Introducing My System

[Thundersnow]

 

[orfeo_monteverdi]

[please forgive my poor English]

Nice thread, @Thundersnow , thanks!

I like very much the jazz piece, and also the piano & cello piece in post #489
Even through my Sennheiser HD 650 headphones plugged into the (presumably crappy) headphone output of my Thinkpad laptop, it seems to sound great. At least very, very enjoyable from here.

Such a wonderful system will reward his lucky owner on classical music too.

---

I you like cello & piano,
I confess that I could listen to Beethoven's 7 Variations On Welche Liebe Fuhlen, From Magic Flute WoO 46, on repeat.
Mischa Maisky Violoncello, Martha Argerich Piano:

Oh , and this elegiac musical passage, at 3'18''. Sheer beauty.
I also like very much the interpretation of French cellist Maurice Gendron with Jean Françaix (piano), released by Philips Classics. Here they play the same elegiac musical passage, but in a more languid way. Old recording, but actually quite good (of better quality than the Richter & Rostropovich's take on the same disc)

;-) "With Beethoven there’s always room for one more interpretation" (Gramophone)

 

[Thundersnow]

[please forgive my poor English]

Nice thread, @Thundersnow , thanks!

I like very much the jazz piece, and also the piano & cello piece in post #489
Event through my Sennheiser HD 650 headphones plugged into the (presumably crappy) headphone output of my Thinkpad laptop, it seems to sound great. At least very, very enjoyable from here.

Such a wonderful system will reward his lucky owner on classical music too.

---

I you like the cello & piano,
I confess that I could listen to Beethoven's 7 Variations On Welche Liebe Fuhlen, From Magic Flute WoO 46 on repeat.
Mischa Maisky Violoncello, Martha Argerich Piano:

Oh , and this elegiac musical passage, at 3'18''. Sheer beauty.
I also like very much the interpretation of French cellist Maurice Gendron with Jean Françaix (piano), release by Philips Classics. Here they play the same elegiac musical passage, but in a more languid way. Old recording, but not bad at all (of better quality than the Richter & Rostropovich's take on the same disc)

;-) "With Beethoven there’s always room for one more interpretation" (Gramophone)

Thank you for the great suggestions, Orfeo, appreciate it.

 

[LL21]

Wow…impressive! Enjoy!

 

[Thundersnow]

Saša from Trafomatic was kind enough to modify the transformers in my Tara 30A preamp, to optimize the gain better for the high sensitivity Karan monos. The transformers now have a 6db and a 10db tap, and I'm using them on the 6db tap. I am also using another pre in the combo which I'm going to talk about at a later date. For now, just some eye candy because I think this particular setup is OH SO pretty.

Another quick note. The rectifier in the Lampi DAC -- it's the original NOS Philips metal base GZ34. Expensive, but WELL worth it.

 

[Thundersnow]

 

[Thundersnow]

 

[mxk116]

What are the dimensions of your listening room? Lovely musical sound in your videos.

 

[Thundersnow]

Thank you, @mxk116. The room is roughly 70m2 (750 sq ft) with an irregular shape and a ceiling of 3.2m (10.5ft). It has a very good balance of damping and natural reverb. Has a moderately strong room mode at 36hz that I am taming with two PSI C214 bass traps placed in the opposite diagonal corners of the room. One behind the right speaker and the other on the opposite diagonal corner of the room.

 

[mxk116]

Thank you, @mxk116. The room is roughly 70m2 (750 sq ft) with an irregular shape and a ceiling of 3.2m (10.5ft). It has a very good balance of damping and natural reverb. Has a moderately strong room mode at 36hz that I am taming with two PSI C214 bass traps placed in the opposite diagonal corners of the room. One behind the right speaker and the other on the opposite diagonal corner of the room.

Thanks for the details. My current room is considerably larger than yours but I might be relocating and likely will not have the luxury of such a large space. I appreciate your videos in such a comfortable looking setting. Good to know the Studio Plus (in concert with the entirety of your system) is capable of filling it with such wonderful sound.

I too use a pair of PSI AVAA active traps but mine are the older C20 version. Very effective in my room as well. I have tried them in various locations in this space but they seem to work best when placed symmetrically is the front corners. I augment them by stacking two (2) 13" x 3' ASC tube traps on top of each of the C20s. Not certain if they contribute significantly to bass absorption but the do help diffuse reflections in the front corners and help create a satisfying sound stage between and beyond the speakers.

I used Apogee Duetta's when they were first available and the beauty of that sound is firmly embedded in my mind's ear. Enjoying your videos leads me to believe a pair of Clarisys speakers may appear in our home should our circumstances change.

 

[Thundersnow]

Thanks for the details. My current room is considerably larger than yours but I might be relocating and likely will not have the luxury of such a large space. I appreciate your videos in such a comfortable looking setting. Good to know the Studio Plus (in concert with the entirety of your system) is capable of filling it with such wonderful sound.

