Visit to MadFloyd

[Ron Resnick]

While I was visiting PeterA in Boston Peter set up a listening appointment with Ian (MadFloyd). Peter and I spent some time with Ian ourselves, and then the three of us went out for lunch, and then Al M joined us for lunch and the four of us went back to Ian’s for additional listening.









Let me first dispel a misimpression I believe some people have about Ian’s efforts to evaluate components and to finalize his system. Many people know that Ian has hosted a revolving door of equipment in his home over the last couple of years. This may lead people to think that Ian is chasing his sonic tail or unclear of what is his sonic target. This is not the case. Ian grew up playing a musical instrument and he has a recording studio in his basement. Talking with Ian over the telephone previously and spending time listening to music with him in person makes it clear to me that Ian knows what he’s doing and that Ian has in mind a clear sonic goal he is trying to achieve.

Ian has what I consider to be one of the most challenging rooms I have ever seen. The left side wall is open and the rear wall is angled. I personally think that any room with a non-parallel front wall and rear wall is very difficult. Ian locates the MPros at a different distance to the front wall. (KeithR has a similarly difficult room, but Keith chooses to locate the speakers the same distance from the front wall. Only experimentation will allow one to learn which configuration is the lesser sonic compromise.)

I found Ian’s system to be very dynamic, very transparent and highly resolving. I think there is an excellent sense of presence. Low frequencies were powerful and detailed and very resolved. Ian’s system should sound great: every single component is top-of-the-line in its category.

Ian is very happy and content with his Magico MPro loudspeakers and his Convergent Audio Technology JL-7 amplifiers. Also in the system is a CH Precision phono stage.

Congratulations to Ian for getting a Studer 807! Ian uses a King Cello external tape repro amplifier. We compared my tape and Peter's LP of Ray Brown's Soular Energy. We all agreed the tape sounded more transparent, more dynamic and more in-the-room real. (It has been a personal mission of mine to enable Peter to hear for himself a great-sounding tape to explain why I am so focused on tape.)

We switched back-and-forth between the darTZeel NHB-18NS line preamplifier and the conrad-johnson GAT II line preamplifier. We also switched once between the Lyra Atlas SL and the Air Tight Opus 1 cartridges. So four different combinations were in play at different times.

We played among other things:

"Send in the Clowns" by Bill Henderson, Live at the Times (Jazz Planet Records/Classic Records)

"First We Take Manhattan" and "Bird on a Wire" by Jennifer Warnes, Famous Blue Raincoat (Rock the House Records/Classic Records) (I know this is a digital recording.)

“Pictures at an Exhibition” on The Power of the Orchestra, Rene Leibowitz, RPO, Chesky RC30

”I've Got the Music in Me" by Thelma Houston, I've Got the Music in Me (Sheffield Lab 2)

"Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley, Grace.​

We spent a lot of time listening to the second half of “Pictures at an Exhibition” and “I’ve Got the Music in Me.” After Ian played the second half of Pictures with the Atlas SL through the darTZeel I literally applauded!

Ian then played the same track through the cj GAT II preamp. For some reason there was a significant diminution in dynamics, drive, energy and “live-ness” when we switched to the cj on that particular track. The magnitude of the difference was puzzling. On that particular track the cj sounded oddly lethargic.

Then we compared the Thelma Houston through both line stages, and here the darTZeel’s margin of superiority over the cj in terms of dynamics and drive was negligible.

Then Ian replaced the Atlas SL with the Opus 1. I preferred the Opus 1 over the Atlas SL (but I always do). I heard the Opus 1 to have more warmth and greater tonal color and harmonics and, maybe, slightly greater dimensionality than the Atlas SL.

We left for Ian the homework of figuring out why the dynamic/energy/life gap between the darTZeel and the cj varied so dramatically depending on the music being played.

Thank you, Ian, for hosting that afternoon listening session! I was very happy to meet you in person, and to hear your amazing system!

I am very happy for you that you are done on most critical components, with only one or two pieces left to go!

 

[steve williams]

Sounds like a wonderf week in Boston. Kudos to Ian and taming that room.

Even better is a photo of The Boys From Boston

 

[Folsom]

The room looks much bigger when you see people in it.

 

[bonzo75]

Ron, thanks for this. First, regarding the impression point mentioned at the beginning of your post, I have no such impressions. I have been exchanging PMs with Ian for a coupe of years and always found him a reasonably curious audiophile, who wanted to experiment, and is quite open and not emotionally attached to any of his gear. He gets his gear, investigates, and if he finds any shortcomings (as do exist in a lot of gear) let's go. Maybe letting go gives that wrong impression to certain readers, for me it is a positive

 

[PeterA]

I found Ian’s system to be very dynamic, very transparent and highly resolving. I think there is an excellent sense of presence. Low frequencies were powerful and detailed and very resolved. Ian’s system should sound great: every single component is top-of-the-line in its category.

