What did you do to your stereo rig today?

treitz3

I'd say so. I have the umbilical cords, as do many a member but I don't recall anyone ever using a PC from RAL. Off the used market, at least you don't have to wait!

Keep in mind, Trey will demand a full review 5 minutes before you unbox it and plug it in. No exceptions. 😀

Tom

TEAforONE

“Keep in mind, Trey will demand a full review 5 minutes before you unbox it and plug it in. No exceptions. 😀”
I better start know…….I definitely will be trying this out on everything. Im interested in where this cable lands . Anyone running one of these? I’m interested in what your experience was.

GlennDog

RAL is VG schiit . . . I’m betting you’ll be most impressed

treitz3

Tryin'a snag a set of Tara Labs Muse speaker jumper cables for the Woodmere's. *fingers crossed*

Tom

TEAforONE

The RAL pc has arrived. It is replacing a DCCA Extreme Reference. The RAL is used, however,I like to have some type of burn in before making any judgement. Almost every cable I own was purchased used,but I just feel better letting the cables settle in. My first impressions are positive so far. Time will tell.

treitz3

treitz3 wrote: »

Tryin'a snag a set of Tara Labs Muse speaker jumper cables for the Woodmere's. *fingers crossed*

Hellllllllls to the yeah!

Snagged a set. I have no idea if they will best what I have but at 1/2 off the retail price and build quality? Ah, chit son!

Tom

TEAforONE

Hey Tom, if you got those where I think you got them, that seller seems to deal only in hi quality stuff. I hope they work out for you!

treitz3

I probably did and yes, he does. He's a member of a couple of the higher end audio forums.

Tom

treitz3

Ray, have you had a chance to hook up the RAL PC yet?

I just got done installing the Tara Labs Jumper cables. They "look" great...time will tell how they sound. I have the rig warming back up right now. We'll see in a bit how they sound.

Tom

TEAforONE

Hi Tom, I originally replaced the DCCA on my J2. The RAL gave me a bit wider,and taller soundstage. Like the DCCA,the RAL presented a nice black background. I ran this for a a couple days,and I was very pleased. My next experiment was to replace the Virtual Dynamics Testament 2 on my Aric Audio Motherlode II. With the DCCA back on the J2,and the RAL on the pre, this was a more dramatic improvement in my ears. Same inky black background, but with an improvement in mid range detail. A little more snap in snare drum, vocals seem more”in the room” if that makes sense. So far I’m really impressed with the RAL. I think my next change will be placing the DCCA on the pre,and putting the RAL back on the amp. Of course, if the DCCA will fit. This is by no means a very flexible pc.

Do you have any impressions on your new jumpers?

Ray

treitz3

Not yet. Initial impressions are that it is good. My ears are currently buggered by some kind of infection, of which I am treating, but I cannot evaluate as I normally do.

The neighbors say it sounds great but they are not into the sound/hobby like I am and they didn't hear the system before/after.

So, with that said, I cannot comment on things, other than the lower registers have even more texture, as well as a saxophone.

Sorry, but it is what it is...

Tom

TEAforONE

Wow! I hope your ears clear up soon! What a bummer.

Ray

treitz3

Thanks. It's a PIA to not hear like I normally do

That said, I had a little bit of audio fun today. A friend of mine (Ron Cook) stopped by today to listen to the advancements I have made in the rig, test out some things and listen.

The last time he heard the rig was when we first set up the Woodmere's in the room. So, it has been almost a year since he last heard it. There have been a plethora of changes since he was last here, so I quickly refreshed him on the system changes and got down to listening.

Part of the fun was listening to two Novum PVR's in the room and experiment a bit with the placement of the two.



We tried them in front of the system and with one on the marble table and one back in the L corner and listened to various tracks, taking them in and out of play and playing with the direction they were pointed at.

We both agreed that the system/room sounded better with two over one. That was one of the things we wanted to test today.

