Looking back at this thread. I feel like a member named gwalt was going to offer to sell me his edgarhorn titan system. I can’t believe I missed this opportunity so I want to say gwalt if you are out there that I regret it to this day!!

tjkurita May 13, 2022 17:28

Added Klipsch RP600 bookshelf speakers to the desktop system.

tjkurita April 26, 2022 13:05

At the moment I am glad the weekend is here and I am listening to Streets of Dreams by Grant Green. What a fantastic album. Just a couple of comments on tubes:  I switched out the drivers to the old Sylvania “bad boy” bottom getters from the 40s and I observed that they do miss out on a good bit of bass and low mid info. They have a very nice clarity and airiness always. But switching to the RCA side getter gives a bit more oomph on the low mid and bass. With a less smooth sound in the high end. I wouldn’t normally comment on the sound of an album I am just enjoying. But in this case the difference is significant and clearly audible in the bass pedals of Larry Young’s organ. Much better with the RCA. Sadly Bobby Hutchersons vibes are harder edged with the RCA. I guess you can’t have it all!!  This will do for now though.

tjkurita January 29, 2021 23:45

Ok. Let’s try this again. I went the full 80/100 on my speaker placement. Where distance between speakers is 80% of the distance to the listening chair. The math was easy because the chair is 10’. So the speakers are 8’ apart. 

tjkurita January 25, 2021 20:56

Further refinements:  speakers are now 10’ away from listening position and 7.5’ apart. Increasing speaker separation by such a large margin had significant impact on the sound. I definitely prefer it. More instrument separation, reduced smearing, and more clarity. Dynamics are also improved. The soundstage depth, width, and height remains approximately the same. But the interaction between the two speakers is significantly reduced so the sound is more open and gives the impression of bigger sound particularly in the mid range. These are large speakers and require space between them as well as space from walls. In this case I think further apart from each other is better than further from walls.  I would encourage anyone to make these kinds of adjustments. You never know what improvements/changes will result. 

tjkurita January 23, 2021 15:27

I just reinstalled the 300b back in the system and it is a very big difference. Much, much better than the “B set up.”  Which isn’t to say the Had/Patek combo sounds bad. It is simply that the 300b makes it very difficult to listen to anything else because it leaves a lasting impression.  A very good but still inferior amp remains inferior for weeks and months after.  This is different from changing tubes or cables because you can forget what was different. But the entire time the other amp and preamp were in there I felt like something was missing. I imagine changes in sources and speakers can have the same effect and I will find out soon enough as a Denafrips Venus 2 is on the horizon. I will look forward to seeing if the old Emm Labs DAC has finally been outstripped.

tjkurita January 12, 2021 21:30

Thanks cymbop!  Looking at your system I could say the exact same thing. I especially like the tasteful room treatments. I had never seen those giant b&w speakers before. I bet they sound huge.

tjkurita January 12, 2021 21:19

Just wanted to say I love this system.  Way to go, TJ.

cymbop January 12, 2021 09:03

In rotation: singles: Pretenders Disintegration: the Cure Viva Hate: morrissey. Disintegration is really a masterpiece. And is sounds amazing on a good system but it is not a test CD. It is far too emotionally involving to “test your system” with it. I say this because this is the last night I will spend with the Dennis Had preamp and Patek SE combo in my main system for a long while. Picking up the number one amp from repairs tomorrow. Just getting some last few hours with the very worthy “B” system and listening to some variety. I would recommend anyone put a new amp in there just to check it out every now and then. But I will be very glad to have the 300B back in there after a month out of commission. Just loving this amazing album by the cure.  It immediately takes you away to an emotional place and you can listen to it straight through and feel as though you’ve been through something at the end.

tjkurita January 12, 2021 02:13

Added a Bluesound Node2i to the system.  After some hiccups with getting the right streaming service, I think I like it.  For $550, I think it is worth having.  I need to do a direct comparison with the Oppo, but if the sound is basically a lateral move, I will keep it.  The interface and user experience is notably better with the Node than the Oppo.  After some small issues with the 300B amp, I switched it out with the IHA-1 and Patek Amp combo.  It sounds great!!  I will bring the 300B to my repair person in Troy, NY for service and get it back in as soon as possible.  I am glad to have a backup system and I recommend it to anyone!!!  

tjkurita November 17, 2020 19:12

It’s all Monk all the time right now. Exploring the entire list available to me on TIDAL. Currently listening to Monk and Sonny Rollins. It is amazing. Their styles compliment each other so well. The frenetic action from the very first track is uplifting. And the sound is enormous and super clean. It must have been a pretty lively room where they recorded it and you can hear the reverb on the recording. This is another nice thing about the album. It is wonderful.

tjkurita March 27, 2020 23:56

Speakers are now 10’ away from the listening position and 6.5’ apart. I will keep it this way for a while. When I was sitting two feet forward (8’ away) the sound was lean, bright, and missing the impact of a large speaker system. I think this is because I was completely missing the sound coming from the horns of the speaker. At 10’ the sound is louder, bigger, and better balanced. I am so happy with this. It has taken me years to find the correct configuration. I removed some bookcases from behind the speakers and moved the subwoofers. It sounds huge like this.  Reviewing my notes from prior posts I find that the shortcomings I was describing were the direct result of sitting too close for the horns to integrate. 

tjkurita March 26, 2020 00:38

Speaker positioning is very difficult.  For a while I had my speakers 5' apart with the listening seat 8' away from each driver.  5' apart was kind of arbitrary: distance from the nearest wall was the only determining factor and the speakers were nearly 6' away from the nearest wall.  I determined the distance from the speaker by moving the chair back and forth to get a sound I like.  My preferred sound has a "headphone like" quality: where the speakers and even the room almost disappear.  It is like being in an entirely different space.  There was something about this sound that was not quite right, though.  It was very "bubble like" and sounded a bit constrained.  I felt like I was missing something I can only describe as "impact."

