My Current Audio Systems

[tmallin]

Here are brief descriptions of my current audio systems. I will try to keep this post up to date as components and configurations change.

If components I've talked about in threads of Tom's Corner are not listed here, you can assume that I have either sold those items or that they are currently for sale.

The links in these descriptions are either to my own descriptions of these components at WBF, or to sales or manufacturer's information.

Audio Room

• Streaming: Xfinity Gigabit internet service, feeding Xfinity xFi Advanced Gateway, feeding 90 feet of CAT6 shielded ethernet cable, feeding 5 feet of Blue Jeans Cable Cat 6 Patch Cords ethernet cable, feeding GigaFOILv4 Inline Ethernet Filter powered by 5V output of Keces P3 LPS, feeding 1.5 feet of Blue Jeans Cable Cat 6 Patch Cords ethernet cable, feeding Lumin X1.
• Source: Lumin X1 for Qobuz, Tidal, and internet radio. Also see my discussion here.
• Speakers: Graham LS8/1 Signature Edition in teak finish.
• Speaker Stands: Skylan SKY-4P20 four--post stands, 20 inches high.
• Amplifiers: Audio by Van Alstine DVA M225 Monoblock Solid State Amplifiers
• Speaker Cable: Blue Jeans Cable Canare 4S11 in star-quad configuration to increase effective cable gauge; ultrasonically welded terminations at all ends to Blue Jeans locking banana plugs.
• Headphones: NAD Viso HP-50 or Apple AirPods Max or PSB M4U 9 or Bose Quiet Comfort 45, used with iPhone 14 Pro Max either directly from Tidal, Qobuz, and internet radio apps on the iPhone. A DD ddHiFi TC35 Pro (Eye) 3.5mm DAC & Amp Adapter is used to connect the NAD headphones to the USB-C port of the iPhone; the Apple, PSB, and Bose headphones connect to the iPhone via Bluetooth. The signal path for headphone listening is thus totally separate from the loudspeaker listening path.
• Equipment Stand: Salamander Archetype three shelf 20"-high equipment stand.
• Power Cables: GTT Audio Absolute Power Cord MkII for all electronic components.
• Vibration Control: A/V Room Service Equipment Vibration Protectors (EVPs)--usually four each of proper load rating under each electronic component on equipment rack, although with a couple of very small and very lightweight items (e.g., the GigaFOILv4) I only use one EVP carefully placed under the item to distribute the load evenly on the EVP's bellows suspension. Large (17" x 12" x 1.5") Bright Star Audio Little Rock on floor under equipment rack to damp local laminate wood floor vibration near where the rack feet contact the floor.
• System Control: Apple iPad Pro M-1 (2021 3rd Generation) running the Lumin App and various streaming services.
• Room: 161" L x 132" W x 103.5" H rectangular converted bedroom with plaster walls, one double hung window on right wall, one door on left wall, and one large closet the whole width of the room behind the listening seat.
• Listening Chair: Drexel velour upholstered chair which puts my ears at about 38 inches above the rug.
• Room treatment: About 128 square feet of natural white Acoustical Solutions four-inch-thick AlphaSorb Flat Foam acoustic foam covering first-reflection areas of all walls.
• Electrical: Two dedicated 20-amp circuits; P.I. Audio Group customized Pass & Seymour 5362A wall outlets, P.I. Audio Group UberBUSSes, P.I. Audio Group BUSS Depot; JENA Electrical Contact Enhancement Fluid or Caig Labs Deoxit Pro G100L-2DB for all non-soldered electrical connections.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Very nice enjoy

 

[tmallin]

My latest changes include updates to the streaming path in the audio room system and a whole new computer for my desktop system. The above pictures and system descriptions have been updated to account for these changes.

 

[tmallin]

My latest system update is the change to a LEDE acoustic treatment configuration with the substitution of Alphasorb Flat Foam for the P. I. Audio Group AQD1 diffusers at the speaker end of the room. See my thread, "Acoustic Treatment for Small Listening Rooms: Absorption vs. Diffusion" for discussion. Here is a wide-angle photo of the new speaker-end of the room with the Alphasorb Flat Foam panels.

