Voice Of Living Presence

by syntax on

Description

'The Road of excess leads to the Palace of Wisdom'

(William Blake)

Recorded Sound of such realism and definition that the musical performances come to life right in your home. I can use the recordings as a time machine to transport me to that day when to most brilliant musicians and recording engineers made the best and most fascinating recordings of all time.

Dead-silent Background, microdynamic slam, vivid three-dimensionality, ultradetail and harmonic sophistication is flowered in living colors. The kind of "You Are There" realism and emotionally engaging sound that delivers the sound of The Real Thing.

Good Audio Engineering is timeless
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Components Toggle details

    • Acoustical-Systems Omnigon
    Ultimate Phono preamplifier w/optional line stage. All triode tube design. Full symmetrical.
    Unique passive phono EQ. Each tube with its own independent heater supply.
    Unique double mono PS with bridge-type tube rectification (8 single-wave rectifiers - 4 each channel) and pure foil CLC-PS.
    100 lbs - dual chassis, 6 Phono inputs (50dB, 63dB, 68dB, 72dB, 77dB, 81dB pure Phono gain), Output AES Studio specification, (600Ω, digital 110Ω) No-loss- of-Signal-Parts, the best out there (TKD, Silver plugs, Tubes from US Army rocket defensive stations, Silver soldered, Tantal, Caddock, all Parts internal decoupled via Electron microscope devices...)
    Result: Superior Detail, accurate specs, no coloration and lifelike Reproduction. The sound ?
    Well, it is no longer about sound.
    Dynamics, colors, soundstage, 3-dimensionality - yes, all that and much more. But it goes a few significant steps beyond that.

    Imagine opening the windows of your room on a clear early summer morning. A breeze of fresh air comes in.Go further in your imagination and tear down the walls of your listening room.
    All a sudden there is fresh air, the warmth of sun rays on your skin, a world of color, beauty and a flood of details around you.
    Touching your senses - with brute directness, unfiltered, unaltered.
    Involving, dramatic, breathtaking and demanding.
    Nothing between you and the nature, virtually dead silent, free of any colorations with tremendous gain results in a sense of weight, impact and dynamics that is at once thrilling and unique.
    You can no longer move your attention away from the music.
    VERY different from anything else I have ever heard - anywhere.
    Quality inspection from Science Lab for every single piece incl. Tubes, final quality report Engineering Lab, Warranty 5 years incl. my Tubes.
    Custom made. Serial No: 007 / 012
    Never a Mk II version. Tested in University Lab for accuracy before delivered. This one is final.
    • Audioquest Wild Blue Yonder
    20ft Cable from Preamp to Amps, DBS 144V, there is large headroom, natural reproduction, clean pure tone and outstanding smoothness coupled with a more absolute sense of background silence -- a combination that made it easier to hear deeply into recordings and never feel as though some ugly byproduct was lurking around the corner. 

    Audioquest Leopard Tonearm Cable
    Extreme-purity silver Phono Cable with DBS 144v, it creates a strong stable electrostatic field which saturates and polarizes (organizes) the molecules of the insulation. This minimizes both energy storage in the insulation and the multiple nonlinear time-delays. Sound appears from a surprisingly black background with unexpected detail and dynamic contrast.

    Also in use: 
    AQ Wild Blue Yonder XLR
    AQ K2 Speakercable
    AQ WEL Signature Tonearm Cable

