Hey all,

 

Just thought I've learned so much from this forum already and it's time for me to share a pic of my setup.  Happy to talk through any components and share thoughts if anybody is interested.

 

It all started back in March.  I was quite satisfied with a pair of Focal Alpha 65 active speakers, my Rega P6 and streaming Spotify/Tidal via my headphone DAC for a number of years.  It seemed like people would be spending lots of time at home, and it was time to deal with the itch I had to do some upgrading.  I ended up purchasing some Nad, PS Audio, Amphion and JL Audio gear. I'm sure many of you have had that wow moment when they upgrade their gear and I'm still thoroughly happy every minute I listen.

 

A more recent cancellation of an overseas trip had also freed up some funds to also invest in my most recent purchase - the PS Audio Stellar phono stage. I've spent the money but still yet to get my refund from Qantas! :).

 

Seems like the weakest link in my current setup is the cart on my TT - a 2M bronze.   It's been fantastic and given me hundreds of hours of great listening, but would be good to get something that will allow my new phono stage to spread its wings.  A cart is on order (I won't spoil the surprise) - and will share thoughts on it once I get it set up.  

 

Looking forward to sharing experiences and helping out where I can.

Edited September 6, 20205 yr by qik_shift
Fixed an error

Looking good, Chris.

 

I’d certainly be interested in knowing what components you ended up with.

 

 

7 minutes ago, jt301 said:

Looking good, Chris.

 

I’d certainly be interested in knowing what components you ended up with.

 

 

Sure!

• NAD C658 pre-amp/BluOS streamer
• NAD C568 CD player
• PS Audio M700 mono amplifiers
• PS Audio P3 power regenerator
• PS Audio Stellar Phono stage
• Rega P6 turntable with 2M bronze
• Amphion Argon 7LS speakers
• Atlas Hyper 3.0 cabling (almost throughout)
• LG 65" OLED EF950T 

Also liking the cabinet - where is that from?

20 minutes ago, Hydrology said:

Also liking the cabinet - where is that from?

It's built here in Melbourne by a place called sundown furniture.  It's a Quinn entertainment unit.  Some of their stuff doesn't look crash hot but it's solid stuff.

Very nice  

Ohhhh its The Minister Of Science & Astroboy!

 

Very tidy looking setup too...

1 hour ago, Tubularbells said:

Ohhhh its The Minister Of Science & Astroboy!

 

Very tidy looking setup too...

Good spotting and thanks.  Got those figurines on my holiday in Japan late last year along with a few other goodies.  Geez I was lucky to to take advantage of that opportunity when it came up.  Who knows when we'll be able to leave Australia again!!!!

Bit to update SNA on..........

 

I'm still putting more hours onto the Kiseki Purple Heart before writing a review.  I'm at about 30 hours and still noticing improvements in sound every week.  People say these carts need 50-100 hours to really sing and they're not wrong!

 

But onto the topic of power (think Jeremy Clarkson )......more is better.

 

In anticipation of a new TT on order (Linn LP12 Klimax/Radikal), I knew my existing PS Audio P3 Power Regenerator wouldn't be able to power all my audio equipment.  I managed to get myself a PS Audio P12 Power Regenerator. 

 

My experience with the P3 was very positive.  The difference in sound quality between straight into the wall vs powered by regeneration was night and day.  Easy to use, no fuss, and I like to concept of actually providing plentiful clean power to devices, which PS Audio claims their product does and how they differentiate themselves from a a power conditioner which restricts power supply to some degree.  The issue I had was the unit can output 300w continuously, and bursts of up to 900 watts for very short periods - not enough.

 

Enter the P12.  It can output more than I need and that was the only reason I bought it.  It includes a touchscreen and remote which shows factors such as sine wave improvement factor, distortion reduction, wattage output etc. which I find a nice touch.  There's other things you can do like run firmware updates and program power sequences etc. which I'm not sure I'm going to use - but you never know I suppose.

 

Please remember I didn't buy this unit for improvement in SQ, and I was in for a bit of a shock.

 

The improvement in midrange sound accuracy was easily noticeable.  None of the characteristics of the cartridge were lost, but the presence of the soundstage was so much grander.  The easiest way I could explain it is that the speakers sound like they have doubled in size.  I'm hearing detail I haven't heard before - and boy is the delight of re-discovering music again such a rewarding feeling when you're not expecting it .

