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Thread: She is done after 7 years!

  1. #1
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    She is done after 7 years!

    Hello everyone,

    many many years ago i started in this forum. 7 years ago i bought a troubled super speaker which needed some loving. After 7 years, she is finally done and here is the result. List of equipment and pics. Enjoy

    • Apogee Acoustics Grand (New TW, MRT, BASS Ribbons)
    • NAT Utopia Single Ended Triode Preamp; No Feedback
    • Custom Developed CAP Coupler
    • Monarchy Audio NM24 Tube DAC (Tesla 6922)
    • Monarchy Audio DIP (Jitter Killer & Masterclock)
    • PS Audio P1000 Powerstation
    • NAT Phono Signature (Battery Powered; Single Ended Triode; No Feedback)
    • SME 20/2A (SME V Gold ARM; All NEW Suspension and OIL)
    • Ortofon Statement (Low output MC System)
    • 2 Mono NAT Audio SE3 Midrange AMP (Single Ended Triode; VT4C Based; 54 Watt Class A)
    • 2 Mono NAT Audio SE2 Midbass AMP (Single Ended Triode; VT4C Based, 52 Watt Class A)
    • 2 Mono NAT Audio SE1 Tweeter Amp (Single Ended Triode; VT4C Based, 15.4 Watt Class A)
    • Six Custom Developed DC and Distortion Watchers with Emergency driver shut off function
    • Virtual Dynamics cabling for electronics (power and interconnects)
    • Behringer Ultracurve DSP (Digital only) adjustment to lower subwoofer output
    • Hales Transcendence 8 (With Beryllium Tweeters) for Movies

    She is done after 7 years!-dsc01271.jpgShe is done after 7 years!-dsc01301.jpgShe is done after 7 years!-dsc01277.jpgShe is done after 7 years!-dsc01284.jpgShe is done after 7 years!-dsc01256.jpg
    blackraven likes this.
    Lots of music but not enough time for it all

  2. #2
    Suspended
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    Awesome setup. Thanks for sharing the pics.

  3. #3
    Phila combat zone JoeE SP9's Avatar
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    Looking very good there Florian. I'm sure it sounds even better than it looks. If I'm ever in the neighborhood I'll stop by.
    ARC SP9 MKIII, VPI HW19, Rega RB300
    Marcof PPA1, Shure, Sumiko, Ortofon carts, Yamaha DVD-S1800
    Behringer UCA222, Emotiva XDA-2, HiFimeDIY
    Accuphase T101, Teac V-7010, Nak ZX-7. LX-5, Behringer DSP1124P
    Front: Magnepan 1.7, DBX 223SX, 2 modified Dynaco MK3's, 2, 12" DIY TL subs (Pass El-Pipe-O) 2 bridged Crown XLS-402
    Rear/HT: Emotiva UMC200, Acoustat Model 1/SPW-1, Behringer CX2310, 2 Adcom GFA-545

  4. #4
    Forum Regular blackraven's Avatar
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    Florian, will you adopt me so I can play with your gear daily. I would love to hear those Apogee's.
    Pass Labs X250 amp, BAT Vk-51se Preamp,
    Thorens TD-145 TT, Bellari phono preamp, Nagaoka MP-200 Cartridge
    Magnepan QR1.6 speakers
    Luxman DA-06 DAC
    Van Alstine Ultra Plus Hybrid Tube DAC
    Dual Martin Logan Original Dynamo Subs
    Parasound A21 amp
    Vintage Luxman T-110 tuner
    Magnepan MMG's, Grant Fidelity DAC-11, Class D CDA254 amp
    Monitor Audio S1 speakers, PSB B6 speakers
    Vintage Technic's Integrated amp
    Music Hall 25.2 CDP
    Adcom GFR 700 AVR
    Cables- Cardas, Silnote, BJC
    Velodyne CHT 8 sub

  5. #5
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    Thank you guys! If you are ever in Germany or Switzerland let me know and you can hear it. I am always open to adopt rich people which can help me save for a house :-)
    Lots of music but not enough time for it all

  6. #6
    Forum Regular harley .guy07's Avatar
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    I can only wish some day I can attain a system that looks that cool. I am sure not only 7 years for the speakers but it has taken you a long time to acquire that much audio goodness in one system. I would have to have a long talk with my wife though because I don't think she would go for all of that in one room!!

    Marantz SR5008(HT)
    Nu Force P8 Preamp (2 channel)
    Pass Labs X150.5(2 channel)
    Adcom 545 mk2 power amp(rear channel amp)
    Spatial Audio M3 Turbo S Mains Speakers
    Dayton 8" HO custom sealed subwoofer(2 channel)
    Yamaha NS-c444 center channel
    Emotiva ERD-1 surround speakers
    JBL e250p subwoofer highly modified
    Samsung 46" LED TV
    OPPO BDP-83 blue ray/multi format player
    ps-audio NuWave dac (2 channel)
    Dell I660 music server running fidelizer windows 8 audio optimizer
    PS Audio Quintet power center



  7. #7
    Super Moderator Site Moderator JohnMichael's Avatar
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    Florian your system is impressive! It has been fun through the years watching it come to fruition. Now that the system is complete you might have some spare time to tell us about the choices you have made putting the system together.
    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

  8. #8
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    Hello John,

    you are right of course. I think a good approach is to tell everyone that although you must earn a good salary to afford this, you can, like me start slow and trade your way up over some years. This system i shared is worth a lot of money, well over 300K, but it came a long way. Below you can find, from memory my system history:

    • Onkyo THX F-2 Front Speaker
    • Onkyo THX System One (Surround Speaker)
    • Magnepan MG 0.5
    • Magnepan 1.6
    • Magnepan 3.6
    • VMPS VM30RM
    • VMPS 626
    • Magnepan 3.6SE
    • Apogee Scintilla
    • Apogee DIVA
    • Acoustat Spectra 11
    • Apogee Caliper Signature (Second System)
    • Apogee Grand
    • Apogee Stage (Third System)
    • Apogee Fullrange (Opportunity)


    Power amplifier history

    • Onkyo TX-DS555
    • Onkyo TX-SV919THX
    • Onkyo TX-DS939THX
    • Harman Kardon AVR7000
    • Marantz SR5400
    • Marantz SR7200
    • Cambridge Audio C500 & P500 (First separate components)
    • Cambridge Azur 540R
    • Pathos Acoustics Classic One
    • Krell KSA150
    • Sphinx Project 14 (3 pairs)
    • Koran Acoustics Monoblocks (Tube)
    • Ampzilla 2000 Monoblocks
    • Ampzilla 2000 Stereo Amp
    • Krell KSA250
    • Krell KSA100
    • Krell KRS200 (2 Monoblock)
    • Krell KRS200 (Another 2 Monoblocks)
    • CAT JL2 Stereo Amp
    • NAT Audio SE2SE (2 Monoblocks)
    • NAT Audio SE2 (2 Monoblocks)
    • NAT Audio SE1SE (2 Monoblocks)
    • NAT Audio SE1 (2 Monoblocks)
    • NAT Audio SE3 (2 Monoblocks)


    Preamplifier history

    • Jolida 300b
      Krell KCT
    • TACT RCS 2.0
    • TACT RCS 2.2XP
    • CAT SL1
    • NAT Audio Plasma
    • NAT Audio Utopia


    Stay tuned for my system philosophy ;-)
    Lots of music but not enough time for it all

  9. #9
    Charm Thai™
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    For the love of all that is good and decent I am worshiping those Hales!

  10. #10
    I put the Gee in Gear.... thekid's Avatar
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    Flo

    Congrats!
    It looks like you found the pot of gold at the end of your rainbow!

  11. #11
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheHills44060 View Post
    For the love of all that is good and decent I am worshiping those Hales!
    That was my first and only good box speaker, at least to my ears, which i really liked. I heard them back when i was 17 and found them again almost 13 years later and had to get them. The original tweeter (not that good) fails on most of them. These have the ScanSpeak Illuminator Beryllium Tweeters.

    Cheers

    PS: Since you like em, here goes a pic during my Grand restauration.

    She is done after 7 years!-hales.jpg
    Last edited by Florian; 10-11-2013 at 01:16 AM.
    Lots of music but not enough time for it all

  12. #12
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thekid View Post
    Flo

    Congrats!
    It looks like you found the pot of gold at the end of your rainbow!
    Oh yes, but it was a lot of struggle. I had to rebuild them twice due to incompetence of the German installer. My NAT Amps are also modified and tested. Now i am working on placement, which is not that easy as my room is a tad too small. But big rooms can create big problems as well.
    Lots of music but not enough time for it all

  13. #13
    Shostakovich fan Feanor's Avatar
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    That's one awesome crap load of stuff, Flo. Congratulations!

    What's next? ('cause there's always a 'next')

  14. #14
    Music Junkie E-Stat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Florian View Post
    After 7 years, she is finally done and here is the result.
    Cool! So, what "transport" feeds the DAC? I see a monitor. I gather you have a music server?

  15. #15
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    Hi there, my main source is Analog but for digital i use an Apple TV which hosts none compressed music. Then i feed it to the Monarchy DIP which removes jitter and has a masterclock for signal regeneration. Cheers

  16. #16
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Feanor View Post
    That's one awesome crap load of stuff, Flo. Congratulations!

    What's next? ('cause there's always a 'next')
    Hi Feanor,

    good question. Next steps are to build a house. I am 30 now and the HIFI is sort of done. I havent heard something i liked better, so for now i am content.

    Cheers

  17. #17
    frenchmon frenchmon's Avatar
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    That's the magic word...content!
    Music...let it into your soul and be moved....with Canton...Pure Music


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    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

  18. #18
    Forum Regular kevinc666's Avatar
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    WOW, just WOW!

  19. #19
    AR Newbie Registered Member Brian Beck's Avatar
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    Florian, Didn't I see your Grands for sale on Audiogon a short time ago?

    Happy here with my Apogee Divas driven in bi-amplified mode by big ARC tube amps. The best sound I have had in my home, by far, in my 40-year hi-fi journey...

  20. #20
    Forum Regular hifitommy's Avatar
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    being familiar with the sound of the grands, i am envious but then my system sounds prety much OK. its a real commitment to put together and keep running a nice system but ever so rewarding.

    its great to see you are enjoying your rewards.
    ...regards...tr

  21. #21
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    Hello Brian,

    i used to have DIVA`s as well on tube amps :-) In fact it was my second Apogee after the Scintillas. The speakers on Audiogon were mine before i decided to rebuilt the speaker from the ground up. Now that she is done, i had the ad removed because i did not find anything i liked more.

    Cheers :-)
    Lots of music but not enough time for it all

  22. #22
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hifitommy View Post
    being familiar with the sound of the grands, i am envious but then my system sounds prety much OK. its a real commitment to put together and keep running a nice system but ever so rewarding.

    its great to see you are enjoying your rewards.
    Send you a PM ;-)
    Lots of music but not enough time for it all

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