I too use a pair of PSI AVAA active traps but mine are the older C20 version. Very effective in my room as well. I have tried them in various locations in this space but they seem to work best when placed symmetrically is the front corners. I augment them by stacking two (2) 13" x 3' ASC tube traps on top of each of the C20s. Not certain if they contribute significantly to bass absorption but the do help diffuse reflections in the front corners and help create a satisfying sound stage between and beyond the speakers.

I used Apogee Duetta's when they were first available and the beauty of that sound is firmly embedded in my mind's ear. Enjoying your videos leads me to believe a pair of Clarisys speakers may appear in our home should our circumstances change.

I am with you 100%. Huge fan of the Duettas and the love never fades. In my opinion at this point and having lived with Clarisys for a while they are in every way an upgrade over the Duettas. For an Apogee fan, in short, these speakers are a more refined Apogee with a serious (and I mean serious) bass kick and the speed and agility that I rarely if ever hear in a non-horn system. With Karans (and lots of power) it has race car speed.

Also, I own a pair of C20s. They are just as good as the digital ones. No need to upgrade there.

 

[gleeds]

Thundersnow, I love your system!

Ron Resnick, a close colleague and friend, has Clarisys, so I know them well. As the US importer for Trafomatic, I especially love your Trafomatic 30-A combined with the powerful Karans. I'm unsure if it's the first Tara 30-A or the second in the States, but we will receive ours at the end of June. I would enjoy hearing about your system someday when I am overseas. Enjoy the Music!

 

[Thundersnow]

Thundersnow, I love your system!

Ron Resnick, a close colleague and friend, has Clarisys, so I know them well. As the US importer for Trafomatic, I especially love your Trafomatic 30-A combined with the powerful Karans. I'm unsure if it's the first Tara 30-A or the second in the States, but we will receive ours at the end of June. I would enjoy hearing about your system someday when I am overseas. Enjoy the Music!

Saša from Trafomatic was kind enough to replace the transformers in my Tara 30A to better adjust the gain with the Karans (so important). With the gain structure sorted and with the very low output impedance of the Tara 30A this has become a match made in heaven. The Emission Labs 30As do bring something incredible to the sound now that the gain is correctly matched with the Karans.

 

[gleeds]

Saša from Trafomatic was kind enough to replace the transformers in my Tara 30A to better adjust the gain with the Karans (so important). With the gain structure sorted and with the very low output impedance of the Tara 30A this has become a match made in heaven. The Emission Labs 30As do bring something incredible to the sound now that the gain is correctly matched with the Karans.

Sasa is the man! Thanks for sharing this with me and the members.

 

[hopkins]

Thank you, @mxk116. The room is roughly 70m2 (750 sq ft) with an irregular shape and a ceiling of 3.2m (10.5ft). It has a very good balance of damping and natural reverb. Has a moderately strong room mode at 36hz that I am taming with two PSI C214 bass traps placed in the opposite diagonal corners of the room. One behind the right speaker and the other on the opposite diagonal corner of the room.

I can hear the reverb in the video recording, that's one thing videos are good at revealing. It's all a matter of preference, just like people have different preferences for seating positions in concert halls. To get a better idea of the speakers, it is also interesting to take a nearfield recording, even of a single speaker.

 

[Al M.]

I can hear the reverb in the video recording, that's one thing videos are good at revealing. It's all a matter of preference, just like people have different preferences for seating positions in concert halls. To get a better idea of the speakers, it is also interesting to take a nearfield recording, even of a single speaker.

I wouldn't trust the reverb in video recordings. A system that I know well sounds significantly more reverb-y on video than it does in person. Thus a video might be revealing, but chances are that it's just falsifying.

 

[Thundersnow]

I wouldn't trust the reverb in video recordings. A system that I know well sounds significantly more reverb-y on video than it does in person. Thus a video might be revealing, but chances are that it's just falsifying.

I hear way more reverb in the recording than I do live. I am very sensitive to bad reverb (smear from reflections) but I just don’t hear it live. The imaging is pin point. As I said, I am very happy with the room reverb and I’ve been listening previously for years in a fully treated room. Yes, the recordings sounded better, but live, the new room is way more satisfying musically.

In fact, I have the option to cover all the windows with heavy curtains to dampen the room more but I never do it.

 

[Thundersnow]

Same setup, same SPL, same mic. See if you can spot the difference with heavy curtains drawn:

 

[hopkins]

Same setup, same SPL, same mic. See if you can spot the difference with heavy curtains drawn:

Do you have a link to the track?

 

[Thundersnow]

Finally, according to my ears this is the perfect room reverb. Only the first reflection dampened by the heavy curtains to the right of the right speaker: