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Post by petea on Mar 28, 2019 12:50:06 GMT
Martin suggested it might be useful to set up a blog thread as a way of documenting the evolution of my systems and it seems like a great idea, so here goes.
As many of you will have worked out, I live partly in the UK and partly in Germany and, consequently, have two systems; a relatively well established one in the UK, the history of which is described in my original intro. post and is heavily constrained by the geometry of the room, and a more 'experimental' system in my studio in Germany where I can swap things around at will and don't have to bother with 'living' with it as much.
It might be useful to go back to the beginning and so I will repeat / expand some of what is in the intro. post first.
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Post by ChrisB on Mar 28, 2019 14:00:13 GMT
Great, looking forward to it!
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Post by petea on Mar 28, 2019 14:02:51 GMT
Evolution and History of the UK System
It all started in my teens with a Fidelity record player (saved up for and bought from Woolies! - sorry, I no longer have it!  ). I added a Sony direct drive deck to that with a battery powered 'phono-stage' about 9 months later to stop my few precious albums getting trashed (I see they are back in fashion - battery phono-stages that is, although maybe sightly more up-market than the one I had!). A year later saw the purchase of a JVC amplifier (can't remember the model but a friend of mine is still using it with the deck and the speakers I added later), but the plastic speakers that formed the lid of the Fidelity unit were to stay for another 2 years (it's amazing what you can get used to!). Eventually though I had enough spare cash to buy some S/H speakers from a friend - Goodman Magnums (handy as corner tables too!). At last though I got a decent job and, once the mortgage rate had dropped from about 15%, I decided it was time to change a few things. Enter Reading Hi-Fi (then independent, now part of the Audio-T group), where I bought my first real deck, a Rega Planar 3 with RB250 / Corus Blue. I had this until about 5 years ago, but fitted with a Rega Elys; I sold it to a friend and he is still using it. A year later I went back and auditioned amplifiers and came away with an Onix OA21S and fell in love with the Rega Ela speakers (which I couldn't afford at the time). About a year later, after finding that I could no longer get the latest releases I wanted on vinyl, I was forced to purchase one of those new fangled CD player things. So, back to Reading Hi-Fi I went and, after finding that I needed to stretch my budget somewhat to achieve the sound of the Rega Planar 3, I ended up buying a Meridian 206B (and the long lusted after Rega Ela's). This with Exposure speaker leads and Audioquest interconnects served me well for the following 20 years (along with a wall mount for the deck and a self-made stand and the odd spot of Sorbothane)! As you will have guessed, I live near Reading - well, at least half of the time. The other half, I live in Postdam, Germany and that's where the trouble started!! My system in the UK was stored away for about 6 years while the house was being 're-sculpted', shall we say. After an operation in the spring of 2000, when I was trapped in the UK, I dug the system out, set it up and started to play music on it (rather than the computer at work). Then I realised that I really needed to do something about the Sony system we had as a temporary measure in Potsdam. No problem, I thought, I'll just buy the same again second hand and then I'll have two identical systems! Well, I guess you all know how hard it is to find a secondhand Onix amp and the Meridian seemed somewhat elusive and I didn't fancy shipping Ela's. So I decided that a pair of Rega Kytes would do nicely for Potsdam (where the living room is smaller) and I could take the 206B and the OA21S over and replace these. So a Meridian 200/263 was acquired for the UK along with an Exposure XI/XII Super VIII combo (as I couldn't track down an Onix and I had good memories of the Exposure integrated amplifiers form the early 90s). But, then an Onix OA24/401 combo came up on eBay and I just couldn't resist (I guess I don't need to explain). And then there was a need for more cables (Siltech Stockholm for transport to DAC and New York for DAC to amp - I had a spare set of Exposure speaker cables from a house move 17 years ago) and a few mains cables (Isomain Silver from Isokinetic at that time). However, the problem with the Exposure amps compared with the Onix was that the base lacked extension on my system and it was all a bit 'transistory' for my liking and so I bought a pair of Meridian 205's to 'warm' the sound up. But then of course