What did you do to your stereo rig today?

1160161163165166193

Comments

  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,039
    Thank you for your service.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 10,010
    Just listened to the 45 RPM mofi pressing of BIA. All of Knopfler’s recordings are so well done.
  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,289
    edited February 2023
    Yes they are. Really peak analog recordings. My (new) MOFI pressing has more surface noise than I would expect but once the music starts, it is bliss

    The MOFI one-step drama was annoying for sure but I appreciate the effort they put into place to create quality pressings. I am patiently awaiting the one steps for Hotel California and James Taylor’s greatest hits to be released. I’ve had them on pre order for about a year now
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,289
    treitz3 wrote: »
    Thank you for your service.

    Tom


    Appreciate the recognition Tom, not necessary at all but appreciate it regardless!
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
  • Reagan
    Reagan Posts: 116
    I wish they would just do the MOFI in 33-1/3.
    Speakers: Polk 1.2TL w/VR3 mods and Dreadnaught interconnects
    Amplification: ARC Reference 110 w/KT150s; Cary Audio SLP-05 w/Ultimate Upgrade
    Vinyl: VPI HW19 MK III (Heavily Modded); Origin Live Silver Tonearm; Hana ML Cart; Pete Riggle VTAF; VPI TNT Platter; SAMA; Iphono3
    Digital: Aurender N100H; Benchmark DAC1
  • zarrdoss
    zarrdoss Posts: 2,562
    zarrdoss wrote: »
    I tried out a set of Martin Logan's and am asking myself
    erniejade wrote: »
    zarrdoss wrote: »
    I tried out a set of Martin Logan's and am asking myself why I did not try them sooner?
    Just skip over them and go straight to Magnepan.

    I could be off but, with the Logan, you don't have to worry about integrating a subwoofer since the Logans have a woofer built in.
    I know both can be a bit difficult on setup and very sensitive to room acoustics and placement.

    I have heard both Logans and Maggie's sound amazing and horrible, depending on the room and placement.

    They both sound better with a sub IMO. Not really bad for set up either. I tried some Magnepans again MG .7. They are in way better condition than the other ones I tried and sound much better. I have the Martin Logans on HT duty paired with a Stage center and two SVS SB3000. The Magnepans are on 2.1 channel duty with a Paradigm studio sub 12. As for which one sounds better.... really close but the jury is still out. Pretty sure I am done with conventional speakers for a while though.
  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    the remote control for my preamp never worked well . . . Well, I disassembled and cleaned the pcb contacts with isopropyl alcohol

    Works GREAT!
    AC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
    Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC
    Pre Cary SLP-05
    Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
    Mains Salk HT2-TL
    Rythmik F12
  • jbreezy5
    jbreezy5 Posts: 1,141
    Might try that on my Arcam remote!
    CD Players: Sony CDP-211; Sony DVP-S9000ES; Sony UDP-X800M2 (x2); Cambridge Audio CXC

    DACs: Jolida Glass FX Tube DAC III (x2); Denafrips Ares II (x2)

    Streamers: ROKU (x3); Bluesound Node 2i and Node N130 w/LHY LPS // Receivers: Yamaha RX-V775BT; Yamaha RX-V777

    Preamps: B&K Ref 50; B&K Ref 5 S2; Classe CP-800 MkII; Audio Research SP16L (soon)

    Amps: Niles SI-275; B&K ST125.7; B&K ST125.2; Classe CA-2300; Butler Audio TDB-5150

    Speakers: Boston Acoustics CR55; Focal Chorus 705v; Wharfedale Diamond 10.2; Monitor Audio Silver-1; Def Tech Mythos One (x4)/Mythos Three Center (x2)/Mythos Two pr.; Martin Logan Electromotion ESL; Legacy Audio Victoria/Silverscreen Center; Gallo Acoustics Reference 3.1; SVS SB-1000 Pro; REL HT-1003; B&W ASW610; HifiMan HE400i

    Turntable: Dual 721 Direct-Drive w/Audio Technica AT-VM95e cart

    Cables: Tripp-lite 14ga. PCs, Blue Jeans Cable ICs, Philips PXT1000 ICs; Kimber Kable DV30 coaxial ICs; Canare L-4E6S XLR ICs; Kimber Kable 8PR & 8TC speaker cables.
  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    jbreezy5 wrote: »
    Might try that on my Arcam remote!

    the tech at Cary said use the tip of a pencil eraser.... didn’t do squat.

