Not anymore Czarivey.....

bombaywalla September 24, 2015 00:47

System edited: Short note about the Apogee Scintillas - -w-a-y- overdue! ;)

bombaywalla May 23, 2014 13:25

System edited: CAT SL1 Renaissance preamp in service since April 2013 (forgot all about updating my system!). The K&K Audio step-up xformer is not needed anymore hence was removed (preamp has in-built Jensen step-up xformers).

bombaywalla January 30, 2014 02:14

System edited: Added a 2nd pair of speaker cables - a pair of Audio Magic Liquid Air Illusion to biwire the Apogee Scintillas. This pair connects to the tweeter/midrange. Biwiring the Scintillas took their sonic performance to a whole new level most noteably the bass performance as it got a whole lot better. Bass is now better defined & has even more impact. Great decision to bi-wire. :-) The cables are still breaking-in but they sound fantastic out-of-the-box: clean, clear, very low noise floor & very dynamic. :-)

bombaywalla February 26, 2011 13:50

System edited: Updated the interconnect, speaker & power cables.

bombaywalla October 21, 2010 19:31

08-07-10: Skljesus
Hi,
Nothing to do with hifi (though i'm deep into jazz & listen a lot) and have modest equipment myself, but may i ask why you call yourself "bombaywallah"

Simple - I hail from that Indian city.

i have a feeling you may ask why I call myself what i call myself

yes, you are correct - I would like to know, if I may, the origins of your username. Part of me want to pronounce "jesus" in your name as "hey-soos" thereby giving it a Hispanic origin but I could be off-base.
Please write back. Thanks.

Yes, no TARA cables - sold some 3+ yrs back. They were the TARA Labs Master Gen II. Very nice interconects. No longer current & no longer manuf by TARA.

bombaywalla October 21, 2010 19:22

I will tell you how to make cables yourself with email.

thank you, I'd appreciate that. you'll have to let me know where I can buy kapton material.
sounds like ribbon cables for ribbon speakers is an excellent match! :-)
good luck for your surgery - looks like it's on a delicate part of the body.

bombaywalla May 13, 2010 20:22

Hi Muralman1,
good to hear from you.
yes, I'm also very interested in knowing what I will end up with. ;-) Right now, it's a mine field out there. I've analysis-paralysis with soooo many cable vendors & every review I read (pro or user) says that a particular XYZ cable is the best! :( Very hard to distinguish the really good cables from the not so good cables.
My brother used the Anti-cables & really liked them a lot.
Yes, we communicated several times & you did emphasize that unshielded cables gave you the best performance. I'm keeping that conversation in mind as I search.
Did you get a chance to compare your DIY speaker cables to Allen Wright's speaker cables? is it the same receipe? Thanks.

bombaywalla May 10, 2010 17:10

Update: Sold several of the Virtual Dynamics interconnects & my Virtual Dynamics speaker cable.
I did not sell my Virtual Dynamics Master 3.0 interconnect as yet - it's between my pre & power & doing a fabulous job.
As far as the other interconnects & speaker cables, I'm looking to change to silver or something else.....

bombaywalla May 08, 2010 21:12

System edited: Just got hold of an active vibration isolation table from my turn-table. Big heavy unit but it seems to be doing it's job well. Plugs into the wall for AC power & provides 40dB attenuation at 10Hz. I like it! :-)

bombaywalla August 15, 2009 19:27

System edited: Added a PS Audio P300 AC regenerator. The impetus was mainly to control the TT motor speed. However, now I also have the CDP & FM tuner plugged into the unit. TT motor can be adjusted in 1Hz steps & fine adjusted in 0.125Hz steps. I love it!! Broken in with 100+ hrs of playing a CD on repeat. Does not seem to have a sound of its own.

bombaywalla February 15, 2009 03:29

>> 12-09-08: Shadorne
>> Spooky real midrange! What a great description.
>> Seriously nice setup and great choice of gear. You are
>> tasting quite different sounds I see!

