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  1. #1
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    Pics of your Listening Space

    AK has a great running thread of everyones listening space and after just looking at Brett As nice room I thought I would start one over here.

    Moved a few things around.












    Counterpoint NPS400-VAC CLA1 MKII-Odyssey Stratos-Rotel 1072-Rotel 1052-OPPO 93-Integra 30.3-Integra Cassette Deck-Clearfield Continentals(early von Schweikert's)-Dynadio 122c-Dynaudio 42s-sometimes 82s in place of Clearfields-Mirage Omni 12 sub-JM Labs Tantal 509s

    Who's next?

  2. #2
    Super Moderator Site Moderator JohnMichael's Avatar
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    I have enjoyed that thread at AK. Glad you started it here. When I am home and in front of my computer I will show my space. Of course many of you have already seen my space.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Pics of your Listening Space-001-smaller.jpg   Pics of your Listening Space-005-olr-small.jpg  
    Last edited by JohnMichael; 05-18-2012 at 03:22 PM.
    JohnMichael
    Vinyl Rega Planar 2, Incognito rewire, Deepgroove subplatter, ceramic bearing, Michell Technoweight, Rega 24V motor, TTPSU, FunkFirm Achroplat platter, Michael Lim top and bottom braces, 2 Rega feet and one RDC cones. Grado Sonata, Moon 110 LP phono.
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    Int. Amp Krell S-300i
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnMichael View Post
    I have enjoyed that thread at AK. Glad you started it here. When I am home and in front of my computer I will show my space. Of course many of you have already seen my space.
    Cool, it would be great to have a single spot for everyone to enjoy and be able to use when showing friends.

  4. #4
    I put the Gee in Gear.... thekid's Avatar
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    Hyfi- First let me congratulate you on a great looking set-up and some cool looking gear.

    I agree with JM that this would be a cool thread to get going here on AR. An even cooler concept would be to have a thread which would actual allow everyone to both post and see pics listed of people's listening spaces rather than just red X's...........

    Am I the only one here who still can't post or see many of the pics here?
    NAD D3020
    Denon 2910
    Denon DMD 1000
    MSB Link DAC III
    Von Schweikert VR2
    NAD 7240PE
    NAD 5240
    Hughes AK 100
    Tascam 122
    Technics SL 1700
    Rogers BBC Monitors LS3/6

  5. #5
    Charm Thai™
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    My phone is not a very good camera.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheHills44060 View Post
    My phone is not a very good camera.
    Nice setup. I've been seeing lots of Macs lately and the look is great. How about a whole room shot?

  7. #7
    Stereo value > car value texlle's Avatar
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    Finally coming together. I very much dislike the look of this coffee table, but the dimensions are perfect. Perhaps I should throw some satin black paint on it. Oh well, my roommate picked it up for free. I just picked up the Music Hall cd player but didn't realize it was black (I didn't even know they made them in black). I will probably list it on A-gon and pick up a silver faceplate model since the sound is quite nice for the $300 I spent. I just need to swap this baby out and pick up a nice REL T2 and I will be content- for a little while.











    Really digging these Gold Lions after 15-20 hours so far.

    Last edited by texlle; 05-19-2012 at 12:25 PM.
    Dynaudio Audience 42
    Conrad-Johnson PV14
    Sonographe SA-250
    Music Hall CD 25.2
    Musical Fidelity V3 series- X-LPS phono preamp, X-DAC, X-PSU
    Rega RP1 w/ performance pack
    Pure i-20 iPod dock
    -----------------------------
    B&W DM603s2- B&W LCR60s3- B&W DM302
    Velodyne CT-120 12" sub
    Rotel RSX-1055
    Arcam CD73T
    Samsung LN46C630 46" LCD
    Denon DBP-1611 bluray
    -----------------------------
    KEF K120- Jolida JD202a- Cambridge Audio D300 cdp- T500 tuner

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  8. #8
    Stereo value > car value texlle's Avatar
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    The den:









    The BDP started having an issue with image ghosting in low light scenes, so it will likely be replaced by an Oppo BDP-93 sometime soon. The Velodyne needs to go too. Way to boomy.

    Master bedroom:





    JohnMichael,

    I'm thinking I have your same drop leaf end table in my bedroom which I believe came from the old Bombay company. God I miss that store.

