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Stromtank S-1000 Review – shared by a friend of Audible Images

Stromtank S-1000 Review – Ed Gatto

I had a whole-house generator installed a couple of years ago and immediately felt my soundstage in my listening room had shrunk and the musical engagement diminished.  Then, I happened upon Michael Fremer’s article about his problems with his installed whole house generator.  He got expert help from Audio-Ultra to significantly upgrade his electrical service to his house and listening room. It was a very expensive, but effective, solution.

I first learned about the Stromtank Regenerators at the Capital Audio Fest.  Audio-Ultra had one on display and educated me on its purpose and its capabilities.  I wondered if the Stromtank S-1000 could solve most, if not all, of my electrical supply noise problems.  Time passed…

We upgraded our listening experience buying a C.A.T. SL-1 Renaissance BPA preamp and shortly after auditioning the C.A.T. JL7SE monoblocks at the same Capitol Audio Fest, bought them too.  Both purchases improved our listening experience, the C.A.T. power improved our systems performance filtering most of the electrical noise, but we wondered what we might still be missing.

A year later a great opportunity dropped into our laps.  We had been auditioning new loudspeakers (the weak link in our system by that time).  Our friend and local audio dealer, Audible Images in Melbourne, FL, made us on offer on his dealer demo Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx loudspeakers.  Another huge increase in listening experience.  The combination of C.A.T. Triode power and the Wilson Alexx provided a grand scale of musical reproduction… detail, soundstage, resolution.  Amazing!  We felt blessed, but what might still be missing?

Enter our friend at Audible Images.  He had received a Stromtank S-1000 and had it on display.  He hadn’t had time to sit down and really evaluate its performance.  In fact, it was in his smallest room and set up.  After a few weeks, he asked me if I wanted to demo it at home and let him know what I think.  He routinely sends equipment home to get my listening viewpoint.  I said, “SURE!”

I brought it home, put it in position, and powered it up to charge the big battery.  First, we listened to our system without it installed to get a sense of the baseline.  Then plugged the front-end of our system into it – C.A.T. SL-1 preamp, CD Transport, DAC, and Turntable power supply.  And we played music with the Stromtank in the ‘blue’ hybrid mode – charging and powering through the battery and inverter.  Huh… is there something different?  We’ll see (or hear?).  After 20 minutes, I got up and pushed the button to the ‘green’ off the grid mode on battery/inverter only.  WOW!  There was a clearly audible difference, and I was standing at the side of the room.  Was it better or different?  I felt like the bass went deeper, the voices and instruments had more definition. My wife hit the nail on the head, she felt the music was more real.  She felt the music was LIVE.  Yes, it was better.

It was hard to argue.  The soundstage was deeper, wider, taller.  More noticeable spacing between voices and instruments.  The edges of the between voices and instruments seemed rounder yet more detailed in presentation.  The decays were longer and more defined.  Beautiful, engaging. 

I shared our experience with Audible Images.  He agreed that’s what he thought but his time with the Stromtank was limited.  I reluctantly returned it to him.  We weren’t ready to put out the retail price for it at this time.

Then we got the call.  Do you want to buy it as a dealer demo?  We said, “Yes”.  A week or so later, I drove up to get it.  Our dealer had finally put it into his reference room.  I spent many, many hours in this room so I’m quite familiar with its sound. We’re talking DCS, D’Agostino, and the new Wilson Sasha V.  My friend was busy with customers in another room, so I dropped into the sweet spot and put on some tracks I use to evaluate systems.  The Stromtank was in ‘blue’ hybrid mode.  I listened to the 3 tracks, and they sounded superb.  Then, I put the Stromtank into ‘green’ off grid mode.  WOW!  Again, I immediately heard the same differences I heard in my listening room.  Two times now I’ve cleared heard the differences.  They may be subtle, but they also seem significant.

When my dealer finally had time, we sat together.  He shared that he should have put the Stromtank into his reference room sooner.  He heard the same improvements that I had.  We agreed they were significant.  I was happy to pack it up and take it home.

At home again, I went through the same process.  Played our system without the Stromtank while charging it.  Then connected my system to it.  The same perceptions hit me when playing from it.  Although, this time I felt the sound stage floor was lower… amazing.  Three times I’ve heard these improvements.

Without any direct measurement the answer must be the much lower noise floor allowing more low-level detail to be reproduced and the more coherent AC sine wave being supplied to the equipment.

I’m a believer!

I’m also an audiophile and wonder what would happen if I cleaned up the AC supplied to the C.A.T. JL7SE monobloc power amps.  Hmmm.

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The dCS Apex Trilogy

 

We have all three pieces on our showroom floor…

Bartok Apex DAC / Streamer / Headphone

 

Bartok-Apex-4

Quoted from “WhatHiFi.com February 09, 2023 article:

The dCS Bartók Apex represents the next generation of the network streaming DAC, following on from the 2018-released model that we praised for being well-equipped, superly made and sonically hugely capable, and consequently awarded five stars to. While the Bartók received a ‘Bartók 2.0’ software update last year that upgraded the mapping algorithm that controlled its dCS Ring DAC technology and introduced new digital filters and improvements to its DSD upsampling, the Bartók Apex evolves the model further with both more advanced hardware and software. Primarily, the new Bartók gets the company’s Ring DAC Apex technology.”

We now have the new Bartok Apex DAC / Streamer / Headphone (as of Feb. 04, 2023) in our showroom, so feel free to stop in, take the iPad and enjoy your favorite music!  See the Bartok here.
Bartok reviews with the new Apex,  Audiobeat.com review

 

 

 

Rossini Apex DAC / Streamer / Player

Rossini Apex DAC, Streamer, Player

See the Rossini here.

Rossini reviews;  hIfI Plus (Jan 2023) , Stereophile  (8 pgs in Jan 2022)

 

 

 

Vivaldi Apex DAC

Vivaldi Apex DAC

See the Vivaldi Apex DAC here.

Vivaldi Apex reviews; hIfi Plus  (Jan 2023),  Stereophile  (Feb 2023),  the absolute sound  (Jan 2023)

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The Finer Points of the dCS Apex Upgrade for Vivaldi DAC

from the Blog of Oldwaverider:

After Miguel installed the Apex upgrade for our Vivaldi DAC, our observations were quite positive.  So as not to sound boring in comparison, I would rather you read our customer’s comments and observations of their upgrade below 😉

Vivaldi_VDC_Apex_Hero_BackSince the upgrade of our Showroom Vivaldi, we have done a number of upgrades for our customers.  Tuesday (06/28/2022), we did an upgrade for a customer, and His feedback delivered smiles for all of us here at Audible Images. Enjoy the Testimonial.

Testimonial by a Customer, 2 days after getting his upgraded DAC home: 

I did extensive listening today. I think dCS burns the boards ahead of time.  Top to bottom, all is excellent. I hear a bit more bass extension with excellent pitch and timing definition. The midrange is rich, sumptuous with great detail and timber control. Probably the best, in the upper frequencies. That’s where digital has fallen short, until now. There is so much air and spaces between notes. Cymbals now sound right (never before in digital). There is a delicacy and decisiveness that has eluded digital till now. Trying to get a high hat or symbol crash right was a hot mess previously, not now. The air injected into the listening experience and proper timing is brilliant.

Analogue always did a great job with the high end, I feel that this now has met it’s match. There is great authority on the soundstage and presentation. The backgrounds are quieter and the space between notes better delineated. The soundstage is blooming. This upgrade is more than advertised, it is a transformation of the best digital can provide. Never have I had a better audio experience. Old recordings sound so good. Newer recordings are equally as good.

I am smitten in the improvement. Any customer that thinks this is not a worthy upgrade is wrong. This kicks!

Thanks for all your accommodations on my visit.

(Speakers and Electronics in customers system: Radialstrahler mbl 101 E MK II Loudspeakers, MBL Monobloc amplifiers, Soulution Preamplifier)

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Should I Get Electronics First or Sonus Faber Lumina II’s?

From the blog of Oldwaverider…

We pretty much always suggest, go for good electronics first. (We, meaning those of us here at Audible Images AV, Melbourne, FL)

That said, my controversial answer in the context of Spousal debate would be, go ahead and do both first. Your choice of electronics and the Lumina II’s.

THE GENERAL SCENARIO

Let’s say you’ve been doing your due diligence in trying to narrow down the best 2 channel stereo system option for your newly redesigned Guest / Listening room. The criteria for this choice of electronics is to keep your budget between $3000 to 5000, also your new system has the ability to crank it up a little bit when you’re in the mood & home alone and that if fits in the dedicated spot on the new furniture/rack. You have room for either an Integrated Amplifier or separate Pre-amplifier and Amplifier. 

Your 18 year old Receiver could die any day now, the one you had at college, and your old speakers seem to be holding up okay, so you’re thinking, should I just go for electronics now?

WHAT DO YA DO?

You do what any deserving Audiophile would do. Go for the electronics of your choice and order a pair of Sonus Faber Lumina II’s so that you have some nice new speakers to go with that Amp (but without breaking the bank), and at the same time you just made your other half very happy because she doesn’t have to see those flat black old box speakers in the front of your nicely redone guest / listening room. Now, she has some visible audio eye candy (the Lumina II’s are pretty stunning to look at) that matches her contemporary interior room design. NOTE: THIS SPOUSAL SCENARIO COULD EASILY HAVE BEEN REVERSED. 

HOW DID THIS BLOG STORY GET STARTED?

The new owner of an online magazine brought in the new Lumina II’s for us to listen to and enjoy for a couple weeks and give our opinion.

Since we’re already a Sonus Faber dealer, a certain amount of positive bias already exists.  And that’s okay, since this isn’t a “Review”, but simply another blog post from my Pacesetter blog.

THE TEST GEAR WE USED

First off, we set them up in our front room called “The Great Room”, and paired them up with the new BlueSound Powernode, 80 wpc Integrated Amplifier / Streamer / DAC all in one.

Right out of the box, we were quickly impressed. However, knowing a bookshelf speaker of this size can only go down to 50-55 hz, I thought I’d make sure we were getting the best sound possible out of these compact, and quite beautiful, Wenge colored front, wrapped in black leather beauties.

