INTRODUCTION

My system, like most other audiophiles, is in a never-ending evolving mode. This is an ideal situation where the journey itself is the experience, because if the destination is "perfection", no matter how it is defined, it will never be reached.

I feel particularly fortunate that at least I now know what I want and what is possible from my system, when there were (and are) so many initial choices and alternative directions to choose from. I still make mistakes and deviate temporarily from my chosen path, but I always get back and move further ahead, usually sooner rather than later, and with, I hope, some greater knowledge and wisdom that I can share with others.

Ultimately, the search for a better audio system is in many ways a personal discovery of your deepest needs: "what really turns you on". You must experience many different components and systems, while keeping an open mind and heart, if you want to reach your unique destination.

My system is analogue, based around a phono front-end. I also have an excellent tuner, and I recently purchased a SACD player, but neither of them is my main source.

My system has a number of purposes. The first is definitely for my personal listening pleasure, but it also serves as a "reference" for comparing components, records and entire systems, within audio shows and in my friends and (former) customers homes.

Almost all of the components you will see here are in my Reference Components List, and most of them are in Class A. This is not a coincidence. Why I chose these particular components can be further understood by reading "My Audio Philosophy", which will also explain my audio priorities and general direction.

The primary strengths of this system are its sheer naturalness and its ability to retrieve low-level musical information, which is my highest sonic priority. This includes; musical harmonics, decays, ambience, dynamic shadings, the sense of space, complexity and tension, intelligibility, and an unpredictability of the sound. There is also a continuous, "absolute presence" that exists on good recordings even when the musicians are not active.

The system is capable of this performance only because of its extreme minimalist design and execution. The end result:

Most preamplifiers, with phono stages, have 4 to 8 devices all by themselves. The sonic result of all this is the lowest system "sound-floor", by far, that I have ever experienced.

The main weaknesses of my system is that it can not play "real loud" (a very rare desire), which I define as greater than 100dB at my ear.

BENT AUDIO TX-103 MC TRANSFORMER (SILVER)

MARANTZ 10B TUNER
PACIFIC VALVE MHZS CD 66 CD PLAYER

The phono front-end is the finest I have ever heard, overall, when it comes to capturing the essence of the music. It does this not only by the "completeness" of its presentation, but also by its utter naturalness. It also has no noticeable sonic artifacts that draw your attention to it, rather than the music it serves.

First, the ZYX UNIverse is, without question, the finest cartridge I've ever heard. The .24mV Copper version is the model I use and highly recommend. Next, the Bent Audio Silver Transformer is even superior, overall, to the Expressive Technology SU-1, my reference for 13 years. I use the medium gain setting (20dB).

The Forsell Air Reference turntable/tonearm is extremely well isolated and has extraordinary air regulation. The result is noticeably superior to the original stock or even the upscale Air Force model. The multiple air pumps are located in another room, which reduces background noise. The Forsell's fragile tonearm wire is connected directly into the Bent Silver transformer, which entirely eliminates the most critical cable of the entire system from the signal path.

The Marantz tuner has been partially modified, with better coupling capacitors. The MHZS 66 is the finest CD player I have ever heard in my own system. It has been slightly modified with better coupling capacitors (Solen Teflon). These two components are used mainly for warm-up and background music.

JADIS JP-80 PREAMPLIFIER (HIGHLY MODIFIED)

I have had this preamplifier since the Spring of 1989. I have modified it countless times, in each instance making the signal path simpler and shorter, while also upgrading the passive components that are impossible to remove from the remaining signal path. It’s a shame that the JP-80 couldn’t have been built this way to begin with, because it would have cost much less to purchase and there would be no need for any modifications.

As of now, this is a low-gain but highly accurate and musically natural design; by far the best that I have heard. The difference between a stock JP-80, of any vintage, and this modified version, is literally "night and day".

The Details: The entire line-stage and the phono cathode-follower have been removed from the signal path. That leaves only two tubes and two coupling capacitors in the signal path. The coupling capacitors are V-Cap Teflons, the finest I've heard. The RIAA curve is accurate to +/- .01 dB. Even the volume control has been removed from the direct signal path. The power supply is comprised of only film capacitors; since all the electrolytics have also been removed.

MITCHELL COTTER NOISE FILTER BUFFER
BEHRINGER DCX2496 DIGITAL CROSSOVER

These two components are used first as an impedance buffer for the second output of the Jadis JP-80, which enables it to drive a second amplifier. They also filter out the subsonic frequencies caused by vinyl warps and other irregularities, and, of course, providing the required low-pass filter for the subwoofers. The Behringer digital crossover has other signal processing capabilities, but I don't use them.

