Doctor says my upgradeitis may be in remission

It all started a few months ago when I decided I needed a new cartridge for my record playing machine. I figured that would make me happy for awhile, but just like any addict it awoke the beast in me and the chase was on.

I figured maybe I just need a new phono stage to go with my cartridge and then I would be ok. Then I thought that maybe a new pre-amp would bring things to an end, but it only got worse.

So I figured new amps and that would surely calm the beast. Well after that it seemed that my CD source was not up at the same level as everything else, so new CD source.

Finally I thought I was done and realized that my Monster Power Strip just was not good enough so in came new power conditioning.

After seeing the doctor we agreed that the only thing left to do is move onto Wilson MAXX IIs but my insurance does not cover them.

I am now in a 12 step program and my life has become manageable again. But relapse is never far away.

So the results are:

Shelter 9000 replaces Benz H2 Cartridge
ARC PH7 replaces Melos Phono Pre
ARC REF-3 replaces Classe CP-60 Pre-Amp
ARC REF-CD7 replaces Wadia 22 Trasport into Classe DAC-1 DAC
AYRE MX-R Mono Blocks replaces Classe CA-400 Amplifier
Richard Gray’s 1200 Custom and 400 Pro replace Monster Power Strip

The sonic results are startling. I have transient speed that I never thought possible. Dynamics that knock me out of my seat. Transparency that I have never experienced, where remarkably subtle details all of a sudden are so obviously revealed.

I can look around the soundstage and listen to each performer clearly without any congestion or confusion. I never thought that CDs could portray drums and cymbals as well as vinyl, but I have been proven wrong. In addition, the recreation of the venue and the ambiance of the space is uncanny.

I had thought that I had very come close to the law of diminishing returns with my prior system, but it is almost as if I went from mid-fi to high-fi all over again.

I still need to do room treatment and clean up the mess of wires so still some work to do. I am hoping to do a 65" Plasma on the wall so that I can get the components down lower and spread across the room so that they are not behind the left speaker as well as remove the interference caused by the big assed projection TV.

The Summits really can resolve whatever you put behind them and have proven to be a world class performer. I expect that I will have to spend 4 times the money to really better them. So I am taking it one day at a time hoping that this round is over. My wife is at the end of her rope and I can’t afford to replace her anytime soon. So the madness must stop for now……..Steve

That is one gorgeous system! I wonder what were the more specific reasons that made you go MX-R instead of Ref 110 (or 220?). I am planning on moving to amplification in that price range and those units are all in my list of things to carefully audition.

paulo m said:

That is one gorgeous system! I wonder what were the more specific reasons that made you go MX-R instead of Ref 110 (or 220?). I am planning on moving to amplification in that price range and those units are all in my list of things to carefully audition.

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It really was a toss up between the REF-210s and the MX-Rs. I could have purchased either and the Ayres just pulled me into the music a bit more. Also the additional power seemed to bring a little more to the table when listening to Rock and other large scale music that tipped me.

My other concern was that the REF-210s will produce much more heat and I would have recurring expense with tube replacement on a periodic basis since I use my system a few hours each day and most of the weekends.

Again these two amps are much more similar then you may think considering that one is SS and the other is tube. ARC has done an excellent job producing very accurate sound without the usual Tube euphony and Arye has done an excellent job producing very accurate sound without the sterility that can be found in SS designs.....Steve

Steve,

Great looking system. I thought I was the only one with this disease and on a short term also.

My credit card refuses to come out of my wallet. I think it had discussions behind my back with the bank and they are in cahoots of not allowing me to spend more.

I think mine is more subtle and maybe not as great looking as others. I agree with your statement of thinking it really can not get better.

Enjoy

Jeff :music:

I must not be your Doc then.. I would've not let you left the office without putting in MAXX2 orders...

stesom said:

It really was a toss up between the REF-210s and the MX-Rs. I could have purchased either and the Ayres just pulled me into the music a bit more. Also the additional power seemed to bring a little more to the table when listening to Rock and other large scale music that tipped me.

My other concern was that the REF-210s will produce much more heat and I would have recurring expense with tube replacement on a periodic basis since I use my system a few hours each day and most of the weekends.

