I visited audioquattr last week and, after I swore to him that I would not say a word about this amazing new system, I had to have Tinka put duct tape over my mouth because I have been bursting at the seams wanting to tell people what I heard from this system.

From the one-of-a-kind Cessaro Zeta system we all heard in Munich this year, to the Alieno amp (which I heard at Jeroen’s over a year ago), to the Grado Epoch on the absurdly complicated looking but amazing sounding Reed 5T on a brand new TechDAS AF3 Premium sitting on a Stacore platform, to the lengthened dedicated listening room, to the in-the-wall giant subwoofer drivers this is, to my ears, one of the two or three best systems I have ever heard in my life. (Jeroen also has the world’s first client copy of the brand new Alieno line stage preamplifier.)

Now that Jeroen has posted a photo of his stunning system on the AF3 thread I can finally spill the beans. This is such a unique system, with multiple presently one-of-a-kind components, I told Jeroen that, like MikeL’s system, among the systems I have heard personally, I think this is a system of real significance in the world of high-end audio.

After I visited Jeroen I did not write a coherent, comprehensive visit report like I normally do. So my observations on this thread are going to be more stream of consciousness rather than my usual coherence.

I did not even take any photos while I was there because I almost did not trust myself not to post them. I did take a cool video, but I do not know how to upload it here. Update a photo here:

aqCesZ1.jpg
 
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It can be done both.
I use it on MC with 47000 Ohm loading. Everything above 20K can work i think.
Below that it sounds slower and rolled off / handbrake on...
It has about 10 dB more output than MSL platinum/ Opus and about 4dB less than a Colibri Master sign 1.1mV, still can easy use it on MC input. Hope this helps.

@Tang. I said it has about 10 dB more output than MSL platinum/ Opus, i thought the steps at my preamp where 1dB.
But actually they are about 0.7dB so that gives about 7dB more output than MSL platinum/ Opus.
I tried different load again but it needs high (20k-100k Ohm) loading.

How high can you set the load with your EMT jpa66 ? I can't find a manual or specs for that.
 
@Tang. I said it has about 10 dB more output than MSL platinum/ Opus, i thought the steps at my preamp where 1dB.
But actually they are about 0.7dB so that gives about 7dB more output than MSL platinum/ Opus.
I tried different load again but it needs high (20k-100k Ohm) loading.

How high can you set the load with your EMT jpa66 ? I can't find a manual or specs for that.
My EMT phono mc inputs can't do 47K ohms. If this is such a case I will have to use it through mm input with Airtight stepup. But I wonder why the review in Positive Feedback Mr.Levi said "I utilized 1.85 grams stylus pressure in the Helius Omega Tonearm for this review. I applied about .5 grams of anti-skate. Impedance will require experimentation. I found loads of 100-400 ohms to work well."

you just don't have any of those issues with the LP1 Tang

I thought the LP1has a fixed loading at around 500 ohms.

Anyway once I have the Grado on my SME I will let you know who well it works with my JPA66.

Kind regards,
Tang
 
My EMT phono mc inputs can't do 47K ohms. If this is such a case I will have to use it through mm input with Airtight stepup. But I wonder why the review in Positive Feedback Mr.Levi said "I utilized 1.85 grams stylus pressure in the Helius Omega Tonearm for this review. I applied about .5 grams of anti-skate. Impedance will require experimentation. I found loads of 100-400 ohms to work well."



I thought the LP1has a fixed loading at around 500 ohms.

Anyway once I have the Grado on my SME I will let you know who well it works with my JPA66.

Kind regards,
Tang
Ok, maybe straight to MM input will work aswell. But yes please let me know.

I can agree with vtf and anti-skate settings but no way with loading in my situation. Tried the Grado now on 4 different tonearms (will report on that later) with different aligns , vta's, vtf's but on all with 47kOhm loading was the best.

