Your audio equipment?

[jazzbo]

Looks pretty cool! My Radial RL2 speakers have a forward firing ribbon tweeter and an upwards firing speaker, and give an amazing sound that I love. . . . I bet yours sound very cool!

(Sort of my speakers, the RL1.5s that replaced them in the line)

Edited November 23, 2005 by jazzbo

[Daniel A]

The idea behind all of the Sonab apeakers as well as the earlier of the Carlsson brand (all designed by the Swedish engineer Stig Carlsson, now legendary in Swedish HiFi circles - a fame which he sadly has gained only after passing away in the early 90s) was to use the wall behind the speaker as an integrated part in the distribution of the sound; thus the unorthodox placement of the speaker elements. Stereo imaging is not as defined as speakers of a more traditional construction - allthough it's not at all a distraction. The benefit is that good recordings, primarly of acoustical groups, grow out of the speakers and makes it sound as you're actually standing right in front of the group itself in a way I've seldom experienced with other speakers.

Restoration, complete with new filter components and internal wiring, is a project for the not too distant future, but they sound lovely as they are.

Then, I also have a pair of Sonab OA-6 II in teak finish, which awaits a fix up. They share the main set-up of the OA-14s, but they also have built-in active bass amps for separate bass elements pointed downwards, a not too common feature around 1970. They are put away for the moment, but I'll provide a picture some day...

Re: Lon - those look like a pair of beauties!

Edited November 23, 2005 by Daniel A

[jazzbo]

I know what you mean about the performers being right there in a way different from other speakers. That's how I experience sound in my room with my speakers. In a bigger room than my little listening room the effect is even more pronounced!

[Daniel A]

Yes, Lon, they sound best in a medium-sized room or bigger, and the sound benefits from having a fair amount of "free wall" behind the speakers. Nothing to squeeze in behind a couple of bookshelves!

I think I'll put on a good old all-analog Deutche Grammophon LP and close my eyes...

(My choice: Tschaikowsky, Symphonie Nr. 4, Mrawinskij/Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, 1961)

[Guest]

My audio system is multiamped with an electronic crossover. I have found this good for making adjustments to get the best results out of a wide range of different vinyl records. I know this approach would not be for everyone since it is kind of specialized and a bit involved but it is quite a bit more than the usual "tone" controls, so I thought I would mention it.

Zeno

[DrJ]

It's been very interesting re-reviewing this thread...more than a year since I posted about my system, and in the past year it's changed a bunch!

My current system is now completely different, centered around a single ended triode (300B) tube amplifier, the Audio Note Meishu integrated. A whopping 8 watts per channel and that's all you need for wonderful near field listening with sensitive speakers (Zingali Overture .2s, a pretty esoteric Italian speaker - gorgeous sounding and nice to look at too). Other stuff:

Audio Note Signature 2.1 DAC

Audio Note CD Zero transport

HHB BurnIT Professional CD recorder

Audio Note silver interconnects and speaker cables

Nottingham Spacedeck turntable with Space Arm

KAB Souvenier Retro, a nifty little passive circuitry box that has a mono switch as well as left/right switching capability - handy for vintage records

I can't say this step up has made me love music any more, but it's certainly allowing me to enjoy it to the fullest.

I also ran across the mother of all audio opportunities recently and bought an entire vintage audio system...long story, NOT something I was looking to do (I was hunting for McIntosh MC30s and found this and couldn't let it go). Basically an older gentleman who was a long-time hi fi fan assembled a dream system in around 1960-61 and kept it in immaculate condition, no mods on the vintage amps etc, looks like the day it was made. He passed away a couple years ago and his son is just getting around to selling it off. Shipping arrangements are still underway so I don't have it yet, but it's gonna be so much fun! Here's the tally:

McIntosh MC30 monoblocks

Marantz 7c preamplifier/phono stage built in

Bozak 302-A "Urban" speakers with matching equipment cabinet (styling looks VERY 1959-1960, I love it!)

Fisher 101-R tuner

Thorens TD 124 turntable

The guy "threw in" 500+ records, if I want them!!! I'm awaiting a listing to see which if any I'll want, but I know for sure there's some Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and possibly some other jazz titles in the collection...we'll see.

