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Alan
23-02-2009, 20:59
I never really did this before, but in support of the newly re-launched & improved AoS: I'm not sure how interesting pictures of black boxes are, but this seems to be the done thing. Yes, I know that:

It is a little ugly

It's not on a proper rack

The designer of most of this kit assures me it is not fussy where it is placed, and thankfully neither is my wife! (I secretly quite like it).

Note the unique stepped pyramid design designed to enable me to sacrifice the still beating heart of a measurement obsessed objectivist at the peak on each new moon to the god of musicality. :ner:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii165/brownalan/100_0167.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii165/brownalan/100_0168.jpg

Also Joe Ackroyd's last designs, apparently his finest. I truly agree. Accessorized with Jim's tweeter surrounds.

Don't know why, but these Royds like to be placed really far apart, further than the distance to the listener (by up to twice as much apparently!) - they require very little toe - in, and sound absolutely huge! There is never a hole in the imaging and they are also the least fussy speaker to place I have ever known, but experimentation certainly has paid off. They easily go deeper in the bass than a much larger AR acoustic suspension speaker I refurbished.

muffinman
24-02-2009, 21:56
Hey! as long as it sounds good, right? :gig:

NVA crossed my radar just before i went valve.

How are those tweeter surrounds? i'm thinking of getting a set but only if they are indispensible

Ta

Alan
24-02-2009, 23:29
It sounds wonderful mate, thanks for your comments.

The tweeter surrounds are great, though I'm not sure about indispensable....I've eulogised over them in the past, so has Rob (Filterlab) - its all in the archive - and think they offer a tangible improvement in clarity, mid-bass (surprisingly) and also imaging. :scratch: Once the wave forms are cleaned up the speakers just communicate more effectively.

I presume Jim Goulding still posts here? He makes them and also offers a money back trial period. Jerry (JandI100) also has experience with them, and sent a trial/demo set around the country on wigwam. Ask him if he knows where they are for a demo, it'll just cost you the postage to the next prospective punter.

Alan
24-02-2009, 23:41
:doh: I've just realised I haven't put in a list. There is an old one in the welcome pages somewhere but it will be out of date now, and a list will help to make sense of this. Main point of interest is the stock looking Arcam CDP which is actually very special. It is the latest version by the Audioceller (Kevin Green) and hasn't yet been superseded to my knowledge. ;) Pukka.

SOURCE

Arcam Alpha 5+ [Modified by Audioceller to include Nos conversion] - (NVA SuperSoundpipe)

Second source: Beresford 6/4 - (NVA Soundcord)

PRE-AMP

NVA P90 (twin pot Passive)

TREBLE AMPS

(NVA soundpipe) NVA A40 ,NVA LS1

BASS AMPS

(NVA soundpipe) NVA A70, NVA LS3

SPEAKERS

Royd Revelation RR3

Alan
31-03-2009, 16:14
Ah - that's better; longer cables mean a more sensible configuration. The addition of some stands unique isolation feet and the removal of all that weight from the CD player makes quite a difference as well. It'll all go onto granite soon. Closer & closer...

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii165/brownalan/100_0346.jpg

Darren
31-03-2009, 21:14
Gotta love those NVA bits. I've never had a system with all matching kit but it does look great and my significant other (t' missus) would love it.

I've never met Richardv either but he does seem fun!

Steve Toy
01-04-2009, 01:13
I'm just imagining the enormous upgrade that you'd get from placing your gear on a performance rack. It just doesn't bear thinking about other than a major lift in dynamics, separation, detail - including inflection and texture, not to mention a much bigger/deeper soundstage.

Alan
01-04-2009, 16:14
Steve - the thought crosses my mind from time to time. The CDP is now on a whacking great Granite slab, which means those carbon & milled brass standsunique supports are giving their best. Les, who modifies the Avondale equivalent to my modified Arcam, recommended this very product for these players, so I am happy to benefit from his experience.