Oh when you mount it on SME please be aware you use another headshell e.g. Yamamoto Ebony wood headshell .
Or order the Grado Epoch with 4 mounting holes, the 2 stock are to far in front. That won't work with SME.
I also used it with SME but only with an adapterplate it fits. I will try to make a picture when i am back home.
On all other tonearms it fits straight. (but sounds less.. ;-)

Kind regards
 
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Ok, maybe straight to MM input will work aswell. But yes please let me know.

I can agree with vtf and anti-skate settings but no way with loading in my situation. Tried the Grado now on 4 different tonearms (will report on that later) with different aligns , vta's, vtf's but on all with 47kOhm loading was the best.

Oh when you mount it on SME please be aware you use another headshell e.g. Yamamoto Ebony wood headshell .
Or order the Grado Epoch with 4 mounting holes, the 2 stock are to far in front. That won't work with SME.
I also used it with SME but only with an adapterplate it fits. I will try to make a picture when i am back home.
On all other tonearms it fits straight. (but sounds less.. ;-)

Kind regards

Thank you for the insight.

Tang :)
 
Regarding the loading, I already asked Grado about it. They said the Epoch was designed with 47K ohms loading. People who is interested in this cart might want to see if phono stage mm input has enough gain to play without a stepup or the mc input has high enough loading.

Thank you again Audioquattr for giving me warning about the installation issue with SME.

kind regards,
Tang
 
I visited audioquattr last week and, after I swore to him that I would not say a word about this amazing new system, I had to have Tinka put duct tape over my mouth because I have been bursting at the seams wanting to tell people what I heard from this system.

From the one-of-a-kind Cessaro Zeta system we all heard in Munich this year, to the Alieno amp (which I heard at Jeroen’s over a year ago), to the Grado Epoch on the absurdly complicated looking but amazing sounding Reed 5T on a brand new TechDAS AF3 Premium sitting on a Stacore platform, to the lengthened dedicated listening room, to the in-the-wall giant subwoofer drivers this is, to my ears, one of the two or three best systems I have ever heard in my life. (Jeroen also has the world’s first client copy of the brand new Alieno line stage preamplifier.)

Now that Jeroen has posted a photo of his stunning system on the AF3 thread I can finally spill the beans. This is such a unique system, with multiple presently one-of-a-kind components, I told Jeroen that, like MikeL’s system, among the systems I have heard personally, I think this is a system of real significance in the world of high-end audio.

After I visited Jeroen I did not write a coherent, comprehensive visit report like I normally do. So my observations on this thread are going to be more stream of consciousness rather than my usual coherence.

I did not even take any photos while I was there because I almost did not trust myself not to post them. I did take a cool video, but I do not know how to upload it here. Update a photo here:

View attachment 46584

I was privileged visiting Jeroen today in his Beautiful designed dedicated listening room and when i came inside i was visually surprised by Beautiful Purple appearance off the Cessaro speakers wow they are definitely very good looking.When the first notes filled the room of Bill Evans Trio it was already very obvious that this where not just big good looking speakers but something special.We listened to different kind of music Nathan Milstein Handel Sonatas the violin was Raw Pure and refined as it used to be on Kol Nidrei Played by Janos Starker and Directed by nobody less than Antal Dorati the strings where beautifully rendered and the Cello sounded almost perfect so true so close to the human voice and in pianissimo passages still very very detailed.The Guitar of Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell (i think this great guitarist deserves surely much more recognition!) sounded small woody and extremely airy and tight and finally our Queen of voice Eva Cassidy singing Fields of gold Labeled the Crown.

Also the Techdas AF3 Grado Arm and Grado Cartridge did great job beautiful table and tuned fantastically by Jeroen.

Cessaro Zeta is together whit Rockport Arrakis the best two speakers i have ever heard both are very different and both in hands of the right person and equipment are unsurpassable in all kind of music they also can Rock and do Big Mahler Symphonies but a Baroque Recorder is also true size and texture.

