Vinoholic Posted June 14, 2017 Posted June 14, 2017 (edited) I have become increasingly serious about hi-fi over the last 2 – 3 years. I lurk a bit around SNA and am in awe of the experience, knowledge, and many fabulous systems of other SNA members. Earlier this year I moved to Singapore where I intended to upgrade my speakers. However, I contracted a severe case of upgraditis and have since replaced almost every component and cable that I owned. This is now where I am at. Current environment. Prior to moving here, I had a dedicated listening room with DIY room treatments. As I improved the room, the differences were far from subtle. Now my system is in a large, open space with a lot of hard surfaces (glass, concrete and tiles). We are renting, and need to maintain a reasonably formal space so this constrains what I can do in terms of room treatments. I try to mitigate this by placing large cushions and doonas over primary reflection points and keeping the curtains closed. It helps, but not as well as my previous (and more permanent) room treatments. Key influences. After arrival, I frequently visited The Adelphi. It was extremely useful to hear and compare so many high-end components. I initially intended to upgrade just my speakers (Paradigm Tribute Floorstanders) and was particularly interested in hearing Wilson, Avalon, Dynaudio, Raidho, Magico, Vivid Audio, and Revel. That all changed the first time I heard my first horn speaker – the Avantegarde Duo Grosso playing with a Kondo Ongaku and some other Audio Note components. I was mesmerised by how life-like the sound was and the presentation was completely different to box speakers. From that moment on, I was unable to experience the same level of excitement from conventional box speakers, even some that cost considerably more than the Avantegardes. Upgrade 1 – Avantegarde Duo Mezzo. I could not stop thinking about my experience with the Avantegarde Duo Grosso that I heard on my first day at the Adelphi, and soon after I found another pair of Mezzo’s on consignment. They were just under 3 years old, in immaculate condition, and came with some upgraded jumper cables (Kondo silver). Initially, the speakers came with standard power cables (these speakers are semi-active with 4 x 250 watt amplifiers each feeding a 12” sub) but I was later provided with some Audience ‘e’ cables (also second hand) to try. I know power cables is a very vexed subject here, but my experience was that the Audience cables made a clear difference, so they stayed. Upgrade 2 – Silbatone L-106 preamplifier. I kept hearing - and reading – that pre-amplifiers are often an unsung hero in the audio chain. I started taking more note of this and listened to some very impressive systems with good pre-amps including Silbatone - which I had never heard of prior to Singapore. The best system I have heard to date utilised G.I.P Laboratory speakers, Kronos TT, Soulution and Silbatone amplification with a combined cost of $500K). I eventually took a plunge and bought the Silbatone L-106 which is the baby of their stable, but it provides something a little bit special to my audio chain. Upgrade 3 – Audiopax Stereo 88 power amplifier. Up until this point I had an integrated tube amp (Ayon Triton II with 8 x KT120 valves) - a bit of a Class A monster and I really liked it. However, it was a push/pull and I’d been listening to – and seduced by – single end. I tried numerous options both at home and in-store including solid state monoblocks, the latter providing bass and snap that was thunderous but I often found the mids and highs to be a bit fatiguing. The Audiopax I now have is interesting – a single end pentode and some rather neat features including something called timbre lock that provides the ability to dial in and out the distortion levels. It sounds sublime with the Avantegardes. In fact, Avantegarde (US) used Audiopax for its demos/shows before they started manufacturing their own amplifiers. Upgrade 4 – Audience SEi power cables. Given I had such a good result with the Audience cables on my speakers, I opted to also use these on each of my components. In truth, I don’t know if I’d be able to pick them from other competent cables in a blind test, but they give me peace of mind, look nice, and some of the best set-ups I have heard use Audience power cables. Upgrade 5 – Audience AU 24 SX RCA. With this upgrade I broke a rule that I would never spend significant money on a single cable, but I have no regrets. I can vouch for the superior performance of this cable after doing some A/B testing with other (lower) Audience cables, and my previous $500 Van Den Hull “The Sea’ interconnects. My VDH cables provided a noticeable improvement when I first bought them 18+ months ago, but compared to the Audience they are horrible – grainy and obscuring the detail that is otherwise provided by the entire Audience range. When comparing the different Audience cables, there was a clear incremental improvement in detail and musicality going up the product line. After trialling the AU24SX at home for a few weeks, there was no way I was going to give it back. Upgrade 6 - LH Labs Geek Pulse X-fi DAC with separate LPS1 power supply. I got to take this home for a trial and compare to the in-built DAC of my QAT RS3 music server (which is the only component in my setup that I have not upgraded). The Geek Pulse is a great little value for money DAC that by passes the QAT, providing a noticeable improvement for a modest outlay. What’s next? Tube rolling Speaker cables DAC upgrade Edited February 4, 2018 by seanvb 19
