Maybe the Journey is Over?........Well......


My wife hopes that I have my final system, but I am not going to guarantee that! I have recently been busy upgrading. I had Blue Jean Cables for coax and speakers and now I have Audioquest Rocket 33 speaker cables and Audioquest Carbon Coax. I also replaced my Audiolab 6000CDT with a Jay's Audio CDT2 MK3. I then upgraded the CD puck to a Headquarters Qstab. I ordered three more GIK panels this morning to complete their recommendations for acoustic treatments. After those are installed, I am going to keep it the same for a while. It sounds very good now but H590's are coming down in price........no don't look at those.....be happy with what you have.........but what if?

My current system:

Hegel H390 amp

Jay's Audio CDT2 MK3 Transport with Qstab

Tyler Acoustics Highland H3.5 speakers

Isoacoustics Gaia II isolators

GIK Acoustics panels as recommended by GIK.

Audioquest Rocket 33 speaker cables

Audioquest Carbon Coax

Pangea Audio Vulcan Amp Stands

Furman PST8 power strip

Four Schuman Generators

128x128baclagg

@wlp3 There are many articles out there about Schumann generators. They are devices that generate 7.83hz in the room. Schumann resonances are global electromagnetic resonances, generated and excited by lightning discharges in the cavity formed by the Earth's surface and the ionosphere. I have four of them. I have found that they improve the depth of the sound stage and eliminate the glare associated with CD playback.

I used 4 of them at critical locations...Cheap chinese battery one and a USB one ...

As said above by baclagg they made a difference in the blooming of the sound making it more natural ...A better impression of depth is true impression indeed ...For the effect on digital glare i dont know but i believe it...I never had digital glare in my system before trying the S.G.but it makes the sound "aura" more natural for sure ...

I never read any real explanation why they work so well ...

My own explanation but i am no scientist, is that they introduce some dithering effect making clearer the noise/ signal/ratio... I put them near my gear ...

I experimented with cheap 10 bucks one, then i discovered that they dont need to be precisely spot on on the Schumann frequency...The cheap one are not precise and work well ... I deduced that they work more as a dithering effect tool than the precise magical 7.83 effect ... Any low hertz range frequency near 10 hertz will do and his harmonics as some dithering effect ...

But beware : dont experiment with that BEFORE your system is already  relatively  satisfying ... S.G. is not A SOLUTION ... The effect could even not be perceived on bad audio system ...It need some minimal quality synergy already in the system ... S. G. are cherries on a cake not the cake ...But if your system is already good they will make it shine ...

The same is true with ionization of the room ...very subtle but real ...it is cherries on a cake not acoustic or gear solutions ...

@baclagg

RE: replacing H390 with 590.

You don’t mention a DAC so I assume you’re using the 390’s on-board DAC, which is somewhat on the lean side.

I’m not familiar with your speakers. I also own an H390 and Jay’s CDT2MKII. Both my Silverline monitors and Aqua La Voce DAC are on the warm side and I had to swap out ICs and footers in order to tame what was, for me, too forward of a sound, in conjunction with the 390 and Jay’s.

Be aware that the H590 is both more resolving and more neutral than the 390. You might consider purchasing a 590 from a seller that offers a return policy, such as Listen Up! as moving up the Hegel line might prove "too much of a good thing", depending upon your taste.

Just my 2 cents...

BTW, I'd be very curious to know what you think of the QStab.   

 

@stuartk thank you for the advice on the 590. I will definitely get one to try out before I buy it. My 390 is giving me what I need for now.

The Qstab was a good addition. More bass response and the thing I notice more than anything is that piano notes have a more realistic tone to them. I love it!

@baclagg 

You're welcome.

Thanks for the feedback on the QStab. 

I have heard the same thing from others. 

Not sure it would be worth the expense, in my case.