bugredmachine's Tennessee System 2023

by bugredmachine on
Feb 2024 "final" cable set
Panels relocated to hide LG OLED
TV raised on lift before final panel moves
Panels rolled right and left to fully expose TV
New wiring scheme with PAD, KS, and DIY wooden lifters
dec 25 2024
Jan 2025
Early piling up panels behind speakers shows promise (blue line) now time for some traps
Before and after heavy bass trapping
Single graph of room response after treatments completed
Room when viewing the house for purchase
Good luck building a room while it is full of boxes!
One inspiration idea for decor
Full front
My Salk Exoticas in copper baffles
Exoticas in Aural Enlightenment 3 Kalamazoo
Aural Enlightenment 1 - Canton MI
The Sanctum Home Theater from the wayback machine
This used to be funny....
Left front trap
Back of the room
Keep your head up
Right slope first reflection
Left slope first reflection
2018 Axpona Speaker evaluation scoring during lunch, which fry is Wilson?
Not a pet-free environment
5th iteration in TN
ADD_PWR IO - Aurender - Bricasti - AR Ref 5SE, below Core Power - Puritan
Left speaker
Left Wilson
Front
Right rear - Salk appreciation spot
Right front
Rack left end
PAD and KS cables
Skirting the access hatch
The ugly rack view
When using room this porous section folds back against sliding door
Added a porous door appendage so the air could circulate when room was not in use. The cold air return is out in the hallway and this cat-proofs the room. Shown in flow position

Description

One saving grace for the low inventory of houses in 2022 was the pool and this room. Gave up on finding 3 garage stalls, but 10 foot ceilings in this room looked promising. 23.4 feet deep, 16.5 wide, with a 10 foot peak 5 feet wide.
I built some massive bass traps (on wheels) to reduce the giant dip shown at 160 hz. The traps are 24 wide, 35 deep, and 57 inches high. I mate a large Real Traps absorber to the front behind the Wilsons to achieve the 35 inches. The traps contain OC703 and Roxul with a 2.5" air gap inside.

I've been busy auditioning both IC's, SC's, and power cables in 2023. Here is a list of power cables I have tried out in 2023:

Acoustic Zen Silver Ref IC Stealth M5000 power cable Purist Audio Proteus Rev B PC Silversmith short Fideliums Verastarr silver foil grand illusion PC from wig Purist Proteus PC two cables Transparent Ultra IC Gen 5 Verastarr 4 foot PC Verastarr 5 foot PC LessLoss C-MARC 20 amp JPS ACX 2M power cable superdan138 Stealth Metacarbon RCA Stealth Indra IC Analysis Plus Oval 9 Spkr cables Transparent Ultra 20 ft IC Tara Labs The One PC second Anticables long PC Tara Labs The One PC first Elrod EPS3 Sig 20 amp 1M woway Kaplan  PC JPS 38 in IC JPS 78 inch PC Jade Moontails JPS 51 inch PC Elrod EPS-3 8 feet, 20 amp Silversmith long Fidelium SC Transparent 5M Gen 5 PC Masterbuilt Audio Std PC Aric Audio Motherlode 2 JPS Aluminata 8 meter Nagomi PC 1.5M 15a Hijiri Million IC Nagomi 20A 1M PC Organic RCA ebay Harmonix XDC10SM Studio Master 1M Zavfino 2 mtr XLR's Keast Harmonix X-DC Studio Master 330 1.5M Purist Museaus Praesto Rev 5M XLR Wywires Platinum 13ft PC Russ Andrews grounding Kubala Elation half meter splitter Kubala 1.5M Elation PC to Ken F&F Purist XLR Corvus 1M first Purist XLR Corvus 1M Kubala Elations to Tom 1.5 x 2 and 2.5 20 amp from TMR Clarus Aqua 8 ft SC Clarus Crimson 24 foot XLR Purist Venustas 4 Mtr XLR   Empirical Design 316 PC Elrod EPS2 Elrod EPS-2 70 inches Purist Venustas Tri wire SC Harmonix XDC2 1.5M PC Kubala Emotion from Australia Kubala 3M Expression from Larry Cox Aurender X100L Core Power 1800 Kubala 3M Emotion from Larry Cox Cardas 1.5 M Clear XLR from USAM  technut Cardas 1.5 M Cygnus PC TMR Cardas 2M Clear Beyond PC TMR Cardas 1M Clear XLR Jan Andersen BMI Whale Elite PC'sx2 brian fong Cardas 3M Clear Beyond XL PC from Tony Cardas One meter Clear Beyond XLR from Ron Cardas 1pt5 mtr Clear PC from Gary Cardas Clear 1 mtr PC from TMR Clarus Crimson 1 mtr XLR  Cerious Technologies Matrix XLR Clarus Aqua 8 ft SC  Cerious Technologies Matrix #2 xlr Cerious Technologies Matrix 5 ft power cable Cerious Technologies Matrix 6 foot speaker cables BMI Whale Elite PC'sx2  NRG 4 meter PC USAM Clarus Crimson 2 mtr XLR Oyaide Black Mamba V2

