Ron's Speaker, Turntable, Power and Room Treatment Upgrades

Lagonda

VIP/Donor
Feb 3, 2014
3,422
4,673
1,255
Denmark
Maybe I'll get the itch to make two demo sets for him to try... We'll see. They're awfully long runs IIRC; and XLR only amps I think?

Mogami is on the shrill side to me. I guess with super flat sounding recent music maybe it's better, but really you can't save that - it's going to sound mediocre no matter what, AFAIK.
Folsom, the Mogami cables all sound different, depending on model number and topology. The shrillest sounding cables i have heard, and still own are Swedish Supra made of tinned copper, unnatural metallic treble, used on somewhat dull electrostatic speakers at the time. I also own IC's made of Duelund silver and copper cables, these are also to colored for my taste.
 
Last edited:

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,024
1,490
520
Eastern WA
Folsom, the Mogami cables all sound different, depending on model number and topology. The shrillest sounding cables i have heard, and still own are Swedish Supra made of tinned copper, unnatural metallic treble, used on somewhat dull electrostatic speakers at the time. I also own IC's made of Duelund silver and copper cables, these are also to colored for my taste.

I don't use any of the odd insulation Supra uses or counter spiral stuff, teflon, etc. Did you find those ones settled in at all? I find tinned copper takes a little bit of time to settle, but I cannot speak for Supras. Duelund's are really high capacitance so they will certainly have a very strong flavor. BTW Mogami 2543 to me is on the harsh side with limited tone - I tried using nothing else but it for awhile.

Very interesting. I did not know this. I'm guessing you mean audio cables. Do you make them as a hobby for yourself or commercially?

Well I decided to make them commercial (which is sort of exciting since we haven't released things under our own name yet, and technically these haven't "debuted"). But I started by seeking the best thing I could find for personal use.
 

Lagonda

VIP/Donor
Feb 3, 2014
3,422
4,673
1,255
Denmark
I don't use any of the odd insulation Supra uses or counter spiral stuff, teflon, etc. Did you find those ones settled in at all? I find tinned copper takes a little bit of time to settle, but I cannot speak for Supras. Duelund's are really high capacitance so they will certainly have a very strong flavor. BTW Mogami 2543 to me is on the harsh side with limited tone - I tried using nothing else but it for awhile.



Well I decided to make them commercial (which is sort of exciting since we haven't released things under our own name yet, and technically these haven't "debuted"). But I started by seeking the best thing I could find for personal use.
Never tried the Mogami 2543, i had 3 different Supra cables, including the top of the line Sword in different systems for extended periods as did my brother, but as my system became more resolving their sound became more troubling to me. I still use a run of Sword to drive my Vandersteen Subs in the TV system, because i had it anyway. Ron feel free to remove these extended cable musings from your system thread. :)
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,024
1,490
520
Eastern WA
Never tried the Mogami 2543, i had 3 different Supra cables, including the top of the line Sword in different systems for extended periods as did my brother, but as my system became more resolving their sound became more troubling to me. I still use a run of Sword to drive my Vandersteen Subs in the TV system, because i had it anyway. Ron feel free to remove these extended cable musings from your system thread. :)
Sorry, I meant 2534.
 

tima

Industry Expert
Mar 3, 2014
5,777
6,819
1,400
the Upper Midwest
Tim, I tried to raise my daughters in a way nodding to past traditions and formality. When they were really little, I taught them to curtsey and say thank you when leaving the dinner table, and to always smile and be polite. Manners have always mattered to me. My career oriented wife soon told me I was preparing them for a world that hardly still exists. Curtseying has about as much to do with today's behavior and cultural norms as fancy packaging and expensive finishes on connectors have to do with natural sounding audio systems. Presentation still matters to some, however, and I respect that.

Behavior and decoration are luxuries that demarcate, and they are surely subjective and vary in value. In the end, sonic results leading to emotion are what matter most to me in audio.

See her picture in a thousand places
'Cause she's this year's wire
You think, you all own little pieces
Of this year's wire

Forget your fancy manners
Forget your Boston grammar
'Cause you don't really give a damn
About this year's wire

Still you're hoping that she's well spoken
'Cause she's this year's wire
You want her broken with her connectors wide open
'Cause she's this year's wire

Never knowing, it's a real attraction
All these promises of satisfaction
While you're being bored to distraction
Hearing this year's wire



--with apologies to the always quotable Elvis Costello
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bobvin and Lagonda

SCAudiophile

Well-Known Member
Sep 11, 2010
1,156
435
1,205
Greer South Carolina (USA)
@Ron Resnick how is your room renovation coming along? Apologies if I missed many posts however you looked to have one very impressive project ongoing there and I'm also curious if you are still on your quest for your destination speaker or if you've finalized on "the one".
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,347
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
@Ron Resnick how is your room renovation coming along? Apologies if I missed many posts however you looked to have one very impressive project ongoing there and I'm also curious if you are still on your quest for your destination speaker or if you've finalized on "the one".

The listening room renovation is part of overall house repairs, and both continue to proceed, albeit slowly and haltingly.

Putting carpet in the rear 2/3 of the listening room is now on hold pending the initiation, permit approval and build-out of a small extension to the length of Tinka's home theater in an adjacent room but with common carpet.

As an example of why this project seemingly never ends, or actually will never end, conduit tubes in the wall between the listening room and this adjacent room (round openings on each side of the wall fitted with plastic tubes) which I will use to allow interconnects to pass between the two rooms were dry-walled over a few weeks ago. I hired the wrong general contractor. Tinka advised me to replace him three years ago, but every step of the way I have thought we have "just a few more months to go."