Again these two amps are much more similar then you may think considering that one is SS and the other is tube. ARC has done an excellent job producing very accurate sound without the usual Tube euphony and Arye has done an excellent job producing very accurate sound without the sterility that can be found in SS designs.....Steve

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I'm glad to hear that as I share some of the same concerns--heat and maintenance cost. I did hear the MX-R once before, although not with ML. As was to be expected, the amps were paired with a very very good tube preamp, so I can imagine how good they sound with the Ref 3. And I do agree that the extra power would be put to very good use, hence my bias toward higher-powered tube amps (the VTL MB 450 is a contender), mainly because I would like to future-proof an eventual speaker upgrade.

Joey_V said:

I must not be your Doc then.. I would've not let you left the office without putting in MAXX2 orders...

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Did you not notice that I said my insurance won't cover them. I am appealing the decision as we speak

In addition Joey, I also want a Ferrari and the MAXX IIs sure will make a fine down payment, so what am I to do!!! I am one of the "Less Wealthy". I can afford some stuff some times but not all stuff all the time.

I bet a surgeon can afford almost everything all the time, but will have no time to use it Have fun Doc

paulo m said:

I'm glad to hear that as I share some of the same concerns--heat and maintenance cost. I did hear the MX-R once before, although not with ML. As was to be expected, the amps were paired with a very very good tube preamp, so I can imagine how good they sound with the Ref 3. And I do agree that the extra power would be put to very good use, hence my bias toward higher-powered tube amps (the VTL MB 450 is a contender), mainly because I would like to future-proof an eventual speaker upgrade.

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Agree on the "Future-Proof" in that if your upstream components are of really fine quality, then you will not be loosing any advantage when it comes time to upgrade your speakers. I would love to have listened to some of the VTL stuff, but none in my local area......Steve

stesom said:

My wife is at the end of her rope and I can’t afford to replace her anytime soon. So the madness must stop for now……..Steve

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:devil: Pssst... Steve.... the rack.... you can do better, don't you ? :devil:

stesom said:

Agree on the "Future-Proof" in that if your upstream components are of really fine quality, then you will not be loosing any advantage when it comes time to upgrade your speakers. I would love to have listened to some of the VTL stuff, but none in my local area......Steve

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A couple of questions I forgot to ask: What platforms are you using under the Ayre monoblocks? What cabling are you using?

lugano said:

:devil: Pssst... Steve.... the rack.... you can do better, don't you ? :devil:

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You are just jealous that you don’t have one. Don’t you know that this rack is handmade in Japan by a blind monk who has discovered a secrete resonance damping effect in using very thin gauge wire in what is disguised as a cheap storage rack. It counteracts the cosmic forces of the universe. You will be reading about it in all the audio magazines how everyone is going to want one. This tweak is going to set the audio world on fire!!!! :devil: :devil:

paulo m said:

A couple of questions I forgot to ask: What platforms are you using under the Ayre monoblocks? What cabling are you using?

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Good old hardwood butcher blocks under the Ayres. The amps are milled from solid billet aluminum. So they are really quite inert on their own. I am using Balanced AudioQuest Jaguar on the interconnects (except for phono - single ended) and Pikes Peak for speaker cable.

Cables can make you nuts, so I figure get something in the upper middle of the line from a respected manufacturer and life should be good and it is……..Steve

Steve your system is simply awesome. I think you picked a great spot to rest. Don't rest too long though because I'd like to have your PH7 when you next relapse!

stesom said:

Good old hardwood butcher blocks under the Ayres. The amps are milled from solid billet aluminum. So they are really quite inert on their own. I am using Balanced AudioQuest Jaguar on the interconnects (except for phono - single ended) and Pikes Peak for speaker cable.

Cables can make you nuts, so I figure get something in the upper middle of the line from a respected manufacturer and life should be good and it is……..Steve

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Thanks for the info. I currently use plain Mapleshade 2" platforms and am quite happy, yours looked similar. About the cables, I wholeheartedly agree; no need to go crazy, but no need to go cheap either!

stesom said:

I also want a Ferrari and the MAXX IIs sure will make a fine down payment, so what am I to do!!! I am one of the "Less Wealthy". I can afford some stuff some times but not all stuff all the time.

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Steve,

It looks GREAT! Get you a Salamander (or BDI, is nice too) Quad 20 and that 65" plasma and you will have a system stet up that looks as good as it sounds!!

What Ferrari are you considering? I am betting 360 if used or 430 if you are looking new. But I have to say the 599 blows ALL of the away!! What an AWESOME car that is!

stesom said:

Cables can make you nuts, so I figure get something in the upper middle of the line from a respected manufacturer and life should be good and it is……..

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Take a look at these cables, non-metalic, I saw them this afternoon and they really do sound great.http://www.cerioustechnologies.com/Cables/interconnects.html

The ceramic speakers as well. First set of speakers that I thought were as good as or better than my Summits. (and that includes the MAXX-IIs).

Pcar928fan said:

Steve,

It looks GREAT! Get you a Salamander (or BDI, is nice too) Quad 20 and that 65" plasma and you will have a system stet up that looks as good as it sounds!!

What Ferrari are you considering? I am betting 360 if used or 430 if you are looking new. But I have to say the 599 blows ALL of the away!! What an AWESOME car that is!

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I figure until I get the plasma (waiting on the next gen of 65" 1080P to come out, Panasonic is looking good) I will wait on a more appropriate equipment rack.

As to the Ferrari, I have always been partial to mid engine cars and speed is not as important as it used to be, hence I drive an NSX (very nice balance). But I would like to add either a 360 or the Ford GT, both cars are really fantastic to me.

If I were really well to do, there is no doubt I would already be on the waiting list for the 599, that car is to die for :bowdown: ......Steve

stesom said:

As to the Ferrari, I have always been partial to mid engine cars and speed is not as important as it used to be, hence I drive an NSX (very nice balance). But I would like to add either a 360 or the Ford GT, both cars are really fantastic to me.

If I were really well to do, there is no doubt I would already be on the waiting list for the 599, that car is to die for :bowdown: ......Steve

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Roger that last bit!!! I too like the 360 (they sound FABULOUS at Texas World Speedway at full chat down the front straight... getting a boner just thinking about it! LOL!! REALLY AMAZING SOUND) and the Ford GT was a classic the day it rolled out, but there is just no place to put a wheelchair in either of those cars! DANG IT! Not that I can afford them anyway, but even if I could it would do me no good to buy them!

I will be looking for a nice 456 in the next few years. The 550/575/599 though bigger than the mid engine F-cars still don't have very good fit for a wheelchair. You can't hardly lean the seat back rearward due to a HUGE bulkhead so you can't get a wheelchair in the dang things! Again, it SUCKS! The 575M F1's are getting on down in price now that the 599 is out and so in a few years I might could swing one of those. As it stands now a 456 ought to be down right CHEAP by then. They are still SUPER nice looking V12, even have seats in the back and a trunk so I could put the wheelchair out back and take friends places in a 456! You can get them right now for about $80k...maybe even less! They were $250k when new!!! WOW!

Pcar928fan said:

Roger that last bit!!! I too like the 360 (they sound FABULOUS at Texas World Speedway at full chat down the front straight... getting a boner just thinking about it! LOL!! REALLY AMAZING SOUND) and the Ford GT was a classic the day it rolled out, but there is just no place to put a wheelchair in either of those cars! DANG IT! Not that I can afford them anyway, but even if I could it would do me no good to buy them!

I will be looking for a nice 456 in the next few years. The 550/575/599 though bigger than the mid engine F-cars still don't have very good fit for a wheelchair. You can't hardly lean the seat back rearward due to a HUGE bulkhead so you can't get a wheelchair in the dang things! Again, it SUCKS! The 575M F1's are getting on down in price now that the 599 is out and so in a few years I might could swing one of those. As it stands now a 456 ought to be down right CHEAP by then. They are still SUPER nice looking V12, even have seats in the back and a trunk so I could put the wheelchair out back and take friends places in a 456! You can get them right now for about $80k...maybe even less! They were $250k when new!!! WOW!

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I am sure that for both of us, yet another sports car will find its way in the garage. I agree the 456 has become much more affordable, but the styling of the 550 is more exciting to me. And the 550s are also coming down below 6 figures. But I understand the practical nature of your situation, so it will be really cool for you to make it work out with a Ferrari. Next you got to figure out how you can make it work with a Carrera GT…..Now that is sex on wheels......Steve

Pcar928fan said:

What Ferrari are you considering? I am betting 360 if used or 430 if you are looking new. But I have to say the 599 blows ALL of the away!! What an AWESOME car that is!

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A few weeks ago I went for a ride with a bunch of other cars. I have to say that Ferrari in front of me had a sweet sound to it.

Last year at Meadowbrook they had the Italian Happening at the same time (on the front lawn).

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alfa/ih.htm

There was a wheel chair guy in a 360, his chair was tiny and super lightweight, it folded up into nothing. We helped him with his starter fuse problem, car would not start in first and gets confused what gear it was in. It finally got started, but my buddies 1981 308 GTS had to get flatbeded though.

I'll stick with Porsche until I have real money, it's like a washing machine it just keeps on running.