Hello community,
I have been browsing your forum for some time, which I find very informative.
It is fashionable to introduce yourself before interacting; I subscribe to it here, even if it is not the discussion thread of the presentations (the moderator will correct if necessary)
.
I am French, from the provinces, it has been 35 years that the hifi is one of my passions.
I listen mainly to jazz with a marked fondness for Nils Landgren, E.S.T. , Melody Gardot, Dominic Miller….
An important turn was taken in 2012, when, equipped with Martin Logan (Sequel2 then Prodigy), I discovered that electro-dynamic loudspeakers could be capable of great things; first of all with listening to Brodmann speakers but above all by discovering the Tidal brand, whose listening to the Piano G1 was the source of immediate love at first sight.
With a very large living room, I acquired Contriva ceramic, which I upgraded with the diamond tweeter in a second step; very good association with ASR Emmiter 2Exklusiv…
Life events and opporstunities have meant that I was able to make a radical change in my system by acquiring Tidal Agoria, bi-amplified by 2 Impulse stereo Tidal blocks (with LPX module, for woofer adjustment) , with upstream a Thrax Dyonisos preamplifier, and the excellent French DAC B. Audio.
The brave little Nuprime CDT-8 pro cd player which was the weak link has just been replaced by an Innuos Statement. The latter has eliminated most of the harshness of digital sound and gives a quality of steaming above my expectations (no instant audible difference between Qobuz Sublime streaming and files played on the internal SSD ...).
All devices are based on Spectral High End model 2-tier racks ( I filled l feet with fine sand in 2/3) with spikes and tailstocks.
2 Gigawatt circuit breakers are mounted on the electrical panel, from which two 4mm² shielded electrical lines leave; one is duplicated on two sockett wall Furutech NCF, for digital devices ; the other serves a power distributor (handmade by Ludwig Audio) via a TWL Statement on a Furu NCF plug, for the analog section.
The Innuos Statement is powered by a Lessloss C-Marc cable completed by a Lesloss X64 Firewall, the DAC by a Lessloss C-Marc, the Thrax by a Tidal cable, the power blocks each by a TWL Statement.
Streaming is carried by wifi (with a low speed: 24/192 does not pass; I am waiting for my house to be connected by optical fiber ...), recovered by a Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC200 with an Ifi power supply; Sablon 2020 audio for Ethernet and USB cables (thank you What'sBestForum ++).
From the B. Audio DAC go the XLR Tim-Ref cables (Absolue Création) to the preamp. From Thrax to Tidal blocks, we find a pair of Lesloss C-Marc in xlr for the full range and Silver cryo cable in xlr "Signature" from Audioprana (handmade in France) for the bass section.
All the speaker cables are still from Audioprana: Silver cryogenized 7 single strands + triple cotton thickness, without connectors. Between the cables and the Agoria, for the full range section only, are interposed Lessloss loudspeaker firewalls.
Pre-amp and DAC equipped with SR Blue fuses; Fuses SR Orange being delivered for the DAC and Innuos.
All electronics and the power distributor are grounded on Chinese Aucharm boxes.
Finally, decoupling points and tailstock without brand or not widely distributed under the devices and under the Agoria (fairly well known: Harmonix RF 909x mkII). Anecdotal presence of a Schumann resonator near the system (any efficiency ??). Television, decoder, sound bar and dedicated subwoofer are cut off from the mains while listening.
How does that sound? Like Tidal: very homogeneous, very transparent, fast and energetic; I mainly listen to small musical groups, there is a lot of presence. All the tweaks brought about a reduction in the background noise, the most impressive being the Lessloss loudspeaker firewall, probably because just before the speakers…
The upgrading of the source with the arrival of the Innuos Statement was a big step forward and got rid of the music of digital harshness that could tire the ear over time (I skip the other qualities, the previous cd player not at the level of the overall installation); Qobuz streaming is a delight in terms of sound quality and does not make me ask any questions when listening. To the point that I have not yet taken the time to do a technical, analytical listening to know the difference, if it exists, between reading the files stored on Innuos and the same files on Qobuz.
For the moment I do not notice any particular interest in the 24-bit 96 khz formats compared to the same in 16/44; sometimes maybe a little more finesse and harmonics in the treble and mid-treble….
