My present system: Overall the system has a very natural sound. The midrange is deep, colorful and as rich as many SET based systems. The highs are airy, open and extremely effortless with no glare or harshness. Bass is extremely well defined with no bloat or bloom but solid and deep. The system is easy to listen to for five or more uninterrupted hours with no fatigue and never losing interest. Imaging is pinpoint with a deep and wide sound stage. I've back my toeing by a very tinny amount to keep the imaging from appearing artificially etched. In my opinion the tonal quality is as accurate and life like as any system I've auditioned. I go to a lot of live performances in small clubs, 1000 seat theaters and two world renowned orchestra halls. I for the most part find my system more enjoyable to listen to than live. It's impossible to duplicate the energy of a live show, but in sound quality I believe I have surpassed most venues.
Room: This is the most overlooked and yet important component in an audio system. Sadly most of us must use the room that came with our house and don't have the luxury of designing a perfect room. I am part of the masses, I use a separate room that was a livingroom in another life. It's size is wrong and it's finishes are suspect. The room is 17'-6" x 13'-4" x 8'-0". I have set the speakers on the long wall as recommended by the speaker manufacturer. The tweeters are placed 2'-8" (approx. 1/5 the 13'-4" dim.) out from the front wall and 3'-11" (a min. of 1/3 greater than the front wall) from the side walls. This means they are 9'-8" apart and the speakers are toed at 31 degrees. My head is set 4'-5"(approx. 1/3 the 13'-4" dim.) from the back wall which in turn leaves my ears at 8'-0" from the tweeters. This is a bit more "near field" than what is usual, but the recommended alternative of my head against an acoustic panel on the back wall is not possible in my room. The front wall has a large window with full length wool curtains. The window is treated with 9 Margo Audio Labs dots and I have two custom 15 lbs steel/rubber anti-vibration plates leaned against the glass. The back walls are full height book shelves filled with books set at varying depths. One side wall is a fireplace and the other is a french door. These are both very bad surfaces and I use acoustic panels (only when I listen) at the reflection points. The ceiling/wall corners are treated with corner tunes. The floor is hardwood with a large 14' x 10' wool rug. I have two wool throw rugs on top of the overall rug. I continue to focus my attention on my room and plan to try some other DIY project.
You may have seen that my speaker cable, interconnects and power cords equal almost 50% of the value of my system. This is far above what is the "recommended" budget but after testing more that 50 interconnects and 20 power cords I've found this is an extremely important aspect of getting the most from the equipment. Most of the cables I own are used and were purchased at considerable discounts off the retail price. I advise everyone to consider finding good prices on the best cables they can afford.
You may have also figured I'm very big on tweaks and vibration control. To learn more about my experience with tweaks, power and other stuff see "winter lessons" on Audiogon.
Sony SCD-1 SACD/CD player with full Audiomod (Richard Kern) modifications. ($5000 standard unit, $4900 modification) The modification includes all VSR4 Vishay resistors and Black Gate capacitors along with modifications to the power supply and an upgraded audio board op-amp. The second round of modifications include Black Gate capacitors to the transport board, Super Clock 3 and Super Clock 3 power supply, Audio Consulting Silver output transformers, Cardas RCA, along with new motors and laser pick-up (as preventive maintenance) The sound is wonderfully full, dynamic, transparent with excellent depth and superb PRAT. The standard 16 bit (red book) playback is as good as any I've tried to date. The SACD is extremely smooth and non fatiguing, better than all digital source I've auditioned including up-sampled, DVD-A and other SACD source.. I wrote a full review of this unit here at Audiogon.
Plinius SA-102
Plinius SA-102 Class A, solid state 125 watt. This amps is extremely revealing, smooth with pinpoint definition, great depth and a huge sound stage. They have the warmth and color of a single ended tube amp with the slam and definition of the best solid state. I wrote a full review of this amp here on Audiogon.
