AudioLog

Setup

New audio setup:

Meridian 500 -> MIT Proline AES/EBU ->
Meridian 518 -> MIT Proline AES/EBU ->
MSB Gold Link III DAC -> MIT AVT-1 RCA ->
McCormack TLC-1 Rev A. passive -> MIT AVT-1 RCA ->
McCormack DNA-125 -> MIT AVT-1 BiWire ->
Martin Logan Aeon

McCormack TLC-1 Rev A. buffered -> MIT Terminator 2 RCA (stereo pair) ->
Monitor Audio ASW 210 Subwoofer

Audio power cable setup:

1m statement McCormack DNA-125 -> RPC-120
1m plus MSB Gold Link III DAC -> P300
1m plus Meridian 500 -> P300
1m plus Meridian 518 -> P300
1m prelude Juice Bar -> P300
1m prelude P300 -> Ultimate Outlet
1m prelude Ultimate Outlet -> wall

Martin Logan Aeon (pair) -> MIT Z Cord I (x2)-> Juice Bar

The Gold Link III

I bought the MSB Gold Link III from audiogon at a good deal. Initially I thought I was in trouble because it sounded muffled and cloudy, but I soon realized that powering off the Meridian 518 caused the settings to reset. After adjusting them to the normal 24bit output, 16bit input, Emphasis on, and Shape D curve, it sounds excellent. It is much smoother and less grainy than the Nelson Link III, and has a wider and higher stage. The overall dynamic range has increased quite a bit, I had to lower the subwoofer level to compensate. The case screws are all stripped which was undisclosed, but in the rack it seems to be ok. A significant and worthwhile upgrade overall, especially at AG prices, and I got an extra PowerBase 1000 to boot, which I now have attached to the ADD-1 A/D converter.

Xtreme

Replaced most of the AC cables with PS audio xstream cables:

1m statement McCormack DNA-125 -> RPC-120
1m plus MSB Link III DAC -> P300
1m plus Meridian 500 -> P300
1m plus Meridian 518 -> P300
1m prelude Juice Bar -> P300
1m prelude P300 -> Ultimate Outlet
1m prelude Ultimate Outlet -> wall

Got great deals on these from audio advisor since the updated ps audio ac cables are out. Not quite broken in yet, but so far much quieter background and richer midrange.

Fleta

I finally got to play the Fleta, and it was the best so far. It has a clean and pure sound, which is totally even across all the frets and strings. So far it is my favorite guitar. I would characterize the Rodriguez as a powerful and forceful sound, the Romanillos as gentle, clean, and subtle, and the Fleta as the cleanest and most evenly consistent of them all. It is funny that it has the same frets as mine now, unfortunately worlds of difference in sound though.

Yuris

Yuris with my Alhambra.

guitar studies

Francisco Tarrega - studio in forma di minuetta, studio di velocita
Emilio Pujol (student of Tarrega) - study in F#
Miguel Llobet (student of Tarrega)

Fernando Sor - study in Bm
Matteo Carcassi - study in Cmaj

The Ultimate Outlet

Got the PS Audio Ultimate Outlet this week and I have to say it actually made a noticeable difference used in addition to the p300. I have the p300 plugged into the ultimate outlet, which is plugged into the wall with a standard 15amp IEC cord. Everything else is plugged into the other socket of the ultimate outlet, though I think I may try to swap things around once the juice bar gets here hopefully sometime next week. The tv seems to have a bit more realistic color saturation and the contrast between colors seems to be smoother. Of course it's only really noticeable on digital broadcasts, especially HD which is still amazingly cool to watch. Audio has improved as well, the low end seems to have gotten a little tighter and a lot deeper. I may try to swap two of the power ports out of the juice bar and trade them with the orange spec grade ports from the p300, but I'll have to see how it is put together when it arrives.

