An Audiophile’s System Evolution – Component Reviews Part III.

This is Part III of the system evolution thread, click for Part I, or Part II

Klipsch Klipschorns

On the previous page, we reached the moment when the Klipsch Khorns entered the picture. Before the Khorns, I had acquired a pair of Klipsch Heresy I speakers. Though they were quite crude and unrefined in sound, they managed to whet my appetite for horns – leading me to the iconic Klipsch Klipschorns. (I’m not new to owning horns, but it has been a while).

 

Art Audio Carissa

I drove the Khorns with various amps during the brief period of ownership, starting out with the Aric Audio amp, which was quite nice but nothing special, then moving on to this, the Art Audio Carissa –

I don’t think I’ve ever owned a prettier power amp than the Art Audio Carissa, especially with its lumen upgrade that bathes the tubes in a mesmerizing blue glow. It’s truly a sight to behold, particularly with the lights out and after a shot or two of Wild Turkey! The Art Audio Carissa, with its 845 power tubes, sounded glorious on the Khorns. I might have lived with the Khorns far longer if the Carissa hadn’t stopped working the day after it arrived. Long story short, it went back to the seller.

Allnic Audio A-6000 300b

Enter the Allnic Audio A-6000 300b monoblocks in all their glory –

The Allnic A-6000 are a fine sounding 300b amp, putting out a colossal 50 watts per channel (60 watts with the 300b XLS tubes they came with) with their fairly unusual parallel SET configuration. Here’s my review of the Allnic Audio A-6000 for anyone interested.

I think I would’ve kept the big Allnic monos were it not for the cost of retubing these things and the scarcity (at the time) of the Emission Labs 300b-XLS tubes, which sounded significantly better than the stock Genelex Gold Lion 300b that came in the amps. (The 330b-XLS tube also bumped power output from 50 watts to 60 watts per channel).

The Klipsch Klipschorns didn’t last very long. They played about 60% of the music I regularly listen to spectacularly well, but the other 40% was unbearable, literally driving me from the room. I experimented with a few amps, various source configurations, and some cabling changes, but nothing could mitigate the fact that they sounded brutally harsh on certain music. Yes, I understand that classic rock recordings from the ’70s can sound harsh, but it’s a big chunk of what I listen to, and I’ve heard these same discs sound good with other speakers. So, the Khorns had to go.

Spatial Audio X3

Up next – the Spatial Audio X3 speakers, from renowned open-baffle designer Clayton Shaw.

I won’t dwell too long on the Spatial Audio X3s, suffice to say that I didn’t own them for too long, a few months at the most. There’s a review of the Spatial X3 here for those who care. I have quite a bit of experience with getting open baffles to work. I’ve had two pairs of Quads, Apogees, Magnepans, and more, but I couldn’t get a song out of the X3—at least not one that I enjoyed listening to. The AMT ribbon tweeter sounded harsh and poorly integrated, in my honest opinion, and the mid driver had a chuffiness that made it seem like these drivers were not cut from the same cloth and weren’t properly integrated. I invested a lot of time and energy into these speakers, hoping they’d be my long-term reference, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Piega C40

Next up, the Piega C40. At $36K, these speakers boast an aluminum enclosure, multiple drivers—both driven and passive—and a well-executed AMT ribbon tweeter design. The Piega C40 was and remains a great speaker, and anyone who hasn’t listened to Piega speakers should do so at the earliest opportunity. While the C40 is 20 years old, I’ve heard the latest speakers from Piega at Capital Audiofest on two occasions, and they sounded fantastic.

The Piega C40 took the place of my much-loved Dunlavy speakers, providing a point of reference against which other speakers in my system would be measured. They served this role admirably for a couple of years. Well, almost.

 

Veloce Audio LS-1 Preamp

If you scroll up a couple photos you’ll notice the absence of a preamp. I sold the Emotive Epifania and the Allnic 5000 DHT and was using the line input on the Manley Steelhead for the single digital source component I had on hand. While the Manley sounded just fine, a single input was restrictive, particularly when reviewing and throwing gear in and out of the system, so I bought this beauty – the Veloce Audio LS-1 Platino Series updated to full Lithio. Yes, Lithio, a battery powered preamp. You can see the 4 tubes on the front, all 4 being the 6H30 tube commonly used in BAT gear. I still own this preamp and I love it. Though naturally I’ve toyed with the idea of selling it a couple times and it may well be listed somewhere as we speak 😉

Compared with my previous reference preamp the Emotive Audio Epifania, the Epifania is a tad more transparent and dynamic, while the Veloce has a little more of a flesh-on-bones presentation, and it soundstages particularly well with images popping from an inky black background, as the saying goes.

Wyred4Sound preamp with level 2 upgrades

PS – I forgot to mention that while running without a preamp for a few short weeks a Wyred4Sound STP-SE preamp with level 2 upgrades fell into my hands, and you can see it in the rack below directly under the Veloce, which came in as its replacement. I’d heard good things about the Wyred4Sound amps and preamps, and also their digital gear, so I decided at some point to give the preamp a try. Actually, it was Srajan at 6moons.com that gave me the idea of trying the Level 2 preamp, he regarded it highly for its neutrality and transparency to source. And I concur with his findings, it’s a fabulous preamp that should be talked about far more than it is.

 

And now we take a little detour to the dark side—vintage audio. I couldn’t shake the sound of the Klipschorns from my mind (and ears). There was something so special about them, so dynamic, dramatic almost… I was starting to pine for my ex. So when a pair of Altec Lansing 846B Valencias came onto my radar, well… I had to have them.

Enter the Altec Lansing Valencia – !

What can I say about the Valencias? Well, I said rather a lot – here, and here, and here..I liked the Altec Valencias; they were much more ‘middle of the road’ than the Khorns and a lot easier to live with. While they didn’t quite hit the highs of the Khorns, they also avoided their low points, making them a more balanced and agreeable speaker overall.

System #2 Evolves – Wilson Benesch Full Circle With Act 0.5 Tonearm

I don’t recall exactly when it happened, but like a slow glacial melt carving a new path down the landscape, it made perfect sense for me to expand into the adjacent dining room with system number two. It was a natural progression, an inevitable evolution in my quest for the ultimate listening experience. The dining room, once just a place for meals, became a sanctuary for sound, complementing and enhancing the musical journey that started in the main listening room. To make a statement, enter the Wilson Benesch Full Circle turntable with Act 0.5 tonearm. The Wilson Benesch Full Circle is a fantastic little turntable, and the arm is superb. I can’t believe how little forum chatter there is around the Wilson Benesch turntable, it’s a real winner in my estimation. Unfortunately, it didn’t get much play time in system 2, as I was preoccupied with evolving the main rig, most of the time.

The Wilson Benesch was used mostly with the Allnic Audio H-1202 phono, the Wyred4Sound STP-SE Level II preamp, with various power amps, speakers, and subwoofers, as they came and went.

 

 

VPI TNT MKI with Eminent Technology ET2 Air Bearing Tonearm.

I’ve owned a VPI TNT in the past, a later version with a JMW Memorial arm. I picked this up locally, it was in nice condition overall though the arm needed some repair and restoration. It was a pain in the rump working on this – I didn’t have the time nor the patience for it and should’ve given it a wide berth. In the end I spent a couple hundred bucks on parts and shipping, about 20-30 hours working on it, about 5 hours listening to it…. then eventually sold it at a loss.

I did kinda enjoy the experience with the Eminent Technology ET2 arm, and while I only had the TT in the main rig for a short while, it did sound very good considering its vintage. The arm is also still very much serviceable with parts and support available from Bruce Thigpen over at https://www.eminent-tech.com/twopointfivetonearm.htm

 

Nelson Pass First Watt J2

I spent a few months with the First Watt J2 and thought it was a cracking little amp. I used it to take the strain off the big Allnic 300b monoblocks, and to cut down on burning through tube life on the big monos. And to be honest, the little J2 with its 20+ watts held its own pretty well against the Allnic monos. The Allnics blew it apart for soundstage presentation, depth and 3-dimensionality, but otherwise the First Watt J2 acquitted itself surprisingly well in such esteemed company.

Basis Audio Debut with Vacuum Platter – Graham 2.2 | Graham Phantom B44 | Walker Speed Controller

The Basis Audio Debut came along via a trip to Washington DC and it held the prime spot on the turntable shelf for about 12 months – not bad.
Basis Audio make great turntables, they’re expensive, the lead designer is no longer with us, so those are two important factors you’ll need to consider before investing. The table came with the Graham 2.2 tonearm which was a joy to use and sounded very good. Later, I upgraded to a used Graham Phantom B44 arm, which sounded noticeably better and retained all of the 2.2’s ergonomics and features. I really like the Graham system for switching cartridges, the arms come with a jig that clips on to the head-shell and allows you to set overhang and alignment with repeatable accuracy in just a few minutes.

When I added the Phantom B44 arm I also added a Walker Precision Motor Controller, which added a little to the overall sound, but nothing earth-shattering.

 

 

 

And here’s a photo of the Graham Phantom B44:

 

Here’s another shot of the old VPI TNT MKI:

Another shot of the Wilson Benesch Full Circle, including the marvelous Audio Tekne SUT and the Allnic H-1202

The Next Installment – An Audiophile’s Journey Part IV