ARS ACOUSTICA INTERCONNECTS (PROTOTYPES)

These are the finest interconnects I have heard, both in line-level applications and for phono-level signal. They are very neutral and revealing, and have both body and a very low sound-floor. I don't know if, and when, they will ever become available commercially.

Amplifiers were the "weak link" in my system for many years. With the introduction of these two Coincident amplifiers below, particularly the Frankenstein SET, this is no longer the case. Simply put, these are the two finest amplifiers I've ever experienced, and they don't require any modifications to reach their unprecedented level of performance. However, good tubes, dampers and cables are still required for optimization.

COINCIDENT M300B FRANKENSTEIN MK II-MAIN AMPLIFIER

The finest sounding amplifier I've ever heard.

COINCIDENT DRAGON 211PP AMPLIFIER

This is the finest bass amplifier I've yet heard. The impact, detail, control, weight and neutrality are all superb. It still doesn't equal the Golden Tube design, or other top-notch single-ended amplifiers, in certain very important areas; liquidity, purity, low sound-floor etc.

This is still the finest speaker cable I’ve ever heard in my system. It’s too bad that no one makes an equivalent of it in today’s market. This cable is one of the rare exceptions to the experience and rule of expecting continuous improvements in audio over time. It does have one audible weakness though, the low bass is compromised in impact, so I use Coincident Extreme for the subwoofers. Recently, I used plastic ties to keep the 6 cables closer together, which reduces inductance and also dampens micro-vibrations as a bonus.

COINCIDENT EXTREME SPEAKER CABLES- These are the best I've heard for the bass frequencies and for push-pull amplifiers. There is now an improved version which I will eventually audition on the main speakers.

These are my new speakers, replacing the Ars Acoustica System Max. For a description, see The Recent File (link below).

My new listening room, to my own surprise, has proved to superb. I chose it most carefully when I purchased my house, but it has even exceeded my expectations. It is a little more than 18' wide, and half of it is around 18' deep, while the other half is 27' deep. The ceiling is 10' high. The entire structure is built out of reinforced concrete, both walls and floor. It's extremely solid. To enhance it, I'm now using some "Room Tunes" and "Tube Traps" that I brought with me from Toronto.

I have put in 3 dedicated, shielded, heavy amperage lines, one for each amplification channel, plus the other for the front-end. The local high-power AC transformer, for my side of the street, is actually located on my property (by sheer luck), just a few feet away from my electrical box. There are no heavy industry or commercial users in my vicinity, which was a serious problem for me in Toronto.

The original owner of my house had an "entertainment center" built in as an expensive upgrade. I initially planned to remove it, until I discovered how well built it was, enough to support a hippo. I kept it, but I had to get a cabinetmaker to drill (4" thick) holes through it for the (AC and signal) cables.

The end result is a room that is even more satisfying, overall, as my former room in Toronto. The Toronto room was wider, by two feet, but that was still enough to give it a slightly greater sense of "scale". This new room has both better bass and a more intimate, immediate sound in its favor.

The biggest problem I have had is from the local power company, Florida Power and Light. In the Summer, hardly a day passes without a short-term power outage. I know they occur because my VCR has to be reprogrammed each time (I eventually gave up). So far, there hasn't been an outage with my system working. I don't know what will occur in that event.

My accessories, in the past, focused on acoustical isolation of the components and the purity of the incoming AC. This is still the case. I am using custom made "sand boxes" underneath the subwoofer amplifiers, the subs themselves and the satellite speakers' stands. I use the Coincident Power Cords (the best I have heard) on the preamplifier and the four (mono) power amplifiers. The Forsell is isolated using both a dead metapolymer shelf, plus fluid bags. There are also fluid bags underneath the preamplifier and the satellite speakers.

I now have a new speaker, the Coincident Pure Reference, which replaced the Ars Acoustica System Max in December 2007. The details about this new speaker can be presently found in The Recent File and in The Reference Components (links below).

I still would like to try out another contemporary "all-out" turntable. I haven't chosen the model yet, but a few designs look interesting. My goal is to equal or exceed(!) the performance of the Forsell, which is now fully modified, but without all the air pumps, regulators etc.

Finally, I still want to get the Acapella Ion Tweeters sometime in the future. It's just a matter of finding the money.

Click here to go to AUDIO CRITIQUE.

Click here to go to THE RECENT FILE.

Click here to go to Reference Components