The listening room is my living room: a little less than 100m² on the ground, more than 6 m high at the ridge, 300m3, 500m3 if we count the mezzanine. Acoustics a little clear, attenuated by a thick carpet of 3x5.2 m in the listening field. No need for additional specific acoustic treatment; the Agorias breathe deeply in this volume.
What more ?
In terms of electronic equipment or speakers: nothing. I'm at the end of my quest. ;-)
Sonically? Already particularly satisfied, I do not feel any particular frustration or fatigue. On the forte, for multi-instrumentalists, we could further refine the hairline and the treble clipping. Probably we can still gain in sound space and ventilation around the musicians. A little more heat could be appreciated, no doubt, with the last cable changes to come ...
In terms of connections: the preampli-blocks link in the first place. Given the reputation on this forum of Audio Sablon, given the quality of the USB and Ethernet models (I do not however compare them to competitors), given the loan of equipment practiced by the brand and given the non-delusional prices, I am eyeing this brand as a priority. In France the Absolue Création cables, for their top-of-the-range models that I know, are excellent but at stratospheric prices… Lastly, and only can -be, loudspeaker cables ..
2 SR Orange fuses are on ... To listen ...
Is there a way to improve streaming rendering?
It seems that the fact of inserting a quality switch between the wifi receiver and the streamer is beneficial, with the disadvantage of a new box + its dedicated power supply and a new ethernet cable ... When I see the sum various feedback and experiences on the audiophile pretension computer network, I admire but also a little scared ... I have for the moment the advantage of simplicity with a result of good quality ...
I think I walked around the owner, happy, and the listener, overwhelmed.
I would like to express here all my gratitude to Ludwig Lambert of Ludwig Audio (Tidal importer for France and Belgium), who introduced me to Tidal and always advised me excellently for the constitution of my system. May he be thanked very much +++.
Finally, know that I appreciate the informative content of your forum and especially the dignified and courteous behavior of the exchanges, a rare thing these days. I have never presented my system in detail in any forum before.
I try to attach some photos if I succeed…. ;-)
PS: You will forgive my style: my level of English is that of Google Translate .... Sorry!
Best regards all .
I have been browsing your forum for some time, which I find very informative.
It is fashionable to introduce yourself before interacting; I subscribe to it here, even if it is not the discussion thread of the presentations (the moderator will correct if necessary)
.
I am French, from the provinces, it has been 35 years that the hifi is one of my passions.
I listen mainly to jazz with a marked fondness for Nils Landgren, E.S.T. , Melody Gardot, Dominic Miller….
An important turn was taken in 2012, when, equipped with Martin Logan (Sequel2 then Prodigy), I discovered that electro-dynamic loudspeakers could be capable of great things; first of all with listening to Brodmann speakers but above all by discovering the Tidal brand, whose listening to the Piano G1 was the source of immediate love at first sight.
With a very large living room, I acquired Contriva ceramic, which I upgraded with the diamond tweeter in a second step; very good association with ASR Emmiter 2Exklusiv…
Life events and opporstunities have meant that I was able to make a radical change in my system by acquiring Tidal Agoria, bi-amplified by 2 Impulse stereo Tidal blocks (with LPX module, for woofer adjustment) , with upstream a Thrax Dyonisos preamplifier, and the excellent French DAC B. Audio.
The brave little Nuprime CDT-8 pro cd player which was the weak link has just been replaced by an Innuos Statement. The latter has eliminated most of the harshness of digital sound and gives a quality of steaming above my expectations (no instant audible difference between Qobuz Sublime streaming and files played on the internal SSD ...).
All devices are based on Spectral High End model 2-tier racks ( I filled l feet with fine sand in 2/3) with spikes and tailstocks.
2 Gigawatt circuit breakers are mounted on the electrical panel, from which two 4mm² shielded electrical lines leave; one is duplicated on two sockett wall Furutech NCF, for digital devices ; the other serves a power distributor (handmade by Ludwig Audio) via a TWL Statement on a Furu NCF plug, for the analog section.
The Innuos Statement is powered by a Lessloss C-Marc cable completed by a Lesloss X64 Firewall, the DAC by a Lessloss C-Marc, the Thrax by a Tidal cable, the power blocks each by a TWL Statement.