2022 and earlier:

DCCA Passion Pro XXL

Read more...

Room Details

Dimensions: 24’ × 17’  Large
Ceiling: 10’

Components Toggle details

    • Wilson Audio Alexia 1
    SR Atmosphere Euphoria X speaker cables. Wonderful resolution.

    OLD: Fed by Cerious Matrix SC's
    • Audio Research Ref 5SE
    Replaced an Aric Audio Motherlode 2

    Hijiri Nagomi PC 20 amp

    OLD: Fed by a BMI Whale Elite PC.
    • Bricasti Design M1 DAC
    Fed by Harmonix XDC Studio Master 350 power cable

    OLD: Fed by Shunyata Sigma USB and BMI Whale Elite PC
    • Coda Technologies Continuum No. 8 amp
    Version 1: 150 Watts x 2 into 8 Ohms

    Class A ~18 Watts 

    300 Watts x 2 into 4 Ohms

    Class A ~18 Watts

    SR Tungsten PC now fronted by 2 BMI Whale Elites

    OLD: Fed by 2 NRG the Five PC's onto a BMI Whale Elite, all daisy chained from the Puritan to the amp.

    • Clarus Crimson XLR

    Clarus Crimson 4 meters to 3 meters of Siltech for amp


    Old: Siltech Cables Princess G7 between Bricasti and ARC (wow, so silent=more smooth music)

    Old: 2 meter Clarus Crimson to amp being fed by 4 meter purist Venustas. Planning to move to Siltech cables over the next few weeks.

    Old: XLR's to the amp start as Purist Venustas Diamond Rev 4 meter then to two pairs of Cerious Technologies Matrix all daisy chained between ARC and Coda.

    Old: Cardas Clear Beyond XLR to the preamp, Cardas Clear daisy chained to Purist Venustas XLR to Coda amp.

    OLD: Presently have a KS Emotion on the Bricasti to preamp.

    For the amp run:
    I have 3 meter pair of KS Expressions connected to a 3 meter set of Emotions that then connect to a 0.5 meter pair of Elations for the run from ARC to amp. SO, yes, daisy chaining KS cables together as interconnect chain giving me the KS sound but ultimately the signature of the Elation as it is right before the amplifier. Give this a try. It was tested with PAD cables first and then I switched to KS cables. The PAD train was Venustas (4M) to Corvus. Prior to that I was using Museuas to Venustas to the amp. I kept moving up the chain and then jumped over to KS cables.
    • Synergistic Research Atmosphere X Euphoria Speaker Cable
    Old"; Siltech Cables Classic Anniversary 550L
    Old: Cerious Matrix SC's

    OLD: Tri-wired set of Luminist version 81 inches long. I only needed single wiring but couldn't pass up the deal. I made a manifold to accept the 3 runs per side with a solid piece of copper which hangs on the Wilson binding posts. Incredible speaker cables.
    • Synergistic Research Excite SX, Tungsten, UEF Level 2 power cables
    Now using SR power cables at the wall to Core Power, then to power conditioner, and on COda amp. Massive improvement in clarity and detail.

    OLD: Whale Elites on Puritan and first 18 feet to Coda (last 1 meter to Coda is a Hijiri Nagomi)

    OLD: Two of these on the daisy chain to the amp with the Kubala Sosna Elation PC.
    • Shunyata Research Sigma USB
    All the other cables I tried smeared the music.
    • ADD-POWR Wizard
    I have 2 of these stacked on top of CODA amp.
    • ADD-POWR Symphony I/O
    Connects the ethernet to the music server and the server USB to the DAC
    • Aurender X100L
    Replaced my Rich Hollis designed dedicated MS-2 computer.
    • Cerious Technologies Matrix
    New: Matrix PC at wall to Core Power unit

    Old: Almost all Cardas power cables now

    Old: Moved to almost all KS power cables; Elations and one Emotion. Good stuff. Still putzing with the PC to the Aurender.