    Go with isopropyl and a Q-tip
    AC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
    Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC
    Pre Cary SLP-05
    Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
    Mains Salk HT2-TL
    Rythmik F12
  • jbreezy5
    jbreezy5 Posts: 1,141
    Got some tube socket savers from Valves N More…

    0lcygrkivwjb.jpeg

    zo6njaszb2hc.jpeg

    xz3e04pj5cs9.jpeg

    i17qkhqekcn6.jpeg

    jcg2b4mq5s51.jpeg

    t1xxek555b09.jpeg

    Purchased 9-pin (8) and Octal (4). They seem to be of high quality and the Octal types had surprising heft.
    CD Players: Sony CDP-211; Sony DVP-S9000ES; Sony UDP-X800M2 (x2); Cambridge Audio CXC

    DACs: Jolida Glass FX Tube DAC III (x2); Denafrips Ares II (x2)

    Streamers: ROKU (x3); Bluesound Node 2i and Node N130 w/LHY LPS // Receivers: Yamaha RX-V775BT; Yamaha RX-V777

    Preamps: B&K Ref 50; B&K Ref 5 S2; Classe CP-800 MkII; Audio Research SP16L (soon)

    Amps: Niles SI-275; B&K ST125.7; B&K ST125.2; Classe CA-2300; Butler Audio TDB-5150

    Speakers: Boston Acoustics CR55; Focal Chorus 705v; Wharfedale Diamond 10.2; Monitor Audio Silver-1; Def Tech Mythos One (x4)/Mythos Three Center (x2)/Mythos Two pr.; Martin Logan Electromotion ESL; Legacy Audio Victoria/Silverscreen Center; Gallo Acoustics Reference 3.1; SVS SB-1000 Pro; REL HT-1003; B&W ASW610; HifiMan HE400i

    Turntable: Dual 721 Direct-Drive w/Audio Technica AT-VM95e cart

    Cables: Tripp-lite 14ga. PCs, Blue Jeans Cable ICs, Philips PXT1000 ICs; Kimber Kable DV30 coaxial ICs; Canare L-4E6S XLR ICs; Kimber Kable 8PR & 8TC speaker cables.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,812
    edited February 2023
  • skipshot12
    skipshot12 Posts: 1,165
    Arriving Tuesday is my Phase Linear preamp purchased in 1979.
    Company in Oregon repairs these along with offering upgrades. They’ve installed a remote control operation for the whiff along with upgrades 👍
    Have been playing the Oppo directly into the amp, this is gonna be awesome!


  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,590
    skipshot12 wrote: »
    Arriving Tuesday is my Phase Linear preamp purchased in 1979.
    Company in Oregon repairs these along with offering upgrades...

    Who might that be?
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,039
    I'm guessing Rolland. He might have moved his shop. He used to be in WA.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,289
    Website still lists in Washington but there are third party sites that do say Oregon.

    Hitech Audio
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
  • skipshot12
    skipshot12 Posts: 1,165
    stangman67 wrote: »
    Website still lists in Washington but there are third party sites that do say Oregon.

    Hitech Audio

    Yes, it is Rolland @ Carver Audio Repair.
    Absolutely top notch experience.
  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,039
    So, which is it? His original shop in WA or did he move to Oregon?

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,590
    He lives in Stevenson WA. Not Oregon.
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • skipshot12
    skipshot12 Posts: 1,165
    Corrected, Stevenson, WA.
    No idea why I keep thinking OR.

    Had someone take a look at it a couple of years ago. Did a good job, but Rolland dealing with these for decades did find some hidden issues.
    He installed remote (Wife Saver😬), upgraded op-amps, caps….
    He provides a warranty of his work on a 45 year old preamp. Who does that? Absolutely incredible!
    Says she’s good for another 30 years.
    Someone’s gonna end up with a sweet PL 4000 II when I sell my gear down the road.

    Haven’t seen the breakdown yet of all he did but he did tell me how many hours he had in it, quite a lot.

