[sporter]

I will try to keep this short and sweet.  I am a new customer of the Isabella+DAC pre-amp and the Sig 70.2's driving a set of Zu Definition Mk2's.  All audio is being fed via USB interface from my computer to the Isabella.

I am born again.

There was an itch, down deep, that is now being scratched for the first time in years.  And it feels so good.

Thanks Vinnie.

[Alwayswantmore]

I will try to keep this short and sweet.  I am a new customer of the Isabella+DAC pre-amp and the Sig 70.2's driving a set of Zu Definition Mk2's.  All audio is being fed via USB interface from my computer to the Isabella.

I am born again.

There was an itch, down deep, that is now being scratched for the first time in years.  And it feels so good.

Thanks Vinnie.

Post 1 for sporter -- welcome to AC and off-the-grid!

I was one of Vinnie's earliest customers for his latest line-up (Sig 30), and have migrated with him into a fully loaded Isabella w/ Sig 30.2 straight amp. Vinnie was nice enough to convert my integrated to straight amp when I bought the Isabella.

Your comments hit close to home. I have owned pretty high-end gear for years, but always felt something was missing. It was like I'd read reviewers' words in the big pubs and wish I felt the same why about what I was hearing at home.

Making the move to RWA (and for me, Omega Alnico single drivers), got me over that void. Now I walk into a high-end store, listen to a $250,000 rig, and smirk knowing the sales guys don't know what they're missing.

Truth be told, the $250K rig would probably fill a larger room. But in my comfortable, well (acoustically) treated room, the big guys have nothing over what I hear, and often lack the timbre and sense of immediacy I get from my system.

Sporter: There is a thread on Vinnie’s circle about tube rolling for Isabella ( http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=59217.0 ). Next time you get a even the slightest itch, IMO that would be the place to start. I ended up with ’65 vintage NOS Amperex 7308s. Very worthwhile upgrade.

Happy listening, Kent

[Vinnie R.]

Hi sporter,

Welcome to audiocircle and the RWA forum!

Thanks for your post - sounds like you are really loving your RWA + Zu combo! 
I'm glad to hear this!

Yes - Kent is right about the tube rolling.  You can have a lot of fun with that as well 

Happy listening!

Vinnie

[sporter]

Thanks Kent and Vinnie for the welcome.

I've been listening, rather, *enjoying* so much music lately with this setup.  A wide variety of different music.  I'm not an "audiophile".   I'm deaf in the highest frequencies.  This is probably the first and last system I will ever buy.     Maybe in the future I'll try out different tubes, but I don't see any reason to right now.  Maybe some day will try out an async-mode DAC for the supposed "jitter" and "echoes", but for now I'm simply enjoying the great music with the RWA+Zu's.  To my ears, this sound so good, why mess with it.

[sporter]

That said, given my propensity for tweaking things (wilsynet knows what I mean), there is a part of me thinking of getting a microphone and some software to measure frequency SPL levels per area of the listening spots and other areas, and see what kinds of optimizations could be done, etc...   just to extract that last bit of stuff, but on the other hand, introducing EQs and other changes into the system may end up a never-ending mental exercise...   you end up "curve fitting" the system per album being listened to, and focusing too much on the minor details than simply enjoying the music...

I could be wrong though...

[Alwayswantmore]

That said, given my propensity for tweaking things (wilsynet knows what I mean), there is a part of me thinking of getting a microphone and some software to measure frequency SPL levels per area of the listening spots and other areas, and see what kinds of optimizations could be done, etc...   just to extract that last bit of stuff, but on the other hand, introducing EQs and other changes into the system may end up a never-ending mental exercise...   you end up "curve fitting" the system per album being listened to, and focusing too much on the minor details than simply enjoying the music...

I could be wrong though...

Spend some time on the Acoustic Circle here on AC. There are basic guidelines for speaker placement and listening position that help avoid the worst of room interactions. After having put a significant amount of GIK treatments in an otherwise unlistenable room (and getting fantastic results), I'm a strong advocate of acoustic treatments.
No matter how much you invest in equipment, ultimately the room set up and room acoustics play a major role in the end result.
Kent