Keep this series going... It's interesting to see other people's systems and listen to what they think about them and how they got to where they are. You also have a relaxed and unpretentious way about you that is refreshing.
The one thing i often see wrong is the acoustic treatment of these sound rooms. To often I see large amounts of absorption materials. One of the biggest miss conceptions in audio is that you want a dead room. That is completely wrong. Reflections are good, they just need to be slightly delayed. And this gentleman system has a front wall that is completely absent or just draped with a heavy curtain. The front wall MUST be reflective, and if you want any absorption it must be carefully chosen and only on the back wall. Here is the issue with absorption. First all most all absorption material is not linear in its absorption. Meaning it will absorb at certain frequency's and reflect at others, creating comb filtering effects and large coloration's in the overall sound. Diffusion is a much better option and really only is needed if you have slap echo issues from parallel walls, or early reflections do to close proximity of walls IF that is a limitation in the setup. If you look at the best rooms they have minimal acoustic materials used. Slap echo is caused when you have two parallel surfaces. So either diffusion or very light materials on the back wall only, and side walls. You CANNOT place speakers in a room with acoustic material in the listening room. All speaker placement should be done with no treatment and only what must be in the room at all times. What you will notice is that when you get speaker placement right you will hear very little to NO effects of the rooms acoustic coloration's. Once you have the speaker placement correct then you can slowly and carefully play with acoustic treatment in the room to give the desired effect. But be very careful when using ANY absorption materials, to often it will kill the dynamics, openness, and clarity of the system. So go into the process finding the right speaker placement and MINIMAL acoustical treatment. Kevin LaTour 40 years high end audio video specialist
Another solution is a speaker with narrowed dispersion so you don't have to treat the heck out of your room. Another benefit of using a 6 inch mid over a 4 inch mid is that it tends to roll off those frequencies which are most fatiguing: 2khz to 4 khz. Overly wide dispersion can be quite the enemy of good imaging and sound stage.
@@Tacet137 REAL professionals use the best „measurement“ tools there are : their ears. Pseudo professionals use measurement instruments …other than their ears ! Greenhorn !
I really enjoy this style of video. (Room tour / opinions about gear / acoustic treatment). It’s got it all. I also have the P6. (It’s somewhere on a boat in the pacific right now. Moving from the US to South Korea. Fingers crossed that it arrives in good condition) I’ve also done all my own room treatment in my last house. Looking forward to tackling the challenges of our new Korean apartment. Thanks fellas for adding to the community in this way and sharing your gear and thoughts. Please do more videos like this.
Thanks, it is good you have room treatment experience, setting up at the new place should be easier. Hope you can setup a nice listening spot at your new place.
FWIW ditching the Ikea chair was my latest room upgrade. I have a chair that allows the ear to be well above the seatback now. It made a significant difference.
Yea i ditched the ikea poang chairs too. Gained alot after that, sonically. Those who utilise the ikea chairs as your listening chair and your ears are not above the backseat, then do consider this advice.
Great conversation! Great speakers. Heard Verity with tube Air Tight... midrange to die for, great balanced sound, with lots is fun!! Great choice of stereo! Thank you both for this incredibly nice video!!!
Bravo, gentlemen! Thanks for your in depth discussion of the process of building this system and tuning the room to work with it! Few of the system videos that I have seen pay much attention to the process aspect of our audiophile passion. 👍👍
Hi Thomas! Thank you for taking us viewers on another sonic adventure. Another incredible system. Please thank the gentleman for sharing it with us viewers. That is an awesome looking room, must be very relaxing listening to some great music. Very interesting commentary. Love these visiting friend's system videos. Thank You Thomas.
Greetings from Montreal neighbours! I also have a primaluna and love it. Couldn't agree more about learning an instrument, even at a beginner level. The opinions of non musician audiophiles are a strange thing to me.....it's like listening to a car reviewer but they have never driven a car, all their experiences and reviews are based on simulations through a VR headset but have never actually driven the real thing. This is not an insult, just a personal opinion. I think all audio reviewers should have a piano or drum set in their home. Even if you can't play it you can just sit at it and beat on it for a while and then go to the stereo system and listen while you have a real life comparison in your ears.
Great video! That guys room (and yours, Thomas) is very nice! NYC apartment living makes that very difficult so its nice to live vicariously through your videos
Nice video Thomas always great to see other people’s systems and hear stories about there audio journey and what they would like for the future . Good stuff , keep it coming 👍
The VA Fidelio will respond well in terms of PRAT if high powered solid state amplification and a good preamp is used. The bass units will produce deep clean frequencies but will also have grunt under the right amplification. As for the turntable, better isolation platform and removing the dust cover while playing LPs will reduce transferred vibration. I thought of that before changing the phono stage because the TT is not yet optimized. What cables including power cables is he using?
The word you're looking for at 1:40, is "accuracy" I believe. More of a balanced, even sound. I love laughing at all the HUNDREDS of video's in which the guy (always a guy), has a room FULL of SVS subs, and usually Klispch speakers. Always showing the driver's from the side so we can marvel at the excursion. Ah, youth! They will learn one day. ... maybe.
I have just tube rolled for the first time to use with my Prima Luna intergraded 100. 6L6GC-HARMA RETRO matched quad to use with my Focal Aria's and they sound grate . (Still new but so far possibly even better than Prima Luna's EL34's)
Hello from Montreal, I just put a deposit on a pair of used Fidelios. I was just wondering what speaker cable your friend was using and also what he used under the speaker. I see a wooden base. I’m assuming it was just to protect the floor. I have to pick them up in Toronto next week. Thanks for great content.
Love the ending. He is lucky. 😁 And I'm glad he said it. He does need a much better phono preamp for that system IMO. I think the digital side might need work too. Not necessarily the DAC, so much as getting the digital signal to it with as little noise as possible. Which is too complicated to get into here. Hans Beekhuyzen is the man for that. 😉 Eventually I would probably change the DAC too though. I would work on the rest first. So I could do fair comparisons, of course. But beyond those small quibbles. Wow! What a system. Totally my style too. And to describe it sounding like a small live venue! I know it's good for sure after hearing that statement. I even like the way he's doing the acoustic treatment upgrades. This guy thinks the same way I do. He's going to save a fortune, and learn a lot. Awesome! Hope you're well Thomas. ✌️
Yeah, a lot of audiophiles who are into higher end gear are aware of the bottleneck of their systems, it is just that the wallet is the problem. I do wonder how much of a difference changing the phono will bring. Thanks!
Thomas & Stereo I had the same thought about the phono stage. My stage is a Tavish Design Classic, which is a tube unit. It’s relatively inexpensive and very flexible even if make changes to loading, etc., are not convenient. I have not done long term serious listening yet, but so far I think it’s great value for the money.
@@ThomasAndStereo That's always the issue. It just takes time. I'm actually glad it's like this though. Getting it easy would take half the fun away IMO. ✌️
Hi Loic.. Nice set up but you changed your prima luna tube amplifier .. so quickly any reason why...not tube sounding enough or it's more about finding a better sound.?
Love these "user's set-up/system" vids,thank you to both of you guys for making this video. I can only personally comment on the Rega equipment (I'm in the u.k.),the P6 great turntable that should always (as long as you can afford) have a quality Cartridge on it. The Rega Fono MC, many people would be blown-away in a blind(or non-blind)test on hearing this little gem,Rega spent most of the cost on the components,even the s.m.p.s that comes with it is of very good quality(now Rega addressed that issue w/the mk3!),either use a Swagman Labs PSU or much much cheaper are,"Ferrite Beads"&, you can easily & cheaply A & B with the Ferrite Beads on the s.m.p.s too. #hifi4ever
@@loicayotte7250 Yes... Buy only opinions as, I've not heard one in person. The Aria is said to be Fono mm & Fono mc in one box,there's is a good review on the mm side of this on RUclips ( just search it on here!). My personal opinion would be this: Rega seem to/extract the very best @ any given price point from RP1 etc. upwards,I have thought about trying the Aria but, because I use Swagman Labs Linear PSU, I'm getting the benefits of a Toroidal Transformer. I would personally advise you to pick one up via eBay,I know I've seen them bought for about £550. Good luck with your search @ choices,if it's Rega I don't think you can go to wrong,I've a modesty price system &, haven't really heard anything that makes me want to sell my house for remember,it SHOULD be about the music how do you know when you're "there", when you just play music for hours😊 #hifi4ever
I don't like house shaking speakers , but if you want bass , it isn't going to happen with a little 6 or 8 inch woofer. However , if you want to listen to violin music , I guess they'll be ok. Even if you listen to Jazz , you're not going to beat a speaker with a 12 or 15 inch woofer.
Yes, 12 and 15 inch have their place and hard to beat. I wonder why they stop making big 12 inch woofers. With small woofers, you do gain speed though.
Loic you have very nice turntable.Find a dealer with a Rega P8 and a VPI Prime.You might like the tightness and speed of Rega more.The $1500 Clearaudio is nice but nit sure you'd get that much more out of the nice Benz.I remeber hearing Verity Parisfals 20 years ago and if I ever got a chance I'd try them out though now there is a lot of competition .Nice rig for sure
Wonderful interview Thomas. A question: since I have the Focals 716 and 706 and love their sound ( specially for classical and jazz, solo piano) , why do I keep hearing about them being great BUT not like MUSICAL, soft some speakers? Focusing on the pros, what is it that actually makes FOCALS special, since I know you also like them a lot? Gus, from Boston
Focal are very detail and sharp. So it takes you no effort to hear all the nuances in the recordings. They are also transparent. Problem is relative to a musical speaker, they are not 'relaxing'. Musical speakers, you don't hear details as effortlessly but for some, it is a good thing.
@@ThomasAndStereo Ah, very clear. I do enjoy the clarity of all the instruments in the Orquestra when I listen to the Focals. String section, piano, bells, woodwinds. That's correct, the detail is there. And I guess with a little bit of twerking with a tone control, I'm able to subtract the sharp edges of a few recordings. Thank you again Thomas.
Great video Thomas. Love when do on location vids. Loic, I also own Primaluna, Dialogue Premium HP and Im currently thinking about some Mazda tubes to ad to my collection. I wonder what your impressions of them are.....BTW dont by gear based on a Kevin Deal video, I feel there is a used car lot somewhere missing there top salesman.... Cheers
jsmctch i have mazdas (telefunk) which I love the air and depth they bring to the sound stage. I was using them until I put in kt150s. The. I found it too sharp (relatively speaking) and almost digital..esque. I swapped them with RCa black plates to keep the sharpness a tad lower and increase the warmth while still having the punch that the kt150s brought. But using kt88 and kt77 the mazdas were awesome! Presence lots of presence.
As for kevin deal, I can differentiate the salesman from a few faq points that got me interested in the sense that, I felt at ease learning tubes with this amplifier. Its difficult to properly express ourselves in short audio clips when theres so many nuances and details to our stories.
