I'm Done!
I am done buying audio gear. Don't get it twisted, I am not frustrated or disappointed with my musical experience, but I'm sure I have found the perfect combination of gear that ends the search for "better" Now I know I've said that at least one time b4, but I think I'm there. I couldn't be more happy with the way my rig sounds now. All of my recordings sound good, even recordings that previously sounded dull and boring, now have me tapping and enjoying the music. My listening enjoyment is provided by the following equip:
Source JRiver > PS Audio Directstream Jr > deHavilland Ultraverve (tube-pre) > Belles Reference 150 v2 driving Harbeth C7es3 .....(MIT shotgun S1 ic & Acoustic Zen Satori sc)
Gotta thank Marvda for steering me toward the dehavilland pre. It is the best pre that I've owned by far. It is very transparent, quiet with fantastic detail retrieval, imaging and staging. But the Belles is one hellava amp. Strong tight bass, shimmering highs without the slightest bit of brightness or harshness. It is crystal clear and transparent. Makes my speakers sing then disappear at the same time. I don't know how to do a technical review, but in layman's terms...."I have arrived and now I'm done" looking.
Thanks Marv for all your help with the deHavilland
Source JRiver > PS Audio Directstream Jr > deHavilland Ultraverve (tube-pre) > Belles Reference 150 v2 driving Harbeth C7es3 .....(MIT shotgun S1 ic & Acoustic Zen Satori sc)
Gotta thank Marvda for steering me toward the dehavilland pre. It is the best pre that I've owned by far. It is very transparent, quiet with fantastic detail retrieval, imaging and staging. But the Belles is one hellava amp. Strong tight bass, shimmering highs without the slightest bit of brightness or harshness. It is crystal clear and transparent. Makes my speakers sing then disappear at the same time. I don't know how to do a technical review, but in layman's terms...."I have arrived and now I'm done" looking.
Thanks Marv for all your help with the deHavilland
Main Rig:
HTPC (J River) > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a
Harbeth C7 ES3
Second Rig:
HTPC (J.River)> MF V-Link> Adcom GDA 600 > Cayin TA 30 (buzzy-bee mods)
Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)
HTPC (J River) > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a
Harbeth C7 ES3
Second Rig:
HTPC (J.River)> MF V-Link> Adcom GDA 600 > Cayin TA 30 (buzzy-bee mods)
Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)
7
Comments
How 'bout a pic?
Vinyl: Fluance RT82 * Nagaoka MP-110 * Bottlehead Reduction + Integration Upgrade
Video: Panasonic TH-50PZ850U * Panasonic DMP-UB200P-K * ROKU Premiere * Z-line Designs Elektra
The DeHavilland is a nice piece for sure. Glad you're digging it - I could see where your system could deliver the goods.
Speakers: Harbeth: 30.2, SHL5+; Usher: Be-10, T-515; Rosso Fiorentino: Elba, Pienza, Certaldo, Fiesole, Volterra; Polk: T50, Signature S15, RTA 15tl, RTi12; Sonner Audio Allegro Unum, Legato Unum, Legato Semis, Legato Duo; Emerald Physics CS-2.8; Klipsch KLF-20
Preamps: Shuguang S200MK, Dayens Ampino, Parasound P5
Amps: Shuguang S845MK, Dayens Ampino Monoblocks, Parasound A23
Integrateds: Triode Corporation TRV-88SER, MastersounD: BoX, Dueventi, Compact 845, Evolution 845; North Star Design Blue Diamond
Sources: AURALiC Aries, Denon HEOS Link, North Star Design: Magnifico, Supremo, Incanto, Intenso, Venti
Cabling: Wireworld
TV: Sony XBR-75X940C
In seriousness, I could see the Harbeths being forever components... dunno about any of the rest.
