Description

High priority on tone, soundstage and overall balance of sound.
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Components Toggle details

    • Tekton Design MOAB
    These speakers use a double tweeter array to produce the midrange. The Be tweeter between the arrays is used as the actual tweeter. Then two big ass woofers are added. Extremely well reviewed and high value speakers!
    • Innuos PULSE
    Network Streamer internal with a RECAP2 power supply by Dr. Sean Jacobs built-in. Uses the innuOS 2.0 and Sense software. Its the best sounding streamer, OS and control software I've every used.
    • Aria Audio Aria Signature MK2
    This is a beautiful hand-built amplifier that puts out100 watts of Class A power with very high current capability. A extremely seductive yet authoritative sound with the Moabs.
    • Border Patrol DAC
    I've recently gone back to the world of Non-oversampling DACs. They simply sound more natural than high-resolution oversampling DACs. This is the USB model with Jupiter caps. It took a couple hundred hours to fully bloom but it was worth the wait.
    • Network Acoustics Muon System
    This is a complete digital cable system (filter, LAN cable, USB cable). This at a higher level than the famed EVO system.
    • Synergistic Research Powercell 12 UEF
    This is a classic power conditioner. It's UEF/EM based and compliments every component plugged in to it!
    • DIY speaker, interconnects and power cables
    DIY speaker, interconnects and power cables. They use multi-strand copper, an open weave, cotton cord in the center and ERS cloth at both ends. It's the formula Danny Richie uses for his cables. They have an open, airy yet very solid sound. The key is to break them in for hundreds of hours and use them as a "full loom" throughout your system.
    • Synergistic Research Black Box

    The Black Box is a Low Frequency Resonator Array that works in conjunction with the Subwoofers, Atmospheres and FEQ X4 to solve bass node issues.  

    • Synergistic Research ART System
    This is Synergistic Research's older acoustic system that's based on resonators. It works very well with their current UEF system and provides excellent results. Complete ART systems are getting hard to find.
    • Townshend Audio Seismic Isolation Podiums
    These decouple and "float" your speakers on a spring-loaded metal base. It opens-up the sound and adds solidity to the bass but doesn't make the sound harsh like most metal speaker bases.
    • Synergistic Research: Atmosphere XL-4, Atmosphere, Mini-Atmosphere, FEQ X4 (2), UEF Dots, UEF Panels, Risers,ECT and GCT
    The UEF Panels, UEF Dots, Black Box, Risers, ECT and GCT are all types of sound resonators. I use an Atmosphere XL-4 (green ATM), Atmosphere (red ATM), FEQ X4 (2) (red ATMs) and Mini-Atmosphere (green ATM) - when used with the Synergistic Research control software they generate various frequencies of Schumann Resonances around the room. Bottom line they work: create a huge/realistic listening experience!
    • Synergistic Research Galileo SX Grounding Block
    The Galileo SX Grounding Block makes the system absolutely silent at idle and creates very black backgrounds for music. I made my own "high definition" grounding cables.
    • Akiko Audio Tuning Stick; Kemp QA Plug (2) and Zero One (2)
    The Akiko Audio, Kemp and Zero One products treat the signal and power in my system keeping the electrons spinning around the electronic signals as uniform as possible or by adding more standard frequency Schumann Resonances. These products are excellent at making your system sound more "natural".
    • Perfect Path Technologies Total Contact, RCA caps, Stop-It duplex plugs, E-Mats & E-Cards
    This company has now closed because the owner has passed away. These products work to achieve a uniform and consistent RF/EMI and electron treatment around my components which greatly helps the sonics.
    • Synergistic Research Tranquility Bases and Tranquility Pod
    I use original MIGs under the Tranquility Bases.
    • Audio Magic Pulsed Electron Alignment
    The PEAs are battery powered. Spintronics is the ability to control or manipulate how electrons spin. Electrons spinning around electronic signals carry audio information. The goal of the PEA devices its to get the electrons spinning as uniformly as possible. It opens up the sound and makes subtle cues in the music even more real.
    • Puritan 156, ADD-Powr Sorcer and ElectraClear EAU-1
    The Puritan is an excellent line conditioner. The ADD-Powr and ElectraClear devices actually add electromagnetics (EM) to the AC line using an active circuit and algorithm. Contrary to popular belief not all EM is bad for sound quality in stereo systems. The proof is in the listening.
    • Timbernation and Bright Star Audio Platforms
    Solid maple platforms stained cherry for electronics and Bright Star platforms for the subs.
    • Puron AC Line Conditioner
    I've added two of these line conditioners into the same outlet that feeds my Puritan 156 line conditioner. They open the sound soundstage, give a more realistic presentation of vocals and reveal a little more texture and impact to the bass. Highly recommended!
    • Stein H2 Harmonizer system
    I have 4 Stein H2s in my system.I went with one in each of corner of the room with a Stein stone at each and a Stein diamond on the ceiling in the center of the room. They add layers and layers of depth with each vocalist/instrument being in their own separate but integrated spaces.
    • Tombo Audio Lotus Harmonic Enhancer
    The bell on the top gives high resonance frequency while the tip on the top of the bell performs as a wave guide streaming high frequency up to the ceiling.
    • Townshend Audio Allegri
    The Allegri is an autoformer based passive preamp. There is absolutely no noise but with with excellent soundstaging and dynamics. 