So, we found the optimum location for both of the "bells", as people call them and listened to more selections, just having a great musical jam session.

He just so happened to bring a QSR black and red fuse with him to try out. We went ahead and installed it in the Musical Fidelity KW-750 amplifier's power supply.

At first, I was thinking this is outta here. The lower regions tightened up but lost a bit of weight, the depth had for the most part, disappeared and the singers seemed like they were in your face.

For the next hour, the sounds were all over the place and their would be attributes and deficiencies that would come and go. You could clearly tell that this was something that needed to be acclimated to the system before it performed the way it should.

We still listened and made observations on the varying changes. I'm still on the fence with this fuse. There are many aspects that flat out sound incredible but there are other aspects that I'm not fond of. Of course, the sounds are changing (much like breaking in a new power cord or tube) and things are still all over the place.

After about 4 or 5 hours had passed us by, Ron went his merry way. I'll bring my "bell" to his place and do the same thing we did today over there next time we meet up in a couple of weeks.

He left the fuse with me and I'll do some more listening before I make a decision to make it a permanent part of the rig. Some things, it does really well! We also picked up sounds and placements that we're not really detectable when we had listened earlier on in the day.

I'll put it to you this way. It does not sound like the same amplifier. It does not perform like the same amplifier and it definitely has more "air". You also do not need to strain to hear ANYTHING.

I am on the fence because while I am impressed at many of the things it does, I am not yet convinced that this is a good pairing. I'll know more when it settles down and stabilizes.

All in all, a fun time and tunes all day long! No complaints.

Tom

VR3

Is this a $3,000 fuse? Lol

treitz3

Yup. Ron and I both spoke to Clement Perry today at Stereo Times. This is who wrote this article.

https://v2.stereotimes.com/post/quantum-science-audio-series-fuses/

I gotta admit, I didn't think a simple fuse would hold THAT much information back. I'm still on the fence but leaning towards making it a permanent addition. I fear of what would be missing after it is removed.

Tom

VR3

What position are you using it in? The kw750 has like 8 fuses

VR3

4 internal 3 external

treitz3

The main one going into the power supply (external).

Tom

VR3

The smaller one?

treitz3

Yes.

Tom

invalid

I have noticed that a lot of the very high end amplifier manufacturers have eliminated the rail fuses, I'm sure it is for a reason other than expense, seeing how it costs more to eliminate it than keep it in the circuit.

VR3

I swapped the fuses in that position in my tri Vista and other positions and heard virtually no differences, mileages will vary, all that

treitz3

Well, that's good to know. This one, the changes are pretty dramatic. Weren't the fuses you put in a relabeled SR that was basically just a standard fuse that was cryo'd?

Or did you end up trying other ones as well?

Tom

VR3

I used the high end hifi tuning fuses that uses a solid silver filament. It was the only fuse on the market that was built from the ground up versus a cheap fuse that was modified

TEAforONE

Beautiful system Tom. What subs are you running? Also, I find the “bells” very intriguing. How would you say they affect the sound? I’ve seen folks use the smaller “bowls”, do the larger ones do something different?

treitz3

VR3 wrote: »

I used the high end hifi tuning fuses that uses a solid silver filament. It was the only fuse on the market that was built from the ground up versus a cheap fuse that was modified

Ah, now I remember you talking about these. These still made no discernible change, eh? They may not be as outrageously expensive as the QSR but when you factor in 8 of them, that adds up quickly. Quick question...Were they the silver or gold and silver ones, Trey?

I have recently been eyeing the Masterpiece Series M1 fuse https://jaguaraudio.com/product/audio-magic-beeswax-fuses/ but I haven't pulled the trigger, as other expenses have come up. Your observations now put me in a little doubt on how much of a difference they will make, especially given the amount needed and cost.

The QSR, you will have to hear it in and out of the system. This one, it is clear (at least the Red and Black one) is unmistakable that it is in the system. The palpability of each musician/singer is put way more into focus.

