Made a number of significant changes over the past year, notably the Ayre CD player, Mac C500 pre-amp, and the Audience power conditioner. I also upgraded to Tara Labs power cords with PAD speaker cables and interconnects. I am very pleased with the sound of my current system - very detailed and open yet musical and engaging. However, one can't help but to wonder how a more capable pair of speakers would sound in this room...
Thanks Arthur - the 400w might be a little overkill for my speakers and small room, but those who have compared the 402 to the MC252 report that the former is superior in every way . And when those speakers get replaced (Sophia's maybe?), I won't need to get a new amp. Couldn't be happier with the sound of the Mac! I really had a hard time with bright treble and sibilance prior to installing the Mac
Thank you Joey. My listening chair is a loveseat that is off-center such that the right of the 2 cushions is in the sweet spot. It is very comfortable but not so pleasing to the eyes (hence, it never occured to me to take a pic of it). The room is very small (10' by 15') so I am listening in the nearfield. The Mac is everything I could want in an amp and will be (or should be) my last amp for a long time.
I particularly like your choice of electronics and speakers. I am familiar with B&W speakers and the CDM 9NT was once in my shortlist. It's good that you've paid more attention to the front end components in the BAT and Electrocompaniet. I also like your choice of using Bryston in driving your 9NT's. I can imagine your system having a transparent and dynamic sound without any harshness or listening fatigue.
System edited: Just added a Stello CD transpory to replace the Arcam player. There is much greater detail retrieval, imaging, and to my suprise, increased bass solidarity and dynamics.
System edited: Changed to Cardas bi-wire from XLO. It has been effective in reducing some treble brightness and added some tube-like musicality and softness to my dry-sounding system.
I found the Absolute Power cord to be superior to the XLO ER-10 which is 2.5 times the price. I inserted in into my power amp and noticed a difference immediately. It is not much in terms of cosmetics but certainly does the job. You should evaluate my opinion with caution since I have not experimented a great deal with power cords, nevertheless, I still recommend it and there is very little financial risk in purchasing one. In terms of the profession of chiropractic, evidence-based practitioners (such as I will be) constantly struggle against those chiropractors who simply apply manual adjustments to thier patients with repeated visits. I'm glad you have found someone who can treat your problem the right way.
Adam how are you, do you have any thoughts on the Absolute Power Cord I am considering these but have found little info. By the way I am a Chiropratic patient with a ruptured disc at L4 L5 I am going through Flexion Distraction after finding a Dr. to treat my problem correctly after years of pain and dishonest or uninformed Chiro's doing the adjust, adjust, adjust method. In the last 2 months I learned a lot about why some people look badly on Chiropratic. Don't become one of these Doctors.
Thanks for the replies. I am looking to add some canvas prints in order to reduce wall reflections which will hopefully diminish the awful treble brightness I am experiencing. Bi-wiring was something I never considered but may have to look into since it has come up before as a means of reduicing the tizziness. Thanks again.
Nice balanced system! I particularly like your choice of upstream components. With regard to the brightness, I also have CDM9 speakers and found that bi-wiring them led to rough integration between the midrange and treble units. A single run of standard 12g zip (50ยข/ft) mellowed the aggressive upper treble somewhat.
I am entering the 3rd of 4 years at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic college in Toronto, Canada. It is a very demanding progream but hopefully it will be worth it.
