[Double Ugly]

I'm having a lot of fun in going through my music collection again. Yesterday I had a go at The Blues Brothers album, I have always liked it but never taken it for a really good recording. The track "Riot In Cell Block Number Nine" I used to skip in the past because it sort of became too much, now it just sounds fantastic, the horns gets that realistic bite to them without sounding harsh in any way and the resolution just makes it possible to notice every little bit of the sound image without anything getting mushed together. In most of the other tracks I also noticed a lot of new details I never heard before, all in all a truly great live recording!

Karsten

Since it'll be months before I can hope to hear what you're talking about, you aren't helping matters. 

I'm torn between asking you to stop and begging for more.  I'm beginning to think I'm some sort of audio masochist weirdo. 

But then no one has upgraded the 2.1s to that level yet, so everything I've said about what the 2.1 upgrade might be is pure conjecture.

-Jim

I might go this route as well.  While I can find nothing wrong with my current Timepiece 2.1's I am plagued by the upgrade bug.  It does make sense to upgrade speaker XO components before adding things like escoteric powercords.  As Bob explained it to me, speakers are responsible for just about all the distortion issues in an audio system and it makes no sense to feed rocket fuel to a moped.

I dig the outboard XO option....

Yeah, so do I.  Aside from the fact that it looks cool, it will come in handy when I (hopefully) find an active set-up I like.

That said, bettering the "Full Monty" may prove difficult.  I'd be completely satisfied with finding something I can't hear at all while providing the option to employ room correction, etc..  Improvements gained at the speaker level would be icing on the cake.

-Jim

[Christof]

Tom
I'm using standard Stereo Khartago's.  I may upgrade these amps in the future but I spoke in great depth with Bob Smith about upgrading to monoblock Stratos amps and we decided it would be better to run the Timepiece's in vertical biamping with stereo amps since I alread owned two identical stereo Khartagos.  I like to listen at pretty high volume levels and biamping in this manner would allow clipping of the individual bass drivers to happen without causing artifacts to showup in the tweeter.  Klaus might tidy up his amps a bit in his Extreme versions and his trade-up policy is very generous but to tell you the truth I've really gotten to lke these Khartago's when biamped.  With a limited budget I think my priority is to wait for DU to comment on the improvements to his TP 2.1's and probably upgrade mine before jumping into better(bigger) Odyssey amps.

I think I mentioned before but you or anyone interest in SP Tech speakers are welcome to come by for a listen once my loft is completed (soon).  Just give me a little heads-up.  I'm located about 45 miles east of Chicago and my building is 2 minutes walk from the South Shore rail station.

I'm beginning to think I'm some sort of audio masochist weirdo. 

This is the first step to recovery, Jim

[TomS]

Tom
I'm using standard Stereo Khartago's.  I may upgrade these amps in the future but I spoke in great depth with Bob Smith about upgrading to monoblock Stratos amps and we decided it would be better to run the Timepiece's in vertical biamping with stereo amps since I alread owned two identical stereo Khartagos.  I like to listen at pretty high volume levels and biamping in this manner would allow clipping of the individual bass drivers to happen without causing artifacts to showup in the tweeter.  Klaus might tidy up his amps a bit in his Extreme versions and his trade-up policy is very generous but to tell you the truth I've really gotten to lke these Khartago's when biamped.  With a limited budget I think my priority is to wait for DU to comment on the improvements to his TP 2.1's and probably upgrade mine before jumping into better(bigger) Odyssey amps.

I think I mentioned before but you or anyone interest in SP Tech speakers are welcome to come by for a listen once my loft is completed (soon).  Just give me a little heads-up.  I'm located about 45 miles east of Chicago and my building is 2 minutes walk from the South Shore rail station.

I'm beginning to think I'm some sort of audio masochist weirdo. 

This is the first step to recovery, Jim

Just let me know when you're loft gets to the point where having guest/demos makes some sense.  I'm in Ft. Wayne and work in Warsaw so it's a pretty easy trip.  I'd hoped to hear a pair of Revelations before they went out, but unfortunately it didn't quite work out.  I have the latest Extreme SE Mono's and will have a Candela fairly soon, so I'd be glad to bring them along too if you're interested.  Tom

[Double Ugly]

I'd hoped to hear a pair of Revelations before they went out, but unfortunately it didn't quite work out.  I have the latest Extreme SE Mono's and will have a Candela fairly soon, ...

It's unfortunate you didn't get to hear them, but I think you're pretty well set with the amplification you have on hand.  I don't recall if I've heard the Extreme Monos, but the Symphonic Line RG4s I auditioned were one of the best, sweetest amps I've ever heard, SS or otherwise. 