Aesthetix Callisto
With NOS tubes
Custom made belt drive Empire 208
Tri-planer arm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge
Aesthetix IO
with NOS tubes
Dunlavy Audio Labs SC-IVa
($8495) These speakers are the heart of my system, I built my entire system around them after auditioning as many high-end speakers as possible. The bass definition is excellent with full extension to 20 Hz. The high end is detailed, smooth, open, and completely grain free. Midrange has always been the strength of Dunlavy speakers, it is full, rich and warm with excellent definition and depth. For vocals and jazz these are the best most natural sounding speaker I found under $18,000, the final bass slam is lacking for loud rock and roll, but for all other musical situations these are a great speaker and a real value in audio. In my application I removed the bases and set the speakers on #3 Black Diamond Racing (BDR) pucks and BDR cones. This tightened the base and midrange definition with no affect on the overall voicing of the speaker. 3-way, 91 dB, 5 ohms impedance, 190 lbs ea.
Jade Audio Reference Solid Gold
XLR between Io and Callisto. RCA for remaining
Jade Audio Vermeil
bi-wire speaker cables
Dream State Dream Catcher power cords
Dream Catcher power cords throughout
Running Springs Haley power conditioner
six outlet conditioner
Power supply
20 amp dedicated circuit using 10 ga. Solid cord wire and Hubble outlets ($60). These tweaks each remove a layer of noise and glare in the signal. Combined the sum result is a relatively cheap
Apollo/ Nuance Aria - 455/ shelves & O.B. cones
Lightweight rigid metal stand with spiked feet and adjustable upturned spiked shelf supports. Very easy to assemble and expandable. ($110 per section, 7 sections used in my system)The Placette's Alpha uses it's factory footers placed on a Nuance shelf (approx. $300) that sits on three Orchard Bay brass up-turned cones ($200) that rest on a MDF shelf that then sits on the Apollo rack. The SCD-1, with it's factory footers, sit on a Nuance Beta shelf (approx. $350) resting on a separate Apollo base unit. This unit is then spiked to another Apollo system below. The Plinius SA-102 treble/mid-range amp uses three Orchard Bay titanium cones with titanium pucks ($600) sitting on a custom Nuance shelf (approx. $500). The Plinius bass amp uses three Orchard Bay titanium cones on brass pucks ($500) sitting on a custom Nuance shelf. ($500) The Hydra sits on EAR footers ($1.50 ea.) and a BDR
Marantz 20
One of the best tuners ever build. Note the Oscilloscope on the right side of display. this is my original High School tuner, and better than most!
Thank-you for the insight Larry. I used to own some BMI power cords and once wrote something negative. I don't remember the manufacturers name, but he went crazy and threatened me. I decided too many steroids and sold my BMI. Sounds like I should give them another try J.D.
PS: looks like i need to do some updating of this page. The Placette was replaced with an Aesthetix Calypso and I've added a Nordost Valhalla power cable and an Elrod.
. Jade, . I have both the NBS Statement (6ft) power cord and some BMI Whale Supreme power cords. . The NBS is wonderful, but the BMI Whale Supremes are several notches above the NBS (read: a wide margin). You can find the Whale Supremes (not regular Whales) on Audiogon used in the $ 3-400.00 range. . Nice system by the way. . Rgds, Larry .
I am very much looking forward to hearing your system sometime soon. Lovely all around! Well thought out, and your attention to important details like isolation and power delivery are exemplary!
Jade, I do have the plinius sa 100 and i rewired it, sounds very very good.thanks for your 102 review. I heard this amp unvelievable.i think its 2 times better than my sa 100.They also change the post binding cable to wbt, that is the one i also upgraded with WBT.
Hi Jadem, Very impressive system. Would love to hear it. Your knowledge of setting up a system will, or should be a great help to many who want to get the best out of their gear. I would love to hear your thoughts on vibration control, neuance, and other tweaks that you use. You are one of the Audiogon members who many have respect for your opinions. Myself included. Please let us know how important these tweaks are. I believe like yourself, you never know how good or great a component or speaker is without such things like Neuance, PCs, racks and other things you have mentioned. i know you will be repeating things you have spoke of in the past. Tell it to us again. It is worth repeating. Tell us how much your wonderful system would suffer if you did not use such things as PCs, A good rack, Neuance shelf, and the other tweaks you mentioned. Thanks so much for your many informative posts.
