[Blueshirt1]

Hi everyone,

I'm someone getting back into the hobby after about 8 years. A move to France had me sell off a lot of equipment for financial and/or incompatibility reasons. What mad the trip with me was my Merlin VSM, Aragon 8003 and a Lexicon MC-1. They are serviceable but obviously not a good math for the Merlins.

For an Amp/Pre I have put in an order for a Ars Sonum. If it is good enough for Bobby at Merlin, it is probably more than good enough for me. Everyone talks about a synergy there so I'm pretty comfortable buying it unheard.

Over the past few years I stopped buying CD's due to space issues and focused on digital. So I am thinking of getting the Bryston BDP and Bryston BDA and reripping my CD collection to FLAC. Going forward I will either buy the CD or look for a high rez version...no more mp3 for me.

And since I live it a old house here in France the electricity is questionable. So I was thinking of either getting BPT  3.5 or a Equitech Son of Q for my power needs. Pretty torn between those two. No chance of auditioning either and read that they can be pretty system dependent and kinda hit or miss. Merlin uses Equitech with the Ars Sonum so I guess I could assume there is a good match there. But the BPT has go glowing review and is a bit cheaper.  Thoughts?

Other then that cables with be Cardas which Bobby at Merlin recommends and uses. Will also be sending back the BAM for a upgrade.

What does everyone think? Am I heading in the right direction? With most of this gear I am buying unheard since I don't have the possibility of a home demo so I am a little apprehensive.

Thanks for reading in advance...

[Blueshirt1]

I forgot to add that the room is kinda small 14x8 and am working with GIK to find the best room treatments for this application.

My budget is around $30K for the entire system.

[Ericus Rex]

You'll have a great system when done.  Enjoy it!

[richidoo]

Welcome back to the hobby!

BPT licenses Equitech's balanced power invention, so they are very similar, probably using the same huge custom Plitron tranny. I had a Q1.5 for a while, it worked very well with everything I plugged in, especially tube amplifiers.

[ltr317]

I felt the Merlin room at several Rocky Mountain audiofests I've attended sounded great.  So by following Bobby's advice on those components should get you on the road to system synergy.  Of course, the other important factor is making sure the listening room doesn't throw that synergy out of whack.  In which case, room treatment is in order.  Good luck. 

[Blueshirt1]

Thanks all. I know there is always some controversy regarding following some manufactures advice on pairing gear. It's not to say other gear wont work with what they make but in my case, living in Europe and not having the option to audition, to me it makes sense to follow the advice in hope I can achieve synergy between the equipment relatively easy.  Merlin shows with Ars Sonum, Cardas and Equitech. There is also a synergy between the Bryston BDP and BDA as one would imagine.

But ltr317 you bring up a great point that I didn't touch upon in my OP. The room I am setting this up in plain out SUCKS. But its all I got.  14x8 with slanted ceiling that go from 10' to 6.5 from the big wall. Have been working with GIK Acoustics to come up with a plan and it is included in my budget. Just hope it is enough to bring the room under control.

I probably should have listed my budget for the equipment which is around 30k.

Master VSM-MXM (sell my VSM-M) $13,600- $2k = $11,600
Ars Sonum Filamonia SJ ESM $4,300
Bryston BDP1 $2500
Bryston BDA1 $2500
Cardas Clear ~$3000
GIK Acoustic treatments $2000
Equitech Son of Q balanced power conditioner $2500
Hi-Fi Racks Podium Reference $2000

Which brings me to $30,400k. It's a lot of money for me but I dont want to get back on the upgrade treadmill. Been there, done that. I want a system that will last a long time with very little options of upgrading. Maybe I am being naive but I think in the long run it is cheaper that way.

[wisnon]

Where in France are U located?

I am in Geneva. There are audio shows of not in Zurich-Paris-Brissels-Munich-Warsaw and all over the UK. You should check 'em out, as many European brands are great and you get better availability and service for them in France. France itself has some great equipment that dont make it much to the anglo world (except Canada via Quebec).

There is some GREAT brands in Switz too and one very interesting one does NOT export...You would have to drive here to purchase---ROWEN!

Send me a PM if you like...

[Blueshirt1]

Hi Wisnon,

I'm located near Paris.

Good points about the service. The Ars Sonum amp/pre is from Spain and the Bryston stuff from UK. The same for GIK Acoustics. So in a sense, except for speakers, everything is actually from Europe.

That makes sense about the French gear because when I went to  few audio shops I didn't recognize much. Problem is speaking Audiophile in English is hard enough, I really dont think I could do it in French.

Cheers

[EV-MAN]

Holly shit over 30 grand for a system. Money to burn. Just for the the price of the speaker cables your talking about you can get a top of the line amp. But if you have that kind of money and won't miss it. Enjoy because if I had it I would probably do the same thing. Good luck

[Blueshirt1]

Hi EV-MAN,

Not money to burn. This is a serious investment for me. I dont own a fast car, boat, HT or big house, etc... Not looking to spend money for the sake of it. Looking to achieve close to audio bliss as I can within reason. To me its not about spending the most money for gear but rather finding the right pieces to work together to achieve that goal. If they happen to be expensive then I deal with that.

I want to do it right. I've been down the other path before where I buy gear based off price (read cheaper) and what winds up happening with myself is I look to upgrade it. So in the end it is costing me more in the longer run. Maybe I am being a bit naive, but I feel if I can get a system with very little room to improve, I wont try to and can just enjoy the music. I know every system can be improved but I am talking about  within reason taking into consideration the law of diminishing returns which I think is very prevalent in high end audio.

Some people enjoy the hobby of building a system and like to prolong that activity. Nothing wrong with that as, self-admittedly, I enjoy that to. But I want my hobby to be about listening to the music, I dont want to focus on the upgrade. They way I am wired is the 'upgrading game' gets in my way of the higher pursuit, the music. I dont kid myself that by doing this I am 'cured' but if you want to stop a behavior, first thing you need to do is stop that behavior.

[wisnon]

We gotta talk cabling....throwing money at that may not be the wisest investment.

I can steer you towards 4 brands that dont break the bank and are making waves!

Also, you have to take a bit of time to get the best bang for the buck with this "final" system.
I am willing to bounce a few ideas around with you....

[charmerci]

France makes YBA and Focal - so you have those options. The French also carry British brands. Stop in Paris and look in the hi-fi shops to see what's available. The large shops are a bit snobbish and the smaller ones are pretty friendly. Don't worry, someone in the shops will be able to speak at least basic English - generally.

[jaxwired]

I applaud your goal of focusing on the music.  If you are serious, my advice is, once you build the system, don't visit audiophile web sites and blogs.  Don't read hifi magazines.  Don't expose yourself to other hifi equipment.  Spend your time searching for and listening to the music.  It's like breaking a shopping addiction, step one, stop going to the mall!