Warren M. Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) This should be a bit of an eye opener (and ear opener): My system has been designed to satisfy my very demanding audio expectations, within a fairly modest budget, and in a small living room which my wife considers to be her domain. It's taken many years and some heated arguments to find a combination which works, and we are still married. Maybe you should bring your wife. The cornerstone to the success of this dangerous venture has been my Totem Arro speakers. These are tiny floor-standers, and I do mean tiny. They are just 5" wide, 7" deep and under 3' high! And they are designed to sit inches from the back wall! They have no right whatsoever to sound as great as they do. And they do sound great, particularly with small forces such as jazz singers and small classical ensembles, but even with a full orchestra or massed choir. As we did in February, we'll be transforming the huge Epping room into a much smaller one, so these speakers can really open up for you. Hopefully we'll also have current pricing from the Australian distributors, and maybe even a special deal for ASoN members. Filling in the bottom end will be at least one of my REL subs and maybe both. There are many very musical subs out there, but value for money, the REL T-series are hard to beat. You'll hear what I mean on Sunday. Amplification will be my JLTi KT-88 integrated tube push-pull amp, which, including all the tube rolling I've done, has cost me much less than $2500, and would have to be among the best sounding amps I've heard at any price. It certainly wiped the floor for realism with my much more expensive Arcam separates. The source components include a real treat: Two months ago many of you heard my Sansui TU-X1 tuner, enhanced by Stereo Surgeons of Connecticut. Although it was, to my ears, the best sounding tuner I'd ever heard, I was sure I could do better! So I arranged to sell that one (not yet sold, but an extreme expression of interest subject to fixing the AM section), and bought one as cheap as possible in the US in order for it to be enhanced to the nines, by perhaps the world's number 1 FM tuner expert/modifier, Joseph Chow of Audio Horizons. Joseph Chow spent a decade in tuner R&D with Kenwood, and then moved to Proton where he worked with Larry Schotz to develop the Schotz tuner circuit used in Nakamichi and NAD tuners among others. I told Joseph exactly what I wanted and he gave it to me. Afterwards (when I'd already paid him) he told me that, completed, it was by far the best sounding of the dozen or more TU-X1 tuners he has modified, and, by extension, perhaps the best tuner he has ever heard! This amazing Joseph-Chow-modified Sansui TU-X1 tuner is now in my hands and will be one of the sources next week. To make that even more exciting, Pepe Romero (one of the world's greatest classical guitarists) will be in a concert broadcast with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra during the meeting and we'll tune in to hear a movement of Rodrigo's fabulous Concierto de Aranjuez direct from the Sydney Opera House. If you think you know what FM sounds like, think again! CDs and SACDs, including your own choices, will be played on my JLTi (level 3+) Oppo BDP-95 universal digital player. I think you'll agree, once you hear it in this configuration, that the JLTi Oppo is one of the best sounding CD players available at any price. Joe Rasmussen's extensive modifications of the BDP-95 and BDP-105 have now been embraced internationally, with qualified subcontractors doing these modifications in the USA, NZ, Malaysia, HK, Switzerland, South Africa... There will be a few interesting surprises on the day. Don't miss it! Bring a friend. And if you've never been to an ASoN meeting before, this would be a great one to start you off. Try it - I think you'll like it. See you next Sunday, August 3 at 1:45pm! Epping Creative Centre, Dence Park, 26 Stanley Street, Epping. Cheers, Warren Marshall Edited July 27, 2014 by Warren M. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramered Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Good one Warren. I look forward to it. Gear-wise it all sounds promising but I'm especially looking forward to hearing the Arro/REL combo. Vincent Bruzzese is a great designer and performs near miracles from small/room friendly boxes. Ditto with REL. See you there, EK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren M. Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Fantastic news - we have a special offer of 15% off the retail price of Totem speakers for ASoN members when purchased through a specific Sydney dealer - details on the day!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren M. Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 I'm pleased to advise that the distributors of Totem speakers and the distributors of REL sub-bass systems have both arranged special pricing offers through specified dealers, to existing and new ASoN members who attend the meeting on Sunday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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