My Crossover-free zones

[amdismal]

Here are my systems.

I'll start with the second system, which is in the main living room; first a 'sweet spot' view:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/Hifi/DSC_4782.jpg

And a view of the system:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/Hifi/DSC_4783.jpg

The system is a Squeezebox Duet and Wadia 3200 Transport, Beresford Caiman DAC, Audio Innovations Series 500, Quad ESLs. The Quads have been fully refurbished by One Thing Audio and have had custom oak side panels made in the style of the Quad Germany ones.

My main system is in the basement. The room is tanked rather poorly and has an annoying pillar in the middle; I may get a structural engineer to look at it sometime, but I doubt it affects the sound. But the advantage of a 'den' room cannot be overstated:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/Hifi/DSC_4794.jpg

Sweet spot view:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/Hifi/DSC_4784.jpg

Left speaker and amp:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/Hifi/DSC_4788.jpg

Amp:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/Hifi/DSC_4789.jpg

System:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/Hifi/DSC_4790.jpg

Right speaker, SB3 and TT:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/Hifi/DSC_4793.jpg

TT:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/Hifi/DSC_4791.jpg

The system is:
Rock II, Excalibur, Ortofon MC30S, Partridge trannies and a flutterbuster PSU on a Seismic Sink
Squeezebox SB3; I sold the Linn Akurate DS earlier today and have ordered a Squeezebox Touch; what DAC, I wonder?
Audion two box pre-amp, extensively modded by the previous owner, on a Seismic Sink
6B4G SET amp, quite special this. Guy Sergeant made it a while back and contacted me when it became available. It has a very chunky power supply system with a main input choke and a further choke for each channel; 5687 driver valves and need better 6B4Gs than the cheapo Russian ones in it! A lovely sweet 2.8W, also on a Seismic Sink
Lowther monsters. These are "Big Fun Horn" back-loaded horns with Lowther PM6a drivers. I got them off a bloke who used to work at Heybrook, and he built these with their machinery. I first came across Guy Sergeant when asking about these; Guy helped him make them, and reckons they are about the best single driver speakers he has heard. They are about 4' high, 3' deep and 18" wide. The voids are filled with concrete, and I am unsure if it will be physically possible to get them out of the basement!
I'm not a huge cable believer; the interconnects are cheap Hitachi ones and I use magnet wire on the Quads. The Lowthers came wired with Audio Note silver cable, which is nice!

There are a few changes ahead: the Wadia and Audio Innovations are for sale (on ebay, happy to sell for a discount here!). A Mr Liang 845 will be driving the Quads (possibly within 48 hours), and I may move the Beresford downstairs for a while. A Squeezebox Touch will arrive and I think the Duet will go. I need another DAC: this may be the Westlake Audiolab, Swenson Bottlehead or something that actually exists now!

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Adam

Thanks for posting the photos.

AI series 500 is a cracking wee amp. I will be interested in how you feel the Liang compares to it.


Regards D S D L

[Barry]

Nice photos of your two systems Adam!

One comment, if I may: your Quads seem to be far too close to the rear wall. Is that how you listen to them, or is that their 'park' position, or done for the benefit of the photograph?

Regards

[Alex_UK]

Wow, an amazing "den" - free from constraints of domestic harmony. I love the fact that (and this isn't meant to be rude, so please don't take it that way) that everything in there is functional - chosen because of how it performs first and foremost, and exists only to make the best possible music - no "audio jewellery" :)

[amdismal]

Nice photos of your two systems Adam!

One comment, if I may: your Quads seem to be far too close to the rear wall. Is that how you listen to them, or is that their 'park' position, or done for the benefit of the photograph?

Regards

Cheers. The Quads do live there: it's about 85cm from the back wall - sadly there is an inevitable concession to domestic harmony! There is an improvement to their focus if they are further out but it is not huge, so I can live with this.

I may move to stacked Quads sometime, but am concerned that I may be 'forced' to move them closer to the back wall, which would be a nightmare. Still, brassic right now, so I have much time to enjoy them as they are.