    AES (Audio Engineering Society) made the following Standards for the ability to transfer information: OFC-Copper (9N) = 100 and is the Standard, Gold = 90,4 and technical Silver (3N or 4N) = 106
    • Brakemeier LaVoix
    Custom Made Monitoring System. Special designed Crossover, selected chassis with no interaction to the room, The whole system is tri-amplification. Each woofer is sealed cabinet, 18 to 80 Hz with 500 Watt amplifier with active DSP. The woofer driver is a 18" unit with an BxL of 32 and maximum excursion of total 28 mm in sealed 70 litres. Mid bass and mid-highs is a 2 way system with 8" field coil paper driver with huge choke power supply and 80 000 μ filtering. 12 V supply. The tweeter is a 28 lbs unit which goes from 800 to 45 000 Hz. A ribbon / planar hybrid with 100 dB efficiency (past crossover). These two are mounted in an inverse ultraflex cabinet with a combination of 1st order electrical x-over (1 coil in low-mid - 1 capacitor in mid-high) in conjunction with approbiate mechanical filtering in low-pass (pre-chamber) and high-pass (super short tactrix). The cabinet itself has a special adjusted build-in mechnical high-pass with -3dB at 80Hz. Thus giving a pretty smooth melting between the active 18" woofer and the 8" mid-low driver. The whole system has measured 99.5 dB efficiency. Max. SPL 128 dB. Phase never worse than 8°. Pretty flat response whole band. The prime design goals were: - maximum resolution - maximum possible constant sound dispersion - a real soundstage recreation - even if seated way outside the sweet spot - real 3-dimensional soundstage - with not only left - right and front - back location, but real heights differences. Its smooth, yet very detailed and open sound is an important part in the full picture.Thanks to a crossover that does not present a terribly complex load, The Voice can be driven with anything from monster monoblocks to your favorite SET.
    • Cotter MK2L
    Excellent SUT done right. Amazing Bass, Staging AND High Frequency Performance. The full monty...
    Made side by side comparisons with Lyra, Konto KSL and a few others and it is superior in soundstage, height, width, tone, pace, simply a step ahead for real tone reproduction
    • Fidelity Research FR-1Mk3F
    The most advanced cartridge in the FR-1 series, the FR-1Mk3F was the first MC cartridge in the world to use pure silver wire for the coils.
    As a conductor, pure silver has lower resistance than any other metal. Therefore, efficiency is greatly improved without the need to make any other alterations in cartridge design. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) used the FR-64s / B-60 / FR-1Mk3F combination in the former times for Playback. Coreless coil to prevent hysteresis distortion, extremely durable suspension, this "F" version is shockingly superior to a lot of modern cartridges. When the Phonstage can handle the output, a superior cartridge for any Linear tracking tonearm, too. Updated Diamond greatly improving high-range response.
    Specifications
    Frequency Response: 10Hz - 40kHz
    Stereo separation:better than -22dB@20kHz
    VTF: 2,0 gr
    Output: 0,14mV
    Imp: 10.0Ω
    VTA: 15°
    Compliance 10x10 -6 cm / dyne (100Hz)
    Stylus: Custom made diamond

    Weight: 10 gr

    • Fidelity Research FR-7fc
    Full and powerful tone, superior Detail, no tonal gap from lowest to top range, never smears, superior channel separation, exceptional imaging & transparency ...truly terrific

    Very rare, probably one of the most sought carts in the world. It was the last series from FR, only 98 were ever made....but there are good news, when you find one, based on their construction they do not wear out and work always.

    The King of Cartridges

    VTF: 2,35 gr
    Output: 0,15mV
    Imp.: 3,0Ω
    • Fidelity Research FR-7fz
    The Fidelity Research FR-7z which was conceived by Ikeda-san fits in the Category "Done Right" and is one of the finest moving coil cartridges in the world. This MC cartridge employs a push-pull electrical generating system based on a 2-magnet, 4-pole magnetic circuit design. Both in theory and practice, this revolutionary configuration almost entirely prevents the generation of any distortion, while simultaneously doubling output voltage. FR's coreless coil reduces effective mass and eliminates hysteresis distortion, a large problem with conventional MC cartridges that have their coils wound on a core made of permalloy or other magnetic materials. It combines an outstanding black background with world class dynamic presentation. Clean, fast top end in combination with a taut, well extended bottom end. Midrange is as natural as breathing. Remarkable musical flow with hard to find definition, transparency and transient refinement. Like Phoenix's ability to be reborn from its own ashes... A great sounding cartridge 

    Output Voltage 0.24mV(5cm/sec.) 
    Tracking Force 2.0~3.0g 
    Load Impedance 2Ω 
    Frequency Response 10Hz~45kHz 
    Channel Balance 1dB(1kHz)
    Channel Separation 20dB/1kHz
    Compliance 7x10 -6 cm / dyne (100Hz)
    Stylus Shape Custom made for Syntax 
    Weight 30g
    • Fidelity Research FR-64s
    Tracking error distortion does not exist, the superior energy transfer of this Arm, linked with exceptional bass performance gives outstanding stable imaging.
    It has an uncanny ability to reproduce the tonal colors and dynamic elements of deep bass notes plus extremely quietness with stunning resolution and clarity. Correct tonal color or timbre is critical for proper musical reproduction. It is this color that defines the unique characteristic of an instrument. A guitar and piano playing the same note at the same loudness are vastly different each with its own unique timbre. The FR sounds so rich, transparent and detailed... it is simply amazing. Good as the Graham Phantom Supreme is, here is the Master. 

    Refurbished.
    Every component is soaked in a Swiss Clock Assembly degreaser, a 24-48 hrs process. Old grease removed with high quality swiss clock grease. Each component is then relubricated with the proper Swiss Clock Maker's Synthetic Lubricant.  Different parts require a different type of clock maker's lubricant. Direct wire from HS to RCA WBT102 Ag Plugs. New ABEC-9 bearings inside.
    A Design done right.
    Combination with B-60 VTA Adjuster. Very rare.
    • Fidelity Research FR-66s
    The King of Arms 

     A superb performer with even the most demanding records ever made. The presentation of nuances, non smeared detail with a rock solid dynamic physical force delivers a unsurpassed alive sound picture. This brilliant Arm provides a significant reduction in tracking error without incurring the typical resonance and control liabilities associated with longer arms. Music is reproduced effortlessly with superb transparency, sound staging, focus, realism and a superior dynamic range. It simply turns hi-fi into a musical event, enabling you to get lost in both the music and the performance, The FR-66s - still -  represents the pinnacle of serious audio engineering, it takes no prisoners!

    Refurbished.
    Every component is soaked in a Swiss Clock Assembly degreaser, a 24-48 hrs process. Old grease removed with high quality swiss clock grease. Each component is then relubricated with the proper Swiss Clock Maker's Synthetic Lubricant. Different parts require a different type of clock maker's lubricant. New ABEC-9 bearings inside.
    Rewired inside. Listening is Believing 

    • Ikeda Sound Labs
    Model 9 Kiwame cantilever-less Design "Di quella pira" ... when the going gets tough, the tough get going ... Amazing ability to accelerate. It can go from completely quiet to full tilt in an instant, it achieves this in such a effortless manner that the listener does not think about dynamics, but about 'Boy, what is THAT ??" Excels at textural production in a large authoritative sonic picture with musical flow and a clean, ultrafast top end. The new "Ikeda" are ultra inferior compared to this one. A typical example of getting a famous name and offering something which does not deserve the merits... 
    A Class of its Own... 

    Output voltage: 0.15mV (5cm/sec.45' 1kHz)
    Load impedance: 1.0Ω 
    VTF: 2.0 - 2.5 gr
    Compliance 6 x10 -6cm / dyne (100Hz)
    Super match with Cotter Mk2L
    • Jeff Rowland BPS & BPS-6
    Modified BPS Power Supply & BPS-6 for Cadence 2012 from JR. It can accommodate larger batteries and will last considerably longer with more current Power Supply ... Accurate in realistic tone and spectral balance, resolution, linearity along with weight and dimension based from its inherently low noise and very low source impedance maintained over a wide frequency range. Through them, each note had a realistic sustain, followed by a similarly realistic decay located in real space... Its overall quality comes through in the harmonic content which let you forget the time in front of your speakers.
    • Jeff Rowland Cadence
    In conventional Phono Preamplifiers, Damping is provided by load resistors. As a result, a significant amount of Signal Energy (MC) is wasted when converted to heat within the loading resistors.The Cadence is carefully engineered to effectively damp resonant energy occurring at high frequencies while transferring the maximum amount of lower frequency energy to the active input stage. This results in significant increases in dynamic range with no penalties of increasing noise.
    The CadenceDesign allows dramatic improvements in frequency response (4 Hz to 180 KHz !), Phase linearity (deviation from linear phase less than 3°, 50 Hz to 20 KHz) and distortion (less than 0,0001%). Last Production Batch, Serial No. [greaterthansign] 300
    • Klaudio RCM
    Ultrasonic Record Cleaning Machine
    • Koetsu Blue Lace
    Blue Lace Onyx Platinum with Diamond Cantilever

    Based of the limited supply of Koetsu's Blue Lace stock, they only issue two Blue Laces a year. But aside from its obvious beauty the Blue Lace batch was also specially selected because it is the hardest and most rigid among the onyx family, making it an exceptional cartridge housing due to its outstanding sonic qualities. Uncompressed dynamics, outstanding top end, lifelike Performance with a very realistic Soundstage. Faster than Lyra Atlas with a much more believable Presentation of the Real Thing. Top Performance with FR-64s + Arche Headshell + Aggelos + VTF 1.80 gr.
    Body: Blue Onyx
    Type: Moving coil
    Coil wiring: Silverplated copper
    Magnet: Platinum magnet
    Output: 0.3 mV
    Frequency response: 20-100.000 Hz
    Channel balance at 1 kHz: Better than 0.5 dB
    Channel separation at 1 kHz: Better than 25 dB
    Impedance: 5Ω 
    VTF: 1.80-2.00 gr.
    Weight: 12.5 gr.
    Compliance: 5 x 10-6 cm/dyne at 100 Hz
    • Koetsu Blue Lace MONO
    Custom made 2 coils (one for each channel) 
    Body: Blue Onyx
    Type: Moving coil
    Coil wiring: Silverplated copper
    Magnet: Platinum magnet
    Output: 0.3 mV 
    Frequency response: 20-100.000 Hz
    Channel balance at 1 kHz: Better than 0.5 dB
    Channel separation at 1 kHz: Better than 25 dB
    Impedance: 2.5Ω
    VTF: 1.80-2.00 gr. 
    Weight: 12.5 gr. 
    Compliance: 5 x 10-6 cm/dyne at 100 Hz
    • Koetsu Coralstone
    Koetsu Coralstone Platinum with Diamond Cantilever

    Side by side comparison with regular cantilever shows that the Diamond Cantilever lifts the performance to a higher level without any negative results. The DC seems quieter with more space between the notes linked with a higher resolution. The overall balance is simply superior, hard to describe but it is a class on its own. The top frequencies are clear, delicate, fast with holographic Gestalt. Big orchestrals are absolutely seamlessly and effortlessly presented. Passages with highly Dynamic swings are as limberly and gracefully handled as solos and intimate pieces. All music genres are perfectly served by the Coralstone's absolute stability, uncanny presence and assertive body. Extreme high and low frequencies are handled with better extension and control than other Koetsu stone bodies. It also tends to be a tad more neutral with a more transparent soundstage. It is hands down a great cartridge

    Top Performance with FR-66s + Arche Headshell + Aggelos + VTF 1.80 gr.

    Body: Coralstone
    Type: Moving coil
    Coil wiring: Silverplated copper
    Magnet: Platinum magnet
    Output: 0.3 mV
    Frequency response: 20-100.000 Hz
    Channel balance at 1 kHz: Better than 0.5 dB
    Channel separation at 1 kHz: Better than 25 dB
    Impedance: 5Ω
    VTF: 1.80-2.00 gr.
    Weight: 12 gr.
    Compliance: 5 x 10-6 cm/dyne at 100 Hz
    • Lamm Industries LL2.1
    One of real sonic bargains today. Huge Soundstage with Telefunken 6922 & Amperex 12AU7. Seriously modified with High Performance Parts: -Selected Caps+Shunts -Potis from TKD -Teflon tube sockets -Ag Inputs -Ag Wiring / soldering
    • Lamm Industries LP2 sign.
    High Gain LP2s: 71dB MC
    Phono Preamp with NOS 417A Western Electric 1970s Tubes, added some ultra performance parts (Silver/Gold in Oil caps ...) The Designer has gotten the transients of the minutest micro dynamics right. This is the kind of stuff that makes you sit up straight and nod in recognition as very small sound impulses come through the right way.
    • Lamm Industries M1.2R
    Remarkable vital sounding Amps with absolutely unique clarity and micro-resolution during sound reproduction.
    Listening to Adele Adkins, Live At The Royal Albert Hall, amplified with Omnigon and the Vitus SCD-025 Mk II unit show what's all about. Sitting on Vibraplanes 
    Running In The Deep.
    • Lamm Industries ML2.1
    Tube amp with NOS 1970s Mullard CV4004 Box Plate made in UK, modified with Ultra Performance Parts inside offers timbal truth, a top to bottom coherency, explosive speed locked with a accurate and uncolored reproduction. Sitting on Vibraplanes
    • Lyra Olympos SL
    Clean, ultrafast top end in combination with a taut, well extended bottom end. Midrange is as natural as breathing. Compared with Lyra Atlas, the Olympos is superior in every aspect. The lifelike tonality is striking. Remarkable musical flow with hard to find definition, transparency and transient refinement.
    Specifications
    - Frequency range: 10 Hz - 50 kHz
    - Cantilever system: Diamond coated solid boron rod cantilever, natural diamond line-contact stylus (3 x 70 micrometers profile).
    - Channel separation: 35 dB or better at 1kHz
    - Internal impedance: 3 Ω
    - Output voltage: 0.2 mV (5.0cm/sec., zero to peak, 45 degrees)
    - Cartridge weight (without stylus cover): 13.8 g
    - Compliance: Approx. 12 x 10-6 cm/dyne at 100Hz
    - Recommended tracking force: 1.65 - 1.80 g
    - Recommended impedance: 100 Ω to 47 kΩ
    • Magnum Dynalab 108
    Tuner with triple mica NOS Siemens 1950s Tubes from a Military Radar Station in the Swiss Mountains, linked with MD205 Signal Sleuth.
    • Micro Seiki RX-5000 & HS-80
    Out of its silent background, this Table re-creates startling dynamic swings. The music can literally explode from dead silence in an instantaneous yet progressive way that denotes the live thing. An unexpected tsunami of natural delicacy and realism that draws you into the heart of the music all the way to the original event as captured by the recording, the modified 5000/HS80 let the Lyra Olympos cartridge shine, both on macro and microdynamics. The modded Seiki provides a platform to recover the subtle shadings that create intensity in the music.
    This modified version offers an extremely low frequency weight with an outstanding seamlessness top-to-bottom tonal complexity.
    Outperforms easily the big Continuum Caliburn in terms of low register speed, punch, definition, color, body, provides a much better resolution in the complete frequency band with noticeably more weight, 3-dimensionality and leaves the - overrated - ringing Seiki 8000II in the dust.
    • Philips Voltage Stabilizer 1610
    Hospital Grade Magnetic Voltage Stabilizer Output voltage is adjustable Regulating accuracy +/- 0,1%, which is incredibly good Power rating: 1 kW continuous, for Front-End Turntables, Phonos & Tuner
    • Solid Steel Shelf equipment
    tables
    • Source-Odyssey RCM MK V
    The Rolls Royce of record cleaners. If you're looking at this pic, you already know this is the best of the best [Much more reliable than Glaess Ultrasonic RCM...]. Almost impossible to find in the used market. Those who own one keep them forever. This nozzle unit makes the VPI Typhoon looks like a Toyota Camry. Based on the Keith Monks, this is the custom order model with 2 independent fluid reservoirs, Point nozzle Design, Made in Germany. 
    Believe me, when you clean a record on it — no matter how clean it was before — it will sound better after you clean it on this machine.