My issue with it (at least until it's done settling in) is that the lower registers overexcite the room very quickly and that some notes are reverbing/resonating within the room to a degree that they become annoying. That and the lead singers are closer (with regards to a couple of selections) to you and that becomes something that is a characteristic that I do not like at all. If there is one thing I do not like, that's "in your face" music. BACK OFF!

That's the one reason I got rid of the Rega Apollo way back in the day. Some people prefer a more forward sound stage, I do not.

But, then there are the attributes as well. When listening to James Taylor's, "Gaia" and the real low passage came in, it felt like the house was going to fall down. You actually felt it more than you heard it. That was a killer aspect and it held through with complete authority and crystal clear note/frequency delineation. Please note, I have not changed any of the settings on the subs, so this all came from the Woodmere's themself.

There are more changes but with my ears still buggered up at the moment, I will decline writing down/sharing anything until I "truly" hear what this thing does.

TEAforONE wrote: »

Beautiful system Tom. What subs are you running? Also, I find the “bells” very intriguing. How would you say they affect the sound? I’ve seen folks use the smaller “bowls”, do the larger ones do something different?

Thanks for the kind words, Ray. The subs I have are Stereo set of Rythmik F-25 800w Direct Servo sub's sitting on spiked Target MR Maximum Rigidity Speaker stands. They are set to where they blend in to the mains and from the mains to the room. They are there pretty much for reinforcement, as the Woodmere's are (for the most part) a full range speaker (22-25K)

The "bells" are something that I really enjoy. They are 100% passive and what they do is add a sense of air, enhance singers and instruments to where the presentation, as a whole, is enhanced in a way that is definitely not SS or tube. It makes things more "organic" and natural sounding. Ron brought this "bell" over to the house the day I got my Woodmere's and I instantly fell in love with it.

It is, IMO, definitely not a waste of money but the "bang for the buck"? Well, you don't get as much as you could with that money spent elsewhere within the system. This is just for that final enhancement that makes everything more palpable and frankly, "real sounding", instead of just a playback system reproducing music. It is wonderful when you hear what it is that they actually do.

It was worth everything I spent on it and it was worth the 8 months or so that I had to scour the web everyday to find one actually come up on the used market. I would never buy one new at the retail asking price. They are asking waaaay too much for one (IMO). But, in audio, there are a lot of things that cost too much. I guess this is just one of them.

After yesterday's experimenting with two of them in the room, both Ron and I are in the hunt for another one. Two are most definitely better than one in a room and we had a blast yesterday playing around with the placement and evaluating what they did. 2 of them in the front didn't do much than one but when we moved his "bell" toward the back L corner and pointed it back toward the system and cocked a little bit more toward the L speaker? That was an eye opener, or shall I say, "ear" opener. It gave you the sense that you were really "there, at the performance with the musicians".

As far as the smaller "bells" go? I cannot comment, as the two HighEnd Novum PMR Premium Mk.II's ("bells") that I had in the room yesterday are the only two "bells" I have ever heard. Prior to hearing and eventually obtaining one, I had always wondered what they did.

Tom

treitz3

I need to make a separate thread for this fuse. While I simply HATED it when it was first introduced (very similar to the Muon Pro)?

It is a transforming component.

The sounds are still changing, which is something that for the life of me, I cannot figure out but is still happening.

To sum things up? This fuse is a keeper.

It hasn't even stopped changing at all. It just keeps getting better and better on so many aspects.....I am simply going to STFU until it is done doing whatever in the F it does.

My hat is off to whomever did what they did to make a simple fuse do what this does. I am in awe at what I am listening too. Serious awe and mad F'n respect.

Tom

michaeljhsda2

New to me 2.3 TL's. Sound great.

pitdogg2

They will rock your world with new inductors, caps and resistors!

Clipdat

Hell yeah! I'd say you should always go for a crossover upgrade for a pair of speakers that will never be leaving your collection.

Especially with a model like this where there's been numerous other members who have done it to great result.