Aotearoa is the M ori name for New Zealand which translates
as the 'land of the long white cloud'. The implication is that it rains
a lot, and hence hifi and home theatre make for great indoor hobbies.
I am overall very happy with the latest system iteration - the system
sounds great at all volumes and different music genres - with a
transparent, but pleasant sound quality.
Here is a brief description of other components strengths and weaknesses.
The Jeff Rowland Corus is detailed, holographic and dynamic. It did take some time (1000+ hours) to run-in though.
The Classe CA2300 amplifier is very transparent to the source with easy
flowing but agile bass. It doesn't quite have the class A sound quality
of my previous over-achieving Cambridge Audio 840W amplifers. But it is
definitely voiced more consistent across bass, mids and treble.
Marantz SA-11S2 SACD/CD Player is well balanced tonally, neutral and
smooth, yet detailed. It is more dynamic and transparent than the
SA14v2, but perhaps a bit more cerebral than the SA14v2 which appeals a
bit more to the emotions.
Marantz SA14v2 SACD/CD player is
musically satisfying with a rich tonal colour underpinned by weighty
bass. The SACD mode not a big improvement on CD as compared to the
SA11s2, where playing SACD is a more obviously a step up in sound
quality. Also has a smidgeon of grain in mids and treble that reduces
when left on continuously for a few days.
The Bowers &
Wilkins 803 Diamond full range floor stand loudspeaker strengths include
a deep agile bass, superb integration of drivers, and a very detailed
diamond tweeter. The tweeter is a bit hot (approx 1dB) relatively to
midrange. It sounds well-balanced at low volume but really opens up with
minimal compression at full-steam. Overall this is my favourite
loudspeaker (as was the previous 803D) in the price range that combines a
musical presentation with timeless industrial design.
Cabling is standardised on Audioquest, including Columbia and Colorado interconnects, and Rocket 88 speaker cables.
I found that room treatment, equipment support, mains conditioning and cabling all make a difference.
The most significant tweak improvement is from a custom plinth I built
for the loudspeakers. This resulted in better sound staging and detail
due to the inherent stability of the 3 spikes versus the standard,
incredibly fiddly 4 spike design.
System Edited: Sold Jeff Rowland Corus preamp (sigh!), replaced DAC and SACD player with good value Classe CP800, and upgraded B&W 803Diamond to 800Diamond (Yay!).
Thank you Tboooe. The P10 powers the amps with ease. Interesting that you found the most impact under the P3 - that is consistent with experience of other user feedback. I currently do have Ultras under the P10 - but haven't quantified the differences across components.
GREAT system Mark! I used to own the B&W 804S a while ago and it was paired up with Classe, a very nice combination indeed. I understand the Diamonds are awesome! I am also a big supporter of what the PS Audio products can do. I have the P3 and have been very happy with the improvements. I experimented with Stillpoint Minis and Ultras under all my components and speakers and found that they made the most impact under the PS Audio P3. Do you have your amps powered by the P10? That being said, I need to revisit the Stillpoints because since I have added room treatments I can more clearly hear changes to my system.
I have recently experimented with StillPoints and Townshend Audio Seismic Pods under the speakers.
For many years I used a solid plywood base platform with 3 spikes spread further out than the default 803 spikes. The spikes went through the carpet into the chipwood floor. This was consistently superior with dramatic improvement in sound-staging and more precise bass.
I recently tried StillPoints Ultra Fives under the 803 without the platform. Besides being dangerously unstable on carpet, it was inferior to the spiked platform. I then used the StillPoints between the platform and 803. Now we cooking - obvious improvement in microdynamics, improved clarity from midrange and up, but no change to bass.
I then installed Townshend Seismic Pods under the platform i.e. removing the spikes. This did reduce the bass boominess and resulted in more articulate bass. I think it also may have improved clarity in midrange, but I haven't conclusively tested.
The combination of Seismic Pods and Ultra Fives have made a significant improvement in overall clarity, and more importantly engagement - music is simply more compelling.
Seismic Pods are diametrically opposite to spiking where the intent is to ground the speaker to the floor to minimise movement of the speaker. With the Seismic Pods the speakers wobble back and forth if touched, but surprisingly the sound-staging is not worse, and if anything it is a bit more independent of the speakers.
Note: Positioning the speakers in the room has much greater impact on overall sound quality than any isolation!
System edited: Recently added the PS Audio P10 Power Plant. I was surprised to find that it needed a few weeks of run-in before the sound opened up. Overall improved sound quality with a more holographic, detailed soundstage with consistent sound quality at different times of the day - I guess exactly what I would hope for from a power regenerator. Also the P10 easily accommodates the two amplifiers without any noticeable impact on dynamics. And it runs cool to touch - nice.
