Aquapiranha's visit to New Skaro
On the 3rd of June Aquapiranha made his way to the remote location given via electronic means, and waited, but for what ? He did not know. At the appointed time he stepped from his hire car and found himself enveloped in a beam of bright yellow white light and moments later came face to face with the Dalek Supreme D L.
The hand shake was firm, the smile warm and friendly as both audio enthusiasts meet and so began a day of music listening and discussion...........
The really special thing about meeting Steve in the flesh rather than through the virtual, was that it helped me in my own mind to really embrace the fact that Art of Sound is as much about flesh and blood exchange as virtual. There are a few members that I have known from my time in the audio retailing trade who have joined AOS subsequent to my joining (back in November of last year), but this was my first chance to actually meet a fellow community member. Those of you who regularly meet other AOS members regularly, in your homes, at bake offs, or audio shows, treasure these times, as here on New Skaro this doesn't happen as much as I would like.
I love seeing and hearing other audio enthusiasts systems. To be invited into their inner audio sanctum, and for them to share the results of their audio journey, is a special thing and should never be underestimated. These visits can bring important new aspects to your and the visiting enthusiasts further journey. Much, however will depend on minds being open and being prepared to listen both to the system and the free exchange of information that happens during these special times. Many of the best system improvements happen then, with new insights being made that can be taken back and applied/tried in your own system later. However if I am truthful while I enjoy visiting and helping others I do find the visit of a fellow enthusiast to hear my own setup a slightly daunting thing. My system(as I suspect yours is also) is a very personnel expression of all that I/you have learned on the journey so far, and in away, it is as close to me and you baring our audio mojo as you can get. The sum of all I feel I have achieved is open to your scrutiny and potential critique. While secure in enjoying the type of reproduction offered by the components selected, to best serve the music I love...there is always an element of presenting your small child to the world....for the first time.
I am very happy with the sound of my system, it works well in the listening environment it is sited and while I am conscious that the rooms short comings are holding its ultimate potential back slightly, the compromises I have had to make still leave it reproducing music as I like. However Steve's visit came at a time when two key components were not in use and the overall system was not as full an expression of the sound reproduction that I normally listen to. There was a slight lack of depth to the sound stage in both systems as a direct result of soild state and hybrid amplification instead of full valve amplification....a future visit will cure this, as all my valve kit will be firing on full cylinders.
Normally my system comprises a Bat VK31SE pre-amplifier and a Bat VK75 power-amplifier both valve based items. During Steve's visit the amplification was being provided by a Chapter Audio Preface Signature pre-amplifier and a Chapter Audio Couplet power-amplifier.....solid state ummmm.
The interesting thing about Steve's visit other than meeting him was that in preparing for it and during it I had reinforced that my particular approach to system building for my self, has resulted in two systems that while comprising different components all arrive at a similar but not identical outcomes.
I don't listen to music particularly loudly (loud enough for the recordings own right level to happen and sometimes a bit louder) and both of my systems are excellent IMHO in reproducing music at any volume level. There is an effortless clarity and coherence that only grows bigger as the volume control goes up. Sadly many systems don't do this they just get brasher, or need to be played loud to have what I have at a much lower volume. The levels of clarity, detail and that oft abused word musicality represent the type of reproduction I am after. A reproduction that is just to the warmer side of neutral and to my ear sounds natural.
Steve arrived at about 10.45 and left at 20 past 4 in the afternoon...where did the time go ? We sat and chatted about music, audio, politics, our various lives and our particular ideas about what we want from an audio system. I was fascinated by Steve's plans for a new speaker project and how he intended to go about it (write up to come in the future). However we also listened to music, which was a fairly important element of the visit.
Downstairs system as it was during Steve's visit.
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Music played during the day included Thomas Dolby-Aliens ate my Buick, Dead Can Dance-Into the Labyrinth, early work by Filterlab, Yello – One Second, Y Kant Tori Read, Ian Shaw-Drawn To all Things the music of Joni Mitchell and Morcheeba-Dive Deep.
