Tidal La Assoluta system

[Audiocrack]

In order to maximize the performance of the Tidal LA system I have ordered three weeks ago a Wadax reference PSU to be partnered with the Wadax reference server. I am going to add one - and possibly two - Akasa reference dc cable(s) to it. The delivery time is said to be about 10-12 weeks, so hopefully the ‘Wadax package’ will arrive somewhere at the end of February 2024. Two pure copper slabs of 2.5cm thickness stacked on top of each other (with a total weight of about 50 kg) will be used again as a platform for the Wadax reference PSU.

 

[Audiocrack]

Actually I have planned the following steps in the near future to maximize the performance of the LA system:
a. Burn in the Tripoint Emperor NG with the Audiodharme Anniversary Edition Hi-power Premium Plus edition cooker. The experts have predicted that I need at least 7 full days of burning in before the Tripoint Emperor NG will be fully stabilized. Of course I am going to use this cooker for further burning in my Tripoint Audio Elite NG’s as well as all my Tripoint Audio grounding cables, Taralabs Grand Master loudspeaker cables and ic’s as well as my Tidal Audio pc’s. So this burning in process will take quite some time, also because the cooker has not arrived yet.
b. Mass loading my two Kondo Gakuoh push pull poweramps with pure copper slabs. I will start doing this as soon as (the ordered) Revopods have arrived.
c. Inserting 6 new Tripoint Audio grounding cables, including three of Tripoint’s top of the line emperor statement grounding wires. The latter sound totally awesome and I believe these magnificent cables in combination with the Tripoint Audio Emperor NG are going to be a ‘game changer’.
d. Insert a second Aardvark isolator. Right now I am employing one Aardvark isolator after my switch, that is between the Wadax reference server and my (high quality) Tidal Audio ethernet cable. The second Aardvark isolator is going to be placed before the switch, that is between my (long) CAT 7 cable and the switch.
e. Adding five more - currently I am already using one - special copper/silver pieces on top of the pure copper slabs that are being used for mass loading various audio component. With these special pieces I will further and significantly enhance the positive effects of mass loading.
f. Additional grounding of my two Tidal La Assoluta loudspeakers with the help of Miguel and his special Tripoint Audio grounding wires; hope to achieve this when he will be visiting me somewhere next year.
g. Adding the Wadax Reference PSU to the Wadax reference server and one or two Wadax Akasa reference dc cable(s).

 

[Audiocrack]

 

[Audiocrack]

This ‘Christmas recording’ is for sale on the Nativedsd website. Recorded by Brad Michel for Harmonia Mundi in … dxd. Typically Harmonia Mundi cq Brad Michel used to record in dsd. In my set up I generally prefer (original) dxd recordings to (original) dsd recording: dxd sounds more open and dynamic - or if you want: more ‘real’ - to my ears.

This is a very nice recording with ancient Christmas music beautifully recorded.

To everyone: have good Christmas days.

 

[LL21]

This ‘Christmas recording’ is for sale on the Nativedsd website. Recorded by Brad Michel for Harmonia Mundi in … dxd. Typically Harmonia Mundi cq Brad Michel used to record in dsd. In my set up I generally prefer (original) dxd recordings to (original) dsd recording: dxd sounds more open and dynamic - or if you want: more ‘real’ - to my ears.

This is a very nice recording with ancient Christmas music beautifully recorded.

To everyone: have good Christmas days.

Thanks for the tip! Will check it out.

Interesting discovery...as we were mass damping the back of the Wilson XLF shelves which hold the treble and mid-modules...we found originally that you had to stop damping because it became almost shouty...

...it may have been simply accentuating something more minor in the system because after switching out ALL of the binding posts of the Entreq with their latest Max T binding posts...we decided to go back and try it again. Now further mass damping continues to enhance low noise floor, clarity and audibility of vocals, choral, etc...

...all about grounding...

 

[Audiocrack]

Thanks for the tip! Will check it out.

Interesting discovery...as we were mass damping the back of the Wilson XLF shelves which hold the treble and mid-modules...we found originally that you had to stop damping because it became almost shouty...

...it may have been simply accentuating something more minor in the system because after switching out ALL of the binding posts of the Entreq with their latest Max T binding posts...we decided to go back and try it again. Now further mass damping continues to enhance low noise floor, clarity and audibility of vocals, choral, etc...

...all about grounding...

That is very good news Lloyd. And yes, top notch grounding is (also) in my view absolutely key to maximize an audio set up, while mass loading - provided you do it in right way - attributes in a significant way. Enjoy the holidays and your beautiful system.

 

[Audiocrack]

I am using the Aardvark (digital) isolator to great effect in my LA system. Roy Gregory has reviewed this very effective device earlier and in the attached piece he mentions it again while praising its sonic attributes in combination eith the Wadax Reference server. Totally agree with his assessment.

Shifting Foundations… - Gy8

Updating and improving system infrastructure at Gy8

gy8.eu

 

[Audiocrack]

Ten days ago the top of the line Audiodharma cable cooker arrived. The first step was to start burning in all my silver Tripoint Audio grounding main cables. I hooked up 7 cables in total. Later today I am gonna start burning in the four silver filters of the Tripoint Audio Emperor NG ‘grounding’ station as well as two separate Tripoint Audio silver filters: the latter two filters are being used for grounding my Tidal La Assoluta loudspeakers. The burning in of these silver filters will take approximately 7-8 days. After ‘cooking’ these six filters I will start burning in the shields of the various Tripoint grounding cables: apart from the Tripoint Audio silver signature entry cables all the new Tripoint Audio grounding cables employ separate shield cables. These shields make a profound difference for the better and it is to be expected that burning in these Tripoint shield cables separately will yield significant improvements.

So a lot of cooking lies ahead of me because furthermore I am going to burn in the two Tripoint Audio Elite NG mk ii ‘grounding’ boxes, my Taralabs grandmaster loudspeaker cables and ic’s as well as my Tidal Audio powercords. All this ‘cooking’ will take quite some time.

In the meantime I have been informed that some of the components to be added to the LA system - and which components I listed in my post 162 - are ready for shipment to the Netherlands. I expect a lot of these additions.

 

[Audiocrack]

The Wadax reference PSU - to be combined with the Wadax reference server - and two Akasa reference dc cables - to be connected between the two PSU’s of the Wadax reference dac and this dac’s head unit - are ready. Hopefully they will arrive somewhere at the end of next week.

 

[Audiocrack]

Last week I was on a skiing holiday in Austria with my son while this week the wooden floor in the front room will be completely sanded and polished. As a consequence I had to remove all the items from the front room and stack them in the back room in which the Tidal LA’s and the rest of my audio system are standing. So I have not been able to listen to the system last week and surely will need this week to move everything back once the front room is ready. I am using this ‘in between period’ for burning in my (grounding) cables with the Audiodharma cable cooker. So far 8 Tripoint Audio grounding cables have been burned in simultaneously (I daisy chained them) for 10 days. The previous week I burned in the four filters of the Tripoint Audio Emperor NG ‘grounding’ station and two separate silver filters for 8 days while I started last Sunday burning in the shields of 5 Tripoint Audio grounding cables (3 Tripoint Audio silver signature cables do not have shields). According to Miguel fully burning in the shield is important so I think I will give these shields at least 7-8 days. Then I am going to start (further) burning in my two Tripoint Audio Elite NG ‘grounding’ units: I will hook up each each unit for four days to the cooker.

Furthermore the Wadax reference PSU and two Wadax Akasa dc cables are underway to me. Not sure yet when they will arrive but likely somewhere next week. Need to arrange help in order to install the Wadax reference PSU and then all these Wadax items will need approximately a week of playing before they can be considered more or less fully burned in (at the Wadax factory the reference PSU and Akasa dc cables were played for about 48 hours).