I recently upgraded the speakers from the 803D to the 803Diamond. On balance I am happy with the upgrade which I rate a solid 0.5 version upgrade analogous to car model mid-life tweak where aesthetics and performance is intelligently improved. It is definitely not a transformed loudspeaker, which I fact I am happy with given that the 803D remains one of my all-time favorite loudspeakers due to its lack of any major vices and beautiful timeless form factor. The two most significant sound quality improvements of the 803Diamond speakers are elimination of the occasional bit of chestiness on male vocals and improved bass articulation and timing for which the 803D was no slouch. However the 803Diamond tweeter is perhaps balanced 1dB too hot whereas the 803D tweeter is better integrated tonally. Overall I think the 803D is better balanced tonally for relaxed listening whereas the 803Diamond is a touch more upfront and rewards more focused listening sessions.
I am a big fan of bi-amping - everytime I have compared bi-amping to a single amplifier (always using the exact same amplfiers), I preferred bi-amping in my system.
However mono mode for some amplifiers can result in a jump-up in performance as compared to stereo mode, which is something I haven't as yet tested in my system. So this something I need to investigate.
BTW, recent comparisons of the 840W amplifier against newer much more expensive amplifiers (yes, they are slightly better) simply highlighted the amazing performance/value of the 840W.
Give some serious consideration to working with the CA amps in Mono mode. Superior results when Mono and biwired. The 803D should be beautiful with these amps in single Mono mode; the 803D is 90dB sens. and 8 Ohm nominal impedance - just about ideal for Mono mode on the amps. I don't mean biamp mono, but single mono at about 800wpc. See the Owner's Manual if you are unsure of what I'm discussing.
I wrote a review of these amps for Dagogo.com, own two of them, and use them in Mono mode whenever possible. So feel free to contact me about it.
Hi Pettyfeversk, Yes, I am very happy with Corus - it was significant and surprising upgrade over the musical Synergy IIi which I really enjoyed in my system. However I dont know how the Corus compares to Capri. I do have specific technical and user requirements for a preamplifier e.g. transformer coupled input/outputs to minimize risk of ground loops, fully balanced topology, two output connections to facilitate bi-amping and external power supply for possible future upgrade. (Jeff Rowland just demonstrated their BPS power supply upgrade at CES 2012.) The key sound qualities of the Corus I like is the precise and holographic imaging, deep bass with good timing, low noise, smooth low fatigue sound without sacrificing detail and transparency to source with no obvious tonal colorations. The only possible minor short-coming that I detect is very slightly constrained dynamic ability - however I cannot confirm if this is a limitation of the Corus or other components. (Also see Roy Gregory Hifi+ review for his view on Corus.) The user features of the Corus are great a great comprehensive user interface as compared to Synergy e.g. programmable source names, phase indication, balance level indicator. Also the separate preamplifier path for Record sources may be useful in some systems where you running a separate system from common sources. One very small minus compared to the Synergy is that I do find the traditional LED display easier to read from across the room.
I notice you have the Pass Lab amplifiers (BTW enjoyed your comprehensive description of the XA60.5 to XA100.5 upgrade). See this reviewers impressions of the Corus relative other top preamps with his Aleph 0 power amps: http://hifi-unlimited.blogspot.com/2011/06/sensational-corus-jeff-rowland-corus.html http://hifi-unlimited.blogspot.com/2012/01/best-amplifiers-2011.html Mark
I noticed that you had upgraded to the Jeff Rowland Corus and wondered if you were happy with it. Is it still in your system? I currently own the Rowland Capri and have given some thought to the Corus. I have no idea how similar or different they might be. Take care. Stephen
Hi Mark, I own an SA 11-S2 also. If you think it sounds good, think again. I just bought a PS Audio digital link 3 D/A converter for it. Needless to say all my cd's now sound like SACD. Basically will use the SA 11S2 now as a very expensive transport and the ability to play the few SACD's I own. Very highly recommended. It is truly amazing what it does.
System edited: Upgraded the preamplifier from the Jeff Rowland Synergy IIi to the new Corus. I really the enjoyed the Synergy preamp which was well matched to amplifiers with a big open soundstage and slightly forward character. Out of the box the Corus sounded initially a bit odd, but after 1000+ hours run-in has proved to be more dynamic, transparent, quieter and holographic.
System edited: Upgraded the over achieving Marantz SM17SA to Cambridge Audio 840W amplifiers. This has brought out more detail, bass control and smoothness.
