Music for the Soul

by bullot on

Description

I have been in this hobby over 30 years and in that time have had the pleasure and good fortune to own many many high end components and gear.  My goal in the past 6 years was to progress to a smaller footprint than my big Genesis speakers with Vitus monos, and still have great sound.  I just didn't have the room in my new home for the big system AND all the boxes and crates!  LOL.  

 I tried a number of fantastic products over those 6 years......Manley, Zanden, the amazing D'Agostino, Coincident, Backert Labs, Vitus, APL, Jeff Rowland, Emm Labs.  I'm finally settled on my MSB/ EMM DV2 combo, with Absolare Stereo amp and Tannoy Speakers.........bit of a mix for cables, with Echole Omnia, TEO, Stage III Gorgon and Musica Bella Kuala2 power cables.  Pics to come.
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Room Details

Dimensions: 20’ × 14’  Medium
Ceiling: 17’

Components Toggle details

    • Tannoy Canterbury GR
    The newest and greatest from Tannoy, the Gold Reference series. Still breaking in the system but loving it!

    Six years later, very very happy with these speakers.  They gave me exactly what I was looking for stepping down from my 4 tower Genesis speakers.  Still wanted great sound, emotion and soul and a much smaller footprint.  On top of that they can pound out some unbelievable bass, and drums, when I kick things up.  I've tried many different amps with these speakers, to get what I feel is right.  I finally feel like I've hit a home run with the Absolare/Tannoy combo....just unbelievable.
    • Absolare Passion Hybrid Stereo
    The latest amp from Absolare.  Released end of May 2020.  Just breaking it in.  Fabulous tone and soundstage already. Added some NOS 12AU7 tubes from the 1950's and 1960's and this amp just loves them.
    • MSB UMT Plus
    Plays and Spins everything digital, including 3D BluRay.  Awesome.
    • MSB Technology Dual Signature Power Base
    I was using a desktop power supply for my MSB UMT Plus.  Switched to a new Dual signature power base from MSB.  Love the improved performance.
    • EMM Labs DV2
    Latest and greatest from EMM.  Picked up new July 2020, with newly designed remote.  Awesome unit.  Improvement in Soundstage depth, tone, timing, bass, voice.  Without a doubt my last DAC.
    • EMM Labs NS-1
    Added the EMM Labs Streamer, NS1.  This will be my 1st time steaming, looking forward to the convenience when not spinning discs.
    • Tripoint Troy Signature NG
    This is the third Troy I’ve owned, amazing gear.
    • Stage III Concepts Gorgon Interconnect
    Sold the Purist and moving to the Stage III Concepts top of the line Gorgon.  It's on order and should be here within 2 weeks.  Loved the Purist of course, fantastic cable!  The Stage III stuff I'm interested in because of the body it adds, even moreso than the Purist.  Love that big beautiful romantic sound......will see soon just how different it is from the Purist, or not!!
    • PS Audio P15
    Added the PS Audio P15 power regenerator.  Upgrade from the P12.  Very very happy with the performance of PS Audio Regenerators.  I have everything plugged into it.
    • Stage III Concepts Medusa Speaker Cable
    • Stage III Concepts Cerberus Jumpers
    Best Jumpers Stage III sells……..the Tannoy Love them.
    • Musica Bella Kuala2 power cords
    Design and build by Mike Vice with Bybee influence.  Check out Clement Perry review.
    • Stand: Home made
    I made my stand using a double layer of Maple, so it's 3.5" thick on the shelves.  Weight is easily 300lbs.  This made a serious improvement in the sound.  Really seemed to literally anchor the music in place.  Was a lot of work and it's not perfect by any means, but I'm very very happy with the results.
    • Critical Mass Systems Centre stage footers
    • IsoAcoustics GAIA
    Put these footers on my Tannoy and the results are fabulous.  The speakers now sound like they weight 1000lbs.
    • Walker Valid points
    These were laying around doing nothing so put them under the digital gear.  Not sure if they made much difference as I've had lots going on in the system lately, but I do love the look and extra height they give the gear for airflow.
    • QSA Black/Red Receptacle
    Wow, love these!  Thought I would try the Red Receptacle first, loved it so much I immediately upgraded to the black/red!!
    • HRS S3 Platforms
    A couple of HRS Platforms for the EMM Labs gear.
    • Hemingway Creation Power Cord
    I owned the Hemingway speaker cable and loved it…..thrilled to get some Hemingway back in the system via this Power Cord.
    • HighEnd Novum PA MkII
    • ADD-POWR Sorcer X4