    • Cayin Audio Mini-CD MK2
    This is an excellent little CD player. I mostly stream but I still have hundreds of CDs.

Comments 566

@sbayne ,
Congratulations on the Audio-GD. This is one DAC that caught my eye because of 2 things - it is a pure DAC, meaning that there is no volume control. Second reason is the review from Stereophile. But the strange thing is - I have not seen much discussion on any other forums. The likes og Holo May and Terminator are discussed to death. But if this one tops those 2, I have not seen any discussion. But since you experienced other DACs and then compared this one, it would be pretty helpful to expand on what you liked in this one compared to the others, when you get a chance.
BTW, your system has evolved nicely over the years. Keep it up!

milpai

Owner
I've now added the Audio-GD R-7HE MK2 DAC. It's non-oversampling and has its own built-in regenerative power supply. Huge amounts of air around the instruments/voices with rock solid images and soundstage. Absolutely no harshness and the transparency is excellent. Easily the best digital I've owned and possibly ever heard. I've owned and heard many excellent digital sources over the years including DCS, Denafrip, Auralic, Esoteric, Wavelength and MHDT Labs.

sbayne

Owner
I've taken the Bluetti out of my system. The Puritan PSM156 with an upgraded power cord and proper grounding has really made it not necessary.

sbayne

Owner
I've also added a Puritan PSM156 Studio Master mains purifier to my system. It works very well. To the point where I'm not sure the Bluetti battery power is even needed. The key is to properly ground the Puritan. The jury is still out.

sbayne

Owner
Thanks David. I've also started using large wool dryer balls for vibration control under my equipment and speakers. The idea came from Ginko Audio that is using something similar in their new products. I was shocked by how well they work. They make the midrange more open yet the bass is a little more solid. Ginko Audio sells bases for theirs. I've tried Vibrapods under mine since they have a center concave that holds the wool ball very nicely. Not sure though if I'll keep the Vibrapods under them since they may not be needed. I need to mess with them more.

sbayne

@sbayne  Great to read about how you are pushing forward on your journey. - David.

david_ten

Owner
I've now gone to DIY speaker, interconnects and power cables. They use multi-strand copper, an open weave, cotton cord in the center and ERS cloth at both ends. It's the formula Danny Richie uses for his cables. They have an open, airy yet very solid sound. The key is to break them in for hundreds of hours and use them as a "full loom" throughout your system.

sbayne

Owner
I’ve been working on modifying speaker cables and interconnects.  It seems lowering the EMI/RF riding on the cable is the key. The off-grid battery I use started me down this path because of the huge sonic gains it provides in reducing EMI/RF.  There are lots of cable designs and materials to try out.

sbayne

Owner
I don't know why I even bother with the Audiogon Forums. There are some people on there who are truly nuts. All the way from saying the US isn't on AC power to talking about 800lb flywheel UPS systems which apparently can turn into a bomb if not implemented correctly. They literally write paragraph after paragraph and seem totally serious - there is some type of psychosis going on.

sbayne

Owner
Seems like the Bluetti thread is back on track. We think the main offender has been banned. We will see - he may have just been restricted for a while.

sbayne

Owner
I started a thread here on Audiogon about going off the grid and how impressed I am with the Bluetti AC200MAX. As what normally happens it quickly turned into childish bickering. I tried to broker a truce but they just keep going at each other - totally killing any meaningful conversation. So frustrating.

sbayne

Owner
The Bluetti AC200MAX is working out extremely well. It handles my system like it is nothing. The cooling fans have not kicked on even once which is important. I threw some very loud bass heavy music at it and there was no problem.  The sound comes from a completely black background and the soundstage is huge and natural.

sbayne

Owner

I purchased the Bluetti 200MAX

  • 2,200W AC Pure Sine Wave Inverter (4,800W Surge)
  • 2,048Wh Capacity
  • LiFePO4 Battery with 3,500+ Life Cycles to 80%

Reviews show the fan, if it comes on, is very quiet and it has heat sinks so hopefully it will be ok in my listening room. My equipment will be drawing about 500 watts so the load shouldn't be too bad. I'll report back on how it works out. 

sbayne

Owner
Brain fart on the ACSS interconnects. I bought the "mini" size which is wrong and now another audiophile has pointed-out my preamp doesn't even support ACSS! Total stupidity on my part. Urgh!

