System #419 (Spire)

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Ps68

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
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Location
UK
1. Paul

2. Sussex, UK

3. Spire

4. 2009

5. Modifications:
http://www.martinloganowners.com/fo...pire-with-External-Crossovers-amp-Electronics.

6. Associated Electronics:

  • Dedicated spur from Meter
  • PS Audio P10 Mains regenerator supplying:
  • MBL 1531 CD Player used as a transport only via it's S/Pdif output
  • Z:Axis Audio Digital Infinity Single ended Interconnect
  • Concert Fidelity DAC 040
  • Z:Axis Audio Infinity Single ended Interconnects
  • ASR Emitter 2 Exclusive amplifier, Inc Battery PSU to Input stage
    Or
  • Concert Fidelity 080 LSX2 Pre Amplifier
  • Concert Fidelity ZL120V2SE Mono Power Amplifiers
  • Z:Axis Audio Power Leads to ASR output stage Power Supplies & CF Amps
  • Z:Axis Audio 'Livewire' speaker cables
  • ML Spire, electronics housed externally, Custom crossover
  • Room treatments
  • Electronics kept in a self designed and made cabinet


7. I Owned Vantages for 4 years prior to upgrading to the Spire. My Vantages were one of the first 3 pairs in the UK, and were very enjoyable. At the time i was using Arc amplification, and they worked well together, lovely textures. Prior to that i used Rega R9's for maybe 2 years, and Ela's 1.5 for 13 years before that, with Naim amps and Manticore TT, Naim CDi CD player. The Naim kit eventually ended up at a 252/300/cds3. At that stage i was not getting any more enjoyment from my music as i was with a Nait/Ela's. So i went searching out different systems, and that was when i heard Logans for the first time, IIRC, Prodigy's, at Guildford Audio, where i bought a Krell Kav 400i as a back to basics amp while i looked for what i really wanted. That open sound of the Logans haunted me for some time, until i ordered the Vantages. I then swapped the Krell amp to the ARC amps, and sold my long term Naim cdi, which i thought was better than the cds3, and bought a Krell KPS20i. That was way better than the cds3, so i was happy. 2009 saw the Spires arrive, and was already looking for better amps, of which i tried many, including ARC Ref 3/110, which i had for a short while, 110 was demo unit, and was very good, but noisy fan stopped me buying it. I did use some Tom Evans Linear B Mono amps, which again were very good, even though they looked odd. I still felt that the amps were the area i had to get right, and eventually heard the ASR, and knew then that that was what i needed. I ordered the Emitter 2. The KPS 20i was starting to show its age by then, which was around 11 years, so i sold it and tried a few, Arc, Wadia, MBL, and decided on the 1531. So the system then was essentially as it is now, bar some tweaks to get the current sound that i have.

I listen mainly to Jazz and blues, some classical guitar, and some what maybe termed rock, but that does not describe it well. I don't like genre labels..

Future thoughts are an external dac. The MBL 1531, although very good, i feel is now possibly the limiter, so will explore what a top dac can extend upon. I'm very interested in the Concert Fidelity 040, as it is pure 16 bit, tube output, and reportedly very natural. Other candidates will be Arc dac8, an as yet unannounced Wadia, and Empirical overdrive, though aesthetics of Steve's kit is not good, so that will be an unlikely option sadly.

Thats it for now, apart from always hunting out new music, which above all can be so rewarding.


MBL, ASR, P10 and the Concert Fidelity DAC.
System2012.jpg

System2012-9.jpg

System2012-3.jpg

System2012-4.jpg

SpireCabinets-7.jpg


The Spires are now at 87 degrees from the floor, they were at 88.5, i found that the mid range is smoother now, just 2 degrees more vertical than standard.

Regards,
Paul.
 
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Thankyou friends..

I'm working on some supports, the ASR is big so standard size is too small, this is an initial idea, cost permitting.. Anodised aluminium and stone, job for my CNC guy..

