Hi everyone, I have been more or less a lurker on this forum, but I wanted to share my system after my most recent updates.
A little about me, my name is Marc and I'm a software developer. I live in the Seattle area near Mike Lavigne, and as you can imagine, he is pretty influential on my journey and I feel extremely lucky to know him. I'm also very happy to know other local gurus Rex Hungerford and Ed DeVito.
I started out about 14 years ago with a modest B&W system, climbed that ladder with McIntosh gear, and eventually switched to all Audio Research and Wilson. Then I got obsessed with Esoteric and Shunyata products. These 4 brands have dominated my system for the last decade.
I mentioned that Mike is pretty influential...after hearing his system several times in the past few years, I decided that I really needed to double down on vinyl. It's something that I have had in my system but never treated it as my main source. Streaming and/or CD had always been my main source, and my N-01XD has been a fantastic partner in my rig. But Mike's vinyl is other-worldly and I wanted to see how far I could go in that direction.
I had considered a few different tables, but honestly none of them wowed me in the looks department other than some Acoustic Signature and TechDas models. I liked the Esoteric, it would have fit in with my system perfectly since I have always had Esoteric digital, but didn't know how good it might be, and thought it was out of my price range anyway. Then I talked to Michael Fremer and found that he was reviewing the Esoteric T1 and he raved about it to me (His review should be hitting your mailbox now). Right after that, I heard that Mike Lavigne had bought one and of course I headed straight over to his place to hear it for myself.
There is a whole thread on his acquisition of this table that I'm sure you all read. I was very impressed with the look and the sound in person. It went toe-to-toe with Mike's other tables and I was left impressed at how it really seemed to be a transparent slate that would be perfect for mounting multiple arms and carts on. But I still didn't think I could afford.
Well long story short, I sold some other prized possessions of mine in order to obtain my own T1. I could not be happier with the result. This thing really does seem like a transparent source, a blank slate to draw upon for any flavor sound you might like to have. Just add the right arm and cart and you can tailor it so well. At this time, I am using the stock arm and an Ortofon MC Diamond. This gives me extremely detailed and layered sound, but I am excited to see where i can take it in the future. I am eyeing a Kuzma Safir for next year.
I do not have a G1X clock like Mike, but I do have the older and lower model G-02X clock. I am clocking my N-01XD, my ethernet switch, and my T1 with it. It is a really great upgrade to any Esoteric product with a clock input. One day I'd like to get a G1X but for now, I am not suffering at all.
Another influencing factor...I decided the E-02 phono's MC input was not the best match for my cart's very low .02mv output, so I got the EMIA step up transformer on Mike's recommendation. It sounds fantastic!
Overall, my system is now firing on all cylinders and I am quite happy with what I have. Time to relax and buy some records!
A little about me, my name is Marc and I'm a software developer. I live in the Seattle area near Mike Lavigne, and as you can imagine, he is pretty influential on my journey and I feel extremely lucky to know him. I'm also very happy to know other local gurus Rex Hungerford and Ed DeVito.
I started out about 14 years ago with a modest B&W system, climbed that ladder with McIntosh gear, and eventually switched to all Audio Research and Wilson. Then I got obsessed with Esoteric and Shunyata products. These 4 brands have dominated my system for the last decade.
I mentioned that Mike is pretty influential...after hearing his system several times in the past few years, I decided that I really needed to double down on vinyl. It's something that I have had in my system but never treated it as my main source. Streaming and/or CD had always been my main source, and my N-01XD has been a fantastic partner in my rig. But Mike's vinyl is other-worldly and I wanted to see how far I could go in that direction.
I had considered a few different tables, but honestly none of them wowed me in the looks department other than some Acoustic Signature and TechDas models. I liked the Esoteric, it would have fit in with my system perfectly since I have always had Esoteric digital, but didn't know how good it might be, and thought it was out of my price range anyway. Then I talked to Michael Fremer and found that he was reviewing the Esoteric T1 and he raved about it to me (His review should be hitting your mailbox now). Right after that, I heard that Mike Lavigne had bought one and of course I headed straight over to his place to hear it for myself.
There is a whole thread on his acquisition of this table that I'm sure you all read. I was very impressed with the look and the sound in person. It went toe-to-toe with Mike's other tables and I was left impressed at how it really seemed to be a transparent slate that would be perfect for mounting multiple arms and carts on. But I still didn't think I could afford.
Well long story short, I sold some other prized possessions of mine in order to obtain my own T1. I could not be happier with the result. This thing really does seem like a transparent source, a blank slate to draw upon for any flavor sound you might like to have. Just add the right arm and cart and you can tailor it so well. At this time, I am using the stock arm and an Ortofon MC Diamond. This gives me extremely detailed and layered sound, but I am excited to see where i can take it in the future. I am eyeing a Kuzma Safir for next year.
I do not have a G1X clock like Mike, but I do have the older and lower model G-02X clock. I am clocking my N-01XD, my ethernet switch, and my T1 with it. It is a really great upgrade to any Esoteric product with a clock input. One day I'd like to get a G1X but for now, I am not suffering at all.
Another influencing factor...I decided the E-02 phono's MC input was not the best match for my cart's very low .02mv output, so I got the EMIA step up transformer on Mike's recommendation. It sounds fantastic!
Overall, my system is now firing on all cylinders and I am quite happy with what I have. Time to relax and buy some records!
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