the OA24/401 came along and, as I'd got the 205s I thought, well, let's see. And you know, they are almost identical in sound quality to the 401, but have a bit more oomph. So the 401 acted as the power supply to the OA24 until I found SOAP PSU for it. So now all was rosy except that I was planning to tweak the Rega Planar. However, the other guy at Audio-T in Reading said it would be a good idea to review my CD system as well as I'd be blown away by the new stuff and to have a look at Naim. So I did, but was underwhelmed to say the least. And then I came across a Lector CD player / DAC. And even worse, I borrowed one. Well I wasn't blown away (it's amazing how well the Meridian stands up against modern digital - 8 years later it still does!), but it just did more of what the Meridian / Onix combo did best. So I ended up with a Lector Digidrive and Digicode 2.24 (since upgraded by Lector) as a digital source and I started to think about what to do with the turntable. During the turntable review process I became very interested in what Well Tempered were doing and went to audition one at Phonography as was, near Winchester (now Winchester HiFi in Winchester). To be honest it left me cold, but I was very taken by a modified Linn LP12 that belonged to Phil at Phonography and asked them to build me one the same, which they did. That started as a late 80s LP12 with a Kahn top plate and aKula sub-chassis from Tiger Paw, a Funk F.X-R II tonearm and a Dynavector DV XXII Mk 2 cartridge and a Hercules PSU. It still has the aKula and Funk arm but now has the Karmen top plate from Tangerine, a Linn interconnect to a Linn UphoriK phono-stage and a Linn Radikal PSU / speed controller, the Linn solid baseplate and a Dynavector Dv DRT XV-1s cartridge (after the XXII wore out) and a modern arm board and a Funk Acromat. The arm is fitted with an offset, heavier counterweight to help accommodate the height / weight of the cartridge and the dust lid (off when in use). The change from the Kahn top plate to the Karmen was interesting and was driven by the decision to change the motor / controller (the switch is different). On its own it would be quite difficult to justify, but it did affect the staging in a subtle, but positive way. And Andy at Winchester HiFi managed to sell the Kahn on for me which offset the cost a bit. The biggest change though was made by the motor / controller upgrade which really transforms an LP12. The cable and base plate came later and brought subtle improvements with them. The next biggest change came with the replacement of the Dynavector DV XXII Mk 2 cartridge for a Dynavector Dv DRT XV-1s which is an incredibly revealing and musical cartridge with phenomenally low surface noise. I bought the UphoriK at the same time after becoming frustrated at the non-appearance of the 'big' phonostage from Attwood. I had the Concert phonostage from them which matches the Dynavector DV XXII Mk 2 cartridge perfectly and bought their large PSU in anticipation of their new, top-end phonostage - it still hasn't gone beyond the prototype. Back in the system though the Dynavector Dv DRT XV-1s performed Ok with the UphoniK set up for a Dynavector DV XXII Mk 2, but was more dynamic with the Attwood, but still not right. Fiddling with the dip-switches on the UphoriK changed things, but I couldn't get a 'corretc' match and, as they are under the case, it was a pain to do. Searching on forums etc gave some suggestions, all of which proved to be wrong. However, I eventually came across someone asking the same question (and getting the same useless suggestions), but who then stumbled on a combination that worked well. I then made a further change that improved things more and they came to another one that seems to be ideal for the combination and that is where it sits today. For reference the settings are: 47 pF and 42 Ohms The final change to the setup at this time was the addition of a Townshend Seismic Platform which brought with it a fairly dramatic extension to the bass and improved resolution making the deck even more 'musical' than it was. The overal system configuration at this time was: Mains conditioningIsotek Sigmas (X2) for sources etc Isotek Titan for power amplifiers Isotek and Isomain Silver from Isokinetic Source Components Digital Lector Digidrive III / Lector Digicode 2.24 (connected using the Lector Digilink cable) Analogue Late 80s Linn LP12 with a Tangerine Audio top plate and Tiger Paw aKula sub-chassis and modern Linn arm board plus Linn solid base and a Funk Acromat. A Funk F.X-R II arm (with an ISOkinetik ISOweight counter-weight - mainly to accommodate the height and weight of the cartridge) and a Dynavector DV DRT XV-1s cartridge. The arm to Linn Uphorik phono-stage cable is by Linn (sounded the best) and the DC motor is controlled by the Linn Radikal PSU / controller. All source to pre-amplifier cables were Siltech New York except for the Phonostage to pre-amp. which was made by Phonography based on professional microphone leads. The LP12, NDX2, Digidrive and Digicode sit on Townsend Seismic Sink Platforms. Amplification