Streaming is carried by wifi (with a low speed: 24/192 does not pass; I am waiting for my house to be connected by optical fiber ...), recovered by a Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC200 with an Ifi power supply; Sablon 2020 audio for Ethernet and USB cables (thank you What'sBestForum ++).
From the B. Audio DAC go the XLR Tim-Ref cables (Absolue Création) to the preamp. From Thrax to Tidal blocks, we find a pair of Lesloss C-Marc in xlr for the full range and Silver cryo cable in xlr "Signature" from Audioprana (handmade in France) for the bass section.
All the speaker cables are still from Audioprana: Silver cryogenized 7 single strands + triple cotton thickness, without connectors. Between the cables and the Agoria, for the full range section only, are interposed Lessloss loudspeaker firewalls.
Pre-amp and DAC equipped with SR Blue fuses; Fuses SR Orange being delivered for the DAC and Innuos.
All electronics and the power distributor are grounded on Chinese Aucharm boxes.
Finally, decoupling points and tailstock without brand or not widely distributed under the devices and under the Agoria (fairly well known: Harmonix RF 909x mkII). Anecdotal presence of a Schumann resonator near the system (any efficiency ??). Television, decoder, sound bar and dedicated subwoofer are cut off from the mains while listening.
How does that sound? Like Tidal: very homogeneous, very transparent, fast and energetic; I mainly listen to small musical groups, there is a lot of presence. All the tweaks brought about a reduction in the background noise, the most impressive being the Lessloss loudspeaker firewall, probably because just before the speakers…
The upgrading of the source with the arrival of the Innuos Statement was a big step forward and got rid of the music of digital harshness that could tire the ear over time (I skip the other qualities, the previous cd player not at the level of the overall installation); Qobuz streaming is a delight in terms of sound quality and does not make me ask any questions when listening. To the point that I have not yet taken the time to do a technical, analytical listening to know the difference, if it exists, between reading the files stored on Innuos and the same files on Qobuz.
For the moment I do not notice any particular interest in the 24-bit 96 khz formats compared to the same in 16/44; sometimes maybe a little more finesse and harmonics in the treble and mid-treble….
The listening room is my living room: a little less than 100m² on the ground, more than 6 m high at the ridge, 300m3, 500m3 if we count the mezzanine. Acoustics a little clear, attenuated by a thick carpet of 3x5.2 m in the listening field. No need for additional specific acoustic treatment; the Agorias breathe deeply in this volume.
What more ?
In terms of electronic equipment or speakers: nothing. I'm at the end of my quest. ;-)
Sonically? Already particularly satisfied, I do not feel any particular frustration or fatigue. On the forte, for multi-instrumentalists, we could further refine the hairline and the treble clipping. Probably we can still gain in sound space and ventilation around the musicians. A little more heat could be appreciated, no doubt, with the last cable changes to come ...
In terms of connections: the preampli-blocks link in the first place. Given the reputation on this forum of Audio Sablon, given the quality of the USB and Ethernet models (I do not however compare them to competitors), given the loan of equipment practiced by the brand and given the non-delusional prices, I am eyeing this brand as a priority. In France the Absolue Création cables, for their top-of-the-range models that I know, are excellent but at stratospheric prices… Lastly, and only can -be, loudspeaker cables ..
2 SR Orange fuses are on ... To listen ...
Is there a way to improve streaming rendering?
It seems that the fact of inserting a quality switch between the wifi receiver and the streamer is beneficial, with the disadvantage of a new box + its dedicated power supply and a new ethernet cable ... When I see the sum various feedback and experiences on the audiophile pretension computer network, I admire but also a little scared ... I have for the moment the advantage of simplicity with a result of good quality ...
I think I walked around the owner, happy, and the listener, overwhelmed.
I would like to express here all my gratitude to Ludwig Lambert of Ludwig Audio (Tidal importer for France and Belgium), who introduced me to Tidal and always advised me excellently for the constitution of my system. May he be thanked very much +++.
Finally, know that I appreciate the informative content of your forum and especially the dignified and courteous behavior of the exchanges, a rare thing these days. I have never presented my system in detail in any forum before.
I try to attach some photos if I succeed…. ;-)
PS: You will forgive my style: my level of English is that of Google Translate .... Sorry!
Best regards all .