    .
    • Puritan Audio Labs PSM156 Studio Master Power Purifier
    Love this unit. The amount of noise it reduces is impressive. Tested the circuit with a noise detector before it and then plugged into it to see how it removes 75% of line noise.  Now I have barely a tweeter hiss at 6 inches instead of at 12 inches.

    Dec 2024: Adding SR cables has lowered the noise floor even more.
    • Core Power Technologies Core Power Technologies Deep 1800 AC Power Line Conditioner
    Added this to the very front of all power feeding the Puritan.
    • whiz bang device contact
    pad8947

    at

    sbc

    global.
    net

Comments 51

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Another beautiful room and system.

Happy Listening!

jafant

It was great visiting today and listening to your wonderful system! Congrats on building a top notch sounding system.  Really great sounding Pete.  Your attention to all of the important details is obvious. Well done!

grannyring

Owner
Thank you for recognizing the effort and the results. I wish I could build a new room from scratch in a large enough space to actually splay the walls, build in deep bass traps that were within the structure and not out into the room, and hit the Fibonacci numbers right on target. As an engineer, half the fun is playing with the math!
I have commented on some discussion posts that I never considered SR and after I tried pretty much every other brand except for Jorma, Enklein, Echole, Ansuz,  Argento, and Nordost, I said what the heck and tried the SR. There are some fantastic cables out there but there was always something that would nag me after some time. So far, I have not come to a conclusion that SR have shortcomings in my system. We'll see. But I am so glad I tried them. 

bugredmachine

Beautiful system and room.  I traveled the SR discovery route about a year ago and have ultimately settled with Power cords, interconnects, and SC at Atmosphere X Euphoria level (except the SR Foundation 10g on my Wolf Audio Server).  Each time I substituted a new cable for the previous (Audience SX, Luminous Reference  Cardas Clear, ect) the music became more holistic in its presentation.  I have an open unfinished attic that I am strongly tempted to model after your awesome room.

drrsutliff

Owner
I never say never, bit Dec 2024 with addition of SR Excite SX power cable and SR Atmosphere X Euphoria level 3 IC's has kicked my system up to a level I did think I could ever achieve. It feels like I cannot do any more except perhaps fill in more SR IC's to the 6 meter run. Bass is so clear and deep, their is another leap in information coming through. Adding the SR IC's and SC's opened up detail with zero strain or etchings. Zero. 
The addition of the power cables played right along and when the SR Excite SX was placed in the Core Power to Puritan path it was like magic. I felt like an idiot for not doing that sooner.

bugredmachine

Owner
Shiny object: finding Synergistic Research to have some stupendous cabling. Moving to SR speaker cables, 2 to 3 power cables, and at least one set of IC's. Will see how they play with the Siltech's.

bugredmachine

Owner
Also, slowly moving to Siltech cabling this week for IC's and SC's. Adding back in 2 Hijiri Nagomi PC's in combination with my BMI Whale Elites and Harmonix PC's thanks to Grannyring.

bugredmachine

Owner
Just added in a conversion to HT. I didn't want to do this, but I have no other room in the house to put my HT gear to work. A simple 5.2 set-up. I have more surrounds to go 7.2.4, but not sure I need to; it sounds fantastic as is.
Tried to be somewhat stealthy by using a TV lift and adjusting the location of the front wall panels out into the room on stands (some with wheels) to conceal the TV when down (and move outward when TV is up).

