As the dust begins to settle on a long string of system changes, I am realizing now may be the time to lay out for my readers what’s in my system and why.
First of all, the basic “WHY” of my system is this:
To build the best system I can for optimizing reproduction of the best sounding records I can find.
Such a system, therefore, is built mainly for playing vintage records, because in my experience, vintage records have an unrivaled potential for the highest level of fidelity possible.
And while I realize the notion that the better vintage records crush their modern rivals is still a bone of contention for many if not most analog audiophiles, for me, it is an open and shut case. Someday I hope to hear a record made anytime from 20+ years ago to the present day that will rival what I hear on a growing number of vintage pressings, but that day has yet to come.
What exactly am I hearing on my vintage records that is so special as to embrace this dogma? Simply the sound of live music, free of artifice and reproduced with a level of fidelity and uncanny realism that facilitates an unparalleled sensory and emotional connection with musical art and the artists that made it.
Is this type of listening experience even possible? 10 years ago I’d likely have told you such a statement was nothing more than the hyperbolic words of an audiophile zealot. But my experience since has taught me otherwise. I’ve discovered that it is indeed possible to find records that, cleaned properly, do things that no flat round disc of plastic rightfully should. It’s also possible to build a system to play such records back that reveals more of what’s in their grooves than most of us ever imagined was there.
Surely then such a phenomenal sounding audio system would require an equally phenomenal amount of capital to build, would it not? For the average person who would never even consider spending well into the 4 figures to buy a turntable or a phono preamp then, yes, it does require a lot of money to build a great sounding audio system. Absolutely it does!
But for your average audiophile and the kind of numbers that, as audiophiles, we’ve become quite comfortable with, the cost can be surprisingly, even shockingly low. I paid $200 for my current amp and it’s literally the best sounding amp I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard some pretty nice amps costing upwards of 50 times that amount.
In fact, I deliberately used the words “system changes” and not “system upgrades” above, because in several cases I replaced fairly pricey equipment with much cheaper gear. And while I’ll admit that I do like paying less for things when possible, and I love a good deal just as much as the next guy, getting cheaper stuff to replace more expensive stuff was not done in the interest of saving money. I did it because those changes brought me closer to my goal of realizing analog’s full potential.
It’s possible that you could have a system with very different gear than I have and approach, achieve or even exceed the level of performance I’ve reached. My system, I’m forced to concede, is not made up of the only gear that can reproduce a record with the level of fidelity I’m describing. But some of what I’ve done, I believe, is necessary to reach the level of sound quality for which I’m advocating.
For instance, you need a turntable, tonearm and cartridge capable of a high level of performance, or you simply will not be able to reveal what’s on your records. What level that is at a minimum is hard to say. I haven’t owned enough turntables and tonearms to really know for sure. I have, however, had a few of them, and when I discuss what I’m using now I will endeavor to address this question of what minimum level of performance is necessary, and how to determine it.
You also need a phono preamplifier that can deliver the signal from your turntable to your amp in as complete, dynamic and unadulterated a form possible. If you read audio forums, you’ll have no trouble finding endless debates over which part of an analog front end is the most important. The fact is, they are all important. But consider this, you could have the perfect turntable, tonearm cartridge combo, supposing there was such a thing, and if you didn’t have the right phono preamp you’d never know it.
Lastly, but by no means least-ly, and I’ll state this in IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS! You need to play the right records in order to build the right system to play them on. If you don’t have the right records, you won’t have the reference sources necessary to evaluate the equipment you try out, and it will be difficult to impossible to decide what changes to make and what gear to use to make them.
I recommend Better Records as your primary resource for reference records. No one, and I mean NO ONE, sells better sounding records than BR. Yes, they are expensive, sometimes shockingly so, but they are worth it.
And please! UNDERSTAND ME HERE! I’m recommending BR for reference records, not for every record in your collection. Once your system reaches a certain level of performance, you should start finding your own reference records, or at least some that come close to the ones that BR sells.
I can also help you find some reference records that will do the job. I can’t promise to deliver the level of quality that BR can, but I can get you copies of some titles that will help you along until you can wrap your head around BR’s prices. Feel free to reach out to me through the comments if you’d like my help.
Now, the WHAT…
VPI Aries 1 turntable
Triplanar MK VII tonearm
Last spring I traveled to Pittsburgh to visit a friend and help him out with improving his stereo. He had practically the exact same equipment that I had and which I outline below. Not surprisingly, the sound of my friend’s system was remarkably similar to my own.
