I'm now solidly middle aged and have been an enthusiast since my first system when I was 14; Kef C-80's, Carver 900 Receiver and Carver CD player with Sonic Hologram technology.
Years ago (about 10, pre-kids) I had a killer top tier system. Talon Firebirds, Tenor Audio 150hp amps, Vac Ren Sig mk II with phono, MF Trivista CD, Teres Table with Graham arm, Ricks Rack Rack. I listened almost every day and it made my soul happy and content. Then I had kids, moved, and my practice got crazy busy and I lost my free time and sold my entire system except for my table/arm combo.
It's been way too long now and I am finally building a whole new system. I have been speaking with Guido and several other great guy/audio resources to help me re-start my search. I started doing a lot of listening.
I purchased the Veritas amps and 2 pre-amps to compare; a Levinson 326s (with phono stage) and a Rowland Capri S2 with PL1 external power supply. The amps and pre-amps are sitting on my floor and on amp stands. Lonely. Not connected. Sigh.
I auditioned a number of speakers (TAD Evo 1/Ref 1, Kef 207/2, Revel Salon 2, Vienna The Muzik, Sonus Faber Ellipsa SE) and decided on The Muzik's. Guido was rather happy with that choice. Happy to add thoughts on the other speakers if anyone asks. The Muzik's are arriving Friday. Yay!!!
FYI - Stay away from European sellers. I got snubbed and lost a boatload of money on an attempted purchase of Faber Amati Futura's. Buy from Europe only through PayPal. NO wires!!! He had good feedback and solid references.
I also just purchased an Adona SR4 (4 shelf) rack with oversized top shelf for my turntable, a Teres Audio with Graham 2.2 arm and Denon MC cartridge. Currently using an Electrocompaniet ECP1 phono stage. Rack will be here in 2 weeks. Yay again!! Great people at Adona by-the-way.
Source is a PS Audio Perfectwave 2 DAC being fed by a Core Audio modified Mac Mini running iTunes and Amarra via a Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB cable.
Cables are Shunyata Z-tron Anaconda XLR from DAC to pre and pre to amps, Audience AU-24SE bi-wire 1.5m speaker cables and a Shunyata Z-tron Alpha digital power cord for the DAC and the high level stock PC's that came with the Veritas amps.
Still need a better PC for the pre-amp, and deciding on power conditioning. Currently running an old PS Audio Duet with the pre, DAC, phono and table power. It's actually a great conditioner performer for what it is.
And with ALL of that, I haven't heard it all together! Sigh. But in 2 weeks, music will flow.... Then I can start rejoicing and commenting on the gear and what, if anything, needs to be changed. But I needed to start somewhere and I think I'm starting off pretty darn nicely. :)
External power supply. Running Amarra software with iTunes. Using Atomic Mac Mini isolation platform.
Aurender N10
Borrowed until I decide what will stay permanently.
Davinci Light Harmonic 2
This DAC does everything better then any other DAC I have ever heard, at any price.
Empirical Audio Over Drive SX
Hand made Hynes Regs CUTF Coupling Caps
Burmester Audio 077 with internal power supply
With built in DAC. Simply stunning performance and a heavenly match with the 911
Burmester Audio 911 mk3 monoblocks
Factory wired monoblocks with 770 watts into 4 ohms.
Dynaudio Consequence Ultimate
This is Dynaudio's true Flagship speaker. It is quite special and I have heard very little that offers its full dynamic range, tonal accuracy, palacial soundstage, subtlety and refinement. And nothing else at this size. It fills my smallish room, but doesn't overload it.
Just Wow!
Shunyata Z-Tron Anaconda XLR Interconnects
Connects DAC to pre-amp and pre-amp.
Shunyata ZiTron Anaconda S XLR Interconnects
8.5m XLR stereo run from pre-amp to monoblock amps
Analysis Plus Inc. Big Silver Oval
5' run.
These are amazing value and mesh seamlessly with my system.
Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB
USB - the best there is
Shunyata Z-Tron Cobra Power Cord
1 running to each monoblock
Shunyata Z-Tron Alpha Power Cord
DAC and SACD power cord.
Audio Magic Oracle Power Conditioner
Fully loaded with Audio Magic magic!
Shunyata Hydra AV
Power conditioner
Stillpoint Ultra 5
4 for each speaker
Adona SR4
Audio rack.
