lotus's Raven/Rega/CJ/Avalon system
 

Hi Guys, this is my current main system and test/demo rig. Valves pretty much everywhere including the CD player. It's a system that's very much built for acoustic, jazz & vocals. Room treatments from Gik Acoustics complete the whole picture.

Strong points include tone, texture, saturation, density, holography, soundstage, layering and smooth delicious liquid musicality. I am more than happy with it for now although inevitably I will upgrade pieces if a good deal comes my way ... a GAT, ART monos perhaps and some Eidolons diamonds or Time, they are all on the wish list somewhere. I also plan to permanently run an FR66/koetsu as a second arm, something romantic for those late evenings when the wine and beer is flowing. :)

The rega isis valve cd player is possibly the surprise of the lot. I have had lots of digital sources come through these walls but nothing has yet toppled the english made Isis. It will never top the tables in any particular sound quality parameter but for out and out enjoyment and involvement it is quite a staggering source. It has a distinctly un-british sound with amazing tone/texture and 3d space and the CJ/avalon really exposes what it can do. Believe it or not it took the addition of the big Allnic 3000 to get the turntable up to the same level of enjoyment in terms of a palpable dense 3d sound with that strong sense of 'here and now' presence.



TW Acustic Raven AC
Reed 3p 10.5 Cocobolla
Allnic Puritas
Rega Isis Valve
Allnic H3000V
Conrad Johnson Atc 2 series 2
Conrad Johnson Premier 350
Avalon Ascendant
Cardas interconnets
Pro Bono Audio racks/isolation plaftorm
Running Springs Elgar
Mogami cable


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Rich... Wow! SUPER Nice, and clean installation.

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Rich...love your system and installation. I like the pretty kitty cat. We've got a lot of kitty and vinyl lovers on the site.

Dave

Sent from my iPad using A.Aficionado

Awesome system.

Nice setup, love the speakers and I didn't know Conrad Johnson had a feline model :D Congrats on a great room!

Thanks guys for the very supportive comments. The crazy siamese is never too far away from proceedings. We have a half bengal as well who is usually eating and a Burmese who is mostly out killing stuff !

Cats and hifi :D

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Rich, totally awesome! Wow!

Absolutely beautiful setup and photos. You've done a superb job. I am sure it sounds purrrrrrfect :)

CCJ Conrad "Cat" Johnson ;)

Looks fantastic, nice work!

:lmao:

Beautiful system!! :)

Beautiful system, it must sound glorious. I've always liked Avalon speakers very much.

Look at all those LPs! :thumbsup:

In some respects Rich's system is similar to mine with the C-J CT-5 and Premier 350 and a sweet TT. The ACT2 and CT-5 share some design heritage/circuit topology.

The photos are superb, but IIRC, Rich is a professional photographer.

Rich, the system is gorgeous, but I'm curious as to what gear you took the photos with? They are all beautifully lit and exceptionally clean.

Oh, love the cats, BTW! :D

Very nice Rich!

Nice set up you have there. I see the glass cover for the TT gets used a lot in your home...
Congrats!:thumbsup:

Very nice system, looks great. Does the cat shed much? Hope not, be sure to keep a vacuum and can of air around to keep the cat hair out!

Thanks again guys. The cats are pretty good for hair as they are all shorthair types. I do get lot sof dust in my room though. Someone should make a machine that gets rid of it all automatically as its a pin dusting it every week.

@Puma, i just use a 5d. I dopped all my leica gear earlier this year, sold the whole lot off and just hire what I need job by job.

Rich, how do you like your Avalon Ascendants? Have you had them for awhile? There aren't too many Avalon owners here (yet) and curious as to what they replaced. Again, system looks fantastic!

"Puddy good" system Rich! :D But seriously you've got a great tt set up & lovely amps. I am also a fan of Avalon which sound very natural and coherent. Great job with your system & thanks for posting :thumbsup:

Thanks guys, @AG, yes I love the ascendants and they replaced some mkii shahinian obelisk. They sound refined, natural, even handed, very transparent with very little sense of cabinet and the soundstage and dimensionality is off the scale. Timbral accuracy and texture is fabulous to my ears and they go so well with CJ. The upper bass is possibly a little fat and many other speakers at this sort of money would be a bit more airy at the top end but I like the fuller slightly darker sound and certainly wouldn't want anything brighter or leaner in my room. They don't offer the biggest or lowest bass in the world and you could say that they are a little stingy in the lower registers but as i'm sure you know this is a known avalon trait and you have to go up the ladder significantly to get more. They are surely the weak point of the system and I will move to some eidolon or perhaps indra/transcendant when the opportunity arises but if forced to I could live with them for good.