 

[tmallin]

Computer Desktop Electrostatic Headphone System

I use this system primarily for video streaming, but also for some music streaming. (This system doubles as my work-from-home workspace; thus the ring light for video conferencing.) See generally, "My Electrostatic Headphone Adventures."

• Computer: Apple Mac Studio with M1 Ultra chip, 128 GB Memory, 4 TB storage; Apple Magic Mouse 2; Apple Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad - US English; Apple Studio Display configured with Nano-texture glass and tilt- and height-adjustable stand; backed up to the cloud via Google Drive for Desktop and locally to 2 TB Sandisk Extreme Pro USB SSD drive via Mac Time Machine; Steelseries QcK Gaming Surface Medium size mousepad.
• Streaming: Various video services plus Roon, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, internet radio and 1200 CDs on local file storage.
• DAC: Benchmark DAC3B and here. Also, for connecting NAD headphones to USB-C port rather than headphone jack, DD ddHiFi TC35 Pro (Eye) 3.5mm DAC & Amp Adapter (The NAD headphones also work excellently from the headphone jack of the Apple Mac Studio computer.)
• Electrostatic Headphone Amplifier: Mjolnir Audio KGSSSHV Carbon
• Headphones: Stax SR-007 Mk 1; Stax SR-007A Mk2.9; NAD Viso HP-50, Apple Air Pod Max.
• Cables: GTT Audio Absolute Power Cord MkII for all components; Triode Wire Labs/P.I. Audio Group Discrete USB cable; Benchmark Studio&Stage Starquad XLR Cable for Analog Audio.
• Headphone Stands: Stax wood stand and Stax headphone cover (Stax) and Avantree aluminum (Apple, NAD)
• Electrical: JENA Electrical Contact Enhancement Fluid for all non-soldered electrical connections.
• Chair: Early model Steelcase Leap (still the most comfortable chair for long-term sitting I've ever found for my body)
• Foot Support: Fellowes Office Suites Adjustable Footrest with Microban (heavenly support in combination with the Steelcase Leap Chair)

 

[tmallin]

Here is a picture of my Audio Room system with the latest acoustical foam arrangement and the Dutch & Dutch 8c speakers mounted on Skylan four-post 26"-high stands.

 

[tmallin]

Yesterday I replaced my Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming Switch S8000 with the UpTone Audio EtherREGEN ethernet switch. The Netgear Nighthawk had been a clearly audible improvement from the TP Link and Cisco switches which proceeded it and Archimago found much to like about it, as did I. I really heard no problems at all and have been delighted with the sound of my Dutch & Dutch 8c-based system throughout my use of the Nighthawk switch.

However, the reviews of the EtherREGEN got me very curious about it. Then, when The Absolute Sound named it one of its 2020 Products of the Year, I had to see what all the fuss was about. I knew from half an hour into its warm up (yes, the EtherREGEN runs hot, Class-A-amp hot) that something really special was happening. I'll refer you to the reviews in Audiophile Style and The Absolute Sound. But I'll just say that the combination of greater three dimensionality, greater small musical detail of both tones and transients, and expanded moment-to-moment microdynamics, without any tonal brightening is impressive and enthralling. Who knew an ethernet switch could make such differences? It's as if the time coherence of the D&D speakers has been truly unleashed. These improvements are clearly audible as I write this from my computer desk, well outside the audio room with the system playing at background music levels.

Yes, at $640 it's expensive as ethernet switches go, but it's a bargain in terms of the audible difference it has made in my already pretty well-tuned system. You may have to wait a while to get one; it regularly seems to be back-ordered for at least a month.

Did I mention that this thing runs physically HOT? It does, so don't be surprised or alarmed. Just give it some space and enjoy!

 

[Ron Resnick]

Dear Tom,

I don't understand the computer equipment discussion, but I am glad you are happy with the improved sound!