If the EMs come close to what I heard, you'll be one more happy camper w/ the Revelations, Tom.

-Jim

[Double Ugly]

With a limited budget I think my priority is to wait for DU to comment on the improvements to his TP 2.1's and probably upgrade mine before jumping into better(bigger) Odyssey amps.

That may be a long wait, Chris.

I'm not planning to upgrade my 2.1s.  I may change my mind at some later date, but I think they'll be superb serving as surround speakers in their current form.  The Revelations and Continuum center channel I'll eventually purchase will have the best Mundorf upgrade, but the 2.1s will remain stock for the foreseeable future.

I apologize if I've unintentionally misled you with something I've said or posted. 

-Jim

[Bill Baker]

Hi Karsten,
 I am curious as to which of the capacitors are being used in this crossover. The Silver/Oil or Silver/Gold. From what I understand, the Silver/Gold are among the most "honest" capacitors Mundorf makes.

 Being a US dealer for Bob's speakers, I am planning to bring back a pair for both demo'ing as well as having a precise, truly revealing speaker here to use as a reference in our tube amplifier designs.

 I am a true believer in high grade internal components in both audio loudspeakers as well as electronics. I only need to decide just how far I want my reference pair taken. My experience tells me "ALL THE WAY" while my wallet is not as enthusiastic.

 So again, curious about which Mundorf caps are in this particular network.

[Karsten]

Bill, it is the silver/gold type.
With this cross over installed, evaluation of audio equipment has never been easier. Had I just had these speakers from the start I could have saved a ton of money on equipment experiments. Do a small change and they will throw the result at you right away.

Karsten

[Bill Baker]

 Thank you for the reply Karsten. After reading everything you have been experiencing with the speakers, I was under the assumption that it was the Silver/Gold being used.

[ted_b]

So...Karsten...
Now that you've lived with the Ultimate Upgrade for awhile, do you have any more review highlights of the impact and the sound?  I'm less interested in how much it changes and improves the sound from the previous versions, but more interested in just hearing about the speakers' sound on your favorite or most familiar discs, etc (like your Blues Brothers comments...but more!!  )  And has it changed how you evaluate equipment (you intimated it earlier)?  Have you found any addtl tweaks or adjustments since the initial gestalt described in your March 30 post?  Thanks for the comments, regardless.

[Karsten]

Hi Ted,

I have been doing the last "final" work on the cross over, just the smaller things like finding the optimal tweeter series resistor, cabling etc. and also some further experiments to verify that the configuration is the best I can get it. As far as I'm concerned it is in the box now, it is pretty much beyond my wildest imagination how to improve further on current results.

It has changed the way I evaluate equipment a lot, mostly because it is rather easy to hear what is going on with the front end equipment. A funny thing to mention is that during my experiments with the speaker internal cabling I suddenly got an urge to use a preamp again, I did not think too much about it until I changed the internal cabling again, this time to the Mundorf Silver/Gold type. Now I went back to digital attenuation with great pleasure....

Another interesting aspect is that though the cost of the speakers has gone up, it has made it possible to reduce the cost of the total system and increase the performance substantially at the same time. I'm almost afraid to tell about the digital front end equipment I'm using because it is so inexpensive but okay here it goes: Vista based notebook running Windows Media Player (WMA lossless) connected to Trends UD-10 USB Transporter. DAC: Anagram Sonic2 & TimeLock evaluation boards with modified analogue output stages. Total cost for the digital front end is around 2k usd, but the sound quality is unsurpassed by anything I have tested so far. I'm running the DAC directly into the power amp(s) and using the digital attenuation in Media Player. The Media Player approach will not work using Windows XP, Vista is a lot better with audio.

I'll take some notes next time I listen to my favorite music and post some impressions as soon as possible.

Karsten

[Karsten]

Ted,

Sorry it takes a little time to post impressions. My father died 6 months ago, now his his house (my child home) has been sold and has to be emptied before June 1st. It takes a lot of time to go over all this stuff which has to be sorted. Hopefully tomorrow is the final day so I can get the time to catch up with quite a few things.

Karsten

[ted_b]

Ted,

Sorry it takes a little time to post impressions. My father died 6 months ago, now his his house (my child home) has been sold and has to be emptied before June 1st. It takes a lot of time to go over all this stuff which has to be sorted. Hopefully tomorrow is the final day so I can get the time to catch up with quite a few things.

Karsten

Karsten,
I'm very sorry to hear about your dad's passing.  It is quite difficult to deal with loved ones' belongings; they are all relics of your own life, as well as his.  Kinda tough to categorize, prioritize and possibly even get rid of those kinds of memories.  Don't even keep my petty listening issues on your radar.  I'll hear these babies soon enough.