Well than Jeroen Congratulations!
 
Ok, maybe straight to MM input will work aswell. But yes please let me know.

I can agree with vtf and anti-skate settings but no way with loading in my situation. Tried the Grado now on 4 different tonearms (will report on that later) with different aligns , vta's, vtf's but on all with 47kOhm loading was the best.

Oh when you mount it on SME please be aware you use another headshell e.g. Yamamoto Ebony wood headshell .
Or order the Grado Epoch with 4 mounting holes, the 2 stock are to far in front. That won't work with SME.
I also used it with SME but only with an adapterplate it fits. I will try to make a picture when i am back home.
On all other tonearms it fits straight. (but sounds less.. ;-)

Kind regards

I've found the Yamamoto Ebony Wood to be a very nice combination with my SME and Air Tight cartridge.
 
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Audioquattr spent quite a bit of time playing my test tracks over and over so we could compare the My Sonic Lab Platinum Signature on the Axiom on the Kronos to the Grado Epoch on the Reed 5T on the AF3P to the Shelter Harmony on the Ikeda IT-407 on the AF3P.

In general the My Sonic Lab Platinum Signature on the Axiom on the Kronos and the Shelter Harmony on the Ikeda IT-407 on the AF3P sounded conceptually similar. Both were great, with the Shelter Harmony on the Ikeda sounding a bit smoother and a bit less detailed than the MSL on the Axiom on the Kronos. But in no respect did the MSL on the Axiom on the Kronos sound the slightest bit analytical or fatiguing.

But OMG on the Grado Epoch on the Reed 5T on the AF3P!!! :eek: This combination had the best midrange reproduction and the best high frequency reproduction of the three combinations, but, much more importantly, this combination sounded “airy” and “alive” in ways the other two combinations could not match. The other two combinations probably had more solid and impactful low-frequency reproduction, but I didn’t care.

The Grado Epoch/Reed 5T combination *** WARNING *** HYPERBOLE ALERT *** “freed” the sound from its mechanical and electronic mechanisms of reproduction and sounded significantly more “alive” than did the other two combinations.

Jeroen and I heard the exact same thing here and we were both amazed, mesmerized and puzzled. We kept taking about the “magic” we were hearing from the Epoch/Reed.

Were we hearing the magic of linear tracking, which reputedly affords the sound a lightness and airiness which seemingly helps to “free” the sound from the mechanical/electronic reproduction chain? Or were we hearing a phenomenal performance by this crazy expensive Grado Epoch moving magnet cartridge? (By the way I am beginning to think that the higher output of high output cartridges yields more in dynamics and jump factor than they sacrifice in delicacy or nuance. The fact that the high output takes pressure off an all-tube phono stage is another benefit.)


Would you happen to know what brand audio racks components are on?
Ralph of Cessaro has received critical comments about the sound of his giant systems at Munich. Apparently as a result a couple of years ago of complaints of excessive and boomy bass, Ralph sets the volume on his bass system at Munich very low. The result is that everyone sees a giant bass system which spreads from one side of the room to the other but everyone hears relatively little bass. I think this visual/sonic incongruity is responsible for some of the critical comments (where’s the bass?”) Ralph has received.

Audioquattr’s system proves once again that we can achieve far better sound in our dedicated listening rooms once a system is lovingly and leisurely dialed-in than a dealer or manufacturer can achieve in a demo room at an audio show.

Audioquattr has hidden in each of the left side wall and the right side wall two 16” drivers and one 18” driver, all powered by Class D amplifiers. So hidden from view are four 16” drivers and two 18” drivers. That is a whole lot of woofing going on!

Would you happen to know the brand of the beautiful audio rack in the pic?
 
Would you happen to know what brand audio racks components are on?


Would you happen to know the brand of the beautiful audio rack in the pic?