 

So I made a pretty drastic change by moving the speakers 6’ apart and put the chair 9’ away from the speakers.  Changing position by just one foot made a big difference.   It was like extending the size of the bubble of sound forward and more wide.  There was also a nice addition of impact and power that I feel like I was missing.  The sound coalesced into a more impactful package.  My room constraints do not allow me to move too much further from the speakers but one day I will rearrange everything and give it a try.  The downside is that there is a very small amount of shout in the upper midrange when played a higher levels (75-78 db peaks).  I only listened for about 2 hours with this new configuration so I am trying to figure it out.

 

Suffice it to say, changing speaker positioning can update a system a lot more than changing downstream components.   

tjkurita December 19, 2019 15:12

Herbie's Gliders under the main speakers and subwoofers has made a nice improvement in imaging and detail.  The sound is more open and removes "smearing."  I also placed some 1/2" risers under the mains feet to place the main driver on the same plane as my ears.  The short RCA with side getter sounds very good.  Very nice balanced sound with nice detail.  This is my new favorite tube in the driver stage.  I have also stuck with RCA 5R4 ST shape.  It sounds great.  

tjkurita December 15, 2019 01:25

Very happy with how the system is sounding at the moment with the normal criticisms remaining.  I have known this system for a long time and I am more satisfied with its strengths than frustrated by its weaknesses. 

tjkurita November 02, 2019 01:14

Four years since my last post and I still have the same system.  Upgraded headphones, obtained a new little preamp/headphone amp for a desktop system that I also set up.  I still enjoy my Cain & Cain speakers but I have been listening to the desktop system a lot more.  My next step will be to refine that system, perhaps with KEF bookshelf speakers.  Switched back to Sylvanias in the 300B amp.  In a larger room, the system has room to breathe and opens up quite a lot.  Still intimate sounding, as I sit rather close, but with more presence and "room."

tjkurita May 31, 2019 01:55

Apologies all for my absence from the forum lately. I have recently purchased a home and I am setting it up.y internet connection is cell only for now!!! Will post a bit more shortly.

tjkurita April 24, 2015 01:27

Hi tjkurita, I have idea for you if you want to give me a shout. [email protected] or 402-276-0343.

gwalt February 13, 2015 21:13

Never heard Cain and Cain but it's one of the few lines I would consider building around for looks alone. Plus I suspect the sound done right is top notch as well. There was a pair of nice abbeys up for sale here recently by a nearby seller. I was a split hair away from jumping just because the darn things are so visually striking! 😍

mapman February 08, 2015 15:54

Hi Tjkurita, Where have you been we havent heard from you in a while-Regards Jet

jetrexpro February 08, 2015 15:15

System edited: Added current pictures of my room. Moved the computer to the side of the room. The previous setup with a monitor and computer at the front of the room messed up the sound a bit.

tjkurita March 30, 2014 12:14

Having lived with the Cains for something like 7 years now, I think I am quite ready for a change. Over the next several years I will be gearing up to a full horn system, either DIY or used Avantgarde. For quite a while my sights were fixed on the Cains and on the present system. Now they are drifting into the future, at a full horn system (or at least a horn midrange and treble and a subwoofer bass).

tjkurita March 30, 2014 11:30

Hi Charles, I bought the tubes used just to try it from a reputable person who told me it was about a month old. So I figure they were burned in, but not over worked. It is definitely possible that they are not fully burned in, though. How much time does one really put on one's gear over a month? Unfortunately, I am not that interested in finding out with these tubes. Mostly, I don't want to have to listen to them during the burn-in time! I think, more than likely, it is the second option you mentioned that makes them sound bad. There must be something about the design of my amp and the tube itself that makes for a bad combination. I will post these on a few websites and see if I can offload them.

tjkurita February 25, 2014 16:19

Hi Tjkurita,
This Shuguang tube has received very good reviews from a number of sources and owners. But as we know, individual results will be variable.
1) Is it fully burned in?
2) Could very well be amplifier or system dependant (which happens).
Charles,

charles1dad February 25, 2014 10:25

The Shuguang CV181 50 yrs. Treasure is anything but a treasure for me. It is a poor-sounding tube in my system. Compared to all of my NOS tubes: Sylvania GTA, GT, 5692, Tung Sol GTA, Ken Rad VT231, Brimar CV1988, it has worse tonal balance, less resolution, less speed, poor soundstage... The tonal balance is focused on the lower half of the spectrum and is very thick-sounding with unnaturally heavy bass. There is good detail in the midrange but it is not as balanced as the NOS tubes. I purchased this tube because of a glowing review it received on the TNT website. The review was from 2009 and the reviewer stated that the Shuguang sounded better than the Brimar CV1988. I can't imagine how or why he came to such a conclusion. His system must be very different from mine because the Shuguang tube does not even come close to the Brimar (the Assemblage 300B he was using had a single 6SN7 as the first stage driver and two 6BX7s in the second stage, I believe). In my system, the Brimar is more refined, cleaner, faster, better balanced, more open, and more harmonically sophisticated. It is very difficult to describe accurately the sound of "optimized" SET amplifiers. There is something special about the harmonic refinement and "sophistication" of good SET. I find that the Shuguang tube destroys this sophistication in my system and makes it a bit of a mess. At all volumes it makes pretty unappealing sound.

tjkurita February 24, 2014 21:16