Shuffling the Deck!

[sachinchavan 15865]

Belden 8471 which is the 16 AWG version of the 8477. I found the 12 AWG 8477 added weight and definition to the LF without any compromise in the HF.

I too tried the Belden 8471 first - not enough LF. Then I tried biwiring - 8471 for HF and 8477 for LF. The result impressive at first, with nicely etched out sounds. But soon realised the tonality was perceivably affected. Finally tried just 8477 and found it to my liking. I can hear the highs rounded a bit more with the 77 than the 71… but not what one’d call blunted. I could take that for the LF definition, balance and sweetness the 77 gives. Now all I have to do is make bridges (LF to HF) from the 77 to replace the bridges I current have in place. I imagine that’d make the sound further coherent. Your implementation is also an interesting option, but I feel safer with banana plugs and spades than bare wire.

 

[SUDHEERMADDUKURI]

Congrats Nikhil on new speakers

 

[Nikhil]

It has been about a year since I moved to the ATCs and I have to say I am very happy. Looking back, I had the chance to make the move about 10 years ago but baulked at the price of the SCM20s back then. But all is well and perhaps I am better off for the journey.

However, I'd like to share an additional change I made to my setup which I now realize has been quite significant. My Lampizator DAC has an almost chameleon like character thanks to it's tube rolling options. For the most part I had left the tubes alone for quite a while but in the last few years I did experiment and settled on the Valvo 6201 Blue Label for the ECC81/12AT7 tube option.




Another tube that I have liked has been the Amperex Bugle Boy - great tube but have been keeping it on standby for now. In comparison to the Valvo it is a little more polite. Complementing the Valvo has been a variety of ECC82/12AU7 tubes. Currently I have a Philips ECG JAN ECC82 in there but I have also used RCAs with very good results. Tube Rectifier has been an RCA JAN 1943 rectifier for quite a while.




Tube rolling aside I also made a change in the capacitors in the Lampizator which I feel has been a noteworthy upgrade. The Lampizator came with Jupiter AN caps installed. The sound was always great and I did not see any reason to change until I came across the recommendation from Shirokazu Yazaki on Jeff Day's blog on what he calls "real sound" - the same discussion that led a few of us to try out the Western Electric WE16GA speaker cable and the Belden 8402 as interconnects.

Mr Shirokazu Yazaki recommends the Arizona Capacitor company for their rich tone. One can read more on this "Capacitor Adventure" on Jeff Day's blog (highly recommended). I ended up choosing the Red Cactus series which I sourced from Parts Connexion who (I think) are now the primary source of Arizona Capacitors. Picture enclosed below of the Red Cactus caps installed on my Lampizator DAC.




It's hard to sometimes notice the differences some of these changes make. Case in point being my focus on the ATC speakers. But looking back I have to share some credit for the sound to these two additions to my DAC that I feel have played an important part in "improving" the sound. To be fair, I will have to switch back to the Jupiter caps to evaluate the change but that is unlikely to happen anytime soon. In comparison, changing out the Valvo brings a noticeable difference in the sound signature.

Another change is that I now leave my Lampizator DAC powered on all the time. The logic behind that being that the internal clocks need over 24 hrs to stabilize according to some sources. The other being that, I am told, tube life is enhanced if you avoid constantly switching the power on/off. Probably something that may or may not be true but I have been leaving my digital gear on and the sound has been great.

Thanks for reading and staying with my journey so far!


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[Nikhil]

Sunday evening listening session in progress. The JL Audio sub is now settled in and I have more or less left the settings alone for some time now. I had briefly brought up the crossover frequency to about 60 - 70 Hz but this seemed a shade too much for my liking and I have dialed it back down just a bit. The sub kicks in only when needed on instruments like upright bass on jazz tracks. But on other music, if the material has some bass frequencies that need some help the sub drones in straight away. I have also been listening to some Bollywood and 80's Rock of recent and these have become a lot more enjoyable as well.

Currently listening to the "Saudade" album by the European Jazz Trio and it is sounding sublime.

 

[Mayasandra_l]

Hello Nikhil, you have documented a really fantastic journey.
Just wanted to know if the Acoustic Portrait Pre and Power are still driving your AtCs and what's your thought about the matching of speakers with the amps, after so many months.
Thanks
Lokesh

 

[Nikhil]

Thanks Lokesh. It really has been a fun experience.

To answer your question - nothing has changed since my first post in terms of the ability of the AP amps to drive the ATC speakers. Plenty of head room and more than enough power on hand to control the drivers.

However, the Acoustic Portrait Pre and Power amps are not in the chain at the moment. I wanted to see what the JOB Integrated amp would sound like with the JL Audio sub in the chain. There is also another reason - I just got a new smart TV earlier this summer. The Job INT allows me to directly connect the TV via an optical cable. The audio via the TV is not great but it's good enough for casual listening and of course was great fun during the IPL etc.




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[Mayasandra_l]

Thanks for the comment! May I also congratulate your fine taste that reflects in the way your listening room looks. As we kannadigas say...sakkat ide !

 

[Jayram iyer]

2 weeks into my new ATC SCM40. Audio Bliss!!!

 

[Nikhil]

2 weeks into my new ATC SCM40. Audio Bliss!!!

Sorry for the late reply but congrats on the new speakers!
ATC make fantastic speakers. What did you have before you changed to the SCM 40?


Edit: Just read up on the CA Edge A Integrated. Sounds like a wonderful amp to pair with the ATCs.


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[Jayram iyer]

Sorry for the late reply but congrats on the new speakers!
ATC make fantastic speakers. What did you have before you changed to the SCM 40?


Edit: Just read up on the CA Edge A Integrated. Sounds like a wonderful amp to pair with the ATCs.


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Hi Nikhil,
Yes ,Cambridge Edge and ATC pairs well. Weak ink is my streamer .possibly may take your advice for that.. and the next addition could be a dedicated DAC . Advice welcome

 

[Nikhil]

Hi Nikhil,
Yes ,Cambridge Edge and ATC pairs well. Weak ink is my streamer .possibly may take your advice for that.. and the next addition could be a dedicated DAC . Advice welcome

Congrats! One thing is for sure ... with the ATC you will hear every little change that you make.
Whatever you put in to the music chain you will be able to hear the difference.


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[Nikhil]

Adding some info on my Mutec stack which has made a huge contribution to my setup.

I had added the Mutec MC3+ USB between my audio server and DAC some time ago and it has been the most significant step I have taken towards setting my digital straight. The Mutec MC3+ USB just takes out all the digital nasties from the server input and supplies a superb reclocked signal to the DAC. After chasing my tail on my digital for over a decade I could safely say I was done with fiddling around. The music just sounds full bodied with palpable gains in heft and detail. The sound has more meat to it.

By most measures I was done until the possibility of adding the Mutec Ref 10 Nano came up.

The Mutec Ref10 Nano is a 10 MHz reference master clock that offers the possibility of using a higher quality reference master clock than what is already available on the MC3+ USB. The gains are exactly what it says on the box - a noticeable increase in transparency, spatiality and dynamics. It takes a while to figure out what's going on but once you hear it you really can't go back. Music just sounds more natural, instruments are more accurately placed and you hear more between the notes. In some ways adding the Ref10 Nano was not as dramatic as the MC3+ but what it does is it takes your digital up another notch.

There are a couple of other things that the Mutec MC3+ USB does such as format conversion etc. but I will perhaps update that on the Mutec thread I had started. Will share more details in terms of cable connections etc on there.