A truly exemplary system

On the Stellavox manufacturer forum.
 
Pardon my ignorance - but where is "Stellavox manufacturer forum" - a link would be very helpful...
Sorry, the Manufacturers Distributors Dealers Forum under Stellavox.
 
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Mark, Thanks for the great write up.
You had a very interesting comment that strikes a nerve with me. I have been moving my system a little more towards horns. But I have also said, Horns every day may become a little too much. I have a lot more horn in mine at the moment. And its not blended correctly yet. It stand out and gets in the way. At times its overly analytical. I have to use a SS amp to tame it all down till I get it balanced out. At times I still wonder about a box speaker.
Based on a whole series of experiences with a variety of horns in a variety of rooms, I would struggle to press the button to live with them day to day.
Audiophile Bill's horns are a very unusual outlier, they did some things that were really addictive and hard to live without.
But in my albeit limited experience, they've been the exception to the rule.
What I heard with the Stenheims has become my new reference for seamless and faultless sound, with a massive helping of sheer magic to top things off.
 
Just catching Myles Astor video clips on the new Stellavox sounding *great* in his *small* room.
And a fellow with large Carfrae Big Horns/BD7s sounding *great* in his *small* room. And Tom/Montesquieu sounding *great* in his *small* room. And Barry/Blue58 sounding *great* in his *small* room.
I think there may be a pattern here, but I just can't quite see it...

Sorry, large rooms are just better. I don't have one (for dimensions, see my signature), but I am under no delusion that a large one would not be better.

For starters, you just can't get truly large scale, e.g., orchestra, in a room that is not large.
 
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Sorry, large rooms are just better. I don't have one (for dimensions, see my signature), but I am under no delusion that a large one would not be better.

For starters, you just can't get truly large scale, e.g., orchestra, in a room that is not large.
I'm saying that small/mid sized rooms have had the best sounds I've heard
Every system in a large room I've visited has had some issues.
Granted, these may be the systems not the rooms, and these Stenheims were *surely* too big for the owners room...
Or so I thought...lol
 
I'm not requesting politics here. I'm talking about a pervading atmosphere of political correctness underpinned by the burgeoning dominance of industry interests.
Can you be a little more specific about what you consider to be the atmosphere of “political correctness“ with regards to industry interests?

Do you feel honest opinions are being suppressed?

I’m all for unfettered opining if it’s grounded in some experience and intellectual discipline.
I’ve certainly seen it swing way too far in the other direction when someone with an agenda goes off the deep end, attacking a manufacturer over things with no facts to back it up.
 
I'm saying that small/mid sized rooms have had the best sounds I've heard
Every system in a large room I've visited has had some issues.
Granted, these may be the systems not the rooms, and these Stenheims were *surely* too big for the owners room...
Or so I thought...lol

I am not saying that implementing great sound in a large room is easy. This comes with its own challenges.
 
I am not saying that implementing great sound in a large room is easy. This comes with its own challenges.
Of course, like everything in this hobby.
A larger room gives you more latitude on spkrs size and placement.
But FWIW/YMMV, the very best sounds I've heard have all been in small/mid rooms.
Not claiming any objective conclusion.
 
One of the joys of this day was hearing the GP Monaco again. I have a close friend in this hobby who is adamant a DD tt is "anti musical", worse still one made with carbon fibre.
All I can say is, I fell in love with the 1.5 I heard over a decade ago, and this day showed me why the Monaco would be my tt of choice if I could sell my body parts to medical science.
I've never heard vinyl sound so nimble yet so lush, such natural timing yet such natural heft.
Purely based on experiences...in different systems, at different times, in different headspaces...I'd take the Monaco in a flash, over the amazing Vyger and impressive Brinkmann Balance and sturdy SME 30...which I've heard perform excellently as well.
To be reminded of a demo over a decade ago utilizing the same TT, reminded of the thrill ride vinyl can be, is a massive feather in the cap of GP.
 
One of the joys of this day was hearing the GP Monaco again. I have a close friend in this hobby who is adamant a DD tt is "anti musical", worse still one made with carbon fibre.
All I can say is, I fell in love with the 1.5 I heard over a decade ago, and this day showed me why the Monaco would be my tt of choice if I could sell my body parts to medical science.
I've never heard vinyl sound so nimble yet so lush, such natural timing yet such natural heft.
Purely based on experiences...in different systems, at different times, in different headspaces...I'd take the Monaco in a flash, over the amazing Vyger and impressive Brinkmann Balance and sturdy SME 30...which I've heard perform excellently as well.
To be reminded of a demo over a decade ago utilizing the same TT, reminded of the thrill ride vinyl can be, is a massive feather in the cap of GP.

Have you heard Tima's videos? He has a later version of the Monaco TT. His system sounds great over videos. Apparently, that turntable keeps improving.
 
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I just know we'd be firm friends and I'd be over at his to play LPs on his Monaco...whether he liked it or not.
 
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One of the joys of this day was hearing the GP Monaco again. I have a close friend in this hobby who is adamant a DD tt is "anti musical", worse still one made with carbon fibre.
All I can say is, I fell in love with the 1.5 I heard over a decade ago, and this day showed me why the Monaco would be my tt of choice if I could sell my body parts to medical science.
I've never heard vinyl sound so nimble yet so lush, such natural timing yet such natural heft.
Purely based on experiences...in different systems, at different times, in different headspaces...I'd take the Monaco in a flash, over the amazing Vyger and impressive Brinkmann Balance and sturdy SME 30...which I've heard perform excellently as well.
To be reminded of a demo over a decade ago utilizing the same TT, reminded of the thrill ride vinyl can be, is a massive feather in the cap of GP.

You should have heard the Monaco TT in the same system but with the Goebbel Divins then.
 
One of the joys of this day was hearing the GP Monaco again. I have a close friend in this hobby who is adamant a DD tt is "anti musical", worse still one made with carbon fibre.
i had an original GP Monaco tt in my system for a year (2005/2006) and it was flat and digital sounding. no life or energy. overdamped. at that time i also owned all Grand Prix Audio Monaco racks which were very good if needing tuning all the time.

the Monaco TT was certainly beautifully built and easy to use. heard later versions sound much better.

the basic design was obviously very good. just needed listening to and getting developed.
 
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i had an original GP Monaco tt in my system for a year (2005/2006) and it was flat and digital sounding. no life or energy. overdamped. at that time i also owned all Grand Prix Audio Monaco racks which were very good if needing tuning all the time.

the Monaco TT was certainly beautifully built and easy to use. heard later versions sound much better.

the basic design was obviously very good. just needed listening to and getting developed.
Fremer agreed with you.
Remember the furore over that review.
Amazing it didn't kill the company stone dead, so consequential were reviews back in the day.
All I can say is that not an iota of what you describe remains in the subsequent iterations (having heard the 1.5 and now 3.0).
 
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You should have heard the Monaco TT in the same system but with the Goebbel Divins then.
Really no opportunity for that, so can't comment.
 
Fremer agreed with you.
Remember the furore over that review.
yes. but good came of it.
Amazing it didn't kill the company stone dead, so consequential were reviews back in the day.
All I can say is that not an iota of what you describe remains in the subsequent iterations (having heard the 1.5 and now 3.0).
Alvin Lloyd was learning about tt design back then, somehow my friend Jonathan was investing/helping him with it so it came to be in my system. had a beautiful Dynavector tone arm......but not good enough to save it. speed kills. Alvin had to un-learn his rack resonance approach i think. and he did.
 
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I heard the 1.5 with a Triplanar arm into by far the best horns I'd heard to date (Cessaro Liszts), and despite massive room bass nodes being excited, I could tell the 1.5 was very special.
Then again, I heard the very same setup into the same horns, but w Class D amps, an AD-DA converter and a shed load of room treatments, and I'd have settled for an iPod instead.
 
Great write up! Thanks for sharing.
 

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