So I did some testing pulling them out a couple feet from the wall (not knowing what to do with a bottom ported speaker, not rear or front, but bottom ported).  We placed them on some simple black stands. I messed with the placement width, toed them in a bit to get about a perfect even sided triangle and the base clearly hit it’s best punch, clarity and speed.  Definitely not a bright speaker, just a nice articulate mid range & treble clarity with some spaciousness on the stage and with no grainy colorations or rounded off sounding upper frequencies.  Even the base seemed pretty full in the overall Tonal balance with the new and fairly impressive Bluesound Powernode.

After wowing ourselves in The Great Room, we moved the Lumina II’s into our “Office” listening room. I connected them to the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III Vacuum Tube Integrated 100 WPC Amplifier.

Our thoughts (there were a few of us pulled into the room), were that the Lumina II’s shined with the Cronus Magnum in their mid-range and highs, however we did notice that the base extension was not quite as prevalent with the Tube Amp. So in this scenario, I would want to add a single or a pair of Rel T7x sub-base (subwoofer) speakers to the system. 

Adding a subwoofer (a REL Audiophile type subwoofer), to these or any pair of speakers is a practice we have learned in our showroom to get the most emotional impact and dynamic range delivery from a two channel system. (so that the speaker doesn’t have to work as hard on delivering base)

SUMMARY KIND OF

The Sonus Faber Lumina II’s were an excellent idea for a very modest speaker that still maintained that rich Sonus Faber sound. Some naysayers have suggested that ultra modest price speakers from a company famed for their high end audio sound coupled with their rich Italian wood construction, might be a detractor from their target market.  I say, no way.  They just opened the door for New or Seasoned Audiophiles that have to start out modest in their speakers, and then grow into the next level up in the Sonus Faber magnificent line of speakers. I have learned that the Lumina II’s can be played with a $900 Integrated Amp, a $3000 Integrated Tube Amp, all the way up to a McIntosh 462 paired with a C53 Pre-amplifier where the imaging and soundstage just gets better (as I have been told by a friend’s opinion I can surely trust) and does not disappoint. Meanwhile you are saving up for that pair of floorstanders that you have been dreaming of for your next step, a year or two down the road.

It’s the path of this hobby that makes it so fun, growing your system in increments.

Oldwaverider

We enjoy being your go to source for all Your High Performance to Ultra High End Home Stereo two Channel systems, Modest to Ultra High End Home Theater home entertainment systems.  We also enjoy Audiophiles just dropping in to talk the hobby, ask questions and even pick Ed Masterson’s brain on questions about your system and also about used and pre-owned gear sales, including in which we are an Audiogon Dealer, to help move your former gear as you pursue upgrading thoughts that you may have now or on down the road.

 

 

Audible Images AV is pleased to be serving: Melbourne, Florida, Rockledge, Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Port St. John, Satellite Beach, Space Coast, Vero Beach, Orlando,  The Butler Chain of lakes including Lake Butler, Lake Tibet, Lake Down, Lake Sheen, Lake Louise, Lake Chase, Pocket Lake, Lake Blanche, Wauseon Bay, Lake Isleworth, and Little Fish Lake, along with Bay Hill, The Villages, Lady Lake, Daytona, Kissimmee, Central Florida, the entire state of Florida…and even the greater USA, for all their Stereo two channel and Home Theater systems.

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Excellent Sound Can Keep Friends, Spouses and Even Grand Kids Hanging Around

from the Blog of Oldwaverider:

 

We got a great receiver in and that’s why I’m sharing this blog post and why I bought one for myself at home.

 

SO, PERHAPS WHAT YOU YOU’VE BEEN WANTING 

A modest priced, stereo and/or theater system  to replace that background music piece you’ve been playing all these years.  

YOU MIGHT BE ASKING:

  • Audible Images is known for their ultra high end gear, so how does this starter theater piece fit into their line, in regards to their passion for excellent sound?  
  • For music only would I be able to crank it up without triggering my wife asking me to turn the volume down? Can I also stream music from Spotify, Tidal, etc?
  • Would the system sound excellent enough that my wife or even grand kids would enjoy spending time in the room again and again?
  • With a budget of under 5K, will I feel totally happy with this as a starter theater or stereo system that  I can expand on later with speakers and subwoofers?

OUR NEW SHOWROOM PIECE

The new gear and system that I have played with the last week will solve the budget and lend itself to enjoying company in your personal stereo / theater media room.  

I just brought one home for myself, the NAD T758 v3i , and absolutely love it. (I already had some other speakers)

I’m talking about the new NAD T758 v3i Surround Sound Receiver (only $1500), which has 110 WPC (class A/B) for 2 channel listening and 60 WPC x 7 channel so there is plenty of power in your average sized room. I partnered it with Martin Logan ESL Electrostatic Loudspeakers, along with the ESL C Center speaker and 4 hidden on walls for 7.0, along with 2 REL Acoustics T7I Subwoofers.

A significant point to share is that the NAD Receiver connected to a TV with just 2 channels of sound, those being the Martin Logan ESL’ speakers is all you need to start out your excellent home theater with. You can add the center channel and 2 sets or surrounds along with the subwoofers later on!