    Last edited by texlle; 05-19-2012 at 12:26 PM.
    Dynaudio Audience 42
    Conrad-Johnson PV14
    Sonographe SA-250
    Music Hall CD 25.2
    Musical Fidelity V3 series- X-LPS phono preamp, X-DAC, X-PSU
    Rega RP1 w/ performance pack
    Pure i-20 iPod dock
    -----------------------------
    B&W DM603s2- B&W LCR60s3- B&W DM302
    Velodyne CT-120 12" sub
    Rotel RSX-1055
    Arcam CD73T
    Samsung LN46C630 46" LCD
    Denon DBP-1611 bluray
    -----------------------------
    KEF K120- Jolida JD202a- Cambridge Audio D300 cdp- T500 tuner

    Photo gallery

  9. #9
    Oldest join date recoveryone's Avatar
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    I believe we had a location for this back in the day, where everyone could post pc of their gear. But it is nice to have an on going thread as many of us upgrade yearly.
    HT
    Pioneer Elite SC lx502
    Pioneer Elite N50
    Pioneer Cassette CTM66R
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  10. #10
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by texlle View Post
    Finally coming together. I very much dislike the look of this coffee table, but the dimensions are perfect. Perhaps I should throw some satin black paint on it. Oh well, my roommate picked it up for free. I just picked up the Music Hall cd player but didn't realize it was black (I didn't even know they made them in black). I will probably list it on A-gon and pick up a silver faceplate model since the sound is quite nice for the $300 I spent. I just need to swap this baby out and pick up a nice REL T2 and I will be content- for a little while.











    Really digging these Gold Lions after 15-20 hours so far.

    Now thats a very nice system. I like the fact it seems you have thought out what you wanted in a system. I like that you got the MF gear. How is it? I know its sounding sweet and on course with the tubed Jolida. And I know the TT sounds fabulous going through the MF and the Jolida. Looks like you have done a good job of system matching with the gear.
    Last edited by frenchmon; 05-19-2012 at 04:33 PM.
    Music...let it into your soul and be moved....with Canton...Pure Music


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    W10 i5 Quad core processor 8GB RAM/Jriver 20/ Fidelizer Optimizer/ iFI Micro DSD DAC-iUSB 3.0/Vincent SA - T1/Vincent SP-331 MK /MMF-7.1/2M BLACK/MS Phenomena ll+/Canton Vento 830.2

  11. #11
    Super Moderator Site Moderator JohnMichael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by texlle View Post

    JohnMichael,

    I'm thinking I have your same drop leaf end table in my bedroom which I believe came from the old Bombay company. God I miss that store.



    texlle you are correct I have that same table. Yes I also miss Bombay.
    JohnMichael
    Vinyl Rega Planar 2, Incognito rewire, Deepgroove subplatter, ceramic bearing, Michell Technoweight, Rega 24V motor, TTPSU, FunkFirm Achroplat platter, Michael Lim top and bottom braces, 2 Rega feet and one RDC cones. Grado Sonata, Moon 110 LP phono.
    Digital
    Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD/cd SID mat, Marantz SA 8001
    Int. Amp Krell S-300i
    Speaker
    Monitor Audio RS6
    Cables
    AQ SPKR and AQ XLR and IC

  12. #12
    Stereo value > car value texlle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by frenchmon
    Now thats a very nice system. I like the fact it seems you have thought out what you wanted in a system. I like that you got the MF gear. How is it? I know its sounding sweet and on course with the tubed Jolida. And I know the TT sounds fabulous going through the MF and the Jolida. Looks like you have done a good job of system matching with the gear.
    Thanks, frenchmon. Most of the gear is second hand except for the Dyn's, the Rega, and the cables. Some may describe the sound as bit polite and thin, because the Jolida and the Dyn's are probably not the best match if your goal is in getting the highest dynamic accuracy. However, what is lost in high level dynamics, is compensated fourfold in terms of sheer musicality and lifelike presence at mediocre volumes. I'm sure with nearly double the wattage, I could really get the most out of these speakers, but I'm really trying to keep relative costs per component at a reasonable level here. I'd have to spend $2500 new (or roughly $1600 used) on a JD-1000 100w tube integrated, or twice this for a comparable CJ amp to get the most out of my $750 entry-level Dyn's to achieve the character of sound that I prefer and I'm just not going to go that. Yet I don't really see this as an issue because the setup is in a 13x11 room and I rarely push it past 75-80 dB as I listen at low to moderate levels mostly. It's just as well since this is about the level where the sound starts to lose some composure and where some nasty echoing from the crappy acoustics of this house is introduced.

    I love this setup because it may be a tad polite (partly due to the lack of bass output from the Dyn's, which bottom out at 53Hz), but the romantic, warm, and somewhat sweet personality of the Jolida complements the fast and almost overly articulate nature of the Dynaudios extremely well. The Jolida really takes the eagerness with which the Dyns present detail and mellows it out just enough to paint a very pictorial image without making the sound too laid back or soft. The result makes for a very inviting, holographic, and transcendent environment. I often get lost in the music (space out) and as I described to Hyfi earlier in the week, the speakers never fail to completely fade away leaving me wondering what these two boxes are doing obscuring my image before I come back down to earth. My goal now is to fill out the lower octaves with something like a nice REL sub. I looked into the Dyn subs, but unfortunately the only inputs are RCA and my Jolida doesn't have a line output. If anyone has a sub recommendation, I'd greatly welcome it.

    Regarding the MF gear, I think tubes+anything MF are wonderful complements. The sweetness that I lost with the JD-202a in moving from EL34's to KT88's was well compensated by running my iPod and TT through the MF dac and phono pre. The MF V3 line creates a very tight pinpointed image with plenty of air making it seem that each instrument is levitating in space with distinct separation. It has great upper mid extension, clear mids, and well rounded bass, though the sound is ever so slightly rolled off at the very top. I put on Seven Bridges Road from the Eagles' Greatest Hits album (LP) and was floored by how articulate the acoustic guitars were conveyed. Vocals had no grain whatsoever, and the hoots and hollers from the crowd just came out of nowhere. The added visceral punch and dynamics from the 502 over the 202 really helped out in Hotel California. The drums sounded fuller and much more solid than before.

    Bottom line: I believe this to be probably the best balance of musicality, accuracy, and dynamics that I can achieve from 60 tube watts.

    Enough about my setup, where are your pictures??
    Last edited by texlle; 05-20-2012 at 08:14 AM.
    Dynaudio Audience 42
    Conrad-Johnson PV14
    Sonographe SA-250
    Music Hall CD 25.2
    Musical Fidelity V3 series- X-LPS phono preamp, X-DAC, X-PSU
    Rega RP1 w/ performance pack
    Pure i-20 iPod dock
    -----------------------------
    B&W DM603s2- B&W LCR60s3- B&W DM302
    Velodyne CT-120 12" sub
    Rotel RSX-1055
    Arcam CD73T
    Samsung LN46C630 46" LCD
    Denon DBP-1611 bluray
    -----------------------------
    KEF K120- Jolida JD202a- Cambridge Audio D300 cdp- T500 tuner

    Photo gallery

  13. #13
    Forum Regular YBArcam's Avatar
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    I've been trying out a Naim front end these past few weeks. Here's a pic with the PMC TB2i:



    And now with my Castle Avon:





    And last (but not least) the LP12:

    Naim Nait 5i
    Naim CD5X
    Wharfedale Evo2-10
    Linn LP12
    Cambridge Audio 650P, and 550T
    LFD and Nordost cables

  14. #14
    Charm Thai™
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    Quote Originally Posted by YBArcam View Post
    And now with my Castle Avon:[/IMG]
    Love the Avons!!!!!!! Here's a pic of my Howards when I first got em. I need to snap more recent pics of my rig.

  15. #15
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by texlle View Post
    Thanks, frenchmon. Most of the gear is second hand except for the Dyn's, the Rega, and the cables. Some may describe the sound as bit polite and thin, because the Jolida and the Dyn's are probably not the best match if your goal is in getting the highest dynamic accuracy. However, what is lost in high level dynamics, is compensated fourfold in terms of sheer musicality and lifelike presence at mediocre volumes. I'm sure with nearly double the wattage, I could really get the most out of these speakers, but I'm really trying to keep relative costs per component at a reasonable level here. I'd have to spend $2500 new (or roughly $1600 used) on a JD-1000 100w tube integrated, or twice this for a comparable CJ amp to get the most out of my $750 entry-level Dyn's to achieve the character of sound that I prefer and I'm just not going to go that. Yet I don't really see this as an issue because the setup is in a 13x11 room and I rarely push it past 75-80 dB as I listen at low to moderate levels mostly. It's just as well since this is about the level where the sound starts to lose some composure and where some nasty echoing from the crappy acoustics of this house is introduced.

    I love this setup because it may be a tad polite (partly due to the lack of bass output from the Dyn's, which bottom out at 53Hz), but the romantic, warm, and somewhat sweet personality of the Jolida complements the fast and almost overly articulate nature of the Dynaudios extremely well. The Jolida really takes the eagerness with which the Dyns present detail and mellows it out just enough to paint a very pictorial image without making the sound too laid back or soft. The result makes for a very inviting, holographic, and transcendent environment. I often get lost in the music (space out) and as I described to Hyfi earlier in the week, the speakers never fail to completely fade away leaving me wondering what these two boxes are doing obscuring my image before I come back down to earth. My goal now is to fill out the lower octaves with something like a nice REL sub. I looked into the Dyn subs, but unfortunately the only inputs are RCA and my Jolida doesn't have a line output. If anyone has a sub recommendation, I'd greatly welcome it.

    Regarding the MF gear, I think tubes+anything MF are wonderful complements. The sweetness that I lost with the JD-202a in moving from EL34's to KT88's was well compensated by running my iPod and TT through the MF dac and phono pre. The MF V3 line creates a very tight pinpointed image with plenty of air making it seem that each instrument is levitating in space with distinct separation. It has great upper mid extension, clear mids, and well rounded bass, though the sound is ever so slightly rolled off at the very top. I put on Seven Bridges Road from the Eagles' Greatest Hits album (LP) and was floored by how articulate the acoustic guitars were conveyed. Vocals had no grain whatsoever, and the hoots and hollers from the crowd just came out of nowhere. The added visceral punch and dynamics from the 502 over the 202 really helped out in Hotel California. The drums sounded fuller and much more solid than before.

    Bottom line: I believe this to be probably the best balance of musicality, accuracy, and dynamics that I can achieve from 60 tube watts.

    Enough about my setup, where are your pictures??
    Yeah, The Dyns warm nature and the Jolida makes for a very warm system in my experience with Dyns and some tubed gear. You may need a power boost for the Dyns...but if you keep the Dyns and do decide to get more power in a integrated tube amp, make sure you get one with power such as a hybrid tube integrated that's not as warm. Van Alstine has nice gear that would light a fire under those Dyns but don't know if he has integrated gear. Another option might be Vincent Audio. They have a few integrated tube hybrid amps that are powerful and will paint wonderful sound that's not as warm while still having that great tube romantic sound. Your Dyns will love you for it. Another option....if your Jolida has audio out connections, you can change it into a tubed preamp by adding a nice 200 watt SS amp then you are set with a nice hybrid, that would also light a fire under the Dyns.

    I have a Vincent tubed preamp and a 200 watt Rotel SS amp pairing making a very nice hybrid system. Romantic tube sound with great slam and power. Running two Golden Lines and one Telefunken, I also have a Musical Fidelity CDP with a huge external power supply running into the Tube preamp. Its a great match as the MF has a nice tube warmth. Also each of my components have after market power cables, but the power cable that has giving me the most improvement is the Wire World Electra 52 on the tubed preamp. I noticed the difference as soon as I put in on. IT was like more tube warmth was flowing. I suspect the stock cable held back the preamps true nature. The Rotel is not a warm amp. Its not overly bright either. But when I ran the Rotel preamp with the Rotel amp, it was leading that direction with a little edge. But paring the amp with the tubes, it cleaned it up a lots. My speakers are Canton 403...and they are really holding the system backl. I do need a upgrade, but I have come to love that Canton sound. These speakers are very revealing, especially in the upper midrange. I have decided to move up to the Canton Vento line of speakers...the Canton Vento 830.2 and the matching stands are in my near future. They have that ceramic tweeter that is in the Canton Reference speakers. I will be going to take a nice listen this weekend to the 830.2's.

    I have to take some fresh pictures of my system so I will supply some older pictures. The Rotel preamp is no longer in my system but is in the bed room system.



    I love this table. It does not get much love these days but it really is a very good table. I suspect the audiophile world has lost love for Roy Hall and his evil arrogant ways. I'm running a 2M Black through a Grado phono 1.





    The Musical Fidelity XRAYv8 is a very nice player. Its the tone of the XRAY that I love. Its perfect with tube gear. It two pieces....the XXX power supply to the left and the transport/DAC to the right. There is also a tube DAC that can be had that comes with it, but I did not see favorable reviews for it.



    Im running these Cantons which are not a bad speaker, but its really time for a big upgrade. These speakers have a wide dispersion of sound. I love the Canton sound, but its time to move up to a more reference speaker.



    The ones 4th from right is what i may be getting. If not, the second from the right. Also the matching stands.

    Music...let it into your soul and be moved....with Canton...Pure Music


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    W10 i5 Quad core processor 8GB RAM/Jriver 20/ Fidelizer Optimizer/ iFI Micro DSD DAC-iUSB 3.0/Vincent SA - T1/Vincent SP-331 MK /MMF-7.1/2M BLACK/MS Phenomena ll+/Canton Vento 830.2

  16. #16
    Super Moderator Site Moderator JohnMichael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by texlle View Post
    Finally coming together. I very much dislike the look of this coffee table, but the dimensions are perfect. Perhaps I should throw some satin black paint on it. Oh well, my roommate picked it up for free. I just picked up the Music Hall cd player but didn't realize it was black (I didn't even know they made them in black). I will probably list it on A-gon and pick up a silver faceplate model since the sound is quite nice for the $300 I spent. I just need to swap this baby out and pick up a nice REL T2 and I will be content- for a little while.











    Really digging these Gold Lions after 15-20 hours so far.


    Nothing prettier than a two channel system sporting a turntable. Nothing wrong with the coffee table once you rough up the surface with sandpaper and paint it.
    JohnMichael
    Vinyl Rega Planar 2, Incognito rewire, Deepgroove subplatter, ceramic bearing, Michell Technoweight, Rega 24V motor, TTPSU, FunkFirm Achroplat platter, Michael Lim top and bottom braces, 2 Rega feet and one RDC cones. Grado Sonata, Moon 110 LP phono.
    Digital
    Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD/cd SID mat, Marantz SA 8001
    Int. Amp Krell S-300i
    Speaker
    Monitor Audio RS6
    Cables
    AQ SPKR and AQ XLR and IC

  17. #17
    Super Moderator Site Moderator JohnMichael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by frenchmon View Post
    Yeah, The Dyns warm nature and the Jolida makes for a very warm system in my experience with Dyns and some tubed gear. You may need a power boost for the Dyns...but if you keep the Dyns and do decide to get more power in a integrated tube amp, make sure you get one with power such as a hybrid tube integrated that's not as warm. Van Alstine has nice gear that would light a fire under those Dyns but don't know if he has integrated gear. Another option might be Vincent Audio. They have a few integrated tube hybrid amps that are powerful and will paint wonderful sound that's not as warm while still having that great tube romantic sound. Your Dyns will love you for it. Another option....if your Jolida has audio out connections, you can change it into a tubed preamp by adding a nice 200 watt SS amp then you are set with a nice hybrid, that would also light a fire under the Dyns.

    I have a Vincent tubed preamp and a 200 watt Rotel SS amp pairing making a very nice hybrid system. Romantic tube sound with great slam and power. Running two Golden Lines and one Telefunken, I also have a Musical Fidelity CDP with a huge external power supply running into the Tube preamp. Its a great match as the MF has a nice tube warmth. Also each of my components have after market power cables, but the power cable that has giving me the most improvement is the Wire World Electra 52 on the tubed preamp. I noticed the difference as soon as I put in on. IT was like more tube warmth was flowing. I suspect the stock cable held back the preamps true nature. The Rotel is not a warm amp. Its not overly bright either. But when I ran the Rotel preamp with the Rotel amp, it was leading that direction with a little edge. But paring the amp with the tubes, it cleaned it up a lots. My speakers are Canton 403...and they are really holding the system backl. I do need a upgrade, but I have come to love that Canton sound. These speakers are very revealing, especially in the upper midrange. I have decided to move up to the Canton Vento line of speakers...the Canton Vento 830.2 and the matching stands are in my near future. They have that ceramic tweeter that is in the Canton Reference speakers. I will be going to take a nice listen this weekend to the 830.2's.

    I have to take some fresh pictures of my system so I will supply some older pictures. The Rotel preamp is no longer in my system but is in the bed room system.



    I love this table. It does not get much love these days but it really is a very good table. I suspect the audiophile world has lost love for Roy Hall and his evil arrogant ways. I'm running a 2M Black through a Grado phono 1.





    The Musical Fidelity XRAYv8 is a very nice player. Its the tone of the XRAY that I love. Its perfect with tube gear. It two pieces....the XXX power supply to the left and the transport/DAC to the right. There is also a tube DAC that can be had that comes with it, but I did not see favorable reviews for it.



    Im running these Cantons which are not a bad speaker, but its really time for a big upgrade. These speakers have a wide dispersion of sound. I love the Canton sound, but its time to move up to a more reference speaker.



    The ones 4th from right is what i may be getting. If not, the second from the right. Also the matching stands.



    Frenchmon I have always been impressed with your use of rugs as tapestrys and I am sure they improve the sound. Another beautiful 2 channel system with a turntable. I only have a few Shirley Horn recordings but I am going to find a copy of the one you are displaying. I need to plan a night of Shirley, Betty Carter, Helen Humes and Sassy.
    JohnMichael
    Vinyl Rega Planar 2, Incognito rewire, Deepgroove subplatter, ceramic bearing, Michell Technoweight, Rega 24V motor, TTPSU, FunkFirm Achroplat platter, Michael Lim top and bottom braces, 2 Rega feet and one RDC cones. Grado Sonata, Moon 110 LP phono.
    Digital
    Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD/cd SID mat, Marantz SA 8001
    Int. Amp Krell S-300i
    Speaker
    Monitor Audio RS6
    Cables
    AQ SPKR and AQ XLR and IC

  18. #18
    Oldest join date recoveryone's Avatar
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    I few pic of two of the four systems in my home



    Living room 2ch setup



    Bedroom setup



    HT
    Pioneer Elite SC lx502
    Pioneer Elite N50
    Pioneer Cassette CTM66R
    Pioneer Elite BDP 85FD

    Vizio P series 2160p
    Panamax 5300 EX

  19. #19
    Charm Thai™
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnMichael View Post
    I have enjoyed that thread at AK. Glad you started it here. When I am home and in front of my computer I will show my space. Of course many of you have already seen my space.
    JM the MFSL's look 1000x better than your Monitor Audios! I'm sure they sound much better too. Glad u stuck with em.