@@loicayotte7250 Im using 1960's Mullard EL34's along with Telefunken ECC82's. The Mullards are much nicer than the stock PL EL34. I also use CBS Hytron 5814A's which are a little warmer than the Tele's. I use RCA black plates to run the power to the grids of the EL34's as well as the cathode followers on my PL dialogue premium preamp. I tried them in the signal path but fell the Tele's and the CBS have a little more life to them. I was thinking about the silver plate Mazdas hoping they were a little different that the Tele's. Also have the Mullard CV4003's on the list. I wish you much luck and enjoyment with your PL. I love mine. As far as KD goes, Ive spoke to him personally a few times. Lets just say he's a little different when he's taking your money than when you have questions afterwards. I was speaking to someone at UA one day and he called me back with his panties just as twisted as the story he had nothing to do with. You would think someone would be a little nicer to a first time customer who just gave them $4K. That and the way he contradicts himself and his previous statements when it works for what he's trying to sell you next. I have no Ill feelings toward him though. I just feel when youre taking this kind of money from people, customer service should be job one. That to me includes how you speak to people. Anyhow, nice system. Congratulations
I have a few, like telefunken, gold lion, Philips and it depends. What did not work for me were the Electro-Harmonix entry level ones. If you get Electro-Harmonix, go for the higher model.
@@ThomasAndStereo Looks like your friend has the MK1 of the D1. He would need an adapter for switching over to 6922. As this would increase the high of the tube, the cover would no longer fit, which he has to drill the cover. The D1 would further improve if he change the coupling and output capacitors to mundorf supreme caps. These mod, which was recommended by Garry H, would further improve the sound of the DAC. If I am to get the D1 MK3, I would definitely swap out the two Obligato Gold Caps as well.
I don't think 6922 can replace 12AT7 unless the machine is designed to take both.6922 requires 365mA while the 12AT7 requires 300mA. That is my understanding but I am not an expert at tubes. Perhaps ask stores that sell tubes?
@@ThomasAndStereo That's what I thought too. The Sophia Electronics tube website had them listed as equiv of and what they sell as the 12 AT7. I would be afraid to try it in my MC75.
Focal aria 948 or the Polk lsim 707 what one sounds better and worth the money ? Price not important at all.. what one would you keep even though they both sound very different from eachother.
@@ThomasAndStereo because here's the thing. The focal 948 I have them like 1 year old but I bought them from somebody really reliable but they lost the warranty receipt so if anything happens I don't have any warranty coverage at all and I paid quite a bit of money that almost makes me uncomfortable for the speakers but I was really determined. Vs polks lsim 707 which I also have and I go do with a bee comparison back and forth and you know they do sound different from each other the polks sound like muddy very warm and Less in your face and less detailed I would say a little bit and the soundstage isn't so wide and dynamic as the focal. even though I know they still sound good in their own way like I find the imaging of the mid-range in the vocals really lock me in when I'm listening to music it pulls me in more and I get lost in the vocals the sound is kind of like it kind of wraps around you I feel. It definitely has a little bit more bass in the low end as well. But with these speakers I have a 9 year warranty through a reliable company so I'm completely safe no matter what happens. A part of me can sell the focal for 3200$ cad Or sell the Polks for 1600$ cad Now which one would you do? Because I can't decide I keep going back and forth a b comparison with the same music in my place and there is differences but I don't know because I think the warranty thing bothers me would you just tuff it up and take the risk and keep the focal or sell them if you didn't have any warranty coverage going forward? Thx thomas My front end it's not too bad it's a good enough for me because I am not made our or money. I have a monolith monoprice x200 power amplifier with great specs.. Hooked up to a bluesound node 2i DAC Going into a schitt audio preamplifier the saga S model. They don't hurt my ears but the focal are definitely brighter.
@@newton5954 Can you not ask the person you bought it off to reach out to the store to reissue him a receipt? The chances of speakers dying are not too high but if you are concern continuously, I worry eventually it will get to you where you can no longer enjoy the speakers Only you will know. If it were me, I would keep the 707 and sell the 948. After a few years, I would sell the 707 and then buy the 948 at lower price if I come across one at good price. I say that because I do a lot of buying and selling.
@@ThomasAndStereo Hey thank you so much for reply! I watched that one also :). Tell him to make more videos if you can! Really appreciate your honest way of making videos and sharing your knowledge! You are one of the best Audiophile RUclipsrs out there.
Charles Katz its been over a year since I spent time with the SHL5, hard for me to compare on memory. To my ear, the shl5 was hard to beat on tone and warmth.
I own a pair of Verity Fidelio Encores. Great small room speakers. Now though I own a pair of Spatial Audio X-2's which are better for problematic rooms. They are also far more open and transparent, better imagers, better detailed, better dimensionally, at the sweet spot they have better low bass, and the instrumental textures and timbre's are far better represented. They also look a treat.
@@loicayotte7250 Verity Parsifal encore, dac is audiomat maestro, pre/pro is conrad johnson ET5 /ET250, very very happy with ET5, not sure about ET250, the hybrid has a deep but slow soft bottom. Use to have a classe integrate, the ET5 blow it away 10 streets, the amp part is not.
In my system Kt88 feel a tad more energetic in the bass. Kt77 are a bit more silky tho. If i had a smaller room, Or more sensitive speakers (in the 95db+) Id probably use the kt77. On a side note, I find I get more change in character by playing with preamp tubes. When I was rolling between kt88 and kt77 I was using mazda telefunkten in preamp, more detailed , airy, a bit sharper. When I switched to kt150, I didnt like the telefunkten anymore 12au7 Felt too digital. (Oddly, might not be the best term ) so I swapped to rca long black plates to balance the warmth away from the sharp digital feel the kt150 seemed to bring in. The combo of kt150 and rca black plates made for a warm sound but with lots of punch thanks to kt150.
@@loicayotte7250 does you Amp auto bias the Power tubes? If so/or not, what bias settings are you using for the different tubes you've tried? . Also, have you tried using 12bh7 tubes in the preamp section? I used to run 12au7's and once I tried the bh7's there was no turning back.
Think about this...if no one who bought a system, any piece in the chain, but weren't allowed to see the equipment and the person auditioning them in the showroom didnt know what they were demoing what do you think this normalization of double blind auditioning would do to the high end industry? It would also demand only hearing not seeing from the hobbyist.