For months, we waited for a couple of the new NAD receivers to be sent to our showroom.  The Covid thing really got ridiculous and shut a lot of manufacturers down for quite a spell. NAD included.

Finally we got the new NAD T758 v3i Surround Sound Receiver in. And I will say, it has not disappointed us in any way. In fact, it sounds fantastic. As I mention above, I JUST GOT ONE FOR MYSELF FOR MY NEW SYSTEM AT HOME.

    • Just come in to hear the NAD T758 v3i ($1500) with the Martin Logan ESL floorstander speakers ($2500), a no sales atmosphere for just listening/demo pleasure. It is setup for both two channel listening or 7.1 surround sound. For $4000 (which would not include the other 5 channels), it sounds fantastic as your TV 2 channel theater and/or stereo. And I’m confident, your spouse, girlfriend, grandkids, whomever will enjoy spending time in your room.  (You might need to keep a Playstation around if grands are involved, but maybe not)
    • Here’s the thing; at first it sounds out of your budget, right? It’s not. Truly. You can buy online or go to a department/big box store to get a receiver for maybe $800 and a 7.0 box of speakers for $600 plus a sub for $200, total system price of $1600, but it will 9 times out of 10 sound horrific.  It will probably have really cool visual displays, pretty colors, all kinds of functional bells and whistles, but when you come right down to the Absolute Truth, the sound quality will be garbage.  YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. And someone will always be asking you to turn down the volume. 
    • But for a little more than twice the price of the big box waste, you will have a stereo that is also a solid start for a home theater (it’s all you need for a home theater actually), and best of all, your wife will enjoy sitting with you (and not feel like she’s being tortured) and if you’re older, your grand kids might just come around more often.
    • You can stop reading now and just come on in for a laid back listening demo, with one of us for a few minutes, then we’ll leave ya alone and shut the door so you can critique all by your self

Down below the photo gallery I’ve shared some of the excellent features of the NAD piece. (I share a few details below the gallery regarding features of the NAD and tracks I demoed)

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU ENJOY ABOUT THIS NEW NAD T 758 V3I RECEIVER IN YOUR HOME?

  • If you like the idea of streaming unlimited music from your Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon streaming service, well guess what? The T 758 v3i has built-in BluOS wireless streaming technology, letting you stream lossless music to your home theatre system from local libraries, tune in to Internet radio stations, and access popular music streaming services. And yes, it is MQA ready.
  • It is 4K ready
  • It has Pre Outs on the back in case you later on want to add an even more powerful amplifier to your front left and right speakers
  • You have digital inputs, 3 HDMI inputs, and one HDMI to go to your TV, so you have plenty of options to connect to your Receiver.  In most cases you can plug your Amazon Fire or Roku right into the HDMI input ports, and then you’re ready to go. (may be a little tweaking 😉
  • Some of the Video and Music I played:
  • “Midnight in Harlem” from the Crossroads – Eric Clapton Guitar Festival 2010 on Blu Ray.
  • “Chris Botti – in Boston” with a host of special guests on Blu Ray
  • “Nature Boy” – Lisa Ekdahl , streaming from Tidal
  • “Silver Rain” – by Marcus Miller, streaming from Tidal
  • “Hotel California” – Hell Freezes Over , streaming from Tidal
  • “Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30, TrV 176 (Live) Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Both theater and 2 channel listening are a total pleasure on this NAD T 758 v3i mated with the Martin Logan ESL Electrostatic loudspeakers.  

Come in and hear my newest entertainment at home, right here in our Audible Images showroom here in the Eau Gallie Arts District!  You’ll be very glad you did.

Oldwaverider

 

We enjoy being your go to source for all Your High Performance to Ultra High End Home Stereo two Channel systems, Modest to Ultra High End Home Theater home entertainment systems.  We also enjoy Audiophiles just dropping in to talk the hobby, ask questions and even pick Ed Masterson’s brain on questions about your system and also about used and pre-owned gear sales, including in which we are an Audiogon Dealer, to help move your former gear as you pursue upgrading thoughts that you may have now or on down the road.

 

 

Audible Images AV is pleased to be serving: Melbourne, Florida, Rockledge, Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Port St. John, Satellite Beach, Space Coast, Vero Beach, Orlando,  The Butler Chain of lakes including Lake Butler, Lake Tibet, Lake Down, Lake Sheen, Lake Louise, Lake Chase, Pocket Lake, Lake Blanche, Wauseon Bay, Lake Isleworth, and Little Fish Lake, along with Bay Hill, The Villages, Lady Lake, Daytona, Kissimmee, Central Florida, the entire state of Florida…and even the greater USA, for all their Stereo two channel and Home Theater systems.

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Begin Your Dream Home Theater System in Baby Steps, Start it with a 95 Pound Baby :)

from the blog of Oldwaverider:

I confess I don’t have children.  But I do know that I enjoyed listening to this baby, as I’m sure any other Movie lover or Audiophile would. And this new to our floor McIntosh MC257 7-Channel Power Amplifier is one hefty 95 lb. baby.  No unwanted colic, just gorgeous large meter display eyes and nice sweet powerful sound.