The amps are cased in acrylic, which has pretty decent properties when it comes to dissipating vibration & microphonics. At least Quadraspire seem to think so. Interestingly Richard (designer NVA) has told me these amps are not particularly fussy where they are placed - that's not to say there is no merit in racks for NVA gear of course - but as a house move is on the cards soon a new rack may appear. :)

My Beresford 6/4 comes back from loan today - I'm going to try more standsunique feet and a granite placemat under it.

Marco
01-04-2009, 16:20
Hi Alan,

Nice set-up. I'd love to hear some NVA gear. Fancy a little bake-off sometime? I may be going to Rye, near Hastings, to visit a friend in the not too distant future :cool:

I hear what you're saying regarding stands, but trust me, Steve's right. One thing disregarding anything else, is that you won't be doing your preamp any favours having it sat so close to the huge transformers in your power amps, and the magnetic field that surrounds them.

If there's any way you can space things out a bit more by separating them from each other then you should notice an improvement :)

Marco.

Alan
01-04-2009, 16:31
:( That I'm aware of. Unfortunately at this time to move the preamp means using inferior (but longer) interconnects. I have another pair of high end I/Cs coming, so I hope for a little more flexibility in the coming days.

Let me know when you plan on coming down - I can't promise much (except a drink & some food) with such a small house & large family, but I'm sure a couple of hours of distraction can be organised for the clan! ;)I'll pm my email to you in case we miss each other.

Marco
01-04-2009, 16:56
Let me know when you plan on coming down - I can't promise much (except a drink & some food)...


Hey what more could a chap ask for? :cool:

Probably some time in the summer. When are you free? :)

I'm sure when I come down I could effect a few 'Marco-boy' tricks to optimise your system set-up more and bring a nice bottle or two of something with me... Steve knows all about that ;)

Marco.

Alan
03-04-2009, 16:35
Longer cables have now arrived - SSPs so a noticeable improvement & enough length to move the pre-amp.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii165/brownalan/100_0369.jpg

DSJR
03-04-2009, 17:09
A quick comment on the Arcam.

A mate from twenty years ago blac-tac'd his Delta 270 transport to two sheets of slate (I think it was, but it could have been a granite of some sort), one above and one below. I thought it sounded better for it - a little less "splattery" was the feeling at the time.

Alan
04-04-2009, 15:15
Thanks Dave,

Les gave some advice on PFM on how to setup one of his Avondale models - I've just done what he recommended: standsunique feet on a granite slab. The feet made a lot of difference and the addition of the slab just focused things a little more, perhaps adding just a hint of attack to the leading edge of each note. Quite a nice return for such a modest outlay. :)

My player is not an Arcam any more, but is not an Avondale either. It is modified by Kevin Green (AKA the Audiocellar - he services & repairs Audiolab kit.) and it would be interesting to compare it to an Avondale. Mine is also now non-oversampling, and has a whole load of stuff done to the output stage as well as elsewhere. A lot of standard functions have been disabled as well, but aside from this I don't know too much. I am aware that Kevin has been using lots of Black gate capacitors until recently - mine has poly caps instead, which he now uses as the treble is less grainy apparently.

It sounds fantastic - took a good while to burn in as it had a new old stock DAC chip fitted as well. I demo'd a private sale player, an earlier Audiocellar one before I got this as a new build - and the recent changes are streets ahead imo.

The next tweak will be to hard wire the mains lead and damp the biscuit tin Arcam fitted for a case. ;)

Marco
04-04-2009, 19:10
Your set-up is much better now, Alan - I bet you can hear the difference, too! :)

Well done.

Marco.

Alan
04-04-2009, 22:28
It was interesting - the interconnect made the most substantial difference, releasing more of the same from the setup, but moving the pre was more subtle. It seems to me (early days yet) that the imaging has achieved greater depth front to back, and a little more balance overall. A definite improvement & productive bit of DIY...just can't wait to get it all off the bookshelf.