Well, a test I do is whenever I let someone listen at my home now, I don't tell them how much it cost and the brand. Just listen and tell me what you think. Best test is still bring it home and try it for a while.
Thomas, How can you listen to these bloody Focal Kantas? It is an instrument of torture! :-) It is very interesting what does your "vintage" friend say about it?
All about system synergy and taste! Mr vintage understands but Focal is not for him. However, even my friends who can't stand metal dome tweeters find it sounds good at my place.
Nothing, those are pointless discussions because we all see value differently. It would be the same question as , how do you justify spending money on your hobby. If you don't like that hobby and get no enjoyment out of it, nothing will justify it.
I would say buying quality is never a waste of money whether hi fi, automobile or otherwise. And in many areas, including hifi, quality can be purchased on the used market for much less than brand new. But if you are trying to convince your wife that you are buying quality audio at the expense of a new roof, new curtains, art work, washing machine, furniture, private school for the kiddos, etc., well I'm afraid you will always lose that argument my friend. Nevertheless, you must rock on!
@@jeffmountjoy5212 A friend of mine owned a repair shop back in the day, I'm struggling to remember if the driver were 25 cents or 55 cent. I owned a pair of the early Gershman Avant Garde RX-20, bass reproduction was a highlight, I tried many rooms and multiple systems, never go them to sound right. Glad you found your end game speaker
cool video. Interesting to see other's systems and hear their thought process. I just replaced my Focal Sopras with the new Wharfedales. I also replaced the PS audio DAC with the new Topping D90 DAC. I'm going to try the Audio Mirror tube DAC next to see if the Topping DAC is holding me back or not. Here is my latest setup ruclips.net/video/DrOt0nQksns/видео.html
Hey Tom, did you had issues with your Sopra 2 bass too overwhelming in your space? How is the Topping Dac? I am really curious. I was surprised to see you replacing it with Wharfedales.
@@ThomasAndStereo The Sopra's didn't have too much bass in my room. My room is pretty big with high ceilings and a large opening into another room on one side. I had 3 pairs of Focals and they would all make my ears ring when i pushed them. I've had about 20 pairs of speaker in the last 4 years and the Focals with the Be tweeter all seem to make my ears ring.
A few weeks I'll send a link of perfect 10 sounding cds & vinyl. Ask The Next Big Thing buddy this. Which of these 4 speakers has the best tone. Triangle Bro3 Or Triangle Bro 2 Or PSB P5 or PSB P3. And does the smaller Triangle sound as good as the big one. And does the smaller PSB P3 sound as good as the big one. I care about the mids, not the bass. I wont ask to many questions. If you aren't allowed to answer my questions because of the manufactorers, then that will be ok. Below is a link where this guy makes interconnects by himself that are dirt cheap & great. But I dont want everyone to know it or he will raise his price, You can get him to email you specials real often. www.morrowaudio.com/
I am waiting for PSB to send me some new speakers actually, I would need to hear them before able to comment on them. Those Morrow audio cable look really nicely built.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Keep this series going... It's interesting to see other people's systems and listen to what they think about them and how they got to where they are. You also have a relaxed and unpretentious way about you that is refreshing.
Thanks, yes I will make as many video as possible of other people's system.
This channel is destined for great things. This content is superb. Original and real...thank u Thomas.👍
Thanks!
Thomas & Stereo most welcome.
hey always enjoy taking a tour of other systems thanks
Love the dog!
The one thing i often see wrong is the acoustic treatment of these sound rooms. To often I see large amounts of absorption materials. One of the biggest miss conceptions in audio is that you want a dead room. That is completely wrong. Reflections are good, they just need to be slightly delayed. And this gentleman system has a front wall that is completely absent or just draped with a heavy curtain. The front wall MUST be reflective, and if you want any absorption it must be carefully chosen and only on the back wall. Here is the issue with absorption. First all most all absorption material is not linear in its absorption. Meaning it will absorb at certain frequency's and reflect at others, creating comb filtering effects and large coloration's in the overall sound. Diffusion is a much better option and really only is needed if you have slap echo issues from parallel walls, or early reflections do to close proximity of walls IF that is a limitation in the setup. If you look at the best rooms they have minimal acoustic materials used.
Slap echo is caused when you have two parallel surfaces. So either diffusion or very light materials on the back wall only, and side walls.
You CANNOT place speakers in a room with acoustic material in the listening room. All speaker placement should be done with no treatment and only what must be in the room at all times. What you will notice is that when you get speaker placement right you will hear very little to NO effects of the rooms acoustic coloration's. Once you have the speaker placement correct then you can slowly and carefully play with acoustic treatment in the room to give the desired effect. But be very careful when using ANY absorption materials, to often it will kill the dynamics, openness, and clarity of the system.
So go into the process finding the right speaker placement and MINIMAL acoustical treatment.
Kevin LaTour
40 years high end audio video specialist
Great advice.
Another solution is a speaker with narrowed dispersion so you don't have to treat the heck out of your room.
Another benefit of using a 6 inch mid over a 4 inch mid is that it tends to roll off those frequencies which are most fatiguing: 2khz to 4 khz.
Overly wide dispersion can be quite the enemy of good imaging and sound stage.
*armchair specialist, professionals just measure the resoults
@@Tacet137 REAL professionals use the best „measurement“ tools there are : their ears.
Pseudo professionals use measurement instruments …other than their ears ! Greenhorn !
I really enjoy this style of video. (Room tour / opinions about gear / acoustic treatment). It’s got it all. I also have the P6. (It’s somewhere on a boat in the pacific right now. Moving from the US to South Korea. Fingers crossed that it arrives in good condition) I’ve also done all my own room treatment in my last house. Looking forward to tackling the challenges of our new Korean apartment. Thanks fellas for adding to the community in this way and sharing your gear and thoughts. Please do more videos like this.
