I realized that since I joined WBF some years ago, I actually never presented my system.
The listening room is the main living room. It is a small converted barn in a tiny farmhouse from the late 19th century. With their hand made bricks, the walls are uneven surfaces acting like giant diffusors. The cathedral ceiling peaks at 5.5 meter. I live in a relatively quiet area and the ambient noise in the room is measured at around 36 db. Large acrylic SMT diffusers located at each corner, the first reflection point and behind the seating area provide a highly effective acoustic treatment without too much visual intrusion. The sweet spot is about 4 meters away from the speakers.
The loudspeakers are the Master 2 from Focus Audio. Their D’Appolito design requires some heavy juice. Thanks to the SMT diffuser on the left wall and the absence of a first reflection point on right wall (aperture with a staircase leading to the dining room), they can be located quite close to the sidewalls. There is ample room behind them with more than 6 feet between the front wall and the rear of the loudspeakers.
The audio rack is from Stacore. It is composed of a heavily damped steel frame and 6 pneumatic platforms totaling a weight of 800 Kg. The sonic benefits are tremendous: reduced noise floor, better micro-dynamics, tighter bass and slam.
The power amplifiers are Krell Evolution One. I have had them for several years and I got them recently fully refurbished. They are powerful and fast with tight bass and slam that hits you in the chest when listening at realistic levels.
I also have a Tenor Audio 175 S sitting on a Symposium platform located beneath the tape recorder. This hybrid design is highly musical and makes wonders when playing chamber music, small-scale orchestra, vocal and solo music.
The preamp is a Krell Evo 202. It drives both the Krell and the Tenor Audio power amps. Switching from one to the other is done in a breeze. I however need to adjust the input level trims when switching from one amp to the other one. This is done in a matter of seconds through the interactive menu.
The digital source is composed of an integrated TAD D600 CD/SACD player/DAC and a modified Aurender X100L music server. The Aurender’s switch mode power supply is bypassed with a custom-made linear power supply. A Bel Canto USB interface allows using the AES/EBU digital input from the DAC. Whilst the TAD 600 is sitting in the rack, the music server is hidden behind and sits on a console bolted to the front wall. I have a subscription to Qobuz so I can stream in high resolution and I also purchase high-resolution PCM files from Qobuz.
The phono preamp is an Allnic H3000V. I replaced the Mullard amplifier tubes by NOS Telefenkun. The rectifier tube is a KR Lampizator Anniversary, which has significantly enhanced the sound.
The Turntable is a Brinkmann Balance fitted with the Sinus motor and the optional tube power Supply RöNt II. The tonearm is a modified 9-inch SME V 9. The internal wiring has been changed. The head shell leads are Furutech La Source and an Ikeda cable has replaced the dreadful stock Van den Hul phono cable. The cartridge is a Transfiguration Proteus. This is my second Proteus as I got a standard exchange when I sent my previous one for retipping.
Finally, there is a Studer A80 RC MK II tape recorder that was fully overhauled by a studio pro tech who has more than 40 years of experience with Studer. My tech is against the use of tape head preamp. He has however optimized the repro cards and he designed a bespoke stabilizer card, which trumps the Studer one. I also have a second set of repro and stabilizer cards from Tudor Dimitrov.
All electronics are connected to Entreq grounding devices that are very effective. I opted for small individual boxes. The loudspeakers, the preamp and the phono stage have their individual combo composed of a Silver Minimus, a Silver Atlantis and 2 Everest boosters whilst for the digital front end and the Studer, I opted for the Olympus Ten and an Everest booster.
Interconnect cables are Argento flow for the TAD player, the phono Stage and the Krell power amp. For the Studer I opted for 3-meter long XLR cables from Legato Audio. The Tenor Audio power amp is connected to the Krell preamp via 3-meter long XLR Silent Project Hydra cables. I also have Krell CAST cables between the power amps and the preamp but I barely use them.
There is a dedicated line. The power distributor is an Ansuz D and I use a variety of power cables (among others Argento Flow, Ansuz C, Stealth Dream V10, Gigawatt, ...) that were all individually tested in my system prior I purchased them.
Choosing Loudspeakers cables proved to be difficult. I tested a dozen of cables. All the silver ones that I tested (Wireworld Platinum, Gold, and Silver, Audioquest, Argento and many others) were way too bright. I settled for copper with the relatively modest Wireworld Eclipse 6 that, in my system, achieved the best results. I have two pairs: one for the Krell and one for the Tenor Audio. I just need to swap the connections when I want to switch from one amp to the other one.
My music is stored in adjacent rooms (2500 LPs, 2000 CDs/SACDs and about 200 tapes – a third of them being 12 inch reels). I have reduced my purchases of LPs and CDs/SACDs in favor of tapes and to a lesser extent high resolution PCM files. Digital is secondary as I am mainly an analog guy.
In a separate room, I have a KL Audio and a VPI 16.5 RCM as well as an Orb record flattener.
I would like to replace the Symposium platform on which the Tenor Audio is residing by a Stacore Basic platform but I need to find larger castors for the Studer in order to increase the usable height under the trolley. I will ultimately retire the SME V tone arm. I am considering opting for a 9-inch SAT but there is no urgency. I have no other plans for upgrade.
