1978 vintage horn speaker with rebuilt drivers from Great Plains Audio and Werner Jagusch crossovers. Replaced Harbeth M-40.2 Anni's. Big sound, very dynamic and very rewarding.
Quicksilver KT Mono
New KT Mono's with KT150 tubes, generating 100 wpc. Added Telefunken ribbed plate 12AX7's for refined tone, clarity and space.
deHavilland Electric Ultraverve 3
Most enjoyable and complimentary preamp I've owned, by a large margin. Responds well to tube rolling. Currently loaded with NOS Tung Sol's in all positions. Exceptional value.
Weiss Engineering DAC 202
Replaced an outstanding Audio Aero Capitole Reference DAC/CDP/PRE. I can't say the Weiss is better than the Audio Aero, but it's more neutral, which is a better fit for the rest of my system that leans to the warm/romantic side of neutral. This DAC is a bargain on the used market.
Roon Labs Nucleus
Roon Nucleus server paired with IFi Zen Stream as a Roon end-point, connected via Black Cat Silverstar SPDIF cable to Weiss 202 DAC. Streaming Qobuz. Surprisingly nice step up in sound quality and enjoyability from my previous Aurender N10 at 1/4th the cost.
KCI Silkworm RCA Interconnect
Gold based RCA interconnect cable. Outperforms the Purist Venustas it replaced by a large margin.
Silent Running Audio VR-2 & 3 isolation platforms
I tired of messing with the various footers on the market. These are the real deal... excellent construction, visually appealing and effective.
Salamander Synergy Triple 20
Cherry Finish
GIK Room Treatments Tri Traps, 244 panels and Alpha 4 diffusion panels
This is the 2nd room I've treated with GIK products. Highly recommended, especially 244 panels.
Acoustic BBQ 12 gage Dueland speaker cables
I've had significantly more expensive speaker cables from Stealth and Auditorium, but prefer these. I also use ja pair of these in my secondary system. Great bang for the buck.
iFi Audio Zen Stream
Acting as a Roon endpoint centered between a Roon Nucleus server and my DAC.
System edited: Rolled some more tubes in the McIntosh MC275: Replaced Mullard CV-4004 Platinum's with early 1960's vintage Amperex Bugle Boy 12AX7's. The Bugle Boy's are more transparent & forward sounding than the Mullard CV 4004's , but IME, they are not as forward sounding as the RCA 5751 TMBP's, which I found to be very fatiguing (YMMV). I think I'll be sticking with the Amperex Bugle Boy's for a while. Very lively sound, but smooth (albeit, moderately fatiguing). They seem to be a well balanced tube across the whole frequency spectrum.
I am glad to hear that. My very brief experience with the Mac reveals the amp to be an overall more musical and resolving unit than the Plinius. At that time I was just using a modest preamp in the ARC LS16 and all tubes on the Mac were stock tubes. I can imagine the Mac to take on a whole new level with superior tubes coupled with the excellent Aesthetix preamp.
The Mac tube amp sounds beautiful... and yes it is better sounding than the Plinius amp. I'm still experimenting with tube rolling, but with my present tube configuration of my pre and amp, the sound is noticeably more liquid and musical. Vocals have more air & extension... greater dynamics, heft, body and immediacy, yet very smooth and non-fatiguing.
Keep in mind, it wasn't instant bliss, in that it has taken some experimentation with various tubes... but I feel like I've got it figured out. Currently listening to Sarah McLachlan's live cd, Mirrorball, and it's never sounded so good!
Sam - I tried the Tele smooth plates in the amp, and the sound was similar to the RCA 5751 TMBP's in that the sound was very dynamic and forward sounding in comparison to the Mullard CV 4004 platinums I've been using. The Tele's were really too forward and fatiguing for my tastes in the amp, so I've since gone back to using the CV 4004's in the amp, and have moved the Tele's into my Aesthetix Calypso preamp, where they sound quite nice (only a few hours into my evaluation). In the Calypso, the Tele's have added dynamics, resolution and clarity without the fatigue factor that was more prominent when I had them in the MC 275.
