Doug's Audio Den

by douglas_schroeder on All Out Assault

Description

You're looking at a different kind of "All Out Assault", this one based on utilizing a fuller expression of current excellent technology, as opposed to a limited expression of such. Some go for a cost-no-object expression of one technology. I have chosen to pursue a superb expression of different technologies. I have derived far more pleasure doing so than seeking one rig to satisfy my longings to hear beautiful systems. 

Photos represent some of the speakers, components and cables I have reviewed over the years. I have spent time predominantly with four technologies in speakers; Full range hybrid dyanamic, Full range ESL, and Omnidirectional hybrid. I have branched out to horn hybrid as well. 

I have moved to file and streaming playback exclusively utilizing Tidal and ROON. However, I maintain CD as backup source. I find a shocking disparity in performance of digital based systems. 

This is a dedicated room, built by myself and tuned for two channel, but wired for 7.1 surround. I listen to 2 ch. audio approx. 95-98% of time. The surround and video compliment is not noteworthy, as a result. I upgrade them only every several years. 

Source, amplification and speakers have all been reviewed and are highly recommended. The sound quality of the system is moving steadily toward SOTA.

System listing updated September, 2022
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Room Details

Dimensions: 23’ × 13’  Medium
Ceiling: 7’

Components Toggle details

    • Aspen Acoustics Grand Aspen Speaker
    Continuing development of Scott Kindt's DLT (Disproportionately Large Tweeter; my term) designs. The Grand Aspen is the new flagship, extension of the Capella (previously called the Lagrange L5 MkII, seen below). 

    The Grand Aspen is a six-way speaker with built in active, oppositional, slot loaded subwoofer. I will be giving this speaker an owner's review to appear at Dagogo.com
    • Legacy Audio Whisper DSW Clarity Edition
    Bill Dudleston realized my concept of a fully configurable speaker able to be employed as both passive and active. The result is what I call a "crossover speaker," which can be configured; 1. Fully passive, with as little as one stereo amp and three sets of speaker cables; 2. Hybrid active/passive, using the Legacy processor for the bass and the Mid/Treble passive, and 3: Fully active, using six channels of outboard amplification. 

    The speaker has been retrofitted for a review of upgrade internal cabling and capacitors. The result is the Whisper DSW, which Bill Dudleston of Legacy measured a 2 dB improvement on the Bass! 
    • PureAudioProject Trio15 PAP Horn 1
    Wonderful two-way hybrid horn reviewed for Dagogo.com. I enjoy the flexibility of the speaker in the crossover and "internal" wiring. My special utilization of the speaker is in Landscape mode, the realization of a dream for an alternative sound which I have pursued for about five years. The Horn 1 in Landscape impressed the entire audio group of which I am a member; they all placed it among the very best systems I have made. It truly is a stunning application of an affordable speaker with high end sensibility.
    • PureAudioProject Trio15 Horn 1 Landscape Orientation
    Alternative application of using Sound Anchor custom stands to hold speakers sideways. This results in a far wider soundstage superlative for live music recordings. Note that the orientation of the horn of the Horn 1 speaker is normally horizontal, so the Landscape mode/application results in the speaker's horn turned vertical, similar to large horn speakers such as the Volti Audio Alura.
    • PureAudioProject Quintet15 Horn1
    Largest of PureAudioProject (PAP) offerings, this one outfitted with the horn driver. Features upgradable crossover components (cap, resistor) and "internal" wiring. 

    This speaker is especially beautiful sounding with the Legacy Audio i.V4 Ultra Amplifier. Both products reviewed for Dagogo.com 
    • King Sound King III
    The King III is a full range ESL with a performance which takes back seat to no magnetic planar speakers. With subwoofers they are a formidable ESL experience.
    • Aspen Acoustics Capella Speaker
    Craft speaker made by a Colorado physics teacher. This is the pre-production model. Uses what I term the unique DLT (Disproportionately Large Tweeter) configuration. It has the punch of a dynamic speaker with the generosity of a panel speaker. 