Office: PC, Marantz CD-1 transport, Marantz AMP-1, Acoustic Technologies Classic Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus Subwoofer, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable
Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Project BoxE Bluetooth Streamer, Polk TSi200's
Living Room: Pioneer SX-N30 Network Receiver, Pioneer PD10AE CD Player, Furman M8-LX Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi Subwoofer
Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Parasound P5, Parasound A23, Yamaha BD-S681, Auralic Aries Mini, Polk S60, Polk S30, Samsung 60" LED
Office
B&K Ref 50, B&K 200.2, Chromecast, LSiM 703s
Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
Will do....gotta charge up the camera
HTPC (J River) > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a
Harbeth C7 ES3
Second Rig:
HTPC (J.River)> MF V-Link> Adcom GDA 600 > Cayin TA 30 (buzzy-bee mods)
Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)
Hahahahaha, for sure DSkip, you are very knowledgeable and have some nice equipment in stock so yeah, I should probably take your advice
HTPC (J River) > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a
Harbeth C7 ES3
Second Rig:
HTPC (J.River)> MF V-Link> Adcom GDA 600 > Cayin TA 30 (buzzy-bee mods)
Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)
Well you make a decent point, but my dac is able to do firmware updates. Everything else should be good for at least 10-20 yrs maybe. Mhardy I'm at a parade, stop tryna rain on it (lol)
HTPC (J River) > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a
Harbeth C7 ES3
Second Rig:
HTPC (J.River)> MF V-Link> Adcom GDA 600 > Cayin TA 30 (buzzy-bee mods)
Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)
Thanks Verb, I got a bunch of tubes on hand from previous experiences
HTPC (J River) > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a
Harbeth C7 ES3
Second Rig:
HTPC (J.River)> MF V-Link> Adcom GDA 600 > Cayin TA 30 (buzzy-bee mods)
Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)
4 sure
HTPC (J River) > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a
Harbeth C7 ES3
Second Rig:
HTPC (J.River)> MF V-Link> Adcom GDA 600 > Cayin TA 30 (buzzy-bee mods)
Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)
What are you playing with these days Mike? Rogue Audio M-180s ?
HTPC (J River) > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a
Harbeth C7 ES3
Second Rig:
HTPC (J.River)> MF V-Link> Adcom GDA 600 > Cayin TA 30 (buzzy-bee mods)
Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)
Being content is an awesome place to be.
Speakers: Harbeth: 30.2, SHL5+; Usher: Be-10, T-515; Rosso Fiorentino: Elba, Pienza, Certaldo, Fiesole, Volterra; Polk: T50, Signature S15, RTA 15tl, RTi12; Sonner Audio Allegro Unum, Legato Unum, Legato Semis, Legato Duo; Emerald Physics CS-2.8; Klipsch KLF-20
Preamps: Shuguang S200MK, Dayens Ampino, Parasound P5
Amps: Shuguang S845MK, Dayens Ampino Monoblocks, Parasound A23
Integrateds: Triode Corporation TRV-88SER, MastersounD: BoX, Dueventi, Compact 845, Evolution 845; North Star Design Blue Diamond
Sources: AURALiC Aries, Denon HEOS Link, North Star Design: Magnifico, Supremo, Incanto, Intenso, Venti
Cabling: Wireworld
TV: Sony XBR-75X940C
Glad you’ve made it, I’ll be here whether I like it or not in the upcoming months, as I gotta get a car, hopefully before I get my actual license.
music on vinyl; https://www.discogs.com/user/mlistens03/collection
Technics SL3200 turntable; Shure M97xE cart; Hagerman Audio Labs Bugle 2; NAD C352 integrated; KEF Q150 speakers; Velodyne VA-907 subwoofer; home-built stands, generic cables but will upgrade soon...
desktop; Lenovo G50 running Win10, Yamaha RX-v665 AVR, JBL e30 headphones
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Dynaudio Audience 72
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cary xciter dac
Cullen modded Sonos
Joule la-100 pre
B&k Ref 4420 amp
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Analysis plus crystal oval ic's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
B&k 1430
Tad 803 speakers
The 180's have moved on, I now have a pair of VAS Audio Citation II, EL-34 based mono blocks. They have won me over.
Hey, I'm just tryin' to keep the hifi industry goin'. Since folks don't breed like flies any more, we're their main source of income!
Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
Transport/Dac: Cayin Venus cd-100i, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkI
Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra
Speaker Cables: Analysis Plus Black Mesh Oval 9, Cerious Technologies Graphene Extreme
Interconnects: Analysis Plus Copper Oval-In Micro, MG Audio Design Planus Cu2,
Cerious Technologies Graphene Extreme
Power Cables by: Cullen Cables, 6sons Audio, Swiss Cables
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Dynaudio Audience 72
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cary xciter dac
Cullen modded Sonos
Joule la-100 pre
B&k Ref 4420 amp
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Analysis plus crystal oval ic's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
B&k 1430
Tad 803 speakers
Joule-Electra LA 100 MKIII
Pass Labs Aleph 30, McCormack DNA-125, Parasound A21
Marantz SA-14S1
Usher CP-6311/Tyler Acoustics Taylo Reference Monitor, LSA-1
Dual SVS SB2000
Wireworld Equinox 7 bi-wire, Wireworld Silver Eclipse 7 IC
Secondary Rig:
Parasound P5, Audio Electronics by Cary Constellation
Marsh a200s, Audio Elecrtonics by Cary Hercules
Pioneer Elite DV-45a, Denon DVD-2910
Klipsch Epic CF-1, Vandersteen 3CE sig
Analysus Plus Oval
Lumin S1 - X1 power supply
Sony XA-5400ES SACD
Pass XP-22 pre, X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers, SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
Yamaha A-S3000 Integrated Amplifier
Sonus Faber Cremona Loudspeakers
PS Audio Directream Jr| Jolida JD-100A CDP | Sansui TU-9900 Tuner|TEAC A-6100 RtR
HT 5.1: Anthem MRX 720 / BDP-Denon DBT1713UD / Polkaudio LSiM703 / W4S mAmp's / Polkaudio LSiM706c / Polkaudio LSiM702F/X's / SVS PC12-NSD / Panasonic TC P55VT30
2 Channel: Rogue RP-5 / WireWorld Electra power cord / Marantz TT-15S1/ Ortofon - Quintet Black MC / Marantz NA8005 DAC / W4S mAmp's / Synology DS 216+ll-4TB / Polkaudio LSiM703
All that’s left is finding the perfect chair, because it’s been unscientifically proven there is a correlation between audio preformance and butt support.
La-Z-Boy Eldorado
High Leg Recliner
https://www.la-z-boy.com/p/recliners/eldorado-high-leg-recliner/_/R-029423
Thank me later!
PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
Rears Salk SuperCharged Surrounds
DAC North Star Design Supremo
Source PSA PWT & Oppo 205
Pre/Pro Integra DHC 40.1
LCD Samsung LN46B750
Mains Salk HT2-TL
Pre Cary SLP-98 F1
Center Salk HT2C
Wires MIT S3.3
PSA PC AC-12
5.1: Marantz sr5003 (feeding mains through HT bypass) Sonus Faber solo center, AQ Carbon HDMI's, Sony XBRx900E, Xbox One S as 4k player, Definitive Technology SM350's surrounds, Tivo Bolt, Harmony Elite remote
Other gear: Totem Rainmakers (not hooked up) Sonos play 5 and play 1's x 2, Audio Technica TT and Edifier active speakers in kids room, JVC XM448 minidisc rack mount, Sony minidisc walkman, Project Debut III (currently not working), Samsung 46, and 2 x32" tvs, Samsung Soundbar, Okki Nokki LP cleaner, Second Harmony remote setup for bedroom, etc etc
Learned that from experience once or twice, or maybe 6 times.
music on vinyl; https://www.discogs.com/user/mlistens03/collection
Technics SL3200 turntable; Shure M97xE cart; Hagerman Audio Labs Bugle 2; NAD C352 integrated; KEF Q150 speakers; Velodyne VA-907 subwoofer; home-built stands, generic cables but will upgrade soon...
desktop; Lenovo G50 running Win10, Yamaha RX-v665 AVR, JBL e30 headphones
Have a heart. Just isn’t right to crush somebody’s dreams.