 

My biggest gripe is the form factor doesn't look matched up with the Stellar Phono sitting above it - it really does look wrong. I understand PS Audio make sure the stellar range matches, and this unit doesn't sit in this range, but for people who are upgrading components as they go it's annoying (especially given the Stellar phono stage is the only phono stage on offer by PS Audio anyway).

 

 

 

put the phono stage on the bottom, will look more balanced

51 minutes ago, wen said:

put the phono stage on the bottom, will look more balanced

Agree it would look better - I'm just concerned about the weight of the regenerator.  It weighs almost 22kgs!

 

 

24 minutes ago, qik_shift said:

Agree it would look better - I'm just concerned about the weight of the regenerator.  It weighs almost 22kgs!

 

 

I wouldn’t be putting any equipment on top of a regenerator, no specific reason other than it’s a power regenerator.

l own mainly PS Audio gear and they are all the same width, I think it is your regenerator that is not the standard PS Audio width.

Although the only stellar I have is the phono, which matches the BHK range in width.

Edited December 19, 20205 yr by awayward

26 minutes ago, awayward said:

l own mainly PS Audio gear and they are all the same width, I think it is your regenerator that is not the standard PS Audio width.

Although the only stellar I have is the phono, which matches the BHK range in width.

You wouldn't believe me looking at the photo but they are in fact the same width!

 

It's just that one unit tapers in on the sides and the other tapers in on the top and bottom.

Nice setup mate 

Well the plan was that I would have at least 50 hours on my Kiseki Purple Heart before I comment.  I would say I’ve reached around 45 hours - I’m still noticing an improvement by the week, but I really don’t want to hold off any longer.  Close enough is good enough I say

 

You see, I was running the Kiseki on my Rega P6 for most of its life.  My plan was to buy a new turntable in the new year, but then my flight refund hit my bank account after almost 6 months - a welcome boost.  Let’s go shopping!

 

In all honesty - my shopping expedition needn’t last all too long.  I wasn’t interested in hearing TTs playing in sound deadened rooms playing on a system which didn’t represent how it would sound in my sonically far from ideal home.  In the midst of sorting out some cartridge VTA issues on the P6, Geoff Haynes was kind to lend his LP12 to me to play at home.  It wasn’t the first time I listened to an LP12 - I heard it playing in the HewNow HiFi showroom (exactly replicating my home setup - cables the only exception).  I heard this unit against another similarly priced turntable, and I just knew the LP12 was the pick.  While the other unit had some strengths I liked, the LP12 presented the sound in a unique way that captured the way I wanted the music to be presented.  It was the one that forced me to tap my feet and enjoy the music.  Listening to the unit at home only reinforced my thinking.  If anything it sounded just as good at home as it did in the showroom.

 

I was sold on the LP12 - and after much reading on forums (including SNA of course!) the Klimax configuration was chosen with a Machined Radikal DC power supply and a walnut plinth.  The only items I didn’t want was the phono stage and cart - as I already had both and had no interest in changing these. It’s interesting how people think it’s a negative thing about the constant upgrade path of the LP12.  There’s two ways you can look at this.  1 - It’s Linn’s way of making more money, and means you’re always on the hook. 2 - That even 40+ years on, there are a series of upgrades that will still enable your TT to be competitive with modern TTs.  I chose the second point of view.  The upgrades can be eye wateringly expensive, but it’s still cheaper than replacing whole TTs over time.

 

From the time the unit was ordered to delivery, I was updated by the week on where things were at.  Geoff knew I was a fussy bugger when it came to setup, so he organised somebody very special for me.  I wasn’t to be impressed easily - but Geoff tells me THE Mark Dohmann of Dohmann Audio was going to construct and calibrate my LP12.  Wow - not only was I impressed but after reading so much of Michael Fremer’s material - it felt like an industry veteran and somewhat of a celebrity was coming over.  Lawns were mowed, floors were vacuumed and mopped, and I anxiously waited for Mark to arrive.  The stakes were high and my expectations were just as high as my bank account was juuuust deep enough to fund this sizeable purchase………

 

It was after over 3-4 of Mark’s calibration hours before I could listen to my first track.  Mark’s car was filled with the sort of equipment you would expect from a creator of one of the greatest turntables on this planet.  In the moments I wasn’t hooked on every one of Mark’s words - absorbing information like a sponge, I reflected on my experience with the cartridge so far.  I was already impressed with the Kiseki Purple Heart, and already feel quite deeply familiar with it.  If I was to describe this cart, I would say it almost magnified existing properties of the music. Much like my phono stage, it doesn’t colour anything, but if there’s sweetness and warmth in the track, you’ll get it in spades.  If there’s well defined bass, or particular detail you’re listening for, you’ll hear it.  It presents what’s in the grooves cleanly and accurately, but not in a cold way. Like I say it’s still got quite some time to run in (another 55 hours but hey who's counting!), but this has won the hearts (pun intended) of many respected people in the industry for good reason.  While I had to muck around with spacers to get VTA right, I don’t regret for a moment putting a much more expensive cart on the Rega P6.  For its asking price the Rega is a great TT - In fact I’m thinking of keeping it and converting it to a mono deck.

 

To the LP12 - I got to spin my first track.  I tried playing a recent xmas pressie - Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories.  ‘Lose Yourself to Dance’ instantly showed an enhanced bass response compared to the P6.  So much so that I needed to turn subwoofer levels down about 15% to balance the sound.  Even through the bass, the improvement was night and day.  I moved to my Japanese pressing of Toto IV - one of my favourites.  Rosanna demonstrated the increased composure of absolutely everything. Sound range was a major improvement, and I noted maintaining solid composure even when there was lots going on.  Going to ‘I won’t Hold you Back’, and the music just oozed from the speakers - it was utterly smooth.  In fact, whether playing jazz, rock or some of my electronic music the improvement was unmistably massive.

 

Going from a TT worth a fraction in price to this beauty should be a massive improvement so there’s no real surprise here.  So how can I add value in this review to others who have similarly priced TTs at home? Where the LP12 did truly shine was how it captured the energy of the music - you could hear every instrument.  It’s so hard to describe, but the only way I can is by saying you could hear the skins of the drums being hit before the resulting sound of the drum itself, and you could hear whether it was fingers or a pick strumming the notes of a guitar.  The level of intimacy I got from this deck/cart still amazes me how much detail and emotion can be etched into a piece of vinyl.

 

Hey it’s a good write-up, but it’s not all warm and fuzzies.  The soundstage had improved, but I think there’s room for more.  Don’t get me wrong - you would still pick the location of voices and instruments, but I’ve heard sound stages where you could almost feel like you could reach out and touch the singer.  I didn’t get that.  It’s possible that some other equipment along the chain being upgraded would also improve things in this space.

 

Oh and my biggest bugbear is some whistling and hissing that I need to tune out.  The culprit is likely to be my PS Audio Stellar Phono Stage. Apparently Fremer also had this issue and overcame it.  I’m currently playing around with a roll of tin foil, earthing cables and placement  to see if I can sort it out………I’ll eventually get there on this one.

 

I’ve now gone through over 50 LPs, and i’m continually amazed by the delivery of sound from the Klimax/Radikal combo.  Please try one of these at home for yourself if you’re serious about investing in your next TT.  Even as I write this article, I’m listening to ABBA - Arrival.  I criticised the sound stage a little - and right now I hear the voice pretty strongly at centre - maybe I’m being too harsh?

 

Anyhow - Thanks Geoff for giving me the opportunity to listen to your gear at my home and spending all he time you did with me. Mark - if you’re on this forum thank you for the time and positive energy you invested in this job and imparting your knowledge to a noob like me.  You both made this experience a great one.

 

Edited January 19, 20215 yr by qik_shift

Finally got around to swapping the phono stage and Power Plant.   Looks much much better

 

Everything as of now............

 

Great to hear, that you now have the new Linn LP12 set up. Had mine set up by Mark Dohrmann in November when he installed the Audio Origami PU7Ti and Stack Audio Subchassis and armboard.

Did your LP12 Klimax come with the  Ekos SE and Keel Subchassis/ armboard? What baseboard and Tonearm cable did you install on the TT.

 

Trust you are enjoying the Kiseki PH on the new system. It will continue to get better, particularly in the conveying an extra sense of body, bass weight and scale which came in about the 90 -100 hrs on mine.

looks like you got great service from your dealer.

 

Enjoy the music!