There were some minor differences that were holding it back, most of which I addressed and which led to some pretty significant improvements. However, there was one very important difference and one which, I was forced to conclude, clearly exceeded my own. The midrange clarity and overall transparency of my friend’s system were significantly better.
My friend and I loan each other records pretty regularly, and during my visit we played some of the exact same records that I’d heard numerous times on my stereo. Now I was hearing into these records so much better than I had before, and I was wondering why. Among the many other pieces of equipment that we both use, we both have Triplanar U2 tonearms and Dynavector Karat 17dx cartridges. But my friend had his installed on a VPI Aries 1 and I didn’t.
When I got home I started looking for an Aries 1 to put my Triplanar U2 tonearm on. When I eventually did, my suspicions were immediately confirmed. The Aries offered much more midrange clarity than the table I’d been using.
At first it seemed this improvement in the midrange had come at the expense of the bass. My previous table delivered prodigious bass. But with continued listening, I began to realize that I was getting plenty of bass with the Aries, and what I’d given up was actually some midbass that my previous table was adding. Too much midbass, I concluded.
Are there other turntables out there that let you hear “into” the performance the way the VPI Aries does? More than likely there are, but I’m not sure if that’s true of other tonearms. The Triplanar is special. There may very well be other special tonearms out there, but I can only say this: as my system has gotten more resolving, throughout the frequency range, I have yet to reach the ceiling on the Triplanar’s performance.
Dynavector Karat 17 dx MC cartridge
When I first started this site I had an old and, as I would soon discover, way past its prime Benz Micro Ruby 3H. When that cart fell apart one day playing a Joni Mitchell record, I started a journey that ultimately led me through 3 other carts to the Dynavector 17dx.
A major takeaway from that journey is that every one of those cartridges sounded great to me when I had them, and each one sounded better than the one I had before it. Ultimately, the Dynavector 17dx was so clearly better than the others, it’s now hard for me to comprehend how I’d liked any of the others so much.
The Karat 17dx has been around a while, and what I’ve discovered listening to friends who have bought new cartridges in recent years is that salespeople often steer audiophiles away from the 17dx. I had one friend who got steered toward a Soundsmith, and two others who bought 17dx’s but had to insist on them to get them.
Why should you insist on the 17dx? It delivers the deepest, truest bass you’re ever going to hear. It is also an extremely neutral sounding cartridge across the entire frequency range. And the more neutral sounding you make your system, the more you’ll appreciate just how good your records can sound.
As an audiophile friend once put it to me, “strive for neutrality and you will find truth in audio.” Wiser words were never spoken!
E.A.R. 324 phono preamplifier
For a long time I was using a Conrad Johnson ET3 tube preamplifier and it’s on-board phono preamp. I installed NOS Mullard tubes in that unit, substantially improving the sound over the reissue Mullard’s that CJ supplies and recommends.
When I started using a vintage integrated amplifier, I continued using the phono stage in the ET3. Eventually, I demoed a CJ TEA2 (standard version) and was impressed with its performance. I wrote a review of that unit here before returning it and buying the TEA2 SE, which was a big step up from the standard version, especially after installing my NOS Mullard tubes.
All of this happened while I was waiting for supply chain issues to resolve and the E.A.R. 324 I had ordered to be built. When that unit finally arrived, it took me all of 5 minutes to decide to sell the TEA2 SE and officially move on from tube gear.
I have only just reviewed the E.A.R. 324, but just in case you haven’t read that, let me say this: I’m willing to bet the E.A.R. 324 rivals the best phono preamplifiers ever built. I put it up against the near $28k Burmester Top 100, for example, and it beat it handily.
The 324 delivers top to bottom natural, neutral sound that appears to add nothing without holding anything back. As Tom Port, founder of Better Records, put it to me – The EAR 324 is so good, “it’s worth whatever you have to pay for it.” It currently retails for $6095.
Vintage 70’s era Japanese Integrated Amplifier – 35 WPC
Most audiophiles think the idea that an old Japanese amp could not just rival, but substantially improve on a modern one built for the audiophile market is crazy talk. That’s certainly what I thought before I heard it for myself.
Before I had my receiver, I bought a Sansui AU 7500 which I wrote about here. That unit sounded great too, although just not quite as great as my unnamed receiver. I also briefly had a Yamaha R-500 that sounded good but not as good as the Sansui, and a Luxman that didn’t sound very good at all, not to mention a Harmon Kardon that I never got to hear because I couldn’t get it working properly.