[amdismal]

...everything in there is functional - chosen because of how it performs first and foremost, and exists only to make the best possible music - no "audio jewellery" :)

Conversely one could argue that it's so pig ugly it has to sound amazing!

Certainly the ability to house this sort of kit has its advantages - the basement system cost less than £2k all in, and has astonishing sound-per-pound (indeed, I think that it is pretty astonishing irrespective of price!).

The guy who came to get the Linn Akurate DS today was totally blown away by it, as in stop mid-sentence, jaw drop, OMG. While the Akurate helped, I get 99.5% of the performance with the Caiman. Didn't have the heart to tell him that though!

[Barry]

Wow, an amazing "den" - free from constraints of domestic harmony. I love the fact that (and this isn't meant to be rude, so please don't take it that way) that everything in there is functional - chosen because of how it performs first and foremost, and exists only to make the best possible music - no "audio jewellery" :)

Do you think the paint pots are tuned Helmholtz resonators? :eyebrows:

[Alex_UK]

I would never be that cruel Adam - but then I do love "utility" design. Amazing to achieve that at such a low (relatively speaking) cost. You're obviously a lover of the Caiman, too - and interesting to hear your view that you were getting that close to the Akurate! :eek:

[Alex_UK]

Barry, I deliberately didn't mention the cylindrical room treatment devices! :doh:

[amdismal]

Do you think the paint pots are tuned Helmholtz resonators? :eyebrows:

It's a real pain. You end up only half-finishing the wall and you have just the right frequency. And don't even mention plastic lids versus metal...

[Barry]

Cheers. The Quads do live there: it's about 85cm from the back wall - sadly there is an inevitable concession to domestic harmony! There is an improvement to their focus if they are further out but it is not huge, so I can live with this.

I may move to stacked Quads sometime, but am concerned that I may be 'forced' to move them closer to the back wall, which would be a nightmare. Still, brassic right now, so I have much time to enjoy them as they are.

I'm just deeply envious that you have the room for stacked Quads. I tried them for a short while, many years ago. Fabulous sound: deeper bass; less 'beaming'; superb presence, but alas, visually they were far too dominant and not conducive to domestic harmony. :(

Regards

[amdismal]

I'm just deeply envious that you have the room for stacked Quads.

That remains to be seen. The wife was quite happy when I described them to her originally, but that was before she saw how wide they are, and before she saw how far from the wall they need to be...

One the Caiman vs Akurate, sure the Akurate is better but it's just not that important musically - subtle detail is much less important to me than natural tone. I find digital sources contribute much less to the overall enjoyment than the amp and speakers. I think I have expensive digital sources out of my system now - I've had the Linn, I've had a dCS stack, meh to the lot of them!

[Rare Bird]

TT:
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x67/AmDismal/Hifi/DSC_4791.jpg

The system is:
Rock II, Excalibur,


:mex:

[Ali Tait]

You should try the passive mod on the Caiman.

[Techno Commander]

Stunning system, especially for £2K.

I imagine the "sound per pound" is is equal to the "grins per spin". :)

[amdismal]

You should try the passive mod on the Caiman.

Yeah I was looking at that yesterday. I may well get modding it - only problem is if it stays in the living room system then I couldn't get away with really ugly things like the CB power supply or anything where I have compromised safety, as my three year-old is often in there with me. Mods and tweaks are for the basement!

[alfie2902]

Hi Adam,

Nice to see you across here! :)

Quads are looking very nice mate! I would like an hour or two in the 'den' listening to those little monsters aswell! :eyebrows:

It will be interesting to hear what you think of the Liang 845 compared to the AI 500 & how close the SB Touch & whichever DAC you settle on compares to the Akurate DS!

I picked up an Audio Note Dac Zero to use with a SB Touch, but i'm using it with the Copland to great effect until I get around to picking up a SB Touch! My Hope was to get close to your Akurate or Marks ModWright Transporter so your thoughts will be interesting!

Cheers,alfie.

[Jonboy]

I remember your 6B4G SET amp with great fondness if thats the right word for it, it sounded very good and just proves you don't need watts of power to make a big sound, just a well built amp and sensative speakers, this is something i would like to try in the near future, just need to get my man to builld one for me and i need to decide on what output valves i would go for.