    The Best.

    "One of the worlds best vinyl record cleaners, made for the perfectionist.

    The majority of record cleaning machines on the market make use of a slotted vacuum wand to remove the cleaning fluid from the surface of the LP. While both the aesthetic appeal and price point of these machines varies considerably there are several constants. This methodology tends to be extremely noisy, limited in ultimate suction and less than effective with even mildly warped LPs since contact between the slotted vacuum wand and the vinyl surface is compromised. There is also the very real risk of cross contamination unless one is prepared to rinse the slotted vacuum wand with distilled or deionised water between LP sides. Furthermore, when using two-step cleaning regimes consisting of a "home brew" or commercially available deep cleaning fluid followed by a rinse fluid, usually distilled or deionised water containing a wetting agent, one must employ separate applicator brushes and vacuum wands in order to avoid cross contamination. There issues are effectively addressed with a different type of machine which employs a pivoted arm with a small vacuum nozzle rather than the more common slotted vacuum wand. Such devices feature a continuous spoil of fine cotton thread which represents the only point of physical contact with the vinyl surface. Because the contact area with the LP is very small and intimate at all times, regardless of LP warps, the vacuum is concentrated where it is needed most for the most effective removal of the cleaning fluid from deep in the groove.

    The most well known nozzle-type record cleaning machine is arguably the Keith Monks unit from England. Loricraft, also based in the UK, manufacture a lower cost variation of the Keith Monks machine. It has lower build quality and fewer features compared to the Keith Monks unit, specifically lacking an on-board cleaning fluid pump and applicator brush, and it is let down by the fact that the reservoir for holding the spent cleaning fluid and cotton thread is located externally. The Odyssey Mk V, takes all of the wonderful features of the original Keith Monks machine and extends and improves upon them. In this respect the build quality of the Odyssey is superior, the components are of an even higher tolerance and specification, and the unit is even quieter than the Keith Monks which is itself quieter than any other vacuum record cleaning machine extant. Quite simply the Odyssey is THE perfectionist's record cleaning machine, a device that not only looks and feels "high end" in the truest sense of the term but is fully justified because, most importantly, it does a superior job in removing the cleaning fluid from your precious vinyl recordings. The result is not only reduced wear and tear on both your LPs and stylus but also the lowest possible noise floor and thus maximum recovery of recorded detail.

    This Odyssey is finished in beech. All of the high tech German-engineering is located under the lockable hinged stainless steel top plate. While the Odyssey features a single internally mounted 700 mL cleaning fluid reservoir, electric fluid pump and deck-mounted applicator brush as standard equipment, a second set can be optioned to facilitate the most unobtrusive of two-step cleaning regimes imaginable. This means no unsightly bottles of cleaning fluids out on display and no brushes laying around posing a cross-contamination risk. The Odyssey is a true archival record cleaning machine. This means that, unlike most slot-type vacuum machines, you can clean hundreds of records in a single session without risk of the vacuum pump overheating and without intolerable levels of noise.

    The Odyssey is a very substantial unit measuring 42 cm (wide) x 44 cm (deep) x 36 cm (high) and weighing in at around 20 kg."

    list price $7,499.99 US plus taxes. 
    • Stax SRM-007t II
    Balanced Tube Amplifier for Stax L-700 Headphones. Amplifier is modified with better NOS Tubes, Signal Path is shorter and a few other mods thatl transform this unit to a much higher level from sonics....really amazing unit now.
    • Sutherland Timeline Strobe
    The Timeline flashes its laser at precisely 33 1/3 (or 45) times per minute
    • Syntax' Dozen
    01/12: Gounod-Faust / Bizet-Carmen RCA LSC-2449-45CVp  
    02/12: Ballet Music From The Opera RCA LSC-2400 
    03/12: Grieg, Peer Gynt London CS-6049 
    04/12: Massenet, Le Cid Klavier KS 522 
    05/12: Ballet Favorites VICS-1066
    06/12: Zero Mostel, Fiddler On The Roof RCA LSO-1093 
    07/12: Shchedrin, The Carmen Ballet, Melodiya ASD-2448 
    08/12: Albéniz, Suite Española Decca SXL-6355
    09/12: Rimsky-Korsakoff, Scheherazade RCA LSC-2446 
    10/12: Offenbach, Gaîté Parisienne RCA LSC-1817 
    11/12: Arnold, English & Scottish Dances Lyrita SRCS-109 
    12/12: Casino Royale, Colgems COSO-5005