The point being, these units can be a bit of a crapshoot, but as I point out in my review of the Sansui, they are by audiophile gear standards fairly cheap. Therefore it can be worth trying a few out to see if you find one you like that works well with your speakers.
I wish I could tell you exactly what reciever I’m using, but currently I’m something of a lifer with this unit. And with the supply of working order units in the used marketplace dwindling, I will for the time being keep the exact unit to myself.
However, I can tell you that the vintage, country of origin and the low power output are all key. If you’re inclined to try one of these out, stick with late 60’s to mid to late 70’s Japanese units that deliver 30 to 50 watts per channel. You’ll be SHOCKED at how good these amps can sound.
Legacy Focus speakers
With 3 twelve inch woofers in each 175 lb cabinet, these speakers are absolute monsters. They are also a recent addition to my system. For the past few years I’ve been using an older pair of Verity Parsifal Encore, modified for improved top end. A couple of years ago I put the Parsifal on Townshend Podiums and about a year later added an Anthony Gallo subwoofer, which dramatically improved the size and space of the soundstage, not mention adding quite a bit to the bottom end.
Switching to the Focus 20/20 has been a learning experience to say the least. Before I got them, I would have described the Parsifal as a very neutral sounding speaker. Now I can clearly hear they are not. The Focus present vocals with an uncanny naturalness and realness, and this has led me to think that a speaker that gets vocals right is likely to get a lot of other things right as well.
I also discovered that the Parsifal do not get bass right. The woofers, which are of modest size (6 inches?) but are the sole occupants of a very solid and relative large ported bass cabinet, give instruments a surprising amount of size, weight and palpability. But they boost the mid-bass in a way that made certain records sound demonstrably wrong. In fact, on a handful of records that had a lot going on in the mid-bass, they were boomy to the point of distortion.
With the Focus there is no such distortion, and the bass sounds more natural and more correct. Records in my collection that I could never get to sound right, now sound not just right, but more transparent, more open and more alive than ever.
Townhsend Audio Supertweeters
One thing I felt I “lost” a bit of, switching from the Verity Parsifal to the Legacy Focus 20/20 was a bit of top end resolution. It wasn’t dramatic, but it was noticeable, especially with the modification I’d made to the Parsifal. The addition of a pair of Townshend Supertweeters changed that, although it took another recent system change (see below) to fully appreciate what the Supertweeters added to the sound.
The Supertweeters more than make up for any top end sonic advantages that the Parsifal had over the Focus, and my system has reached a new level of clarity and transparency with them.
Synergistic Research X2 Alpha Sterling DS interconnects
These Synergistic Research cables are a long ago discontinued model that gave me all of the top end extension of the Better Cables Silver Serpent Air cables I was previously using while adding more weight and detail to the bottom end.
I’ve not reviewed these cables as they are hard to come by, but you can read my review of the Better Cables Silver Serpent AIR, which I still recommend. Both of these cables helped elevate my system’s performance substantially. In particular, both helped my Townshend Supertweeters add a considerable amount of resolving power to my speakers and my system as a whole.
Customized Audtek 12 AWG Speaker Wire
For those of you who’ve not yet thrown up your hands in frustration and disbelief, this component will likely push your level of skepticism to a place that abruptly ends your all too brief visit to this site. “Budget speaker wire! In an audiophile system? Whah? Are you completely nuts?!!!”
Before I tried this wire, I was using Transparent Super speaker cables. The Transparent had been a big improvement over the entry level Synergistic Research speaker cable I had before them. As I recall, I paid $500 for the Synergistic cable, and $2000 for the Transparent.
Makes perfect sense doesn’t it? Two thousand dollar cables ought to sound quite a bit better than $500 cables. And, let’s say $4000 cables, perhaps where I was headed with Transparent, those ought to sound even better than the $2000 ones shouldn’t they?
But $20 bulk lamp cord sounding better than $2000 audiophile grade cables that are nearly the size of a garden hose? Now that’s just crazy talk!
Except, it isn’t. Even without break in, after I had connected one full wire (both strands wound together) from my amp to each pole of my speakers, I knew almost immediately the sound was better. It was more transparent, more tonally accurate and had deeper, tighter bass. And those improvements, incredibly, have only increased as the wire has broken in.
Try a spool yourself and see what you think. What have you got to lose except 20 bucks and about 30 minutes of your time?
Townshend Seismic Isolation Platforms
Read my review of another great product from Townshend Audio where I describe what a game changer these platforms are. There are a lot of isolation shelves and devices on the market, but the Townshend platforms are special, particularly when you load them properly.
A Townshend platform under your turntable, and under your amp or integrated amp, should not be an afterthought, but two non-negotiable essential components in your system. You simply cannot hear what’s on your best records without them.
Vistek Aurios Media Isolation Devices
In addition to the Townshend Platform, I use a set of Aurios 1.2’s under the feet of my Turntable. I’ve also tried the 1.1’s which worked well and the Aurios Pro’s which helped but somewhat less so.
The added layer of isolation provided by the Aurios delivers a significant improvement over the Townshend Platter in the way of size, space and transparency. The Aurios help peel away yet one more layer of obscuration from the performances on my best sounding records, and the better the record, the more difference they make.
Ventus Grab 2 grounding box
Everything I said when I wrote a glowing review of this Canadian product still stands. With the Ventus Grab 2 connected to my amp and my E.A.R. 324, my system sounds cleaner, clearer, more transparent and with better bass articulation.
Zoethecus Rack
This is not a rack that I necessarily recommend, especially since it’s long since fallen out of production. It just happens to be the rack I have and have yet to replace. So far though, it’s doing the job, and adding an extra 50-60 pounds of weight on an empty shelf has helped it do that job better, widening and deepening the soundstage considerably.
PineTails Buckwheat Pillow
I’m not sure the brand matters, but this $30 buckwheat pillow placed under my E.A.R. 324 improved its performance markedly. I’m getting cleaner, clearer sound with less glare using the buckwheat pillow, and I got similar results with the other phono preamps I’ve used with it in the past. Adding a second pillow also substantially improved bottom end extension.
Audioquest Power Cord (late model)
Power cords have got to be one of the more nutty components in audio these days, and I expect they will be for years to come. Those who’ve not tried aftermarket power cords will wonder if they really do anything, and those who have can get obsessed with getting the biggest, baddest cord possible.
As I point out in my article on power cords, power cords can make a huge difference in the sound of a component, and in a system as a whole, but that difference may not always be the difference we really want. I was using Transparent power cables that I paid about $600 apiece for, before I started experimenting and realized I liked the sound I got with the stock cords better.
Now, because I’m using a vintage unit with a wired power cord, my only option for using an aftermarket cord is with my E.A.R. 324. A friend of mine loaned me 4 extra cords he had that he’d liked, and I tried them and found one that sounded the best of the four, and much better than the stock cord that came with the 324. The cord I chose is an older Audioquest cord that, so far, I haven’t been able to improve on with any of the other cords I’ve tried since.
I can’t even tell you the model of this cord and I’ve never seen one for sale used, but if you if you want to know what it is, reach out to me in the comments and I’ll send you a photo.
Shakti Hallograph Soundfield Optimizers
I must admit I was skeptical about these wacky audiophile room treatment do-dads. They are about as unfriendly to non-audiophile spouses as anything you might ever consider adding to your system, but I’ll be darned if these things don’t work wonders for filling out the soundstage.
Placed behind and slightly lateral to each speaker, the Hallographs help fill in all of the content that lives and breathes in between the speakers, as well as what’s far right and left. At least, that’s what I hear. I never realized how much I was missing until I got a pair, and now that I have a dedicated room and the aesthetics are a non-issue, I’m glad I’ll never have to do without them.
Walker Audio Talisman
Last, but by no means least, I use the Walker Talisman to “treat” my records, speaker wire, interconnects, power cords and in particular, my speaker drivers, every time I want to do any kind of serious listening. And every time I do this I think of the goofy audiophile kookiness of waving a magic “talisman” over my components to exercise the evil, sound hurting demons from them (see this video for a very brief demonstration).
But every time I do this, I am AMAZED by the results – which include a substantially clearer, cleaner, more transparent sound that can literally mean the difference between a record sounding just pretty good and one that sounds fantastic. If you have a very transparent and revealing system, the “Talisman” treatment is no audio voodoo. Rather it is one of the most important things you can do to get your system and your records sounding their absolute best.
Unfortunately the Walker Talisman is no longer made. You may be able to find one in the used marketplace, and I would recommend you do that. It is an extremely effective tweak.
Effective Power Management
Another tweak that’s become increasingly essential for my most serious listening sessions is a freebie that’s extremely easy to execute and remarkably effective. When I switch the breakers off to my refrigerator, washer and dryer, I hear a substantially bigger, clearer and more open soundstage. I don’t have a microwave, but I have it on good authority that doing the same thing with your microwave, or just unplugging it, can also help.
Just remember to plug them back in. Especially your fridge!