2012ASS2.jpg
 
System changes:

The 2 balanced transformers are being repalced with a PS Audio P10. Currently, i am using the P5 until the big ten arrives. The addition of regenerated mains is without doubt a significant factor in getting to the heart of recorded music.

The MBL 1531 is soon going to be used as a transport to drive a Concert Fidelity DAC 040. I will add my impressions of this piece in due course.

The racks shown above have been dropped in favour of a re-design of a series of racks i made a few years ago. Solid Sycamore and Acrylic/Polycarbonate, image to follow..
 
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Cool. Sounds like after the Reading show you were back on the slippery slope of upgrading!!

Enjoy the new toys!!
M.
 
Hi Marc, Yes, Trevor had a PS Audio P5 stashed away for me to test at the show, but time didn't permit it so i brought it home on the Sunday and installed it last weekend, very impressive piece of kit, so i have opted to use the P10 for the higher socket count and increased VA, passive cooling and from what I'm told slight increase in performance. The Concert Fidelity has been on order for a while, as there is no UK distributor, I'm working with CF on getting their electronics into the country, the DAC 040 being the first piece to test. The thing that did grab me though was the metronome, and in talking with a Kalista Ref transport user in Italy, he very highly recommends Metronome's T2a, which Pedro may still be able to source for me, if i ask him nicely;-)..

I'll let you know when all is in and running, i may have a musical gathering one day here, be great if you could come!

Cheers, Paul.
 
Hi Paul - what got you into Concert Fidelity? Just curious and been looking at the website.

FWIW I had an Accustic Arts Tube DAC II SE for a few days and that's a great DAC if you get the chance to hear one/are still looking after the CF.

How would you describe the affect of the PS regen on the system performance? Always been curious about those things.
 
The Kalista was certainly special!!

I would be up for a listening session, just let me know when!!

Rgds
M.
 
Will do Marc!

Justin, Ive not heard the AA Dac myself, but am aware that is an excellent dac, getting to the heart of the music. It was coincidentally reading about the AA that piqued my interest in the Concert Fidelity 040, as several users who only use redbook have been so taken with the sonic presentation of the CF they have replaced the AA and various others with it. I became curious too, and have been in touch with the designer with regard to getting some into the uk market. The Dac will arrive this week, so will update with some views when it has been in use for a while. It is simply designed to extract as much information from 16 bit CD as possible, which is 99.9% of my music collection here. Single input keeps the signal path very very short, but time will tell. I will be getting some music lovers over to see how they react if all goes well too..

With the PS A gear, I'm quite taken aback by how well it works, running the P5 as i am at the moment, apart from the techie stuff this thing can do, it really does allow the the music to flow with such ease, dynamics and texture are first rate, piano seems to be startlingly realistic. The system was very involving to be honest before plugging everything into the P5, but i guess that simply by restricting the output voltage to what the power supply trafos were designed to run at is the key here, as well as clean AC. It did show considerable distortion on the incoming AC at around 246v, outputing 230v to my ASR and MBL, and i'm also running to the Spires now, more bass weight and fundamental strength. I have the cd ' A great night in Harlem' on at the moment, 2nd disc track 2, 'Death Letter' sung by Cassandra Wilson, and it is absolutely flippin fabulous, such transparency with real impact and depth, pinpoint imaging suggesting that i'm there at the show, love it, any one who thinks Spires don't reproduce bass well could try one of these on them, well worth the outlay IMO.

Best Regards,
P.
 
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Paul,

The AA is really good - but it was not suitable for my setup - being too restricted on digital inputs. It also doesn't have the bass speed and slam of my old Tri-Vista SACD player, which I use as a DAC only these days. Mid range and up though and the AA is superb. I am talking about the Tube DAC II SE, not the most recent Tube DAC II SE MK2 (confusing, and believe me people selling 2nd hand MK1s are trying to make use of that confusion - unsurprsingly!).

I'm trying to borrow a PS Audio Powerplant Premier at the mo - not sure if I'll be successful but the bait is the loan of my Transfiguration Orpheus for a while.:) It might not be a P5, but they ARE much more affordable. US production has increased the price a lot. I expect it is a better product, though.

BTW: my wife has just p*ssed herself laughing at the pretentious naming of said cartridge. She's right, I guess:)

Anyway, fill us in on the DAC. Be very interested to see what you think.
 
PS Audio Perfectwave's.

The PPP from what i have heard is also a good device to fit between the (in our case) noisy mains which fluctuates quite a lot, ie from about 238v up to 249v. I had a great time with the P5, except one aspect that was necessary from it's compact case design, and that was a pair of internal fans. They were fairly quiet, but i do need complete silence, so it wouldn't be a keeper for that reason only. The same went for the ARC ref 110 several years ago when i was amp hunting, too much of a distraction. So, the P5 simply got swapped for a P10, with it's passive cooling, higher power reserve, and of course 9 sockets on the rear for kit. It was installed and left to run for a few days, i made some 7.5 and 9 meter power leads so that i could run my Spires from it, and also the new Concert Fidelity DAC (more on this piece later).

On the whole, the PS Audio P10 is now a fundamental component to me, such is the improvement that it makes. Supplying the system with a correct and stable non distorted waveform provides an upgrade of significant proportions. Bass depth and solidity increased even further, transparency is now gobsmacking to say the least. I was at Weybridge on Saturday, and failed to hear anything close in the bass department, the big Focal's being so far off the mark that i was highly confused??

If you are ever down this way Justin you are welcome to drop by, be good to get a comparison with your Duettas. As i mentioned earlier, i'll organise a get together soon, (will give you a call too Marc!)..

The CF Dac 040..

I have been, as others have also that have heard / own this piece, totally mesmerised by what RBCD through it can really be capable of. It is musically immense, so natural, and of course with high level partnering equipment it is very easy to forget that you are listening to a bunch of electronics, such is the openness and depth/clarity, purity of tone and harmonics. I'm impressed enough to now be working with CF on getting his products known and available in the UK, so i won't add any more about this piece here, i'm not one for trying to promote a product on any forum if i am involved in any way.

So new rack's are the next move for me, when work is less pressured, i can begin work on them, the current support was made for specific gear, it's ok but i'm going back to a more subtle Sycamore/Acrylic idea now..

Best Regards all,

Paul.
 
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PS Audio Perfectwave's.If you are ever down this way Justin you are welcome to drop by, be good to get a comparison with your Duettas. As i mentioned earlier, i'll organise a get together soon, (will give you a call too Marc!)...

Thanks for the offer, Paul. I have heard Spires before - I'd be more interested in your new DAC TBH. However, you are further away than Marc so it is unlikely.

But in case you are ever in the Bristol area feel free to PM for a visit & Duetta session:) Unlikely, but hey - just reciprocating!

Glad you're happy with the DAC.
 
You're welcome J, but mine ain't like any other Spire! (lol).. I am down your way from time to time, do a fair bit of work with a company in Bristol. If i get time i'll drop you a line though, always up for an earful..
 
Justin, Ironically i've not been in Bristol for ages, mostly the work i do with the Bristol company has been in London, but hopefully soon i will be down your way, i'd be keen to hear your system and happy to bring along the DAC 040, which incidentally has recently had an upgrade announced that implements a battery drive section to the DAC chip section that from what i've heard increases it's performance even further, and i have one on order :)

Other change in my system is speaker cable upgrade from the HT Fantasy to (my/our) Z-axis 'Livewire'.
 
Hi marc:
I have a similar system than yours:
Vpi classic 3 turntable with grado reference master cartridge/vpi sds ac line conditioner
Arc ph8 phono stage
Arc ref5se preamplifier
Arc ref150
Transparent reference xl mm2 loudspeakers cables
Transparent reference mm2 balanced interconnects and phono cables
Transparent mmx power cords and reference, transparent power isolator mm, reference power line conditioner
Meridian 818 server
What output impedance are you using on ref 150?
 

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