    MONO 

    01/12: Stokowski, Rhapsodies Liszt RCA LM-2471 1s/1s 
    02/12: Rimsky–Korsakoff, Scheherazade Decca LXT-5082 
    03/12: Romero, Pepe Flamenco! Mercury MG-50297 
    04/12: Chabrier, España Decca LXT-5333 
    05/12: Saint-Saens, Symphony No.3 RCA RB-16214 
    06/12: Gounod-Faust / Bizet-Carmen RCA LM-2449 1s/1s 
    07/12: Sarasate, Danzas Españolas Decca LXT-2930 
    08/12: Rossini-Respighi, La Boutique Fantasque Decca LXT-2555 
    09/12: Sibelius, Symphony No. 5 Karelia Suite RCA LM-2405 
    10/12: Beethoven Trios, Heifetz-Primrose-Piatigorsky RCA LM-2186 
    11/12: Brahms Violin Concerto, Szeryng LSO RCA LM-2281 
    12/12: Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique VPO RCA LM-2362
    • Syntax' Sunny Side Of The Soul
    01/12: Rossini/Respighi, La Boutique Fantasque, SACD RCA 2876-66419-2 
    02/12: Neil Diamond, 12 Songs (2006), Artist's Cut, Columbia 8697-03958-2 
    03/12: Jennifer Warnes, Famous Blue Raincoat (1986), Attic ACD 1227 
    04/12: Dead Man Walking (2005), Columbia 4835342 
    05/12: Adele, Live At The Royal Albert Hall 
    06/12: Oistrakh, Violin Bruch Scottish Fantasia (2006) LIM XR24 015 
    07/12: Rossini, Overtures JVCXR-0229-2 
    08/12: Ruggiero Ricci, Bizet-Sarasate, JVCXR-0227-2 
    09/12: Van Cliburn, Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1, JVC JM-XR24004 
    10/12: La Fille Mal Gardée, LIM XR24 013 
    11/12: Toscanini, Plays Your Favorites, JVC JM-M24XR04
    • Telos Audio Grounding Noise Reducer
    Active Grounding for 6 units

    Expanded Soundstage, no noise, better focus in the higher frequencies, the  naturalness of tonality is a step ahead
    • Telos Audio Quantum Noise Resonator
    I hate to say that: Stunning
    • VIBEX SPB Statement Power Block
    High current unit, 2x32 Ampere high current for amplifiers, 7 layers of different Isolation and Damping material inside, non magnetic housing, a 40 lb sandwich construction made of Aluminum and Krion stone ...
    • Vibraplane 2210
    Best there is 
     Also for my Amps, a much more serious solution than the usual nonsense
    • Vitus Audio SCD-025 Mk II
    Digital Player which replaced the EMMLabs CDSA-SE
    • Wavac HE 833
    The King of SET.
    Special 10th Anniversary Model 150Wpc
    Most manufacturers choose some cheap tubes, use a primitive, simple design and promote it finally as ultimate. Wavac has a completely different way, they choose the ultimate tubes (there are no better ones for their way to go in each amplification stage), develop a own design without any compromise and the result is a performance which has to be heard to believe. Until the invention of their IITC circuit, there was no way to harness the power of the mighty 833A for Class A audio applications. The HE-833 uses a triode-wired KT88 driver stage which couples to the 833A through a low impedance transformer, providing ideal drive conditions to actualize the full sonic potential of the transmitting triode. A ultra-low noise, telecommunications-quality Western Electric 437A is used in the input stage for maximum dynamic range. I honestly doubt if there is anything else like it in the entire world as their way of design and construction is almost scary. The reproduction is very pure, never fails to give the impression of something warm and organic. While listening to vocals, I couldn't help feeling that a living human being was singing there. The sound is quite lively and powerful without the slightest faltering or limitation. Classical vocals are presented with a rock solid structure in the sonic image and the accompanying piano was projected with steady and strong authority. Brilliant brain done right. Each is connected to a 32Ampere high current device & Oyaide F1 connectors Amplifier Stand is Vibraplane
    • Ultimate Tools No Way Back
    Before you burn your next bundle of $$ try to find that and your will hear things from the most demanding records you never heard before.
    - AT-637 Stylus cleaner
    - Cartridge Man Digital Levelling Gauge
    - Dennesen Soundtractor (Metal)
    - Sutherland Timeline Laser
    - UNI Protractor
    - XLO Test & Burn-in CD
    • ------------------------ ----------------------
    Sold units in the Cheers Section
    • *Cheers System*
    I think, therefore I am

