Best Of

Tom and others speak the truth.

I finally had a chance to get some new pieces of gear in the rig. I've had the Puritan Audio PSM 136 conditioner as well as the Uptone Audio EtherRegen w/ separate power linear power supply and the installed the linear power supply board in the BlueSound Node3. Finally the Keces P8 dual linear power supply to run the Node3 and EtherRegen. I've had these pieces for awhile and didn't incorporate them until the move.

I also recently replaced power cables with all Puritan Audio Classics. And finally swapped out speaker cables going from MIT Shotgun S3 single wire to Shotgun S1 bi-wire.

I know the new room has some issues and I've spent a week tweaking the system. Mostly listening position, speaker position and toe in/out, etc. The room is still very lively.

What I am hearing at lower mid volume levels is incredibly different. The clarity, transparency and overall presentation is like being in the front row. The silence between everything is so surreal and spooky. I am hearing little breaths, scrapes of a pick on a guitar string, creaking of a studio chair, instruments that used to be buried or indiscernible.

It's been rather startling to hear how lifelike and completely free of hash/noise, etc. my well known favorites sound. I am hearing things in the recordings I've never heard before.

I'm not sure what else to say to explain it. Once the hash/noise is gone you'll see what I mean (and others mean too).

Cowboy Junkie songs are freaking incredible with all the nuance going on in many of their recordings. Another highly recommended recording is the Nils Lofgren Band Live.

My goosebumps had goosebumps. I had to force myself to go to bed last night because I didn't want the listening experience to end.

My rig has never sounded cleaner and more articulate and transparent. Leading edge attack is frightening as is decay and everything in between.

I have work to do with room treatments, so I can imagine it will get even better. Right now I as giddy as can be.

Most of this is what I've been chasing, I finally feel like the investment is paying off.

My only apprehension is I am going to switch over to a Roon Nucleus One for streaming and to be a music server. I hope I don't upset what I've achieved. The only digital out connection is USB, I am a bit leery about that. I may need to add a Mutec MC3+. We'll see how the Uptone Audio USB-Regen performs first.

H9

P.s. for those on the fence about Puritan Audio conditioners and cables. Go for it. While I can't do a side by side vs. the APC H15..........I feel the PSM136 has a good deal to do with what I'm experiencing, and I really like the peace of mind of the non-sacrificial voltage surge protection.