Sonance'84's stereo evolution (lots of photos)

Awesome space! I would never want to leave the house with a set-up like that. It is neat to see your progress thru the years
 
Very cool thread. You have some really nice equipmenmt there.


Looking better and better all the time mate!

Awesome space! I would never want to leave the house with a set-up like that. It is neat to see your progress thru the years

Thanks guys! :beerchug:

This really is one of my favorite systems, I'm enjoying piecing it together slowly which allows me time to get to know each new tweak or add-on.
 
a couple new toys...

One of the pieces on my list to add to this system has been acquired as well as a changing of the guard, I mean DAC. The Toshiba HD-XA1 has also been sold, to make room for a new CD player, without a fan built in. Lastly, the PS3 has been swapped for a PS4 in the A/V system.

The Musical Fidelity X-10V3 tube buffer has long been on my wish list to try out and I'm glad I did, as it adds to the enjoyment of listening ever so slightly. I have it hooked up via the tape loop of my A300, so I can add or remove it from the signal path with the press of a single button and it allows all of my inputs to utilize the X-10V3, including the phono stage. I'd like to get an upgraded power supply for this thing, which the I've heard the "X Series" components benefit from. It sounds great as is though.

The next change was the DAC...I sold the modified Benchmark DAC1 USB and replaced it with a Schiit Bifrost that had been upgraded to the Uber analog output stage and the Gen 2 USB board. As I see it, there are 2 more levels that I can upgrade to at the moment from Schiit, which is awesome to know, but I'm very happy with the sound of the Uber op stage right now. I just like the idea of being able to take it to the next level eventually. Oh yeah, it matches my other gear too, trying to stay with the silver theme.

The Benchmark didn't sound bad at all, but the synergy with my other gear just wasn't there. It was a little "brighter" or "hotter" sounding than I would have liked and kept my listening sessions shorter than usual. Once I hooked up the Bifrost Uber, it hit me once again that synergy between components DOES exist and that I had found a better match for my gear. Although I did not conduct an A/B test between the two dacs, I feel comfortable saying that the Bifrost hits way above it's price point with the Uber and Gen 2 USB mods. Who knows what the future hold for this dac, it could get even better with the 4490 or Multibit output stages. For now though, I'll just sit back and enjoy the music.


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back to tubes...

I started upgrading pieces for both systems (2-ch and 5.1) in Fall of 2016, but recently made a rather large change to the 2-ch setup, which I feel warrants itself as a "new" system.

The first upgrades were a Luxman PD277 turntable for the 2-ch system, a Marantz SR6005 and REL T1 for the 5.1 system, and a Panamax 5500-EX that is shared between the two systems. I also had some interconnects made by AK member @Snerp, which are 22 awg silver-plated OFC with Rean NYS352BG connectors, so now all of my 2-ch interconnects match and sound great.

The biggest change was my amplification, which came about in a scroe, followed by a trade. I found a pair of Altec 604-D's and traded them for a few things, the main piece being a Manley Stereo 75+75 amplifier. I did some research on the amp and my M&K speakers before the trade and found they'd be a great match, which was then confirmed upon the first listening session. I was using my Musical Fidelity A300 integrated amp as the preamp for a minute, until I came across a Forté Audio Model 2 preamp, then recapped it and added a few tweaks. This combo sounded fantastic through the M&K SV-200's and was a definite move up.

I then tried a couple different M&K high-pass crossovers with the SV-200's, including an LP-1S (100Hz version), but ended up going with the HP-80 instead, which is 80Hz. Using one of these was not an option with the A300 integrated amp in the past, as it only had pre-outs...no main-ins. This made a huge difference in sound quality and took the speakers that I already loved up a few notches, as well as keeping the Manley from working too hard reproducing bass under 80Hz. Now I have a true bi-amped system with 75 watt tubes for the mids & highs and 200 watt solid-state class A/B for the lows.

I'm extremely happy with how things turned out, especially since I felt bad pulling the A300 from it's duties. After rolling the driver and input tubes in the amp to NOS Amperex 7062's, the sound got even better! I've been using this system almost daily for 4 months now and can't think of anything I'd change.