    My former units

    I learned a lot while using them, some are outstanding designs, very few were cheaters
    • Acoustical-Systems Axiom Anniversary

    Gone

    Shootout FR-64s Arm, can't come close to the lifelike reproduction

    • Aesthetix Callisto Signature
    Nice, but the Lamm LL2.1 is more natural in sound
    Sold
    • Atma-Sphere M-60 Mk II.2
    OTL Amplifier mono Reliable and great sound All options
    Replaced with Lamm ML2.1
    • Basis Audio Debut Vacuum sign.
    Turntable with vacuum which does not make the music sound dead and lifeless.
    One of the rare serious Designs of today I learned a lot with it, a true no-nonsense-Design. Best memories ... but I was young and needed the money.
    • DaVinci Audio Labs Grandezza
    Replaced with FR-64s, way more dynamics, better focus and a lifelike reproduction which is a class on its own
    Never looked back
    • DCS Delius & Purcell
    DAC & Upsampler 24bit / 192 kHz
    a good sounding combination
    • Kuzma Reference
    Reference? Well, maybe for the Manufacturer .... for me it is just another one in the overhyped group of "great" which is in reality mediocre at best. 
    Sold and never looked back
    • Lamm Industries L2R
    Overrated Preamp, bought a LL2.1 instead, much more realistic reproduction
    Sold and never looked back
    • Revox PR-99 MKIII
    Tape Machine
    Sold and never looked back
    • Jeff Rowland Coherence 2 Series 2
    Battery Powered Preamp for the natural, overall realism of the music. Last version without SMPS. Pure DC operation avoids the conducted and radiated noise typically produced by rectifiers and regulators.

    Weight 86 lbs surpassed by Omnigon too easily
    Sold and never looked back
    • Kondo AudioNote Japan KSL SF-z
      Comparison: Jensen custom made, better specs, better detail
      The Parts inside are a joke for the money
      Sold and never looked back
    • Triplanar VII i Ultimate
    Comparison: Graham Phantom, better in all areas (focus, detail, holographic picture, better 'Gestalt') sold it and never looked back
    Totally overhyped Arm, mediocre at best, can not handle cartridges with high energy transfer and is also not the right one for Koetsus...
      Sold and never looked back
    • Wavac HE 805
    Original Nobu Shishido One of his last units Shootout: Pass Aleph 0

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Dear Thomas,

How does the Acoustical Systems Aiwon compare sonically with the FR-7fc, Lyra Olympos, Koetsu Coralstone Platinum, and Koetsu Blue Lace Onyx Platinum cartridges?

Regards,
Aaron

drajreynolds

You have sold your Lyra Helikon Mono (Syntax Edition), Thomas? Replacing it with a Koetsu Mono cartridge?

drajreynolds

Dear Syntax,

I received the Archon cartridge today and it is currently running in my Brinkmann 12.1 tonearm, having displaced my Lyra Dorian Mono for now. The Axiom is already occupied by the Takeda Miyabi Alnico with custom stylus and I dare not upset the balance of the force at this time (Star Wars joke for those not paying attention).

Having spent quite some time listening to the Lyra Olympos in the Brinkmann 12.1 tonearm before the Axiom arrived, I believe that I am in a good position to comment on how the Archon, fresh out of the box, sounds in comparison. Rather than throw around lots of hand picked adjectives from the audiophile's playbook it might be best if I simply say that the Archon combines the best attributes of the Lyra Olympos and Takeda Miyabi Alnico in one relatively affordable modern cartridge. That it can show its quality with a range of modern tonearms and phono preamplifiers (thanks to its clever design and healthy output) is a good thing for the discriminated audiophile out there who is normally born to suffer ;-)

You summarised it rather well with "finesse and gestalt behind every note".

drajreynolds

Hi Peter. Acoustical Systems products are distributed by Vana Ltd in the United States of America.

The internal impedance and output of the Archon are comparable to those of the ZYX cartridges. The output is also comparable with Lyra models such as the Titan and it's modern derivatives. This enables a wider range of phono preamps to be used without totally destroying the sonic performance. As per all moving coil cartridges, the very best performance will be in conjunction with a matched step up transformer.

drajreynolds

Nice cartridge, Syntax.

How does it perform in your system which can actually show the differences? Comparisons with Lyra Olympos and Titan as well as FR-7fz would be very interesting.