    A more formidable model, the Grand Aspen, is under construction and will be replacing the pair of Capella speakers in my possession. The Grand Aspen features an enhanced DLT array, as seen on the Aspen Acoustics website. 

    See review of smaller model, L5 MkII at Dagogo.com 
    • Kings Audio Kingsound King Tower
    Omnidirectional hybrid dynamic/ribbon speaker system not available in N. America. and perhaps entirely disconintued by Kings Audio. Added to my collection as an expression of Omnidirectional speaker technology.
    • Perlisten D212s Subwoofers
    Pair of Perlisten Audio D212s Subwoofers as reviewed by myself for Dagogo.com 

    I enjoyed the Legacy Audio XTREME XD Subs for ten years. Perlisten incorporates room correction in the subs, allowing me to maximize different genres of speakers used in reviewing. These are impressive devices. 
    • Exogal Comet DAC and Ion PowerDAC
    This is an unusual combination of a DAC (Comet) with an additional complementary extended DAC with integrated true digital amp (Ion). Together, they include everything needed in the front end of a system except for the source. The Comet can stand alone, but the Ion is dependent upon the Comet, it cannot be used separately. 

    This combination is thrilling in its performance to cost ratio. One of the most outstanding products I have reviewed in ten years! The digital amplification is especially notable for its ability at 100wpc to drive more difficult speakers to listening levels of about 88-90dB. 
    • Eastern Electric Minimax DSD DAC Supreme
    Latest EE DAC featuring DSD and continues to offer opportunity to roll in discrete opamps. Allows contouring system to any selection of components.
    • Discrete Opamps Staccato, Burson, Sonic Imagery, Sparkos Lab
    Discrete opamps rolled into Eastern Electric Minimax DACs and Kinki Studio EX-M1+ Integrated Amplifier
    • Iconoclast Cables and BAV Power Cords Iconoclast/Belden
    Current reference cable line. See review at Dagogo.com
    • Owned/Reviewed Spkr Cables Various
    Have owned: Audioquest, Harmonic Technology, XLO, etc; Reviewed cables for Dagogo.com include: Iconoclast, TEO Audio, Clarity Cable, Silnote Audio, Snake River Audio,  Wire World. etc.
    • Outlaw 950 Surround Processor
    Has nice variety of surround settings, 2 component in, plenty of other inputs... Only thing I wished it did was to convert s video to component.
    • Rotel RB-976
    A lovely little workhorse amp! Configurable from 3-6 channels; a wonderful flexibility for surround applications.
    • Magnepan MGM W
    Very affordable planars for surround. They only play down to about 100khz, but acceptable for surround. Awesome feature - they can be mounted upside down (will sound the same) to accomodate wiring near top of room.
    • Legacy Audio Silver Screen
    Black piano finish; complementary driver set to Focus HD; dual 7" bass, 4" planar mid, 1" tweet
    • Tice Audio Solo/Solo High Current
    I'm using two Solos, and one is High Current for power amps. Gotta have someting like this to open up the system's sound...but price might be a bit steep for some people. I will accept an offer of $1,000,000.00 though.
    • Furutech GTX-D (G)
    Audiophile grade outlet featuring copper internals and gold plated sockets for power cord pins
    • Plateau AV 42
    Wonderfully solid, black for AV use. Affordable. Nice to have on casters when you have to move it.
    • Panasonic PTL-500U
    Upgrade from PTL-330U; this unit has high def capabilities.
    • Auralex Propannel 2x4'
    Room tuning sound absorbing pannels. Made a shockingly huge difference in my two channel listening! Some of best audio $ I ever spent!

Comments 397

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Owner
Over the past couple months I have been experimenting with an alternative placement for my subwoofers. Rather than tuck them behind the mains I now have a spot flanking the mains and slightly ahead of them. This requires a longer interconnect to reach the subwoofers from the source, and outlets along the side walls to power the subs - glad I put so many outlets in the room! However, the results are hugely gratifying. 

The subwoofers seem to interfere less with the mains in the new position and the also more easily confer their LF without undue higher output. They blend superbly with mains, much better than before. It reminds me of the Daedalus Ulysses and BOW system where the subs are located adjacent to the mains. 