sbayne

Owner
I'm going to try Audio GD's ACSS connections between the R8, HE1 and the 3A. I decided on The Reference by Robertson Audio. The cables are 24AWG 99.99% solid core pure silver. Most "silver" cables are actually silver-plated and can sound fairly bright. According to the reviews, these Robertson cables are extremely natural yet with extreme resolution and soundstage. I have high hopes for these. I should have them in a couple weeks.

sbayne

Owner
Eric Alexander makes very high value Tekton speakers by using well known physics and science. He uses large band tweeters in an array that are wired in and out of phase to reproduce the midrange frequencies. He realized they will respond faster and sound more realistic in this configuration. He took that idea to another level by producing a double tweeter array wired in series which produced an even more realistic sound. For best sound quality, he has always recommended a 4 ohm speaker over an 8 ohm speaker. Now, he is going the next step and is starting to produce 2 ohm speakers because he knows scientifically that will allow the drivers to receive more current which, again, allows the speaker to sound more real.  All of this is no problem if you have the proper amplifier. The OUTPUT TRANSFORMERS must be able to handle these loads. The wattage doesn't matter because the sensitivity of these speakers is very high - you will get enough volume, it just won't sound the best. The other "solution" is to use a Class D amplifier since the new designs really don't care what the impedance of the speaker is. This is a hard concept for people to accept but Eric is using very well understood science to produce some excellent speakers.

sbayne

Owner
The DI-20HE and R8 have been playing for 9 days straight, so over 200 hours. The sound is now "reach out and touch it" real. I think it's the lower midrange that has changed the most. There is a solidity to the sound that wasn't there before. The very low bass seems faster, not necessarily lower, but hits with more authority and moves on. The upper frequencies are just a touch more rounded but with a little more micro-detail (I didn't know that was even possible since it seems like a contradiction) This is a very real, refined sound. The regenerative power supply in the DI-20HE probably plays a big role in this. Kingwa has been "upgrading" pretty much all of his preamps and DACS with his regenerative power supply. My HE-1 preamp already has one so I may have to explore one of his regenerative DACs next.

sbayne

Owner
People really don’t seem to understand how their stereos work. There is a guy I’ve encountered (who designs and builds amplifiers!) who seems to think if sensitivity is high then low impedance speakers are simply a waste.  He totally disregards Ohms Law that the flow of electricity to a speaker is HIGHER with lower impedances. I guess he believes if the speaker makes high decibels at 1 meter with 1 watt then you are good to go. Another guy even told me Ohms Law has nothing to do with speakers because the audio signal is not electrical!! I didn’t have the heart to tell him this understanding of electrical science has been around for a 100 years!  It’s no wonder “new” science like quantum mechanics and it’s effect on sound is “snake oil” to these people.  Oh well....

sbayne

Owner
It took me awhile to get the DI-20HE going.  I was using a RCA coax into the R8 DAC and outputting XLR balanced from the R8. Well, duh, the R8 doesn’t convert the signal!! After I realized what the problem was the sound was really nice but not amazing. I’m going to let it play for 4 or 5 days before serious listening or judgment.  I think it needs to open-up and settle.

sbayne

Owner
I'm adding Audio GD's DI-20HE that has its own regenerative  Class A balanced power supplies for the digital interface. Should be interesting.

sbayne

Owner
I went ahead and got the Audio GD Master 3A. It’s a 50 watt pure class A amp with massive power supplies and transformers. 80lbs worth. The sound is lush and real. Now fully understanding why people love these type of amps.

sbayne

Owner
Pictures of the new system are now posted. I've decided to go with 30 watt Class A mono-blocks for the time being. The new Audio-GD vacuum tube HE-1 preamp is fully balanced with regenerative power supplies. Very seductive yet authoritative sound with the Moabs.

sbayne

Owner
I've made some fairly significant changes to my system. The biggest change is going to a balanced tube preamp and a different GaN amp. Everything is still breaking-in and I'm making some rack/configuration changes. I'll post pics and a write-up once everything is settled.

sbayne

Owner
A guy on Facebook in the Tekton group was trying to tell me an output transformer in an amp has nothing to do with impedance matching. I cited him an article I found literally within 30 seconds and he still denied it.....Haha. I truly don't know why I even get into those types of debates anymore.

sbayne

Owner
Another one I'm saving:

This is a very relevant discussion since many folks are driving their Tektons with low power tube amps and low power solid state amps - if you do this you better be certain the transformers on your amp are more than capable of driving a 4 ohm load or your SOUND QUALITY will suffer. An amp's output transformer is nothing more than an impedance matching device with the reflected load coming off the speakers so it must be able to handle the various swings in impedance. Since Erik's speakers are high sensitivity (usually over 95db) you will get adequate sound coming out of the speakers but that tells you nothing about sound quality - it just tells you how loud it is in your room. As Erik's demonstration in the video shows a 4 ohm load produces less noise and is the "modern" way to make a speaker especially with high sensitivity - just make sure your amp is up to the task - and don't rely on the old phrase "it plays loud enough for me" unless loudness is all you care about.

sbayne

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