I am also thinking about modding the nelson link III using the instructions on this site: http://themorgue.org/audio/msb-link/

P300

Got the PS Audio P300 last week and it is an interesting device. I've experimented with several of the features, but found the default to be best so far. I think I may need to swap out various power cables, but it seems to have improved the mid range and the bass has tightened up and gotten deeper. It is powering the front end and the martin logans, which is:

Meridian 500
Meridian 518
MSB Nelson Link III with PowerBase1000
McCormack TLC-1 Rev A
Martin Logan Aeons
Acurus Act III

I ran out of outlets so I'm using the furman pro plug (SS6B) power strip for 6 extra outlets until I can get a PS Audio juice bar from audiogon. Some multiwave modes don't work at all for the electrostatic speakers (they just don't turn on), and most of the ones that do work seem to flatten the stage out. It gets a lot wider, but much less focused which is not my cup of tea, so I'm sticking with the standard sine wave for now at 60Hz. All this equipment uses about 80 watts according to the P300, though I'm never using all of it at any given time. I tried plugging the tv into it but it pretty much went into overload instantly, so I abandoned that idea. I should be getting the 15amp power port tomorrow into which I will plug everything, including the P300.

Specs

Just to note, the new frets are Dunlop 6100 (extra high jumbo) fret wire and the new nut and saddle are both bone.

Alhambra

I got my Alhambra back from Yuris and it is better than I ever thought it would be. The action is better, the fret board was sanded down and the new frets are huge! The bone saddle and nut look perfect and it is impossible to even tell that any work was done. It actually looks better than the original work and the best part is that all the work done really improved the sound. I guess it was the new nut and saddle, but now the sound is perfectly even and consistent across all the strings and sustain and intonation are worlds better. Playability is like butta! For $400 this is better than buying a new guitar. Thanks Yuris!

New Setup

Martin Logans

I got a pair of Martin Logan Aeons a week ago from a weird audiogon auction experience. I came in second in the auction, but the winner was busted by his wife for spending too much money, so offered them to me for slightly less than my high bid. I counter offered for about $150 less than my high bid, but he never got back to me. The speakers were in Boston, which is why I bid to avoid shipping costs. About a week later the owner contacted me and we haggled to a price about $110 less than my high bid. So I got them. They sound extremely accurate and the stage is pinpoint. They do an excellent job of making voices, horns, etc seem like they're in the room. Airy and accurate in stage and detail. They have the light cherry rails that look pretty good.

So I removed the center channel and put the two Monitor Audio 7's as a stereo pair acting as the center in between the aeons. The detail and volume of the center is much better with this setup, as the old center was small and weak in comparison. I also got two sets of "Ivar" solid pine shelving units from ...ikea... (yeah, yeah, I broke down), and stacked them two high. Each unit has 4 shelves for a total of 8 items inside with the MSB gear on the top of the upper unit and the TV sitting atop those. It looks alot better and the TV is mounted a bit higher for a more theatrical feel. It was high time to retire the old home-made shelving unit that had recently become a frankenstein. I put cork heat pads in between the units and under the MSB racks for cushioning/vibration control.

Audiophile USB and Audigy 2 ZS Platinum

I set up the inputs and outputs for the m-audio audiophile usb so that I can play the cd player into the computer and play off the computer into the audiophile usb. It sounds a lot better than the audiogy 2 zs platinum in both directions, but lacks the ability that enables me to hear the audio in 2 rooms. If I play the CD player into the audiophile, I can hear it in both rooms but the computer input has a second or two of latency so it is awkward. The audiophile takes over as the only soundcard during playing so it can only output to the stereo where it is hooked up for output. Playing from the computer through the audigy allows me to hear it out of the computer speakers and the stereo simultaneously, albeit it at lesser quality. This problem will hopefully be solved with the squeezebox.

The audigy is connected to the acurus actIII via a 15' audioquest digital coax since I ran of of inputs on the Meridian 518. The audiophile is connected via a 15' run of USB cable, with a powered USB hub in the middle. The Cd player is connected to the Audiophile USB with a 1m audioquest digital coax.

Still nothing beats the pure CD system: Meridian 500 -> Meridian 518 -> MSB DAC -> McCormack TLC-1 -> DNA-125.