He was delivered to our Audible Images showroom on Monday, and when I came in Tuesday, it was time to set it up in just two channel mode to begin break-in and then testing on Thursday.

The Mindset

I decided , or Ed decided 😉 , that we could compare it to our newer Halo by Parasound A21+ 2 channel power amplifier.  We weren’t so much thinking about a test between two amps, as we were to just hear the power, quality and potential for this piece to deliver 7 channels of home theater power for someone.

Setup

We placed the McIntosh MC257 in our “Escape Pod” Home Theater / 2 Channel listening room. For a Preamp we used the Halo New P6 2.1 Channel Preamplifier.  We had the Martin Logan ESL 9’s as our test speakers, using Transparent Musicwave speaker cables and Musiclink interconnects.  We used the BlueSound Node 2i as a source.

The Comparison

I actually have to say the McIntosh and the A21+ were a pretty close comparison.  The Mac MC257 at $10,000 and divided by 7 channels is equal to around $1428 / per channel of Amplifier.  (to make this a fair comparison) The Halo Parasound is $2995 divided by 2 is equal to about $1497 / per channel of Amplifier. They both had their strengths. But neither one was blown away by the other in this case.  

What I did hear, was plenty of power by the A21+ shared in a recent blog post here, and plenty of power and nice clean sound by the McIntosh MC257.  If you’re starting out in your new home theater, a sweet thing about the Mac is the fact that it cranks out 250 wpc x 3 channels (You can set up a Right Front, Left Front and Center channel and add the other 2 to 4 channels later), and if you’re doing 7 channels right away, then you have a full 200 wpc x 7 channels driven.  And when I cranked it up, the dynamic headroom increase that McIntosh spoke about on their website definitely had room to spare.  Quote:

Filter capacity has been increased by 20% which has produced an amazing 94% increase in dynamic headroom from 1.7dB to 3.3dB as well as improving low frequency performance – both key features in a home theater amplifier, especially when listening to an energetic soundtrack.”

Next week I’m going to bring the MC257 into our “Great Room” listening room, and pair it with the McIntosh C2700 Vacuum Tube 2 Channel Preamp for a hear test.  And then I’m going to compare the MC257 using the dCS Bartok as a Preamp & DAC, with the C2700 / MC257 pair up and see what my ears decide with that one.

Summary

McIntosh once again delivered their promise of modest high end gear that provides clean and powerful sound, and I am happy to say made in New York State.  The MC257 will have no problem starting out your new home theater with clear dream and powerful sound, in 2 channel, 3 or 7 channel setup and within a large listening room of most any size in the typical American home.  Excellent piece!

Just another day at the office here at Audible Images.  Setting up new gear, listening, comparing, blogging about it.  Ed Masterson has created a very special Audiophile haven here.  And I enjoy my Audiophile opportunity to listen to many amazing pieces of gear here.

Come in, and just enjoy melting in each of our four listening rooms to hear Music, Movies and Concerts like you have never heard before in your life.

We promise you will feel being Transported back to a very special moment in your life.

Thank You,

Oldwaverider

We enjoy being your go to source for all Your High Performance to Ultra High End Home Stereo two Channel systems, Modest to Ultra High End Home Theater home entertainment systems.  We also enjoy Audiophiles just dropping in to talk the hobby, ask questions and even pick Ed Masterson’s brain on questions about your system and also about used and pre-owned gear sales. Also we are an Audiogon Dealer, and Miguel here can help move your former gear as you pursue upgrading thoughts that you may have now or on down the road.

 

Audible Images AV is pleased to be serving: Melbourne, Florida, Rockledge, Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Port St. John, Satellite Beach, Space Coast, Vero Beach, Orlando,  The Butler Chain of lakes including Lake Butler, Lake Tibet, Lake Down, Lake Sheen, Lake Louise, Lake Chase, Pocket Lake, Lake Blanche, Wauseon Bay, Lake Isleworth, and Little Fish Lake, along with Bay Hill, The Villages, Lady Lake, Daytona, Kissimmee, Central Florida, the entire state of Florida…and even the greater USA, for all their Stereo two channel and Home Theater systems.

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The Good, The Better, Which is The Best?

from the blog of Oldwaverider:

Do You Have Fun at Work? I do, and I’d have to say I’m quite thankful to be here. Playing with, testing new gear and blogging about it in an Audiophile Playground, here at Audible Images is not only fun and a great learning experience, but it’s also an incredible opportunity to really enjoy music in a variety of constantly changing ways!

I had a chance to play with the new Rotel Michi S5 Stereo Amplifier $6995 along with the P5 Stereo Preamplifier $3995 and I have to admit they could easily intimidate some pricier competitor’s gear. Excellent sounding pieces/s with which I could unload a string of audiophile superlative jargon to express just how awesome it/they sounded.  Very impressive and enjoyable to hear.

The Gear

After listening to them for a while, some critical listening followed by some pleasure only time, and after they had broken in some, both Ed Masterson & I decided it would be interesting to compare two other pieces that we just so happened to have on our front showroom floor. One piece that was very modestly priced along with a significantly much higher price piece.  It wasn’t actually about comparing dollars, it just so happens that we brought the new Halo by Parasound A21+ Stereo Amplifier $2995 (along with the P6 2.1 Channel Stereo Preamplifier & DAC $1595) into our showroom and we already had the McIntosh MC 462 Stereo Amplifier $9000 (with the C 2700 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier $8000) all in our front demo room called “The Great Room“. We are going to see how the two above stack up against the new Rotel / Michi S5 stereo amplifier.

Now keep in mind, this is a blog post, not a review, about myself “Oldwaverider” just enjoying himself in the showroom testing out, playing with and comparing gear.  (and with blogs you don’t go through the grammar check obsession like in magazine reviews 😉 ) One thing that is constant, when I am playing with amplifiers, it is being done with a pair of speakers that are accurately tuned in place, within that listening room.  So back to our comparison post.

To create an even amplifier only test environment I used the dCS Bartok Streaming DAC as a preamp and source.  (Note: We us Roon throughout our showroom and use Tidal or Qobuz high rez for streaming) I set the voltage output to 6 volts (as opposed to the default 2 volts) simply because I was using the DAC as a preamp and source.  If it was just being used as a streaming DAC source only, then I would have left it at the 2 volt output which is the safest beginning choice going into a preamplifier.  (Note: Why did I even mention about the voltage setting for the dCS piece? Because there is often discussion as to what is the optimal voltage when using dCS dacs as a source only or as a preamp/source) Additionally, I used a set of of Transparent Musiclink Balanced Interconnects for each amplifier from the Bartok and Transparent Plus Speaker cables leading to a pair of Wilson Audio Yvette Loudspeakers.

NOTE: In the photos below, I goofed and forgot to shoot a photo with all three pieces sitting right there when I did the testing, two on the floor and the Mac in the rack along with the dCS Bartok in the rack.  So, please do me a favor and visualize the A21+ and the Michi S5 sitting on the floor right there in front of the McIntosh rack stack 🙂 So, thus the 3 separate photos portraying 2 of our demo rooms in our showroom and a stock photo of the Michi S5 🙂

My Method

I did something a little different for the first round of testing, and used just one track by Muddy Waters titled “My Captain” off of the ‘Folk Singer’ album.  Normally I use a very habitual select  choice of 5 well known or common test tracks and have at it. But Ed suggested I try this Muddy Waters song because of it’s unique solo instrument “riff” as I’ll call it, that is a very good test for a modest high end piece of gear.  Enabling you to detect venue characteristics (stage and wall echo, reverb, etc) and of Muddy Waters riff that might not even be heard in a modest piece of electronics. The song delivered a timbre and texture that does a really nice job of depicting the actual feel and sound of the stage acoustics and the unique characteristics of Muddy Waters and his guitar.  There were 4 or 5 distinct sounds I listened for.  You could call them a group of licks that work as kind of an intro to the more common riff or riffs of the song. But it boils down to some plucking, thumping and strumming that he does beginning with the top strings of the guitar, followed by some light tapping on the body of the guitar itself, a short plucking on the bottom strings a bellow out of vocals followed by an extended complete strum of all strings coupled with a little lead guitar.  (I don’t play myself, so you’ll need to give me some room on my description of the playing 🙂 )

1st Summary

My summary in short for the Muddy Waters track for all 3 pieces follows: The Michi provided the darkest and most clean and airy detail of all three. I would also add that the imaging was most clear on the Michi. Very interesting test.  Perhaps the Mac provided a little more detail and base thump but surprisingly it had a little bit of an edge added to the mids and highs in comparison to the Michi.  It would probably come down to personal preference and music styles that would tend to steer one toward the Michi or the Mac. Meaning, if I were an avid Rock or Rhythm & Blues listener I might lean toward the McIntosh, and if mostly classical or jazz were my genres, then perhaps the Michi might be my choice.  Now bang for the buck, the A21+ was a no brainer.  Meaning, the only item the Halo was lacking out of the common criteria was the airiness or spaciousness between the instruments.  Which for an Audiophile, that can be the deal breaker, but for the price tag on the new A21+ , the listening pleasure is just plain excellent with no brightness on the highs, no apparent colorations on mids or highs and no shortage of solid base.  Just an excellent starter Audiophile Amplifier with power to spare!

When I moved onto my normal 5 or 6 test tracks to experience an overall music enjoyment comparison, those tracks were:

  1. Fade to Black – Dire Straits
  2. Come Away with Me – Norah Jones
  3. Nature Boy – Lisa Ekdahl/Peter Nordahl Trio
  4. Night Mist Blues – Monty Alexander Trio
  5. Flight of the Cosmic Hippo – Bela Fleck & the Flecktones

Final Summary

As opposed to doing my standard OCD comparison of all 5 or 6 tracks x 3 amplifers, I think it would be more to the point to share which track I preferred with a choice of the 3 amplifiers.