Also, a City of Los Angeles building inspector who has visited the house several times decided a few months ago that we must build a small concrete landing pad on an inaccessible and unused and unusable side of the exterior deck. This week, out of the blue, he now decided to require a whole exterior staircase that ascends from the small pad to the street above, even though one would be prevented from walking upright on such a staircase by a cantilevered bathroom which blocks the way. He is demanding an egress to the street above which would require interruption of an existing low wall and installation of an unattractive gate.

The competence of, and the meticulousness of compliance with the current building code of, this particular inspector are nice were it not for the incredibly frustrating irony that the whole reason the house needed structural, waterproofing and interior and exterior repairs in the first place is because the City of Los Angeles building inspector assigned to the original construction of the house in 2004 was either incompetent or literally criminally bribed. Among other construction defects we found raw, exposed duplex electrical outlets not in boxes under wall-to-wall carpet; underground piles of sharp Rebar pushed against the waterproofing layer of the retaining wall which punctured such waterproofing layer; a plywood roof with no waterproofing layer underneath it; a rear deck with uncompacted soil (which allowed the deck literally to crack and collapse); most windows were trapezoids and leaking; and an under concrete slab drainage system the permit for which was signed off by the inspector as being built but which never actually was built. Among the contractors and attorneys who examined the situation the consensus conclusion was criminal bribery.

The house is being repaired/renovated in almost every way, and will be a much tighter and more secure and better built structure than it ever would have been, even if it had been built right in the first place. We have not changed the floor plan or built additional rooms or significantly increased the square footage of the house, but at least we will have essentially a new house. For just us three animals the house was big enough to begin with.

But, as you might imagine, it is quite frustrating literally to pay twice for the same house. I must be the only person who bought a house in Los Angeles in 2006 and who is under water on it today.

In retrospect, the repair/renovation project made no economic sense. But we love the location, the street, the property and the view -- and the renovated house. So as long as we live there essentially forever, it is okay.

I selected for speakers Gryphon Pendragons several years ago. These speakers have continued to be stored with infinite patience by Jason Lord of The Source AV in Torrance, California.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Mikem53 and HughP3

SCAudiophile

Well-Known Member
Sep 11, 2010
1,156
435
1,205
Greer South Carolina (USA)
The listening room renovation is part of overall house repairs, and both continue to proceed, albeit slowly and haltingly.

Putting carpet in the rear 2/3 of the listening room is now on hold pending the initiation, permit approval and build-out of a small extension to the length of Tinka's home theater in an adjacent room but with common carpet.

As an example of why this project seemingly never ends, or actually will never end, conduit tubes in the wall between the listening room and this adjacent room (round openings on each side of the wall fitted with plastic tubes) which I will use to allow interconnects to pass between the two rooms were dry-walled over a few weeks ago.

I selected for speakers Gryphon Pendragons several years ago. These speakers have continued to be stored with infinite patience by Jason Lord of The Source AV in Torrance, California.
Best of luck getting past the bureaucracy, process and other headaches. Congratulations on the choice of the Pendragons,...I've heard them only once however suffice it to say they made a lasting impression. What a fantastic choice! Thanks for the update....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ron Resnick

PeterA

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2011
12,522
10,688
3,515
USA
Ron, not to be forgotten is the incredible AS 2000 turntable which you purchased for this future system. I have never heard it twice in different systems and it is truly a marvel of vinyl playback and surely a step “Beyond”.

I suspect that the frustrations, headaches, hassles, and expenses, will be soon forgotten once you’re moved in and enjoying your new system and lifestyle.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HughP3 and Lagonda

Lagonda

VIP/Donor
Feb 3, 2014
3,422
4,673
1,255
Denmark
Ron, not to be forgotten is the incredible AS 2000 turntable which you purchased for this future system. I have never heard it twice in different systems and it is truly a marvel of vinyl playback and surely a step “Beyond”.

I suspect that the frustrations, headaches, hassles, and expenses, will be soon forgotten once you’re moved in and enjoying your new system and lifestyle.
How is the setup of you own newest acquisition going ? My contacts in the FBI tell me the Eagle has landet ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: PeterA

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,347
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
Thank you, SCAudiophile and PeterA!
 

Joe Whip

Well-Known Member
Feb 8, 2014
1,735
557
405
Wayne, PA
I have heard some horror stories over the years Ron about CA code enforcement, but your story takes the cake, all I can say is wow.
 

marty

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
3,025
4,173
2,520
United States
Ron, not to be forgotten is the incredible AS 2000 turntable which you purchased for this future system. I have never heard it twice in different systems and it is truly a marvel of vinyl playback and surely a step “Beyond”.

I suspect that the frustrations, headaches, hassles, and expenses, will be soon forgotten once you’re moved in and enjoying your new system and lifestyle.
The whole point of Ron's massive rebuilding project was to make sure the house could support the AS 2000! :eek:
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,605
5,413
1,278
E. England
Ron, we really feel your pain, that's appalling. You must have the patience of a saint.
We winged it here at the chapel, spent £50-60k more than we should have done, and remaining major priorities are kinda taking forever. Strangely our remaining major works pending projected to cost...£50-60k Lol.
But at least we're in, and the building is a home.
Your story is a whole other level of stress, sorry.
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,605
5,413
1,278
E. England
Maybe builders and clients need to be matchmaked, like how our grandparents were introduced.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lagonda

Bobvin

VIP/Donor
Jun 7, 2014
1,659
2,930
615
Portland
www.purewatersystems.com
Ron, I have tremendous empathy for you. Time will ultimately come when its all in the rear view mirror... I hope you’re young enough to enjoy it ;)

Still, if these are the worst troubles life throws your way, you are a blessed man.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mikem53

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