My system / panos_adgr

[panos_adgr]

Audio Physic Scorpio II
based system

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC06561-1.jpg

This is my current Audio Set up. The basic element of the system is my pair of Audio Physic Scorpio II loudspeakers . A choice made after a lot of auditioning hours and conversations with other Greek enthusiasts.

I'm proud of my choice which gives me fine music moments of audio thrilling.The system's composition is not compelete or fine tuned yet for the reason that I'm upgrading slowly and after market and acoustical evaluation of components.

The current system set up is this:
Speakers: Audio Physic Scorpio II
Power amplifier: Harmonic Audio Labs, Dual Mono amplifier prototype
Pre amplifier/Dac: Pioneer VSX D 2011 S (a/v reciever)
CD player: Marantz CD 6000 OSE Limited Edition
Notebook: Fujitsu Siemens Amilo M 3438G with Windows XP SP3 and Foobar2000
Analogue: Nottingham Analogue Interspace, Rega RB 300, Clearaudio Aurum Alpha Wood MM
Phono Stage: Project Phono Box SE
Cables: Ultralink Excelsior, V.D.H. Hybrid CS 122 (speaker cables)
V.D.H. The Second rca, The Chird Cobra rca (interconnect)

[panos_adgr]

And some more pics.

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC06583.jpg

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC06588.jpg

[panos_adgr]

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC06572.jpg

[panos_adgr]

Nothing extreme as you see. But the result is very good and it has surprised a lot of people until now.

[jostber]

A great looking system there. :thumbsup: That TT looks quite impressive. :)

[panos_adgr]

A great looking system there. :thumbsup: That TT looks quite impressive. :)

Thank you very much. The turntable is Nottingham Analogue Interspace, I own it for a few years and I'm quite pleased!:)

[panos_adgr]

And here is a video. The song is Dia del Sol from Brio album of Chris Spheeris & Anthony Mazzella

rIDwgOqBTRI

I don't know why a video preview is not displayed so i also put the link.;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIDwgOqBTRI

[keiths]

Lovely system, Panos :thumbsup:

[panos_adgr]

Thank you! I was trying to upgrade some components, this year, but the I.M.F. didn't gine me any chance.:(

[Spectral Morn]

Nice set up and lovely looking room.


Regards D S D L

[panos_adgr]

Thank all for your good words!

[alex_san78]

Hi Panayotis! Nice system! I'm impressed by your turntable and by your Speakers and their white color.

[panos_adgr]

Hi Panayotis! Nice system! I'm impressed by your turntable and by your Speakers and their white color.

Thank you Alexey. The turntable is just an old Nottingham Analogue Interspace with a rega rb 300 arm and clearaudio alpha wood mm cartridge.

As about the speakers I bought them a year ago and the color cost 750 euros plus on the speaker price but they worth it!:)

[Jac Hawk]

great looking system

[panos_adgr]

Thank you all! I hope to improve it in the future.

[Lee Henley]

Thats a great looking system you have their, I use AP speakers but only the Yara II Classics, I want to upgrade to the Scorpio's or the Tempo's at some point this year.

Lee

[synsei]

That is a gorgeous room and a lovely looking system. I'm quite fond of the Nottingham Analogue kit myself although I think the SL1210 I own will be staying for the foreseeable future as it really is quite good ;)

[panos_adgr]

Thats a great looking system you have their, I use AP speakers but only the Yara II Classics, I want to upgrade to the Scorpio's or the Tempo's at some point this year.

Lee

Audio Physic is excellent for me as it has to do with value for money and overall result. Before I buy them I was auditioning them in the dealer's studio for 3 days, over 2 hours each day. No I feel completely satisfied, and happy for the choice. If you upgrade have in mind that Scorpio needs lot of space to breath, and because low freqs in a small room will be excessive. For a small room around 30 m^2 tempo will do fine but for more than 35-40 it's better to go for Scorpio, but have in mind that it will need plenty f power to be driven correctly. Not lots of Watts but an amplifier with strong a big transformer and capacitors.

The power amp I'm using is 150 watt 4Ω and has in each channel (dual mono) a 200 VA and 40.000 μf and are not enough. I've auditioned them with a Symphonic Line RG 10 MK IIII and the result was jaw dropping!!!

By the way thank you for your kind comments!

[panos_adgr]

That is a gorgeous room and a lovely looking system. I'm quite fond of the Nottingham Analogue kit myself although I think the SL1210 I own will be staying for the foreseeable future as it really is quite good ;)

The SL 1210 was build as a Hi quality Hi fi TT with a slight pro orientation. In the Club that I'm a member it is used as an analogue source in many expensive systems. It is acoustically sensitive in improvements and modifications and it can reward you with excellent sound results. Have a look here to see a modification and arm upgrade:http://cpskal.gr/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3789
The only problem is that the page is in Greek but there a lot of pictures to give you an idea.

Thank you for your comments. The Nottingham is a very descent TT and I have it a nfew years now.

[Alex_UK]

Lovely looking system (and soft furnishings!) I've heard some of the NAS decks and they are seriously good. I'm a big Marantz spinner fan, too - on my third KI machine in a row (still have my CD6000 OSE KI Sig in the loft I think!)

[panos_adgr]

Lovely looking system (and soft furnishings!) I've heard some of the NAS decks and they are seriously good. I'm a big Marantz spinner fan, too - on my third KI machine in a row (still have my CD6000 OSE KI Sig in the loft I think!)

Great cd player Alex! You should use it again. Mine is CD 6000 OSE L.E. It'sthe downscaled KIS. I use it more than 10 years and I can't change it. Lately I had a meeting of audiophilers in my home and they all had a pleasant surprise when it played. Great value for money and inside has great materials for it's price tag!;)

[Lee Henley]

Audio Physic is excellent for me as it has to do with value for money and overall result. Before I buy them I was auditioning them in the dealer's studio for 3 days, over 2 hours each day. No I feel completely satisfied, and happy for the choice. If you upgrade have in mind that Scorpio needs lot of space to breath, and because low freqs in a small room will be excessive. For a small room around 30 m^2 tempo will do fine but for more than 35-40 it's better to go for Scorpio, but have in mind that it will need plenty f power to be driven correctly. Not lots of Watts but an amplifier with strong a big transformer and capacitors.

The power amp I'm using is 150 watt 4Ω and has in each channel (dual mono) a 200 VA and 40.000 μf and are not enough. I've auditioned them with a Symphonic Line RG 10 MK IIII and the result was jaw dropping!!!

By the way thank you for your kind comments!

Hi Panos

My room is only 16sqm so I think that the scorpios will be out of the question, possibly just get away with the Tempo's, fortunately for me the delaer I use will let me have them on a home demo

Lee

[panos_adgr]

Yes. The scorpios are out in any case but even the tempo will be to much for 16sqm because they have the woofers at the side. But with out testing them in your room it's better not to make any comments... Please when you take them home write some comments!;) I will be looking forward.

[Puffin]

Have you spent as much as the guy in the film who said "I probably could have bought a piece of land with views of the temple of Poseidon"?

[panos_adgr]

Have you spent as much as the guy in the film who said "I probably could have bought a piece of land with views of the temple of Poseidon"?

NO! Not that much. But I've spent more than 20000 euros from the beginning until now. But in the club I've heard systems that cost more than 150000 euros. The most of these people have an economical and professional position that allows them to spent that much. They don't care to show of at all (not all of them). They invested once in their system and they don't change components. There is no need to do so because of the high level of the system. They do changes very rare.

[Puffin]

There is no need to do so because of the high level of the system. They do changes very rare.

The "Poseidon" guy said that he had had about 50 different amplifiers before he settled on his final system!

Rob.

[panos_adgr]

Yes Rob... This guy is now in the other club A.C.A. and I don't know him but surely I do not agree with what he did. The reason is that the local dealers give us the opportunity to borrow components and listen to them before we buy them so there is no need to spend all that time money. It seems hard to me to imagine of 50 different amps not matching wit a Tanoy like his...

But there are people like him who change machines all the time... It 's better to spend this money in music rather than buy 50 amps...

[julesd68]

hi Panos,

Kali spera!

How are Tsakaridis amplifiers rated in Greece? They have started to be available here through a small number of dealers and seem to be growing a good reputation ...

Whereabouts in Greece do you live? I get to visit the Thessaloniki area quite often where my wife is from originally!

cheers,

Julian

[panos_adgr]

Kalispera Julian! Very nice question!

Tsakiridis Amplifiers have tremendous value! First of all the Tsakirides two brothers are highly experienced and devoted in what they do. Their components are very successful and they are considered to be of the best in value for money! I say this because in my country we have a lot audio brands from Hi-end to Hi-fi. There a lot of systems in Greece that are build exclusively on Tsakiridis devices systems. Go to listen the Electra tube monoblock amplifiers with 200W power from 6550 and you 'll see what I mean! I'll open a new thread to present a system based on Tsakiridis devices to give you an idea!

I was living in Thessaloniki the last 3 years but 3 months ago I moved to Piraeus (Athens) because it's my home town. My wife also comes from North Greece. In summer I work in Chalkidiki so if you come send me a p.m. to meet you if possible!

Nice avatar! Randy Rhoads! What an artist! It's a pity he left only when he was 24.......

[julesd68]

I know Halkidiki very well indeed - I actually got married in a tiny church on the beach near Nea Skioni! That was back in 1996 and we have been returning there every year since. I love it there, such a shame about the forest fires a few years ago ...

Sadly, this summer will be the first time I won't be going back to Greece with the family - I am starting up a new business at the moment and it doesn't seem the right time to be taking time off. It would have been great to meet up and have some "audiophile" conversation over a nice bottle of Greek red wine - :cheers:- something I am not used to in Greece!

[panos_adgr]

I know Halkidiki very well indeed - I actually got married in a tiny church on the beach near Nea Skioni! That was back in 1996 and we have been returning there every year since. I love it there, such a shame about the forest fires a few years ago ...

Sadly, this summer will be the first time I won't be going back to Greece with the family - I am starting up a new business at the moment and it doesn't seem the right time to be taking time off. It would have been great to meet up and have some "audiophile" conversation over a nice bottle of Greek red wine - :cheers:- something I am not used to in Greece!


I wish you all the best with your business start!!! As about the audiophile conversations we will do them here. But it would be nice to do it with a bottle of wine.:)

They burned the whole Greece that Summer.....

[trio leo]

Hello Panos.
Lovely system and a lovely room, I listened to the You tube playback and the system has a nice airy delivery, I too love vinyl, how would you rate the clearaudio cartridge against others you have heard?
If I understood it correctly you are disappointed with your amplification, If a may suggest a hand built British amplifier, the Albarry M608 Mono-blocs, they are fast,dynamic,articulate and musically convincing, IMO the best amplifiers ever to come out of Britain.
Kind regards Al

[panos_adgr]

Thank you Alan!

The alpha cartridge is excellent for my taste and I think it worth every euro I have given. It has a very good reputation among my audiophile circles and generally clearaudio is a guarantee in analog systems. It has good detail and tonal balance and I don't miss anything. Ok it's not a 1000 euro Cartridge but it does the job excellent! But from the side of competition is Denon with the MC budget best buys but with low output that sets the standards for a maybe more expensive Phono stage to support them properly. It's a matter of taste, budget, and flexibility the final choice.

As about the amplification I have very good results with the power amp that I'm using but I'm not taking out the 100% presents of my speakers. Not even 80%.... Times are hard now for buying things for hobby here and I don't know yet if I will be able to upgrade. I'll have a look in the Internet Albarry but I thing that they are not imported in Greece and with out auditioning I can't say a thing...

[jandl100]

Very nice system, Panos. I've had some AP speakers - a pair of the old Virgo II, and they were superb - open, detailed and very deep and solid bass, and fantastic imaging - the bass was amazing coming from a pair of small 10cm drivers on the sides of each speaker!

I know that things are very difficult in Greece at the moment - I hope that the situation improves soon. But you have a great system already, so it may not be so hard to wait a while before upgrading again! :)

[vouk]

Kalimera Pano,

That is a really cool looking system and honestly, I wish I had your listening room....I used to own the AP Step and later the Virgo's (MKI) with an all Densen set-up; brilliant sounding speakers across the board and that was the impression I had for all AP speakers. But they do need a lot of room to breathe and are fairly fussy about positioning- when I auditioned the Virgo V in my (limited and rather awkwardly arranged space), the only way they could perform was by being in the middle of the room. They sounded awesome, the soundstage was breathtaking, I was seriously tempted, but for some unknown to me reason my wife didn't go for it. Go figure. Anyway, that is a lovely set-up so enjoy!

[panos_adgr]

Kalimera Pano,

That is a really cool looking system and honestly, I wish I had your listening room....I used to own the AP Step and later the Virgo's (MKI) with an all Densen set-up; brilliant sounding speakers across the board and that was the impression I had for all AP speakers. But they do need a lot of room to breathe and are fairly fussy about positioning- when I auditioned the Virgo V in my (limited and rather awkwardly arranged space), the only way they could perform was by being in the middle of the room. They sounded awesome, the soundstage was breathtaking, I was seriously tempted, but for some unknown to me reason my wife didn't go for it. Go figure. Anyway, that is a lovely set-up so enjoy!

Kalimera ti you John. AP need space to breath and you told it yourself. They played only in the middle of nthe room. Virgo after all is not for big rooms. The avanti is for bigger rooms and tempo and scorpio are downscaled models of these two to be affordable. Anyway. Virgos are of the best speakers in their category and they were successful in almost any version in the past.

As about your set up with step later virgo and densen, sounds great! I'm a fanatic fan of AP because I believe, from what I've auditioned until now that they offer more than the money they ask. Ok, negative part, fussy positioning but in the end as you said you get breathtaking results.

Thank you John for your kind words. As for my room sometimes it prooves to be in limit for scorpio because it has strong and rich bass in my space and i have reduced it 2 db from my amp. If my room was a bit big in length i believe it would be almost perfect.

[vouk]

That's exactly the problem I have in my current listening room. I now have Chario Ursa Major speakers with Audio Analogue gear and, on high volume levels, the bass is overbearing and very muddy - at the expense of Chario's otherwise very fine mids and highs.

[panos_adgr]

I have reduced the level of bass by 3db and i have no problem with this anymore. In the previous home I lived space was larger (48 sq m) and bass was fine but where I'm living now I have a bit more bass due to smaller room dimension. So with the reduction of bass now it's fine. I did it after a friend's advice who had B&W 803 in a small room and he did the same to fix the problem.

[panos_adgr]

Well, I haven't been around for a while and I'd like to share some changes of my system.

My multi channel a/v amp, at last was replaced by a sweet heart! I'm talking about Luxman's tube integrated amplifier SQ-38U which comes with a pair of el34 per channel plugged on a classic Ultralinear Mullard circuit. This almost, compact beauty is equipped also with an excellent internal tubed phono stage that even has step up transformer for low output MC cartridges.So I also replaced my humble project phono stage.

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC07699.jpg

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC07697.jpg

[AlfaGTV]

Wow! Great looking (and most certainly sounding) system!
As a matter of fact i put together my second system yesterday, using Audio Physic Tempo 5 and driven by a Luxman L-530 (vintage)! :eek:

Scorpio's represent, as you say, very good value for money when you have high ambitions on sound quality. And they do look fabulous in white!

Regards from the cold snowy north, Sweden...
//Mike

PS Is that an IKEA Expedit you have modified into a rack for your electronics?

[panos_adgr]

Wow! Great looking (and most certainly sounding) system!
As a matter of fact i put together my second system yesterday, using Audio Physic Tempo 5 and driven by a Luxman L-530 (vintage)! :eek:

Scorpio's represent, as you say, very good value for money when you have high ambitions on sound quality. And they do look fabulous in white!

Regards from the cold snowy north, Sweden...
//Mike

PS Is that an IKEA Expedit you have modified into a rack for your electronics?

Thank very much! Very interesting, your second set up. I had a big argument in Greek forums about the combination I made because everybody believed that my amp would not be sufficient for the loudspeaker and in the end it proved to be the opposite! I tested it for 2-3 days and I fell in love!

As for the furniture, yes it's an Ikea... Not the best choice for an audio set up. But I'll take care for it in the future.

[Berni217]

Hi Panayotis,
Welcome on the site. Nice system (Luxman looks and sounds great) in a superb big room. I would love to move my system in such big room.
Take care,
Bernard.

[panos_adgr]

Thank you very much Bernard! It's true. Luxman sound so great that I've fell in love with this machine. The odd thing is the its synergy with the Scorpios, that in any case I wouldn't expect. I first took the amp for a couple of days in my home to audition it and I couldn't give it back. Finally I took it back but after a week I bought it. I was missing it's sound all the time, and that was the best proof for me, because I tested a bunch of amps bot none excited me that much as Luxman did.

[panos_adgr]

Latest addition in my system set up, are the NM Sonic Purifiers Signature.

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC07886_zps79b7ad40.jpg

[panos_adgr]

I use five of them. Two are placed on the top of mh CD Player, ;over the transformer and over the cd reading mechanism.

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC07895_zps748da884.jpg

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC07891_zps5b5463b1.jpg

[panos_adgr]

The other three are placed over
my amplifier and specifically over the transformers.

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC07865_zpsf5854438.jpg

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC07866_zpsa5f9e1f8.jpg

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC07864_zps8ca13a11.jpg

[realysm42]

What do they do?

[panos_adgr]

What do they do?

They absorb EMF radiation from transformers, RF and improve sound quality.

I was hesitating to test them because I don't believe in this kind of stuff. But a friend of mine gave me these and when I placed them I had immediate improvement.

I'll give you a link for more details.

www.nmsonic.com


They purify the sound, extpand the capabilities of soundstageIt becomes more 3D holographic, while instruments and human voice are produced in more realistic dimensions and tonality. The system becomes more silent, pleasant and coherent, more musical and emotional.
Music becomes more vivid, unstressed, uncompressed with improved bass control, dynamics, rhythm, tonal balance, presentation and accuracy.

[panos_adgr]

This is my latest update. I changed the power line connector and I had great results, improving my system's sound!

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC07904_zps74400092.jpg

http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/panos_adgr/DSC07925_zps10fe9af5.jpg