Tidy up

[Filterlab]

I dismantled the system last night and rebuilt it with the buffer stage in the rack rather than off to the right on a separate plinth. Cleaned the shelves, dusted the components, tidied the cabling (which was already quite tidy - I keep it tight).

Spinning (if that’s the right term for streaming from my Mac mini’s internal SSD) some Air this morning. Walkie Talkie already played through, now on to Pocket Symphony.

I love their music, super crisp and tight.

https://i.ibb.co/rZrjd7f/690-B0264-8633-408-C-97-F4-5-D63-AD145903.jpg (https://ibb.co/Q6wgDbj)

https://i.ibb.co/1fm67WF/1-BBC8-B27-786-E-4-F9-C-B2-A4-FAA770-D3097-F.jpg (https://ibb.co/DDRpz20)

The speakers don’t point at the top corners, it’s just lens artefact.

https://i.ibb.co/PDLVz11/A5-A421-EA-CD54-4014-A4-DA-1-E3805-BE11-B6.jpg (https://ibb.co/g42cFtt)

A couple of days ago I replaced one of the mid/bass drivers in the right speaker. I noticed a slight crackle on some tracks at certain volumes. Colin Topps (who built the speakers) had a spare NOS driver in his arsenal, and was kind enough to sell it to me. The CSL EL166s are hard to get these days!

Sounding absolute perfection now though. :D

I’m done for a good long while for system changes now. This system is very complete; full sounding, incredible detail, weight and authority, crisp and lightning fast with incredible imaging.

The next round of upgrades will be expensive to gain notable improvement, but the first thing to swap would be the DAC. A Leema Libra would be my first choice. If you haven’t experienced Leema’s DACs I can heartily recommend them. No hint of drama or falseness - they play it clean and neutrally accurate, and yet insightfully and completely musically.

[Macca]

Looks good. What's the amplification Rob?

[Filterlab]

Cheers!

The amp is a Bel Canto Ref500S with the ICE Power modules.

Let's just say it demands a fully rounded signal. With the wrong front end it'll tear your eardrums out. :lol: Took a little work to get the balance right with this amp, but boy was it worth it. It takes no prisoners and reveals every element of the source, forcing one to get the signal right.

Coming away from my Arcam A85 was a shock with this one, that's for sure! Great amp though. It can kick alarmingly hard and at 250wpc has no shortage of oomph. Granted with 95dB/Wm speakers it's probably a little much, but like doing 30 in a Bentley, one always knows there's plenty of grunt for sudden demand in the bag.

[Macca]

250w into 95dB - yeah you're not going to be clipping that anytime soon, even in that big room!

[brian2957]

Now that's a very nice system in a very nice room Rob . Looks like your digital setup is similar to mine . Wireless keyboard and mouse and a large screen to view what's playing , although I usually use Spotify Premium .
Love the view outside which again would be similar to mine if I took down my back fence :)

[Filterlab]

250w into 95dB - yeah you're not going to be clipping that anytime soon, even in that big room!

:lol:

Indeed. I had to go powerful with big speakers when I moved into this place. The living room is 442sq.ft which was too much for my little Edifiers, even though they are incredibly powerful active standmounts. Just too big an ask for them to fill the room.

No shortage of oomph now though. :lol:


Now that's a very nice system in a very nice room Rob . Looks like your digital setup is similar to mine . Wireless keyboard and mouse and a large screen to view what's playing , although I usually use Spotify Premium .
Love the view outside which again would be similar to mine if I took down my back fence :)

Cheers Brian. For serious listening I have music ripped from CD and played back through Fidelia (which is ace). I used to use Spotify and Qobuz, but my other half has a YouTube Music subscription which works well for casual listening. Quality is pretty good on some tracks, a bit compressed on others though.

Quite a nice view over the rolling countryside here. The field is grazing for three horses (Strider, Milo and Jules) although they're down the bottom of the field at the moment. :)

https://i.ibb.co/37dwG1v/IMG-1429-2.jpg (https://ibb.co/2yhwmqS)

[brian2957]

Yes , Youtube can be an excellent source of music . I do also have an external HDD with around 1TB of music on it . I see Fidelia is only for Mac . As I use W10 tis no good here . My room is 3m wide and 8m long , although I only sit around 3m from the system .
I've heard Colin's speakers on many occasions , particularly the Edingdales , and they're excellent .
Gorgeous view Rob . I have similar , but with a smallish river running about 100m from the rear of my house . Great for walks , particularly in the summer :)

[struth]

reiver accoustics are they? (the Speakers)

[Marco]

Nice looking system, Rob! Like yer gaff, too... Considering they put you in an asylum, after that. erm, 'notorious incident' in Norwich town centre last year, with a taser, a pair of mole grips and a pirate's costume, it's not a bad view!:D:eyebrows:

Anyway, Bel Canto - know it well, and it's exactly as you describe... Kicking though, if you get it singing! Have you tried the DAC? That's also really good:)

Marco.