Pre-amplifierOnix OA24 plus SOAP PSU Power amplifiersRe-capped Meridian 205 monoblocks. Cables from the pre-amplifier to the power amplifiers were Siltech New York (RCA). SpeakersLate 80s Rega Ela transmission line speakers (the Mk 1.25 versions with 3 point feet and Royd / Scanspeak drivers - apart from the cross-overs and feet, these are identical to Royd Apex speakers). Townshend Supertweeters (setting 2)
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Post by petea on Mar 28, 2019 14:21:35 GMT
UK System Cable Changes 1
As described above, the main interconnects were Siltech New York, but the phono-stage to pre-amplifier were pro-microphone cables and I always felt they were somewhat wanting, but the length I needed presented issues. The New Yorks were no longer made and I started looking around for an alternative. I'd read very positive things about the Townshend DCT300 cables, but didn't know anyone with them, but a 2m pair came up on eBay and so I decided to give them a try. What an incredibly transparent cable they proved to be and the improvement to base extension and staging was nothing short of dramatic. However, 2 m was not long enough due to the geometry of the room. So, I ordered a 3 m pair and tried the 2m ones from the DAC to the pre-amplifier in place of the New Yorks. Again, an improvement in staging resulted along with a significant extension to bass. Mind, they are not very flexible and when space is tight it is difficult to stop them kinking at the connectors. I also bought a 1 m pair to go from pre to power amplifiers which brought a small, but worthwhile improvement, especially in bass.
A while after this change I also switched my mains cables to Furutech-based ones from MCrU which lifted clarity and extended bass even further.
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Post by petea on Mar 28, 2019 15:30:36 GMT
UK System - Addition of StreamingThe decision to add streaming as a source in the UK was driven by having gone down that route in Germany. There I had installed a CD player only and I decided to rid the apartment of CDs by ripping them to a NAS and serving them to something from there, initially a MacBook Pro. I knew that Andy at Winchester HiFi was very 'into' streaming and so decided to see what was on offer. Although I am generally not a huge fan of Naim I was impressed by the sorted nature of their NDX streamer and as he was selling his demonstrator to make way for the NDX2 I snapped it up. Installed in Germany it proved to be a good platform and peaked my interest. My primary sources in the UK are vinyl and CD, but I am drowning in CDs and can never find what I'm looking for (Martin has seen why!). So I decided that it would be sensible to start to rip the CDs to a NAS and serve them in the UK and only keep my favourites out to play via the Lector. It also meant I could limit the buying of random CDs by using Tidal to try and stream 'non-essential' stuff. With good experience with the NDX I decided to go with the NDX2 as a streamer. Having decided that streaming would be my major source in Germany I started to look at how to optimise it and that is how I came across both Teddy Pardo and AQVox. TP PSUs have a good reputation for exceeding the performance of the Naim offerings and at a significantly lower price, but they need to be ordered directly from him in Israel and so are not so well known in the UK. I decided to give them a go and at the same time I thought I'd try one of his DACs. Both proved to be wise choices and the PSU lifted the performance of the NDX by a huge margin and the TP DAC left the one in the NDX for dead! I also then added an AQVox Switch SE and cables which yielded even more benefits. And so I replicated this in the UK, converting a nice compact NDX2 into a 3 box system!  The DAC in the NDX2 is a better performer than in the NDX, but the TP is still a step up and I bought the version with both S/PDIF and USB (which proved a wise choice). I'd also by this time started to buy some source material as high resolution downloads from HiResAudio.com. So the UK system now contained a streamer with PSU and DAC to accommodate. This meant my Onix Tuner and SOAP going into storage (the NDX2 has VTuner built in) to make space and the purchase of another 3 m DCT300 interconnect. Initially I was streaming either from Tidal or a Synology NAS through the NDX2 / TP DAC, however, I started to get interested in what a dedicated music server would bring to the setup. I attended an evening at Winchester HiFi that showcased the new systems