which I can now experience in a much more enjoyable way. Louder and more lively! The deep end that I'm afraid I've fallen into lately is music music music
System edited: Liked the sound of VTL's 5.5 preamp during an in store demo and went out and bought my first piece of used gear from the site here. The first thing that entered my mind once playing the first cd inserted was, Oh man this is going to become a habit were I dont want it to! In that it drastically changed the overall sound of the system from what the marantz ss AV-550 pre I'd always owned and used since purchasing my first piece of hi-end equipment which is the Krell amp I've had for 7yrs. I guess the best way to describe the additional enjoyment the new preamp brings is that Bass had always just been a thump or tap to my ears whereas it's now felt with weight, texture and authority. Brass and violins have certainly been tamed down a bit and have a seamlessness layered feel from the high pitched noises that the marantz produced. So far and it's only been about 3hrs. of listening I find my self looking for details and clarity that were easier heard on the Marantz. The sound now has a warmth and instruments appear rounded off in detail where I'm struggling to hear everything on the recording. Maybe this is a low in trade for the strong points of tube technology. Perhaps I should play at louder levels? I think that their might be an impedence issue as one of the gentlemen over at VTL said the 5.5 would better match with my Krell amp. I havent changed the tubes or even checked to see if the units biased properlly which could be the reason for what I'm hearing but I doubt it. Just need to get used to this new sound which I feel really does bring me much nearer to a live music performance Chris