[Filterlab]

reiver accoustics are they? (the Speakers)

They are indeed. Reiver Acoustics Edingdales, mk1 with the Monacor 95 ribbons.


Nice looking system, Rob! Like yer gaff, too... Considering they put you in an asylum, after that. erm, 'notorious incident' in Norwich town centre last year, with a taser, a pair of mole grips and a pirate's costume, it's not a bad view!:D:eyebrows:

Anyway, Bel Canto - know it well, and it's exactly as you describe... Kicking though, if you get it singing! Have you tried the DAC? That's also really good:)

Marco.

Yeah, I recovered quickly. Funny how it goes. :lol:

I haven't heard the Bel Canto DAC, but if the amp is anything to bring a rule of measure against, I'm sure it's superb.

This shot gives you some idea of the space my system has to fill. Apologies for the mess, been building OO gauge models all day for my son's trainset for Christmas.

https://i.ibb.co/rtDmwps/IMG-1444.jpg (https://ibb.co/dc8r5pg)

[struth]

They are indeed. Reiver Acoustics Edingdales, mk1 with the Monacor 95 ribbons.



Yeah, I recovered quickly. Funny how it goes. [emoji38]

I haven't heard the Bel Canto DAC, but if the amp is anything to bring a rule of measure against, I'm sure it's superb.Ah OK. Mine look different. Plinths and no covers. Not sure if your edges are chamfered or not. Mine are mk 1 too

[Filterlab]

The bases and edges are like this. I have the covers on to keep my children's pokey fingers away from drive units, but I like the look with the covers on, although they are handsome with no covers on.

Due to the height of the hearth I have oak turning circles 'levelling' the surface for the spikes. They actually make them sound very good too. I haven't got round to finishing them properly yet. Time is not my friend.

https://i.ibb.co/JBXPcBQ/IMG-1445.jpg (https://ibb.co/Ssqp6sr)

[struth]

Mine have the black bases and spikes. No covers.

I've actually got feet to fit but there is no chance of me fitting them. Lol. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201206/791a6b9f8a1a27f54b2d8b0c2bc2a71c.jpg

[Filterlab]

Very nice, great colour combo. Same bases by the looks of it.

I'd thought of staining mine in dark walnut, but again no time - and I quite like the oak finish.

[struth]

ive a spare driver for bass and a spare tweeter, just in case.

[Filterlab]

Definitely keep hold of that bass driver. They’re tricky to find. Colin had one luckily, other than that he found one chap in India who has a pair, but he never came back to me.

The ribbons are easy to find as Monacor still make them.

[Barry]

Lovely set up Rob. :)

Your living/listening room looks huge!

[struth]

i will.. yup they will go with speakers if i ever sell.. they are stashed in a box upstairs:eyebrows:

oh any your room looks excellent

[Filterlab]

Thanks kindly. It’s a great room for hifi; perfect shape and layout, but just demands large, quality speakers, a sub and a decent bit of kick up the botty. :lol:

[jasonC]

from what i can see of your living space in the picture i really like it, so homely and tidy and love the brick wall and carpet.

[Filterlab]

Thanks Jason. I’m very fortunate.

[Marco]

Due to the height of the hearth I have oak turning circles 'levelling' the surface for the spikes. They actually make them sound very good too.

https://i.ibb.co/JBXPcBQ/IMG-1445.jpg (https://ibb.co/Ssqp6sr)

Do the speakers need the extra wall reinforcement, Rob, so that's why you've put them up onto the hearth, rather than just spiked into the carpet in front (without the need for the oak circles)? Have you tried it that way? It will no doubt sound markedly different, but only you can decide which is better...:)

You could also try four oak circles, supporting all four spikes, with the speakers placed on the carpet.

Marco.

[Filterlab]

I don't want them that far into the room as I have little ones here every other week. Even tucked back on the hearth my son almost knocked one over a couple of weeks ago (mind you he was carrying a bean bag whilst being chased by my four year old daughter :lol:). I specifically looked for front-ported or sealed speakers for that reason.

I did momentarily pull them forward off the hearth whilst setting them up, but there was actually no difference in presentation.

A 'quiet' evening at mine...

https://vimeo.com/489950523

[Marco]

Lol - ok, mate. Fairy muff:)

Marco.

[sailor]

Hi, do you play that djembe?

[Filterlab]

I can a little, but I'm primarily a keyboard / piano player. It actually belongs to my other half, she got it from Cash Converters in Norwich. :lol:

My four year old daughter plays it really well!

[sailor]

Excellent, they can be great fun especially if there are a few people with djembes and someone with a zulu drum

[Macca]

Until the zulus want it back.

[sailor]

@Martin :eyebrows:

It helps to be generous with the beer and smile a lot