I was especially curious to see if having the subs ahead of the mains caused any perceived significant deterioration of sound quality, but I am unable to detect it. I consider the attempt a huge success. 

I strongly recommend enthusiasts work with placement of the subs in alternate locations than just a corner. While it may appear unusual initially, one gets used to it soon enough and the sound improvement might be compelling. 

douglas_schroeder

Owner
Hey, Zephyr, good to hear from you! I'm using the Salk StreamPlayer Generation III following the review at Dagogo.com. I have built some wonderful rigs with it and find it tremendously "musical". 

Every so often I retreat to a former source to double check my progress, to see if the lead I have attained through upgrades is real or evaporates with comparison. just tonight I slid the Musical Fidelity transport back into the system and fed the Exogal Comet DAC a SPDIF connection, and ran a comparison of the file server sound to the disc sound. Yes, the file playback was solidly more profound, rich, full bodied and tonally more beautiful. The Comet makes a new signal for all source digital input, so it was a manifestly fair comparison, I thought. 

One might guess that since the Comet makes a new signal of any digital input the two would sound identical, but no, they were not close. The file playback was much preferred. 

douglas_schroeder

Good Morning Doug! Hope you have been doing well....what server are you now using?

zephyr24069

Owner
Initial exploration with dedicated server already surpasses my best effort with Mac Mini; doubtless the former is history. Moving from disc a few years ago to file playback has reaped continuing multiplied benefits. I strongly suggest that those who have been hesitant to convert to file playback do so. USB DACs are rewriting digital, imo (pardon the pun)!

douglas_schroeder

Excellent systems

xta

As you know Doug I am using Antipodes DX which will be updated to latest pedigree very shortly.  It is an alarmingly good server.  I am currently using PS Audio with Yale installed and in the next few weeks will be updating to there new software.  We'll see... Lastly around June should be receiving my new Vapor Joules.  I think you should petition Antipodes for a DX to review and Lapizator for one of their Dacs...

eugene2

Owner
It was a lovely AXPONA 2016, a great atmosphere and some terrific rooms. I heard some of the best systems ever at a show - show report will reveal all. 

I am now pushing on from the Mac Mini based digital playback, maybe. That depends upon whether dedicated servers outclass the performance of the Mac with HQPlayer software which I have enjoyed for about two years. One would think that any number of streamers/players will do the trick. We'll see. I would expect no less than a shattering of the old performance of the Mac/HQPlayer. 

I welcome thoughtful (not argumentative) comments on various digital file and streaming devices and your experiences with them. I am aware of Roon and the new set of ESS chips. Anyone using? What are your thoughts? 

douglas_schroeder

Owner
The Eastern Electric Minimax DAC Supreme is making another appearance! This good old standby performer is now shaking things up once again with a new amp in for review. When one gets the synergy between a good DAC and an amp on file playback, watch out! Extreme performance! 

I am very eager to do some more discrete opamp rolling with the EE DAC, as the variety will be exhilarating. Over the years with different systems I have been able to improve the impact of the Kingsound King III's bass and it is quite good now, far more presence than even a year or two ago. However, it has taken some particular gear to obtain that level of LF from the speakers, such that a subwoofer is not absolutely necessary to have a tactile sense of the bass. 

Kudos to Eastern Electric, as the Minimax DAC Supreme has continued to shine, and continues to impress. I am very pleased with the SS performance of this DAC; I pulled the tube out and am still able to get rich, lush tonality. 
There is a distinct advantage to running a leaner rig, without an additional component (preamp) and set of cables in the signal path. When the leaner rig is established well, it is hard to beat overall. Then again, I have made some startlingly good rigs with the passive TEO Audio Liquid Pre, and that will be cycled in again soon. 

douglas_schroeder

Owner

There can be made a case for opting to own multiple amps rather than speakers. I'm getting a wide variety of response with speakers through swapping amps. One of the most obvious is to employ both a lower powered amp, and alternatively a higher powered one. The change to the speaker's performance is not subtle. If the disparity in characteristics of the amps is wide enough one nearly hears the speaker as though it is two completely different products.

