Finally arrived! Component assembly phase of system-building now complete and it's Tweak Time.* *edit 9-3-2012 - or so I thought six months ago! Symphonic Line tube pre-amp external power supply sits below the Ayre player, as it creates noise when placed under the pre-amp.
Two-box top of the line CD-only player, with 300VA transformer and 280,000µF capacitance. Detailed, dynamic and musical! Now it just needs a permanent home on a rack...
- Symphonic Line Die Erleuchtung (The Enlightenment)
Used tube pre-amp made in 1999 but completely reconstructed last year to current specs with current caps etc. Super dynamics, super musical, detailed across the tonal spectrum without any fatigue, and great synergy with Symphonic Line stablemate Kraft 250 monos. And all that with plain old inexpensive Elektro-Harmonix 6922 tubes!
- Symphonic Line Enlightenment Power Supply
As it is separate from the pre-amp itself, I felt it deserved its own entry. Contains 400 VA transformer and 70,000 μF capacitor (the 2013 model Symphonic Line power supply for this pre-amp is 300 VA transformer and 56,000 μF capacitor). No shortage of balls here!
- Symphonic Line Kraft 250 Monoblocks
Deep, powerful bass without boom or muddiness, clarity in the mids, and detail without glare in the highs. Dynamics both macro and micro are incredible. Forget the putative 250 watts designation: these are extremely powerful high current amps that effortlessly drive my large and inefficient Revel Salon 2s to concert SPLs without negative effect upon dynamics, tonal balance or detail throughout the volume dial. Per Klaus Bunge, the Symphonic Line USA importer (and Odyssey owner) who brokered my deal for these substantially new amps, the Kraft 250 monos bested even the vaunted Kraft 300 stereo amp he has in his personal system. I can't speak directly to that comparison, but I can say that I'm pretty sure I'm all set for the next decade or two.
Full range speakers that are very detailed across the tonal range. Highly integrated sound notwithstanding the multiple drivers. Soundstaging is excellent, as is dispersion that grows the sweet spot size and makes them perfect for large rooms. They handle dynamic shifts with aplomb - simply put, a drum hit sounds like a drum hit. Feeding and care with properly-matched amplification is key - they are not very efficient and so benefit from powerful SS amps. The beryllium tweeters are super-detailed and resolving and do not need any further help in that regard from your amplification. They sounded very very good with the Plinius gear. They sound even better with the Symphonic Line gear and IMO are of a quality to justify amplification that costs twice as much as they do. In the end it sounds silly to describe something that lists for $22K as a bargain - yet it really is.
- Furutech Alpha S14 cable w/ FP-203 spades
Custom 3-meter PCOCC-alpha copper speaker cables, assembled by Scot Markwell of Elite A/V. Nicely detailed without sounding etched, they excel in the low end.
- Furutech Custom RCAs from Scot Markwell
FA-220 PCOCC-alpha copper audio cable with FP120 F(R) rhodium-plated screw-down RCA pins.
- Furutech Custom Power Cords
Custom 1.5m 240V power cables assembled by Scot Markwell of Elite A/V in Los Angeles.
FP3TS20 Power Cable with FI-11(G)
IEC connectors and FI-E
11(G) SCHUKO connectors. Used with Symphonic Line Kraft 250 monos.
Schuko duplex wall socket; fed by separate 10/2 gauge electrical wires via 30 amp breakers (sheetrock repair TBD). Currently feeding the Symphonic Line Kraft 250 monos.
- Furutech Absolute Power-18 power cable
Stock Furutech alpha OCC power cables with rhodium-plated plugs
- Furutech GTX-D (R) Duplex 120V Outlet
Rhodium-plated duplex outlet that will replace existing Leviton 120V outlet feeding Ayre C-5xeMP and Symphonic Line tubed pre-amp.
No phono stage. Currently on the bench after being replaced by Symphonic Line tubed pre-amp, it served me well for 10 months. Very good bass in particular.
Class A/B with heavy Class A Bias; 310 wpc into 8 ohms, 470 wpc into 4 ohms. Currently on the bench after new Symphonic Line Kraft 250s entered system. An excellent stereo amp that performed admirably in all aspects, and really showed its stuff when mated to the Symphonic Line tubed pre-amp for a few weeks. It took world-class monos that list for over 3X as much to knock it out of my system.
- Furutech FA-220, FP-601M(G) , FP-601F(G)
FA-220 cable w/XLR interconnects. Currently on the bench because new Symphonic Line gear is single-ended only.
- Star Sound Apprentice XL Platform
The Apprentice XL Platforms recently replaced Star Sound's Audio Points that had resided under the Salon 2s for six months. Without getting into a two-page dissertation about what they do, I'd summarize that they put even more meat on the musical bone (tonal richness and heft) while simultaneously removing even more film from the window into the music. I have no idea how this stuff works...but it does! And now I have a pair under the amps too, also working to good effect.
- Furutech Custom Power Cords
Custom 1.5m 240V power cables assembled by Scot Markwell of Elite A/V in Los Angeles.
FP3TS20 Power Cable with FI-11(G)
IEC connectors and FI-E
11(G) SCHUKO connectors. Used with Symphonic Line Kraft 250 monos.
