I've always wanted Salons so took the plunge and traded in three pairs of Martin Logan speakers (Summits, Ascents, Aerius--I am a stereo pack rat)for some.
I was kinda surprised at first with the lack of really defined bass of the Salons in comparison with the Summits I'd had in the living room. But then, the Summits have, between the 2 base units, 4 woofers and 400 amps of power...so I brought down from the home theater one of my Martin Logan Depth subs (there were 2 up there, and I was able to reuse a M&K sub that was laying around to replace the one I moved downstairs) and that made a huge difference. I was kinda wondering about the value of the upgrade, but now I am convinced...and the girlfriend validated it too as she was dancing between the speakers and the 436 amps, waving the beer in her hand over all of it...she got kinda indignant when I asked her to put the beer down, but that is another story...
A friend is letting me borrow his Levinson 320S to see if it is an improvement over the 380S I own...I'm into some critical listening now. It is an improvement, but I might save my pennies (lots) and get a Levinson 32 eventaully...
One of the best improvements is with the Summits, I had to sit right in the sweet spot on the couch to really hear the clearness and definition. Anywhere but the sweet spot and it just lost a little bit. With the Salons it sounds great no matter where I am...
So, now the quest might be a new sub, although the Depth sounds great and fits perfectly in the corner. I might just let it ride for a while...between this and the new kegerator, I've done my bit to stimulate the economy...and my senses.
really improved the "hold" factor for heavy power cords. Both Amps and for the rack at rear of room.
Revel Ultima Salon
Replaced a pair of Martin Logan Summits. With the addition of a subwoofer a meaningful upgrade.
Krell Evolution 600
these sit on amp stands from Cora
Apple IMac
using as a server--USB to the dCS Clock, then Stealth solid silver cable to the dCS Puccini player/processor. Sounds great, 600 CDs burned and 75% of the 1 TB hard drive left to fill
dCS Puccini
paired with the dCS U Clock, USB from IMac to the clock, then Stealth silver BNC to BNC and RCA to RCA from the clock to the CD player
Stealth Vardig, BNC to BNC
between the Puccini U Clock and CD player/processor for the clocking function
Stealth Vardig RCA to RCA
between the DCS Puccini U Clock and CD player/processor form the digital transfer
Stealth Nano Fiber XLR
connects the Puccini Cd player/processor to the preamp
Stealth Cloude 99 Full Power Cord
From the Haley power conditioner to the dCS cd player/processor
Stealth Cloude 99 Full Power Cord
between Haley power conditioner and preamp
Stealth Cloude 99 Front power cord
from the Haley power conditioner to the Crossover
Stealth Cloude 99 Front power cord
from the Haley power conditioner to the Puccini U Clock
Stealth M7000 power cord times 3
from the Duke to the 20 amp dedicated circuit on the wall and from the Duke to the mono amps
Straight Wire Virtuoso XLR
13 foot run beneath the floor
Stealth Custom biwire
Custom set from Stealth with pure copper on the lower end and pure silver on the top...wicked awesome
Vodoo Cable Opus III
between crossover and mono sub amps
Vodoo Cable Opus III
connects the preamp to the crossover
Locus Design Group Nucleus USB cable
between the IMac and Puccini U Clock
Running Springs Duke
Power for the Krell mono amps
Running Springs Haley power conditioner
for the front end
Marchand XM 44
crossover set at 80 hz
Red Dragon M 1000 mono blocks
Class D mono blocks for the subs
Voodoo Cable Thunder Dragon power cord
from the Haley power conditioner to the wall
Running Springs Mongoose power cords (2)
from the mono sub amps to the Haley power conditioner
Audio Research LS16MKII
Great preamp, already scheming to move up the ARC line
Hello Beautiful system you have, I have a question, is aboult the use of the 2 subwoofer Revel Ultima Sub15+LE1. What major differences you feel aboult this upgrade instead only the saloons?
This is a big improvment?
I 'am curious aboult that because I feel maybe the bass have a big difference, and maybe I want to test in my system.
System edited: sold a Levinson front end (360s, 380s, 390s) and replaced with McIntosh MCD 500 and CT 500--love the sound and the look. Had an electrician run the balanced cables from the pre amp thru the wall behind the rack and under the floor and come back up on either side of the fireplace directly behind the amps--also had speaker wire run from the LE-1 amp into the wall behind the rack and under the floor and come back up directly behind the two subwoofers...really made the front of the room look much less cluttered. Might have it rewired to move the rack to where the sub is behind the couch and then move the second sub to the right of the other Salon...that would really make the front of the room less cluttered and probably get a little more balance in the subs, although it sounds pretty awesome now--I can make the floor tremble if I want... One of the Salons had a nonfunctioning tweeter--good friend (thanks again Leo!) who had same problem with his came over a couple times to fix it (hence the towel under the left one as we took it off spikes and had to troubleshoot a bit later). Wound up replacing the crossovers in both with some he had made to fix his problem. The stock ones are about the size of a spool of sewing thread--the new ones (in both speakers now) are about 5 times the size and 10 times the weight--fixed the problem and was a substantial improvement in sound. For the price of the speakers new, no idea why the stock crossovers were so small... Thinking about replacing the 436 monos with MC501s...Christmas is just around the corner...
System edited: the sub now sits on a 17x17x2 maple slab with spiked feet that sits on Waipuna sound myrtle wood footers...not sure if this improved the sound or reduced vibration since the sub is so close to the component rack, but it looks pretty cool. On the hunt for another depth (the I model preferably), and will set it similarly.
System edited: Replaced the 39 cd procesor/player with a 390s. Big improvement in soundstage width. Am running the amp and subwoofer directly from the 390s via the variable output...no preamp. Pretty happy with the result--my new Martin Logan Summits should be here soon and next upgrade moght be a tube preamp...we'll see...
Jmcgrogan2 (Can there really be a Jmcgrogan1 ?) Don't know how I could arrange an audition...leaning toward the Pre since I already have the Proceed DAP, and need the CD input to be on the same side on the preamp as the output on the DAP (foolishly bought .5m Pro Silways that are not long enough to run to the other side...). Giving serious thought to adding a Proceed amp eventually; a matched system would make the best presentation... Mitch
Looks like your on the right path. Those two pres would be a nice upgrade. The Proceed probably more detailed, with the BAT getting the edge in musicality. Anyway to try them in your system?
That's a very well balanced system you have there, and I'm sure it sounds quite nice. Logans are very high resolution speakers, so anything you change in the system will be easy to hear I would think. It's a tough call as for the next upgrade. I'm not so sure the preamp's the week link. If you listed to digital only, the NAD is probably capable of passing the resolution of the DAC you have. Now, that Denon CAROUSEL I don't know about. Some guys think all "transports" sound the same, but I have heard huge differences in transports. I also think that carousel's make poor transports, mechanically for sure, and often with poor digial output circuits. I would try out a "real" transport to see if there is a noticeable improvement. If you like a single disc's sound, you could probably still keep the 5-disc hooked up to your DAC. Then again, buying digital right now can be a little scary too, so it is definitely a tough call. I buy used stuff, so "trying" out something is a matter of buying one, and then selling it if I don't like it.....
