Steve's 2 Channel System

by steves71 on Ever Evolving

Description

After a more than a year of leaving my system alone, the BUG hit again. I was asked to try Richard Gray's 400 AC Filter... well ok. When i got it home before connecting it I removed all HT components from the system. I also removed my HD Widescreen television which was in between my speakers and listened for a while... a long while. It was great my system sounded completely different without the tv and Monster HTS2500 filter. I then plugged in the Richard Gray unit and it got even better. Imaging, detail, transparency, dynamics and soundstaging all improved. As I was enjoying this new sound I started to think of all that I've been missing. I now want to further improve my listening experience. The weakest link (I think at least) is my CDP. So I hit the posts on Audiogon for suggestions and the Wadia 861 CDP seemed to have alot of great reviews especially when upgraded by Great Northern Sound. The next day I ordered a new Wadia 861 w/ the reference upgrade from Steve at GNS. I'm told it should take around 10 days. Great, thats 10 nights I won't be able to sleep. If there are any Wadia owners w/ similar equipment your input would be great.
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Components Toggle details

    • B&W Nautilus 802
    B&W Nautilus 802 Speaker
    • Conrad Johnson Premier 12
    Conrad Johnson Premier 12 monoblocks.
    • Conrad Johnson Premier 16LS Series 2
    Conrad-Johnson Premier 16LS-2 Tube Pre-Amp w/ 6922 tubes.
    • Wadia 861b-GNSC reference mod
    Wadia 861b w/ Great Northern Sound Company's reference mod.
    • Adcom GCD-750
    Adcom GCD-750 CD Player
    • Silver Audio Appasionata
    Silver Audio Appasionata 1.5 Meter
    • Silver Audio Powerburst
    Silver Audio Powerburst Power Cord
    • Monster Cable M Series 2.4 bi-wire
    Monster Cable M Series 2.4 bi-wire speaker cable
    • Boos/Brass DIY 3
    John Boos / 5/8-11 Brass Rod 3 tier DIY rack.
    • Richard Gray 400s
    Richard Gray 400s AC filter MK2
    • Dedicated Circuits 120V 30A MC Cable
    (2) 120V 30A dedicated electical circuits w/ mc cable

Comments 15

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steve,
I had a prem 11a changed for a 140 I'm considering switching to a pair of 12's - any views. Currently I use matrix 804 considering n802 - is the prem 16 better than the 17 - interesting that through the hi fi jungle we've both chosen a similar path. Any comments or views on your system , how you arrived and other stuff you've tried would be greatly appreciated - cj fans are a bit of a rarity here in England!!!
Cheers..
John Lindsay.

magnol

Steve, Very nice..Plants by the amps!...A man after my own heart. Somehow it just seems right to put plants near the system. Enjoy!..Ken :)

kehut

Steve, I'm interested in your comments regarding the 861b GNSC. What was the turnaround and are you running it direct to your Premier 12s? What source did you replace?

islandear

Great system and amazingly close to what I have, Premier 16 Series 2, Premier 12 and Nautilus 802.

My comment: aren't the speakers to close to the back wall? I don't know how long your room is, but in mine I can't keep the speaker that way---the bass gets in the way of the midrange. They really must stay at 1/3 of the length of the room and listening can take place either at 2/3 or a bit farther off depending on the recording.

Bye.

maobolgi

Holy cow!!

Boos Blocks are cutting boards!!

What a great idea. High quality wood, pre cut to all the same size. Really neat.

What did you use for supports between the racks? Is that some kind of all thread?

nm512

Tung oil is great, but make sure you wear gloves when applying it. If you follow slipknot1's instructions it should be beautiful. That's the same thing I did, but w/o the paste wax. I should have added that!

nrchy

Owner
Ahhh... I thought you put something on them because they look great.

steves71

Steve,
Multiple coats of hand rubbed tung oil, with an ultrafine buffing of steel wool between each coat. Topped off with a VERY light paste wax for that "golden maple glow"

slipknot1

Owner
Man they were tough to find. I tried Sonoma and Home Depot and neither carried them (hour+ on the phone real fun)

I called my aunt and she said to try Chef Central. About 5 minutes later they had checked stock and put them aside for me. Great service.

Thanks again Slipknot. Oh, did you stain yours or are they stock?

Steve

steves71

Steve-
Great job on the rack! Where did you end up getting the BoosBlocks?

slipknot1

Owner
Oh, by the way the blanket is temporary till my sound treatment arrives.

steves71

Owner
Replaced small MDF audio rack with a DIY Boos/Brass Rod setup w/ the help of Audiogoners. Thanks everyone for your advise and input. Sounds great.

steves71

Owner
System edited: Added (2) 120v, 30a dedicated electrical circuits today. What a difference. Used MC cable which is armored, wrapped and has a seperate ground. Was on a shared 120v, 15a circuit before.

steves71

Owner
Hey Jfrech,
I haven't used my MV-55 in a while and I wondered what it would sound like bi-amped with the 12's working the bottoms. EL-34s on top and either KT88, 6550, or KT-90s on the bottom. While not sounding all that bad it was a little thin. I don't know if it's because I was using 5751s instead of 12AX7s (realized after I disconnected and removed it from the rack) which I've heard have a higher gain or just that the 802s require more power. I'll have to try it again with 12AX7s.

Vinyl...
I'm thinking about it but I don't have a TT, phono pre-amp or LPs nor do I even know how to set one up. I hear they sound real good though so... maybe one day. What would a decent setup go for?

Steve

steves71

What's the deal on the amps? Monoblocks and one stereo?? I can't wait to hear what say about the Wadia...You're right...the front end should be a big upgrade.

I dare you to try a vinyl front end.

jfrech

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