Marc's system

[2fastdriving]

Originally Posted by j3brow

My 2 cents is what you heard is mostly cable related. I have owned Wave Plus, Super, Ultra, and Ref XL XLR interconnects and speaker cables, all MM2

Comparing Super MM2 interconnects + Reference MM2 SC versus Gen 5 Reference IC + SC is not a fair fight!!

When you are ready to absorb the upgrade, home demo the Ref Gen 5 combo. My hunch is they won't be going back.

I'm sure the Linn DAC is stellar but come on. It ain't gonna bury a K01X. The files probably make more of a difference than the DACs

I agree with you, I will try the Ref gen5 throughout and see what's what. I sure hope the Linn can't bury a K-01x. But I will tell you: regardless of the wires or music, the Linn is fantastic. It better be, at 27k.

[2fastdriving]

Originally Posted by vintage_tube

My take exactly -- IIWM, I'd ask for a loaner pair of speaker and interconnects for a few days. I'd hold off though from jumping up the cable ladder until after RMAF. Mr BP, whose previous employer was Transparent, knows a thing of two regarding that line and now, employed by Wilson Audio can come up with a definite 4 when adding 2 + 2. (he was always great at math). If you catch him for 5 minutes at RMAF, speak quickly, ask as many questions as possible & afterwards let him do his thing -- he's working.

Regarding the Linn DAC -- assuming they used the latest 4th Generation Katakyst DAC in their Klimax DSM, it's possible it's better than the K01X; but, I'd stop there.

In all likelihood it was Dave's sourced material that is his compilation of music -- one that is extremely well and I say well mastered that made you perk up when Definitive was in their final placement mode.

I once attended a musicmatters event in town a number of years back with Dave Wilson attending along with Dave Gordon of ARC -- they were demo'ing the Wilson Audio XLF. Dave had a very small, yet highly sophisticated drive from which he selected music. Nothing the 4 of my group ever heard before --it was amazing and mind blowing what we heard from those speakers. Everyone from what I observed had the same impression. I'll leave it at that --but, you get my gist -- personal selection & no holds bared mastering beyond the scale can have a dramatic effect & make one take notice.

Best sir,

Bob

P.S. Just a beautiful room -- so pristine and lovely. Hats off to the misses too. Great taste.

Thanks, Bob. No misses...I live alone, but I do have a girlfriend. I had a female friend help me with some stuff years ago in my room...I got rid of some of it because it was a bit too weird for my tastes.

I believe you about the mastering...that track from Wilson must be just off-the-charts good. And when I see you and Bill in Denver, we can talk about Transparent and Alexias all day

[SL1800]

Congrats Marc, glad to see everything is coming together. I sure wish I could have heard your system during this setup process.

[metaphacts]

Originally Posted by 2fastdriving

Yes, I agree, Gary is a great guy.

Here are the pics with everything set up. I thought I'd step farther back so you can see the room more.

Looks great Marc! Congratulations!

[2fastdriving]

Ok, I had all my images on photo bucket and they are all broken, so I just moved everything to postimages.org and found some oldies but goodies as well as some of the amps that have graced my room for testing. Good times.

The beginning, 2009 to 2011:


Big upgrades in 2012/2013:


Sashas in 2013:


Sasha 2's and some different amp testing.




Current state - Alexias

[Antonmb]

A nice journey, and a fairly fast progression!

[akfaulkner]

Quite the journey. We had similar ones


BW CM series -> BW 805d -> BW 803d - Sasha - Sasha 2 - Duette2 & Yvette due to room size and changed for me family members (kids)...I was so close to getting Alexia but just to big for me room.

Enjoy the system! How did the dagostino amp compare in your testing? Interesting you went with esoteric over dagostino...although the esoteric looks better

[2fastdriving]

Originally Posted by akfaulkner

Quite the journey. We had similar ones


BW CM series -> BW 805d -> BW 803d - Sasha - Sasha 2 - Duette2 & Yvette due to room size and changed for me family members (kids)...I was so close to getting Alexia but just to big for me room.

Enjoy the system! How did the dagostino amp compare in your testing? Interesting you went with esoteric over dagostino...although the esoteric looks better

I also had 804d's with a musical fidelity amp but can't find a picture.

The esoteric amp is slightly more refined than the classic stereo. But the d'agostino has endless grip... Very powerful amplifier. I couldn't really even fit that thing in my existing rack, and it is ugly in my opinion. I still want to get a d'agostino someday, but I would only do it if I can attain a Momentum.

Until then, the esoteric makes me happy.

[akfaulkner]

Originally Posted by 2fastdriving

I also had 804d's with a musical fidelity amp but can't find a picture.

The esoteric amp is slightly more refined than the classic stereo. But the d'agostino has endless grip... Very powerful amplifier. I couldn't really even fit that thing in my existing rack, and it is ugly in my opinion. I still want to get a d'agostino someday, but I would only do it if I can attain a Momentum.

Until then, the esoteric makes me happy.

Yeah way to invasive of a design for me too.
It's surprising how much of the new audio components still look like they were designed in the 80s...

[metaphacts]

Originally Posted by 2fastdriving

Ok, I had all my images on photo bucket and they are all broken, so I just moved everything to postimages.org and found some oldies but goodies as well as some of the amps that have graced my room for testing. Good times.

The beginning, 2009 to 2011:


Big upgrades in 2012/2013:


Sashas in 2013:


Sasha 2's and some different amp testing.




Current state - Alexias

Looking good all the way through Marc!