 

[tmallin]

Thanks, Ron. There is a Great Divide between traditional audiophiles--those who listen to analog (and perhaps digital-disc-based sources) only--versus those who also or even exclusively now listen to music sourced from internet streaming or computerized music files. If you are still primarily an analog LP listener, much of what goes into constructing an audiophile-grade computer-based audio and streaming system may well seem like gibberish.

An analogy might prove helpful. Just as the simplest LP-based system is the old briefcase-sized all in one "record player" many of us oldsters had as kids--it had a latchable lid, a single built-in speaker, amp, and turntable/arm/cartridge--the simplest modern computer-based music system is a smart phone connected to the internet streaming music through its own built-in speaker.

With an analog system, the system can get a lot better sounding if you separate out the various parts: separate speakers, power amp, line amp, phono preamp, turntable, tonearm, cartridge, cables, etc., plus a lot of careful set up, paying a lot of attention to the audible effects of each physical part of the system.

A computer-based system also can get better sounding by separating out its parts and connecting those parts in particular ways, paying careful attention to the resulting sound of each part change as you go. With computer based systems, one major choice is between Wi-Fi connectivity and wired ethernet connectivity. Many of us have found that wired ethernet systems sound better. Once you wire internet-connected components together with ethernet cables, you will need at least one ethernet switch to act as a "hub" for all the wired internet connections. As it turns out, different ethernet switches have different sonic qualities--thus the comparisons I made among the TP Link, Cisco, Netgear, and now the EtherREGEN ethernet switches. As with analog audio, most every step in the signal path has a "sound" and some components sound "better" than others.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you, Tom, for the analogy and the explanation. I understand!

 

[tmallin]

If you look at my system description, you will notice that it now includes both the Uptone Audio EtherREGEN (ER) and the GigaFOILv4 (GF). In my system, the ER feeds the GF, which feeds the Lumin X1.

I am very much aware that the manufacturers of both the ER and GF state that their unit should be the last item in the chain before the streamer/DAC. In fact, the manufacturer of the ER is on record stating that fiber optical isolation such as that provided by the GF should not be necessary either before or after the ER in the signal chain.

Well, both units can't be the last one in the ethernet chain. And in my system I have tried the units with the ER feeding the GF, the GF feeding the ER, and with the ER alone. To my ears, in my system, the best sounding result is the ER feeding the GF feeding the Lumin X1.

Using the GF fed by the ethernet cable which comes from my router and having the GF feed the ER does not really result in any improvement over the sound of the ER alone.

The ER alone also is far superior sounding to my old set up of the Netgear Nighthawk S8000 Pro Gaming Switch feeding the GF feeding the Lumin X1. If you had never heard the system with the ER feeding the GF, you would never know what you were missing.

But using the ER feeding the GF removes additional noise/blur/grunge around each note and further blackens the background. In my system, to my ears, this is the way to go.

 

[ddk]

Thanks, Ron. There is a Great Divide between traditional audiophiles--those who listen to analog (and perhaps digital-disc-based sources) only--versus those who also or even exclusively now listen to music sourced from internet streaming or computerized music files. If you are still primarily an analog LP listener, much of what goes into constructing an audiophile-grade computer-based audio and streaming system may well seem like gibberish.

This is true IME and true for myself as well but avoiding computer audio has to do with the sound quality not technicality.

david

 

[ozzzy]

tmallin,
I own the Lumin X1 and the EtherRegen also! Great units!
Do you turn the EtherRegen off? With my linear power supply I can turn it off at the end of the day. Just wonderin' if it takes time to come back to best sonic state once turned off.

ozzy

 

[tmallin]

All my equipment in this room stays turned on 24/7. I even keep the streaming going 24/7, just at a low level not audible outside the room when I'm not listening.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

All my equipment in this room stays turned on 24/7. I even keep the streaming going 24/7, just at a low level not audible outside the room when I'm not listening.

I have the habit of turning everything of. Maybe I should start to leave my system on standby.

 

[tmallin]

Pictures of my current Dutch & Dutch 8c stereo room set up are located at this link. The changes are the arrangement of the absorbing foam, now covering the first reflection areas on the ceiling.