bugredmachine

Owner
  • Stealth M5000 power cable 9/1/2018
  • Verastarr 4 foot PC 1/11/2019
  • Verastarr 5 foot PC 2/23/2019
  • Verastarr silver foil grand illusion PC 6/9/2019
  • Silversmith long Fidelium SC 5/1/2020
  • Jade Moontails 7/20/2021
  • Acoustic Zen Silver Ref IC 4/21/2022
  • Stealth Metacarbon RCA 4/27/2022
  • Stealth Indra IC 5/4/2022
  • Transparent Ultra 20 ft IC 8/23/2022
  • Transparent 5M Gen 5 PC 9/5/2022
  • Transparent Ultra IC Gen 5 9/16/2022
  • Analysis Plus Oval 9 Spkr cables 12/13/2022
  • Silversmith short Fideliums 12/22/2022
  • JPS Aluminata 8 meter xlr 12/27/2022
  • Empirical Design 316 PC 1/1/2023
  • Purist Audio Proteus Rev B PC 1/6/2023
  • JPS 38 in xlr 1/6/2023
  • Purist Proteus PC two cables 1/7/2023
  • LessLoss C-MARC 20 amp 1/10/2023
  • Anticables long PC 1/10/2023
  • Kaplan  PC 1/10/2023
  • JPS ACX 2M power cable 1/16/2023
  • Tara Labs The One PC first 1/22/2023
  • Tara Labs The One PC second 2/11/2023
  • JPS 78 inch PC 3/12/2023
  • JPS 51 inch PC 3/18/2023
  • Elrod EPS-3 8 feet, 20 amp 4/9/2023
  • Elrod EPS-2 70 inches 4/9/2023
  • Elrod EPS3 Sig 20 amp 1M 4/11/2023
  • Harmonix XDC10SM Studio Master 1M 4/13/2023
  • Hijiri Nagomi 20A 1M PC 4/25/2023
  • Harmonix X-DC Studio Master 330 1.5M 4/27/2023
  • Hijiri Nagomi PC 1.5M 15a 5/5/2023
  • Hijiri Million IC 5/5/2023
  • Masterbuilt Audio Std PC 5/13/2023
  • Harmonix XDC2 1.5M PC 5/13/2023
  • BMI Whale Elite PC's x2 5/18/2023
  • Purist Museaus Praesto Rev 5M XLR 5/19/2023
  • Purist Venustas Tri wire SC 5/19/2023
  • Purist XLR Corvus 1M first 6/9/2023
  • Wywires Platinum 13ft PC 6/12/2023
  • Purist Venustas 4 Mtr XLR 6/13/2023
  • Organic RCA 7/5/2023
  • Zavfino 2 mtr XLR 7/14/2023
  • Oyaide Black Mamba V2 PC 8/3/2023
  • Purist XLR Corvus 1M 8/20/2023
  • Kubala 1.5M Elation PC 9/1/2023
  • Kubala Emotion from Australia 9/6/2023
  • Kubala 3M Emotion XLR 9/25/2023
  • Kubala Elation half meter splitter 9/29/2023
  • Kubala 3M Expression 10/5/2023
  • Kubala Elations PC 1.5 x 2 m and 2.5 20 amp from TMR 11/1/2023
  • Cardas 1M Clear XLR 11/17/2023
  • Cardas 1.5 M Clear XLR 11/24/2023
  • Cardas 1.5 M Cygnus PC TMR 11/25/2023
  • Cardas 2M Clear Beyond PC TMR 11/25/2023
  • Cardas 3M Clear Beyond XL PC 12/4/2023
  • Cardas One meter Clear Beyond XLR 12/5/2023
  • Cardas 1pt5 mtr Clear PC 12/7/2023
  • Cardas Clear 1 mtr PC from TMR 12/7/2023
  • Clarus Aqua 8 ft SC 12/29/2023
  • Clarus Crimson 1 mtr XLR 1/1/2024
  • Clarus Crimson 24 foot XLR 1/5/2024
  • Cerious Technologies Matrix XLR 1/22/2024
  • Cerious Technologies Matrix #2 xlr 1/31/2024
  • Cerious Technologies Matrix 5 ft power cable 1/31/2024
  • Cerious Technologies Matrix 6 foot speaker cables 2/2/2024
  • BMI Whale Elite PC's x2 2/4/2024
  • NRG 4 meter PC USAM 2/5/2024
  • Silnote Anniversary Master Reference Series 1 M XLR 7/28/2024

