Jon's Reference System

jonaiken

VIP/Donor
Jan 22, 2017
87
110
278
Washington, DC
Upgraded my turntable to TriangleART’s Master Reference with Osiris Mk2 Tonearms and Apollo Cartridges. The sound of my new analog setup exceeds my dCS Digital Stack - not an easy feat. D9422EC4-BE6D-4C2F-AAD7-2842F08660E2.jpeg 5D95BCDB-E70D-40D4-BCFD-9FBF0209432F.jpeg
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,626
5,435
1,278
E. England
Just a suggestion, have you considered yr tt on a dedicated stand?
 

jonaiken

VIP/Donor
Jan 22, 2017
87
110
278
Washington, DC
Just a suggestion, have you considered yr tt on a dedicated stand?
I have but unfortunately due to space and WAF considerations I am limited what I can do.
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,626
5,435
1,278
E. England
Wall shelf? The best solution of all.
 

jonaiken

VIP/Donor
Jan 22, 2017
87
110
278
Washington, DC

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,430
2,518
1,448
beautiful! Congrats on the new upgrades...i wonder if you might investigate SRA? While it is 'another' audiophile thing...at least they are piano gloss laquer and would sit directly under your Triangle. I use HRS M3X, Stillpoints U6s...but for the Zanden Digital, the SRA Ohio XL has been an eye-opener in what it does for the Zanden.
 

jonaiken

VIP/Donor
Jan 22, 2017
87
110
278
Washington, DC
beautiful! Congrats on the new upgrades...i wonder if you might investigate SRA? While it is 'another' audiophile thing...at least they are piano gloss laquer and would sit directly under your Triangle. I use HRS M3X, Stillpoints U6s...but for the Zanden Digital, the SRA Ohio XL has been an eye-opener in what it does for the Zanden.
I liked the idea of an SRA under the table. I have the SRA Ohio XL+2’s under my amps and love the result. Thanks for the suggestions
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,430
2,518
1,448
Fantastic! Great to hear...and yes, i should have noticed those.

By the way...can you speak about the PS Audio P20...i am most curious as to how you might have found it compares with other power conditioners. I see that you are using the Shunyatas as well. I have a Burmester 948 which is great...but was curious as to what the P20 might bring. Thanks for any guidance as to how well it works for you...and if you ever made any comparisons.
 

jonaiken

VIP/Donor
Jan 22, 2017
87
110
278
Washington, DC
Fantastic! Great to hear...and yes, i should have noticed those.

By the way...can you speak about the PS Audio P20...i am most curious as to how you might have found it compares with other power conditioners. I see that you are using the Shunyatas as well. .....

I like what the P20 has done for my system. It cleans up and regulates the power and makes my system more musical plus I need the outlets. I use to own the Denali 6000T and Gigawatt PC-4+ Evo but the P20 surpassed both of them. The only negative is My ARC Ref 250SE mono-blocks will shut the P20 down - the 250SE’s draw a lot of voltage. Therefore I must have the 250SE’s go through their own Denali 2000T which works for me.
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,807
4,702
2,790
Portugal
Wall shelf? The best solution of all.

IMHO it depends on wall type. Most walls will flex or vibrate and will induce horizontal perturbations, that are usually less well isolated and damped than those due to vertical vibration.

Turntable stands are also expected to sink mechanical energy to ground - the process of designing a top quality wall stand should be very complex!
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,430
2,518
1,448
Fantastic!! Thanks and great to know...particularly the Gigawatt Evo which has garnered a LOT of praise as has the Shunyata Denali!!
 

Empirical Audio

Industry Expert
Oct 12, 2017
1,169
207
150
Great Pacific Northwest
www.empiricalaudio.com
Why did you get the mods to the Sonos Connect? Doesn't the dCS DAC reclock it anyway?
 

jonaiken

VIP/Donor
Jan 22, 2017
87
110
278
Washington, DC

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,217
13,692
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
Congratulations, Jon! The set up looks fantastic!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Woofer and Tweet

jonaiken

VIP/Donor
Jan 22, 2017
87
110
278
Washington, DC

vucubaquix

Member
Nov 14, 2020
32
8
13
49
Hi, I was considering the Hestias until I happened across your posts and noticed you moved from the Hestias to the Tidal Agorias Silver. I'd love to hear your thoughts and findings that led you to make the change.
And I wonder, was it hard to find a new home for the Hestias?

thanks so much !
 

jonaiken

VIP/Donor
Jan 22, 2017
87
110
278
Washington, DC
Hi, I was considering the Hestias until I happened across your posts and noticed you moved from the Hestias to the Tidal Agorias Silver. I'd love to hear your thoughts and findings that led you to make the change.
And I wonder, was it hard to find a new home for the Hestias?

thanks so much !
Hi, Let me first state the Tidal Agoria Silver ed. and Alta Audio Hestia Titanium’s are at a different performance level and price point (100k difference in retail price). With that said I loved the Hestia Titanium but must state you definitely need a big room to maximize their performance and to not be overwhelmed by their bass performance. The Hestia’s are some of the best performers in creating or reproducing a 3-dimensional soundstage that is easily discernible and maintained off axis like no other speaker I have encountered. The Tidal Agoria’s which I first heard at the 2018 Capital Audiofest were the star of the show for me and led me to purchasing the Agorias. The Agorias are at another level providing a more balanced sound with greater detail, dimensionality, dynamics, transparency and better tonal and timbral accuracy. They don't go as low as the Hestia’s but provide a more accurate bass reproduction. I owned two Alta Audio speakers (Hestia’s and Celesta) in my lifetime and I was able to sell both within 30 days of placing an advertisement, however at 50% of the retail price. Both are very musical speakers and you get a lot of performance for the money. Mike Levy of Alta Audio is a great designer and produces great speakers that out perform many speakers at double his speakers price points. Hope this helps.

Jon
 
  • Like
Reactions: KLH007

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing