Visit to Vics

[John]

I known Vic for a good few years now and everytime I gone up his system has undergone a slight change that has taken things further I think its fair to say our systems has spured both of us on, for example because of Vic I use open baffle because od me he now has open back speakers in his baffle design instead of the Linkwitz approach to open baffle bass design. Well the latest upgrade has taken things further The dynamics are great lots of bass depth and matches his Crystal drivers really well. He using two 15" Neos bass drivers per speaker
I must admit I am in awe as good as my system is this takes things further and I have not heard a better sounding system anywhere
We started with playing DACS and a $50 dac that Vic got on ebay sounded pretty good, but as soon as we put a better quality DAC the sound had a lot more depth detail and space
Of course the real magic came when we used the Salvation wowwwwwwwwwww I could of listened all night simple stunning dynamics some of the artist we listened to included Melody Gadot seductive as ever Dream Theater simply kicking some Robin Trower Ben Harper and Jeff Beck his phrasing and control is simply stunning close your eyes and you could be part of the Audiance
A simply stunning evening of music that has left such a strong impression on me:cool:

[WOStantonCS100]

Despite some disparaging remarks recently, I remain totally spellbound by the T3 Pro in my system. If I didn't already have a bevy of Techy's, I would definitely be going after a Salvation. I'm sure Vic's system sounds quite fine and have no doubt when you say, "I could of listened all night." Even with just his tonearm, I find myself up quite frequently 'til 2 and 3 in the morning flipping LP's and listening to the music.

[John]

Yes it has suprised me some of the comments made about Trans Fi here.I love the looks of my Salvation and imho its one of the best TTs in the world that combines the best elements of idlier in terms of pace and energy with the detail and rock steady speed of a good DD.
The Salvation will be at Scalford in March please come in and say hello and hear for youself
In the last 6 months Vic has been playing around with different bass drivers for his open baffles and the combination perfectly suits his Bastanis Crystal drivers. What the Neos are good at is capturing the upper bass information that gives music it drive and energy. The sound is very addictive and perfectly balanced.

[selfaddict]

Hi John.

I would love to hear system that Vic has put together, but the distance makes it very difficult :(.

Couple of days ago I was browsing on the ebay and noticed Vic is selling a pair of Bastanis including 4 Crystal drivers and two huge 18" Acoustic Elegance Dipole woofers :drool:. Dis you hear this pair when you were with him? Those 18" woofers looks great, I am just wondering how they sound :scratch:.

[John]

I heard this pair a few times it has awesome scale The AE drivers are pretty special (getting hold of these drivers is not easy) but think his lateset baffles are more nimble and balanced
For acoustic music and jazz the speakers on sale are simply stunning You would need plenty of space for them as they
are huge
The AE 18" go down to 20 in open baffle arrangement and give very detailed /clean bass

[selfaddict]

My long term plan is to replace my two pairs of Bastanis wideband drivers with Crystals. I have not made my mind up what comes to the bass woofers. First I was planning to stick with Bastanis 18" woofers as it is shown on the Bastanis Mandala drawings, but now I am very curious about these AE 18" woofers. I am planning to built my own baffles, so I am not restricted to any size really.

Was the main reason why Vic went back to 15" the size or did he think 15" woofers were better suited for the Crystal wideband drivers? I am using currently sealed 15" woofers and just like to know what OB woofers can do more. My 15" sealed woofers give plenty of 'movement on the air' but I have read that 18" OB woofers give more tonality to the bass, which would be just great.


The AE 18" go down to 20 in open baffle arrangement and give very detailed /clean bass

[John]

Vic likes to continual to develop This are very good but need plenty of space and he just has to many speakers at the moment
I suggest the Crystals just used in a single driver with two Neo 15" bass drivers per speaker this inho would be in a different class to the Bastanis subwoofers drivers as you cannot use open back arrangements and think this really makes a huge difference
The major issue with the AE drivers is how long he takes to make them, amazing drivers but are you willing to wait a year

[falcoron]

Dont think the neos are available anymore, not on the parts express site anyway, so maybe not made now which is a real shame.

[Darren]

I have to say that if I were able to justify £2000 for a turntable then the Salvation would be at the top of my list. Love it's design and looks.

[John]

Its great value considering how good it sounds I watched and heard that Salvation develop from a verus drive Michele Orbe on a slate plinth into what it is now. Total passion and dedication to get it to where it is now.

[sq225917]

I thought there was a no trade rule at Scalford is that changing for this year.

[John]

Its my TT Vic kindly helping out with a phono and cart as mine are not quite the same match none of which he sells
Also my dac and speakers will be a one off fail to see how this can be considered as trade

[sq225917]

Sorry, didn't realise it was yours, note to self must read threads more carefully. I was just wondering if they had changed the rules and we could perhaps expect an influx of new and interesting stuff from trade members that hadn't been possible previously.

[John]

I agree have to be careful but this is not the case here I will be using as much digital base gear as analogue
Its about good sounds based on real life home based gear (even if its pretty exotic)
So the digital system will use J-play to control the HD so the hope is to show what both and digital and analogue can do
I also hope Andrew R will be there too to show his amazing DIY amp he made as it is very special
Hoping the speakers will be Open Baffles Bastanis Crystals with 15" AE Dipole bass drivers Believe me this is not something you could sell as a commercial venture
The whole idea of doing this is to have a few laughs meet some great people and hopefully show there are other ways to great sounds