Description

I recently upgraded to what for some time have been my dream speakers, the incredible Daedalus Audio Ulysses, including the recently introduced all-poly crossover option. I want to thank the many Audiogon members who have posted about this speaker in past threads. It is those posts which led to my becoming aware of the speaker, and ultimately deciding to purchase it. I also want to thank Lou Hinkley, Mr. Daedalus Audio, for participating in the forums at Audiogon, and of course for creating and providing me with these magnificent speakers.

Although their break-in process has barely begun, I feel that I can already say that imho their overall combination of sound quality, dynamic range, bass extension, amplifier friendliness and versatility, efficiency, imaging, elegant appearance and craftsmanship, practicable size and weight, and price, borders on the miraculous. For further commentary on them, see the posts by Jazdoc, Paulfolbrecht, and Jax2 near the end of [url=http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1269555143&openflup&129&4#129]this thread[/url], and

the post by Fig in [url=http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1275949549&openflup&23&4#23]this thread[/url].

Please note that in addition to the following general comments, I have included considerable additional information under the individual component listings above.

I first became interested in high quality audio around 1978. Eventually that led me to explore the world of vintage tube equipment, which in turn led me to discover and intensively pursue a separate hobby as well, antique radio collecting.

During a period of several years during the 1990 s I was able to acquire examples of many of the vintage pieces that are considered to be classics, including most of the early Marantz tube products, among many others. I enjoyed them for a while, and in most cases eventually sold them, in part because of their high monetary value and in part because I did not have the time or the inclination to do the capacitor replacements and other upgrades that would have been necessary to put them in optimal condition. And I would have had very mixed feelings about affecting their originality, as well.

The one piece that to this day I regret selling, though, were the rare and fabulous pair of Marantz 2’s I enjoyed during some of those years. They clearly outclassed a pair of the more powerful and more famous Marantz 9’s I also owned, although condition may have been a factor in that. A major reason for selling the 2’s, though, was that they were not quite powerful enough for the speakers I owned prior to the Ulysses, at least when playing wide dynamic range, well recorded, classical symphony.

The one very early piece that I continue to use in my main system, and that I don’t ever anticipate selling, is the legendary 1954 REL Precedent FM tuner. See my further comments on it by clicking its listing above. I use it in conjunction with an H. H. Scott LM35 fm multiplex adapter (the kit version of the model 335), ca. 1961, which decodes the stereo information.

The other pieces in the system represent a mix of vintage and modern, purchased new in some cases and used in others. Some of them are considered to be classics, and deservedly so in my opinion, most notably the Mark Levinson ML-1, which I use as my phono stage (by connecting its tape out jacks to my Classe CP-60 line stage preamp).

I should add that my listening is about 90% classical, a disproportionately large amount of it on labels that are audiophile-oriented or are otherwise high quality, and 10% rock and miscellaneous.

A note on the room: Dimensions are 22L x 13.5W x 8H. The speakers fire along the long dimension, of course. The central part of the rear wall is an opening to another room, so acoustically the length dimension is quite long. The speakers are about 8 feet apart measured driver to driver; the fronts of the speakers are about 4 feet from the front wall. Listening distance is 11 feet (to mid-point between speakers). The speakers are toed in a bit more than half-way between being pointed straight ahead and being pointed directly at the listener. As you can see in the photos, the room is wood-panelled, with wood blinds on the windows that comprise most of the front wall. The Eames chair seen on the left in some of the photos swivels aside for listening, and in that position reduces reflections off of a stone fireplace which is at the center of the left wall. Finally, the two Wassily/Breuer chairs, which are used for listening, are re-positioned during listening sessions so that they are both centered, one in front of the other. If my wife is listening with me, she, being considerably shorter than I am, sits in front.

Thanks for reading!

-- Al
Read more...

Components Toggle details

    • Daedalus Audio Ulysses Speakers
    The price shown ($14,400) reflects the base price of $10,950; optional bases/stands ($600); quartersawn white oak ($900); and the recently introduced all-poly crossover upgrade option ($1950). It is absolutely uncanny how well these speakers match my requirements and preferences, to a degree that as far as I am aware (after having done extensive research prior to my recent purchase decision) no other speaker in existence can match. My requirements and preferences were/are: 1)Top-notch sound quality. 2)Wide dynamic range, specifically the ability to cleanly reproduce the peaks of well-recorded classical symphonic music. 3)Not requiring a high-powered amplifier (e.g., 200W) to do so. 4)Not requiring a subwoofer. 5)Tube-friendly impedance characteristics. 6)Good imaging. 7)Elegant, refined appearance that is a reasonable match to my wood-panelled 1950’s living room. 8)A price that is considerably less than that of a new car. I purchased these in the optional quarter-sawn white oak version, btw. “Magnificent” doesn’t begin to do justice to their appearance and build quality.
    • Valve Amplification Company REN-7070 mkIII
    65 watts per channel of 300B, Class A, zero feedback magic. Purchased by me in 2011; I believe it was manufactured about 10 years earlier. The tubes I am using are a new (2011) set of Chinese 300B-98's, purchased from VAC by the previous owner, and vintage Sylvania 6SN7's.
    • DEQX HDP-5 Digital Preamp/Processor
    Digital Preamp/Speaker & Room Correction Processor -- see the "Is DEQX A Game-Changer?" thread for further discussion
    • DEQX/Earthworks M23 Calibration Kit
    Calibrated measurement microphone kit for use with DEQX HDP-5.
    • Stax Lambda Pro Headphones w/SRM-T1 Tube Amplifier
    From the late 1980s. Being electrostatic headphones they nicely complement the dynamic speakers I've had, and help me to sort out room effects or amplifier and speaker-related issues from recording or front-end related things. As well as making it possible to listen when listening via speakers would interfere with my wife's activities.
    • Herron VTPH-2 Phono Stage
    Wonderful sounding, versatile, beautifully engineered phono stage. The many accolades that have been bestowed here and elsewhere on both this phono stage and on Keith Herron as a wonderful person to deal with are more than well deserved.
    • Bryston BCD-1 CD Player (transport section)
    Using it as a transport, with AES/EBU output connected to DEQX.
    • Sota Sapphire Turntable
    Purchased in 1983; still looks and works like new. Built like the proverbial tank. I can literally pound my fist on the plinth during play, with no audible effects whatsoever. Beautiful oak finish.
    • Magnepan Unitrac-1 Tonearm
    Purchased in 1983. Highly regarded and rightly so. Includes in-play adjustability of vta/sra.
    • Audio Technica AT-ART9 Phono Cartridge
    Purchased in 2016.  A very nice upgrade, replacing the Grace F9-E variants I had been using for the majority of the past 35 years.  Especially notable among the improvements provided by the ART9 are increased detail and better definition in the treble region, and improved dynamics.
    • Radio Engineering Laboratories Precedent FM Tuner
    The legendary REL Precedent FM tuner, designed by former associates of Edwin Armstrong. Mono, with multiplex out jack for connection to external stereo multiplex adapter. From 1954; I purchased it in 1992. Other tuners I've had in my system at one time or another include two Marantz 10B's, a Carver TX11, a McIntosh MR71, and numerous Scott and Fisher units. The REL outperformed all of them sonically (at least in the case of the specific units that I had), and was equalled in station-getting ability only by the 10B. However every now and then it doesn't work properly, I believe due to either a bad diode or capacitor in the detector section. I'm hesitant to start changing parts, though, at least without being certain of exactly which part is the culprit, because I don't want to destroy its originality.
    • H. H. Scott LM35 Multiplex Adapter
    Stereo Multiplex Adapter, used in conjunction with REL Precedent. Kit version of the model 335. Ca. 1961.
    • Channel Master Roof-Mounted FM Antenna
    With rotator.
    • Tandberg TCD-3004 Cassette Deck
    One of the best cassette decks ever made. The 80 or so cassettes in my collection include much of the excellent Connoisseur In Sync series from the 1970's and 1980's. The deck is ca. 1980. I acquired it in the mid-90's.
