New (old as in Senior Citizen) Member from Chicago, IL area

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VideoVic

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Hello! I don't know why it took me so long to find MLO but glad I stumbled onto it today whilst looking for feedback about using a tube amp with M-L ESL-X speakers. I began my audiophool journey back in the 60's with (2 pairs) of (stacked ! ) Bose 301's (oh I am so ashamed !), a Sony STR-7065 receiver and a Dual 1229 turntable (how many of you remember those??). From there I stepped up to a Mark Levinson JC-2 preamp, G.A.S. Ampzilla power amp and Bose 901's Series 1's (oh, doubly ashamed !) Eventually I came to my senses, sold the 901's and bought a pair of Magneplanar MG-II's. PHEW !

Anyway, when I got married (2nd time) my good wife encouraged me to trade the Maggie's in for something more "decor" friendly. This was late 1990's and I was seriously considering a pair of Sonus-Faber stand speakers (model # lost due to old age. I'm 69 !) but my good wife # 2 encouraged my to listen to the M-L Aerius-i's. My world changed ! Kept the Aerius'-i for 20 years, then sold them to a friend and here I am now with the ESL-X. Of course I wish I'd have popped for the ESL-9's but we did a complete system upgrade (same loving, stereo friendly 2nd wife after all these years!) so it was either spend more on speakers or go to a separate preamp / amp instead of an integrated. We finally settled on a Rotel RC-1590 preamp, Rotel RB-1582MKII amp and the ESL-X speakers. Boy, once they burned in I was in heaven !

Further upgrades hence; From a Marantz UD-5007 Blu-ray to a Marantz RUBY SA-KI SACD player. MAN-OH-MAN ! Is that thing a revelation ! Also added an SVS-SB-3000 sub.

And most recently, an Audioquest Niagara 1200 power conditioner w/ Audioquest NRG-Z3 power cord, Audioquest WATER interconnects between preamp and amp and between SACD and preamp, and Audioquest Rocket 88 biamp cables between amp and speakers. Don't let anyone tell you cables don't matter. It took a while but now that they have burned-in, the Niagara 1200 and the cables took the system to another level. Power cord upgrades are next but I'm having an issue with the phono input on the Rotel preamp (to be told in another forum), so even though I don't currently have a turntable I want to see if Rotel will get it resolved. If not, changes may be in order, which is why I was searching for advice about tube amps and electrostatic speakers.

Anyway, I'd love to hear from any and everyone who feels like chatting about audio equipment.

Best regards.

VideoVic
 
I started out with Bose too! I had a pair of these. Back then in the early 90s I thought they were awesome.

R (5).jpeg
 
How are you doing? That's a beautiful introduction. Welcome, enjoy the forum.
 
Welcome Vic,
I'm an old guy too BTW (68).
I'm sure you will feel right at home here in a little while.

I'm probably the only guy on the forum who doesn't own any Martin Logan speakers (I build my own ESL's) any everyone welcomed me here anyway.
Hey; post some pics in the Systems section when you can.
Enjoy the Forum!

Charlie
 
Welcome Vic,
I'm an old guy too BTW (68).
I'm sure you will feel right at home here in a little while.

I'm probably the only guy on the forum who doesn't own any Martin Logan speakers (I build my own ESL's) any everyone welcomed me here anyway.
Hey; post some pics in the Systems section when you can.
Enjoy the Forum!

Charlie
Thanks Charlie. Nice to hear from you. I'll get a picture up soon.
Victor
 
Hi, Vic. Welcome to the Forum! I am an old guy, too (66) & look forward to sharing your enthusiasm for our common passion.

I was Blessed to meet a wonderful lady after my loving wife died of cancer. My wife encouraged me to step up the quality of the theatre that I planned to build. Who could argue with her? So my Martin Logan collection & Krell FPB600 amps are now all integrated in the new theatre.

I hope you post often & promise to read each post!
 
I’ve had a lot of high-end rigs and combinations. IMO, a single ended tube (Class A) design mated to a ML electrostatic is the most pleasing and rich sound I’ve ever experienced. Maybe not the loudest compared to horns driven by a couple hundred watts per channel. But very pleasing and musical to the ear.
 

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Welcome to the forum from a fellow Chicago-area member. Sounds like you have put together a very nice system there. I'm using a Rotel RMB-1585 5-channel to run an ML ESL C center and various ML Motion surrounds in my dual duty 2-channel music, multi-channel HT system. Always been a fan of the ML/Rotel combo.
 
Hi, Vic. Welcome to the Forum! I am an old guy, too (66) & look forward to sharing your enthusiasm for our common passion.

I was Blessed to meet a wonderful lady after my loving wife died of cancer. My wife encouraged me to step up the quality of the theatre that I planned to build. Who could argue with her? So my Martin Logan collection & Krell FPB600 amps are now all integrated in the new theatre.

I hope you post often & promise to read each post!
Hello GadgetGuy. Thanks for sharing. I envy you your Krell amps !! I'm thinking my next upgrade may be to NAD to get the Room Correction but unsure how the Class D amplification would sound with the ESL-X's. More research is required. Best regards.
Victor
 
I’ve had a lot of high-end rigs and combinations. IMO, a single ended tube (Class A) design mated to a ML electrostatic is the most pleasing and rich sound I’ve ever experienced. Maybe not the loudest compared to horns driven by a couple hundred watts per channel. But very pleasing and musical to the ear.
Thank you for your recommendation.
VideoVic
 
Welcome to the forum from a fellow Chicago-area member. Sounds like you have put together a very nice system there. I'm using a Rotel RMB-1585 5-channel to run an ML ESL C center and various ML Motion surrounds in my dual duty 2-channel music, multi-channel HT system. Always been a fan of the ML/Rotel combo.
Hello Mr. B. Nice to hear from you and pleased to meet a fellow Chicago based ROTEL-LIAN !
VideoVic
 
@VideoVic
Welcome aboard! 69 last month here and enjoying every minute. I started out with a KHL model 20 all in one, then went to stacked Scott S11-ds with SAE and Phase Linear. It's been a long road from there to my 13As, but I finally made it.
Enjoy!
 
Thanks for sharing. I lusted after SAE and Phase Linear in my youth. God how I wish I had a room that could accommodate 13A's !
regards.
 
Hey, Vic -- a hearty welcome to a very remarkable place. Great folks here who are very knowledgeable and can provided terrific ideas and advice.

I have also ventured down the Dual 1229 (and 1019) turntable route, as well as the Bose 901. I am unashamed of my journey through the audio (and video) worlds, but certainly enjoying my current setup with Renaissance 15As and Pass amps.

Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures.
 
Thanks for sharing. I lusted after SAE and Phase Linear in my youth. God how I wish I had a room that could accommodate 13A's !
regards.

You might not have a room that can accommodate 13A’s, but if your ESL X’s fit, 11A’s just might, too. I have a relatively small room and upgraded from ESL X’s to 11A’s and could not be happier. I just love them. Just some food for thought... :)
 
Hey, Vic -- a hearty welcome to a very remarkable place. Great folks here who are very knowledgeable and can provided terrific ideas and advice.

I have also ventured down the Dual 1229 (and 1019) turntable route, as well as the Bose 901. I am unashamed of my journey through the audio (and video) worlds, but certainly enjoying my current setup with Renaissance 15As and Pass amps.

Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures.
Was only half kidding about being ashamed of the Bose products.... Everyone has to start somewhere, right (?) and they were kinda S.O.T.A. back then, especially the series one 901's.
 

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