So a once in a lifetime lucky break...though not a "steal," I paid pretty much fair market value for the stuff. It's just great to get a system that was actually assembled at the same time in 1960 or so and is in such great shape. I'll post impressions after I get it all set up.

Edited December 19, 2005 by DrJ

[Dmitry]

DrJ, just curious, how much'd you pay for those cables?

[sidewinder]

It's just great to get a system that was actually assembled at the same time in 1960 or so and is in such great shape. I'll post impressions after I get it all set up.

Just the job for authentic playback of Lexingtons and 47W63rd deep grooves !

[DrJ]

Dmitry, I'll check for you on the cable pricing when I get home...these were pricey for sure, but not nearly as expensive as some of Audio Note's silver cables...they have a range of different ones, with the differences involving number of silver strands and stuff like that. Mine were kind of in the middle price wise.

[DrJ]

Dmitry - I've looked and looked and can't find my receipts for the Audio Note silver cables. If you're interested, Deetes Andersen in Sacramento is the local Audio Note dealer and he could tell you for sure - (916) 334-7000, that's who I got 'em from.

All I can say is that they are very expensive, well over $100 per meter for sure. I have very short runs which helps, but they are just flat out expensive, no two ways about it. I did a lot of comparison listening before buying and they were good enough to where, for me, it was worth the investment.

Silver interconnects/cables are sometimes given a bad rap as being overly bright and thin sounding. I would say that is true for lesser cables...I had some Apeture cables (in fairness, those are not pure silver, but a copper/silver hybrid design) that sounded horribly thin and bright, I got rid of them in a hurry - regular old Monster Cable from Best Buy sounds a mile better than those, and yet they were about $100 per meter! So you can't go by price alone, got to listen. The Audio Notes, which are pure silver and better designed and made, are wonderful. With one coming from my amp output to CD recorder, I can make CD-Rs that sound basically exactly like vinyl.

Edited December 20, 2005 by DrJ

[Dmitry]

I did a lot of comparison listening before buying and they were good enough to where, for me, it was worth the investment.

Thanks for the info!

Now, say if I were to fly out West and we did some blind listening to your cables and my cables on your system, do you think you could tell the difference between the sound of the different interconnects and speaker cables? 6 correct guesses out of 10 would convince me you got "silver" ears.

[DrJ]

Dmitry...I honestly don't know, though it would be fun to test out. What I can tell you is that when I A/B'd with the AN connectors/speaker cables and prior stuff that I have had, it was a huge, obvious difference. I'm confident you'd get a blindfold test there right 10/10, no problem.

I would imagine that there are definitely other cables out there that would sound as good as mine, possibly better depending on your preferences - some would sound similar to the silvers, others would not but would also be pleasing to the ear. I make no claim at all that what I have is "best" as I have not listened to everything available.

Without knowing what you have though, I do suspect we'd both be able to hear differences with your stuff and mine hooked up and blind comparing. What each of us would PREFER is impossible to know though. You might hate the way my stuff sounds.

The system matters a lot. I bought the cheaper Apeture silver/copper hybrid cables from my dealer because I thought they sounded pretty good in his system. But it's different than mine...when I got 'em home they sounded awful with my gear. Probably a function of him having a much more powerful amplification set up (he has higher end Audio Note SET monoblocks with around 20 W per channel or more output) and speakers with more bass reproduction (Zingali .4s, a much bigger speaker able to reproduce frequencies down a bit lower than my .2s model). My Meishu SET amp has more modest (8 W per channel) power output and I have speakers with less bass repro - so a little thinner sound to begin with and with those Apeture cables, THIN CITY. I clearly need a less bright sounding cabling in my system, while in another system they might be just perfect to counterbalance stuff that colors the sound to be a little too dark.

With gear this revealing, you definitely notice EVERY change. Differences between my Audio Note silver connectors, the Apeture connectors, and regular old Monster Cable connectors between my tube DAC and amplifier are HUGE - you WOULD hear those, I'm sure.

Edited December 22, 2005 by DrJ

[porcy62]

I have an AN silver cable on the arm of my turntable, and one from my phono stage to my pre amp and they sound ok, nor 'fat' or 'thin', just 'correct', if you understand what I mean.

[DrJ]

I agree with you, porcy62. What I love about the Audio Note silver connectors is that, at least in my system, they are very neutral. The Apetures made everything harsh on the high end and thin sounding. The Monster Cables, while suprisingly good for the price, don't transmit all the sonic details and tend to make the low end really boomy. The Audio Notes are detailed without being harsh, very "true" sounding. To me that's ideal but having said that sometimes one might want a cable that colors the sound one way or the other to address problems elsewhere in the system. I can forsee, for example, that when I get my vintage gear, it may seem like some of the high end is lacking - since the older gear wasn't really designed to transmit information in that frequency range. It's possible a brighter sounding cable could compensate for that. We'll just have to see...that's the fun of this to me, the experimenting and process is as enjoyable as the end product to me, just uses a different part of the brain.

[jazzbo]

Don't be too surprised if what you think you'll hear from those vintage components turns out not to be accurate! I've heard some really nicely presented high frequencies from vintage equipment. . . . I think with those you have on the way you will too.

[DrJ]

Well Lon I for sure hope you're right!

[Allan Songer]

Pair of McIntosh MC30 amps--WE350B output tubes

McIntosh C22 preamp

McIntsoh MR71 tuner

Thorens TD124 turntable/SME 3012 arm/Ortofon SPU cartridge

Jorgen Shou step up transformers

Klipsch Cornwall speakers--1964 all alnico, vertical horn

BAT VK-D5 CD player

[jazz1]

After 20 years of search I have finally reached audio heaven.

Meridian 508/24 cd player

Pathos-Logos Integrated

Air 2 loudspeakers (the real secret)

XLO reference speaker cables

Wire world interconnects

Matching is the secret, like a relationship.

What is a good wife???

She must be great looking

She must be a great cook

She must be your best friend

She must do it all

[Allan Songer]

After 20 years of search I have finally reached audio heaven.

Meridian 508/24 cd player

Pathos-Logos Integrated

Air 2 loudspeakers (the real secret)

XLO reference speaker cables

Wire world interconnects

How do you play records?

[jazz1]

After 20 years of search I have finally reached audio heaven.

Meridian 508/24 cd player

Pathos-Logos Integrated

Air 2 loudspeakers (the real secret)

XLO reference speaker cables

Wire world interconnects

How do you play records?

sorry forgot, old Thorens TD160 super, SME, Shure V15,

EAR step up device.

Unfortunately down here in South Africa lps are difficult to get< I've basically given up.

and as I said above my cd system for the first time keeps me fully satisfied.

[Peter Friedman]

BK ST-202 Power Amplfier

Acurus RL 11 Preamplifier

Rotel RCD-951 CD Player

Sony SCD-CE 775 SACD Player

Audio Physic Virgo Speakers

SECOND SYSTEM

Marantz PM 68 Integrated Amplifier

Marantz DV-8300 SACD/DVD Player

Paradigm Reference Studio/20 Speakers

[porcy62]

Analog

Linn LP12/EKOS/AKIVA/LINTO/LINGO

Digital

Linn Ikemi

Preamp

Audio Reasearch Reference II Mk II

Power amp

Linn Klimax solo

Speakers

Wilson Audio Watt/Puppy 5

Burmester Power Conditioner

[sidewinder]

Did you find that the power conditioner made much difference, porcy?

[porcy62]

Did you find that the power conditioner made much difference, porcy?

It sounded better, the biggest improvement was bass frequency focus, with my previous stuff, Audio Reaserch LS22 and Mark Levinson 29. Considering the cost and the results, I wouldn't buy it again, expecially with Linn gears. I think that Linn's power supply (switching mode) is quite indifferent to power conditioner, at least to my ears.

[blake]

Did you find that the power conditioner made much difference, porcy?

It sounded better, the biggest improvement was bass frequency focus, with my previous stuff, Audio Reaserch LS22 and Mark Levinson 29. Considering the cost and the results, I wouldn't buy it again, expecially with Linn gears. I think that Linn's power supply (switching mode) is quite indifferent to power conditioner, at least to my ears.

I have a Linn Classik that I've paired with a Monster power conditioner for years. When I was living in apartments I think it helped. But now that I'm in a house I'd have to agree - I don't notice much difference. It's proven to be an excellent surge protector however.