Perfect Path Technologies: Omega E mat

^^^ Holy Smokes is right.

Prior to the evacuation orders, I decided to stay and fight. As I was hosing down the shrubbery and my roof, the wind was blowing at 50mph and driving lit cinders past me and into me. It was literally raining lit cinders. The heat was intense. The humidity was between 3% to 6%.

There’s an RV storage facility on the hill directly across from my place and it was fully ablaze. All of the cinders were coming from there. Finally, the wind was so strong, the stream coming from my hose just came back toward me and I got soaked. At that point, I panicked and said screw it ... and just bailed out of the place.

When I finally returned and "fired up" the audio system, it sounded better than ever. I think the Total Contact that I pasted on the speaker crossovers a few weeks ago is the reason. I believe its curing nicely. Must be close to the four-week jump.

By the way, guys, say some prayers for A’gon member Mribob. He lives up in Malibu Canyon ... not a good place to be during these fires. He’s out of town and I’ve been texting him with updates.

Frank

Glad to hear you’re okay and so sorry for your neighbors. Please take heed and wear a respirator, if you’re not already doing so. On my daily morning walks I wear one and it makes a big difference. Every morning I wake up to the smell of ashes and it sickens me.

This whole area is tinder waiting for the next idiot thinking he’s Joe Outdoorsman and no one is going to limit his idea of roughing it. People need to have more situational awareness.

All the best,
Nonoise

jafreeman   My amps were designed and rebuilt by Grover Huffman of GroverHuffman.com cable manufacturer.  These were extensively rebuilt with few remaining parts/connectors. 

If you have read the forum posts by Oregonpapa (Frank), you would see that for a few hundred dollars, he took a Pioneer DV-05 1998 DVD player with dual lasers, installed six superior capacitors, with a high end A/C cable and voila! trounced his $10K Audio Research CD player which was broken and required a $2K repair. 

Also, Grover's Dynaco ST70 remodel changes the tap for power from the transformers (voltage regulated instead of ultralinear), installs typical mods like solid state rectification (kept the tube for warm up purposes) installed new huge storage capacitor and the same thing, a very superior, high current tube amp that drives bass down to the 20s and with tremendous punch and resolution, more open and extended highs.  It's a smaller version of the Altec amps but not as highly resolving or powerful.  It can drive Frank's Signature IIIs superbly as it does mine at my home.  Again, about a $400-$500 retrofit including new IC connections and speaker terminals, IEC A/C connector.  

^^^ I can vouch for everything Steve said above.

I cannot believe how good that Pioneer Elite DV-05 sounds with Grover's mods. The ARC CD-7se is/was a very good tube CD player. It retailed for 10k. The Pioneer has better bass and more extended highs. Maybe ... and just maybe, the ARC had more of that nice tube midrange, but the Pioneer's upper midrange is even better ... just a little more solid-state like, but still very much three dimensional. If I were to do it again, I'd opt for Grover's Pioneer Elite, no questions asked.

I've heard both of Steve's systems. His living room system has the Legacy Signature III's (94db), driven by the Grover modified Dyna 70. If you have efficient speakers and can use 35 watts per channel, it is a wonderful amp ... one of the best I've heard. 

Now then, combine all of this with Total Contact, Omega E Mats, Herbie's tube dampeners, SR Blue fuses, SR HFT's, Shatki Holographs, some really great IC's and PC's ... and you will have put together a system that rivals those costing hundreds of thousands. The sound may be on a smaller scale than the mega-buck systems perhaps, but mind-boggling, none the less.

Just to put things into perspective, the last time my friend Robert was over, he said during the listening session ... "You don't need a pair of Harbeth 40.2's, you already have them. You don't need a pair of Maggie 20.7's, you already have them." I concurred. As an old planer fan, these Signature III's are every bit as transparent as the best planers I've ever owned, including Acustat III's, Acustat IV's, and Martin Logans, except the Legacy Signature III's, get better bass and better highs. 

The Signature III's are no longer made, but they are available on the used market for as low as $1500. I paid $2100 for mine years ago. They have the walnut finish and in mint condition. I think they retailed originally for $5500 with the finish I have.

Honestly, if you or a friend are looking for floor standing speakers that are very easy to drive, with great sound, there is no reason to look further than the Legacy Signature III's. 

Frank

Steve and Frank, thanks for your narratives on your systems--always interesting because I have ended up by myself in this hobby over the years. Long-time friends who shared an interest in music, car and home systems have since developed divergent interests and concerns.