Tidal La Assoluta system

[TooCool4]

Audiocrack that is a Nice big room, the speakers don’t look bad either . Saw the speakers in Munich, they were on static display same as last year if I remember correctly.

 

[bonzo75]

Coming back from my holiday in Tuscany

recommend restaurants in Tuscany, please

 

[Audiocrack]

recommend restaurants in Tuscany, please

Le Panzenelle in Lucarelli is quite nice. No stars but they are being mentioned in the Michelin guide.

And btw, the top of the line Tidal Audio loudspeakers are quite nice as well …

 

[Audiocrack]

For those who are interested: a video about Tidal Audio.

 

[Audiocrack]

This weekend two very experienced audiophiles visited me. One of them has a Qobuz subscription.

A couple of years ago I compared the (sound) quality of streamed music - from both Qobuz and Tidal - versus the (sound) quality of music I store on my NAS / harddrive. In my view the (sound) quality of these stored files really outclassed that of the streamed music I listened to in the past. Therefore I dit not opt for a Qobuz / Tidal subscription.

This weekend provided me with the opportunity to do this experiment one more time. The three of us in particular listened to Exotic dances from the Opera, a file from Reference Recordings in the WAV 176/24 format (with Eiji Oue as conductor). The outcome of this comparison was crystal clear again: the locally stored file sounded superior to the streamed music. To my ears the sonic difference was profound.

So I guess my message to you is the following: a fair comparison of the - real - (sound) quality of files against (sa)cd-replay requires that you use locally stored files (ideally in their original recording format). Otherwise the comparison is imho flawed.

 

[Audiocrack]

Although I do not own any of their audio products - and I have no intention whatsoever to do so - I find the attached link interesting because in it aluminium is labeled as a material not suited for recreating a musical event. Earlier in this thread I have shared the same opinion with you: https://www.monoandstereo.com/ansuz-steel-gen-3-no-aluminium-all-performance/

 

[Audiocrack]

For those who are interested in the developments at (the) Tidal Audio (headquarters) in Cologne I include the following link: https://www.lotushifi.co.uk/tidal-audio-new-factory-visit-2025/

 

[Audiocrack]

With my Tidal La Assoluta system I broke one of the fundamental ‘audio rules’ in the sense that I never fully treated my room acoustically. I resisted this step for two reasons: my main objection was that I did not want to turn my nice art nouveau room - my house was built in 1902 - into an ‘audio mausoleum’ with its somber looks and secondly - after covering a large mirror with special absorbers (an acoustican measured what I needed to cover in particular the first reflections of this mirror) - I thought (or maybe better: wanted to believe) that my acoustics were pretty decent.

However, during their visits both Miguel Alvarez of Tripoint Audio and Brandon Lauer of Wadax urged me to actually do something about the acoustics. According to them - and I knew they were right - my listening room (with a conservatory with lots of glass behind it) sounded too lively.

Still I resisted, although the idea of creating better acoustics ‘grew’ on me (notwithstanding the ‘looks issue’). What in the end prompted me to add quite a number of large (pyramided) absorbers in both my listening room and conservatory were a few new top notch cables. These new ultra cables are more transparent than my Taralabs Grandmaster cables and indeed made clear to me that I needed to so something about the acoustics.

I am in the middle of this ‘acoustic process’ and do not know yet what it will bring ultimately. However, I can already conclude that the room has become much quieter and as a consequence inter alia more transparent. And the - perceived - added power and command is astounding. Not yet satisfied with the tonality on top though.

When everything is done I will share my insights in more detail.

 

[LL21]

With my Tidal La Assoluta system I broke one of the fundamental ‘audio rules’ in the sense that I never fully treated my room acoustically. I resisted this step for two reasons: my main objection was that I did not want to turn my nice art nouveau room - my house was built in 1902 - into an ‘audio mausoleum’ with its somber looks and secondly - after covering a large mirror with special absorbers (an acoustican measured what I needed to cover in particular the first reflections of this mirror) - I thought (or maybe better: wanted to believe) that my acoustics were pretty decent.

However, during their visits both Miguel Alvarez of Tripoint Audio and Brandon Lauer of Wadax urged me to actually do something about the acoustics. According to them - and I knew they were right - my listening room (with a conservatory with lots of glass behind it) sounded too lively.

Still I resisted, although the idea of creating better acoustics ‘grew’ on me (notwithstanding the ‘looks issue’). What in the end prompted me to add quite a number of large (pyramided) absorbers in both my listening room and conservatory were a few new top notch cables. These new ultra cables are more transparent than my Taralabs Grandmaster cables and indeed made clear to me that I needed to so something about the acoustics.

