Thanks so much to Dave for bringing up his new Playback Designs player yesterday so we could hear it back to back with the Emmlabs CDSA SE.

More later about what Neli and I heard, but Dave wrote up his impressions which is available on the Asylum and Audiogon.

Here are some photos…. [still learning to wrangle this fullframe Canon 5D…]

The S1 Isolation Bases and SXR frame systems are now available in this finish.

The S1 is a less expensive version of their M3 Isolation Base, of which we will have almost a dozen by the time Neli sends her next order in.

Well, we both like the silver look for the S1, based on these photos, but we’ll have to wait and see photos of the SXR in silver. We did like their MXR equipment rack in silver, so….

Black and Silver must be where it is at these days. Personally our cars are always black or silver and my clothes are always black Equipment is always black and silver…. Sometimes we are a boring species, you know that?

We have not heard the S1 yet, and specifically not head-to-head in a comparison to the M3.

OK. Enough, Now the photos….

We’ve been spending most of our time downstairs.

We set up the Audio Note TT3 Reference turntable next to the Walker Proscenium Gold Signature turntable.

It has been back-and-forth, Walker –> TT3 –> Walker –> TT3 ….. both through the Lamm LP2 phono stage into the Ongaku integrated amp and the Kharma Mini Exquisite loudspeakers.

How do they compare, you may ask? In raw terms, the Walker is an audiophile’s dream come true and the TT3 is a music lover’s dream come true. Since we are music loving audiophiles, we can’t really talk about one being the ‘winner’. The TT3 is more dynamic, more lively, more engaging… more youthful. The Walker has a lower noise floor, is more accurate top-to-bottom, a more mature sound.

In fact, the idea would be for us to make them sound a lot more alike [which we have to some extent already] - to get a more musical cartridge for the Walker [we are using the Blue Magic Diamond - not so bad obviously, but there are better, unfortunately more expensive ones out there that are generally considered better]. And conversely, to dress up the TT3 with a rack with more vibration control, to correspond to the Walker’s air suspensions [even though the RixRax with HRS platforms comes close, HRS’s MXR rack still laughs at this setup].

Upstairs we still have the EDGE amps on the Coltrane Supreme loudspeakers, with the Lamm ML2.1 amps waiting for us to get our act together and replace the EDGE.

We have our new HRS SXR 3-shelf rack next to our HRS MXR 4-shelf rack.

Look at all that black!

Neli cleaned everything up, but this is two days later and already some Rocky Mountain dust has found its home on our stuff again.

We’ve appropriated some platforms / shelves for our playtime downstairs.

The Brinkmann Balance turntable.

Right now, we only have one phono stage, which the TT3 and Walker share. Even after our Audio Note M9 Phono arrives, we will only have two phono stages. But we have THREE turntables [well, four, but the little TT2 uses the little Audio Note Oto integrated’s phono stage].

We also do not have rack space for digital on the RixRax equipment rack in listening room 2.

What this means is that our Walker is up for sale on Audiogon [Neli is still glaring at me, because this was really my decision]. If anyone is interested…. be sure to think it over… it is not like they appear on Audiogon everyday [in fact, almost never. And for a good reason].

Next : Audio Note SOGON interconnect versus Audio Note SOOTTO interconnect versus Audio Note PALLAS interconnect. And a CES 2008 retrospective.

The SXR is HRS’s new equipment rack, a ‘little brother’ to their no holds barred MXR equipment rack.

The SXR rack, without platforms (aka shelves) is about 1/2 the price of the MXR without shevles.

It is fully configurable, from one shelf (amp stand) to 4 or 5 (or perhaps more, but sonic degradations will start to show its head much higher than this)

All parts are reusable as you upgrade and extend the rack over the coming years…

Yes, including double-wide, triple and more -wide as well…

We hope to get one or two of these in here sometime, probably closer to the end of the summer…. if for no other reason than they are easier to move around and take to shows.