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Up first was the very underrated Thomas Dolby and his album Aliens ate my Buick. I played the album on CD first and then afterwards on vinyl. After a few minutes of the vinyl playing, Steve turned to me and said that he really must get a turntable again. He was surprised by what he heard and once again had it confirmed for him that vinyl is better than CD. We discussed bass issues in vinyl replay as Budapest by Blimp played. The beautiful bass lines which make this song, strong and articulate even though this track is the last one on side 2...no end of side distortion issues. I played Dead Can Dance next also on vinyl and started with the track the Carnival is Over. Brendan Perry's warm soulful voice solid in the room and we where both transfixed by this wonderful song. Steve not knowing Dead Can Dance was impressed with their strange blend of the Gothic, Ethnic and Electronic music. A lot of music was played on vinyl but I also played SACD in the form of Ian Shaw as we ate lunch.
One thing that Steve commented on was the general silence of vinyl played on my SME Model 20 mk1, Graham Phantom, Ortofon 7500 cartridge combination. I joked about there being no record cleaning machine used.... Perhaps the stylus profile of this cart (and others I use) make this less critical than using more vintage cartridges, who's stylus profile, maybe make them more sensitive to dirt in the grooves ? Neither of us were sure about this, but regardless very little noise was heard during any of the albums played..
After lunch I asked Steve if he wanted to hear my upstairs setup, he did, so we ventured upstairs to the tiny room in which my second system lives. This time we listened to CD through the AMR CD77 and a Marantz CD7 using a CD copy of Dead Can Dance. After playing The Carnival is Over twice, once on both ,machines. Steve, like me preferred the AMR CD 77's rendering of this track. Like the down stairs system this one was also not quite as I normally have it. The BatVK300SE integrated amp is usually used as a pre-amplifier with a Music Reference RM200 but this is waiting repair; so the Bat was used as an integrated.
Upstairs system as it was during Steve's visit. I think these photos illustrate just how small this room is.
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While listening upstairs I asked Steve whether he thought my upstairs set up was like my downstairs one (a comment made by someone else on a previous visit) ...after thinking about it he said he felt it was. I explained to him the history of the room and how it was to have been my main listening room but that I had abandoned it as such when I had been unable to get the sound right. After setting up a system downstairs I had finally and more recently returned my attention to the tiny upstairs room (it would have been a shame if this room had become an unused audio store room, rather than a used listening room) and with the Ref 3A Dulcets speakers in that room the sound had finally begun to work, in my opinion as well as downstairs but with differences. Steve was impressed with the Dulcetes and the fact that they offered such a good sound from relatively small boxes. He likes speakers that do not use cross-overs (the Dulcetes have none). The amazing thing overall he felt was that it was possible to have fantastic sound in a tiny room. While there is a lack of weight and scale compared to the downstairs set up, in the upstairs room, the compromises are not as great as might be at first thought....this pleased me...success.
Back downstairs I played Tori Amos first album (not Little Earthquakes) but Y Kant Tori Read, an album Steve had never heard. I love this slice of late 80's AOR,Power Pop, Prog Rock...I don't understand why Tori doesn't ....oh well. Despite a little compression on the recording the sound was excellent and Tori's distinctive vocal style shone through. After this I played Yello-One Second again on vinyl.
Where does the time go ? Having along journey back home Steve left leaving me happy at having invited him down and in his opinions (which he will no doubt share on this thread) about both of my systems and how they sounded. It is nice to be able to share, knowledge, experience and passion for audio in person rather than over the Internet. I encourage all of you to do this yourselves and if you do it already, do it more....great stuff, let the community grow in the real world as much as it has in the virtual.
Regards D S D L
What has happened to Steve...
Haha, *only* on AOS! :lol:
Anyway, I'm glad you guys had a good time, but I'm a bit worried that Steve hasn't 'emerged' yet...
Has Daphne (a.k.a 'Neil') locked him in her secret dungeon where he's being subjected to unspeakable things, like sniffing the contents of Daphne's dirty laundry basket and shnortling the aromatic tang of lightly-widdled bloomers, or is he still recovering from the psychological trauma of witnessing the (unforgettable) sight of Daphne in full flow shimmying around in her flannelette nightie to Boney M?
The plot thickens...
Marco.