LOL, Shadorne!
Yes, the quality of the midrange kept getting better. These Symphonic Line amps are really very good. I've managed to convert quite a few people now into using them. They all are very happy to say the least.
The RG4 wrestled the DM604S2 woofers to the ground & smooth hi-freq tamed the aluminum tweeter of that speaker. The coffered ceilings also helped a lot.
The midrange got even better w/ the C1.5i. At that time it was really "spooky real"! ;-)
Now, with the ribbons, it's even more so - the ribbons are essentially massless hence the transients are really very fast (if the amp is capable). The performers seem in the room & the naturalness of the midrange is quite unbelievable. I understand from other Scintilla users that is a forte of the speaker model.
Believe it or not, the C1.5i sound matches the tonality of the Apogees almost exactly! Sometimes I feel I did not change my speaker!

bombaywalla December 15, 2008 15:55

System edited: I added pix of my previous systems.

bombaywalla December 09, 2008 03:15

Schwinnindia
Thanks for your kind words! I like what I hear from the Scintillas. I always wonder if this 250W/ch class-A amp is up to the tough job of powering this 1 Ohm beast?? The only way to find out is to try other capable amps.
Yes, It would be a good exercise to re-visit the C1.5i after a month or so just to see what has been gained by the Scintillas.
The Scintillas are very heavy - 140lbs per speaker & nearly 5' tall - so I have to be very careful moving them lest I should inadvertently puncture the ribbons!
Will keep you posted.

bombaywalla April 16, 2008 12:40

Hi Muralman1,
>> Still, I am quite surprised you hear anything beyond
>> root boxless resemblances between the Green Mountain
>> and the Apogee Scintilla. Their driver systems are as
>> different as they come.
Indeed! That was the message I wanted to convey - despite the vast differences in drivers the two speakers are far more similar than one would have imagined.

bombaywalla April 15, 2008 03:33

System edited: Just got hold of a used pair of Apogee Scintilla ribbon speakers in taupe(!) colour. These replace the Green Mountain C1.5i speakers I've had for nearly 5 years.

The switch from the C1.5i to the Scintilla has been quite smooth & far from dramatic - the sonics of the Scintilla are very close to the Green Mountain C1.5i. The Scintillas have a cut-from-the-same-cloth integrated sound (like the C1.5i), tight bass (like the C1.5i) & very smooth & real midrange especially on vocals (like the C1.5i). I've heard the Scintilla just 3 times now & I can say that the C1.5i hold their own against these ribbons quite well. Both the Scintilla & the C1.5i are seamless 1st-order x-over speakers & I like that! :-)

The idea for getting the Scintilla was greed - more transparency, more dynamics, more soundstage width & depth, more presence from the music.

Powered by the Symphonic Line Kraft 300 250W/ch (8Ohms) & 1000W/ch (1 Ohm) s.s. amp. The amp gets hot (heat sink temp ~50C after 90 minutes of play) but I think that it is able to drive the 1 Ohm load. Need to spend more time with the Scintilla & take in advice from other Scitilla owners.

For right now I'm holding onto my C1.5i - it's truly a fantastic speaker! I've loved listening to it for all the near 5 years I've owned it.

bombaywalla April 12, 2008 23:02

System edited: Traded the Symphonic Line RG4 Mk3 power amps for the latest version Symphonic Line Kraft 300 stereo amplifier. I was very sorry to see the RG 4 Mk3 amps leave my listening room.

The Kraft 300 is still breaking in & it has gotten better sounding steadily. The Kraft 300 exhibits similar traits that the RG4 Mk3 displayed but I feel that I'm getting more of all the attributes that I used to get with the RG4 Mk3. The Kraft 300 is definitely warmer sounding than the RG4 Mk3. Is this because of class-A bias?

I have the Kraft 300 on a home-made amp stand that is a sandwich of granite with hard maple on the top & bottom. Brass spikes on the bottom. It seems to be working out quite well.

Tight bass, life-like vocals & mid-range. The best way that I can think of describing this amp is that it does not call attention to itself & that the music just flows effortlessly. I see many hours of sonic pleasure.

bombaywalla March 23, 2008 23:34

System edited: Sorry, I made a mistake in my 1/13/08 update - the speaker cables are Nite 3.0 (& not Nite 2.0).

bombaywalla January 30, 2008 23:35

System edited: Forgot to mention that I had upgraded my speaker cables to Virtual Dynamics Nite 2.0 more than 6 months ago!! I definitely prefer the Nite 2.0 over the David 1.0 speaker cables - music sound-stage is pushed back to where I think that it should be w.r.t the speaker location. Worthy upgrade!