[Jonboy]

!

I picked up an Audio Note Dac Zero to use with a SB Touch, but i'm using it with the Copland to great effect until I get around to picking up a SB Touch! My Hope was to get close to your Akurate or Marks ModWright Transporter so your thoughts will be interesting!

Cheers,alfie.


Hi Alfie,

Has your AN DAC had the caps done as this would improve the sound further

[quadsugdenman]

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice Adam
Those Quads look the business!! ;)

[Ali Tait]

Yeah I was looking at that yesterday. I may well get modding it - only problem is if it stays in the living room system then I couldn't get away with really ugly things like the CB power supply or anything where I have compromised safety, as my three year-old is often in there with me. Mods and tweaks are for the basement!


Just do the passive mod to start with then.It alone makes a big difference,and it's easy to do.

[alfie2902]

Hi Alfie,

Has your AN DAC had the caps done as this would improve the sound further

Hi Jon,

No, I've not swapped the caps yet! I spoke with Ali about swapping them when I got it, he even PM'd me which ones to use!

My skills with electronics & soldering don't even run to swapping out a couple of caps though :( I will swap them in the future when i've found someone local to wave the iron for me:)

[Ali Tait]

Hi Adam,

Nice to see you across here! :)

Quads are looking very nice mate! I would like an hour or two in the 'den' listening to those little monsters aswell! :eyebrows:

It will be interesting to hear what you think of the Liang 845 compared to the AI 500 & how close the SB Touch & whichever DAC you settle on compares to the Akurate DS!

I picked up an Audio Note Dac Zero to use with a SB Touch, but i'm using it with the Copland to great effect until I get around to picking up a SB Touch! My Hope was to get close to your Akurate or Marks ModWright Transporter so your thoughts will be interesting!

Cheers,alfie.

That's what I'm running also Alfie,Touch and dac Zero.It's very worthwhile changing the caps.I used SCR teflon,expensive but worth it IMO.

[Ali Tait]

Hi Adam,
I too had a Liang at one time running statics,in my case ER Audio ESL III's and also Acorns.I thought it did a great job,until I heard a more powerful amp,which made me realise the Liang was struggling a bit.It would be fine if the Liang was actually 20w/ch,but in reality it's more like 8-9w.Saying that,I used to have a pair of 57's that were driven beautifully by a Sugden A21 at about the same power.I found this a very synergistic pairing (the Sugden was the original wooden-sleeve version) so you may find the Liang does just fine.It's a great amp,and there are a couple of easy mods that really lift the performance.

[Ali Tait]

Alfie,if you want to post the dac,I could do the caps for you.

[amdismal]

I too had a Liang at one time

I think it's the same one, well travelled - it's gradually moved down South!

I bought it here:
http://www.zerogain.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25465

Which leads back to this one:
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5679

Sadly my plans to pick it up this weekend failed miserably, so I'll have to wait for a week and a bit until I'm in Wakefield at the end of the month.

[Ali Tait]

Yes,that used to be mine.It's had some Mundorf silver/oils fitted,along with a couple of other mods.It's a very good amp,hope it drives the Quads well.If it does,should be a great match.

[Ali Tait]

Be warned,it's bloody heavy!

[amdismal]

Yeah I have already decided that it's not something to take on the train! I'm quite looking forward to it, just slightly annoyed that I can't get it for over a week - I have offers on the AI already...

[alfie2902]

Alfie,if you want to post the dac,I could do the caps for you.

Just spotted this Ali :eek: I might very well take you up on that offer once I've saved a few quid for the caps!:) Hard times atm :(

Thanks very much mate.

[Ali Tait]

No worries,let me know.You could start with the Clarity Cap ESA's from Hifi Collective.Only a few quid and very good IMO.

[amdismal]

If anyone wants to come hear my system I'm having some people round on the 31st - interest on the Wam has been minimal! http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?43315-St-Albans-bake-off-31st-July always happy to meet new people and spin some tunes.

[Ali Tait]

Love to,shame I'm so far away!