The once fledgling bedroom system graduates, in some respects, to the living room where the challenges of space and budget don't exactly vanish - so the name Tight Quarters still applies in all respects. However, that name and my trusty Audience powerchord are the only things that remain from v1. I bumped up to the Unico SE from the standard Unico 80W after reassuring myself several times that if it didn't truly show me something special I would immediately and without remorse sell and repurchase the standard Unico but found that haven't looked back for one second. Feeling especially good about that, I punched up the DAC from a Bel Canto 1 to the Musical Fidelity Trivista 21. Another stunning leap forward in nearly all respects. Somewhere inbetween all of this, I migrated to XLO Reference speaker wire, power cords and ICs from cable costing about 2x the price. Used, at the prices you can still score XLO Reference these days, it's a secret I'm only now feeling like I can start to share with others. I would also advise scoring your cables first before sharing. The Squeezebox 3 pretty much trounced the Apple Airport Express in all ways (sonically, style, features) except that it has nothing close to the slick iTunes interface. Even so, if you can resist purchasing after seeing the digital VU meters in action, you're a better audiophile junkie than me, laddy. Up until now, I pretty much knew what I wanted gear-wise from the word Go, except for the speakers. Two friends have JM Labs setups, both demonstrating bass extension that makes me wonder if they're hiding subs behind the sofa. So for several weeks I was combing the ads to find 927 BEs, not wanting to deal with aluminum tweeters, which, frankly, felt a little scary since I haven't been able to audition those. Meanwhile, another friend has Sonus Faber Grand Piano Homes which I've heard plenty of times and always sounded money, but even moreso since he bought his own Unico SE. So I logged many hours refreshing the screen, waiting for a set of those to pop up. Long story short I ended up with the ProAc 2.5s for several reasons which include the idea that although I really love those Sonus, there's something not quite as much fun hobbywise in owning nearly the exact same system as your friend. Plus, the 2.5s popped up first at a fair price and I had to act quick or kiss them goodbye and continue waiting. I generally don't win many awards for Outstanding Achievements in Patience. So what you see here is likely not the end of the road but rather one of those really clean rest stops with a Sbarro and a Starbucks - meaning I'll likely be here for a while.
Still can't beat the Philips JAN, 5814A 12au7 tubes. Believe me, I've tried.
Musical Fidelity Trivista 21 Tube DAC
Cool blue feet.
XLO Referece 1a type 1
1M
Audience powerChord
6' length
XLO Reference 2 10A
6', Wattgate connectors on both ends
XLO Reference 5A
3m, spades
Slim Devices Squeezebox 3 wireless
I'm running the Squeezebox 3 as a digital transport for my hard drive based music collection. SPDIF out to the Trivista DAC.
Canare DigiFlex Gold
1m length
Monument Reference Artisan Series Master SoundPosts
hand-crafted from carefully selected Cocobolo Rosewood and finished with the proprietary Artisan series “coupling” varnish, designed for both digital and analog components over 40lbs
Totem Acoustic Beaks
Tuning pods that control resonances and allow for better driver integration
System edited: Yet another reworking since November. The Tyler Monitors gave way to the Proac 1SCs (not listed), which in turn inspired the Proac 2.5s, which will be staying for the forseeable future. I had been contemplating the Sonus Faber Grand Piano Homes, and would have purchased a pair had any become available, but the 2.5s popped up first and I'm not looking back at all. I also kicked the Airport Express out of the starting lineup for the vastly superior Squeezebox 3 - the only downside being that the software isn't in the same league as the Apple in terms of searching your music collection, compiling playlists, etc, but I'll live. I moved this into the Ever Evolving category because it seems like I've been moving things around but in all honesty, I might be done for a while. This configuration does everything I need it to do.
System edited: Here goes, if only for The_Kid: I bumped up to the Unico SE from the regular 80W Unico back in November. Interestingly enough, the guy I sold the 80Wer to allowed me to A/B my old Unico with the new SE about two weeks later. I was very happy with the regular Unico and actually was a little hesitant to mess with a good thing, even in terms of moving up to the next model. Bigger is not always better, in my opinion. However after listening to both side by side, I'll say that for those of you out there considering the Unico, you should definitely attempt to pull together the extra cash for the SE. The extra wattage is fantastic at lower volumes and the SE definitely adds a sense of refinement to the upper end, better space and harmonics. Same great mids and tight bass. It definitely woke up the Tyler Monitors I have. And before you quickly discard the stock Philips JANS, please take the advice of someone who has rolled about a dozen different tubes through this unit - everything from Telefunkens to Bugle Boys to Brimars - nothing sounds better throughout the entire sound range than the Philips 5814A. The people at Unison Research know what they're doing. The second major upgrade was the Trivista 21 DAC from Musical Fidelity. It replaced the Bel Canto DAC 1 paired with a Musical Fidelity X-10D and X-PSU. I believe it would be unfair to compare these setups side by side given that we're really talking about two entirely different leagues of equipment, again, in my opinion. The Trivista 21 has an enormous soundstage and adds all kinds of refinement. I'm very happy with this purchase. Next upgade will be to the speakers. I'm strongly considering Sonus Faber Grand Piano Homes for this system as 1) I've heard firsthand how well they match with the Unico SE and 2) I've learned that Unison Research makes the dedicated Sonus amp. I'm also considering a pair of Proac floorstanders like the D25s or the Totem Forrest. I'm also after a Slim Devices Squeezebox to replace the Apple Airport Express. Stay tuned.