bugredmachine

Owner
Stealth M5000 power cable 9/1/2018 Verastarr 4 foot PC 1/11/2019 Verastarr 5 foot PC 2/23/2019 Verastarr silver foil grand illusion PC 6/9/2019 Silversmith long Fidelium SC 5/1/2020 Jade Moontails 7/20/2021 Acoustic Zen Silver Ref IC 4/21/2022 Stealth Metacarbon RCA 4/27/2022 Stealth Indra IC 5/4/2022 Transparent Ultra 20 ft IC 8/23/2022 Transparent 5M Gen 5 PC 9/5/2022 Transparent Ultra IC Gen 5 9/16/2022 Analysis Plus Oval 9 Spkr cables 12/13/2022 Silversmith short Fideliums 12/22/2022 JPS Aluminata 8 meter xlr 12/27/2022 Empirical Design 316 PC 1/1/2023 Purist Audio Proteus Rev B PC 1/6/2023 JPS 38 in xlr 1/6/2023 Purist Proteus PC two cables 1/7/2023 LessLoss C-MARC 20 amp 1/10/2023 Anticables long PC 1/10/2023 Kaplan  PC 1/10/2023 JPS ACX 2M power cable  1/16/2023 Tara Labs The One PC first 1/22/2023 Tara Labs The One PC second 2/11/2023 JPS 78 inch PC 3/12/2023 JPS 51 inch PC 3/18/2023 Elrod EPS-3 8 feet, 20 amp 4/9/2023 Elrod EPS-2 70 inches 4/9/2023 Elrod EPS3 Sig 20 amp 1M  4/11/2023 Harmonix XDC10SM Studio Master 1M 4/13/2023 Hijiri Nagomi 20A 1M PC 4/25/2023 Harmonix X-DC Studio Master 330 1.5M 4/27/2023 Hijiri Nagomi PC 1.5M 15a 5/5/2023 Hijiri Million IC 5/5/2023 Masterbuilt Audio Std PC 5/13/2023 Harmonix XDC2 1.5M PC 5/13/2023 BMI Whale Elite PC's x2  5/18/2023 Purist Museaus Praesto Rev 5M XLR 5/19/2023 Purist Venustas Tri wire SC 5/19/2023 Purist XLR Corvus 1M first 6/9/2023 Wywires Platinum 13ft PC 6/12/2023 Purist Venustas 4 Mtr XLR 6/13/2023 Organic RCA  7/5/2023 Zavfino 2 mtr XLR 7/14/2023 Oyaide Black Mamba V2 PC 8/3/2023 Purist XLR Corvus 1M 8/20/2023 Kubala 1.5M Elation PC 9/1/2023 Kubala Emotion from Australia 9/6/2023 Kubala 3M Emotion XLR 9/25/2023 Kubala Elation half meter splitter 9/29/2023 Kubala 3M Expression  10/5/2023 Kubala Elations PC 1.5 x 2 m and 2.5 20 amp from TMR 11/1/2023 Cardas 1M Clear XLR  11/17/2023 Cardas 1.5 M Clear XLR  11/24/2023 Cardas 1.5 M Cygnus PC TMR 11/25/2023 Cardas 2M Clear Beyond PC TMR 11/25/2023 Cardas 3M Clear Beyond XL PC  12/4/2023 Cardas One meter Clear Beyond XLR  12/5/2023 Cardas 1pt5 mtr Clear PC  12/7/2023 Cardas Clear 1 mtr PC from TMR 12/7/2023 Clarus Aqua 8 ft SC  12/29/2023 Clarus Crimson 1 mtr XLR  1/1/2024 Clarus Crimson 24 foot XLR 1/5/2024 Cerious Technologies Matrix XLR 1/22/2024 Cerious Technologies Matrix #2 xlr 1/31/2024 Cerious Technologies Matrix 5 ft power cable 1/31/2024 Cerious Technologies Matrix 6 foot speaker cables 2/2/2024 BMI Whale Elite PC's x2 2/4/2024 NRG 4 meter PC USAM 2/5/2024 Silnote Anniversary Master Reference Series 1 M XLR 7/28/2024

bugredmachine

Owner
Here is a list of the cables I bought and sold over the last few years. I kept copious records of purchase price, shipping costs, fees, etc. and then selling price, shipping costs, and fees in a spreadsheet. Mainly to be prepared to defend my cash flow with the taxman. I extracted the chronological list to show my transition from the Stealth period, to Transparent, JPS, Elrod, Harmonix/Hijiri, Purist, Kubala, Cardas, and then to the present mix of Cerious and Clarus.

bugredmachine

Owner
Well, between Dec 2022 and January 2024 I have outlaid over $24k on cables. I have gone through JPS, Cardas, Purist, Kubala, Wireworld, Clarus, BMI, Stealth, Cerious, Oyaide, Silversmith, Elrod, Harmonix, Hijiri, Wywires, Kaplan, Anticables, and Verastarr to name a "few".

I have found that the last 6 feet matters. So daisy chaining is a reasonable approach as long as you don't try and throw some junk in on the front of the chain.