from Melco. Although somewhat overlong in presentation and short of real music it filled a lot of gaps in. Further research followed and information from David at MCrU led me to explore the Fidata system as well and this is the route I eventually decided to go down and I purchased a Fidata HFAS1-XS20U. One of the main things that the dedicated servers seem to bring to the mix is the isolation of the external network from the part that serves the data to the streamer / renderer one is using. However, most of this can be achieved by using a solution like that provided by AQVox it seems. Having said that, there is a small difference between using a good NAS plus something like the AQVox switch and the music server, mainly it seems in improvements in fine detail in vocals from a dedicated server. What is more interesting in some ways though is access to a USB renderer in the server itself (Melco offers a similar solution - I have not done a side-by-side, but I believe David has and the Fidata seems to have the edge) and so you can 'stream' directly from the server to a DAC over USB using a dedicated app (which is a bit flaky: as they all are it seems to me!). This gives a significant uplift in sound quality over streaming via the NDX2 (which is now used for Tidal, VTuner, handling the few DSD files I have and acting as an analogue output to a headphone amplifier (I'll come back to that in the 'Amplifiers Episode'!). One of the interesting things the current setup allows is to make some comparisons as one can: Stream from NAS to NDX2 and render either using the internal DAC or an external one connected by S/PDIF. Stream from the Fidata server to the NDX2 and render either using the internal DAC or an external one connected by S/PDIF. Stream from the NAS and render using the Fidata server over USB to a DAC. Stream and render using the Fidata server over USB to a DAC. And of course you can swap your DACs around and I have the TP one and a Lab12 to choose between - the Lector one is dedicated to CD (but they do make one that will handle up to 192 KHz 24 bit files!). I'll come back to this and some comparison is given in Martin's post following his visit.
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Post by MartinT on Mar 28, 2019 15:53:46 GMT
I thought your Lector CD transport and DAC a very good combination and it's not a brand I've come across before.
Your Linn turntable is most un-Linn like and sounds all the better for it! I suspect some of that is to do with the Funk arm although you've made a lot of changes to it.
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Post by petea on Mar 28, 2019 16:42:14 GMT
Thanks, Martin. You may well be right and I certainly prefer the Funk to the Linn arms I have heard, but as you say, the deck is pretty far away from a standard LP12 in general. I was very impressed by how musical the one that Phil had put together was - he was at Rega for many years before going it alone and certainly knew how to get the most out of most turntables, retired now though.
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Post by petea on Mar 28, 2019 18:38:43 GMT
UK System - Amplification
As mentioned in the second post, the UK system settled for a fair while with an Onix OA24 + SOAP PSU and Meridian 205 monoblock power amplifiers. The latter were re-capped with new units supplied by Meridian a few years back after one failed. The interconnects were initially Siltech New Yorks, but were changed to Townshend DCT 300 ones. After starting to use Townshend cables I kept coming across effusive reviews of the Townshend Allegri autotransformer pre-amplifier. I was curious and managed to find an ex demonstration Allegri+ for a very reasonable price and decided to give it go. I flipped between it and the Onix for a few weeks, but in the end it won out on sheer detail, transparency and a bit of extra bass. At first I thought it wasn't as 'musical', but in the end I concluded that was an illusion created by the extra detail.
The Allegri is a pretty small, though deep, unit with 6 inputs (one replicated on the front on the Allegri+) and is named after a rather special recording made for Max by a friend. It is incredibly transparent and revealing, but has no frills like a remote control, no balanced inputs and the steps in volume are relatively large (although I do not find that to be much of an issue in practice). It is also passive of course. As mentioned, the case is quite small and the connectors at the rear are closely spaced which makes fitting the DCT 3300 cables with their locking RCAs something of a challenge which is why I tend to use channels 1, 3 and 5 for my source inputs rather than 1, 2, 3. This little amplifier really has grown on me and when I heard that Max was launching a new, more featured unit, the Enigma, I ordered one.