The McIntosh MC 462 seemed to really deliver best on “Fade to Black” which is a track that really likes to have Amp and Speakers that can deliver the base punch.  Perhaps the Mac delivers just a little deeper base extension, which with a classic rock song like this it just sounded like the artist probably intended. The lead guitar and also the most prevalent guitar in the song comes from the left side of the stage and the Mac just gives you that slightly edgy Classic Rock sound along with plenty of detail.  Again, the bass which often provides the most energy for a song, is most enjoyable from the MC 462 for this track.

The brand new Rotel / Michi S5 brought out in the song “Night Mist Blues” what seemed to be the most transparent delivery of all 3 amplifiers for this song, from Monty Alexanders piano energy.  The stage is just so alive, the image so clear, and the timbre and texture were just spot on.  The recording just has a forward stage perspective the way it places you at the front row table or seat in the venue.  ‘And Monty is just so alive as the piano jumps across the stage from left to right.  And around the 1:20 mark of the song,  right after the piano drops from upper octave chords to low octave with a mellow cadence & tempo, the crowd starts clapping and you can feel the depth of the crowd around both sides of the stage. Just awesome delivery!

For the third amplifier in this pleasure test;  The new Halo by Parasound A21+, I have to close with a repeat what I shared above. You won’t get the same airiness/spaciousness of distinct layers between the instruments on the sound stage as the two much higher end pieces above, but the listening pleasure is just plain excellent with no brightness on the highs, no apparent colorations on mids or highs and no shortage of solid base.  Just an excellent starter Audiophile Amplifier with power to spare!

To hear three pieces like this, with such distinct price point differences, and yet walk away absolutely pleased with the listening experience for each,  I say awesome job to McIntosh, Rotel/Michi and Halo by Parasound. What an enjoyable test experience this was. 🙂

Treat yourself to an exceptional Audio listening experience and stop by to see Ed, Miguel or Myself.  No sales, just passion here, we simply want you to experience the music in 4 rooms, on the right gear and set up just right. 

We’ll leave you in the room and close the door, and let the music transport you wherever you want it to.

Oldwaverider

We enjoy being your go to source for all Your High Performance to Ultra High End Home Stereo two Channel systems, Modest to Ultra High End Home Theater home entertainment systems.  We also enjoy Audiophiles just dropping in to talk the hobby, ask questions and even pick Ed Masterson’s brain on questions about your system and also about used and pre-owned gear sales, including in which we are an Audiogon Dealer, to help move your former gear as you pursue upgrading thoughts that you may have now or on down the road.

 

 

Audible Images AV is pleased to be serving: Melbourne, Florida, Rockledge, Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Port St. John, Satellite Beach, Space Coast, Vero Beach, Orlando,  The Butler Chain of lakes including Lake Butler, Lake Tibet, Lake Down, Lake Sheen, Lake Louise, Lake Chase, Pocket Lake, Lake Blanche, Wauseon Bay, Lake Isleworth, and Little Fish Lake, along with Bay Hill, The Villages, Lady Lake, Daytona, Kissimmee, Central Florida, the entire state of Florida…and even the greater USA, for all their Stereo two channel and Home Theater systems.

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E1 Isolation Base – Removed noise in a Night and Day Comparison for a turntable

We just got this HRS E1 Isolation platform in for people to hear the noise reduction in more modest systems. (This just happens to be the only system that we could try it on 🙂 )

A customer friend of ours used our platform and heard the noise drop out on his $1600 Project turntable. Dramatic noise drop.  He was blown away.  So I had to test it out for myself, the next day when I got into work. 

Jaw dropping is how I describe my personal observation in the noise reduction here on the MT5 turntable when I loaded the Eric Clapton – Unplugged album.

As soon as I dropped the needle down on “Hey Hey” with the platform, you actually didn’t hear the main noise of needle drop you normally would. 

Then Ed Masterson, played “Signe” the 1st song on the album to hear the noise from the crowd clapping in the concert. The soundstage of clapping went from stadium wide, not because that was the actual width of the soundstage, but more because it was one aspect of the recording that perhaps was not as coherent as the instrumental  (felt like it) and opened the reproduction to a very distinct width and natural soundstage. (When I looked up the background on his “Unplugged” album, I discovered Unplugged is a 1992 album by Eric Clapton, recorded at Bray Studios, England in front of an audience for the MTV Unplugged television series.)

The noise floor just dropped out, the high quality recording become distinctly more transparent, airy, natural and so many other terms of clarity I could use.

A Note I’d like to Add; Before I wrote this blog post about my own personal experience. Having been an Audiophile for less than 3 years, I wanted to read from another person’s perspective in regards to noise reduction and specifically if I could find, an article on an isolation platform. In my search I found one from the best, a very interesting and relevant point made by Robert Harley, Editor in Chief of The Absolute Sound Magazine, (and author of the book I am reading called “The Complete Guide To High-End Audio“) in an article he shared in 2015 called ‘Critical Mass Systems Maxxum Amplifier Stand Disappearing Act’.  I quote Mr. Harley below from the article:

“In my editorial in Issue 246 (“The Law of Accelerating Returns”) I suggested that the goal of assembling the most realistic-sounding audio system is best realized by investing in products that are demonstrably more transparent and resolving.

