Very nice system. I love your choice of amps and speakers.
;) Does your Watch center blend in well with the Watt/Puppys? I'm placing an order for one and have been running on phantom center so far.

statman September 19, 2006 21:06

Bflowers
Nice choices to have for your system.
The Valhalla that I now own was additioned in 3 meter lenghts. My local dealer did not have anything longer to try out. I also tried out Kimber cable, Transparent, and Kubala. I had to bite the bullet and hope that in longer lenghts that it would still sound the same. I also use long runs of the Valhalla, 33 feet for my front three channels in balanced mode.

Digital source, tought question to answer. I have not listened to any of the new gear accept the the EMM labs and the Audio aero. The Meridian received a great review but I do not trust all of the reviewers.
I would not use the analog pass through on the Casablanca if you want the best sound. I had to use it for a short while (loaned my ASR to a friend) and did not enjoy at all. If the CD source has a volume control as the Wadia and others do, use it and do not use the Theta in the loop.
Theta makes a outboard anolog box, Six shooter and they also make a 2 channel box. This way the Casablanca is only used for volume control only and the analog signal never goes into the Casablaca.

I have never had the chance to listen to any of the Boulder gear so I cannot comment.
The ASR was on loan to me for a weekend. It was so GOOD that I bought it same Monday. The unit was hooked up and played for 48 hours on repeat, listened with my wife on Saturday until 3 AM. The listening session went by so fast and was so enjoyable that I just had to have the ASR. It is by far the best amp that I have ever listened to.
Over the years I have demo'd lots of gear over extended time periods but this ASR took just one night to buy. To this day I am extremly happy with my choice.

I will now digress and recommend if you can and want a true high end 2 channel system try a good turntable. I did and it really blew me away.
That is why I now use my new turntable 90% of the time.

rugyboogie September 17, 2006 22:22

Perfectionist
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you.
The four post are made of 3 inch steel tubing and the horizonlal pieces are 2 1/2 inch steel. All welds are heli arc type and the connections are openend so that the lead shot and silica sand can flow freely when being filled. The lead shot and silica sand are filled in three lifts so that everything can setttle by using a concrete vibrator touching the bottom of the shelves and columns. It is critical to wrap the the vibrator with cloth so not chip the powder coat finish when making contact with metal shelves or posts.
The spikes/feet are made out of a combination of stainless steel (contact with ground) and aircraft aluminium in a cone shape to allow for leveling of the rack. The feet/cones are 3 inches tall.
The shelves are made out of combination of materials.The lamination from top to bottom are as follows. Black South African granite, MDF, Black Brazilian slate(known as Mustang slate) and then Baltic birch. I used Bostich best latex glue, PL premium polyurethane, and epoxy to glue the layers together.
I am right now experimenting with small inflatable inner tubes between the last layer (mini air suspension system) to see if I can hear any thing different.
The weight of the rack including the lead shot, sand and shelves is 815 lbs.

rugyboogie September 17, 2006 21:26

Enjoyed looking at your system. Some elements are similar to mine. It looks like you may have approached setting up you system in a way similar to what I am contemplating. I think you are several years ahead of me:-) I'm new to the high end, and working to construct my system. I have begun to enter my system on audiogon...still need the photos and a few more details. As I have begun this journey, I have learned a great deal and made a few mistakes(some bad equiptment, more bad dealers). Anyway, I'm trudging along and enjoying the music so far, knowing I can get more out of these Maxx's.
So far the plan is:
1. Get new interconnects (challenging to demo because I need a 30ft run to do so). Have a Tara Labs(0.8) on the way to demo. Will use that to get some sense of what an improved interconnect will do. Am thinking about Valhalla, but hard to demo. How did you choose Valhalla?

2. Get a better digital source. Many choices out there and approaches. What I am thinking about doing is getting a high quality CD player and running it analog bypass through the Theta for now, with the ultimate idea of buying a good 2 channel preamp in the future. I am looking at Accuphase DR 78, DCS P8i, Meridian 808 sig. Any thoughts?

