Club Bop - The Sound System

For Reviews of Audio Equipment, my two favorites are "Stereophile" and "The Absolute Sound". In addition to the these two magazines, I also use the following internet sites:
1. Audio Reviews  - this site has reviews of most audio products by consumers. Most comprehensive of the sites of this nature. Read carefully, sometimes reading between the lines.
2. Audiogon  - on this site you can browse the classifieds and see what a particular piece of equipment might be selling for off ebay. Also can go to blue book section, which will give you list of equipment (type in manufacturer name in search) and year it was produced. If I cannot find a listing of a particular model, I tend to stay away from bidding on it at ebay. This is also a good site to purchase high end used equipment - I have several pieces that were purchased on Audiogon.
3. Audio Video Revolution - another site with reviews.
4. Ecoustics - my favorite site with reviews from magazines as well as the customer reviews from audio reviews.

For me the ultimate listening experience is live music in a small club. So I decided to convert half of our unfinished basement into a listening room . Laid down an oriental, put in furniture that we were not using. Took some bookcases out of our old home office and created sort of a wall and a place to put the equipment. I then realized that with concrete walls and floors - I needed to do something to reduce the reflective surfaces. So I lined the walls with empty cardboard boxes (left from the move) and hung (stapled is more like it) black heavy cotton curtains over the boxes for aesthetics as well as more damping. Coupled with the 18" floor joists and some other area rugs - I converted a concrete area into "Club Bop". The sound is awesome - sounds as good as a small club. And when I close my  eyes, I think it is live. Anyone who has had the honor, have raved about how great the sound is. So now, this old music junkie has a great listening room. So let's talk about the system.

THE 3 BIGGEST CHANGES!

The first change to my musical listening was ITunes. I love it, now I have a store that carries everything, even the esoteric and indie albums. Plus, I get to listen to the songs on the album, before I make a decision to buy. Due to this change, I decided to rip my CD's to the IMAC and now I use ITunes to manage and listen to my music.

The second big change was the purchase of the Sennheiser HD800 headphones.

Headphones

Sennheiser HD800 - Headphones
Cayin HA-1A Headphone Amp (full review)

When I bought the Sennheisser HD800's, my musical life changed as I knew it. They are so incredible sounding, that I just stopped listening to speakers (except once in awhile). I would probably have to purchase speakers over $30,000 to match the sound of the Senn's. They are the main reason, that I go rid of my high end amp, my Krell processor and the extra speakers. I can listen low or I can turn it up, and I bother no one. However, it is the incredible soundstage that these headphones deliver that makes me not to want to take them off. 

I have been reading rave reviews of the Cayin, so I decided to take the plunge. At first, I could not figure why everyone is raving about this amp. Out of the box, it was no better than the Stello, then I changed the power cord to a Shunyata Diamond and the whole sound stage opened up. Next I rolled the tubes replacing the stock with my current line up (Siemens-Halske EL84 (2), RCA 5951 Black Plate and Siemens-Halske 12AU7 - now the sound of this amp is unbelievable. This amp opens up the soundstage and I am hearing the layers more. The Cayin has replaced the Stello as my main music amp. For a full review of the amp and the tube comparisons - click here.

Don't get me wrong the Stello solid state headphone amp is a true beauty, however it cannot match the musicality of the Cayin.

The Third Big Change was the discovery of tubes. When I got the Cayin, I was introduced to the musical bloom of tubes. So traded in my Monarch 22 for the 24 which is tubes - sweet just got sweeter. So then I decided to get rid of my 7.1 setup and go back to stereo and in doing so, I took a chance on a Yaqin MC-10 tube integrated amp. All tubes all the time. Must be my age.

Digital

IMAC - I only listen to files that I ripped from CD's or what I buy on ITunes.
Monarchy Audio DIP
Monarchy Audio 24/96 DIP
Monarchy Audio Model 24 Tube DAC

I just discovered a great piece of software for the Mac that couples with Itunes making the sound even better - "Pure Music." " Pure Music" adds breath, bottom, extends the midrange and upsamples the files - if you use a Mac as your music server, then I highly recommend "Pure Music."
I use the IMAC as my music server, I moved all my digital music files to this computer and with front row, the IMAC acts like an IPOD. You can browse or search or just play music with the remote that came with the computer and the software front row. I am outputting pure digital files via optical from the IMAC into a Monarcy Audio DIP then into a Monarch Audio 24/96 DIP then into a Monarchy Audio Model 24 Tube DAC, then I input the analog signal into the McCormack and direct into theCayin headphone amp. I loved the sound on the Monarchy 22, however the 24 tube DAC is more than double the pleasure - pure sonic bliss.

The Power
Cambridge Azur 540A (use to power center and subwoofer)
Yaqin MC-10 Tube amp
McCormack TLC-1

At first I tried a couple of tube preamps, however they were either not a good match for my system or I just did not like them. So I ended up with a McCormack TLC-1 preamp which is a passive line drive preamp and it is oh so sweet. It just allows all the tube front end to come thru without any color. I switched around between the Cambridge (which is an integrated) and the McCormack - no comparison.

The Yaqin was a gamble, they are made in China and only available via Ebay. I bought mine from a guy in Canada who brings them in, checks them out and resells. He was very highly recommended, also you could get in a few days rather than wait weeks. The Yaqin is a steal at $430, however you need to switch the tubes. The four EL34's are pretty expensive. I normally go with Mullard or Telefunken, however a quad set of these vintage tubes run about double the price or higher than the Yaqin. So I decided on two sets of EL34's - Matched Groove Tubes and the Matched Russian Winged C. Both sound really good, a definite improvement over the originals. I switched out the 6N1's for a set of Telefunken 6AQ8's. I was worried about this amp being able to drive my B&W's, however not a problem and so far I am liking the sound a lot.

The Library

IPod
Wadia ITransport
Benchmark DAC
Sennheiser HD650 Headphones

Wadia Itransport/Benchmark DAC

As the Ipod becomes more of a way to listen and buy music for me, I wanted to find a way to listen in my home on good headphones. I recently replaced the ILO home dock with the Wadia.  The Wadia extracts the music from the IPod in analog and in digital. But you need to be aware that the Wadia is only a pass through - no DAC. So I hooked up the Wadia to a benchmark DAC. The Benchmark also has a built in headphone amplifier. The Wadia definitely is a huge improvement, the sound is so unbelievable - it is hard for me to believe that the source is just an IPod.

Ray Samuels Audio - The Hornet

This is a small amp for the IPod that will power just about any headphone. This amp makes music on the IPod sing. I can listen to my HD600's, the AKG's or the Bose 2"s. Does not matter, great sound out of an amp that is about the size of a pack of cigs. Rechargeable battery - only available direct from Ray Samuels Audio. If you listen to the IPod, then do yourself a favor and upgrade to this little amp. I use this amp when I travel.