My system has indeed evolved over the past several years. I tend to keep components and cables that I like, rather than sell them when I get an itch to make a change.
Now I run two systems side-by-side, and just swap components or cables when I want a fresh experience.
I do get a a terrific level of musical and sonic enjoyment from the system.
My room also has great acoustics. Moderately damped, but retains quite good imaging and liveliness. No room treatments other than the furniture.
I have a soft spot for Soliloquy speakers, Monarchy electronics, and Nordost and Mapleshade cabling.
Very nice. Good bass and treble extension. Very good tonal color. Outfitted with Sophia Electric tubes. Substantial difference in solidity of sound.
Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro (pair)
Zero global feedback. Class A. Only 24 watts/ch in stereo mode, but a very nice sounding amp. Currently running each amp in stereo mode, but biamping into the Soliloquy 5.3 speakers.
Audio Refinement Complete CD Player Alpha Version
smooth sounding player, helped immensely by better power cords.
Audience Au24
two 1-meter pairs
Nordost Heimdall
A great sounding interconnect. I have two pair. Good bass, accurate and warm midrange with good tone, very sweet and resolved high end.
Mapleshade Golden Helix
Most satisfying speaker cable that I've tried. It sounds like hell right after uncoiling, but mellows after that to give fantastic detail, brightly lit colors, fast and full bass, and a smooth midrange. Great clarity also.
Soundstring PC digital
A good $40 cable purchased from Venus HiFi. Quite acceptable on my CD Player. Held up well in my tests of several other cords.
Audience Maestro Interconnect
This is a good sounding cable. Its balance is slightly warmer than the Au24. Currently used on my tuner.
Dedicated Line Furutech 15a Gold Outlet
I had a dedicated line installed, 12 gauge Romex, with a Furutech 15a Gold Plated outlet. A nice change. Not stunning, but over time I've noticed my system sounds consistently clean, where before I would get some "grime" on higher notes and voices.
Marantz DV 6001
Universal Player. Quite excellent for the price. Very refined sounding, bright with good tonal color.
Bang & Olufsen Beogram TX
Aquired in January 2010. It works and sounds pretty good for a 25 year old table! MMC-2 cartridge.
Hagerman Bugle
Inexpensive battery powered phono pre-amp. Sounds pretty good for what it is.
Morrow Audio MA-2
Two pairs. Wonderful sounding interconnect. It honestly gets me closer to the music. Extremely high resolution midrange coupled with a slightly laid back delivery. I really like it.
Apple TV Series 1
160 gb version. Works great as an inexpensive music server. Outputs to a second input to my computer monitor.
Musical Fidelity V-dac
A great sounding DAC and a good value. Warm and expressive.
Mapleshade Golden Helix Plus
Bought a 2nd pair of these great cables for the new amp which only works with banana connectors.
Tortuga LDR3x Passive
A light dependent resistor design. Remote control. Fantastic sounding preamp which I will switch in and out with my tube unit. Very good bass heft and balance which I did not find with other passives that I tried.
Furutech e-TP80 Conditioner
One of the few units that did not color the sound. Using it mainly for a power strip and surge protection.
Musical Fidelity V-90
Just getting to know it, but appears to be better in every way than my V-dac, which I like alot.
Kef 101
Reference Series from the mid 1980's. Still sounds wonderful!
Monarchy Audio SM-70
Mark II version. Purchased this model after I discovered that CC Poon was shutting down the brand. These amps are among the most transparent I have heard.
System edited: updated pictures and added Musical Fidelity V-dac. Really enjoying putting the ATV on shuffle play and watching slideshows of family pictures and vacations.
I'm using the ATV's hard drive. I've actually returned the Dac Magic now and have a Musical Fidelity V-dac in its place. Smoother sounding. I like it quite a bit. The internal dac in the ATV is pretty decent. Smooth sounding, but doesn't have the dynamics or imaging of the separate dac, or of my CD players.
Are you saying that you use the apple tv's internal hard drive to store your music or are using it to play your music form your computer through your hi-fi? I'm confused, which dac sounds better, the apple tv or the CA?
System edited: Added a new digital source. I have loaded most of my music collection (and all of my family's vacation photos) onto an AppleTV. It sounds decent straight from its internal dac, but now I also have a Cambridge Audio DacMagic to go with it. Just a little bright, but overall, and with most of my music colletion, it sounds quite good.
I didn't answer your question about the Monarchy amps. I do like them very much. Quite musical and with good clarity, even with the tube pre-amp. I did have their gain reduced to better match the preamp. I'm currently running just one amp in stereo mode to save power in the summer. 24 watts/ch will go loud enough to hit the sweet spot for realism and imaging.
I did try the (#2) Vibrapods on the Soliloquy stands, but I think I had peeled off the pads for the test. I live in Raleigh, so I got another set of stick on pads from David Berman just so I could reverse the change. I suspect the Vibrapod test would be fairly similar even on top of the pads though. After this eye opener test I ended up selling the stands back to the dealer (I should have kept them for their asthetics). With the 5.3's I went though a similar process to get them to sound the way I wanted. They were rather cold sounding on the factory spikes with all configurations of cables and gear. I put them up on various interfaces, settling on the rubber/cork isoblocks on bamboo cutting boards. This gave the best combination of warmth, clarity and tunefullness. I very much like the 5.3's, but they contrast greatly with the 5.0's. Their base favors the deeper range and the midrange is a bit more balanced and uncolored. I will admit however that the 5.0's are the more spectacular of the two. They really rock with quicker timing and drive, and the highs really stand out. The imaging is also another level better. Oddly enough, I don't get the bass "room lock" with the 5.3's that I get with the monitors. The 5.3's are probably the more accurate, but the monitors are more fun.