I should have my Archon soon.

drajreynolds

Hello Alan,

Thanks for sharing your wonderful experiences. It looks like, for the sake of convenience, the Olympos and Olympos SL cartridges were compared using the Graham Phantom Supreme tonearm but presumably the best possible performance is obtained in partnership with one of the FR-series tonearms? I recently sent my Phantom Mk2 tonearm off for the Supreme upgrade and am hopeful that when it returns it will allow more of the Olympos' capabilities to be maximised.

Best Regards,
Aaron

drajreynolds

Hello D,

If I understand you correctly, one can place the turntable chassis/platter assembly anywhere on the passive Vibraplane's top surface without paying any performance penalty. Is this not also the case for the active version of the Vibraplane? I can certainly understand why the centre of mass of the payload must be centred atop the Minus-K platform and that this is sometimes tricky and the end result potentially less than elegant.

What material do you suggest for use under the Micro-Seiki RY-5500 drive motor, or any turntable drive mechanism for that matter, in order to achieve the required height for the turntable chassis/platter assembly atop the Vibraplane? Maybe this is not so critical provided the platter assembly is properly damped and isolated from building resonance?

In your experience how sensitive is the vinyl playback system (i.e. cartridge/tonearm/platter/chassis/drive mechanism) to air-borne resonance from a loudspeaker's acoustic output? Is the only solution to locate the vinyl playback equipment in an isolated room? I am sure this would become very inconvenient and make on-the-fly optimisation of SRA for each LP side very difficult or impossible.

Regards,
Aaron

drajreynolds

Hi Peter,

I am also interested in the rationale behind placing the already suspended Basis turntable (or any of the suspended SME turntables for that matter) on a Vibraplane. My current understanding is that the Basis suspension is effective from around 6 Hz. This is fine for all manner of commonly encountered vibrations generated within the turntable itself (no turntable is without them since truly perfect engineering does not exist in this universe). The Vibraplane, and Minus-K platforms, have much lower resonant frequencies in both the horizontal and vertical planes when properly implemented and this provides a large degree of isolation from building resonance. The ideal environment in which a turntable-tonearm-cartridge system operates is not unlike that required for an electron microscope. In theory, there should not be any "coupling" or direct interaction between the Basis (or SME) turntable's suspension and the "suspension" of the Vibraplane (or Minus-K) due to the significantly lower resonant frequency of the latter. Of course if you sharply hit the equipment rack that might set things in motion but who does this while listening to music?

The issue of changing the belt tension of a suspended turntable by placing the motor on a different, non-suspended surface is something I have asked A. J. Conti about in the past. If I recall correctly his reply was along the lines of the additional isolation from motor noise far outweighs any minimal change in belt tension under normal operating conditions. He went on to state that the errors in the degree of roundness of most platters is many times greater than any microscopic change in belt tension by having the motor on non-suspended surface. The guys from Continuum Audio Labs clearly have a different take on things.

I think you might be confused regarding Syntax's Micro Seiki configuration. The fly-wheel (inertia unit) shares the Vibraplane with the turntable and the drive motor is located on a separate, non-suspended platform in order to get the thread drive height correct. I suspect that the fly-wheel does not feed as much noise into the platter as the drive motor otherwise might. In the perfect world one might use separate isolation platforms for each of the drive motor, turntable and fly-wheel (say three Minus-K platforms each tuned to 0.5 Hz).

Syntax will no doubt comment on the upkeep of the Vibraplane but in my prior discussions with him it seemed to be very undemanding.

I suspect that part of the performance improvement in the suspended SME turntables relative to your model 10 comes from isolating the main turntable chassis from the motor, at least to a certain extent. You might wish to try a Graham Phantom Mk 2 Supreme tonearm in place of your SME V before considering changing the turntable itself. This tonearm is a killer when paired with a vintage Fidelity Research FR-1Mk3F, assuming one's phono preamp is up to the task.

Regards,
Aaron

drajreynolds

Hello Syntax,

It is hard to decide which is more inspiring, the system and its capabilities or the stunning view through the listening room window.

In your experience, which loudspeaker system would be an ideal match for the power output of the M1.2R whilst also showing this amp's sonic capabilities? Reference 3A Grand Veena? Enough power for Magnepan?

Enjoy the music,
Aaron

drajreynolds

The final result from Rockport Sirius III comparison (Direct Drive) to an old Micro Seiki 8000 (String)...I thought, the famous one is much better, based on all the Hype, but at the end of the day (ok, we didn't need so long to know what is really going on), the voting's were cone...

If a picture tells a thousand words then no more needs to be said on this comparison. The vintage Micro Seiki turntables, especially when partnered with an FR-66s tonearm, do so many things right that the word "progress", at least as it relates to the playback of vinyl LP records, often needs to be seriously questioned.

drajreynolds

Hi Thomas,

Is it too early to trouble you for your thoughts on the Lyra Kleos?

Regards,
Aaron

drajreynolds

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