Anyone else had a chance to conduct such comparisons? Thoughts?

douglas_schroeder

Owner
The time has come to reveal more intimately the Vapor Audio Joule White 3 Speaker, which some may have noticed became the opening page picture in my virtual system a while ago. I have the speakers for about four months now, and they have been a delight! You can read about them in my owner's review at Dagogo.com.

This was quite an adventure for me, as it was the first speaker of higher pedigree I have purchased unheard. Obviously there are some serious risks in such an undertaking, but it has turned out well. There are not many speaker companies I would take such a chance, my predominant concern being the performance, but the Joule White 3 has justified my decision. At the conclusion of my review you will see the speakers of note that I feel the Joule White 3 compares well in terms of performance, obviously considering competitors which are more similar in design. 

I have also been revisiting Class D amps, and as can be seen in the Vapor review, I am now working with the Red Dragon S500 Amplifier, actually a pair of them. These are in use with the Joule White 3, and the results have been spectacular. 

douglas_schroeder

I might try the Finite Elemente since the Nordost work well, the Finite's look like the Nordost on steroids

eugene2

Owner
eugene2, how about doing a six inch elevation with a severe forward slant on the front baffle. Would you do that, then get back to me? ;) 

Actually, I'm only half joking. It is the kind of experiment I would try. The results could be fascinating. I may do it! Anyone wish to give me ideas on what products/items I could use to elevate the speaker? 

douglas_schroeder

I believe the height change is slightly less than a 1/2 inch, I too believe the separation of the sat from the bass module is giving a greater illusion of depth.  Ryan indicated he is looking into creating his own cones, so he must sense something also with soundstage height.  The Verastarr silver has been nothing short of a revelation.  I have some veneer issues with my satellites that Ryan has promised to fix, we'll see...

eugene2

Owner
eugene2, ever since I had my build of  the Joule White 3 on the radar I watched your system development. You have made some huge strides in reinventing your system, and I can imagine the sea changes in sound. You are wise to not hold back on redoing the rig because the Vapors will keep giving and giving with whatever you upgrade. 

Your elevation of the top module is interesting; I found some improvement with elevation of the speaker as well, but I'll save details for the review. How much height do you estimate the Nordost Pulsar points added to the top module? My first thought is that the sense of depth and presence is from physically separating the mid/treble a bit from the bass. This would be expected, somewhat like a subwoofer and satellite system. 

These speakers take to cable changes like fish to water. The nuances are revealed so well that one can tune the rig quite easily simply by swapping cables. 

douglas_schroeder

In case it is not clear how I used the pulsar points, I removed the Herbies that rest between the monitor and top of the bass cabinet and inserted the pulsar points three in total.  The points raise the monitor and seem to level the front.  I also replaced the Dayton footers on the bottom of the bass cabinet with the Nordost Pulsar Points.

eugene2

I haven't visited this site in a while, lots of great conversations!  I recently posted on Audiocircle some of the upgrades to my system.  Since posting here I have been using Klaus's fantastic Kismet extremes and hybrid preamp with outboard power supply.  I then added the Antipodes Fantastic DX music server. PS Audio's latest firmware and Verastarr's solid silver biwire cables to the Joule.  These changes have taken the system a solid step forward in performance.  Then I removed the Herbies and replaced them with Nordost Pulsar points, the soundstage now has the correct height and miraculously much more depth and presence.  The sound is astonishingly good, I am wondering what would happen if I used "better" cones.  I believe the increase in the height of the front of the monitor is the assist the speaker needed as well as using them on the bass cabinet.

eugene2

Owner
Hearing speaker systems in close proximity to each other can be informative to further development. I just the other day removed the Vapor Joule White 3 in order to prepare for further writing. The bass is so superbly refined, so tactile and pure that with insertion of the Kingsound King Tower omni speakers I was grossly disappointed with the bass. The omnis are not a cost-no object effort, but rather a bargain along the lines of Magnepan; the original MSRP was $5K. Truly, the high end community lost a terrific opportunity to get omni sound at a very reasonable cost. This is a speaker which I believe would hold its own against most of the magnetic planar and ESL lines of popular makers. It was never showcased at events and languished until the distributor decided to dump it. Pity. 