Martykt Posted June 14, 2017 Posted June 14, 2017 Beautiful system @seanvb. A wonderful example of how to build a system with care and attention to detail. Pity about that tiled floor though.... ouch.... 1
Addicted to music Posted June 14, 2017 Posted June 14, 2017 37 minutes ago, Martykt said: Beautiful system @seanvb. A wonderful example of how to build a system with care and attention to detail. Pity about that tiled floor though.... ouch.... Whats wrong with the tiled floor, I love tiled floors thst one looks great.... if you're worried about reflections dress it with a rug! 2
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted June 14, 2017 Volunteer Posted June 14, 2017 That's a very fine system you've put together there @seanvb and a great write-up too. Thanks for sharing. 2
Luc Posted June 14, 2017 Posted June 14, 2017 2 minutes ago, Eggmeister said: I agree, thank you for sharing. Your supposed to be working not perving... 1
AudioGeek Posted June 14, 2017 Posted June 14, 2017 Nice one! Despite their size, those speakers just seem to blend in with the rest of the room. How loud can you get with Singapore apartment style living? 1
Qwertyqaz Posted June 14, 2017 Posted June 14, 2017 That is a beautiful system and am sure it sounds awesome too. One advise about next upgrade, the DAC. 1
Vinoholic Posted June 14, 2017 Author Posted June 14, 2017 57 minutes ago, AudioGeek said: Nice one! Despite their size, those speakers just seem to blend in with the rest of the room. How loud can you get with Singapore apartment style living? Thanks - yes they do seem to fit in, and even non-audiophile visitors like the way the look. The construction of our particular apartment block suggests that they aren't shy of concrete here. As a result I can actually get away with quite a bit, but don't have equipment to measure what that is in decibels. The main issue has been with the apartment below us, and bass being the culprit. Therefore, in the evening and night I stick to tracks that aren't too deep and punchy in the lower end and the neighbours are happy. 1
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted June 14, 2017 Volunteer Posted June 14, 2017 (edited) 44 minutes ago, Qwertyqaz said: One advise about next upgrade, the DAC. Try one of those new r2r DACs that are coming out. I think a few are easily available in Singapore (certainly more easily available than here ) oh, and you gotta have a turntable with valves and horns. It's compulsory Edited June 14, 2017 by Sir Sanders Zingmore 1
Vinoholic Posted June 14, 2017 Author Posted June 14, 2017 41 minutes ago, Qwertyqaz said: That is a beautiful system and am sure it sounds awesome too. One advise about next upgrade, the DAC. Thanks for the complement! By the time I bought the DAC I had exhausted my hi-fi budget so it did mean some compromising. As funds permit, this is definitely a part of the chain that I will improve on. But having said that, I was rather pleased with the Geek Pulse combined with the external power supply - to me it seemed to punch above it's weight. Any review or comment I've read about this DAC is that it is significantly better with the (optional) external power supply, so would be interested to hear if this is your experience as well? Could I also ask what you now use and your view of what makes it better?
Martykt Posted June 14, 2017 Posted June 14, 2017 1 hour ago, Addicted to music said: Whats wrong with the tiled floor, I love tiled floors thst one looks great.... if you're worried about reflections dress it with a rug! Nothing at all wrong with tiled floors they can be a great hardwaring surface and can look great as you say if done right. They're the last thing you'd want in an audio room though, tiles like that can do some awful things to the sound. Being a rental though throwing some rugs at it (as the OP has done) is about as good as you can do. 1
Happy Posted June 15, 2017 Posted June 15, 2017 1 hour ago, Sir Sanders Zingmore said: oh, and you gotta have a turntable with valves and horns. It's compulsory Hear hear. This should look good: 2
Vinoholic Posted June 15, 2017 Author Posted June 15, 2017 2 hours ago, Sir Sanders Zingmore said: Try one of those new r2r DACs that are coming out. I think a few are easily available in Singapore (certainly more easily available than here ) oh, and you gotta have a turntable with valves and horns. It's compulsory Thanks for the suggestion of the r2r DAC - I'll definitely keep a look out. LOL @ your comment about turntables. I have heard some wonderful turntables over here, but just not willing (yet) to take on the additional commitment needed to build and maintain a decent collection. I also appreciate the instant gratification associated with a digital library, and enjoy the challenge of sniffing out high quality 16 and 24 bit music. However, I did spend an afternoon listening to this Kronos playing with Silbatone and Magico Q7's. It was really special - I nearly turned, but there was that small issue of $$$ 3
Vinoholic Posted June 15, 2017 Author Posted June 15, 2017 This is the Avantegarde Trio that is currently set up in the Adelphi, at the same place where I heard the Duo Grosso's which got me started on my horn journey. I've dropped in a few times for a listen to this system, and it's absolutely stunning. While I haven't bought from this store, they are considerably more welcoming than some of the other 'by appopintment only' retailers throughout the centre. 1