Next, I think I'm going to find & try some old Mullard smooth plates in the MC 275.
I'm using the stock SED KT88's, with NOS Sylvania TMBP 12AT7's and NOS Mullard CV 4004's in the 12AX7 slots. I had some NOS Mullard & Telefunken 12AX7 smooth plates on order with a tube dealer, but after 3+ weeks of waiting for them to ship, I cancelled my order in frustration. I'll probably try to snag some Telefunken smooth plates from the Agon classifieds in the next few weeks.
System edited: Added a McIntosh MC-275 MK V tube amp and a vintage Sansui TU-919 tuner. This is my first tube amp! Runs cool and sounds wonderful, especially with classical and acoustic music. The stock Sansui TU-919 replaced an uber expensive modern tuner, but holds it's own at a fraction of the price.
I heard the 40.1's at CES and was very impressed. They had an extremely natural and musical sound. We did listen in the nearfield, but it was one of my best of show's.
Samhar - I'm guessing by your polite response that the 40.1's did not impress. Can you explain the room & associated equipment / cabling that you heard with the 40.1's? I'd be interested to hear your take on them to see how it differs with my experience. Thanks, Paul
Thanks for the pics!! I auditioned the 40.1's last week but wasn't able to get a feel for what they bring to the room as the space and cabling weren't ideal. I'd also like to hear them with tube equipment which wasn't available where I auditioned them.
System edited: Replaced Dyn. C4's with Harbeth M-40.1's which has proven to be a very satisfying move, as the Harbeth's are very musical and easy on the ears during long listening sessions. Also added an Audio Magic Stealth Mini power conditioner for my amp... paired with an Audio Magic Sorcerer silver power cord.
i dont want to get too off-topic here, but other than being big into audio, im a big "fishtank nerd" as well.
first off, beautiful looking tank youve got there! i recently set up a planted tank of my own. but out of curiosity, do the sound levels bother you? i have a Rena XP-3 on my tank and a few powerheads in the display so i dont have churning water for a noise factor. but cooling fans are another story ;-)
im curious as to how you handle the noise (or if you even address the noise issue), and seeing as you seem to have a canister filter as well (judging by the pic) how you can keep your noise down but also efficiently break up surface tension in your system
Whew! Glad to hear the Harbeth's are working for you. I've been hoping they would... Please post new pictures when you get new speakers set up. Your room is looking good!
Ryder - The GIK 244 panels are absorption only. I may experiment with taking some of them down, but given that the Harbeth's already exceed the bass output of the C4's, I'm relatively confident I'll continue to need and want the absorption qualities the GIK panels provide. Good advise though... I'll give it a try.
Yes... the Plinius class A amps are warm & lush, which is to my liking. So far I'm really pleased with the M-40.1's as they sound great @ all volume levels and there is zero listening fatigue.
I'd liken the sound of the Harbeth M-40.1's to a luxury touring sedan... very comfortable, rich, smooth & enjoyable over long listening periods... whereas the C4's are more of a high performance sports car, in that they are stimulating & excel @ higher volumes.
Samhar - The C4's new owner is picking them up this weekend... so I should have more leeway for dialing in the Harbeth's once the C4's are out of the way. I'm already very happy with the Harbeth's... simply musical, easy to listen to and have an earthy organic sound that just seems right.
Are the GIK Acoustics 244 panels purely absorption or absorption/diffusion? You might want to try removing those panels from your side walls if you find the 40.1's to be not very exciting and see whether they are the culprit.
Let me relate an experience that I just went through recently. I have absorption panels on both side walls of the room for the past three years and they have worked great even before I got the Harbeth SHL-5. Most of my previous speakers sound awful without treatments on side walls since the width of the room is narrow at 11'. When I got the Harbeths they still sound great with the panels. It was when I took them out the sound came open and alive. The macrodynamics improved without any issues in brightness and listening fatigue. This has reinforced my belief that the Harbeths are very room-tolerant even when placed close to wall boundaries, bare walls that is. Harbeth speakers are designed to sound good in a live room, even with the large M40.1's.
Another factor to consider is the Plinius has a lush and warm sound.