All too often, audiophiles swap components only to trade one set of colorations for a different, perhaps initially appealing, set of colorations. Years of such “upgrades” don’t bring you closer to musical realism in the long run. It’s better to spend your money on components or accessories that improve the sound without any sonic tradeoffs.”

During our test, Ed made the comment that being an electrical engineer, this platform made more Engineering sense than other noise reduction/isolation products or methods, because it was based on applying mechanical noise reduction. So, I stayed the course on my post here.

My summary: It was very much a Night and Day difference.  Two turntables were tested.  The first one was a $1600 Project turntable and the second was a $7000 one.  The same friend/customer Dave heard both. And from what I understood him to say, was they both had about the same results. An $1100 isolation platform by HRS did this.  Very simple test. Amazing results.  I encourage you to come in and hear what I did.

The gear used:

The McIntosh MC462 Solid State Amplifer, the McIntosh C2600 2-Channel Vacuum Tube Preamplifier, the McIntosh MT5 2-Channel Precision Turntable, and Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III Floorstander Speakers with the REL sub-base woofers turned off. (because one happened to sell the other day) 

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Audible Images is hosting our 2nd Annual Music Appreciation Event on Saturday December 14th 2019

Audible Images invites everyone to join us, Saturday December 14th from 12 to 5 pm, for our “2nd Annual – Music Appreciation Event”.

Music stirs the soul. We all strive to build music reproduction systems that achieve that total “acoustic immersion”. When it happens all other thoughts are washed away as the sound overwhelms the other senses leaving you only listening. We believe that this is how it was meant to be heard. So it is our goal to help you achieve that or at least be exposed to it at our event.

This year we are introducing new products from Wilson Audio, Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems, NAD Electronics, REL Acoustics, McIntosh Labs and Sonus Faber . We will have factory representatives from REL Acoustics, McIntosh and Sonus Faber available to answer questions. We encourage you to bring your favorite music. We will do our best to play it.

Come have a great time with other hobbyists & audiophiles!  Delectable Hors D’ Oeuvres and Appetizers will be served.  

New Gear, a New Room, New & Old Friends.  Come Join Us for a fun Saturday music and theater afternoon in the beautiful downtown Eau Gallie Art District.  Hang out on the front porch with us.

Contact Ed Masterson at  321-626-3898 or Email: edmasterson@audibleimagesav.com for further information.

 

Download PDF Flyer of the Event below:

Audible Images - 2nd Annual Music Appreciation Event - PDF Flyer

 

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Protect your Mac stack with the new MPC500 McIntosh Power Controller

When you’ve got $5 – 10K or more worth of really nice high end McIntosh and/or mixed gear, isn’t it prudent to protect your investment, with something you know has already been tested with McIntosh gear?

You can now get it done with the new MPC500 McIntosh Power Controller. (MSRP $2500) See the product here.

You can connect up to 8 pieces of gear (U.S. power sources of 120 volts AC , and/or see manual for 240 volt protection), and setup trigger cables with your preamp to the amplifier, turntable and more for altogether power on convenience.  It protects against brutal power surges from lightning, and also for protecting low voltage devices against secondary surges and spikes that can occur after the initial event.  See the three thermally protected metal-oxide varistors (TPMOVs) explanation from McIntosh below the diagram.

On our showroom floor, we have the Controller connecting the Mac stack in our “Great Room” reference/listening room, which includes the McIntosh C2600 2-Channel Vacuum Tube Preamplifier, the new powerhouse McIntosh MC462 Solid State Amplifier and the McIntosh MT5 2-Channel Precision Turntable.  I may also connect the Bluesound Node 2i Wireless Multi-Room Hi-Res Music Streamer DAC that we use as a second source for the McIntosh system.  Below I have attached the MPC500 Power Controller Connection Diagram.  (The diagram happens to explain the connection of a Theater Processor, an Am/FM tuner and a Media Bridge, but for our purposes, it will be a bit less involved for the components we are using, though the process is still essentially the same, trigger cables, ethernet, rs232, etc.  Note: this diagram is for 120 VAC, there is a 2nd diagram for 240 VAC)  Below are additional photos of our McIntosh stack in “The Great Room”.

Connection diagram for MPC 500 Controller - mpc500cd1and2-01_Page_1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concise explanation excerpt from McIntosh website:

AC power line protection is accomplished with the use of three thermally protected metal-oxide varistors (TPMOVs) – which are far safer than traditional MOVs – that provide you with Line to Neutral, Line to Ground and Neutral to Ground protection. For secondary surge events, the MPC500 provides protection for your ethernet, coaxial, and other low voltage devices via Gas Discharge Tubes (GDT), Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) thermistors and Transient Voltage Suppression (TVS) components. Also included in the MPC500 is electromagnetic interference (EMI) filtering of the AC line and over/under voltage protection, which will switch off the rear receptacles to keep your connected devices safe from trying to operate at undesired voltage levels.”

 

Audible Images AV is excited to be serving: Melbourne, Florida, Rockledge, Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Port St. John, Satellite Beach, Space Coast, Vero Beach, Orlando, Daytona, Kissimmee, Central Florida, the entire state of Florida…and even the greater USA.

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