Things have been a little in flux here… which gave us a chance to listen closely to the Ongaku in several different configurations - primarily:

1. On the Rix Rax Outpost amp stand with a $2 OEM black power cord

2. On the Rix Rax with a $1600 Elrod Signature 3 power cord

3. On HRS Nibuses on an HRS M3 Isolation Base on the Rix Rax Outpost amp stand with the Elrod PCs…

And the winner is…

I wanted to try out #1 because that is what some of the diehard AN experts suggest sounds best, and we will try this again in a system cabled with just AN cables and with AN components, but….

Adding the Elrod PC:

a. Removed some of the compression. In some of the guitar notes on Sailing to Philidelphia, really simple notes by the way, with the OEM PC they sounded hardened near the top of the note envelope, like the note just ran into a wall - splat. With the Elrod there was a smooth rollover as the note went from getting louder to getting softer.

b. The Elrod revealed more harmonic content

c. The Elrod removed an ’scratchy agreessive edge’ that the sound had had. As expected. A lot of people associate this edge with ‘immediacy’ (quickness, speed, etc.). If they don’t here it they may think something is missing. It is unfortunate that it is often the case that to get immediacy one has to accept this edge. In this case it did not seem to me to be the case, however, as I listened carefully for just this sort of tradeoff.

Interestingly, some people will sacrifice everything to get a little more immediacy, real or IMAGINED(!) (like AvantGarde owners ) and some will sacrifice everything to get rid of the ‘edge’ (like PS Audio, MIT, and SRA owners…. etc. etc.). The latter group significantly out-numbers the former, in my experience.

d. Finally, the Elrod brought EMOTION to the party. The music became engaging,. Enough so that it was much more difficult to listen to the sound because the music kept distracting me.

Presumably this was because some of the nuances were being lost with the cheapo power cord - or perhaps the ears were shutting down / shuttoing out nucance to protect themsleves from the ‘edge’ and ‘comrpession’ artificats.

When we added the HRS under the amp… first, what a tower, looks very Chinese ….

a. the first thing was very much improved bass response. Everything tightned up - but it was mostly the bass that now had a degree of slam that was quite … impressive.

b. the next thing I noticed was that HRS has a ’sound’. Not sure what this sound is, but with 9 HRS bases here, and after trying them under everything (usually not in soup-to-nuts HRS setups though, but we are gaining more experience here as well), there is a quality to the sound that is recognizable. This is a sound that is hard to do better than - but it is becoming hard for me to analyze anymore - the old noggin just shuts down…. I could convince myself that this was less, the same, or more emotionally satisfying than the previous setup.

Perhaps over time it will be easier to settle this - and one should spend some time evaluating system mods like this - especially if one is subject to emotional swings on a minute by minute basis [aka doing system setups with one’s spouse ].

[This is the official poop. The previous post will be redirected here. Still think the burgundy metallic is going to be the “cat’s meow” … after the gloss black, anyway ]

CES 2007 and THE SHOW - Jan. 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th

Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS) will have static and
active exhibits on display again at CES 2007 in Las
Vegas. Please stop by and see our new and existing
products on display and in use by industry leading
companies. Representatives from HRS will be available
for technical and sales consultation.

Our rooms at CES and THE SHOW are as identified below.
We will have the new production SXR frame in the
Asthetix, Shindo, and the HRS static rooms. This new
audio stand frame was designed to be a very high
performance frame designed specifically for use with
our reference level M3 Isolation Bases. The SXR is a
sister model to our reference level MXR frame. The SXR
has a similar engineering approach as the MXR but was
design to be very cost effective for use in low profile
systems. The SXR like the MXR will also be available
is single and doublewide versions. The SXR is also
available in amp stand configuration (1 shelf), which
will be featured in the Asthetix and Vendersteen Rooms.

We will also have a bird’s eye maple version of our MXR
on display in our static room. This is a custom MXR
finish that a few lucky customers have enjoyed over the
past year but we have never displayed this finish at a
show so please stop by and see this unit in person.
The birds eye maple MXR will also include the new
billet machined aluminum cable organizer system
designed for the MXR series frames. This MXR option
was design to allow organization and controlled routing
of signal cables and in particular have the ability to
support the weight of network box cables like that
produced by MIT. Other features at CES this year will
be a new burgundy metallic finished MXR in the BAT room
and a gloss black MXR in Vandersteen room. Rockport
Technologies is using a MXR-1921-3V (shorter 3 shelf
version of MXR) in our mahogany finish over at THE
SHOW.

Harmonic Resolution Systems Inc. - Static Display
Venetian Tower 29-201

Active rooms using Harmonic Resolution products are:

Rockport Technologies - T.H.E. Show
St. Tropez All-Suite Hotel - Room 1104
455 E. Harmon Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 369-5400

Asthetix - Venetian Tower 29-221

Balanced Audio Technologies - SandVenetian Bassano 2704

Shindo and DeVore Fidelity Ltd. - Venetian Tower 29-327

Vandersteen Audio - Venetian Tower 29-203

Reposted here.

Thought this might be interesting …

As we mentioned previously, we setup a number of systems for the guy who is purchasing our Triolon speakers. This audition occured over a three day period.

The different sounds of the different setups are somewhat illustrative of our approach here to High-End Audio System Optmization [sorry, it looks so much more highfalutin when it is capitalized ]. We started with a very good system, and slowly optimized it until it was, well, see below.

The first day I think we just played system 1 (below) and our Soundlab system, our Marten Coltrane system and our Marten Coltrane Supreme system. He had already heard Kharma speakers many times at shows, and our Audio Note system at this recent RMAF show.

He was very impressed by all the systems even though he had some (valid) concerns about the Soundlab system which was having some imaging problems on this new side of the room that we have recently put it on (we had the Adagios over there until a day earlier). Its always something that goes wrong… the walls went wrong in this case… Luckily everything else went very well.

System 1 [sorry, somehow we only got photos of about half the system setups]:

We started with the Audio Aero Prestige CD / SACD player with internal linestage running direct (no preamp) into the well-warmed up $140K Edge Electronics NL Reference ‘pyramid’ 800 watt solid-state amplifiers.We were using Nordost Valhalla interconnect and Valhalla speaker cable, Shunyata Anaconda power cords of all 4 kinds, with the Prestige sitting on a Fondato Silenzio platform and the amps sitting on Rix Rax ‘Outpost’ amp stands.

The Audio Aero adds a touch of warmth and drama and character to the tube-like big open sound of the Reference amps. The sound was big, juicy, with a very wide and very deep soundstage. All notes and dynamic swings were generated effortlessly. The downsides, if you can call it that, were that the imaging was fairly indistinct, the dynamics somewhat soft, from micro to mini to macro, and the overall resolution was good, but not great. This was as if the sound was painted with a big, gloriously colorful and fairly wet paint brush.

System 2:

A ‘minor’ change, we put the Prestige on the HRS M3 Isolation Base and Nimbuses. This is a reference system for us here on these speakers. The dynamics snapped into place and the imaging firmed up compared to the previous system setup. This system strikes a nice balance between naturalness and resolution, between a gargantuan soundstage and pin-point imaging. It is this balance that kind of keeps a listener off balance, never really believing that the system is going to continue to manage to paint such large pictures with such finness.

System 3:

Next the Edge NL Reference amps were replaced with Lamm ML1.1 90 watt push-pull amps sitting on HRS Isolation Bases with Nimbuses. We probably should have moved the big Ref amps out of the way, but they are a heavy 220 lbs, and we didn’t want to (aka plain forgot) move them then - and then later they were trapped as more and more equipment was brought up from downstairs. BTW, we do all the heavy lifting ourselves, even though every single one of our very courteous guests always offer to help - we are the hosts, they are the guests. And anyway, we need the workout… because guess who gets to carry all this stuff back downstairs?

We do not run the Audio Aero directly into the Lamm very often - thinking it might be too ‘tubey’ of a sound. But it was not all that tubey at all. There was good resolution, still a nice large soundstage, good depth. It was, however, the slightest bit soft on the top and bottom. In many ways, it was very much like the Edge NL Reference amps, the Lamm ML1.1 being most like the ‘Refs of any of the demo amps here - and probably of most amps out there as well. A very good balance of resolution and naturalness and dynamics.

System 4:

As planned, we swapped in Emm Labs SE CDSD / DCC2 transport and DAC pair for the Audio Aero Prestige. The Emm labs (Meitner) was run direct into the amps using its internal linestage. Now this system is starting to do things that are hard to explain. The solid-state digital source is a natural balance to the push-pull tube amps - and it works. All the truth, the unexpurgated yet unenhanced details and resolution are provided to the Lamm ML1.1, and it is up to the amp to decide what to do with it. We trust this amp to do the right thing with that information stream - and our trust is rewarded. Now we have big, open, with enough resolution to tighten up the imaging and define the toplogoies of the soundstage, added micro-dynamics that communicates more of the subtle characteristics of the music.

System 5:

As we were talking about the sound of the Edge Electronics Signature One 400 watt monoblocks compared to the big ‘pyramids’, we just said, hey, you can hear for yourself. So the Edge amps were swapped in for the Lamm ML1.1. The amps were cold so we played a CD or two in the background as we waited the hour or so for these amps to get to 95% or so of their optimal sound [actually, a number of components were added to the system cold - and this got to be a pattern: Isert component into system. Listen casually. Wait. Listen carefully. Rinse and Repeat.]. Now, this is not a system that we play too often - the Edge Signature One amps are a very smooth and detailed sound - very much like the Meitner / Emmlabs CD / SACD player we had in the system. So the balance was likely to be, and was, a little on the very detailed but somewhat uninvolving side. The soundstage was smaller, the images more pinpoint but not as 3D-like, much more resolution and micro-dynamics, but less midi- and macro-dynamics.

At this point the Favorite was the Audio Aero Prestige CD / SACD player with internal linestasge running direct to the Edge NL Reference amps. Second was the Meitner CD / SACD transport / DAC pair running direct to the Lamm ML1.1 amps.

System 6:

Now we start bringing in the big boys, so to speak. We keep a straight face as we hook up the Lamm ML2.1 18 watt SET amps in place of the Edge Signature Ones. ‘They have to warm up’ we say (they were warm but cooled off during the Edge Sig One stopover). Hee hee hee. Bamm, the sound-stage width and depth expands to equal, if not better, that with the Edge NL Reference. Solidity, presense, dexterity, integrity, naturalness, purity - the midi-dynamics in the midrange are memorable. Note envelopes are as smooth and hypnotizingly fluid as ocean waves, as Pulitzer-prize winning as the notes coming from the Meitner.

We let this system stay up for awhile - wanting to establish this system as a milestone as we traverse further into the audition. It was now the favorite at this point. There is always this certainty that our visitors have that we do this to, I mean ‘with’ , that, after this kind of Rush caused by hearing what was previously thought impossible, there is this deep subconscious questioning about why would anyone want anything better than this? Nothing can be significantly better than this, can it?

[Oops, somewhere in here we replaced the Valhalla interconnect that was running between the Meitner and the amps with Jorma Design ‘Prime’. This added another quantum step up in sound-stage definition and harmonic purity and resolution].

System 7:

The (very warm) 20 watt Audio Note Kegon SET amps are rushed upstairs to replace the Lamm ML2.1. This system, with the Meitner running direct to the Kegons, with INDRA interconnects instead of the Jorma Prime, was our primary reference system with these speakers. It is hard to describe all the things it does well, because we are SO familiar with it and we have described it so many times in the past. But, one of the most obvious differences now was the bass. It was VERY natural yet Impressive yet well-defined. These amps grip the speaker with an iron (make that Silver) fist at all frequencies, but it is most noticable in the bass, where other amps have the most difficulty.