Adona Nemisis ALGC
Audio rack
Square D 125 amp 20 breaker sub-panel
70 amp GE double breaker from the main GE commercial panel running through a 4/3 Romex to this 20 breaker sub-panel. Five dedicated 20 amp circuits all running off the same Line in the sub-panel to keep phase constant.
Environmental Potentials EP-2750 & EP-2050
EP-2750 on each dedicated circuit - ground filter
EP-2050 on first 2 breakers of dedicated panel - surge protection and waveform correction.
Furutech GTX Rhodium Outlets
Doesn't get much better then these.
Edison Home Model A Cylinder Phonograph : 1902
One of the earliest model phonograph with horn output and 2 minute hand crank play time.
Victor Victrola VV-IX-A Talking Phono: 1918
Hand crank Talking Phonograph Machine with analog box horn
RCA Radiola III : 1923
One of the first personal radios available. Used two WD11 tubes: one for reception, one for amplification for the headphones. Battery powered.
Philco - Ford R-90 Cathedral AM/FM Radio : 1986
Transistor replica of an early 30's tube radio manufactured for True Value hardware as a gift in the late '80's.
GE Model P977E AM/FM Radio : 1967-1973
This was the same model as my first, ever, handheld radio. Battery or AC powered.
Fantastic system Matt! I've never seen Dynaudio Consequences in the wild much less the Consequence Ultimate. One of my favorite speaker designs visually they must sound just amazing driven by your Burmesters!
What a wonderful system, you are truly fortunate...cannot wait to see updated pics when you've got the new speakers finalized for position, burn-in, etc....this all must sound amazing!
Thanks guys for your kind comments. The MM3's will be here in a couple of weeks, I hope. Also bought a new preamp, the ARC Ref. 10 that will be feeding my Rogue Apollos, what do you think?
The room, and the new speakers, look outstanding. Congratulations on completing your journey and thanks for letting us follow along. I hope you have many hours of musical enjoyment.
PS: I use the word "completing" loosely and consider the possibility that you are merely at a coordinate/instance on an audio spacetime continuum that is subject to inertial motion...keep us posted :~)
Well done Leog. They will sound wonderful. They deserve a room they can breath in. With breathing room they are world class. Please promise me you will have several large guys help you set them up. It's easy to get hurt with those massive components.
Congrats on your new speakers - besides the WOW! mentioned what do you find in general these offer over others you have owned. Are those your MM3's over at Paragon.
This is my complete listening list. It includes the speakers I put on my initial list of reference speakers that fit in my 15x18.5x9 foot room that I set out to hear, plus others that were not on my list but I was introduced to by friends or stores, or heard at shows. I did, obviously, not include the three finalists I listed above. I counted, and the list is closer to 35. Oops. And I might have forgotten a few, although I don't think so.
* - at dealer or friends house, properly set up + - at a show with a good setup *+ - both
*+ Focal - Utopia Scala V2 *+ Wilson - Alexia *+ Magico - Q3 & S5 *+ YG - Sonja 1.2 (without the bottom sub) *+ Polymer - MKS-x * Zellaton - Stage + Martin Logan - Neolith * Peak Consult - Kepheus * Kharma - Exquisite Midi S *+ Rockport - Avior * Estelon - XA + Kyron - Kronos complete system *+ Kaiser - Kawero + Vandy - 7 mark 2 + Von Schweikert - VR-55 + Dynaudio- Evidence Platinum *+ Kef - Blade *+ Sonus Faber - Lilium/Stradavaria/Amati Futura *+ TAD - Compact Reference + Scaena - The new one with the smaller woofer and 8 driver array. + Raidho - All of them. Don't like any but D1 *+ Lawrence Audio - Cello & Double Bass * Joseph Audio - Pearl 3 + Tidal - Contriva G2 + Vivid - G1 & G2 * Stenheim - Alumine 3 way + Sadurni - Staccato horns *+ Avantgarde - Duo Mezzo + Acapella Audio - Cellini + Audiomachina - Maestro S *+ Tannoy- Kingdom Royal + JBL Synthesis - 1000 Heard just at shows and got enough to know "yes or no" but don't remember the model - Nola, Lansche, Eggleston, Meridian, Legacy
I have heard other speakers like : Langerton, USA Tube, Tyler, Westlake, Vapor, etc but the models I heard were too big for my room, so I didn't include them on my primary list.