Comments 132

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Owner
I have a Stage III Concepts Gorgon Interconnect on the way.  I loved the Stage III power cords, Kraken......but the weight was just too much for my setup.  Hoping to get some of that Stage III magic with the Gorgon!!

bullot

Owner
New model (release May 2020) Absolare Hybrid Stereo amp on the way. Looks like about a 6 week delivery...…..gonna be a long 6 weeks!!

bullot

Owner
Thanks much!  I’ve had some time with the DV2 as it breaks-in, and love the directions it’s going!

bullot

Congrats Shane! Based on my experience I think you’re going to love the DV2. The DAC in DV2 is absolutely one of the best digital converter on the market.

lalitk

Owner
Bought a new Emm Labs DV2.  The DV2 has a volume control which opened up options for my amplifier selection.  Jeff Rowland 625S2 on the way.  Also added a Stage III Kraken to supply power to it all through the regenerator.

bullot

Owner

Absolutely...still running with the Vitus SIA-025MkII.  Awesome unit.  Had the Vitus Mono amps and preamp a few years back, tried a number of amps after that looking for a smaller footprint.  In the end the only amp that kept me satisfied was the Vitus.  In fact I went from the D'Agostino Momentum S200 to this Vitus.  With the efficiency of the Tannoy the Vitus is a perfect amp, tons of power, and such a beautiful sound.

Thanks pehare….I converted to the Tannoy from the 4 tower Genesis speakers.  Still a fantastic sound with a much smaller footprint as I downsized.

bullot

Fantastic setup!  Another Tannoy owner here new to the fold - never knew music could be so satisfying enjoy!

pehare

I'm curious to learn if you still have your SIA-025?  Have you replaced it?  I'm looking to purchase the SIA-025, as scarce as they are on the used market..

rubinken

Bullot, another aspect of the Tannoy (HPD 315's, in my case), is that they perform so well with different amplification. I use Class D Audio, an SET 300B (my favorite), and an SET 845 amp. That provides welcome variations in how they sound, depending on what mood I'm in on any given day.

Regards,
Dan

islandmandan

Owner
Agreed.  I owned a very expensive 4 tower Genesis speaker set with Vitus mono amps pushing them...…. prior to owning these Tannoy with Vitus Integrated.  I enjoy this Tannoy/Vitus combo as much as my Genesis/Vitus combo...…….and love the smaller footprint.  What these speakers do with 25 watts Class A is amazing.  People that came into my home when I had the Genesis/Vitus combo were amazed by the size...…..people that come into my home now are amazed by the beauty of the speakers aesthetically and then the sound of the Tannoy/Vitus combo.  I would have to spend an outrageous amount of money to improve on this combo,,,,and then it may just be a mostly different flavour more than better sound.  Fab speakers...at times I run the nuts off these things and they just keep impressing.....bullet proof.

bullot

Bullot, better late than never! There's something about Tannoy Dual Concentric speakers, they have that special something that makes listening to them so rewarding. Many people seem to have the opinion that they are mediocre at best.

I beg to differ. After building my custom pair of 12" HPD's, I'm more content than ever. I don't need any more than that, and I'm not that easy to please.

Hope you continue your enjoyment, regards,

Dan 

islandmandan

Owner

Sorry for the late reply....….well, way past late really!!  LOL.  I just don't seem to log on and update  my system very much, or read the comments!  Busy life right now I guess...…..I'll have to slow down and enjoy A'gon again.

I actually sold the Momentum and went back to Vitus.  I have the Vitus mono amps with Vitus pre, a number of years ago and loved it.  So in the interest of downsizing I went for the Vitus Integrated...…..and it's perfect for my system.  The Momentum was fab no doubt, had serious slam, the Vitus has a touch sweeter top end which really suits my system.  The slam isn't as outrageous but it still has serious bottom end, and again I just love the Vitus sound.

bullot

Hi again, I didn't realize I'd already asked this question before. Are you still using the Momentum?

Regards,
Dan

islandmandan

Hello Bullot,

You've got me curious as to how your Canterbury's sound with the new D'agastino amp driving them. Must sound heavenly!

Regards,
Dan

islandmandan

Owner

Hey yeah thanks for the comments Dan.  I know what you mean by your 1st post.........I've found that synergy is the most important factor when putting gear together.