This system was starting to pick up some ground loop hum, and so we replaced the Jorma ‘Prime’ with INDRA interconnect, correctly predicting that the WBT connectors on the Prime were picking up some nasties. The INDRA reduces the resolution and clarity and imaging somewhat, but has a purity that, in my opinion, works very well with the extreme purity of the sound of the Meitner.

At this point, there is an understanding now why we rave about these amps all the time. But, to get this sound, let us not forget the other players: the Meitner, the HRS bases, the Shunyata power cords, the INDRA and Jorma Design Prime and the Valhalla speaker cable.

But we rush to set up the next systems. Time is running out, it is the last day, and we want to spend the most amount of time with the system we think is the Most Optimized of them all…and we have a few more iterations to go…

System 8:

We add the Audio Note M10 linestage which replaces the internal linestage of the Emm Labs DAC. NOW we really have controlled bass. Never heard these speakers do this before. But before we enjoy it we have to deal with our ground loop hum, which is back again.

Do to the occasional (we hope) people who are very confused about electrical things yet get hired to do electrical inspections here in Wonderful Boulder County - the grounding of our dedicated lines are messed up. Yes, we can fix them sometime (it won’t be easy) but until then… Until then, Mike and Neli get to have a nice family discussion about cheatering (that would be me) and why not to cheat (that would be Neli) in front of our guest, and after messing some with groundwire we finally cheated and lifted the ground on the entire system.

We’ve said it before, the M10 is like having another Kegon, or maybe more like a Kegon with 40 watts instead of 20, or perahps like ‘no need to Bi-amp it, M10 it’. Everything is much more controlled, accurate, dynamic, well-formed, solid….

System 9:

Oh, wait, now we want to add back in the Jorma Design ‘Prime’ interconnect [I swear, I started getting blisters on the tip of my Switch-turning-off-and-on finger ]. It goes in and replaces the Valhalla. How can the Valhalla be called muddy? It can’t. But it was, in comparision!

Bamm, off everything goes again and another Prime goes in to replace the INDRA. Another increase in resolution and harmonic integrity - but not as much, leading us to put another checkmark in the box supporting the proposition that it is the first Prime that makes the most difference.

System 10:

Bamm, Neli tells me that they all want to replace the Valhalla speaker cable now with Jorma Prime and Jorma No. 1 speaker cable (this is a tri-wired system and we only have one bi-wire Jorma Prime at this time). OK. Fine. But it is getting dark quick, so flashlight in hand, Neli and I change the speaker cables to Jorma. Not quite fast enough, we have to move a lamp over to shed some light to tell which are the red and which are the black connectors… important things like that.

Before we headed out to load up on Indian food, to let the system warm up and settle in some, it was apparent (to me, anyway, but I think I was much more interested than they were in hearing this particular change, as I have been thinking a lot about the difference in the impact on a system’s sound of the Prime interconnect versus the speaker cable) - that the sound-stage and imaging RELAXED. It felt like there was an easier and much smoother transition as the musicans, or their sound-engineers, moved things around on the stage. That, before, the soundstage was blotchy, that images jerked from place to place and clung to certain spots. Now, the soundstage was no longer constipated.Now it flowed…

This increased sense of continuity was also somewhat apparent in the dynamics as well: whereas before it seemed like there were maybe, say, 100 different ways a note could go from soft to loud (and back again) now there were 1000.

There were other improvements as well - the resultant being that the system felt whole now, having everything be wired with 100% Jorma Prime (except for the Jorma No. 1 speaker cable on the bass towers) seemed to allow the Prime’s capabilities to shine through, all the way from source to speaker.

After Indian buffet dinner (the food was kind of bland,.. how can they make bland Indian food??? How embarrasing, since we picked the place. Seems like Mike and Neli need to catch up on where the good Indian food restaurants are again.. and add a few pounds in the process I bet ) we played a few songs from each of about a dozen CDs. Played it fairly loud, since it was our last night (volume set at ‘7′ for those who grok Audio Note volume controls, driving a high-gain amp on 97dB speakers ). It was kick ass.