So there is still some significant burning / playing in to be accomplished.

 

[Audiocrack]

The Wadax reference PSU and two Wadax Akasa dc cables have arrived this week. The listening room is still ‘a mess’ due to the work to the wooden floor of my front room. However, yesterday I started cleaning and removing things back from the back room (= the listening room) to the front room. Today I will take a day off in order to speed up things a bit. Tomorrow a friend will come by and help me out; the plan is to insert the three new Wadax components in the LA system. That will require some rearranging but hopefully we will get it done. Once we have accomplished this I will of course start immediately with playing in the reference PSU and Akasa dc cables.

Furthermore I am still burning in my cables and my various Tripoint ‘grounding’ units. Hopefully I will be up and running with the LA system in about two weeks or so.

 

[Audiocrack]

About two hours ago we were finally ready with inserting the Wadax reference PSU and two Wadax Akasa dc cables in the LA system. The former is - just like the two PSU’s of the Wadax reference dac - positioned in the conservatory behind the actual listening room. I replaced the stock feet of the PSU by RevOpods while the PSU is - just like all my other audio components (including the two powerstrips I am using) - standing on two pure, oxygen free copper slabs stacked on each other (with a total weight of about 50kg). Of course both units need much more playing hours before reaching their peak but already I have a very good idea where this is heading. Quite spectacular actually in a good way.

 

[Audiocrack]

Btw, I totally forgot to mention that I put on top of the Wadax reference PSU two of the same copper slabs as on which this unit is standing (so again approximately 50kg, this time solely for mass loading). I placed three RevOpods under the latter copper pieces.

 

[LL21]

Btw, I totally forgot to mention that I put on top of the Wadax reference PSU two of the same copper slabs as on which this unit is standing (so again approximately 50kg, this time solely for mass loading). I placed three RevOpods under the latter copper pieces.

Hey Audiocrack,

Big fan of massloading equipment into an 'isolation sandwich' myself. I think we have 270kg or so spread across the entire system now. Just to compare notes, what do you hear with and without your mass loading copper slabs?

 

[Audiocrack]

Hey Audiocrack,

Big fan of massloading equipment into an 'isolation sandwich' myself. I think we have 270kg or so spread across the entire system now. Just to compare notes, what do you hear with and without your mass loading copper slabs?

Good morning Lloyd, may I please refer you to my post nr. 26 in the specific mass loading thread? There I described the sonic benefits I am experiencing in the LA system. I heard the same benefits when I started mass loading both the Wadax reference dac and the Wadax reference server a few months ago. So when I inserted the Wadax reference PSU yesterday I immediately added two copper slabs on top for mass loading this unit (the friend who helped me was available yesterday while dealing with these heavy copper pieces is much easier with two persons than on your own). This new PSU needs at least one week of additional playing in order to fully stabilize and I reckoned that mass loading the Wadax reference PSU would yield (more or less) the same sonic benefits as mass loading the Wadax reference dac and Wadax reference server. So I did not do an a/b comparison yesterday. Maybe I will do the latter somewhere in the future but first of all the new Wadax components need stabilize.

 

[Audiocrack]

One of the reasons why it took us yesterday approximately 3/4 of a day to rearrange everything was that I replaced the 2 x 3 stock Tripoint brass cones under my two Tripoint Elite NG mk ii ‘grounding’ stations with 2 x 3 RevOpods. Both these ‘grounding’ stations are very heavy (about 75 kg each) and are standing very close to each other and my other audio components. So lifting them in narrow space, removing the brass cones and adding the RevOpods was quite a challenge. But we succeeded.

So I changed and added yesterday a few components simultaneously. That is not ideal from an evaluating perspective of course but all these changes could only be accomplished with the help of my friend.

 

[LL21]

Good morning Lloyd, may I please refer you to my post nr. 26 in the specific mass loading thread? There I described the sonic benefits I am experiencing in the LA system. I heard the same benefits when I started mass loading both the Wadax reference dac and the Wadax reference server a few months ago. So when I inserted the Wadax reference PSU yesterday I immediately added two copper slabs on top for mass loading this unit (the friend who helped me was available yesterday while dealing with these heavy copper pieces is much easier with two persons than on your own). This new PSU needs at least one week of additional playing in order to fully stabilize and I reckoned that mass loading the Wadax reference PSU would yield (more or less) the same sonic benefits as mass loading the Wadax reference dac and Wadax reference server. So I did not do an a/b comparison yesterday. Maybe I will do the latter somewhere in the future but first of all the new Wadax components need stabilize.

Thanks and concur! Definitely on a more resolute sound and a much denser note and tonal color.

 

[Audiocrack]

As you might remember I am currently burning in the shields of all my top of the line (full silver) Tripoint Audio grounding cables and this will still take a while. However, I have three Tripoint Audio full silver entry cables - the silver signature wires - available without shields. After playing the new Wadax reference PSU and two new Wadax Akasa dc cables for 24 hours I first connected yesterday one silver signature cable to the new PSU. After listening to the LA system for half an hour or so I connected a second silver signature cable to the Wadax reference server. And finally - after another half an hour of playing - I connected the last silver signature grounding cable to the PSU of my Kondo g-1000 line stage. The three silver signature cables were hooked up to Tripoint Audio’s top of the line ‘grounding’ station, the Emperor NG. The latter was ‘cooked’ - with help of the Audiodharma cable cooker and a new burning in cable that Miguel specially made for this purpose - during my holiday for 8 days. Boy oh boy, I was extremely impressed with what I heard after inserting these three grounding wires: notwithstanding the fact that the Wadax reference PSU and the Wadax Akasa dc cables need at least another 6 days or so of playing in to fully stabilize, the LA system sounded already better than ever before. And that with a wide margin! The LA system is going to sound mighty impressive after all playing in is finished and once I have inserted my best grounding cables.

 

[Audiocrack]

In this LA thread I referred a few times to a couple of reviews of the Aardvark isolator (reviews by Roy Gregory and Ron Cook). I am using this Aardvark isolator to great effect in my LA system. In the most recent issue of Hifi+ Alan Sircom is the third reviewer who is very enthusiastic indeed about the sonic benefits this small and remarkable device brings to the table.

In post 162 of this thread I already mentioned that it was my intention to add a second Aardvark isolator to the LA system: one isolator to be inserted ‘before’ the switch and one to be inserted ‘after’ the switch. The latter implies that the second Aardvark isolator is to be inserted between the Wadax reference server and my (high quality) Tidal Audio Ethernet cable (while the latter is (also) connected to the switch).

What I did not mention in post 162 - Eduardo, the mastermind behind the Aardvark brand, considered it at the time too early for such an announcement - is that Eduardo was on the brink of unleashing a new and better version of the Aardvark isolator: the ultra. According to Eduardo this ultra version surpasses the ‘regular’ isolator in various aspects, such as for example top and air, low frequency articulation, silence and soundstage depth. Although I have not yet experienced the ultra version of the Aardvark isolator myself, this new device is currently in transit to me. It is part of one of the very first ultra batches and I consider myself quite ‘lucky’ that Eduardo was willing to include me in this first shipment. Of course I am very curious to find out what this new ultra version of the Aardvark isolator is going to add to the performance of the LA system. Will keep you posted.

 

[LL21]

Look forward to hearing how that goes. Not sure about the tech at all. In our case the Waversa EXT Ref Plus goes in between the Zanden Transport and the Zanden DAC (it has RJ45, or usb or other connections depending on what you want in your configuration)...and it feels like the Zanden has moved forward several generations in reproduction (very modern in its resolution, resolve, air)...while remaining absolutely true to its original voicing that it has always had.

I can imagine that you are experiencing similar qualities which are very very important but also subtle in that it is not like simply upgrading an amp or changing a cable...it is more akin to the kinds of improvements (at least in our case) that we got from using Tripoint and Entreq.