The listening room is the main living room. It is a small converted barn in a tiny farmhouse from the late 19th century. With their hand made bricks, the walls are uneven surfaces acting like giant diffusors. The cathedral ceiling peaks at 5.5 meter. I live in a relatively quiet area and the ambient noise in the room is measured at around 36 db. Large acrylic SMT diffusers located at each corner, the first reflection point and behind the seating area provide a highly effective acoustic treatment without too much visual intrusion. The sweet spot is about 4 meters away from the speakers.
The loudspeakers are the Master 2 from Focus Audio. Their D’Appolito design requires some heavy juice. Thanks to the SMT diffuser on the left wall and the absence of a first reflection point on right wall (aperture with a staircase leading to the dining room), they can be located quite close to the sidewalls. There is ample room behind them with more than 6 feet between the front wall and the rear of the loudspeakers.
The audio rack is from Stacore. It is composed of a heavily damped steel frame and 6 pneumatic platforms totaling a weight of 800 Kg. The sonic benefits are tremendous: reduced noise floor, better micro-dynamics, tighter bass and slam.
The power amplifiers are Krell Evolution One. I have had them for several years and I got them recently fully refurbished. They are powerful and fast with tight bass and slam that hits you in the chest when listening at realistic levels.
I also have a Tenor Audio 175 S sitting on a Symposium platform located beneath the tape recorder. This hybrid design is highly musical and makes wonders when playing chamber music, small-scale orchestra, vocal and solo music.
The preamp is a Krell Evo 202. It drives both the Krell and the Tenor Audio power amps. Switching from one to the other is done in a breeze. I however need to adjust the input level trims when switching from one amp to the other one. This is done in a matter of seconds through the interactive menu.
The digital source is composed of an integrated TAD D600 CD/SACD player/DAC and a modified Aurender X100L music server. The Aurender’s switch mode power supply is bypassed with a custom-made linear power supply. A Bel Canto USB interface allows using the AES/EBU digital input from the DAC. Whilst the TAD 600 is sitting in the rack, the music server is hidden behind and sits on a console bolted to the front wall. I have a subscription to Qobuz so I can stream in high resolution and I also purchase high-resolution PCM files from Qobuz.
The phono preamp is an Allnic H3000V. I replaced the Mullard amplifier tubes by NOS Telefenkun. The rectifier tube is a KR Lampizator Anniversary, which has significantly enhanced the sound.
The Turntable is a Brinkmann Balance fitted with the Sinus motor and the optional tube power Supply RöNt II. The tonearm is a modified 9-inch SME V 9. The internal wiring has been changed. The head shell leads are Furutech La Source and an Ikeda cable has replaced the dreadful stock Van den Hul phono cable. The cartridge is a Transfiguration Proteus. This is my second Proteus as I got a standard exchange when I sent my previous one for retipping.
Finally, there is a Studer A80 RC MK II tape recorder that was fully overhauled by a studio pro tech who has more than 40 years of experience with Studer. My tech is against the use of tape head preamp. He has however optimized the repro cards and he designed a bespoke stabilizer card, which trumps the Studer one. I also have a second set of repro and stabilizer cards from Tudor Dimitrov.
All electronics are connected to Entreq grounding devices that are very effective. I opted for small individual boxes. The loudspeakers, the preamp and the phono stage have their individual combo composed of a Silver Minimus, a Silver Atlantis and 2 Everest boosters whilst for the digital front end and the Studer, I opted for the Olympus Ten and an Everest booster.
Interconnect cables are Argento flow for the TAD player, the phono Stage and the Krell power amp. For the Studer I opted for 3-meter long XLR cables from Legato Audio. The Tenor Audio power amp is connected to the Krell preamp via 3-meter long XLR Silent Project Hydra cables. I also have Krell CAST cables between the power amps and the preamp but I barely use them.
There is a dedicated line. The power distributor is an Ansuz D and I use a variety of power cables (among others Argento Flow, Ansuz C, Stealth Dream V10, Gigawatt, ...) that were all individually tested in my system prior I purchased them.
Choosing Loudspeakers cables proved to be difficult. I tested a dozen of cables. All the silver ones that I tested (Wireworld Platinum, Gold, and Silver, Audioquest, Argento and many others) were way too bright. I settled for copper with the relatively modest Wireworld Eclipse 6 that, in my system, achieved the best results. I have two pairs: one for the Krell and one for the Tenor Audio. I just need to swap the connections when I want to switch from one amp to the other one.
My music is stored in adjacent rooms (2500 LPs, 2000 CDs/SACDs and about 200 tapes – a third of them being 12 inch reels). I have reduced my purchases of LPs and CDs/SACDs in favor of tapes and to a lesser extent high resolution PCM files. Digital is secondary as I am mainly an analog guy.
In a separate room, I have a KL Audio and a VPI 16.5 RCM as well as an Orb record flattener.
I would like to replace the Symposium platform on which the Tenor Audio is residing by a Stacore Basic platform but I need to find larger castors for the Studer in order to increase the usable height under the trolley. I will ultimately retire the SME V tone arm. I am considering opting for a 9-inch SAT but there is no urgency. I have no other plans for upgrade.