  20. #20
    Stereo value > car value texlle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by frenchmon View Post
    Yeah, The Dyns warm nature and the Jolida makes for a very warm system in my experience with Dyns and some tubed gear. You may need a power boost for the Dyns...but if you keep the Dyns and do decide to get more power in a integrated tube amp, make sure you get one with power such as a hybrid tube integrated that's not as warm. Van Alstine has nice gear that would light a fire under those Dyns but don't know if he has integrated gear. Another option might be Vincent Audio. They have a few integrated tube hybrid amps that are powerful and will paint wonderful sound that's not as warm while still having that great tube romantic sound. Your Dyns will love you for it. Another option....if your Jolida has audio out connections, you can change it into a tubed preamp by adding a nice 200 watt SS amp then you are set with a nice hybrid, that would also light a fire under the Dyns.

    I have a Vincent tubed preamp and a 200 watt Rotel SS amp pairing making a very nice hybrid system. Romantic tube sound with great slam and power. Running two Golden Lines and one Telefunken, I also have a Musical Fidelity CDP with a huge external power supply running into the Tube preamp. Its a great match as the MF has a nice tube warmth. Also each of my components have after market power cables, but the power cable that has giving me the most improvement is the Wire World Electra 52 on the tubed preamp. I noticed the difference as soon as I put in on. IT was like more tube warmth was flowing. I suspect the stock cable held back the preamps true nature. The Rotel is not a warm amp. Its not overly bright either. But when I ran the Rotel preamp with the Rotel amp, it was leading that direction with a little edge. But paring the amp with the tubes, it cleaned it up a lots. My speakers are Canton 403...and they are really holding the system backl. I do need a upgrade, but I have come to love that Canton sound. These speakers are very revealing, especially in the upper midrange. I have decided to move up to the Canton Vento line of speakers...the Canton Vento 830.2 and the matching stands are in my near future. They have that ceramic tweeter that is in the Canton Reference speakers. I will be going to take a nice listen this weekend to the 830.2's.

    I have to take some fresh pictures of my system so I will supply some older pictures. The Rotel preamp is no longer in my system but is in the bed room system.



    I love this table. It does not get much love these days but it really is a very good table. I suspect the audiophile world has lost love for Roy Hall and his evil arrogant ways. I'm running a 2M Black through a Grado phono 1.





    The Musical Fidelity XRAYv8 is a very nice player. Its the tone of the XRAY that I love. Its perfect with tube gear. It two pieces....the XXX power supply to the left and the transport/DAC to the right. There is also a tube DAC that can be had that comes with it, but I did not see favorable reviews for it.



    Im running these Cantons which are not a bad speaker, but its really time for a big upgrade. These speakers have a wide dispersion of sound. I love the Canton sound, but its time to move up to a more reference speaker.



    The ones 4th from right is what i may be getting. If not, the second from the right. Also the matching stands.

    Nice rig you have there. I am very keen on the idea of hybridizing, but haven't had the opportunity to listen to any tube pre/ss amp driven systems. I'd be interested to hear a Rotel behind the Dyns, but I have doubts that it would bring out their potential as would a used Bryston, lower level Krell, even Aragon- or taking it a step further- a certain Plinius SA-50 currently on audiogon for $1750. Drool. Must.. maintain.. similar relative costs for...economic practicality. So then despite probably being in another league than the aforementioned, the Rotel is worth a try. Although, a Vincent SV-236 integrated hybrid intrigues me. This may very well be my Jolida replacement when I move to a place with better acoustics. I also don't find the Dyn's themselves warm at all, but quite neutral. I prefer warm sound in general as cold and sterile tends to fatigue me with ease, hence the tube output.
    Last edited by texlle; 05-24-2012 at 08:08 PM.
    Dynaudio Audience 42
    Conrad-Johnson PV14
    Sonographe SA-250
    Music Hall CD 25.2
    Musical Fidelity V3 series- X-LPS phono preamp, X-DAC, X-PSU
    Rega RP1 w/ performance pack
    Pure i-20 iPod dock
    -----------------------------
    B&W DM603s2- B&W LCR60s3- B&W DM302
    Velodyne CT-120 12" sub
    Rotel RSX-1055
    Arcam CD73T
    Samsung LN46C630 46" LCD
    Denon DBP-1611 bluray
    -----------------------------
    KEF K120- Jolida JD202a- Cambridge Audio D300 cdp- T500 tuner

    Photo gallery

  21. #21
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by texlle View Post
    Nice rig you have there. I am very keen on the idea of hybridizing, but haven't had the opportunity to listen to any tube pre/ss amp driven systems. I'd be interested to hear a Rotel behind the Dyns, but I have doubts that it would bring out their potential as would a used Bryston, lower level Krell, even Aragon- or taking it a step further- a certain Plinius SA-50 currently on audiogon for $1750. Drool. Must.. maintain.. similar relative costs for...economic practicality. So then despite probably being in another league than the aforementioned, the Rotel is worth a try. Although, a Vincent SV-236 integrated hybrid intrigues me. This may very well be my Jolida replacement when I move to a place with better acoustics. I also don't find the Dyn's themselves warm at all, but quite neutral. I prefer warm sound in general as cold and sterile tends to fatigue me with ease, hence the tube output.
    Naw...My Rotel 200 watts would turn the 42's on its head with no problem. I've also heard the Adcom amp drive Dyns with no problem despite the Dyns costing much more than the Adcom amp....and keep in mind, the Dyns where Contour towers and not book shelves..I've listen to Dyns side by side with Zu, Canton,...listen to Revels with the same system driving the Dyns, and also Klipsh and JBL Arrey's in the same system. In comparison of the different natures...Dynaudio was more polite, laid back... but went lower in the bass than all of them. I did discover that Conrad Johnson and Dyns have a more laid back and not exciting presentation. That system was very musical and would draw you in with all the detail, but it lacked excitement. I personally dont think that paring is a good one both being on the warm side of things. I've also listen to Dynaudio Confidence towers paired with Marantz Reference which was very neutral in the presentation. It was when I placed my Vincent tube preamp in the system pared with a CJ tube amp did the Dyns show some life. I think system matching is very important with all gear and Dynaudio is no different in that regard. Dyns may be better with a more lively amp to bring out what that tweeter can do.... certainly A Rotel 200 watt amp can bring life. Dont fall into the trap of thinking expensive is always better.

    I think the Vincent integrated or Van Alstine amp/preamp would do you good. Does the Jolida have audio preouts?
    Last edited by frenchmon; 05-25-2012 at 03:35 AM.
    Music...let it into your soul and be moved....with Canton...Pure Music


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    W10 i5 Quad core processor 8GB RAM/Jriver 20/ Fidelizer Optimizer/ iFI Micro DSD DAC-iUSB 3.0/Vincent SA - T1/Vincent SP-331 MK /MMF-7.1/2M BLACK/MS Phenomena ll+/Canton Vento 830.2

  22. #22
    Stereo value > car value texlle's Avatar
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    Unfortunately, the Jolida does not have preouts. It's just as well, I may off the 502 and try a Rotel amp and possibly a CJ pre or even a Jolida or Vincent. As good as the tube seduction is, I can't deny the fact that the stereo sounds shy to an extent. I need that headroom for those certain quieter and/or higher quality recordings- that 30% of my listening where the Jolida really cannot push to dynamic levels- even in a small room sadly. My main goal here is to avoid any SS edgy-ness. If I hear a hint of that hardness and glare- that artificial sheen, I will be thouroughly disappointed. It would be far more in line with the amount I should spend- plus separates are just awesome.

    How was the improvement in noise floor reduction when you went from the Rotel pre to the Vincent?
    Last edited by texlle; 05-25-2012 at 06:16 AM.
    Dynaudio Audience 42
    Conrad-Johnson PV14
    Sonographe SA-250
    Music Hall CD 25.2
    Musical Fidelity V3 series- X-LPS phono preamp, X-DAC, X-PSU
    Rega RP1 w/ performance pack
    Pure i-20 iPod dock
    -----------------------------
    B&W DM603s2- B&W LCR60s3- B&W DM302
    Velodyne CT-120 12" sub
    Rotel RSX-1055
    Arcam CD73T
    Samsung LN46C630 46" LCD
    Denon DBP-1611 bluray
    -----------------------------
    KEF K120- Jolida JD202a- Cambridge Audio D300 cdp- T500 tuner

    Photo gallery

  23. #23
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by texlle View Post
    Unfortunately, the Jolida does not have preouts. It's just as well, I may off the 502 and try a Rotel amp and possibly a CJ pre or even a Jolida or Vincent. As good as the tube seduction is, I can't deny the fact that the stereo sounds shy to an extent. I need that headroom for those certain quieter and/or higher quality recordings- that 30% of my listening where the Jolida really cannot push to dynamic levels- even in a small room sadly. My main goal here is to avoid any SS edgy-ness. If I hear a hint of that hardness and glare- that artificial sheen, I will be thouroughly disappointed. It would be far more in line with the amount I should spend- plus separates are just awesome.

    How was the improvement in noise floor reduction when you went from the Rotel pre to the Vincent?
    ...

    Actually My Rotel preamp was the Rotel RC-1090 and the amp is the RB 1080. Its like in the top 3 that Rotel has ever made as far as amp/preamp combinations. RGA also had the preamp and loved it aswell

    ROTEL RC-1090 Preamplifiers Reviews

    The noise floor only could be heard with no music playing and volume up as far as can go. And then you had to put your ear to the speaker to hear it. 0.03% THD

    With the Vincent all you hear is only tube rush if you put your ear to the speaker with volume up.

    I now have the Rotel preamp in my bed room system with a Rotel RB 1070 amp which is also very good at 130watts per channel and is able to be bridged to mono.

    I hardly think the Jolida could push the Dyns....There is another member here who owned that same amp and was trying to drive Dyn floor speakers with unsatisfactory results. He sold the Jolida and got a Anthem integrated amp. I think the Jolida has wonderful sound from what I read of the reviews....have you thought about another set of speakers like in the 90db and up range? I betcha the Jolida would really sing then. What interconnects and speaker and power cables are you using? Look at the amps Hyfi is driving his Dyns with...im sure his is singing.

    Years ago, I bought into the hype about Mono-Price cabling and decided to try them. The result on the Rotel was as you said....brightness, edgy metal like sounds. I quickly got some QUALITY cables and all is well. Iater added some quality power cables and no edginess at all. Good quality audiophile sound does not have to be expensive.
    Last edited by frenchmon; 05-25-2012 at 08:39 AM.
    Music...let it into your soul and be moved....with Canton...Pure Music


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    W10 i5 Quad core processor 8GB RAM/Jriver 20/ Fidelizer Optimizer/ iFI Micro DSD DAC-iUSB 3.0/Vincent SA - T1/Vincent SP-331 MK /MMF-7.1/2M BLACK/MS Phenomena ll+/Canton Vento 830.2

  24. #24
    Stereo value > car value texlle's Avatar
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    Well, I'm not saying the Rotel is edgy. In fact it's softer than most Japanese brands, but they are known for having a thin upper mid-lower treble range- a characteristic that is noticeable with my RSX-1055, but not terrible since the B&W's already have a bloomy midrange. Not to mention, they are just adequate at low level listening- which is a no-go for me. The Jolida makes fantastically musical background- say under 40dB. I'm just concerned as to how much the tube pre will compensate for the power amp's inherent drawbacks (recessed mids, low level detail/dynamics) if I were to go this route . I would be moving from a very sweet, balanced setup. Trading sweetness and presence for authoritative punch. After all, I still really like the Jolida, but want to find a good balance of authority and presence. And until I find the right combination of separates, I'll take a more polite, lifelike sound over a more exciting- yet withdrawn musicality.

    The Audience line is one of the easier speakers to drive. Though the sentivities are relately the same across the dynaudio board (typically 85-87), the 42's are a remarkably easier drive than say Contour 1.1's. I read that, by virtue of whatever highly technical design feature that escapes my recollection, the Audiences are more compatible with tube amplifiers than their new Excite series. I must say, I'd really rather not go to another speaker. Unless I can find a speaker with similar neutral tonal balance and natural presentation, smooth detail, I'd rather not move to just any speaker with a higher sensitivity to avoid losing that sense of body and fullness that you get with less sensitive speakers.

    I use MIT Terminator 4 speaker cables in both systems, and a hodgepodge of interconnects. MIT AVT1s, Wireworld Oasis, Cardas Crosslink.

    The 4's, I find, are very creamy in the mids, extremely detailed mids and highs, with some of the most expansive soundstaging I've heard for budget cables, great imaging. The bass tends toward fat, but is still well controlled and quick with the Dyns. Not displeasing though.

    Question- anyone have any experience with Aragon amps? I keep finding 2004 and 4004 models for under $400 and $600 locally.
    Dynaudio Audience 42
    Conrad-Johnson PV14
    Sonographe SA-250
    Music Hall CD 25.2
    Musical Fidelity V3 series- X-LPS phono preamp, X-DAC, X-PSU
    Rega RP1 w/ performance pack
    Pure i-20 iPod dock
    -----------------------------
    B&W DM603s2- B&W LCR60s3- B&W DM302
    Velodyne CT-120 12" sub
    Rotel RSX-1055
    Arcam CD73T
    Samsung LN46C630 46" LCD
    Denon DBP-1611 bluray
    -----------------------------
    KEF K120- Jolida JD202a- Cambridge Audio D300 cdp- T500 tuner

    Photo gallery

  25. #25
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    Texlle

    If you have a chance, listen to some of the Excite speakers or better. Dyns just keep getting better as you go up the chain.

    I think you may be expecting too much out of the little 42s. I can tell ya that my Stratos amp drives them well as does my Counterpoint but they are still small speakers.

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