System 11 (Oct '17 - Mar '18):

< Dedicated 2-channel >
- Manley Laboratories 'Lab Series' Stereo 75+75
- Forté Audio Model 2
- Miller & Kriesel HP-80
- Miller & Kreisel SV-200B

- Luxman PD277 w/ Grado G2+
- Schiit Bifrost Uber Gen 2
- Denon DVD-2910

- Kimber Kable 8VS
- Snerp's DIY silver-plated OFC interconnects
- Pangea AC-9 (amp)
- Custom Audio LLC power cord (dac)
- Richard Gray's Power Company 400 Pro
- Panamax MAX 5500-EX

- Lovan Pyramid AVR isolation rack

< A/V 5.1 >
- Sony Bravia KDL-40V3000
- Marantz SR6005
- Canton Plus QX (surrounds)
- REL Acoustics T1 (subwoofer)
- Sony Playstation 4 Pro
- Windows 7 HTPC
- Monster HDMI
- Tributaries 14AWG HC-OFC
- Pangea AC-14SE (tv)
- Panamax MAX 5500-EX
- Furman PST-8 line conditioner
- Logitech Harmony One remote


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I would like to ask, why was the 2 original caps on the Cayin left out of the upgrade ?


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The upgrade was the coupling caps only, the film caps, which the signal path runs through. Those blue caps are electrolytic and since the amp was practically new when I got it, there was/is no need to change those out.
 
Regardless if it is new or not, would changing it to Mundorf improve the sound ?

It's possible, but since the signal doesn't flow through those particular caps, it probably wouldn't matter.

I know mundorf does make electrolytic caps, but I doubt they make them in those values. Nichicon is good too.
 
I've been changing things up again...

The quick and dirty explanation is that I lost my job in March of 2018 and had to sell/trade a few key pieces from my last system; notably the amp, pre and TT. I started a new job a few months later and just decided to save money and use my minimalist budget system I had put together. After a year of that, I came across some nice gear that couldn't be passed up and figured it was time to put a system together again.

It started back in February 2019, with a Pass X150 power amp, and has slowly been changing since then. I'm coasting right now as I figure out what sources I'd like to upgrade to, but the amp stages and speakers are set for the foreseeable future. Power cables and component tweaks are also on my mind right now.


I couldn't be happier with the current setup and how well it came together. I finally have a true tube preamp matched to an authoritative, yet delicate, sand power amp. That was always one combo I'd wanted to try, and the wait has paid off. Many nights of researching preamps, before deciding on a
ModWright SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition with the optional phono stage. That was the first piece of brand new gear I'd bought in a long time. A "changing of the guards" took place as well, with the addition of new-to-me Vandersteen 3A Signature speakers, taking over for the M&K's. This has to be the highest resolving system I've ever owned, while non-fatiguing. I can listen deep into the recordings for hours and get lost.

System 12
(Jul '19 - CURRENT):

< Dedicated 2-channel >
- Pass Labs X150
- ModWright SWL 9.0 Anniversary Edition w/ optional phono stage
- Vandersteen 3A Signature
- Mitsubishi LT-20 w/ Grado ZF3
- Teac UD-501
- Denon DVD-955 (2910)
- Windows 10 Dell laptop
- Richard Gray's Power Company 400 Pro

- Kimber Kable 8VS external bi-wire
- Analysis Plus Solo Crystal Oval interconnects
- Analysis Plus Purple Plus USB
- Analysis Plus Toslink Optical
- Pangea AC-9 (amp)
- Pangea AC-14SE (pre)
- cheap hospital grade power cord (dac)


< A/V 5.1 >
- Sony Bravia XBR-55X950G
- Marantz SR6005 (soon to be replaced with an SR6014)
- Canton Plus QX (surrounds)
- REL Acoustics Britannia B1 (subwoofer)
- Sony Playstation 4 Pro
- Logitech Harmony One remote
- Panamax MAX 5500-EX
- Furman PST-8 line conditioner

- Monster HDMI cables
- Tributaries 14AWG HC-OFC speaker cable
- Custom Audio LLC power cable (avr)
- cheap hospital grade power cord (ps4)

< shared >
- Salamander SLC20 a/v rack

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