Thanks, it is good you have room treatment experience, setting up at the new place should be easier. Hope you can setup a nice listening spot at your new place.
FWIW ditching the Ikea chair was my latest room upgrade. I have a chair that allows the ear to be well above the seatback now. It made a significant difference.
Yea i ditched the ikea poang chairs too. Gained alot after that, sonically. Those who utilise the ikea chairs as your listening chair and your ears are not above the backseat, then do consider this advice.
Great respect for Thomas, knowledgeable and approachable at the same time.
Thanks Thomas
Great conversation! Great speakers. Heard Verity with tube Air Tight... midrange to die for, great balanced sound, with lots is fun!! Great choice of stereo! Thank you both for this incredibly nice video!!!
Bravo, gentlemen! Thanks for your in depth discussion of the process of building this system and tuning the room to work with it! Few of the system videos that I have seen pay much attention to the process aspect of our audiophile passion. 👍👍
Thanks. Yeah, I thought it was a good that he talk about it.
Hi Thomas! Thank you for taking us viewers on another sonic adventure. Another incredible system. Please thank the gentleman for sharing it with us viewers. That is an awesome looking room, must be very relaxing listening to some great music. Very interesting commentary. Love these visiting friend's system videos. Thank You Thomas.
Thanks, yeah it is a very relaxing system.
Greetings from Montreal neighbours!
I also have a primaluna and love it.
Couldn't agree more about learning an instrument, even at a beginner level.
The opinions of non musician audiophiles are a strange thing to me.....it's like listening to a car reviewer but they have never driven a car, all their experiences and reviews are based on simulations through a VR headset but have never actually driven the real thing. This is not an insult, just a personal opinion. I think all audio reviewers should have a piano or drum set in their home. Even if you can't play it you can just sit at it and beat on it for a while and then go to the stereo system and listen while you have a real life comparison in your ears.
Thanks for sharing your system and journey.
Great video! That guys room (and yours, Thomas) is very nice! NYC apartment living makes that very difficult so its nice to live vicariously through your videos
Yeah, one of the advantage of living at Canada and far from the main city.
Nice video Thomas always great to see other people’s systems and hear stories about there audio journey and what they would like for the future . Good stuff , keep it coming 👍
wow what an amazing video!!! thank you so much for sharing would love to hear an update
nice job both of you.
Finally someone mentioned PRaT! 👍
Thanks for another terrific review, Thomas. Still waiting patiently for your Sopra 2 review, looking forward to it.
Thanks, I probably will start talking about it in the Denafrips review.
11:03 whos that yawing in the back LOL ..wake up!!
Vintage friend?
Verity Audio really great speakers
You get what you pay for.
The VA Fidelio will respond well in terms of PRAT if high powered solid state amplification and a good preamp is used. The bass units will produce deep clean frequencies but will also have grunt under the right amplification.
As for the turntable, better isolation platform and removing the dust cover while playing LPs will reduce transferred vibration. I thought of that before changing the phono stage because the TT is not yet optimized.
What cables including power cables is he using?
Check out the description box, it has a detail breakdown of his system. Thanks.
Would have loved to hear the acoustic sound
A+ with his system.
Great interview, Thomas!
The word you're looking for at 1:40, is "accuracy" I believe. More of a balanced, even sound. I love laughing at all the HUNDREDS of video's in which the guy (always a guy), has a room FULL of SVS subs, and usually Klispch speakers. Always showing the driver's from the side so we can marvel at the excursion. Ah, youth! They will learn one day. ... maybe.
I have just tube rolled for the first time to use with my Prima Luna intergraded 100. 6L6GC-HARMA RETRO matched quad to use with my Focal Aria's and they sound grate .
(Still new but so far possibly even better than Prima Luna's EL34's)
Hello from Montreal, I just put a deposit on a pair of used Fidelios. I was just wondering what speaker cable your friend was using and also what he used under the speaker. I see a wooden base. I’m assuming it was just to protect the floor. I have to pick them up in Toronto next week.
Thanks for great content.
Great review! Room tuning is on the near horizon for me.
Love the ending. He is lucky. 😁
And I'm glad he said it. He does need a much better phono preamp for that system IMO. I think the digital side might need work too. Not necessarily the DAC, so much as getting the digital signal to it with as little noise as possible. Which is too complicated to get into here. Hans Beekhuyzen is the man for that. 😉
Eventually I would probably change the DAC too though. I would work on the rest first. So I could do fair comparisons, of course. But beyond those small quibbles. Wow! What a system. Totally my style too. And to describe it sounding like a small live venue! I know it's good for sure after hearing that statement. I even like the way he's doing the acoustic treatment upgrades. This guy thinks the same way I do. He's going to save a fortune, and learn a lot. Awesome!
Hope you're well Thomas. ✌️
Yeah, a lot of audiophiles who are into higher end gear are aware of the bottleneck of their systems, it is just that the wallet is the problem. I do wonder how much of a difference changing the phono will bring. Thanks!
Thomas & Stereo I had the same thought about the phono stage. My stage is a Tavish Design Classic, which is a tube unit. It’s relatively inexpensive and very flexible even if make changes to loading, etc., are not convenient. I have not done long term serious listening yet, but so far I think it’s great value for the money.
@@ThomasAndStereo That's always the issue. It just takes time. I'm actually glad it's like this though. Getting it easy would take half the fun away IMO. ✌️
Lovely gear.
Really enjoyed that... Thank you!!!
Hi Loic.. Nice set up but you changed your prima luna tube amplifier ..
so quickly any reason why...not tube sounding
enough or it's more about finding a better sound.?
Love these "user's set-up/system" vids,thank you to both of you guys for making this video.