The Valhalla are very revealing. With electrostatic speakers they may sound bright, I would try them first before spending the money. I would recommend you try Audience AU-24 also. Ive read good comments on the speaker wire when compared to the Valhalla. For some more money used FIM Gold or NBS Statement I know will soften and warm the sound some. A second opinion is people have thought the Valhalla to sound thin, again with the speakers your using this may be an issue. On my system I would not call them thin, but they are not thick either. I personally love the sound and the detail is beyond reproach. For you I am recommending an audition first. As far as the SA-102 matching up with your speakers, I think it will be a great match. You will discover information you never knew existed. I think youll be thrilled.
I am soon to join the ranks of Plinius SA 102 owners. I will begin with a single stereo amplifier driving a pair of Quad 989s. I note with interest that you use Nordost Valhalla speaker cable. I have been toying with this absurdly expensive idea myself. If you stumble across my post, I would be interested in any comments you have on this speaker cable in your system. My other options are Magnan Signature, or the Analysis Plus Oval stuff.
It all depends on how much you want to spend on a turntable setup. My Basis/RB300/Benz Micro Glider 2 is a pretty good analogue setup that is a lot of value for the money. OFC, can gan get better for more money.
The preamp I think is an easy choice. Either look at an Ayre K-3x or Ayre K-1x both WITH phono stage. The Ayre linestage in boith the K-3x and K-1x is really remarkable. They are among the best solid state preamps on the planet.
Now the Ayre phono stage has to be heard to be believed. It could be the best integrated phono preamp offered in a linestage. The phono stage is 100% balanced (as is the entire preamp). Ayre phono stage only offers XLR connections so you either have to get a tonearm wired with XLR connectors (phono cables) or some nice adapters. I am having to use Cardas adapters.
Hi J-D, I can tell that a lot of your system's magic is hidden in the supports, tweaks & vibration control shamanism that you master so well. For analogue you may want to try a pro-ject (or its local equivalent), a rega (latest version, I agree), VPI... However, with your mastery of the tweak, you may want to try a bigger suspended deck. There's no difficulty there. Outboard phono will be tougher. IMO your ears & system require a very good one. Unfortunately, the price difference b/ween "good" & very good is high; the Aesthetix, FM acoustics (et alia) of this world fly high. It also requires an extra cable -- BTW I tried valhalla on phono today & am suitably impressed.
Tok20000, I agree an anologue section would be nice. I have an old table but the sound is so bad I do not use it anymore. I've thought about the Rega 9 2002 version, do you have thoughts? also I would need a phono pre-amp.
I will get around to pictures soon, it's been on my list of things to do. I plan to include close up shots of some of the tweaks and shelve support. Thanks for the intrest.
Great description of your system Jade! Could you indulge us with some pictures of your system and room? Thanks for the insightful summary of your system, some of your comments have been of use to tweaking my system.
Hi JD; thanks for sharing your system with us-- I enjoyed reading your observations and comments. It looks very impressive on screen, and I can imagine it sounds excellent too. But you could be a bad/good influence on me, ie I may have to look into Syn. Res. top of the line Designers Reference speaker cables. Can I blame you for that "indulgence"? Cheers. Craig
Hi Jade Not surprised about your cabling & AC cost % compared to total system: I'm somewhat just under the 40% figure myself. I couldn't agree more that this is a major part of what makes or breaks a really great rig. Agree with Oz that your attention to detail certainly approaches the fanatical; the isolation & vibration tweaks again make all the difference, assuming that the hardware is initially capable, then these "little things" all add up to show off its' true character. BTW: I just ordered those special brass pucks for the OB titanium cones from Stewart, along with Zoethecus Z Slab shelf which he suggested to try in place of present Black Diamond shelving; this will certanly be an interesting experiment. Thanks again for all your help & suggestions which have helped to realize dramatic improvements from such seemingly insignificant & easy-to-implement tweaks.
I chose the FIM because of it's control and definition on the bass. I have tested almost all the higher end interconnects avalible, and for my system the FIM has the best control and definition in the bass. Given that is my small nit on the Dunlavy speakers the FIM tend to off set this short coming. The coloration is hard to hear in the low frequency so the weakness of the FIM (it's added color to the higher frequencies) are not an issue in my usage of them.
Wow! Your system sounds great -- it seems that you really put a lot of attention around the details. Given your overall emphasis on neutrality, did you choose the FIM cables to accentuate the somewhat shy bass slam or were the mid/high colorations offsetting issues with the room acoustics? Thanks.
