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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 25, 2016 16:46:51 GMT
Jump to near present day and what happened recently....
Martin T changed his Chord SPM1200E, exactly what I have, for a Belles Power Amp
Tony C had these interesting Belles Monoblocks. Seemed a good move to have a listen to these Belles, especially as they were 2nd user and so discounted.
The sound was not what I expected.
Could not tell the difference. Baffled. Called in reinforcement ears.
Confirmed. No difference.
Puzzled I told Tony and he agreed no difference.
Different tack required.
In came the Quadral Aurum Montans as mentioned elsewhere
Compared to the Isobariks.
Better in most ways but certainly not worth shelling out for.
Tony came back with his Coherent speaker cable, plugged it in, ah now that is better.
Then he plugged in the magic, floating Townshend speaker stands.
Better still by some margin. Oh yes like that.
Now plug Belles power amps to replace the Chord - oh yes, step up
Belles Pre amp surely cannot see off the Pass Pre I have.
Oh yes it can
Next visit in came the magic Coherent mains socket. Still cannot believe a mains socket can make that amount of difference. Yes please, I'll definitely have that !
The next shock was even greater
Coherent jumper cables to replace the standard Montan.
Stunning. 2 pieces of cable only being used as jumpers. The difference is not believable. Crazy uplift in performance.
So there we are chatting and Tony mentions customers with expensive systems.
Of course - I say - the law of diminishing returns kicks in there big time doesn't it ?
What rough guide to sound quality improvement might there be ? I asked (what a fool I am !)
About 200% better than what you have now he said.
My brain jammed.
Hang on this is not possible.
We all know if you spend a load of money you can only get 10% - 15% improvement. That is common knowledge !
What might this 200% sound like ? I think as the improvements heard so far have been major steps up
Tony brings in the TAD E-1s
Ok my mind is struggling to get this. Big improvement again.
These are keepers and they are now mine.
Oh nearly forgot. The Creaktiv rack. Another nice jump in sound quality.
So now I know I will be selling the Chord SPM1200E, Pass Pre, Isobariks and Mana racks as I have sound quality I am not giving up.
I thought I was going for power amps.....
By the by my ear brain interface has changed.
I turn up the volume so it is *loud* but this isn't the 'loud' I have ever heard before.
Something is missing
My guess ? distortion that I haven't been aware of before.
That is currently where the system sits.
Tuesday Tony has some more boxes for me to try out...... more after that if I can tear myself away from the music
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Post by MikeMusic on Aug 19, 2016 11:06:26 GMT
Lots going on since June with Tony kindly supplying various items to try out.
Full TAD setup
D600 CD Player
C2000 Pre Amplifier
M2500 Power Amplifier
to complement the TAD E-1s sounded very good indeed.
Probably the best system I've ever hear, certainly in my house.
A massive decision to make and one I spent a lot of time on. Superb sound v's huge amount of money.....
Testing my aural memory over following days was one and I thought the Belles were close, very close if you compared on the following days.
Compared Yannis Tome cables to Coherent cables and at one point it had to be Yannis for sheer value for money and little difference in sound quality. Coherent in place and replaced by Yannis. Really little difference.
Comparing again. Yannis cables in place and replacing with Coherent one by one, first interconnect from CD to Pre amp then Pre to Power then speaker cables opened up the sound surprisingly well each time. Had to be the Coherent.
Last comparison to make
Tony supplied a TAD D1000 CD player to compare to the Isis I have.
Very happy to try the little brother to the top end TAD, but the Isis wasn't a long way off for me and a lot less dough.
Many hours of listening and all the decisions have been made, I need a comparison rest !
Existing kit to stay
PS Audio P10 - a vital part of the system.
Coherent 6D mains cables, brought in late last year
Isis CD player
Technics SL1200, VIDA Phone Pre.
New
Coherent Mains socket - a must for everyone
Creaktiv rack. Mana racks, sound bases and reference tops now for sale. Sound quality v's large amount of money and great VFM from the Mana.
Belles VT-01 Mk II Pre Amp to replace Pass Labs XP-20 - now for sale !
Belles MB200 Monoblock Power amps. Chord SPM1200E to be taken by Tony, see it on the Coherent site soon and grab a bargain.
TAD E-1 speakers as mentioned above sitting on Townshend wobbly stands with the unbelievably good Coherent jumpers.
My long lasting and superb Isobariks for sale.
Coherent speaker cables to replace the Exposure, Naim clone but a better performer than the NACA5.
Coherent interconnects to replace the superb value for money Yannis Tome cables
Thought I'd done then I noticed the mains cable to P10 was too tight for my own comfort so I swapped it with one of the Belles Monos.
P10 from Mana to Creaktiv, one Belles Mono to Mana.
Did a quick sound check before, not expecting much.
Lot of work on a hot evening to the Creaktiv, but was it worth it. Another surprising step up in sound quality
Racks do make a difference. Mana is a great place to start. If the pocket allows Creaktiv a nice step up
Now for lots and lots of listening to favourite albums
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Post by MartinT on Aug 19, 2016 11:51:04 GMT
Lot of work there, Mike. I hate making big changes, always feel I'm disturbing the status quo. Sometimes get a pleasant surprise, more often not.