So, I determined to clean up the bass and the most reasonable solution was to offload the bass function of the Tower and push it onto the Legacy Audio XTREME HD subs versus using them merely for extreme LF. Good move; I took the subs to about 70 Hz and used the "Blend" or contour to tuck them in under the King Tower's mid/treble. Za-zoom, what a nice improvement! Now the King Tower has all the cleanness with impact I wanted, as well as a perceived more pristine mid/treble performance because the somewhat loose bass is removed. 

What did I do with the freed up pair of speaker cables which were run to the bass cabinet? Why, I doubled the speaker cables to the mid/treble cabinet, thus improving the mid and upper end performance simultaneously! I love these kind of changes!

Cost? Zero. Perfect!  

douglas_schroeder

Owner
Thanks, guys! I admire your systems, as they both show dedication to refinement and excellence. Both systems are thought through well and I'm sure sound terrific.

The more I use the Joule White 3 the more I feel it is a bargain, a terrific payoff for the time invested in the build. The performance is stunning, breathtaking. The sense of extreme performance is like that of sitting in a high performance car and buckling up; be prepared for an adrenaline laced ride!

I'm elated that soon I will have an aftermarket umbilical for the Exogal Comet sent by Alex at Wywires. I have no doubt that this will be a clearly heard change for the system. At such a level of refinement every wire is distinctly influential on a system, and it's terrific fun to tune rigs with cables.

douglas_schroeder

Doug,...great speaking with you this past week as always. Congratulations on all your recent moves with the system and whatever will come next into your room!

zephyr24069

Doug,

Congrats on your Joule's!

Wig

wig

Owner
Papermill, yes, the Joule White 3 is pretty special! Frankly, I was wowed when I realized its capacity. And this is the beginning. Give it a year or so and it will be quite improved. No regression, forward progress only...

The current experience is a perfect example of how delusional the thought that one is right at the peak of performance. There are always not merely "steps", but "floors" of better sound quality possible. I think I jumped a few floors with this setup.

douglas_schroeder

Owner
Papermill, yes, the Joule White 3 is pretty special! Frankly, I was wowed when I realized its capacity. And this is the beginning. Give it a year or so and it will be quite improved. No regression, forward progress only...

The current experience is a perfect example of how delusional the thought that one is right at the peak of performance. There are always not merely "steps", but "floors" of better sound quality possible. I think I jumped a few floors with this setup.

douglas_schroeder

Owner
Papermill, yes, the Joule White 3 is pretty special! Frankly, I was wowed when I realized its capacity. And this is the beginning. Give it a year or so and it will be quite improved. No regression, forward progress only...

The current experience is a perfect example of how delusional the thought that one is right at the peak of performance. There are always not merely "steps", but "floors" of better sound quality possible. I think I jumped a few floors with this setup.

douglas_schroeder

Owner
Papermill, yes, the Joule White 3 is pretty special! Frankly, I was wowed when I realized its capacity. And this is the beginning. Give it a year or so and it will be quite improved. No regression, forward progress only...

The current experience is a perfect example of how delusional the thought that one is right at the peak of performance. There are always not merely "steps", but "floors" of better sound quality possible. I think I jumped a few floors with this setup.

douglas_schroeder

I happen to be one of those lucky people who have had the opportunity to hear Doug's new Joule White speakers. Needless to say, Doug always assembles noteworthy systems which challenge any of his previous system builds. And his new combination of source, cabling and speakers exceeds all. If synergy is critical to overall performance of a rig, Doug has been able to hit that elusive combination of exemplary definition and stunning musicality. And yes, predictably, the wait for these beautiful speakers was most definitely worthwhile.
Now if I could only convince him to get into vinyl.... ;)

papermill

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