I liked the racks as well and asked Audioquattr the same question in his system thread. Unfortunately he reported they're custom-made.
Parker
 
D26E6908-E98C-4202-9E31-6ED14312C9DA.jpeg


Yesterday I visited again Jeroen and his wonderful wife, Alice. This time Tinka accompanied me.

I was so entranced by the quintessential European village beauty of Lochem, just West of The Netherlands’ border with Germany, when I first visited Jeroen, that I knew I wanted to return someday with Tinka and introduce her to a beautiful town in her own country which she had not previously seen. But Lochem is not merely what Americans would think of as a traditional Dutch town; everything about Lochem is very upscale — from the perfect-looking village to the world-class food in the restaurants, to the details of how hot chocolate is made and served to the graciousness of the barkeeper who made us drinks after her establishment closed for the night.

Unfortunately I have let slip badly my work on learning Dutch, despite taking language lessons for six months last year. I was reduced to a few basic phrases, my attempts at which local shopkeepers appreciated nonetheless.

Jeroen and Alice picked us up at the bed and breakfast in the village, which is walking distance to their large and beautiful renovated house. We then were treated to a tour of JD Engineering, which is the family’s Audi/Porsche/VW high-performance tuning shop. Jeroen was a real-deal top Dutch professional race car driver for many years. He has literally shelves of racing trophies. A couple of his race cars rest proudly at the facility.

Since I visited last year Jeroen has continued to fine-tune the integration of the Cessaro Zetas with the cone subwoofer system hidden behind the stunningly beautiful photo murals on the side-walls of the dedicated listening room. He also has added among other components:

— two Van den Hul Master Signature cartridges (one medium output and one high output)

— Alieno line stage preamplifier

— SGM Extreme music server

— VYGER Atlantis VI + Red Sparrow cartridge

— Thomas Mayer phono stage

— DIY wood diffusers (they look like RPGs) on the front wall.



84FCB79C-984C-4CE1-80F7-61AFF197BB35.jpeg



The VYGER build quality is astounding. It looks very complicated. Jeroen put it together himself, but he is an engineer. Jeroen told me he was grateful for the assembly tips and assistance from zerostargeneral over the telephone.

Jeroen says the turntable and tonearm are very reliable and stable, but that the tonearm can be sensitive.

The integrated linear-tracking arm on the VYGER moves back and forth utterly smoothly and with seemingly almost zero friction — less friction than if it were riding on the most expensively and perfectly-machined bearings in the world is how it looks and feels.






Installed on an Air Force III Premium turntable, resting on a Stacore platform, are a Grado Epoch on a Graham Phantom Elite, two van den Hul Master Signatures on SME 3012Rs and a Shelter Harmony on an Ikeda IT-407. In this exalted company even a cartridge as revered as the My Sonic Lab Signature Platinum is resting on the bench looking for a tonearm ride.

After listening to Thelma Houston’s “I’ve Got the Music in Me” (Sheffield Lab LAB-2) on several combinations we all preferred the balance of transparency, detail, tonality, dynamics, energy and naturalness offered by the VYGER/Red Sparrow/Thomas Mayer. This simply is a state-of-the-art vinyl playback system. The components seem to be perfectly matched. Zerostargeneral gets full credit for putting these components together. They should be viewed as a package; no substitutions allowed.

Jeroen recently installed a music streaming system — an SGM Extreme feeding a Lampizator Pacific DAC. It definitely is nice to be able to hand an iPad to guests to enable them to select their favorite tracks to play.

Tinka and I were in awe of how beautifully designed is Jeroen’s listening room — the photo murals, the colors of the walls, the colors of the components, the carefully designed lighting. The room makes for a beautiful visual experience to accompany the musical and sonic experience.

Many thanks to Jeroen and Alice for another unforgettable visit!



D2CFCFF2-D28F-4F09-8311-3F969C04B12C.jpeg




C2A16E3F-2765-4D40-8122-8839B3E120D9.jpeg
 
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