Vast differences in Purist to Kubala to Cardas to Clarus to Cerious. I finally it the magic I was seeking after 14 months of buying and selling. You should see my notes on all this effort.

bugredmachine

Owner
Now using 100% KS cables on dac and preamp. Considering KS speaker cables although the PAD Venustas I am using are triple run cables for tri-wiring and do not disappoint. It's the curiosity aspect of going to KS on the speakers and how that might complement the sound. Hmmm

I'm doing something crazy by daisy chaining cables. I am doing it with power cables and IC's. It does seem the last 3 feet really do make the difference.

bugredmachine

Owner
Using KS Elation PC on the Puritan. Have used many different PC's with equal success on the input side. I don't see anything special about the Puritan cable and for that kind of money I'd look sideways to other brands based on my experience.
Carpeting isn't going to tame the long frequencies at 100 hz. It took about 20 cu ft of OC 703 each side to do that. I only have 5 feet of width at the ceiling height of 10 feet, so mathematically a panel may help, but I did not want the look since I was able to achieve it on the floor.

bugredmachine

Thanks very much for this info! Which version of the Coda Continuum amp do you have? I've heard some people say the PSM156 helps their front-end components but hurts their amps a little bit, so it's useful to hear your perspective as well!
Did you ever get to try the Puritan Ultimate cable between the PSM156 and wall? Which Kubala Sosna cable did you have most success with in this position?
PS. Great room and great results with the treatments! That 100Hz bump is often attributable to floor bounce or ceiling bounce. Did you ever try adding a panel in the middle of the ceiling? or a bit of carpet closer to the speakers?

vsrrr

Owner
Everything is plugged into the PSM156. This unit does not constrain current flow IME. I have tried it both ways and prefer the PSM noise reduction. I have done this in two houses now with similar results.

I'm using Kubala Sosna PC's from the wall to the PSM and all the devices use KS cables (Elation or Emotion) except the Aurender.

I have a KS Emotion IC coming to compare to the PAD Corvus.

bugredmachine

Hi! Great to hear your comments about the PSM156.
Out of curiosity, have you had success plugging your 400W amp into it?
I have a 300W amp, and am worried that perhaps the PSM156 might constrain it in some way.
Also - very curious to hear if you found any great power cable upgrades for connecting the PSM156 to the wall. The Puritan Ultimate cable seems like the logical first step, but by the looks of your 2023 testing, it sounds like you may have gone further!

vsrrr

Owner
They are 3 inch thick maple (butcher block) slabs. Years ago I had Salk Sound paint them black for me to tone down the look to a more modern gray-black combo. I have toted those things around to many different houses. Ridiculously heavy.
With their mass on small bumpers along the rails and then further isolating components on the heavy mass, it's an attempt to dampen what I can. Much like having double drywall hanging on hat-channel in a room construction.

bugredmachine

Hi Pete: I see you/re not using the stock Adona shelves under your front end gear. What shelves are those you replaced them with? Jeff

yoby

Owner
I don't believe I ever posted about my DIY cable risers. I made them back in about 2006 out of bowl blanks. A little router work and some lead weights on the bottoms. I wanted to organize power cables away from IS's or SC's and neaten up the systems. They have shown up in all my system postings since. I'll have to post some construction photos.
I made the triangular pieces just recently to hold up the very heavy tri-wired Venustas SC's. Quick and dirty.

bugredmachine

Is that a black seatbelt onyour chair to keep you from getting blown away?

Man it must be awesome!
Enjoy, Dan

islandmandan

Owner
Updated photos. About 99% of where I need to be on IC's. Saving my sheckles for a 3 meter Venustas. Wrapping the cabling around the left speaker is much better, ala original layout.

bugredmachine

Owner
I updated my description with a list of the power cables I have bought and auditioned in 2023. Paypal thinks I am a business now due to my volume!

bugredmachine

Owner
I am way behind taking new photos. Lots of cabling changes, added an Aurender, etc.

Everything I play sounds incredible. I played a Playlist not spun in 10 years and everything was making me smile.

And thanks to Tom Hankins for letting me audition his Kubala cables. I'm leaning toward KS power cables and PAD IC's as a great combo. I like the detail of the PAD's and the KS power cables are off the hook in the bass and "filling the soundstage".

bugredmachine

Owner
Yes. I have way behind in updating my components. LOTs of changes.

The ARC is the best sounding preamp I have ever owned. I have had several very nice pre's like the TRL Dude, which was very clean and musical. The Sachs and Aric are both superb preamps over the last few years.

I chose this model as a value-priced unit after reading every comment and review I could find. The 5SE was highly rated and if you were going for a 6, then why not the 6SE, but now the price is getting up there versus the performance the 5SE was praised for.

Sensational air and presentation by the ARC. The overall smoothness, soundstage width, depth, and delineation of instruments, is absolutely addicting.

bugredmachine

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