Description

4/11/2021
 Lots of Changes made in the last few years. All for the Better. I am amazed at how much better the system has become. All the stuff below the line was written in appx 2005. I have taken my time mostly because my pockets are pretty shallow but I have expensive tastes. Vinyl is still my main media. However I can enjoy the CDP, especially with some music which never made it to Vinyl. Storyville comes to mind. I just got the streamer so the jury is still out on it. Yet I have not 
had to to do some tweaks such as footers. I have done this with the CDP with great success which has brought a lot of advantage to an otherwise stock CDP. Still my vinyl is top dog...And it should be

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The audio portion of this system has been put together over the past 2-3 years. The next step may be the HT portion. But I have said that for at least a year. And I don't see any upgrades in the HT arena soon. Truth is that I spend much more time with music than movies. The system is primarily for music(85%) with about 15% movies.

As for the audio, the CJ stuff is excellent. The Silverline's have a great sound, especially on accoustic music. It sounds like the musicians are playing live in my living room. The Theta Miles made a big improvement over previous player which sounded either great or horrible, depending on the source. The Theta sounds good on everything. The Silver Lace ic's, which are used throughout the audio portion, helped open up the sound stage and smooth out some bright passages that I had previously heard. A dedicated circuit also helped. I stumbled onto the vinyl scene when I bought the NAD PP-1 for recording LP's to cd. The MMF-7 was a good addition to the mix which replaced an old Dual. The NAD has been replaced with a Wright phono preamp, which has made a tremendous improvement to the analog section. Most of my music time is now spent listening to vinyl. Maybe someday I will get to the HT portion but for now I'm stuck in the vinyl mode

Next possible upgrade may be speaker cables, but don't say anything to my wife about that.
Read more...

Room Details

Dimensions: 20’ × 15’  Medium
Ceiling: 14’


Components Toggle details

    • Teres 340
    Battery drive motor system with Holographic Tape drive tweak.
    • TriPlanar Vll
    Tonearm
    • ZYX 4D G SB .
    LO MC cartridge 23mv running @ 47k (No loading)
    • Vacuum State JLTi
    Phono Preamp. Great bang for the Buck. This preamp is stable enough to run LOMC without loading plugs.
    • Theta Digital Miles
    without xlr or st connectors
    • Teac NT-505
    Streamer/DAC
    • Conrad Johnson CT-5
    Tubed Line Stage
    • Don Sachs Kootenay 120 65wpc
    This is a highly modified amp which is completely updated 11/2020 to latest specs. It has dual power supplies and the best caps along with oversized transformers. It sounds great
    • Silverline Audio Sonata
    The combination of   mid-range magic and superb imaging make these a joy to listen to.
    • Sumiko S-10
    There are 2 in the system which was a grand addition. This is a Rel clone  with same specs as the Rel s-5. The only difference is the cone material. 550W 12"woofer and 12" radiator.
    • Pure Note Paragon Enhanced Bi-wire
    silver
    • Pure Note Paragon Enhanced
    Used on source equipment, CD & Turntable
    • Pure Note Alluvion
    Used between amp and preamp
    • EquiCore Core Power 1800
    Balanced power
    • VTL BL 404
    Component stand. A good stand for the money but needs some tweaking. I've filled the legs with sand and have used cork between shelf and rails. I have considered changing out the shelving to maple and using points between the platform and the rails.
    • artemus woodworks Mass loaded
    Turntable stand with concrete filled legs and sandbox on top. Weighs in at 120lbs
    • Pangea AC-9
    Power cords on amp and Subwoofer. Big overachievers IMO. Very good bang for the buck
    • Oyaide R-1
    AC Power outlet. This AC outlet is amazing. It was an upgrade to the whole system
    • Perfect Path Technologies Omega E Mats
    Place under components. It Just Works. Added Realism
    • Perfect Path Technologies Power Filter
    Plug into dedicated Circuit. IT TOO Works for better Clarity & Realism
    • Pangea Audio AC 14XL Mk ll
    Power Cables Used on CD Player & Preamp
    • DIYumas Roller Blocks
    Footers under CD player and preamp
    • Nobsound Spring Footers
    Under Amp For Now
    • Record Dr Vacuum & UltraSonic Record Cleaner

Comments 22

Showing all comments by islandmandan.

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artemus 5,

I just looked at your system yesterday, and I was mightily impressed with your Turntable. My table has a bit of heft to it, it has a 1" thick front panel of Purpleheart., and I made the side and top panels from Purpleheart, they are only 5/16" thich but it looks okay, but not quite the statement your Teres 340 is. 

Regards,
Dan





 

islandmandan

Your system really seems to suit you in how it serves you every day. I'm in my mid-seventies now, but I'm still really enjoying my music, and how it is presented to me.

We both use a great tube power amp to drive fine speakers. Vinyl is very important for both of us. 

It's a real pleasure to see the manner in which you experience listening to music, keep up the good work.

Regards,
Dan

islandmandan