This system has been taking shape over a number of years. The Venture speakers, Antelope Zodiac Gold DAC and Rogue amplification have been a constant for some time, while experiments with cabling, room treatments and vibration management have brought interesting - and sometimes wonderful - changes.
The most profound recent change: adding four Stillpoints Aperture panels. My living room is a typical Hong Kong concrete box (9'x21'), and previously required a lot of treatments (bass traps, absorbers, wooden diffusors). It was ugly and never quite right. The Apertures have given the space a quietness and ease that is clear with the system and with conversation in the room, helping make the imaging more precise and the soundstage significantly larger. Major tip: placing the side wall panels on speaker stands about 4" out from the wall has a profound impact on the panels' bass-controlling ability. If you have Apertures mounted on your side walls, give this a try!
Today, staging is almost life-sized, the sound has plenty of inner detail, is slightly warm (thank you Venture Reference XLRs), and can be startlingly realistic at times.
Twenty years old, but still a treat to hear: refined, neutral, transparent. I struggled with lumpy sound for a while, then remembered to tighten the speaker enclosures. Doh! Venture speaker cables didn't do it (red, silver balance and Performance 14), but Stealth MLT Hybrids did the trick. Stilpoint Ultra SS and Foundation 2 stands were a big step up.
SOtM USB PCI card, 2 Teradak linear PSUs for the mobo and usb, Win Server 2012 and Audiophile Optimizer.
Crystal Cable BV Ultra speaker cables
I had experimented with Stealth MLT Hybrids, Venture speaker cable (Red, Silver Balance, Performance 14), Lectralines and Madison Audio Lab.
Crystal Cable BV Ultra interconnects
Crystal Cable Ultra PCs
Going to a full set of Ultra PCs (Rogue Monoblocks, Zodiac Gold DAC, PS Audio P5, computer LPSUs) netted huge gains. They sort of 'click' when you are using a full set.
Lol, I've been down many rabbit holes in this whacky hobby. Let me know what you think about Server + Optimizer. I thought it made a decent improvement to my system. I wonder if I need to build a better music server to get the full benefits?
I too have a small space. What is the size of your room?
I agree with your assessment of the PS Audio PPP. I have the newer P3 and absolutely love it.
I see you have a CAPS server. I recently changed to Windows Server 2012 and use Audiophile Optimizer from Highend-Audio PC.com. The sound improved quite a bit. You may want to check it out.