I am in the middle of this ‘acoustic process’ and do not know yet what it will bring ultimately. However, I can already conclude that the room has become much quieter and as a consequence inter alia more transparent. And the - perceived - added power and command is astounding. Not yet satisfied with the tonality on top though.

When everything is done I will share my insights in more detail.

There are so many well designed acoustic wall treatments of various kinds/purposes, you will hopefully be able to find some that become part of the room decor rather than purely a functional 'thing' in the room.

 

[gleeds]

My wife is a well-respected interior designer and holds a degree in art history. I also have a passion for art, architecture, and design, so I am very familiar with the conundrum There are some handsome architectural, non-audiophile treatments as indicated by the LL21's photo above. For glass, I have always found curtains to be the most elegant solution. What's especially nice is that you can open/close them by varying the mount to control the amount of absorption and reflection, as well as the amount of light allowed into the room.

I enjoy your thread and look forward to your updates. Good luck!

 

[Audiocrack]

Thank you both for your very kind reactions. Much appreciated. The pyramided foam absorbers I recently installed are not very pretty to look at but sort of acceptable; however they are also quite effective. I really like what they are doing (sonically speaking) while the tonality issue I am currently experiencing is likely caused by a new ethernet cable. The latter was inserted 6 days ago in my LA aystem and I am informed it needs at least 1-2 weeks. So let’s see how things will progress the next week or so.

 

[LL21]

Thank you both for your very kind reactions. Much appreciated. The pyramided foam absorbers I recently installed are not very pretty to look at but sort of acceptable; however they are also quite effective. I really like what they are doing (sonically speaking) while the tonality issue I am currently experiencing is likely caused by a new ethernet cable. The latter was inserted 6 days ago in my LA aystem and I am informed it needs at least 1-2 weeks. So let’s see how things will progress the next week or so.

Like many things you do, I suspect you will ensure you research and trial the very very best of the best in room design...both aesthetically and sonically. If you have already done so, fantastic. If not, I look forward reading all about it as I am sure do many others!

 

[Audiocrack]

Apart from experimenting with absorbers in both my listening room and the conservatory directly behind my listening room - and yes, they improve the sound quality in a really profound way - I had the opportunity to listen to the Siltech Double Crown Ethernet cable (1 meter) in my Tidal La Assoluta system: I connected this - only last year introduced - ethernet cable directly to my Wadax reference server.

In the Siltech thread on WBF JFrech shared his listening experiences with the Siltech DC lan cable in his audio system. He was so impressed by it that he added a second Siltech DC lan cable to his audio set up. I have (only) one Siltech lan DC cable available. That said I fully understand the enthusiasm of Jfrech: it scores very high in all the usual high end parameters. Actually this cable is so impressive (in a good way!) in my - extremely transparent - LA system that I have no hesitation whatsoever to recommend it to WBF members who are seriously considering a new lan cable. Yes, - as is the case with all Siltech wires - it is not cheap but it is also very good.

 

[Audiocrack]

And just to be sure please let me add the following: when I listened to the Siltech Triple Crown pc - with the S9 silver/gold conductor - in my Tidal LA system I experienced some kind of distorsion. Although I liked its sound to my ears the TC pc nevertheless exhibited a certain distorsion. The Siltech Double Crown ethernet cable - with the S10 silver conductor - does not produce such distorsion (or at least I did not ‘detect’ it while listening to this lan cable in my Tidal LA system).

 

[Tripoint Audio]

Congrats Rufolf on a new milestone, the quest of perusing closer to reality in instrument tonality.
Every other category in this system is uncharted territory. More to come.

 

[Audiocrack]

TIDAL Audio Factory Tour | On the Road

Hi-Fi news, gear reviews, and interviews

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[Audiocrack]

See the comments of Chris (Audio Exotics) on Tripoint Audio’s signal filters:

御品音響Audio Exotics

The Staggering Tripoint Emperor Filter for Speakers Anne Sophie Mutter’s Lord Raven Violin Power once again In speaker systems, the negative binding post serves as the reference point for the...

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Please keep in mind that these comments of Chris are related to the ‘regular’ signal filters. I am using four Tripoint Audio gold se signal filters in my Tidal LA system. The latter is superior to the ‘regular’ signal filter.

I also refer the WBF members who are interested in these signal filters to my comments regarding a prototype filter earlier in this LA thread.

 

[greenfish]

Here a few pictures of some of the copper slabs after their CNC process. The sanding and polishing process wil start soon.View attachment 146111View attachment 146112

Hi Audiocrack , your copper slab's project is very interesting and you have a fantastic system . I might try it too. I have some questions . Why the copper slabs need CNC ? Is more copper's layers better or the total weight is the reason to have more layers.