System edited: Numerous updates since the last post, including a new home for the system (updated pics to follow). The room it's in now is quieter in terms of outside street noise but much more live than the narrow bedroom I was using, meaning that I'm most likely going to have to put up some sort of wall treatments to deal with an echo - and soon. The highs are still a touch cold for my tastes, even with some of the recent gear additions, but it's far from fatiguing or annoying. And I'm on a pair of borrowed, wooden speaker stands which also isn't going to last long if I can help it. However, we make the best of things while the bank account replenishes, don't we? In my opinion, picking up Audience Au24 2m speaker wire and the XLO power cords addressed what were the biggest deficiencies in version 1 of my system. One each XLO for the Musical Fidelity X-PSU and Bel Canto DAC 1 added a really inspiring three dimensional quality to the sound, pushing the soundstage out and back quite a bit. The Au24 wire replacing Audioquest type II is nearly as big of an upgrade, sweetening up the mids and further truing up the high end. The addition of a set of Monument Reference Master SoundPosts was also quite an eye opener. I'm not out there tracking down every last tweak, but this one came on the recommendation of a good friend who owned a set. After several months of him politely nudging me to give them a try, and combined with the company's stated 30 day return policy, I reluctantly purchased, wondering at the same time what I'd be saying to Bryan at Monument as I asked for money back within the month. I actually felt a little bad about purchasing with the underlying strong intent of returning them but ultimately wanted to try these to 1) prove to myself that this voodoo doesn't work and, 2) get my buddy to quit bugging me about them. When they arrived, I actually did nothing with them for the first week, and took several calls from him asking "Did you try them yet? Did you try them??". Then, when I finally got around to opening up the packaging and placing them under the Unico, I was stunned. Much tighter bass, sweeter mids, and it sounded like someone turned the volume up a click. Amazing. I laughed at myself. Needless to say, they haven't been returned. The glass toslink cable from Dayton Audio coming out of the Airport with the help of an adapter further cleaned up some of the 'digital glare' I mostly didn't know I had. Vocals are now more precise, strings and piano have a more engaging quality and everything now has a darker, quiter background. Previously, I had been using Monster Cable's plastic optical cord, which wasn't terrible although nothing like the precision and depth the glass provides. An amazing difference for only $30. Can't say enough about it. What's next are speaker stands, some wall treatments, a rug for the tile floor and, down the line, I have my eye on a Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista tube DAC. It never ends, folks. It never ends.
System edited: The addition of the Audience cabling (au24 ICs and a powerChord to the Unico) this week really paid off big. Imaging has improved significantly, the lower end is much more focused and punchy, and upper range has a sweeter, warmer quality which I really like. And on the better recorded stuff, the Tylers actually try to disappear. It's the kind of upgrade that makes me want to go back through my music collection and play everything again.
DJ ... yes, the Taylos really are great monitors, as are the Linbrooks. I guess there is always an urge to upgrade or try something else, of course. Regarding the UR Unicos, I've only read positive reports, so I'd hold on to that piece for a while. As for placement, etc, check out some of the pics sent to AGon ... some are stunning while others are ... suspicious-looking, to say the least, but we all do what we can, so in that sense we needn't apologize for out limitations, whether dollars, space, equipment choices, or lack of imagination. I don't dare throw that first stone! Haha!
Thanks for stopping by, Arkprof. You're very right in that the Taylos are worthy of considerable praise. To that end, they have absolutely no business sounding as dynamic and three dimensional as they do given their unavoidably cruddy positioning in my room. I believe they could still sound even better with proper stands and clearance from the walls but I'm shocked with what they produce today. And I can't say enough about how well they pair up with the Unison Unico. However, I do like the Linbrooks as well. Just how much will require further previewing as a buddy of mine just picked up a pair. Different? Yes. A 'step UP'? Well, financially for sure. That's most of what I meant to suggest. They also go lower than the Taylos, which is the rest. But you are absolutely justified in pointing out that the Taylos aren't to be looked down on AT ALL from a quality standpoint. I was wrong to inadvertantly hint at that. And we also absolutely agree on the keeping things simple idea. Best of luck in your audio pursuits as well.
Several years back I owned walnut Taylo monitors w/outboard x-overs, and I loved them totally, but wanted more bass so I added a Taylo sub. I used the sub most of the time, but I actually preferred the Taylo sound without the sub. I then "moved up" to the Linbrooks w/outboards, but "moving up" isn't what actually happens. They were great speakers, looked great in cherry, but it was a totally different sound, and I think I was a bit disappointed for having deluded myself in this way. They're very much worth the money, that's for certain, but you might want to give those Taylos all the credit they deserve. You won't be disappointed by moving to Linbrooks, but you WILL MISS what the Taylos do so very well. Regardless, best of luck. Keep it simple.
Already bought new speakers, at the vtv expo this last weekend. I will update my system once my custom built stand are finished. Thanks for the advice, I am going to buy some cables, soon. I am thinking about spending around $500 for everything