3. Get a better amp. Have you listened to boulder? How did you ultimately decide on the emitter?

Thanks for endulging the neophyte:-)

bflowers September 13, 2006 18:03

Can you tell us about the rack please?

perfectionist September 13, 2006 03:44

System update.
I just received my new Loricraft PC-3. This is such a great LP cleaner that anyone that enjoy's analog, this is a must have.
My turntable and tonearm are working every night now, re-discovering my old LP collection and buying lots of new and used vinyl.
When I have more time I will write a review on the the Kuzma airline. (IT IS GREAT)
Too busy with all of the summer time activities to write anymore.

Enjoing the summer.

rugyboogie August 17, 2006 13:28

Thanks for the feedback....my room is not gigantic by any means and I do not go for very loud levels of listening.

henryhk June 11, 2006 09:04

Henryk
I spent the better part of 4 hrs listening to the two Emitters.
The ASR I is extremely good under all circumstances. In my opinion, it lacks the overall dynamic slam of the ASR II. If you listen at moderatley loud levels the ASR I will be fine, but if you like to play your music loud then you can overtax it.
IMO the ASR II will give you better dynamics with your present speakers at higher listening levels, but if you don't push like crazy, the ASR I is a real honey.
The ASR I is extremely quiet and has tons of resolution and it is very dynamic.
If the ASR II did not exist I would not miss a thing.
I listened to them with Avantegarde DUOs and the new JM Labs. I really enjoyed listening to both speakers. The difference on the DUOs with both ASR s was not very big because of their high effciency. On the Labs it showed more of a difference at higher listening levels.
I don't think you can go wrong with either unit. If your listening room is not of gigantic proportions then go for the ASR I.

rugyboogie June 10, 2006 04:29

Really appreciated, Rugyboogie. Sensitivity 89.

henryhk June 09, 2006 17:51

Henryhk
I am seeing my ASR dealer his Friday. I will see if I can borrow the ASR Emitter Exclusive I or at least audition the two side by side. The dealer also carries the JM Lab speaker line so that is what I will be using to evaluate if I cannot bring the unit home. Once I know what the differences are I will report back to you with my findings.
How efficient are your Kharmas?

rugyboogie June 08, 2006 11:29

Very inspiring! One more question, if I may. Do you think there is much of a difference btwn Exclusive 1 and 2 other than power ratings? I can afford the 2 but 4 boxes are bit to handle and place!

henryhk June 07, 2006 10:21

Henryhk
I am enjoying the ASR immensely with all types of music. The control that they have over the Wilsons is really something special. Before the purchase of the ASR I was looking at speakers. I thought I needed, or was lacking a little bit more control and heft in the bottom end. The Wilson and ML33 combo are great but none of the preamps that I tried really allowed the 33s to shine.The CAT that I owned was to my ears the best that I had access to.
Along came the ASR and how things have changed. The bass is tighter and goes deeper that the CAT, ML combo. Now this might be because of the tubes but when I compared the CAT to the ML32 it was not night and day especially in the bottom end.
The whole presentation is just so much more ALIVE with the ASR.
The dead quiet comes from having the battery as a supply for the critical stage. The ac power disconnects from the PSU battery once the ASR is in music mode. I believe this one of the big reasons why I get so much of being there when I listen to music.
You mention the "transported to the venue". I enjoy this every night.
I listen to so much more music since I bought the ASR, buying more music and rediscover my old music again. I even bought a Vinyl rig which I play every day as well.
It is like a drug. I want it over and over again.
Hope this helps

rugyboogie June 07, 2006 04:13

Hey Rugboogie....I went to a dealer to audtion the ASR: it was very promising indeed and clearly better than what I have and was very good value compared to others. However the dealer had only monitor speakers in place so could not really hear how it did bass...and I have heard some comments that bass was a tad light though tight. Does this confim what you think? How do they drive your Wilsons?

To me their strongest point was the absolute lack of noise as well treble. Tone was not dark yet detailed (Lamm?) nor sweet and cohesive (NHB) but airy, dead quiet, as if not the artists were brought to the room but I was transported to the recording venue. However, it was only 2 hrs at a dealer set up. Would appreciate your input as I am trying to decide what to do and the retailers here sadly do not allow for extended (even short!) home auditions.

henryhk June 06, 2006 06:40

System edited: Playing Vinyl once again. Having lots of fun and really enyoying the music.

rugyboogie June 04, 2006 05:12

System edited: Today I received and assembled the JC Verdier, my new turntable. The tonearm is on order which should arrive next week. Looking forward to having it all come together.

rugyboogie May 23, 2006 03:30

Nrostov your welcome. Hope it helps
On this coming Monday I will pick up my new turntable. I will post pictures but of course no arm. The decision to buy the arm has been made easier by posting KUZMA VS AIRTANGENT on Audiogon. Thanks to the helps of those that have posted I will buy...... the Kuzma Air Line Bearing Tonearm.
My next biggie will be the cartridge. Koetsu, owned one and was happy but Dynavector, ZYX, Van den Hul are also contenders any advice or opinions.
Thanks as always.

rugyboogie May 21, 2006 17:54

Thank You!

nrostov May 17, 2006 15:01

Nrostov
Yes, it was the Hydra 8. But please addition the Hydra as well as the Thor. Things as you know are very system dependent and I am sure you would be happy with either, but do try them both. Let me know what works in your setup.
BTW nice system especially the speakers, heard them about a year ago and really liked them.

rugyboogie May 17, 2006 00:01

was it the shunyata hydra 8 that you compared it to?
I have been considering the Hydra.

nrostov May 14, 2006 21:34

Nrostov
The Thor has become a component rather than a tweak. The Shunyata and Monster were the other filters that I tried. The Monster did not make the music come together. It made the sound stage sound one dimensional. Not too much imaging, sounded better with no treatment.
I have done extensive wiring, isolation, along with dedicated grounds, dedicated breaker panel for my system. Wraped lead around wires, every wire minimum 14" away from each other.
The Shunyata was a very good unit to have up against the Thor for evaluation but after two weeks we (Wife and I) came to the conclusion that Thor stays. The source was always my Mark Levinson digital gear for two channel audio.
The differences were suttle but still clear in favor of the Thor. Low frequencies were more articulate, faster and pitch was better. Female vocalist were just "more there" in the room with us. The stage or the recording venue was much easier to distinguish along with all of the suttleties of the musicians stage presence.
A point of interest was that when my Theta and the Pioneer was plugged into the Thor the resolution in picture quality was much sharper, better solid colours and better depth. Sound is much better especially low level resolution when I use it in my Home theater set up.
So yes I am happy with the Thor and will be buying a second one for my vinyl set up once it all comes together. Tone arm hunting right now.
To all of the Mom's Happy Mothers day.

rugyboogie May 14, 2006 15:48

How do you like the Thor AC filter? How does it compare to others you have used?

P.S. The Pioneer is a great DVD player.

nrostov May 13, 2006 15:59

Rugyboogie,

You are very welcome. You will be enjoying more than you can imagine. I look forward to seeing where you end up.

dgad May 12, 2006 01:43

Dgad
Thanks for the tip. Just read the review at 6 Moons and what a review it was. I have contacted the rep for North America to find out availability for the Conductor tonearm. I will be taking delivery of the Platine next week and will have to find an arm to play my LP's with. Otherwise I will be staring at the table.
I guess it is better than looking at pictures.
By the way NICE system. I saw and read about your turntable a few weeks ago, very impressive. The review was in german and luckily I can read german.
Nothing but praises for the table. I will look to Ebay for the Ikeda tonearm since there is no one on Audiogon that sells the arm.

rugyboogie May 11, 2006 03:38

For the money get the Ikeda if you use a cartridge that requires a high effective mass arm. There are lots of great cartridges & tonearms these days. Most of them tend to have low compliance and require high effective mass. If you can do a tangent tracker go for it. I am curious about the new one from Music Maker. It is very reasonably priced.

dgad May 09, 2006 14:41

Well I just about drove myself nuts, but I finally pulled the trigger and went with the JC Verdier table. This decision was probably one of the most difficult due to the fact that I could not audition the tables. I posted the question Galibier vs Verdier and received lots of great input thanks to all that answered. Tom at Galibier has been great, first class all the way but my heart decided to go with the French table. Next is to figure out which tonearm/cartridge combo. There are so many tonearm's, looking at a SME 3012 (thanks Addi), Graham Phantom (thanks Mike L), Ikeda Triplaner (big thanks to Raul for all your help and answers), Schroeder and maybe a tangent tracker?
Then comes the cartridge....

Any advice or opinion?

rugyboogie May 09, 2006 04:09