Very nice system(s) indeed. Just noticed your comment on my system and page and I have a few questions as after reading your entire system thread. First, did you try the vibropods on the Soliloquy speaker stands or only on your current stands. I have an extra pair of stands that I could try them on and also just happen to have purchased some vibrapods for my amps but haven't used them yet. Next question, besides bass, what is the difference between the 5.0 and the 5.3? From my experience with Soliloquy and with all I've read my thoughts are to try the 6.2 if I ever get a chance. There was a seller with a beautiful pair at a good price a whole back. He was only willing to sell local so they sat a long time. I'd have bought them if he was shipping. Although they are some seriously heavy speakers. Last question. How do you like the Monarchy amps? I owned an Audio Refinement Complete integrated amp. But it was a long time ago. It was one of those pieces you kick yourself for selling. Your system has inspired me to put the 5.0s back in for a bit. My Kestrels have been making music all summer. Time for a change. Thanks.
System edited: Added a pair of Morrow Audio MA-2 interconnects. I cannot say enough good things about these cables. Many of my CD's sound better than ever with fantastic instrument separation and detail.
I really like the Cary preamp. Stock tubes and all. After it (or the Monarchy Amps) warm up on music for awhile, the music really flows. Really good tone, good highs and good bass. Certainly not as tight and rockin as my solid state YBA/AR Complete integrated amp, but fairly close when using quick sounding cables. Listening to jazz or bluegrass is just killer.
Wish I had your preamp to mate w/ my Super Amp MkII. I've seen 2 sell for $600 but wasn't sure about it. The MkII amp is amazing, but I know little about the MkII pre. Please tell me your thoughts on the preamp.
(I used to have the DJH pre and 308 cdp before owning the Superamp MkII...sorry I let them go!)
System edited: Added a vintage B&O TX linear tracking turntable with an MMC-2 cartridge. Several years back I had the top of the line Beogram 8002 table. I sold my full B&O system to finance the start of my current hi fi habit. It wasn't until I put expensive pair of Nordost Heimdal interconnects into the connection with my preamp before it really sounded good, but I'm reliving my old record collection again and having fun.
System edited: Made a few changes in the last couple months. Added another CD player (Marantz DV-6001) which is just excellent. A bit softer presentation, but very listenable and colorful sounding. Currently connected to the Cary/Monarchy electronics and the Soliloquy 5.3i speakers. Terrific combination. I also treated the male prongs of my power cables with the teflon tape tweak I saw discussed on Audio Asylum. I feel a little silly, but it really did change the sound (doesn't everything?!). Became more veiled, but purer. I slapped my spare Heimdall interconnect on it and boom! great extension and transparency, but very non-digital with no grain. I'm happily running back through my favorite CD's taking in the added resolution.
Actually, the AR system is the one that rocks! the electronics are relatively smooth, but very punchy with great PRAT even at low levels. The floorstanders are currently hooked up to this system and the sound is very solid. As far as getting another room, not likely as I'm continually battling with the wife to keep this one!
You earlier had mentioned a passive pre. I did try a K&K transformer based passive (S&B transformers) and it worked quite well with the Monarchy's. I have since reduced the input sensitivity of the amps to operate the tube preamp more in its sweet spot. I am very happy with the sound.
I like your 2 different systems. Have you considered putting the AR system in a small room like a library or bedroom. Its smooth soft and emotional sound would work in a relaxing environment.
I believe you are correct in assuming that a passive preamp will work w/ your Manarchy amps. I have a Audio Electronics Super Amp MkII power amp with 40wpc full power at 1 volt input. I use a Luminous Audio Passive preamp w/ amazing sound. The only thing better is a straight interconnect w/ no preamp. I tried it briefly playing a cd that has lower output with just an inteconnect and it has the exact same tonality, with slightly more dynamics and layering... but only slightly. A CDP has 2 volt output and your amp has full power at .6 volt so a passive attenuator volume is all you need.
System edited: I've configured the Monarchy amps now to run as monoblocks. Pretty awesome power delivery now. Just spent a short while with the change, but the system sounds really strong now, better separation of instruments and very listenable at high levels.
The system is sounding really, really good these days. Added a dedicated line, and have the Soliloquy floorstanders up now on rubber and cork laminated Isol-Pads. Very clean, colorful, and satisfying. Pushing them right now only with a single Monarchy 24 watt amp, but I can achieve lifelike levels without strain. Low level listening is good too.
System edited: I had the Monarchy amp modified to double the input voltage required for full output to 1.3v. This allows my pre-amp to get more quickly into its sweet spot on the volume dial, and its turned out quite nicely.
System edited: I just have to say I'm really enjoying my system these days. The tube preamp and Monarchy amplifier just sound great. The Monarchy amp just has so much character, tone and accuracy. It doesn't do rock especially well, but for jazz and bluegrass its fantastic. At 24 watts/ch it wouldn't seem to have alot of power, but it plays with authority and plenty load with my Soliloquys.
System edited: I've recntly added the Cary Audio AE-3 Mk II preamp and Monarchy SM-70 Pro amplifier. Very different sound from my Audio Refinement integrated. I'm really enjoying the change. The Monarchy only requires 0.6v input to achieve full output. I'm toying with the idea of trying a passive preamp. Anyone running this setup with Monarchy amps?
System edited: Udated pics and added Heimdall interconnect. I'm really enjoying having two sources now. With the Heimdall I've found what I'm looking for with the AR Player. A warmer but-still-exciting sound for my brighter recordings. The AR definitely sounds more accurate and resolved. The Rotel is for sheer slam and presence.