On 31/01/2021 at 5:10 PM, vivianbl said:

Great to hear, that you now have the new Linn LP12 set up. Had mine set up by Mark Dohrmann in November when he installed the Audio Origami PU7Ti and Stack Audio Subchassis and armboard.

Did your LP12 Klimax come with the  Ekos SE and Keel Subchassis/ armboard? What baseboard and Tonearm cable did you install on the TT.

 

Trust you are enjoying the Kiseki PH on the new system. It will continue to get better, particularly in the conveying an extra sense of body, bass weight and scale which came in about the 90 -100 hrs on mine.

looks like you got great service from your dealer.

 

Enjoy the music!

 

Awesome - I hope you had the sort of experience I did with Mark.

 

Yes the Ekos SE and Keel Subchassis is part of the setup .  

 

Yeah I'm loving the Kiseki PH on this setup.  The level of warmth is starting to come through - I'm already impressed and still have another 30-40 hours to go I'm thinking.  I may need to turn the subs down even more if I get more bass - there's already plenty of it .  I noticed you mention an extra sense of body and scale - did this translate to a better centre stage too?

 

So far very happy with my dealer so remaining super faithful.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with me - I appreciate it!  And yes at the end of the day it's all about the music and I've been thoroughly going through my collection and rediscovering it through hearing it differently now.

15 hours ago, qik_shift said:

 

Awesome - I hope you had the sort of experience I did with Mark.

 

Yes the Ekos SE and Keel Subchassis is part of the setup .  

 

Yeah I'm loving the Kiseki PH on this setup.  The level of warmth is starting to come through - I'm already impressed and still have another 30-40 hours to go I'm thinking.  I may need to turn the subs down even more if I get more bass - there's already plenty of it .  I noticed you mention an extra sense of body and scale - did this translate to a better centre stage too?

 

So far very happy with my dealer so remaining super faithful.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with me - I appreciate it!  And yes at the end of the day it's all about the music and I've been thoroughly going through my collection and rediscovering it through hearing it differently now.

Great to hear that you are happy with the Kiseki PH. It is very sensitive to proper set up, especially VTA and VTF. What tracking force was it set at? Mark set mine at 2.3, that is at the lower end of the recommended range (2.3-2.6). Works really well with Audio Origami PU7TI.

Mark took away my Ekos1 Tonearm , repaired the stuck VTF dial and made sure everything was okay with the arm. Got it back last weekend. In a nice Linn box now!

 

Not sure what exactly you mean by “centre” stage, as my speakers produce a large soundstage, behind and “independent” of the speakers. It is a very “visual” picture. Hard to describe, but the increased body and scale, made the whole sound stage “believable” especially Jazz, orchestral and choral music.

I have electrostatic speakers, but don’t use any subs!

9 hours ago, vivianbl said:

Great to hear that you are happy with the Kiseki PH. It is very sensitive to proper set up, especially VTA and VTF. What tracking force was it set at? Mark set mine at 2.3, that is at the lower end of the recommended range (2.3-2.6). Works really well with Audio Origami PU7TI.

Oh yeah totally agree. I learned sensitivity to VTA/SRA and VTF when first setting up the cart for the first time on my Rega P6.  It's the difference between night and day!  Actually there's a thread on it on SNA -

9 hours ago, vivianbl said:

Mark took away my Ekos1 Tonearm , repaired the stuck VTF dial and made sure everything was okay with the arm. Got it back last weekend. In a nice Linn box now!

Nice - there's still lots of people who love the Ekos1.  Actually I read somewhere about an SNA member who regretted selling theirs.

 

9 hours ago, vivianbl said:

Not sure what exactly you mean by “cs my speakers produce a large soundstage, behind and “independent” of the speakers. It is a very “visual” picture. Hard to describe, but the increased body and scale, made the whole sound stage “believable” especiallyentre” stage, a Jazz, orchestral and choral music.

I have electrostatic speakers, but don’t use any subs!

I'm hearing a very wide and open sound stage and the dynamics are amazingly good - but just couldn't picture the person's lead vocals voice as strongly in the centre compared to other setups I've heard.  I must admit though it seems to be getting much better - so something probably needs a little time to run in.  

 

Interesting I asked a friend to listen recently and his first comment to me was that he was shocked at how the voice of the singer sounded like it was right at centre in front of him - so there goes!

Edited February 3, 20215 yr by qik_shift
Added thread

Had a very special visit by another fellow longstanding and respected SNA member.