Well done and I'm sure you'll enjoy forgetting the hardware and getting back to the music.
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Post by MikeMusic on Aug 19, 2016 17:06:44 GMT
Too much, but after hearing the TAD E-1s I was intrigued
I've certainly had enough of comparing kit and thanks to Tony for his patience and the loan of all that gear.
Many visits
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Post by John on Aug 20, 2016 18:12:40 GMT
Mike was kind enough to let me come over to hear his system.
First of all the impression is a really balanced system. That has a very good soundstage and lots of bass without any over hang getting in the way of the mid and treble. Jeff Beck Nadia sounding very good
Mike played a lot of his favourite music and we had a good talk about music. A lot of the music was unfamilar to me but thats a good thing.
Thanks very much I can see why you are pleased wth your system
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Post by MikeMusic on Aug 21, 2016 8:06:39 GMT
Good to see you again John.
I've been demonstrating to many people in the past few weeks, just stopping short of dragging people walking past !
Most are stunned at the sound quality.
Yesterday reinforced for me what a great sound I have now with the variety of tracks played, most not heard on this system. Must listen to more music
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Post by MartinT on Aug 21, 2016 18:34:17 GMT
I must come round, Mike, but things have been very busy of late.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2016 23:30:01 GMT
Looks like not a lot has changed since I heard the system last time I came over, other than your obvious testing of the TAD equipment. The Belles are something quite special, i liked them a lot and was just amazed at how good they were with the TAD speakers.
I for one believe your system was sounding rather magnificent and you should be proud of what you have achieved from the respective minimal outlay.
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Post by MikeMusic on Aug 22, 2016 9:36:07 GMT
I must come round, Mike, but things have been very busy of late. Happy for an weekend or a quick after work visit ! |
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Post by MikeMusic on Aug 22, 2016 9:37:53 GMT
Looks like not a lot has changed since I heard the system last time I came over, other than your obvious testing of the TAD equipment. The Belles are something quite special, i liked them a lot and was just amazed at how good they were with the TAD speakers. I for one believe your system was sounding rather magnificent and you should be proud of what you have achieved from the respective minimal outlay. Think it is much the same, some minor tweaks. The P10 onto the Creaktiv rack was a very pleasant surprise |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2016 11:04:03 GMT
Yes when I came over last, the Isis was the only thing on the Creaktiv rack - the rest of the equipment was on the Mana.
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Post by MikeMusic on Aug 25, 2016 15:32:47 GMT
Watching
Only Connect the other night.
Recorded on Tivo, RCA out to Belles Pre Amp
Some very deep bass in the sig tune took us very much by surprise.
2nd Creaktiv rack with me soon. Assume the system will take a big step up.
Really worth having a play with if Tony will let you borrow one !
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Post by MikeMusic on Sept 7, 2016 16:27:09 GMT
Sunday test around 11.30am with Technics 1210 and one Belles Mono sitting on Mana.
Creaktiv rack arrived with Tony doing the honours.
Second test around 5pm (so don't hold me to it !) with both on the new Creaktiv rack.
More detail in the guitar and vocals, slightly more airiness in the playing. Nicer sound.
Also moved one Isobarik away from next to where the Mana rack was.
Both Creaktiv racks all black. Looking good and sounding good
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Post by MikeMusic on Sept 12, 2016 15:03:38 GMT
Smal shuffle yesterday.
left hand Isobarik out of the way, Mana rack with TiVo and Freeview and other bits over a bit to take the Iso slot.
No difference heard so I assume the previous improvement all down to the Creaktiv ...
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Post by ChrisB on Sept 12, 2016 18:48:33 GMT
Have you lost your camera Mike? Pictures old chap, we need pictures!
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Post by MikeMusic on Sept 12, 2016 19:39:08 GMT
My usual reticence with camera is being helped along by the broadband problems I am having.
Uploading photos is unlikely to be successful anytime soon.
I will take some and have them ready for when I can upload
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Post by John on Oct 23, 2016 17:15:44 GMT
Had another visit to Mike on Tuesday
A few subtle changes to the last session
New rack and Mike has removed the Isobareks
Result the speakers have disappeared more I am used to hearing big speakers that I can always place in the room. This has become a lot more harder, maybe due to the changes or the drivers breaking in a bit more.
This time I chose more of the music
Mike has a really well balanced system its not the last word in dynamics but gives a lot of enjoyment
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 12, 2016 12:56:28 GMT
Shuffling furniture around and generally rearranging I found myself about 4-5 feet back on my normal seat.
"Hmm sounds good" I thought
Experiment today seems to say it is different rather than better.
More to come
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 13, 2016 12:57:05 GMT
Test last night
System sounds good with the chair right back.
Sounds better where I normally have it though.
This is more or less me and the speakers forming an equilateral triangle with some toe in.
When I have some helping hands I will try some other adjustments
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Post by MartinT on Nov 13, 2016 13:14:23 GMT
I have ended up with my speakers slightly wider than equilateral, and me listening from further back than I used to. It's a good compromise between soundstage and dynamics with both better than I used to have. I shall do some measurements in due course as many people ask about speaker placement.
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