Vinoholic Posted June 15, 2017 Author Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Happy said: What's the big centre horn looking thingy? That's the subs and it's part of the same speaker system. They are modular, so you can add to them, like this one.... Edited June 15, 2017 by seanvb Added photo 5
Qwertyqaz Posted June 15, 2017 Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, seanvb said: Thanks for the complement! By the time I bought the DAC I had exhausted my hi-fi budget so it did mean some compromising. As funds permit, this is definitely a part of the chain that I will improve on. But having said that, I was rather pleased with the Geek Pulse combined with the external power supply - to me it seemed to punch above it's weight. Any review or comment I've read about this DAC is that it is significantly better with the (optional) external power supply, so would be interested to hear if this is your experience as well? Could I also ask what you now use and your view of what makes it better? I have been through a few DACs, frankly speaking I have changed more DACs then any other component in my system. In my experience most quality amps will sound good with your choice of speakers, what makes a significant difference in soundstage and timbre of the sound oh and not to forget the imaging is the DAC. I have multiple systems and DACs costing very high in 4 digits. With the system that you have you really should be looking at a DAC costing atleast $3K if not more and you will tell me what you have been missing all this while. Edited June 15, 2017 by Qwertyqaz 1
Vinoholic Posted June 15, 2017 Author Posted June 15, 2017 11 minutes ago, Happy said: Oh so they're not hybrid? My understanding is that Avantegarde provide a number of options in terms of the bass modules. Their ultimate configuration is the Basshorn modules which can be done as a set of 2, 4 or 6. I've only heard the 2, not the 6 that is shown in the most recent pic above. 1
Vinoholic Posted June 15, 2017 Author Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) (Duplicate post removed) Edited June 15, 2017 by seanvb Duplicate post
Vinoholic Posted June 15, 2017 Author Posted June 15, 2017 21 minutes ago, Qwertyqaz said: I have been through a few DACs, frankly speaking I have changed more DACs then any other component in my system. In my experience most quality amps will sound good with your choice of speakers, what makes a significant difference in soundstage and timbre of the sound oh and not to forget the imaging is the DAC. I have multiple systems and DACs costing very high in 4 digits. With the system that you have you really should be looking at a DAC costing atleast $3K if not more and you will tell me what you have been missing all this while. Apparently the RRP of the Geek Pulse plus external power supply is around the $3k mark? In any case, my DAC is definitely the least considered component in my audio chain and I do intend to explore other options, including the LH Labs Vi which sits above the Geek Pulse and is reputedly better. While I am not quite sure about its looks, there is a good chance I'll be able to borrow one for a home trial. If your predictions about timbre, sound stage and imaging are true, then I have much to look forward to
Happy Posted June 15, 2017 Posted June 15, 2017 Forget about DACs man you need a turntable first! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2
Vinoholic Posted July 4, 2017 Author Posted July 4, 2017 (edited) Here are the results of my first tube rolling efforts, although the value of this update is rather limited as I do not know anything about the age, brand, origin etc of the tubes that were already in my (second-hand) Audiopax Stereo 88 power amp. 1. Mullard ECC81. This was recommended by Cecil on the basis that many of his past customers had achieved very good results with this tube. I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. The new tubes seemed to create a bit more 'air', and added a bit more sparkle to the mids and highs. At SGD $80 for the pair this was an absolute bargain upgrade. 2. Tung-Sol KT150. The previous power tubes were KT88. I was a bit hesitant to try anything other than another KT88 but I was assured that a larger tube in this amp would be safe, noting that (a) the potential performance of a larger tube would be limited to whatever the current capacitors could handle, and (b) the additional current would create more heat that would need to be monitored. It was also recommended that I skip the KT120 (which was said to sometimes introduce some harshness) and go straight to the KT150 (reputedly a better tube). Not being technically minded, I took the leap of faith and again was very pleasantly surprised. More assertive bass, a bit more slam, and no loss of the silky / liquid sound of the KT88's. Also, the amp does run slightly hotter but still much less heat than what my previous Ayon Triton used to generate. All up, this upgrade cost a relatively modest amount of SGD $320 and provided a discernible improvement - I couldn't be more impressed. For those that have not seen the KT150, I've included a pic that shows its size compared to the KT88. Edited September 27, 2017 by seanvb Reduced size of images
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