 

For the vinyl lovers, you should be able to work out who the special guest is when I say I've got some loading plugs to play with to do some cartridge loading experimentation.  I can now go into the thousands of ohms now.  I've got some way to go before sharing any thoughts, but these plugs most certainly are having an impact on the sound signature and early results seem quite promising.

 

Also did some experimenting on the placement of the PowerPlant and the phono stage.  Will also report on this.

 

More to come.........unless you can guess the person?

11 minutes ago, qik_shift said:

Had a very special visit by another fellow longstanding and respected SNA member.

 

For the vinyl lovers, you should be able to work out who the special guest is when I say I've got some loading plugs to play with to do some cartridge loading experimentation.  I can now go into the thousands of ohms now.  I've got some way to go before sharing any thoughts, but these plugs most certainly are having an impact on the sound signature and early results seem quite promising.

 

Also did some experimenting on the placement of the PowerPlant and the phono stage.  Will also report on this.

 

More to come.........unless you can guess the person?

 

Andy,  come on down!!      are you listening to his phono stage?  Its pretty damn good.

Thank you for the kind words, Chris ( @qik_shift).  

 

33 minutes ago, metal beat said:

Andy,  come on down!!      are you listening to his phono stage?  Its pretty damn good.

 

Hah - thanks, Shane, but no ... the visit was to try and get Chris's Kiseki Purple Heart to display its best with his current phono stage.

 

Andy

 

That didn’t take long ?. 
 

Would love to hear Andy’s phono stage one day.  I’m sure the opportunity will present itself. 

Sorry I've been unwell post surgery but now back to normal.  

 

@andyr and I experimented with some loading plugs and also experimented with phono stage placement.  There's more to do but more on that later........

 

OK let's get the super easy stuff out of the way.  Moving the phono stage to the top of my entertainment unit was a great idea and a no brainer.  Regardless of loading, the best way I could describe the change was that it was much clearer.  More defined and sure of itself.  Moving on.....

 

Now time to lock the phono stage to 47K loading, and get some of these plugs that have had mentions around SNA for some time .  In my case I had a 3K and 4k to try.  My instant reaction when I put the plugs in is a solid 'no'.  It sounds just a touch quieter and almost could be described as slightly more timid in the way the sound presents itself to me.  Settling into the 4K plug for a minute, and turn the volume up slightly but I'm still not convinced as the music has become less holographic and flatter.

 

Moving back to the old standard 620 ohms, and then to the 3K plug.  Again, some reluctance sets in until my ears adjust in a very short place of time.  Turned up the volume slightly, and I'm pleasantly surprised.  The plugs seemed to widen the sound stage both horizontally and vertically if that makes any sense!  The wider sound stage allows for further separation and has a very holographic vibe to it.  The separation allows for more instrument detail to shine through.

 

Reverting to 620ohms, and the sound stage instantly narrows, and almost becomes more 'in my face'.  Now for some select tracks, this can work well.  Genres like rock seem to suit the older loading where you really want the music to slam, but almost everything else favours the simple yet effective plugs.

 

My verdict?  For 8 out of 10 records, I prefer the 3K plug by quite a margin.  For the 2 out of ten records, I prefer my original loading by a little margin.  Yep the 3K plug is a winner here.

 

Now to try a 2K plug to experiment a little more .  

 

@andyr also cited some issues with bass which I'm keen to work through.  Listening to other systems may allow me to detect what Andy is picking up on, and any opportunity to learn and improve is a good one!  Theories range from room nodes to the phono stage (although we both agree it's likely the earlier). Some of the bass issues may be undetectable by me because I don't mind music with a decent bass line.  Maybe my old days blasting subwoofers in the boot of the car has had at least some influence on my lust for bass hahahaha!

 

All in all to give you an overall impression on how I feel about my setup, I'm very happy with it.  I have a really annoying tonearm cable noise that's slowly driving me mad which I think is due to an inherent phono stage design - really do need to work on that one sooner rather than later.  Oh yes and of course buying a house so I can have a dedicated room to suit better sound would be ideal but I think I'll tackle that issue last .

 

I truly do think it sounds pleasant to my ear and I think it compares well against the little I've been able to hear out there (bar a hyper-priced deeply analytical system that blew me away).  It puts a smile on my face frequently and i'm often involuntarily tapping my feet.