System #143 (Summit)

[DrJRapp]

Member Name: Jerry Rappaport
Location: Stuart West, Florida
Martin Logan Summit(s)
Purchased in February 2006
No Mods

Current 2 channel System
Sources
Meridian 808
Sota Saphire with Rega RB1000 arm, Lyra Argo i cartridge
Rega IOS phono preamp
Audio Technica PL120 tt with Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge
Cambridge Audio 640P Phono preamp
Ipod iTouch
Preamp
BAT VK31SE tube preamp
Power
Aragon Paladium 1K monoblocks
Cableing
Synergistic Research Resolution Reference
Speakers
The Summits


Dedicated Theater System:
Sources:
Theta Data Basic CD transport
Olive Musica Digital Server
Dish VIP 622 DVR
Samsung BDP 1500 Bluray Player
Toshiba HD35 HDDVD Player
Pre-Pro
Integra DTC 9.8
Amps:
Aragon 3005 (LCR& LSRS)
Rotel RB 1080 CBL &CBR

Projector:
Optoma HD80
Screen:
Stewart Firehawk G2 100" 16x9
Speakers:
Mains: Klipsch RF63, Center Klipsch RC62, Surrounds Klipsch RS62, Rears Klipsch RB25
Subwoofer:
SVS PC Ultra 13

 

[TomDac]

Welcome aboard

 

[DrJRapp]

Thanks!.....

 

[twich54]

Hello Dr "J", Welcome, nice looking system you have . How do you like your Oppo DVD player ??

 

[DrJRapp]

How do you like your Oppo DVD player ??

That is the second Oppo I have, I have a 971 upstairs attached to a 26" LCD. Both are excellent devices, irrespective of their price. Now, factor in the dirt cheap price and...WOW.

My HD970 serves a specific purpose, that is to feed 480i HDMI directly to the Statement D2 where the Gennum VXP chip does the deinteracing, scaling and processing. There isn't another cheap player on the market that can do that.

 

[sleepysurf]

Beautiful setup! How far apart are your Summits, and how far out from the front wall?

Also nice to see another digital music server. Are you running the both the Theta and Olive thru the Benchmark? I'm curious how they compare.

 

[DrJRapp]

The Summits are 8' apart centerline to centerline and are 3' out from the wall at the stator face.

Both the Musica and the Data basic run thru the DAC1. Comparing the Olive to the Theta is sort of like comparing a mini van with a sports car. The van holds a lot and provides basic transportation while the sports car holds less but will get you there with much more precision and fun. Vans have come a long way, but will never equal a sports car.The musica sounds compressed. The Data basic has wonderful "air" around the instruments and great sound stage and imaging.

 

[Robin]

OMG!!! What a Wonderful Summit System...

Jerry,

Cool Summit System!

I love how your HT room is set-up. Looks very relaxing and inviting as well. Your window treatments are great. I also and jealous about your Anthem D2 processor... Looks awesome in your system though.

 

[sleepysurf]

Thanks. Mine are also about 8 ft apart (center to center), with about 25 degree toe-in. Stat panels are 4 ft from front wall. I have never heard imaging like this!

The musica sounds compressed. The Data basic has wonderful "air" around the instruments and great sound stage and imaging.

I'm curious about the audible difference you hear. Are you using FLAC or another "lossless" format for the server? Theoretically, a server based transport should equal (or best) ANY other transport, if streaming lossless files. I got rid of my CD player after getting the Squeezebox/Benchmark setup.

 

[DrJRapp]

Jerry,

Cool Summit System!

Your window treatments are great.

Thanks Robin...

The window treatments are an integral part of the sound system. They are heavy acoustically absorbant fabric. As you know since esls radiate rearward as well as forward, anything reflected off the glass can brighten the sound and confuse the soundstage. We go just enough coverage of the glass to prevent that, and, if I chose to deaden the room further all I do is drop the drapes from their tieback position. What the pictures don't show is the fact that I have double french doors on each side of the room, to the right goes outside to the backyard, and the to the left goes into my study/office. There doors are located at the 1/3 reflection points of the room, so they are treated the same way with the acoustical drapes. I'm pleased with how the drapes improve the rooms acoustics and my wife is pleased how they improve the looks....it's win-win.

 

[DrJRapp]

Theoretically, a server based transport should equal (or best) ANY other transport, if streaming lossless files. I got rid of my CD player after getting the Squeezebox/Benchmark setup.

Theoretically bits is bits and the Benchmarks reclocking is supposed to avoid any additional jitter (contrary to popular opinion it DOES NOT remove existing jitter from a signal). In reality these is a tremendous difference between transports.

I bought my DAC1 with that assumption and, as it turns out, it is very far from the truth. It just so happens that I had many different disc spinners around the house and when I tried them, much to my surprise they all had different sound charateristics with the DAC1.

Toshiba XA1/ s/pdif Overall sounds compressed with narrow soundstage
Oppo HD 971/ s/pdif A bit compressed and "bright", soundstage confused
Oppo HD 970/s/pdif A bit compressed and grainy ,soundstage forward
Deno 2900/s/pdif Excellent, except bass a bit tubby, great soundstage
Olive Musica/ Toslink Compressed and bright ,soundstage flat and narrow
Cambridge Audio 640C/s/pdif Bright and nervous sounding, wide soundstage
Shanling T100/s/pdif clean but weak low end, huge soundstage
Theta Data basic/s/pdif ...... ahhhhh just right, amazing soundstage.

As you can see, the quality of the transport had a big impact on overall sq and soundstage. I've discussed this at lenght with the people at Benchmark because like most of the rest of you, I always thought Bits was bits....

Every different player has a different scheme to read the disc, different laser sizes, different error correction schemes and some even have some primative processing before the digi signal hits the output.

 

[audioraptured]

System #143

DrJRapp: Good afternoon: Great looking system and set up, and nice gear. I choose the Aragon Stage One with the 8008mkII and noticed you have the 3005. I had two Acurus 200x3 and sold one for a Rotel, but then went to the Aragon. I am very happy with the performance it gives. What is your impression? I wish they would make a dvd carosel player with the great sound you get from Theta. That would be my dream upgrade, and I see you have solved that problem with your setup and I bet get great sound. What type of music do you listen to and what is you favorite demo dvd? Best of luck to you and yours....

 

[DrJRapp]

DrJRapp: Good afternoon: Great looking system and set up, and nice gear. I choose the Aragon Stage One with the 8008mkII and noticed you have the 3005. I had two Acurus 200x3 and sold one for a Rotel, but then went to the Aragon. I am very happy with the performance it gives. What is your impression? I wish they would make a dvd carosel player with the great sound you get from Theta. That would be my dream upgrade, and I see you have solved that problem with your setup and I bet get great sound. What type of music do you listen to and what is you favorite demo dvd? Best of luck to you and yours....

I really like the sound of the Aragon with the Summits. When I got my D2 I also was able to "borrow" a P5. The Aragon still sounded better to me, so I stayed with that even though I now have a cosmetic mismatch.

I listen to a lot of jazz and classical with a touch of Rock thrown in for good measure. My favorite demo DVD...that's a tough one, I'd say for HD it's got to be Phantom of the Opera, SD, I'd say...Spiderman!

 

[DrJRapp]

I really like the sound of the Aragon with the Summits.

I've now taken that likeing a step further and purchased a pair of Aragon Palladium 1K Monoblocks to be driven by a BAT VK31SE tube preamp. The Palladium Monoblocks are each an 8008 MK II in dual differential mode (fancy form of using a stereo pair one amplifying the upper part of the sine wave and the other the lower part, doubling the power).

Nothing beats the sound of The Summits with a huge amp (600 wpc @ 4 ohms).

 

[DrJRapp]

See original post

 

[C.A.P]

Great new look ! I love the Snow White and the 7 dwarfs pic.

 

[Bernard]

Love the rack. Great custom design.

 

[DrJRapp]

Thanks guys

Tried to make the room comfortable and fun...here is a different view. The room is 22 x 29. The system is located along the 22 ft wall off centered towards the left. We have an informal 5.1 system with a rptv for everyday TV watching located perpendicular to the 2 channel. The two chairs you see face the TV and the couch faces the audio system. There is about six feet behind the couch with a glass wall that totally opens to the patio/pool outdoors. To control sound reflections off all the glass I use fibergalss "duofold" blinds. I've been thinking of getting a throw rug for the wood floor. The wood makes the room lively, but at higher volumes, I mean really high, the room gets too reverberant and starts to blur everything.

 

[DrJRapp]

Finally got to re-do the obsolete original entry with my latest gear.

 

[C.A.P]

MAn would I kill for that room and my CLS ! :bowdown: