System #61 (Odyssey)

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S

Sunnyboy 1956

Guest
Name :pradeep Puri.
Location New Delhi, India.
ML Model :Odyssey.
Year : July 2005.
Mods/Changes : Nil.

Associated equipment :
Clearaudio Emotion Turntable,
ARC SP 16 preamp,
Arcam FMJ CD 23 cdp,
Bryston 14 BST power amp,
Lyrita Audio tube preamp,
Lyrita AudioTube mono blocs,
Cardas Golden Cross interconnects,
Transparent Pcs on the cdp, preamp and power amp, Vibrapods,
12" rubber tube under a wooden platform supporting the TT and preamp.

Comments : This is a strictly 2 channel system that has been in the making for a long time. The MLs happened by accident. Was actually scouting for a replacement for a 4 yr old B&W CDM 9NT. Heard a demo of B&W 801 and Wilson 5.1 Watt and ended up with the Odsseys. Have managed to biamp the MLs using the Bryston to drive the woofers and a pair of tube monoblocs with the panels.

Initially there was a huge gain mismatch between the Bryston and the tube monoblocs. Managed to solve that by using the balancecd inputs on the Bryston which have a -6db gain attenuation coupled with the -3db adjust on the Odysseys.

If you are wondering about the Lyrita gear, it is made by a good friend. Check it out at www.lyrita-audio.com. These are only prototypes and are still being tweaked.The final article should arrive soon.

For the present am totally thrilled with the MLs. Pink Floyd never sounded better. The bass is truly awesome. On female vocals and jazz, the tubes sound divine with the ESL. Smooth uncluttered highs. Hopefully the sound will only improve as both the Bryston (recovering from major surgery) and the MLs achieve breakin.

Give me a shout if you are in my neck of the woods.Would be delighted to meet over a beer or whatever is your preferred beverage.

Happy listening.
 

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very nice setup. tubes are always nice on ml's in a 2 channel setup. have you ever tried nordost cabling? if not, i can tell you that they are quite different than cardas. i had cardas before and as smooth, sweet and romantic they were, i got goosebumps when i put in nordost interconnects abd speaker cables in my system. details that were NOT there with cardas shined and a veil (more like a blanket) was removed from the speakers and the music just passed through so smoothly. im not affiliated with nordost in any way, just my experiences. either way, both brands are nice. different, but nice. isn't setup and listening tastes so subjective? enjoy your excellent setup!!!!
 
Nordost cables

Anthony
Many thanks for your comments.Am planning to borrow Nordost cables for a demo over the coming weekend. The current speaker cables are Audioquest Bedrock(biwire).Will Nordost be a huge improvement(I know this is highly subjective given listening preferences, room acoustics etc )? Will post the results.
Cheers
 
okay, here is the deal about nordost (the way i experienced it anyway). ive used tara, cardas, audioquest, az, etc. all are nice in some ways but lacking in others. i feel nordost is the same way also. now, comparing nordost with cardas, i can tell you that cardas is a softer, more romantic cable. it is smooth, not very detailed but nonethless very pleasing in the ears. midrange is very sweet, again, beautiful to the ears. now nordost is more transparent. it will reveal every flaw in your system as well as recordings. is this a good thing? well, yes because now the music is actually passing through the speakers without any alterations. you will hear subtle, yet extreme details in comparison to cardas and you perhaps will think.... what is going on? do i like it being so detailed? then you listen to it over and over again and you realize that drums and sax and cellos have never sounded so real. you can hear the air around instruments and the delicate fingers rolling over a guitar. next you will realize that the sound is soooo much smoother and everything else will seem like a blanket is placed over your speakers. im telling you, that is exactly what i experienced. again, you may like it, may not. not everyone likes nordost, but those who do will never let go, i can assure you. i would personally start with spm interconnects and if possible move up. speaker cable is good from blue heaven and up as well. try rearranging many times to see the best combo for your gear. i use some of their power cords and find them excellent in some places, nothing speacial in other. try them out and let me know what you think. always trust your ears. products are only good in the eye of the beholder.
 
Very nice!

Good job on the nice, simple set-up for 2-channels. I'm glad things worked out for you on the bi-amp front. I noticed you listed 2 tube preamps, which one are you using? You mentioned the ARC in your post, but I also saw the Lyrita preamp in your equipment list. Enjoy.

Spike
 
biamp

Anthony
Thanks for sharing your experience with Nordost cables. I completely agree with your observations regd Cardas. Bryston amps lean towards the brighter side (this is less true of the BSST series), hence the Cardas cables. The metal dome tweeter on my B&W speakers ( you can spot the B&Ws in the corner of the picture) needed taming.Will try Nordost Blue Heaven speaker cables.
Spike
Unfortunately my experment with biamping did'nt work. The gain adjustment on the Bryston is +6db!. Am waiting for my friend to devise a gain attenuator. Its been a perenial back and forth between the tube mono blocs and the Bryston/ARC combo. This to and fro business has detracted from truly enjoying the MLs. Have decided to stick to the Bryston/ARC combo for the present and boy its truly sounding good. Particularly on passages with heavy bass content am using the 6db gain in the Bryston to stunning effect eg Patrica Barber(Concert in Paris),Sara K(Hobo),Paul Simon(Rhythm of The Saints), I guess I could go on and on about rediscovering my 600 odd cd collection. Vinyl sounds superb.
Have finally(?) got the placement nearly right after reading valuable comments on this site. Have the MLs heavily toed in with the intersection point(assuming a ray from the midpoint of the panels) roughly 3/4 feet from my lazyboy.
Cheers for now
 
Very nice setup! I know you are enjoying it very much. I know what you mean by the gear itself detracting from your enjoyment of music... sit back and relax. Know that you have a ridiculously awesome system. Listen and let the music envelope you.

Nice system! :D
 
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Sunnyboy1956, is it easy to find out ML in India? Considering the high level of Custom Duties, the price should be very high?
 
Price of MLs in India

Pati your point about custom duty is valid. I managed a decent discount on the Odysseys as they are no longer in production. I ended up paying close to the US retail price.According to the authorised dealer in Mumbai the real killer is freight which is on a volume basis. The retail price of the Summits is approx USD 15k. Even if you negotiate a discount this is almost 50% higher than retail prices elsewhere. The perils of being an audiophile in India!!!
Njoy :mad:
 
Sunnyboy 1956 said:
Pati your point about custom duty is valid. I managed a decent discount on the Odysseys as they are no longer in production. I ended up paying close to the US retail price.According to the authorised dealer in Mumbai the real killer is freight which is on a volume basis. The retail price of the Summits is approx USD 15k. Even if you negotiate a discount this is almost 50% higher than retail prices elsewhere. The perils of being an audiophile in India!!!
Njoy :mad:

I can easily imagine... Before moving to the U.A.E. (custom dues limited to 5%, no sales tax nor VAT), I was in Egypt and in Morocco... ML was out of reach there... I even don't think there were any local dealers...

As for the freight, I don't know. In Dubai MLs are really cheap, (Summit is at about kUSD 9 if I'm not mistaken) although they have to fly a longer distance than to India... :)

By the way, it's nice you are in New Delhi... It's a very nice place... :)
 
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price of MLs

Pati
Obviously my dealer is ripping me off!! I expect he sells very few pieces and extracts all his margin on those plus the customs duty is not insignificant. :mad:
Never been to Abu Dhabi though I pass through Dubai several times a year. With all those discounts on Ethiad may set foot in Abu Dhabi some day.
Happy listening
 
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Sunnyboy 1956 said:
Pati
Obviously my dealer is ripping me off!! I expect he sells very few pieces and extracts all his margin on those plus the customs duty is not insignificant. :mad:
Never been to Abu Dhabi though I pass through Dubai several times a year. With all those discounts on Ethiad may set foot in Abu Dhabi some day.
Happy listening

Sunnyboy, if you come to Abu Dhabi, I would be more than happy to meet you... :)

But frankly speaking, it's not worth to make a visit just to discover the city... It's modern, luxurious, clean, but it has no soul at all... 110% artificial without history... :(

As for Dubai, if you're interested, I can send you the address of the importer / dealer of ML for the UAE... :)
 
charms of Abu Dhabi

Hi Pat
I have a 3 day stopover in Dubai between Sept 17- 20. Would love to audition the Summits(to what end?). If nothing else can figure out whats wrong/lacking in my system. Its nice to brag about your own gear but a bit of humility now and then is not a bad thing!!
If you can pass along the details about the location of the dealer etc shall post my experience with the Summits.
Give me a shout if you are in my part of the world. Would be delighted to meet.
Happy listening.
PS Your remark about lack of soul really set me thinking !
 