Repeat post from my DAC thread. I think it needs to go here also, as does the next one:
My experience with the Evolution Acoustics MM3 speaker taught me that a truly statement level world class speaker can have limitations if put into a room that doesn't suit its size; like putting a big block V8 in a Porsche 911. So my search started with creating a list of every top tier speaker I could think of that would properly fit and integrate into my 15x18.5x9 foot room. I then set out a plan to hear every damn one of them. The list was long and had some really eclectic speakers on it. I slowly worked my way down.
I have been listening for a while now. All the audio stores in Manhatten now know me and I have heard probably 20 or so top speakers. A major reason I have been going to all the shows is to hear what they have to offer.
I have narrowed down to three strong contenders. Very very different in method but all create the closest thing I have heard to totally immerse me in my music. It's interesting that two of my three options were not even on my initial list. Hansen was introduced to me when I went to listen to another brand and Perfect8 was discovered at THE Newport show where they really took my breath away. Each of the 3 seams to be amazing overal performers but each does have its own special flare and signature.
1) Hansen - Dragon Legend E 2) Marten - Coltrane Tenor 3) Perfect8 - The Point
I currently have a pair of Hansen The Prince E speakers on loan in my room, and I have arranged to borrow a pair of Marten Coltrane Tenors to directly compare the two in my room at the same time. I'd love to get The Point in also and do a three way final shootout, but I don't think that's going to be possible.....
I am almost done with my treatment application. It's sounding better and better. I can't tell you how difficult I am finding the decision to go with diffusion vs absorption at my side wall first reflection points. But with my smaller sized room I have decided that absorption is probably a better direction. I just can't quite get far enough away from the diffusers to make them work properly. If my room were 4 or more feet wider I definitely would do diffusion. But because I can't really get further then 6-8 feet away from the closest treatment, I end up with some comb filtering. With diffusion my soundstage extends outside the speakers ever so slightly more, but absorption gives me more focus and a more defined image. I've learned so much....
For anyone considering room treatments at any level, you need to do it. The differences are not at all subtle! I'm no expert but if anyone has questions I'm glad to chat and either answer a question or guide you to someone who has the answer.
A big thank you to Merril of Merrill Audio for coming over to help setup my room and give his opinions. He was very informative and his experience and astute hearing helped me to identify some solutions and help me to make some decisions.
I spent the morning moving the MM3's around a bit more. Oy my back!!
They are truly mind blowing speakers! They look huge and you would think the base would overpower the room but it just doesn't. I need to move them around more....
I have them 8'3" apart and I'm sitting about 8'6" from them. About 3'4" From the side walls. I'm sitting 7' from my rear wall (38% of the length of the room). I need to try them a bit further apart with my seat further back. I mighty be able to get what I want out of them with more effort, which is totally worth it.
My seat being SO far out into the room is killing me. Conceptually I undestand I need to be listenimg here to avoid nulls, blah blah blah. But if I could push my couch 3' from the rear wall I feel id be able to get far enough away from the speakers. I tried it and it definitely sounds different. Like I said, I need to play. I need to call some friends over to both help move the speakers and to get some opinions.
Paul - it's not buying from France I have an issue with. Does Totaldac have a distributor in the states?
Ha! You are correct I was hanging out with Bob! Interesting how we all hear things differently I though the bass on the Q5 was excellent, agree on the MIds, though the top end was bit hot.. Of course it could have been the electronics he was using that day.
Eric, it sounds like you were at Rhapsody in the city. Were you playing with Bob? I recognize that display inventory.
The Kaisers can get a bit bright when you drive them hard. And those multiple drivers on the back demand at least 5' off the front wall, which I can't do. But given the room to breath and the right music choice those Kaisers are stunning. I'm not a Raidho fan; too demanding of placement and they leave a lot to be desired. The Magico Q5 does midrange sweat and lush. Minimal low frequency extension and the highs were a tad rolled off for my tastes.
Paul, the Totaldac looks amazing but it's not available for direct sale in the US. I'm not comfortable with that right now, not with the other options available.
Feel like sharing the other two?? FWIW I got a listen to a pair of Magico q5 vs the Raidho D3 and the Kaiser Classic the other day.. I loved the Kaiser, then the Raidho lastly the Magico's although there were thing the Magicos did splendidly
