This system took me a couple years to complete.Over the years of upgrading I have come to what I would say is my reference system.
My dedicated listening room measures 15'x 22'.With a custom cieling made from MDF frames and then covered with speaker cloth.Doing this gave me the look of a drop ceiling but with the extra height all the way up to the floor joist.Sound treatment is from Aurelex.My speakers are positioned out into the room about 8' and fairly close to the side walls 30"....
The speakers are the Artemis EOS signature W/large bass modules.I heared these in the late 90s and had to own them.With the right gear and of course the right material the sound that these speakers create is spectacular.I have not heared every speaker on the market but from what I did hear these are still one of the best for "imaging"...
As for the amps,the Pass X-600 have the power and control that I was looking for with a touch of warmth.These amps are very dynamic with no sense of strain in anyway(you'll ony strain if you try to move them)...
The Pre-amp is the Pass X-1.It is my latest addition to the system and I'm still trying to put a 'handle on it.As for right now all I can say it is VERY transparent and a great synergy to the amp...
CD player is a Sonic Frontiers CD-1.Since day one I always thought this player gave you a sense of whats happening within the recording,For the money it is a fanastic sounding player...
Cables are all MIT...
To sum up the sound I would have to say it's very "Holographic" with lots of detail...
Thanks for the words Lissnr,I'm thinking about putting in a hardwood floor at the speaker end of the room.Not sure how this will change the sound though.Some of the top rooms on Audiogon have this configuration ..For me the room is almost everything in this hobby.also thinking about doing something with the ceiling as a lot of energy is leaking out to the room above.
Tbooe,The PS3 would be all I need ,but it seems very complicated to operate and hookup.I don't use my system with any computer so I don't have the option to do the procedures they talk about in there owners manual ,so I think it wouldn't be for me..It does get great feedback from a lot of users though..
Tabooe,I tried many power conditioners with almost all bad effects to the sound.I have dedicated lines for every component and that seems to make things better but conditioners killed the sound..vibration control is use,I have the 2 blatter seismic sinks on the CD player and the preamp.the sinks are spiked with lead filled pucks under them.Amps are on custom 2" thick granite stands I had made for a local granite shop. I never had the measured though,how did you measure yours?
Pettyfeversk,Hard to compare to the Capri,but I can tell you its better then my x1.Its the most transparent preamp I've owned.There is very and I mean very little sonic signature from this preamp.It just gets out of the way.I think it would be perfect match with your amps..
After a week or so of settling in,the xp20 sounds even better then when I first got it.Everything sounds much cleaner.The X1 is a great preamp but the xp20 sounds better in my system..
System edited: Made a move with the preamp..The volume control was just not right for me with the x-1.The XP-20 has a lot more adjustments for more precise listening levels.
Trying and then buying the synegistic research tesla power cables was the only power cable that gave me the "WOW" factor..So I'm very curious about there ineterconects & speaker cables.I quess it's time to call the cable company!!Any experience on these interconnects??
Any opinions on what my next move should be to improve this system?I thought of doing something with the interconnects since they are a little older.I know choosing the right wire can be a long and tedious process.
System update:After about 150 hours on my new player the cd player has taken on a demension I never would expected..When I bought the player the dealer ramped and raved how great this player is,especially when you get hours on it.How many times have we heared that 'Ohh this player is great bla bla bla...Well he was right.Out of the box it was good but now with some hours on it the player it's really starting to sing.Can't wait till it's full breakin is complete..
Lapierre, I don't see it being a problem.This should serv me well as my reference player for some time..I'm sure theres some better players around, but at a much higher price...Im currently trying to break it in.They say it takes about 400 to 600 hours.I only have 40 hours on it and it's amazing..
System edited: Finally I got a new cd player.After 11 years of using my Sonic Frontiers cd1 it was time for a change.I went to a Audio Research cd7..This was the last unit from ARc and has a lot of cd8 in it ,as I was told.Fresh out of the box it smokes the SF cd1.It should get even better with time..
System edited: Made some bass traps to deal with some room issues.They are 2'x4'x6" mdf frames with owings Corning 705 inside them.They are mounted about 4" off the wall. The tops are covered with aurelex metro diffusers.They made a big difference in the rooms sound!
Lampierre, The cD player loves this T2 cord.On Wed.I recieved a second T2 cord to try on the X-1.I did a little listening with it but it didnt give me that WOW like the Power cord on the SF CD1.Now remember on the cd player i had nothing other then the generic power cord that came with it..On the pre-amp I was using a ESp pv-14.That might explain not hearing that much of a difference.I'm going to let it settle in over night then do another session..
System edited: Just added a Synergistic Research T2 to my SF cd-1 and wow what a difference it made.Not sure how or why but everything is better.I'm going to try one on my Pass x-1 and see if it makes any difference
I'm going to call Rives.I dont see any prices on there web site..I hope they can help..I have all this world class gear and I'm still not happy.There must be a solution .
I Still have the Sonic Frontiers cd-1.After about a year of looking at reviews and searching on the internet I'm still undecided what to get for a new cdp.Feel free to pick my system apart.
Mapman'Thanks for the responce.There is something about the industrial design with those Pass amps that got me the first time.As my girlfriend says they look like they where design for a bachelor.
Hey Lapierre' Thats a great question about the jumpers!I never really thought about trying to make it simpler.I just thought it is what it is.Now you have my mind spinning with ideas...Hmmm.
Dev' Thanks for the comments.As for the speaker manufacturer,There gone.From what I understand the company had a Fire and they never started back up.I've own these now for about 6 years now.I first had them running with a set of cary 'Slam 100s'.They sounded good but with no control with the bass.Tubes seem to be the way to go with these speakers but I can't take the maitenence that goes along with tube gear.I also had a SF line-3 for a pre-amp and the tube rolling just got to me!Since you had these speakers in the past do you know what tweeter they use??