Ian is very happy and content with his Magico MPro loudspeakers and his Convergent Audio Technology JL-7 amplifiers...

Congratulations to Ian for getting a Studer 807! Ian uses a King Cello external tape repro amplifier. We compared my tape and Peter's LP of Ray Brown's Soular Energy. We all agreed the tape sounded more transparent, more dynamic and more in-the-room real. (It has been a personal mission of mine to enable Peter to hear for himself a great-sounding tape to explain why I am so focused on tape.)

Nice write up, Ron. I have heard Ian's system countless times and one of the highlights over all of these years was heard on Sunday during Ron's visit. Ron has long tried to convince me of the superiority of tape. I have heard tape a few times, even directly compared it to good vinyl, but I have never heard it sound this good from any system before. I think I now better understand where MikeL, Ron, and others are coming from. There was an effortlessness, an easy, a smoothness, and utterly natural sound to Ron's tape copy of Ray Brown's "Solar Energy" that I have not heard before from Ian's system. The M Pros driven by those massive CAT monos really allowed us to hear how good tape can sound. Thank you for bringing that tape with you all the way from CA. You mission to get me to hear good tape is accomplished. Congratulations to Ian for having added another excellent source component to his wonderful system.

I should add that it is a testament to the transparency of Ian's system that we were able to so easily hear the differences between the various components: the Atlas SL and Opus1, and the Dart 18NS and CJ GAT II. Well done Ian. Your system is sounding great and thank you for hosting another fun afternoon.

 

[PeterA]

Ron, thanks for this. First, regarding the impression point mentioned at the beginning of your post, I have no such impressions. I have been exchanging PMs with Ian for a coupe of years and always found him a reasonably curious audiophile, who wanted to experiment, and is quite open and not emotionally attached to any of his gear. He gets his gear, investigates, and if he finds any shortcomings (as do exist in a lot of gear) let's go. Maybe letting go gives that wrong impression to certain readers, for me it is a positive

Ked, I'm not so sure he is emotionally unattached to his M Pros or Kronos. Have you ever asked him if he would consider "letting go" of either of those two components? Me thinks not. What did Charleston Heston say about prying something out of his cold, dead hands?

 

[bonzo75]

From my chats, it is not that he got the kronos after considering all TTs. I know he likes it, but at least my assessment of an online personality is if he hears something next to it that is better, he will accept it

Regarding the Magicos, I have no idea how to get you guys to leave the city and fly around listening to horns

 

[PeterA]

From my chats, it is not that he got the kronos after considering all TTs. I know he likes it, but at least my assessment of an online personality is if he hears something next to it that is better, he will accept it

Regarding the Magicos, I have no idea how to get you guys to leave the city and fly around listening to horns

Good one. Perhaps you should fly to the US again and visit Boston. Add Ack to your list.

Ian and I are too busy listening to our systems to fly all over the world listening to other people's systems. Seriously, do you know anyone who has Magico Ultimates? Those are horns, and Magicos, that I would love to hear. I am told there is nothing like them.

 

[bonzo75]

If I visit Boston... Which I will, eventually...i will definitely add Ack provided he still has Logans.

I think my next few trips to US are hoping to be on a panel power tour

 

[ack]

Another excellent report Ron! Nicely done Ian, gotta hear your DartZeel preamp. Curious about the GAT... puzzling really.

@bonzo, I am still listening to distorting panels... oh the joy! 4 months now. Presumably, ML are shipping me new panels next week. I'll believe it when I see it. Your visit to Boston should include the BSO - big mistake if you miss out.

 

[MadFloyd]

Thanks for the kind comments, Ron. It was a pleasure to meet you and have you over to listen. And that tape... wow. I tried to convince Ron that it was a New England audiophile custom to always leave a tape behind when visiting another audiophile for the first time and seeing how he only had one tape with him... but he wasn't buying it.

I think the CJ was shortchanged during this session. We started with the dartzeel because it was the preamp that was hooked up and the one I prefer for orchestral music. After we listened to Pictures we switched and as already stated, it did not compare. Not sure if it was a lower volume or if I didn't have it warmed enough (?) but the difference shouldn't have been as dramatic. Before we could listen to much more music Ron asked to listen to tape. The interconnects I had were not long enough to reach the CJ so we switched back to the Dartzeel.

I do like both preamps a lot. I wish one was a clear winner but unfortunately for me I find myself preferring one over the other for certain genres.

While I LOVE my system these days, I am not attached to any equipment in such a way that I wouldn't consider something else if it made sense. I do think I am pretty 'set' with the MPros as they are a great all-around speaker - basically chameleons that sound like whatever you feed it. Besides, these are so big and heavy that I really hope I never want anything else. Just recently I damaged a tweeter (totally my fault) and needed to replace it and I panicked, thinking I would have to ship it back across the country to Magico! Fortunately I didn't have to, surgery was done in the field thanks to the bravery of my dealer (Mark Jones) and help from PeterA and Alan Jordan - and of course, Magico. This was done Thursday evening, just a few days before Ron visited...!