    • Logitech Squeezebox Touch
    Using it just for Internet radio. A technological marvel given its low price. Too bad it is no longer made.
    • Nitty Gritty 2.5FiMk2 Record Cleaning Machine
    Record Cleaning Machine. Purchased during the 1990's. I used Torumat fluid until it was no longer available; Nitty Gritty Pure2 since.
    • DB Systems DBP-2JAU/5 Switchbox
    Line-level switchbox used to select whether the FM tuner combo or the cassette deck is routed to the DEQX
    • Audience aR2p Surge Suppressor/Conditioner
    This suppressor/conditioner plugs into an outlet of my 20 amp dedicated line. A Wiremold power strip (listed below) plugs into the aR2p and expands its 2 outlets to 10. The Venom Defender surge suppressor/conditioner (listed below) plugs into the power strip, to provide some degree of filtering of noise that may be coupled between components.
    • Shunyata Venom Defender Surge Suppressor/Conditioner
    This plugs into the Wiremold power strip (listed below) to provide some degree of filtering of noise that may couple between components.
    • Wiremold UL210BC Power Strip
    This well-made power strip expands the 2 outlets of the Audience aR2p surge suppressor/conditioner to 10.
    • Hammond Power Strip
    This plugs into the Wiremold power strip (listed above) to provide additional outlets. It also allows me to switch off the wall wart power supply of the Squeezebox when listening to other sources.
    • Analysis Plus Toslink Cable
    Squeezebox to DEQX, 3 meters
    • Mogami AES/EBU Cable
    Mogami "Gold" AES/EBU Cable, CDP to DEQX, 6 feet
    • Various Pro-Oriented Interconnects -- Mogami, Pearstone, Comprehensive
    Mogami Neglex 2534 quad cable with TecNec RCA connectors (from Markertek.com) between preamp and power amp; Mogami, Pearstone, and Comprehensive (B& H house brand) single-ended ic's for various other analog interconnections.
    • Vampire Wire Speaker Cable
    3 meters, 12 gauge.
    • Signal Cable Digital Reference Power Cords
    One 6 foot cord for the CDP; two 13 foot cords for the VAC dual mono amplifier, which uses two power cords. These are nominally intended for digital components, but the 12 gauge wire they utilize seems adequate for use with the amp as well, and I chose them particularly because of the excellent shielding they provide. In my setup these cords are routed such that they pass fairly close to the phono stage, which presumably increases the importance of their shielding. Also, the fact that the amplifier operates in class A, drawing essentially constant current regardless of the dynamics of the music, presumably lessens the importance of how responsive the cord may be to abrupt changes in demands for current.
    • Stock Power Cords
    Stock cords on all components other than the CDP and the VAC power amplifier.
    • Adona Multi-Element Isolation Platform
    With brass cones. This is used under the Herron phono stage. In addition to being well designed for its purpose, its craftsmanship and beauty make this practically a work of art.
    • Mapleshade Maple Platform & Isoblocks
    4 inch version; used under Power Amp.
    • Mapleshade Isoblocks
    Under Daedalus maple bases.
    • Sims (Sumiko) Navcom Silencers
    Vibration control footers, used under REL Precedent tuner. Ca. 1992.
    • Planax PX Record Clamp
    ca. 1983.
    • Zerostat 3 Milty
    Anti-static gun.
    • LAST Stylus Cleaner
    Stylus cleaner.
    • 20 Amp Dedicated AC Line, New Circuit Breaker Panel & Wiring
    New 20 amp dedicated AC line, new circuit breaker panel, new inside and outside wiring to where the utility company's overhead lines attach to the house. All installed in 2010-2011.

Comments 113

Showing all comments by barrysandy.

View all comments

Like others, I wanted to thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I read all your posts and have learned much from you. Beautiful system.

barrysandy

Liked reading about your system Al, instant nostalgia and some very nice classic pieces. Room looks very comfortable with a beautiful outdoor view - I'm envious and stuck in the basement. Thanks for all your great posts on A'gon. Always worthwhile reading them. Regards, Barry

barrysandy

What a wonderful write-up - like traveling through time with you. Love your system and the antique radios are marvelous. For me it's the road not taken but but I'm gradually rethinking my approach. All the best Al.

barrysandy