 

[tmallin]

For a good while now, since I further simplified my main stereo room system to eliminate the Benchmark DAC3 HGC and Benchmark HPA4 headphone amp, I have not used headphones in that system, limiting my headphone listening to my computer desk system used primarily for video streaming.

Recently, however, I have added back headphone listening capability to my stereo room system. While I still don't have a means of using my best headphones, the Stax SR009S, in that system, I have now arranged things so that I can use either my Apple AirPods Max or NAD Viso HP-50 in my stereo room system.

Since the Apple AirPods Max are ordinarily connected via Bluetooth, to listen via these headphones in that system I simply turn on the Bluetooth capability of my M-1-based iPad Pro (2021)'s system controller and pair the headphones with the iPad. Since the Bluetooth connection seems limited to a 24 bit, 48 kHz sampling rate, this may impair the sonic quality heard from High Resolution program material a bit, but my D&D 8c speakers impose a similar "limitation" since the DACs in those speakers are intentionally set up by the manufacturer to operate at 24/48, both to allow the chosen DACs to operate more precisely and to avoid energizing the 27 kHz peak in the response of the tweeter of the speakers.

I acquired a second pair of the NAD Viso HP-50 headphones to use in the stereo room system so I don't have to move my first pair back and forth between the computer system and the stereo room system. To use the even better NAD Viso HP-50 headphones in my stereo room, I needed an adaptor to fit the wired NAD headphones to the USB-C jack which is the only wired output on the iPad Pro. While iMac computers still have stereo mini jacks for driving ordinary wired headphones, there is no stereo mini jack on recent iPads or iPhones.

Fortunately, Apple and others make a simple, one-piece USB-C to stereo mini jack adaptor. See this link. The standard 4-foot-long cord of the NAD phones, which terminates in a stereo mini-plug fits right into the stereo mini-jack of this adaptor and the male USB-C end of the adaptor fits into the USB-C jack of the iPad Pro.

One way to listen to streamed material through headphones in this system involved enabling the iPad Pro to be a Roon end point device. To do this and avoid simultaneously driving the speakers, I first simply disable my Lumin X1 as an end point device through Roon's controls; go to Roon's Menu > Settings > Audio, then click on the gear icon next to the Lumin X1 and select Disable. Then I enable the Apple iPad Pro as a Roon end point. In the Roon set up of the iPad Pro, I enable the MQA Core Decoder to make sure that my Roon Nucleus+ does the core decoding of any MQA programs before sending them to the iPad through my home network. I set the iPad Pro to "Renderer only" for this set up since iPads have no inherent MQA decoding capability.

When I go back to speaker listening, I then re-Enable the Lumin X1 as a Roon end point and Disable the iPad Pro. You don't have to do that, but I like to keep the system set-up as unambiguous as possible.

Alternatively, I can listen by headphones in my stereo room by simply streaming directly from apps on the iPad Pro, bypassing Roon, the Nucleus+, and of course the Lumin X1. I have apps for most of my usual streaming sources on the iPad Pro: various internet radio stations and aggregating services, Safari, YouTube, Internet Concert Archive, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, SiriusXM, etc. While I cannot access my own CD-derived music files this way, most of those programs are available as streaming files through Tidal or Qobuz, albeit in FLAC rather than WAV format. I also obviously can't avail myself of the superior Roon GUI this way.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Dear Tom,

Thank you for updating us on your system!

I do not know how to ask this without a pejorative implication so please forgive me, but why would you want headphone listening capability in your main stereo room system?

 

[tmallin]

Late-night listening at higher volumes than background level is one reason, Ron. Sure, I can do that from my computer desk system as well, but it's nice to have this option again and for non-video-based listening, it's best not to have a big computer screen staring you in the face when listening. In the stereo room, once I select the program and adjust the volume, I can put the screen out of sight beside my chair.

Tom

 

[Ron Resnick]

Ah, late night listening I totally understand!

I totally agree, Tom --- I personally would not want to look at a TV screen when listening to music on the big stereo.