7.5' triangle in 14x24x8 asymmetrical damped room. Monos mounted under floor joists for WAF and cooler environment. EMC-1 MkII IS that good, and the Encores are stupefyingly natural! Interesting that the copper Essence is more detailed and lively than the silver/copper Silways. Quelle surprise! Don't yet believe in PC cords. System is DEAD quiet (probably due to that Aleph P), despite Red Dawn pre/power ICs (XLR, though). Monos double down to 200w/ch/4ohms, so the Encores get REAL punchy when asked to. Seven foot nearfield setup throws HUGE (12' wide by 20' deep!), multilayered stage, yet a bit asymmetric due to my Steinway angling back there. (Yup, Ms. Krall actually turns and winks!) Suggestions for TRULY beneficial, affordable pc? Thanks. Nordost and Pass mate well. Encores work extraordinarily well with woofers set up forward-firing, in the nearfield, in this moderate-sized room. The recent addition of the EMC-1 MkII has removed ANY and ALL semblances of glare, digititis, and treble crap from decent Redbook. Hooray!
Yes, I know what you mean about removing digititis and treble crap from decent Redbook CDs. I bought a used Z-man ASE ($198 list) to use in a solid-state based system with B&W CDM 9NT speakers, the InnerSound ESL amp, and a Perpetual Tech/ModWright P-3A DAC, which accomplished the same thing. The Z-man uses high-quality Holco resistors, MIT caps and a single 12AX7 tube (I'm using a Gold Aero 12AX7b). This is an amazing little device, and took an already very good sounding system to another level. The sound became smoother and sweeter, and more immediate, with oh-so-delicate treble. The best part is that the bass, detail, and focus of the system did not appear to diminish, while voices and instruments appear more natural. I was playing a violin recording the other day that was just jaw-dropping in its authenticity. :)