Anyways, as previously mentioned, we switched from the Atlas SL (which was really singing in the SME 3012R) to the Opus1 which I yet to hear either on the SME or with the CJ GAT so lately I've been in full GAT/Opus1 mode, dragging out LP after LP... too much fun.

Thanks again for visiting, Ron!

 

[KeithR]

Great writeup, Ron! Sounds like a blast. Glad Ian's system is coming together nicely.

I, indeed, went through the positioning challenges with non-parallel front and rear walls. My acoustician preferred measurements with the speakers at differing lengths like shown in Ian's photos - however the very slight twisting of the image and spatial distortions (its really hard to describe) ultimately made it a no-go and I reverted to an equidistant speaker distance a month later.

 

[Tango]

@Madfloyd. Ron mentioned "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley, Grace. You should try a girly version of this song by Melissa Megano, Chesky Record. It is an acoustic guitar version great for testing your super resolution. Her voice starts out low so crank up the volume a little. If you dont get a goosebump go check your vta..hehe . More emotional than Jeff Buckley.

Warm regards,
Tang

 

[marty]

Another wonderful report! Thanks to Ron and Ian.

 

[DaveyF]

Tonight, I had the opportunity of hearing the new CAT Legend Black Path BPX. At my friends home, we were using the new JL5 amp, a pair of Vivid Giya G2's, the new Basis Transcendence table with a Superarm 9 and the latest Transfiguration Proteus Diamond, and all Zensati cabling. Sound was absolutely stunning! The synergy between the JL5 and the new CAT Legend BPX was, at least IMO, one of the main strengths of this system. I really do believe there is a great deal to be said for matching components from the same manufacturer...and CAT is one of the prime examples of this. The new CAT Legend Black Path BPX is in a whole different league to my friends old BAT REX2 preamp/ BAT REX amps, or when he was a using the CJ GAT/ Atmasphere amps.

 

[bazelio]

Great looking system, Ian! The Kronos is spectacular!

Thanks for the report, Ron.

 

[Al M.]

Great report, Ron. Yes, that was an interesting and fun listening session, and Ian's system sounded fantastic!

 

[DaveC]

Nice report and pics, thanks!

I too have found tape to be the best source... I had a couple decks I sold 15 years ago, I kinda regret it but the real cost isn't the tape deck, it's the tapes!

The description of the GAT is what I've found some tube gear to sound like before it's fully warmed up, not sure if this was the case? I'm not sure why some gear needs time, I've heard amps that need a solid hour where my tube gear is good to go in just a few minutes.

 

[the sound of Tao]

Thanks for the kind comments, Ron. It was a pleasure to meet you and have you over to listen. And that tape... wow. I tried to convince Ron that it was a New England audiophile custom to always leave a tape behind when visiting another audiophile for the first time and seeing how he only had one tape with him... but he wasn't buying it.

I think the CJ was shortchanged during this session. We started with the dartzeel because it was the preamp that was hooked up and the one I prefer for orchestral music. After we listened to Pictures we switched and as already stated, it did not compare. Not sure if it was a lower volume or if I didn't have it warmed enough (?) but the difference shouldn't have been as dramatic. Before we could listen to much more music Ron asked to listen to tape. The interconnects I had were not long enough to reach the CJ so we switched back to the Dartzeel.

I do like both preamps a lot. I wish one was a clear winner but unfortunately for me I find myself preferring one over the other for certain genres.

While I LOVE my system these days, I am not attached to any equipment in such a way that I wouldn't consider something else if it made sense. I do think I am pretty 'set' with the MPros as they are a great all-around speaker - basically chameleons that sound like whatever you feed it. Besides, these are so big and heavy that I really hope I never want anything else. Just recently I damaged a tweeter (totally my fault) and needed to replace it and I panicked, thinking I would have to ship it back across the country to Magico! Fortunately I didn't have to, surgery was done in the field thanks to the bravery of my dealer (Mark Jones) and help from PeterA and Alan Jordan - and of course, Magico. This was done Thursday evening, just a few days before Ron visited...!

Anyways, as previously mentioned, we switched from the Atlas SL (which was really singing in the SME 3012R) to the Opus1 which I yet to hear either on the SME or with the CJ GAT so lately I've been in full GAT/Opus1 mode, dragging out LP after LP... too much fun.

Thanks again for visiting, Ron!

Ron, am sure Ian is right here... though given how good you have been getting around and sharing glimpses into lots of members systems that obviously the obligatory tradition of first time leaving of tapes along the the way on your New England journey is going to become something of an expense.

Thanks also again for the report, it’s been good to get some more insight on peoples systems that we all read about quite often, Ian’s journey has always been very cool and interesting.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you, Ack, DaveC, KeithR, Marty, sound of Tao, bonzo75, Peter, Bazelio and Al!

Ian, sorry I had never heard of that New England audiophile custom. I will try to make it up to you!