Classical music was so much more realistically laid out, both dynamics and imaging - such separation and definition, not quite at Real, of course, but there was a lot of stuff now that we didn’t know that we were missing before this [we never had the Jorma Prime combined with the M10 here before].

Played some of Lady in Satin as well, the 3D nature of her voice and the way she moved - it was much more like being in a cabaret than sitting in a livingroom.

And…

We heard this same system for a few more days after our guest left and then performed the swapping out of the front end for the Audio Note digital to see what THAT would do [see previous post].

No, we did NOT try adding analog to system 10 - creating system 11. Have to save something for next time, right?

By then the M10 will be broken in (it is only 5 weeks old at this point).

And it will be the Marten Design Coltrane Supreme loudspeakers that we will use to navigate even further out into the Audiophile Gulf Stream, ….

The Marten Design ‘Coltrane’ loudspeakers, Audio Note Kegon amplifiers, Audio Note M10 preamplifier, Emm Labs CDSD Signature transport and DCC2 Signature DAC, Brinkmann’s Balance turntable, Lamm’s LP2 phono preamplifier.

It kind of spreads out acorss the floor, doesn’t it? Cable length issues dictate that the Meitner CDSD Transport be out front with the Kegons. Then we have the two ‘Galahad’ power supplies in the row behind them. All are on HRS ‘M3′ Isolation Bases. Shunyata power cords and Valhalla cables adorn the floor space between the monoliths.

We do now seem to have a equal numbered set of both silver faced and black faced equipment. What to do… what to do.

How does it sound? Even though cold? Even with the M10 not broken in?

We haven’t heard the Kegons on this system in a long time, the Meitner for an even longer time. But given what we know about the Kegons and Meitner together - and these speakers - and we know a bit….

This is a big step towards the sound we have been always looking for.. engaing, magical, sophisticaed, natural, dynamic, exciting,,,.

The guitar on Radiohead Amneeeeesiac now sounds like my guitar upstairs. Never noticed that it didn’t sound quite exactly right, tonally, until now.

The soundstage is much more dynamic - like the recording engineer intended it to be - things not only more solid, but moving much more fluidly around while maintaining their solidity, keeping the part of one’s brain, that ancient part that keeps an ‘eye’ on things in one’s immediate neighborhood, which was suspicious before about those solid-sounding singers and instruments that were seemingly invisible, at even fuller attention. [uh, sorry about all the commas in that sentence…kind of a parsing nightmare… but onward…]

And we have two more big steps to go until we get to our RMAF Show system:

1. Putting the Jorma Prime cables on the system…

2. Replacing the Coltranes with the Coltrane Supremes.

Holy ‘How am I supposed to get any work done NOW?’ Batman!

The full pictorial of the HRS MXR equipment rack setup is at:

HRS MXR equipment rack setup

But it will be a little while until we add these latest pictures, we though some people might want to see this now.

The HRS MXR equipment rack without the top shelf

The special HRS MXR equipment rack turntable-platform-support rails.

Neli holding one of the special HRS MXR equipment rack turntable-platform-support rails. These ’steel girder-like constructions’ weigh about 30lbs each.

The HRS MXR with one turntable-support rail installed. The rails just sit right on the two cups, one on each side of the rack. They slide down on them with a snugness which bespeaks engineering tolerances almost unheard of in our industry.

The HRS MXR with both turntable-support rails installed

View of the entire HRS MXR rack. Looking a little empty with just the Audio Aero Perstige CD / SACD player which is also serving as pre-amp in this system configuration.

The HRS MXR equipment rack with Brinkmann’s Balance turntable on its special HRS Isolation Base on the support rails we just installed.

Close up of how the feet of the special HRS platform for the Brinkmann sit in the troth which was formed by the top of the steel rails