I recently heard the Avalon Transcendants at my Dealer's showroom. Firstly the timber & cabinet finish looks beautiful. As Rich commented, the Ascendant/Transcendant aren't the most extended speakers at the extremes, but the sound is wonderfullly natural and coherent and these speakers throw a wide and even sound stage and create a believable image. The Avalons disappear in the room very well. That experience certainly wet my apetite to hear the higher end models. My Dealer is getting in the Times at some point which i'm quite keen to hear. They should sound brilliant with the twin 11" nomex bass drivers, ceramic mid & diamond tweeter. They remind me of a higher end version of the Infnity RS-2B.

Nice! :eek2:

Nice setup you got! Those racks are awesome. Which brand/model are these? I never saw these before.

Thanks, Rich, thought those looked like 5D images...I can spot 'em a mile away...(needless to say, they are very lovely).

I just picked up the new Fuji X-Pro1 and am amazed by it's capabilities. It's image quality reminds me a lot of the original 5D.

Noted you were selling the ACT2 S2? Are you sticking with C-J for a preamp?

WOW! This is one beautiful system. Must sound amazing. Your turntable and tonearm are to die for!

Oh yes. :D

hi Serge, they are from Pro Bono Audio

Pro Audio Bono

You are a photographer audiophile! Great photos and system.

Rich.......I don't knw how I failed to comment on your fabulous system before now. Simply gorgeous. I am certain the sound is the same. Thanks for letting us peek in the window.


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Rich this looks like a great system and not to mention you are a great photographer! Congrats!!

Rich...first class all the way! Beautiful looking and sounding I am sure :thumbsup:

Rich...What a superlative system. Love the TT, & the loudspeakers, & the CJ, & the racks. The cat worries me....

Congrats! Looks like you have an extensive vinyl collection too. :D

Rich : simply stunning ! The set up is ultra clean and your incredible pics do justice to it.
I listened to the Isis / Osiris / RS10 combo and found it absolutely wonderful.

Super cool !
Will probably replace my TT rack with one of those.
Thanks !

Do you use Mogami speaker cables ?

What's your experience with Avalon? I think they are beautiful. My dealer tells me that they are picky with positioning...

Rich, Awesome system--the cats meow!

A few changes.

Upgraded the AC to an AC3

I wasn't sure what to expect because comments and internet rants have always ranged from the "I couldn't tell and difference, its just a marketing ploy" to "the earth's axis altered slightly".

Well for me, in my system, the difference is quite marked and it's quite interesting to go back to all those early reviews and read what was said because they were mostly based on the AC3. This is what the deck should be IMO.

Better precision, more focus, instruments and vocals are cleaner and more firmly locked in space and anchored down, with greater shape and greater air around them and generally the table just sounds noticeably more metrononic and stable like the speed stability and surefootedness of a CD player. Instruments are a lot more together, unshakeably so now, elucidating new musical intent and interplay that wasn't there previously. At first the table feels like it's sort of lost something and has taken on a blandness but this soon goes and I think that's because you have to adjust as your brain is doing less work filling in the last 5% of blanks making it all fit together; now it just fits together on its own !

Going back to the single motor afterwards is a bit of a downer with everything sounding all a bit vague and wooly by comparison. So yes, a big upgrade for me.


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Also, changed the Act2.2 to the GAT. Nothing could have prepared me for the difference. A totally different preamp. I think it will be many many years before the GAT leaves my system.

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@portugal, yes I love the avalon sound, Allnic/GAT/Avalon .. to me this is a heavenly orgasmic sound and by far the best i have ever owned, beautifully refined, holographic and so full with texture and dense palpable richness. Avalon do need careful positioning if you want the ultimate in imaging etc.. best to have as much space behind them as possible and away from side walls so theres a good delay on reflected sound reaching your ears.


@Jermoe, hiya, yes I use mogami, I find its a very good cheap cable. Not the best in all the audiophoile stuff but its very tuneful with a hint of warmth. I will probably move tomsomething more exotic though at some point.

Thanks for all the kind comments everyone. Music has never been this good. I have a Thomas Schick on order and a few other things in the pipeline. That and more vinyl of course. So many great releases out at the mo.

Wow that is an impressive system you have :thumbsup:

:drool: