Built for the love of music...

[SCAudiophile]

Well...I took the plunge! As of yesterday, I have Harmonic Resolution (HRS) DPX (3" thick) dampening plates on my Esoteric P-02 Transport, Cybershaft clock, Isotek EVO3 TITAN (2) and Esoteric A-02 Amp. I have 5 more standing by to be applied to my D-02 DAC, C-02 Preamp, Isotek EVO3 SIGMAS and Legacy Wavelet but I have to disassemble the system and 3 racks to raise levels to make room for these thick plates on top of the remaining units.

With the Adona racks, Composite Audio platforms and heavy duty build quality of the Esoteric and Isotek gear I have, I would have never thought I had much side effect from component vibration from the air or otherwise as the system sounds greats, images extremely well. The Cybershaft, HDPlex and Legacy Wavelet were not a major issue due to the racks and isolation platforms I utilized despite their not being built like tanks like the Esoteric and Isotek gear as my images were very tight, accurate, good staging, musical, etc...

It turns out that set of conclusions is VERY incorrect; the HRS dampening plates provide immediate and very noticeable results in a distinct 'tightening up' of images, better transients and attack and clarity around notes that is particularly noticeable on tenor sax solos, double-bass note plucks/strikes, vocals, etc... I am very impressed by the bang for the buck/ROI aspect of these very reasonably priced plates!

 

[16hz lover]

Wow, now I really want to hear your system.

 

[SCAudiophile]

Wow, now I really want to hear your system.

You are very welcome here sometime in November! I need a bit of notice given my work situation/demands and it would be best to do this in the morning but we can work out details!

I may be getting an even lower phase noise "Premium/Limited" version of a Cybershaft clock to try before then....god I love this hobby

 

[SCAudiophile]

Updated components, cables, tweaks and counts list with 2 new clocking cables and the latest on HRS Damping Plates and Stillpoints;

Legacy Audio AERIS Sapele-Pommele Cabernet & Black Pearl Finish
Legacy Audio Custom 10-post,6-way Terminal Plate
Esoteric Audio P-02 SOTA Transport
Esoteric Audio D-02 SOTA Dual-Mono DAC
Cybershaft (Japan) RBOCXO-01 10Mhz Premium Rubidium and OCXO Dual Master Clock 120V US Version
Esoteric Audio C-02 Dual-Mono Preamp
Esoteric Audio A-02 Master Soundworks Dual-Mono Stereo Amp
Legacy Audio / Boehmer Wavelet DAC-Preamp-Crossover-RoomEQ-DSP
HDPlex Limited Custom 100 Watt Linear Regulated DC Power Supply
Isotek Systems EVO3 SIGMAS Power Conditioner
Isotek Systems EVO3 TITAN Power Conditioner
Granite Audio Ground Zero Star-Grounding Station
Avatar Acoustics AFTERBURNER8 Outlets (5)
Cutler-Hammer, GE MLC and EP 20amp Dedicated Circuit (10gauge)
Environmental Potentials EP-2050 Surge Suppressor Wave-Form Correct
Environmental Potentials EP-2750 Ground Filter
Whole-House Ground CADWELD Kit & Dual Ground Rods
Adona Corporation AV45CS4 and AV45CS1 (multiple)
Composite Audio CF-2010 Platforms (multiple)
Harmonic Resolution Systems DPX Large Damping Plates Silver (5)
Harmonic Resolution Systems DPS Large Damping Plates Black (3)
Harmonic Resolution Systems DPX Medium Damping Plates Black (2)
Stillpoints Ultra SS with Ultra Bases (4) under Cybershaft RBOCXO-01
Stillpoints Ultra Mini SS under HDPlex Linear-Regulated DC Power Supply...
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold Speaker Cables 9-foot (1 pair)
Elrod Power Systems Signature Gold Speaker Jumpers (2 pair)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold XLR 6-foot (1 pair)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold XLR 4-meter (1 pair)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold XLR 6-foot (1 pair)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold XLR 3-meter custom (1 pair)
Kubala-Sosna ELATION 1-meter XLR AES/EBU (2)
Kubala-Sosna EMOTION 75-ohm BNC:BNC 1.5-meter Master Clock Cable
Wireworld PLATINUM STARLIGHT v7 75-ohm BNC:BNC 1.5-meter Master Clock
Esoteric/MEXCEL 8N-A2000 BNC:BNC 50-ohm 1.5-meter Master Clock Cable
Kubala-Sosna EMOTION 50-ohm 2-meter custom-built and EMOTION 75-ohm 1-meter BNC:BNC
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold 20amp 10-foot PC (2)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold 15-amp 6-foot PC (3)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Silver PC 10-foot
Elrod Power Systems Statement Silver PC 6-foot
Elrod Power Systems Custom 15amp Power Extender
Kubala-Sosna Emotion Powercord 1.5m
Revelation Audio Labs CryoSilver Reference Custom-Built DC Umbilical
Isotek Systems ELITE 2-meter C19 20-amp
Isotek Systems ELITE 2m Neutrik Powerconn connector to 20amp
B.M.C. PureUSB1 5-meter

 

[SCAudiophile]

Wow, now I really want to hear your system.

I am very glad we got together yesterday with Bill, Rick and yourself. It was a great listening session and filled with wonderful discussion on many musical topics. Thank you to all of you for making the trek down to my neck of the woods sharing food and great music and conversation! I look forward to doing it again here and up in NC! MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

[16hz lover]

GTG report :

My friends Rick (vintage Pioneer ) and Bill (Conrad Johnson fan) drove about 2 1/2 hours down to S.C. and met Mark at a steakhouse which he treated us to. We quickly discovered that we were going to have a fun day. After arriving at Mark's beautiful home, we first got to see his 3 walls of Cd's, somewhere in the 9K disc range. Arranged by genre / artist, I was already in heaven. We got a full detailed explanation of his system and started with the first demo song. Mark had originally PM'd me about my comments on drum wallop transients, so he obviously set me up for a good first impression. Transients. He looked over and said, "that one was for you". Ok check that off the list, then he followed up with a Pipe Organ recording. I had heard these speakers at CES, but with the typical show demo material. Mark was not afraid to give us 3 former musicians the perspective of the sound sitting at the console( he and I both worked in the business). If I hadn't been exposed to what a 24" subwoofer does to the lowest octaves, I could understand how 90% of audiophiles would be happy with the extension of these Legacy speakers.
Hours quickly passed with song after song until I started fading physically. I have to chalk this up to one of the most enjoyable listening sessions of my life. On the way home we came to the consensus that there was zero listener fatigue at the end of the day. Mark was just an enthusiastic, knowledgeable, fun guy to be around.
I have a great new friend as well.

Thanks again,

Marty

 

[NorthStar]

Cool read from cool people.

Merry Holidays All.

 

[SCAudiophile]

GTG report :

My friends Rick (vintage Pioneer ) and Bill (Conrad Johnson fan) drove about 2 1/2 hours down to S.C. and met Mark at a steakhouse which he treated us to. We quickly discovered that we were going to have a fun day. After arriving at Mark's beautiful home, we first got to see his 3 walls of Cd's, somewhere in the 9K disc range. Arranged by genre / artist, I was already in heaven. We got a full detailed explanation of his system and started with the first demo song. Mark had originally PM'd me about my comments on drum wallop transients, so he obviously set me up for a good first impression. Transients. He looked over and said, "that one was for you". Ok check that off the list, then he followed up with a Pipe Organ recording. I had heard these speakers at CES, but with the typical show demo material. Mark was not afraid to give us 3 former musicians the perspective of the sound sitting at the console( he and I both worked in the business). If I hadn't been exposed to what a 24" subwoofer does to the lowest octaves, I could understand how 90% of audiophiles would be happy with the extension of these Legacy speakers.
Hours quickly passed with song after song until I started fading physically. I have to chalk this up to one of the most enjoyable listening sessions of my life. On the way home we came to the consensus that there was zero listener fatigue at the end of the day. Mark was just an enthusiastic, knowledgeable, fun guy to be around.
I have a great new friend as well.

Thanks again,

Marty

Thank you for the good words; it was a great day filled with great music, fellowship and tons of discussion regarding music, performing it and so many other topics. I had a great time and the honor was definitely mine to have you all over to the house! Thank you for taking the time to drive down and hang out for most of a Sunday. Let's do it again North and South sometime soon!

 

[wdbrooksiii]

Fantastic system and library of music. Listened for at least 4 continuous hours with absolutely no fatigue, enjoying every minute. Listened to a wide variety of selections and can honestly say that I've never experienced a system as faithful to the natural reproduction of music. I've experienced listening from the 1st to 20th row in the audience, and also having performers in the room, but this was my first experience in being on the stage with the performers. Well done SCAudiophile!

 

[SCAudiophile]

Fantastic system and library of music. Listened for at least 4 continuous hours with absolutely no fatigue, enjoying every minute. Listened to a wide variety of selections and can honestly say that I've never experienced a system as faithful to the natural reproduction of music. I've experienced listening from the 1st to 20th row in the audience, and also having performers in the room, but this was my first experience in being on the stage with the performers. Well done SCAudiophile!

Thank you Bill for coming down to do all that listening and for the kind words. It was a great experience, aLOT of fun and full of great music, conversation and a great time for all. It was my honor to host you guys and I look forward to the next get together be in NC or SC, or both! Have a great evening!

 

[SCAudiophile]

UPDATED EQUIPMENT LIST (as of this evening) all Legacy equipment still here but packed up...TADs are up as of tonight, pictures to follow once things settle down.

TAD Reference 1 MkII Speakers w/Stillpoints ULTRA5 Footers & Spikes
Esoteric Audio P-02 SOTA Transport
Esoteric Audio D-02 SOTA Dual-Mono DAC
Cybershaft (Japan) RBOCXO-01 10 mHz Premium Rubidium and OCXO Dual Master Clock 120V US Version
Esoteric Audio C-02 Dual-Mono Preamp
Esoteric Audio A-02 Master Soundworks Dual-Mono Stereo Amp
Isotek Systems EVO3 SIGMAS Power Conditioner
Isotek Systems EVO3 TITAN Power Conditioner
Granite Audio Ground Zero Star-Grounding Station
Avatar Acoustics AFTERBURNER8 Outlets (5)
Cutler-Hammer, GE MLC and EP 20amp Dedicated Circuit (10gauge)
Environmental Potentials EP-2050 Surge Suppressor Wave-Form Correct
Environmental Potentials EP-2750 Ground Filter
Whole-House Ground CADWELD Kit & Dual Ground Rods
Adona Corporation AV45CS4 and AV45CS1 (multiple)
Composite Audio CF-2010 Platforms (multiple)
Harmonic Resolution Systems DPX Large Damping Plates Silver (5)
Harmonic Resolution Systems DPS Large Damping Plates Black (3)
Harmonic Resolution Systems DPX Medium Damping Plates Black (2)
Stillpoints Ultra SS with Ultra Bases (4) under Cybershaft RBOCXO-01
Stillpoints Ultra Mini SS under HDPlex Linear-Regulated DC Power Supply...
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold Speaker Cables 9-foot (1 pair)
Elrod Power Systems Signature Gold Speaker Jumpers (2 pair)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold XLR 6-foot (1 pair)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold XLR 4-meter (1 pair)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold XLR 6-foot (1 pair)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold XLR 3-meter custom (1 pair)
Kubala-Sosna ELATION 1-meter XLR AES/EBU (2)
Kubala-Sosna EMOTION 75-ohm BNC:BNC 1.5-meter Master Clock Cable
Wireworld PLATINUM STARLIGHT v7 75-ohm BNC:BNC 1.5-meter Master Clock
Esoteric/MEXCEL 8N-A2000 BNC:BNC 50-ohm 1.5-meter Master Clock Cable
Kubala-Sosna EMOTION 50-ohm 2-meter custom-built and EMOTION 75-ohm 1-meter BNC:BNC
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold 20amp 10-foot PC (2)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Gold 15-amp 6-foot PC (3)
Elrod Power Systems Statement Silver PC 10-foot
Elrod Power Systems Statement Silver PC 6-foot
Elrod Power Systems Custom 15amp Power Extender
Kubala-Sosna Emotion Powercord 1.5m
Isotek Systems ELITE 2-meter C19 20-amp
Isotek Systems ELITE 2m Neutrik Powerconn connector to 20amp
B.M.C. PureUSB1 5-meter

 

[SCAudiophile]

I will put detailed comments out after they are broken in but for today I will say that with about 3 hours of listening that it is apparent that top to bottom this is an amazing speaker, extremely musical, prodigious output, excellent imaging from the first notes I heard and overall amazing how great they are from the time I hit play...exceeded my expectations by a mile. They obviously need breakin from what I hear in the bass and sub bass regions, mids and highs but it is clear that will come in time.....

Truly an incredible speaker. I was also getting ample information down to 19 to 23 Hz easily and without difficulty (pipe organ tracks) I believe these perform well beyond the conservative specs right from day 1.

A bit more...throughout the day they've been playing and the 'whole-house' listening aspect where a speaker not only sounds great in the sweet spot but all around the house, down the hall in office, down the stairs around corners in the main living area, etc....is a very strong experience with these speakers.

I've also thrown my top 30 "SHOW ME" tracks at these throughout the day, even pipe organ and complex drumming along with more delicate (jazz, violin, piano, native percussion & wind instruments, etc...) tracks plus those that with a well seasoned set of speakers and system will portray instrument 7-8+ to the left or right of a speaker, pans across, back and forth, etc...with full range material (didgeridoo in Oystein Sevag's "Global House" album, track 2", a go-to crucible track for the last 15 years...), those with tremendous 3D sound stages, high and deep in all 3 dimensions and these speakers are frankly 'chowing down' on anything I throw at them with a finesse, accuracy, imaging and natural musical playback that I am finding hard to adequately describe. As resolving my system is and my prior speakers were (quite amazing actually), I'm hearing nuances that were never fully revealing before or in ways that were not made apparent. I am 'hearing into the performance' to new levels.

All this with only 10 hours into the play/burn-in cycle. Benefit of existing great high-end power, system components, cables, etc...definitely yes, but it is absolutely clear these speakers are a force to be reckoned with. Out of everything I've listened to at or above this price point, these do it all and from the outset, seem to be doing it better and more musically. Simply amazing to me at this young point in the TAD R1s life.

Let me put it this way; I'm supposed to fly out tomorrow morning at 6 up north for the next 5 days (during which you know these will continue their burn-in). The way these speakers sound, I'm getting a flare-up of the 'audiophile HERMIT' condition and want to change flights and have them all fly down here instead!!! Evil, mischievous/selfish yes(!), will it happen, NO(!), but if you heard what I'm hearing you'd be tempted too!

Have a good evening all and a very Merry Christmas. These are simply outstanding in every way thus far!

 

[SCAudiophile]

Tried to upload new photos but the image uploader (at least from local drive in JPG format) still fails. See me for details; if you want photos, I can email. Sending another email to SysAdmins.

 

[SCAudiophile]

Pictures of the arrival of these massive TAD R1 MkII speakers. The crates are incredibly well thought out and easy to take down though they require a good bit of hefting as the outside cardboard is almost 1" thick and after unbolting the "fold & bolt" out carton layer and then the inner carton layer with massive, and I do mean massive foam cradles built inside, getting all the parts up from garage to attic not only takes several trips but also a bit of care. Then there's the speaker-skid/pallet coupling; the skids are custom built out of real wood layers glued and pressure joined, somewhere between 45 and 50 lbs per skid! The speakers attach with 6 3" bolts put in from the bottom of the skid into special receivers on the bottom of each speaker so the speaker does not move at all during shipment....very impressive!!! These require a good amount of help and care getting them off the skids and up the stairs; great work out,...definitely bring strong friends (or professional movers)!!!

 

[SCAudiophile]

TAD R1s unveiled and ready for cabling to be connected...the jumpers you see in the photos are custom-build Elrod Statement Gold multi-ribbon jumpers which I've had a few years, amazing in their own rite! The footers are Stillpoints ULTRA5s, truly a statement level product and weigh a substantial number of pounds each. Leaning these 330 lb monsters up a few inches (5-6") while attaching the spikes is a serious matter and you better be focused!

 

[SCAudiophile]

All cabled up and ready to go.....1st set of photos

 

[SCAudiophile]

More photos....

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mark,

beautiful, and I'm sure, lovely sounding speakers. congrats!

very elegant, well thought out, and human listening environment you have. looks like a place you want to be.

enjoy your new speakers!

 

[SCAudiophile]

Mark,

beautiful, and I'm sure, lovely sounding speakers. congrats!

very elegant, well thought out, and human listening environment you have. looks like a place you want to be.

enjoy your new speakers!

Mike,

Good Morning and Happy Holidays My Friend!!!

Thank you very much for the comments. One day (or actually two), we have to get you over here and me out to hear your amazing system and room!

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike,

Good Morning and Happy Holidays My Friend!!!

Thank you very much for the comments. One day (or actually two), we have to get you over here and me out to hear your amazing system and room!

yes, that would be excellent. and I hope it happens.

btw; your friend Rusty was here the other night and we had a great time. thanks for the connection.

Happy Holidays to you too!!