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Sunnyboy 1956 said:
Hi Pat
I have a 3 day stopover in Dubai between Sept 17- 20. Would love to audition the Summits(to what end?). If nothing else can figure out whats wrong/lacking in my system. Its nice to brag about your own gear but a bit of humility now and then is not a bad thing!!
If you can pass along the details about the location of the dealer etc shall post my experience with the Summits.

Sunnyboy

Sorry I didn't see your message on time...

the UAE importer / sole dealer is http://www.dubaiaudio.com/main.htm

The website is outdated, but the details remain valid... ;)
 
UAE dealer

Pat17
Been travelling and just saw your reply. Know Dubai Audio pretty well. Bought an Arcam integrated amp many years ago from him.Its part of a long story on my amp evolution. May stop in Dubai in the next 30 days or so.
Cheers for now.
Sunnyboy
PS My system(Odyssey #61) is in the process of a major amp overhaul. Am now using 4 tube mono blocs plus a baby REL sub. Will be checking out the sub later today as it arrived from Singapore last night along with a couple of pcs and speaker cables.Will post pics soon :p
 
Great looking musical system...

Sunnyboy 1956,

Great looking musical system. I like the looks of your Lyrida Audio tube preamp and mono blocks. Lyrida Audio manufactured by your good friend looks very cool ... :D Does the Lyrida Audio equipment sound as fantastic as they look? :D

Cheers

-Robin
 
congrats!

how do you like the sound of your clearaudio table? my friends are divided on that, some find it great, others find it too lean which i worry about since our speakers could benefit from a source with more body, imho.

which cartridge and phono stage are you using? thanks!
 
home made amps

Robin
Thanks for your kind words.I will be posting some pics of the 4 monoblocs shortly.I have compared the sound of Lyrita gear with mega buck systems and boy it compares favorably.In terms of absolute transparency there are shortcomings.I own a Bryston 14BST(a Stereophile recommended component) and prefer to use the Lyritas.The highs, particularly on female vocals eg Norah Jones, Holy Cole are in a different league with the tube monoblocks.Still need to tweak the system. The speaker cables out of the mono blocs are not matched, one pair has a 3m Audioquest Bedrock biwire run in single wire mode while the other pair has Straightwire Rhapsody etc. There is a synergy between the MLs and the Lyrita gear which is unbeliveable.
Jfm
The Clearaudio is the weakest link in my system. IMHO it lacks weight. Probably there is something lacking in the way the system is setup eg the audio rack. Would like to upgrade to a TT with a heavier platter. Would welcome any suggestions. Would a cartridge or tone arm change make a bigger difference? Thanks for your comments
Happy listening
 
cartridge and phonostage

Jfm
Oops sorry I forgot about the cartridge and phonostage. Am using the standard cartridge supplied with the Clearaudio(aurum?). Was using an ARC SP 16 with a builtin phonostage. Have now switched to a Lyritaaudio preamp also with a built in phono stage. This part of my system is disapointing. Have tried using the Bryston with much better results.
Cheers
 
Sunnyboy 1956 said:
Jfm
Oops sorry I forgot about the cartridge and phonostage. Am using the standard cartridge supplied with the Clearaudio(aurum?). Was using an ARC SP 16 with a builtin phonostage. Have now switched to a Lyritaaudio preamp also with a built in phono stage. This part of my system is disapointing. Have tried using the Bryston with much better results.
Cheers

Clearaudio makes good, neutral tables. I have a Clearaudio Champion with Rega RB300 arm, Quint Wiring and a Heavy Weight counter weight. I am also using a Shelter 501 moving coil cartridge and modded EAR 834P phono stage. Before upgrading the table, I would go with a new cartridge. Your table is good enough to really benefit from a good (i.e., real cartridge). Before I had my Shelter 501, I had a Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood. It was a piece of crap compared to the Shelter. A friend of mine put a Shelter 501 on his inexpensive Project Perspective table and stock arm. It sounds GREAT through his SL3's (my old SL3's). Does your phonostage have enough gain for a moving coil?
 

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