I received one of the first production Enigmas and Max did have to get it back to rectify a last-minute change that he'd made and tweak it a bit, but it is a marvellous unit and he brought the final version over himself to hear it in another system. Although it is still a passive, auto-transformer amplifier it has a power supply! This is used to power some relays associated with the internal gain switches and a stepper motor that changes volume mechanically. It also powers a very good headphone amplifier. There are also significantly more volume steps and all-in-all it is one fantastic bit of kit. So why do I have an Allegri+ in the UK system and not the Enigma? That is because in my system the soundstage and some detail is a tiny bit 'better' with the Allegri. If I'd been comparing it with the Onix (or many other pre-amplifiers) there would have been no reason not to keep the Enigma in the system, but I wasn't. And so the Enigma will end up in the German system: it was supposed to be the other way round!
It is because I decided to use the Allegri+ in the UK that I now have a headphone amplifier in the system (this was also destined for Germany) and, because I don't often listen using headphones, I stream straight from the analogue output of the NDX2.
So, now I was using the Allegri+ to feed the Meridian monoblocks which sounded pretty good, but, you now how it is, I got curious and Teddy Pardo did make some rather nice monos as well. A pair of these mysteriously appeared in my living room one day and so I thought I'd better try them in the system! Unfortunately they oscillate with the Allegri although it is a mystery to both Teddy and Max as to why as they appear compatible, on paper at least. So out they came and a friend is now using them with my old Onix pre / SOAP.
As you know, I have a Lector CDP and DAC and have always been mightily impressed by them and have long been curious about their amplifiers (I nearly bought one of their phonostages at one point, but couldn't face trying to match it to the cartridge), but they are hard to find in the UK, even from the distributer. However, I recently found an ex-display one of their hybrid valve / MOSFET power amplifiers for sale at a dealer in Italy for a good price. The usual to and fro between Meridian and Lector took place but in the end, the sheer naturalness of the Lector won out and it seems a very good match for the Allegri+. The problem though was how to fit it into the rack and that started off another project which I shall come to soon.
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Post by petea on Mar 28, 2019 19:25:21 GMT
UK System Cable Changes 2
Analogue Interconnects
As I mentioned above, I switched most interconnects from Siltech New York to Towshend DCT300 a while back. Not long after purchasing the Allegri+ though I found a secondhand pair of Townshend F1 Fractals for sale on eBay and decided to give them a try. I used them between the pre- and power amplifiers and found them to give a similar lift as the DCT300s had, but more so, especially in the bass again. Inevitably I then bought a pair to go from the Lector DAC to Allegri+ giving a similar benefit. And, biting the bullet, I have done the same with the phonostage and TP DAC to Allegri+, partly to try and resolve the difference I could hear between the Enigma and the Allegri+ (and this did appear to help). Anyway, the system in the UK is now all Fractal interconnects and I'm not anticipating any changes.
Digital Interconnects
When I first decided to use an external DAC for the NDX2 I used an elderly Chord cable that I had lying around. In Germany I was using a DCT300 one and I had ordered a BNC to RCA open for the UK, but it hadn't arrived. I'd also ordered one from Teddy Pardo with some other bits as well as one from AQVox. Once the system had settled down / burned in I did a bit of comparison and this certainly revealed some pretty big differences. At the bottom end sat the Chord whereas the Teddy Pardo (an unscreened solid design like the Chord) and the Townsend were very similar with the TP giving a slightly 'smoother' and can I say 'more analogue' presentation than the Townshend which rendered a tiny bit more detail and 'sparkle'. However, ahead by a significant margin was the AQVox Blaze BNC to RCA cable - a wonderfully natural while detailed presentation.
The other digital comparison that I have made has been between a Teddy Pardo USB cable and one from AQVox. Again, they have very different designs with the TP being unscreened, rigid and minimalist whereas the AQVox one is screened and very robust and performs significantly better creating a presentation similar to their coax cable. I have been very impressed by the AQVox gear, including their network cables. Again, I am not anticipating making any changes to the digital cabling in the system.
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Post by MartinT on Mar 29, 2019 7:12:36 GMT
I remember your description of the Fractals as 'more of everything' compared with the DCTs which have impressed me a lot.
I guess that replacing my XLR balanced set from DCT to Fractals should be a no-brainer and will require an opportunistic find on the used market.
However, replacing my single-ended Black Cat Airwave 3202 would be a shot in the dark as I have no idea which would win that battle. I need to borrow some to try out. I'll get to that some way down the line.
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Post by petea on Mar 29, 2019 8:35:06 GMT
What configuration is that interconnect, Martin? Analogue or digital?
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Post by MartinT on Mar 29, 2019 9:12:31 GMT
Sorry, it's analogue and the run from preamp to power amp (which sadly does not have balanced inputs).
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Post by petea on Mar 29, 2019 9:31:42 GMT
I have a pair of DCT300s you can try if you like.
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Post by MartinT on Mar 29, 2019 10:39:18 GMT
Thanks, Pete. How about if you bring them with you when you come over?
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Post by petea on Mar 29, 2019 12:14:56 GMT
If I can make the date then I will. Hopefully I can though.
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Post by petea on Mar 29, 2019 16:09:05 GMT
UK System Speaker Cables
I mentioned before I am using some 'vintage' Exposure cables that I bought back when I bought the Elas in about 1989. I have tried all sorts of alternatives over the years, but so far nothing has displaced them, although Townshend Isolda cables have come close. I use Isolda cables in Germany (although I recently took some old Exposure ones over to experiment with, but have yet to try them out as they need re-terminating) and have a couple of sets in the UK. A few days ago I fished them out and left them in the system for a few days to try and work out what I like / dislike about the Exposure and Isoldas.
The exposure cables seem to project the soundstage further away from you and gives a very good image (this is the presentation you heard, Martin). The downside is that I sometimes think I can hear a shimmer (sort of almost a very subtle harshness) on the 'edge' of some female vocals. That is absent with the Isolda but the presentation is more forward and slightly less airy and the fine detail is presented in a slightly different way. The soundstage also seems to be slightly less focussed and I think that is where personal taste comes into it and certainly Max's system projects more than presents. Interestingly I find the best Supertweeter setting with the Exposure cables to be 2 whereas the Isolda need at least 3 and even at 4 there is no ‘harshness’. Interesting and frustrating in equal measures! If only it easier to swap the cables over! Overall I think I prefer the sound of the Isolada, but prefer the staging of the Exposure ones and that keeps tending win out. If my room geometry was other than it is and I could move the seating further from the speakers and move the speakers closer to each other it is likely that this would tip the balance to the Isoldas, but I can't.
I'm hoping to try a set of Townshend Fractal speaker cables in the near future and I will certainly report back on that if / when it happens.
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 29, 2019 16:11:29 GMT
I had Exposure speaker cables for a long time
Had to do sme serious upgrading to beat them
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Post by petea on Mar 29, 2019 16:13:08 GMT
What did you migrate to, Mike?
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 29, 2019 16:25:29 GMT
Big changes all over buried in my blog a year and a bit ago I think
Broadly:
My then Chord power amp against Belles Monos no difference heard.
Tony thought the Isobariks and cable were holding the rest of the system back
So it proved.
Ended up with Coherent speaker cable and TAD E1s.
The Exposure is very good VFM
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Post by petea on Mar 29, 2019 17:10:57 GMT
I wonder if they change Exposure cable over the years. Mine is from '89, but I think they started making it again at some point didn't they?
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). I added a Sony direct drive deck to that with a battery powered 'phono-stage' about 9 months later to stop my few precious albums getting trashed (I see they are back in fashion - battery phono-stages that is, although maybe sightly more up-market than the one I had!). A year later saw the purchase of a JVC amplifier (can't remember the model but a friend of mine is still using it with the deck and the speakers I added later), but the plastic speakers that formed the lid of the Fidelity unit were to stay for another 2 years (it's amazing what you can get used to!). Eventually though I had enough spare cash to buy some S/H speakers from a friend - Goodman Magnums (handy as corner tables too!). At last though I got a decent job and, once the mortgage rate had dropped from about 15%, I decided it was time to change a few things.
The DAC in the NDX2 is a better performer than in the NDX, but the TP is still a step up and I bought the version with both S/PDIF and USB (which proved a wise choice). I'd also by this time started to buy some source material as high resolution downloads from HiResAudio.com.