Thanks on the stand comment Dan!  Haha yes I put a lot of work into that, took me probably a week of solid work.  You are right, it is built like a tank!  It's amazing the difference it made, images locked in place now!  Thing has to weigh 300lbs without equipment!  Right again on the enjoyment factor when doing something for yourself rather than spending a ton of cash for someone else to do it.  I'm very happy with the end result.  I bought a couple of wood kitchen counters from local lumber shop, cut to size, laminated together, planed and sanded sanded sanded.

bullot

bullot, I got to looking at your equipment stand, it's beautiful, and built like a tank. The amount of effort put forth to build to such a high quality is something to be appreciated. 

It took me weeks to build the plinth for my Garrard 401, the twelve-coat gloss tung oil finish took what seemed forever (24 hours between coats), but it was worth it in the end. Doing such things on your system sure increases your enjoyment and appreciation of your system.

Regards,
Dan

islandmandan

I've tried some very different amps with my Tannoys, 300 Wpc Aragon, Plinius SA 102, Pass First Watt M2, modified Assemblage SET 300B (upgraded caps and resistors, EML XLS 300B tubes), an amp I currently use when the mood strikes, especially with vinyl, and a Class D Audio CA 254, kit-built, with upgraded power supply, using two amplifier modules bridged to mono that delivers 500 Wpc into 8 ohms.

I do most of my listening using the Class D these days, the Tannoys seem to really enjoy having that much power available, and sound ridiculously good driven with such low cost amplification. Sometimes, curiosity and need combine, and leads to something great, even when not expecting such an outcome.

I wish you continued enjoyment, congratulations,
Dan 

islandmandan

Owner
Thanks Dan.  Yes I've had Manley Neo Classic, Zanden, D'Agostino, and Vitus on these.  Each brought something special, and showed me how versatile these speakers can be.  They were amazing with the power of the Dag, and again amazing with the sweet Zanden.  I find the Vitus the middle of the two which is perfect for my enjoyment.  Sounds like you know your Tannoy!  I took a leap of faith after owning the 4 Tower Genesis.........and I'm pretty happy/settled.

bullot

I very much appreciate the changes you have made, since I'm a Tannoy guy from way back (my first pair was in '71). I put together some very hot-rodded HPD 315's (12"ers from 1975), put hard edge surrounds on them, custom-designed and built crossovers, and very heavy and inert custom enclosures.

I haven't been able to hear them with the quality of amps that you have had access to, I can't imagine how good they might sound, they're pretty spectacular as they are.

Congratulations, and enjoy,
Dan

islandmandan

Owner
Update system changes from over the past year or so.  Very close to final setup going into retirement in a couple of years.  I would like to upgrade my Purist LTD power cable to perhaps the Purist 25th Anni, or perhaps a Stage III Concepts, otherwise I can't think of anything I would change.  Just enjoying the music very much these days.

bullot

Owner
Finally getting where I wanted to be when I started this journey of having a system with a smaller footprint.  I went from the huge and fantastic 4 tower Genesis system with Vitus Mono amps and Tripoint Troy, etc.  Now I am down to my MSB front end, a Vitus Integrated and Tannoy Speakers.  I wanted a much smaller system and still maintain great performance, and after 3 years of trying different setups, I'm here.  Now I will just fine tune the system by upgrading a Purist PC, probably some Purist SC and some Stillpoints.  I loved the big Genesis rig I was running, very impressive in every way.........but to essentially have 2 components and a pair of speakers is so nice for my current home.......not to mention I can park in my garage again with all the boxes and crates I have moved out!  LOL.

bullot

Recognized those Tannoys instantly even in a small icon!!!!!


Fantastic setup. Really impressive.

shadorne

Good Morning,...thanks for your in-mail message; it's great to hear from you. It looks like you've made major changes across your entire system.  Great gear and speakers,...must all sound amazing!

Hope life, work and audio are all treating you well!

zephyr24069

Hello Shane! Hope you are well and enjoying all your latest upgrades! You definitely have made some radical changes in 2015; let us/me know what you've been up to and how life and audio are in the Canadian North!

zephyr24069

Owner
Added High Fidelity Ultimate Reference RCA ic.  Magnificent piece of gear.  All the reviews are accurate.  Easily equal to major component upgrade.  Easily best ic I've ever heard.

bullot

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