    Am way stoked to get her back into the system.
    Will now be able to start the bi-amp trials of the SDA’s.
    Have been driving the Oppo right into the amp since acquiring the Polk’s… looking forward to this too.

    Real nice person to talk to about what my goals are with this final-end-all system for us.

    Next heading to Rolland is my PL 1100 II & 1200 II.
    Goals on those two pieces are to factory specs & longevity.
    Then the rest of the Series Two gear.

    Will post some pics of our 45 year old gear driving our 37 year old speakers….
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,465
    Rolland is by far one of the best people in the business. I've used him many times, he's constantly innovating new tech to older equipment.
  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,590
    I know he's got a bunch of my money! :D
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,039
    Rolland has been highly regarded for decades by many, FWIW.

    He also has many unobtainable parts for Carver gear as well. He got all of the leftover inventory.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • I have a bit of a technical question! I have two Sansui 100 watt power amps that are bridgeable to 200 watts. I have them bridged now running the left and right channels separately. Would it be better to use them bi-amped , one running the high end and one on the low. I’m concerned about the loss of the bottom end. They are driving a pair of SDA SRS 2.3 TI’s ? They have the SL 3000 tweeters in them, 4drivers on the inside two on the outside for the sda . I remember years ago when I sold these a Polk engineer telling me to alway bi-amp them if you can.
  • skipshot12
    skipshot12 Posts: 1,165
    Do not bridge your amps. Cuts down on the available current your amps can provide. Even though doubling of the wattage sounds good it’s actually a backwards move.
    Very few amps can be bridged without taking a hit on current… and those that do are very expensive, sept maybe Macs using auto formers?
    If you have 8-ohm or above speakers then bridging can be beneficial.

    Your Sansui’s bi-amped would be beneficial.
    Do they have a factory rating into 4-ohm? If they have a 2 ohm rating from factory they’re power houses.

    On horizontal vs vertical bi-amping, from my recent research, vertical seems the recommended setup.
    But, if your speakers are SDA’s, ask as many folks as possible to confirm vertical is doable.
    Here on Club Polk I believe the gurus recommend an AI-1/Dreadnaught to go vertical.

    I’m researching (actively now) if vertical, bi-amp, is even possible with with my Gen 3 SDA SRS blade/blade speaksers.
    What I’ve found so far is it’s recommended to dreadnaught. That said, blade/blade SDA’s are not compatible with the AI-1/Dreadnaughts.
    Haven’t given up all hope yet 😬


    Talking to the big dogs here will be of great help as you go forward.

    Skip
  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,039
    So, Trey has been an advocate for Audiolund cables for some time now. I have heard his system(s) multiple times over the years, so when the time came to order a BNC cable for the new streaming kit? I went ahead and ordered one. Guess it's time to lose my virginity with this brand and BNC cables (always ran with SPDIF).

    They appear to be extremely well built and they look (and feel) much better in person.

    5gp7aa4mc470.png

    uwd9cdk9u8m5.png

    Tom

    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,590
    edited February 2023
    I have a bit of a technical question! I have two Sansui 100 watt power amps that are bridgeable to 200 watts. I have them bridged now running the left and right channels separately. Would it be better to use them bi-amped?

    The 2.3TL's are 8 ohm. I would stick with them in mono configuration but you should be using an Al-1 or dreadnaught transformer on the SDA cable unless you (can) have the ground wire terminals tied together. You don't loose reserve amperage going mono driving 8 ohm speakers but what you gain is wattage output, you effectively double your damping factor and you increase your noise floor.
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,484
    edited February 2023
    I don't know about other amps, but my Crown D150 states that damping factor is reduced if it is bridged (perhaps that is what you meant to say?). That was a main reason behind my not using another one I have access to and trying that, with my 8 ohm nom. impedance 7Bs.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
  • invalid
    invalid Posts: 1,365
    I don't know how you can run the amps bridged with the SDA's, bridged amps are not common ground.
  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,590
    edited February 2023
    I don't know about other amps, but my Crown D150 states that damping factor is reduced if it is bridged (perhaps that is what you meant to say?).

    Correct. My bad. Double the wattage, half the damping, increased noise floor.
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • skipshot12
    skipshot12 Posts: 1,165
    Sweetness... PL 4000 II has just arrived from Rolland 😬
    3pchd15rgjpv.jpg