This system has been a work in progress for nearly 30 years. Although it has given me a tremendous amount of pleasure, I'm still trying to get closer to the feeling of real people playing music. A tube preamp is next on my shopping list, possibly an ARC LS 26
Fast Forward 13 years to 2020!! Lots of changes, moved house twice, and almost nothing remains from the old system! Current setup: NAS -> Laptop w/Jriver -> Auralic Vega Gen 1 -> Jadis JPS 2 -> Jadis JA80's -> Wilson Benesch Vector
System edited: Things are really shaping up now. After changing the Krell KRC-HR ro the ARC LS26, replacing my Krell FPB300 with the ARC Reference 110 was the next obbvious step. You really have to hear this combo to understand how musical and transparent it is. It doesnt sound like hi-fi, it just sounds like music! I have also added another Gabriel Gold Revelation I/C, and the matching speaker cable. Its taken a little while for them to run in, at first they seemed to sacrifice dynamics for transparency, but now the dynamics have returned and they are starting to really bloom. Finally, I just had my Krell SACD Standard upgraded to Mk 3 status. So much of an improvement, it has really brought the system to a new level of texture and inner detail. I think the SACD and cables still need a bit more running in and should continue to improve.
Thanks for your comments. I've uploaded some pictures. My system resides in the living area of my duplex apartment here in Singapore.
The room is highly reflective, with mirrors on the wall behind the system, a tiled concrete floor, and full height glass windows run along one side of the room.
Despite all this, the system images well, although I don't get a great deal of depth. The ASC Wall Traps on the mirrors behind the speakers do help a lot in this regard. Above all, this is a very musical and engaging system.
Ambient noise in the room is rather high, with noise from outside, two fish tanks, two freezers, ceiling fans and so on. Perhaps this masks some of the lowest level detail. Ideally I would like to have a dedicated room where I could get the noise floor down really low. I believe that's critical to get your system to the point where you can almost sense the performers breathing.
The LS26 beats the Krell in almost every aspect! The soundstage is more fleshed out and dimensional. Detail retrieval is vastly superior too. Even the bass, surprisingly, is tighter, more resolved and textured than the Krell. I couldn't be happier with the upgrade. The LS26 is still not fully run in yet, so i will report more in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, I'm just enjoying the music! Cheers Mick
