Little embarrassed to show my system given the company. I just finished replacing my rack with something more family friendly (an affordable Ikea Stockholm - real walnut veneer).
it is a very tight fit so all the heavy stiff audiophile cables had to go and were replaced with OEM or equivalent. Cables are well dressed (power, digital and analogue stuff kept 5-6 cm apart or more).
All digital now. I rarely listen to vinyl anymore. So I dug out my old phono stage Graham Slee Era Gold (Signed by Graham himself!) and ran it into an RME Babyface and then into the Bartok. Amp is a Benchmark AHB2. Cables are Canare star quad. Cheap-o GTeck SFP with 1 ft cat5e. Harbeth SHL5+ Speakers.
I don’t miss any of the fancy cords. Sonically I’m ahead. (The new rack is far less massive than the previous one. Less stuff between the speakers = better sonic image.
It doesn’t matter what you have, etc. It’s all about the music, and anything with a dCS dac in it is already on the right path.
Certainly no need to feel embarrassed, you have a fantastic system.
We are all hear because we love music, and share a real enjoyment for how dCS brings that music to us. So enjoy.
Lovely looking system. Love the IKEA unit too.
I’ve never been a Vinyl guy, only back in the 60’s & 70’s, when there was nothing else to choose from. Do you mind me asking, why you decided to go Digital?
I always remember back in 1968, when I bought The Beatles ‘White Album’, got it home, treated it like a basket of eggs, put it on the turntable and played it. When it got to the track, ‘Martha My Dear’, I heard, “Click, Click, Click.
Now that I have the remastered 2018, digital version, even to this day, I’m still expecting to hear that ‘Click’!
No need to be embarrassed @Urbanluthier, IMO you should be very proud. Your system looks great and I bet it sounds even better. Those are all products I personally hold to be absolutely best-in-class at their price points and all are known for their neutrality. The IKEA sideboard is really elegant and helps you hit the sweet spot of SQ vs WAF. Chapeau!
Thank you everyone for your kind words! One of the best parts of being part of this community is seeing and hearing about your systems and your love of music!
partially! the main boxes are self built using the same driver as ojas, the horns are the official kit from ojas, theyre not all that great but a fun project
i pull them out and use them in other rooms in my house for when theres people round mostly
i sit in basically a 2m equilateral triangle from listening position to each speaker and between the speakers, think the wide angle photo is a bit misleading
I spy a fellow Norma user, are you happy with it? I really enjoy mine and it never enters my mind that it might need upgrading. I use it with a Lina and Marten Duke 2 speakers and they are all well matched.
absolutely i’ve had it for quite while now, i use it (with the inbuilt phono) if im listening to records, generally use the riviera for streaming and for headphones
Upgraded speakers this week, just delivered yesterday. Went from Focal Sopra 3 to Magico S5 mk2. The difference is not subtle. The Sopras sound bloated in comparison. Very happy with the change. Still getting placements dialed in better before putting spikes on. The Pass Labs 60.8 has no problems driving them
Beautifully. I rarely listen to anything loud. Being sealed boxes the bass is extremely articulated, detailed, not boomy. I was running some test tracks last night while positioning. One was timpani heavy and was surprised just how clear they appeared. Totally different representation than the Sopra’s. Component pairing with Magicos is very important. They will glaringly let you know if anything upstream is lacking. Dealer I purchased them through spent over 20 minutes discussing everything in my system to make sure there wouldn’t be any issues
