I have been working on this system for over 14 years. For about 5 years i had Wilson Sophia's and a Sony SCD 777ES player and no plans to upgrade. A year ago i added a Thorens turntable and a NAD phono preamp and i liked the vinyl sound right away.
I wanted to replace the Sophia's with Sasha's but when i found a pair of Mission Pilastro (my favorite speaker of all times) i bought them right away. I have been looking for a pair for over 7 years, there were ony 35 pair ever made and now i am lucky enough to own one of them.
The only upgrade plans i have are a new amp and preamp, ML 532 and 32.
Added the Master Reference turntable, a Transparent Powerisolator 8 filter and a Pagode Reference for the new turntable.
Replaced the Transparent power filstration system with a Isotek one, the G2 Nova is definetly better than the Powerisolator 8 but i can't say the same thing about the Titan vs the Powerisolator MM.
Also added a Clearaudio Reference Battery Power Supply for the phono preamp (this one is really good), a Outlet Limit clamp and replaced the Double Matrix with a Audio Desk Systeme record cleaner.
Master Clock for the DCS system. Makes a huge difference.
DCS Purcell
Firewire Upsampler
Clearaudio Master Reference w CMB
Upgraded the Master Solution.
Clearaudio Master TQ-I
With Clearaudio Sixstream cable.
Clearaudio Goldfinger V2
Great sounding cartridge.
van den Hul Colibri
With gold coils. The Goldfinger is better in every way.
Clearaudio da Vinci V2
I used for 2 months than upgraded to the Goldfinger.This is a very good cartridge. I prefer it to the VDH Colibri.
Clearaudio Stradivari V2
My first MC cartridge, a huge step up from my old Thorens TD 124 mk 5. Got me hooked on Clearaudio.
Clearaudio Balanced Reference
best phono preamp i had, i upgraded from Clearaudio Balance +. Added the battery power supply.
Mark Levinson 383
Integrated amp. never going to sell this on.
Mission Loudspeakers Pilastro
Only 35 ever made. I looked for it for 7 years. Never going to sell them. I had Wilson Sophias and wanted to upgrade to Sasha. They are in a completly different league.
Transparent Audio Reference XL
Unbalanced from DCS to ML and from phono preamp to ML.
Transparent Audio Reference XL
Speaker cable, i upgraded from Reference
Finite Elemente Pagode Master Reference
With Cerabase feet. 2 stands each with Cerabase feet. Under the turntable shelf another 4 ceraballs to handle the weight.
Clearaudio Magix2
16 Isolation Feet for turntable. I moved from Europe 1 year ago, didn't need them in Europe but in the US because of the wooden structure of the home they do a great job.
Clearaudio Double Matrix
Record Cleaning Machine.
Clearaudio Titanium v2
Added the Titanium for the Universal Tonearm.
Clearaudio Universal w. VTA
9' tonearm with the optional VTA base with sixstream cable.
Isotek Titan
Used just for the ML33h amplifiers.
Mark Levinson No. 32
wanted this for years, great preamp
Mark Levinson 33H
Very musical amplifiers, they work great with the speakers. Same amplifiers used by JA in the Stereophile review where i first saw the speakers.
Isotek Nova GII
Replaced the Transparent Powerisolator 8 and it's definetly better.
Hi there from the UK my name is spencer latham I also own a pair of mission pilastro speakers. I am in love with these speakers and over the last year made it my gole to find out as much information about these before the opportunity is gone. So far I have found the original manufacturer of the drivers including the tweeters. I have been in contact with Peter comeau who plaid a big part in making these outstanding speakers. I have created a page on Facebook called mission pilastro legacy where all the information I have found is getting posted. If you would like any help finding parts for these speakers please contact me and I will do my upmost for you. It would be brilliant if you could introduce yourself on our page on Facebook so any owners can meet and chat about your experiences. So far we have been able to work out for definite there is at least 24 pairs of them in the world. But before my research findings parts was impossible because mission selling to the IAG group after making these. Now I have concrete information on the drivers manufacturer so if you need any parts please get in contact with me on fb my name is spencer Latham. I look forward to meeting you thanks
Buna Dan, am trimis un friend request pe FB ca sa-ti pot trimite poze. Pretul cu care ai cumparat boxele este exceptional ! nu am gasit pe net pret mai mic de 19000 euro , pret cu care a vandut o pereche cineva din Ploiesti.
I own also one pair of Mission Pilastro used only one week at a "Luxury Show" , so a brand new one and I want to sell it ! If you know someone who is interested to have one pair, I'll be very glad to sell it.
System edited: A couple of ugrades: A Clearaudio battery power supply, a Outer Limit record weight, Audio Desk Systeme vinyl cleaner and replaced the Transparent power units with Isotek Titan and Niva G2.
I was very satisfied with the Transparent power system, i also have the MM2 for the power amplifiers but i just changed all of them to the Titan and the Nova GII from Isotek and i think the Isotek products do a better job. Anyway the Transparent products are very very good and if you are planning to buy one i am sure that you will be very happy with it.
System edited: Replaced the turntable with a Master Refernce, added a Transparent Powerisolator 8 filter and a Pagode Reference stand for the new turntable.
I used a exd USB to sdif converter ( only made for dcs equipment) connected to the Verona clock and the Purcell upsampler and the purcell linked to the elgar plus with firewire. All cables are siltech royal signature gold. I use a macbook pro. I streamed dsd files and 24/192 straight and upsampled to dsd. I mostly listen to vinyl, souns much better in my opinion.
What did you use for PC audio? Did you have a dedicated PC? What format were your music files in? While I still have a CD player I am 95% PC audio and have no complaints. Of course getting to this point required building dedicated music server PC and all the audiophile quality parts and cables but in the end, it was worth it not just for sound quality but convenience. One lesson I learned was that the operating system on the PC can have a huge impact on sound. Other lessons learned from "normal" audio like quality of power, isolation, etc also applies to PC audio.
I tried computer audio but i wasn't impressed and i listen every dat at work to music from my pc and i don't want to do that at home as well. Mission is a british company, i just like this product from them. It was a statement product, they have 13 drivers each , they weigh 360 lbs each and i had to have them. Thanks.
Fantastic system! You've got some top notch gear. I have never heard of Mission Speakers but I bet they are amazing. Have you considered computer based audio yet?
System edited: Added a ML no. 32 preamp, No. 33h Amplifiers, Tranaparent Powerisolator MM2, Clearaudio Universal x VTA Tonearm. Huge difference over the ML 383, still love the ML 383 but the No. 32 + 33H combo is in a completly different league.