I can only personally comment on the Rega equipment (I'm in the u.k.),the P6 great turntable that should always (as long as you can afford) have a quality Cartridge on it. The Rega Fono MC, many people would be blown-away in a blind(or non-blind)test on hearing this little gem,Rega spent most of the cost on the components,even the s.m.p.s that comes with it is of very good quality(now Rega addressed that issue w/the mk3!),either use a Swagman Labs PSU or much much cheaper are,"Ferrite Beads"&, you can easily & cheaply A & B with the Ferrite Beads on the s.m.p.s too.
#hifi4ever
Any opinions on rega aria phono stage?
@@loicayotte7250
Yes...
Buy only opinions as, I've not heard one in person.
The Aria is said to be Fono mm & Fono mc in one box,there's is a good review on the mm side of this on RUclips ( just search it on here!).
My personal opinion would be this:
Rega seem to/extract the very best @ any given price point from RP1 etc. upwards,I have thought about trying the Aria but, because I use Swagman Labs Linear PSU, I'm getting the benefits of a Toroidal Transformer.
I would personally advise you to pick one up via eBay,I know I've seen them bought for about £550.
Good luck with your search @ choices,if it's Rega I don't think you can go to wrong,I've a modesty price system &, haven't really heard anything that makes me want to sell my house for remember,it SHOULD be about the music how do you know when you're "there", when you just play music for hours😊
#hifi4ever
If I were to get a good turntable, I would consider Rega too.
Great video awesome to see journey of other audiophile I am doing the same with my room a little bit of mod listen more mods
Yup get it ready so I can come over to film.
@@ThomasAndStereo yes for now I wait for the Kanta first
Tested the headphone amp on the musical Fidelity and it's awesome has loads of power and sounds sweet
@@godssoldier597 You mean the musical paradise dac!
@@ThomasAndStereo yes the headphone amp is also there
Ha ha ha nice story about the musical paradise dac ,😀
Yup, that is you!
I don't like house shaking speakers , but if you want bass , it isn't going to happen with a little 6 or 8 inch woofer. However , if you want to listen to violin music , I guess they'll be ok. Even if you listen to Jazz , you're not going to beat a speaker with a 12 or 15 inch woofer.
Yes, 12 and 15 inch have their place and hard to beat. I wonder why they stop making big 12 inch woofers. With small woofers, you do gain speed though.
11:03 guy in the speaker XDDD
Yeah, it was late at night already. Lol.
@@ThomasAndStereo Not criticizing at all, just funny moment. Great video as always, keep it up!
@@privateaccount9535 oh no, I did not take it as a critiscm at all😊
Loic you have very nice turntable.Find a dealer with a Rega P8 and a VPI Prime.You might like the tightness and speed of Rega more.The $1500 Clearaudio is nice but nit sure you'd get that much more out of the nice Benz.I remeber hearing Verity Parisfals 20 years ago and if I ever got a chance I'd try them out though now there is a lot of competition .Nice rig for sure
Charles Katz yeah, I am definitely having too much fun with the p6. Im sure I can make other upgrades to improve sound before I change the table.
Did your friend have the same phono amp and was he also running a tube amp? Great video guys👍🏻
Thinking of getting Funk Frim Achromat for my Rega TT as well. If your friend sees this, what thickness would he recommend: 3mm or 5mm?
Wonderful interview Thomas. A question: since I have the Focals 716 and 706 and love their sound ( specially for classical and jazz, solo piano) , why do I keep hearing about them being great BUT not like MUSICAL, soft some speakers? Focusing on the pros, what is it that actually makes FOCALS special, since I know you also like them a lot? Gus, from Boston
Focal are very detail and sharp. So it takes you no effort to hear all the nuances in the recordings. They are also transparent. Problem is relative to a musical speaker, they are not 'relaxing'. Musical speakers, you don't hear details as effortlessly but for some, it is a good thing.
@@ThomasAndStereo Ah, very clear. I do enjoy the clarity of all the instruments in the Orquestra when I listen to the Focals. String section, piano, bells, woodwinds. That's correct, the detail is there. And I guess with a little bit of twerking with a tone control, I'm able to subtract the sharp edges of a few recordings. Thank you again Thomas.
Great video Thomas. Love when do on location vids. Loic, I also own Primaluna, Dialogue Premium HP and Im currently thinking about some Mazda tubes to ad to my collection. I wonder what your impressions of them are.....BTW dont by gear based on a Kevin Deal video, I feel there is a used car lot somewhere missing there top salesman.... Cheers
jsmctch i have mazdas (telefunk) which I love the air and depth they bring to the sound stage. I was using them until I put in kt150s. The. I found it too sharp (relatively speaking) and almost digital..esque. I swapped them with RCa black plates to keep the sharpness a tad lower and increase the warmth while still having the punch that the kt150s brought. But using kt88 and kt77 the mazdas were awesome! Presence lots of presence.
As for kevin deal, I can differentiate the salesman from a few faq points that got me interested in the sense that, I felt at ease learning tubes with this amplifier. Its difficult to properly express ourselves in short audio clips when theres so many nuances and details to our stories.
@@loicayotte7250 Im using 1960's Mullard EL34's along with Telefunken ECC82's. The Mullards are much nicer than the stock PL EL34. I also use CBS Hytron 5814A's which are a little warmer than the Tele's. I use RCA black plates to run the power to the grids of the EL34's as well as the cathode followers on my PL dialogue premium preamp. I tried them in the signal path but fell the Tele's and the CBS have a little more life to them. I was thinking about the silver plate Mazdas hoping they were a little different that the Tele's. Also have the Mullard CV4003's on the list. I wish you much luck and enjoyment with your PL. I love mine. As far as KD goes, Ive spoke to him personally a few times. Lets just say he's a little different when he's taking your money than when you have questions afterwards. I was speaking to someone at UA one day and he called me back with his panties just as twisted as the story he had nothing to do with. You would think someone would be a little nicer to a first time customer who just gave them $4K. That and the way he contradicts himself and his previous statements when it works for what he's trying to sell you next. I have no Ill feelings toward him though. I just feel when youre taking this kind of money from people, customer service should be job one. That to me includes how you speak to people. Anyhow, nice system. Congratulations
Hi: what do your feel is the best combo of pre amp tubes (12ax7/12au7)in your Prima Luna?
Would you recommened the brand of 6922 tube, the one that you are using would be great
I have a few, like telefunken, gold lion, Philips and it depends. What did not work for me were the Electro-Harmonix entry level ones. If you get Electro-Harmonix, go for the higher model.
@@ThomasAndStereo Looks like your friend has the MK1 of the D1. He would need an adapter for switching over to 6922. As this would increase the high of the tube, the cover would no longer fit, which he has to drill the cover. The D1 would further improve if he change the coupling and output capacitors to mundorf supreme caps. These mod, which was recommended by Garry H, would further improve the sound of the DAC.
If I am to get the D1 MK3, I would definitely swap out the two Obligato Gold Caps as well.
@@ThomasAndStereo thank you
@@kuisin88 nice. Thanks for the info
so 6922 can replace an AT7? I've seen contradicting info. Later this year I might tube roll in my MC75s.
I don't think 6922 can replace 12AT7 unless the machine is designed to take both.6922 requires 365mA while the 12AT7 requires 300mA. That is my understanding but I am not an expert at tubes. Perhaps ask stores that sell tubes?
@@ThomasAndStereo That's what I thought too. The Sophia Electronics tube website had them listed as equiv of and what they sell as the 12 AT7. I would be afraid to try it in my MC75.
Any chance to do a review on Cube Audio? Thanks.
Ah, I just check and remember now, very nice speakers and would love to if they send me.
@@ThomasAndStereo www.cubeaudio.eu/
@@ThomasAndStereo the only canadian dealer is in ON.
A couple REL subs would improve PRAT>
Sorry if I miss anything here, after listening I still don't know how Verity audio Fidelio encore supposed to sound. Can you enlighten me?
ruclips.net/video/JURIh6MBIo0/видео.html
Thomas if you are into musicality now and not just mechanical detail, check out Proac
Yeah, have been hoping to get one at good price.
Strange: the sound comes before the hand clap 0:00
Focal aria 948 or the Polk lsim 707 what one sounds better and worth the money ? Price not important at all.. what one would you keep even though they both sound very different from eachother.
I would keep the 948 as I like detail and speed. However, with 948, you better have good matching equipment else it can be 'painful' at high volume.
@@ThomasAndStereo because here's the thing.
The focal 948 I have them like 1 year old but I bought them from somebody really reliable but they lost the warranty receipt so if anything happens I don't have any warranty coverage at all and I paid quite a bit of money that almost makes me uncomfortable for the speakers but I was really determined.
Vs polks lsim 707 which I also have and I go do with a bee comparison back and forth and you know they do sound different from each other the polks sound like muddy very warm and Less in your face and less detailed I would say a little bit and the soundstage isn't so wide and dynamic as the focal. even though I know they still sound good in their own way like I find the imaging of the mid-range in the vocals really lock me in when I'm listening to music it pulls me in more and I get lost in the vocals the sound is kind of like it kind of wraps around you I feel.
It definitely has a little bit more bass in the low end as well.
But with these speakers I have a 9 year warranty through a reliable company so I'm completely safe no matter what happens.
A part of me can sell the focal for 3200$ cad
Or sell the Polks for 1600$ cad
Now which one would you do?
Because I can't decide I keep going back and forth a b comparison with the same music in my place and there is differences but I don't know because I think the warranty thing bothers me would you just tuff it up and take the risk and keep the focal or sell them if you didn't have any warranty coverage going forward? Thx thomas
My front end it's not too bad it's a good enough for me because I am not made our or money.
I have a monolith monoprice x200 power amplifier with great specs..
Hooked up to a bluesound node 2i DAC
Going into a schitt audio preamplifier the saga S model. They don't hurt my ears but the focal are definitely brighter.
@@newton5954 Can you not ask the person you bought it off to reach out to the store to reissue him a receipt? The chances of speakers dying are not too high but if you are concern continuously, I worry eventually it will get to you where you can no longer enjoy the speakers Only you will know.
If it were me, I would keep the 707 and sell the 948. After a few years, I would sell the 707 and then buy the 948 at lower price if I come across one at good price. I say that because I do a lot of buying and selling.
Does loic have youtube channel? Looks like intresting guy!
No he does not but this is another video from him.
ruclips.net/video/CgwWaEdAbzg/видео.html
@@ThomasAndStereo Hey thank you so much for reply! I watched that one also :). Tell him to make more videos if you can! Really appreciate your honest way of making videos and sharing your knowledge! You are one of the best Audiophile RUclipsrs out there.
Loic how would compare the Fidelio to the Harbeth HL5?
Charles Katz its been over a year since I spent time with the SHL5, hard for me to compare on memory. To my ear, the shl5 was hard to beat on tone and warmth.
@@loicayotte7250 how were the kt150’s with the dialogue two? Did you run into any issues with this combination?
I own a pair of Verity Fidelio Encores. Great small room speakers. Now though I own a pair of Spatial Audio X-2's which are better for problematic rooms. They are also far more open and transparent, better imagers, better detailed, better dimensionally, at the sweet spot they have better low bass, and the instrumental textures and timbre's are far better represented. They also look a treat.
What tubes does he run on the prima luna?
I will let him answer, I don't know.
nice system，verity audio deserve better front 😃
Sure, but it still sounds really good.
will invite you when you want hear another verity set up. need some room treatment😝
I heard nagra and monsalvat front end with verity and yes they were a few miles above my front end :-). What front end do you use?
@@loicayotte7250 Verity Parsifal encore, dac is audiomat maestro, pre/pro is conrad johnson ET5 /ET250, very very happy with ET5, not sure about ET250, the hybrid has a deep but slow soft bottom. Use to have a classe integrate, the ET5 blow it away 10 streets, the amp part is not.
Nice! What size of room ? The parsifial encore are a significant step up from fidelio encore.
Get some Kt77 tubes for the Amp.
Juan. Lega have em :-)
@@loicayotte7250which do you prefer between the kt88's and 77's?
In my system Kt88 feel a tad more energetic in the bass. Kt77 are a bit more silky tho. If i had a smaller room, Or more sensitive speakers (in the 95db+) Id probably use the kt77. On a side note, I find I get more change in character by playing with preamp tubes. When I was rolling between kt88 and kt77 I was using mazda telefunkten in preamp, more detailed , airy, a bit sharper. When I switched to kt150, I didnt like the telefunkten anymore 12au7 Felt too digital. (Oddly, might not be the best term ) so I swapped to rca long black plates to balance the warmth away from the sharp digital feel the kt150 seemed to bring in. The combo of kt150 and rca black plates made for a warm sound but with lots of punch thanks to kt150.
@@loicayotte7250 does you Amp auto bias the Power tubes? If so/or not, what bias settings are you using for the different tubes you've tried? . Also, have you tried using 12bh7 tubes in the preamp section? I used to run 12au7's and once I tried the bh7's there was no turning back.
Yes prima luna autobiases the tubes so I wouldnt know what settings they are on. I will give the tubes you mention a try. Thanks!
Nice yawn, guy in red hoodie at 10:56. LoL (very shiney speakers)
Think about this...if no one who bought a system, any piece in the chain, but weren't allowed to see the equipment and the person auditioning them in the showroom didnt know what they were demoing what do you think this normalization of double blind auditioning would do to the high end industry? It would also demand only hearing not seeing from the hobbyist.
Well, a test I do is whenever I let someone listen at my home now, I don't tell them how much it cost and the brand. Just listen and tell me what you think. Best test is still bring it home and try it for a while.
11:02 it looks like that was quite BOARING system 😂😂 JK.
Thomas, How can you listen to these bloody Focal Kantas? It is an instrument of torture! :-)
It is very interesting what does your "vintage" friend say about it?
All about system synergy and taste! Mr vintage understands but Focal is not for him. However, even my friends who can't stand metal dome tweeters find it sounds good at my place.
What would you say to a guy who says that hifi is a wast of money ?
Nothing, those are pointless discussions because we all see value differently. It would be the same question as , how do you justify spending money on your hobby. If you don't like that hobby and get no enjoyment out of it, nothing will justify it.
I would say buying quality is never a waste of money whether hi fi, automobile or otherwise. And in many areas, including hifi, quality can be purchased on the used market for much less than brand new. But if you are trying to convince your wife that you are buying quality audio at the expense of a new roof, new curtains, art work, washing machine, furniture, private school for the kiddos, etc., well I'm afraid you will always lose that argument my friend.
Nevertheless, you must rock on!
@@Mrch33ky thank you
@@ThomasAndStereo appreciate the feedback
Say “You may be right.” grin, and shrug. Life is too short to try to convince people who have their own opinions. 😎👍👍
I remember those Nuance speakers. They would hire attractive female sales reps to attract buyers, usually in a mall location. Lol
Really, that is funny.
😂😂😂
nuance speakers are the equivalent of white van speakers, 55 cent drivers
@@jeffmountjoy5212 A friend of mine owned a repair shop back in the day, I'm struggling to remember if the driver were 25 cents or 55 cent.
I owned a pair of the early Gershman Avant Garde RX-20, bass reproduction was a highlight, I tried many rooms and multiple systems, never go them to sound right.
Glad you found your end game speaker
cool video. Interesting to see other's systems and hear their thought process. I just replaced my Focal Sopras with the new Wharfedales. I also replaced the PS audio DAC with the new Topping D90 DAC. I'm going to try the Audio Mirror tube DAC next to see if the Topping DAC is holding me back or not. Here is my latest setup ruclips.net/video/DrOt0nQksns/видео.html
Hey Tom, did you had issues with your Sopra 2 bass too overwhelming in your space? How is the Topping Dac? I am really curious. I was surprised to see you replacing it with Wharfedales.
@@ThomasAndStereo The Sopra's didn't have too much bass in my room. My room is pretty big with high ceilings and a large opening into another room on one side. I had 3 pairs of Focals and they would all make my ears ring when i pushed them. I've had about 20 pairs of speaker in the last 4 years and the Focals with the Be tweeter all seem to make my ears ring.
@@Phastm3 I see, yeah the problem with bright speakers is more apparent when we push the volume.
A few weeks I'll send a link of perfect 10 sounding cds & vinyl. Ask The Next Big Thing buddy this. Which of these 4 speakers has the best tone. Triangle Bro3 Or Triangle Bro 2 Or PSB P5 or PSB P3. And does the smaller Triangle sound as good as the big one. And does the smaller PSB P3 sound as good as the big one. I care about the mids, not the bass. I wont ask to many questions. If you aren't allowed to answer my questions because of the manufactorers, then that will be ok. Below is a link where this guy makes interconnects by himself that are dirt cheap & great. But I dont want everyone to know it or he will raise his price, You can get him to email you specials real often. www.morrowaudio.com/
I am waiting for PSB to send me some new speakers actually, I would need to hear them before able to comment on them. Those Morrow audio cable look really nicely built.