bombaywalla January 13, 2008 23:39

Hello Ras422,
Thanks for your kind words re. my system. :-)
yes, I am using the Symphonic Line amps. I really like the RG4 Mk3 mono amps. They are simply superb to listen to.
For speaker cables I use the V-D Nite 2. I used to have TARA Labs Master Gen II. I really liked the TARA Labs Master Gen II very much but the V-D Nite 2 is even better in terms of overall bass quantity & quality, high freq extension & midrange presence. The upgrade was well worth the effort & money. Just FYI, I bought a pre-owned pair.

bombaywalla December 14, 2007 09:28

Hey Ryder,

The V-D Master is a step-up from the V-D Nite interconnect in terms of resolution, speed, transparency, PRaT, high-freq extention & bass extention. The improvement is in the 20-30% range IMHO. However, the cost differential is more than that! Thus, IMHO, the V-D Nite 3.0 (their latest to the best of my knowledge) is the better value-for-money cable. I like its presentation - it represents the audio spectrum in a very balanced manner.
I have little experience with XLO as I own their cables from the VDO & Pro series. I really like them as well but these cables are in a budget bedroom system. This system is very different from my reference system so a 1-1 comparison is not correct.
No comments on the AZ Silver Ref II as I have no experience.
hope that this helps some.

bombaywalla December 01, 2007 15:31

Hi Cmk,

Thanks for the kind words.

Indeed, the Green Mountain speakers are very natural sounding & IMO a real pleasure to listen to.

The Basis Vector 3 is really a superb arm. Describe the sound??? Hmmmm......this is a bit difficult to put into words.
If there is 2 words that I could use, I would use "dynamic" & "explosive" for this tonearm. Of course, in terms of music playback! ;-)
it is quick/fast. it has deep bass (my speakers can go down to 40Hz only so I'm missing the 1st octave), excellent hi freq extension, superb midrange, it's a great groove tracker. It does not have the midrange richness/lushness that I heard in the Schroeder Reference arms at RMAF. it's more neutral in the midrange. IMHO, materials used is the reason.
To my ears it just gets itself out of the way of the music. It has less colour than my previous OL Silver 250 Mk1 tonearm. The OL Silver 250 was no slouch itself but the Vector 3 betters it in every department.

bombaywalla November 15, 2007 22:31

Ozzy62,
agree the PS AUdio PS300 & 600 units can do very good things to the overall sound. A friend has the PS300 for his front-end components & it certainly made things sound a lot better!

bombaywalla October 26, 2007 02:38

System edited: Added better system pix

bombaywalla October 26, 2007 02:34

Hello Ozzy62,

thanks for your kind words.
You are welcome anytime to come over & listen. :-)

BTW, how is that deHavilland Ultraverve preamp? it seems that it must have been better than the Lamm LL2 & the tricked out ARC SP9 Mk2??

bombaywalla October 25, 2007 12:46

Sirspeedy,

thank you for your kind & generous words! :-)
Bombaywalla
=================

bombaywalla October 25, 2007 12:44

System edited: System Updated: Finally added AES/Cary Sixpac picture.

Added Basis Vector 3 tonearm in July 2007. Upgraded from an OL Silver 250 Mk1 tonearm. Well worth the upgrade price!

bombaywalla October 23, 2007 01:17

Hi Cenline!

thanks for the kind words.

I would love to move my speakers further out BUT on the side of the LEFT speaker (not shown in the system pix) there is a very short wall. I have pulled out the speakers as much as I could & yet provide the same wall-loading to BOTH speakers. If I pull the speakers out further, the left speaker will have no side wall & the right speaker will! :-(

Yes, my system does well with Jazz, Rock & Blues. It does OK with Classical - need a subwoofer to get the full impact the orchestra!

FYI: I met Roy at RMAF07. He was a real gentleman, as usual.

bombaywalla October 23, 2007 00:59

System edited: System Edited: Added a Virtual Dynamics Revelation 1.0 power cord for the CDP & a Nite 3 power cord for the tube preamp. Both are very worthy sonic upgrades.

bombaywalla March 02, 2007 21:34

Bobheinatz
Thanks very much! :-)
yes, I've put in a lot of "labour of love" into selection of the components & placement & isolation. It's has been a gradual process & done over the years. Learnt a lot from being here on Audiogon from the more experienced members (to whom I owe many thanks).
The work has paid off as the system sounds great most of the time.

bombaywalla January 23, 2007 22:47