David Neel's magical system

Share your journey!

Moderator: Staff

User avatar
ThomasOK
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 4358
Joined: 2007-02-02 18:41
Location: United States
Contact:

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by ThomasOK »

Interesting turn of events, indeed. I owned a pair of Spendor BC-1s back in the mid-70s and there is something about that BBC sound. Sold a loverly Rosewood pair for a customer a couple of years ago and had to resist the urge to keep them for a second system. I haven't heard the Grahams but should have a somewhat similar nature, no doubt with improvements form upgraded technology.
The LP12 Whisperer
Manufacturer, Distributor, Retailer and above all lover of music.
David Neel
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 975
Joined: 2008-02-08 23:17
Location: The Magical Forest

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by David Neel »

It's difficult to compare sensibly over decades, but although I used to like BC1s, I remember them as too laid back. Over the years I've heard Harbeths and modern Spendors, but they've never attracted me. So I was quite surprised when I first heard the Grahams a couple of years ago, they didn't seem to have the slight sluggishness I associate with BBC inspired designs. Maybe it's also down to the amplifiers feeding them?

I've not heard the LS6 or 6f. Should I?
The search for knowledge is not nourished by certainty, but by a radical distrust in certainty
tokenbrit
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 2039
Joined: 2012-03-22 19:47
Location: New England

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by tokenbrit »

David Neel wrote:I've not heard the LS6 or 6f. Should I?
I don't know; I haven't listened to them. My question was prompted by the manufacturer's description, and your comments about ugly stands... The LS6/f floorstanders piqued my interest since I'd enjoyed Spendor S5e and D7s. Just an idea since you are still looking / listening, and liked the Grahams - I just wondered if you'd considered them ;)
David Neel
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 975
Joined: 2008-02-08 23:17
Location: The Magical Forest

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by David Neel »

Ah, no. The primary motive is to get a (near) full-range speaker, which also needs to be more musical than 109s. So, as the bass driver is smaller, I haven't investigated the LS6 variants. I should perhaps try....
The search for knowledge is not nourished by certainty, but by a radical distrust in certainty
David Neel
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 975
Joined: 2008-02-08 23:17
Location: The Magical Forest

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by David Neel »

I bought Graham LS5/9s and have been very happy indeed. I've also experimented at great length with power strips and power cables - ultimately with inconclusive and contradictory results, so I'm sticking with a generic power strip and standard Lejonklou and Linn power cables.

Then there has been my experimentation with Hakai, which is not yet completed, and most recently a better rack. Out have gone my Isoblue shelves and Lack tables, slowly replaced with Quadraspire SVT Bamboo. I had expected a subtle improvement, but it's been much more than that. I moved the electronics across in three stages: first the radikal and preamps, second the power amps, finally the Hakai. The LP12 on top has the bronze upgrade. At each stage of moving the electronics there has been an obvious improvement in both musicality and resolution.

So the current setup is:
LP12/Booplinth/Cirkus/Keel/Radikal/Ekos SE/Kandid/Urika 1/LSNAS/HAKAI/Sag Monos/Tundra Monos/Graham LS5/9s/Linn Silvers/Black K200/Quadraspire SVT Bamboo.
Substitutes bench: ADS/3, Kremlin, and second Hakai.
The search for knowledge is not nourished by certainty, but by a radical distrust in certainty
David Neel
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 975
Joined: 2008-02-08 23:17
Location: The Magical Forest

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by David Neel »

Time for an update.

The system is now:
LP12/Booplinth/Karousel/Keel/Akurate Radikal/Ekos SE/1/Kandid/Entity
LSNAS/Hakai
Kremlin (occasional use, I've no external aerial at the moment)
Nakamichi BX1 (very occasional use)
Sagatun Monos
Tundra Monos
Graham LS5/9s

These are strange times, and being in lockdown on my own means that music is more important than ever. I'm particularly grateful for all the work and experimentation which has gone into Hakai. I finally got mine singing, really singing, thanks to all the contributors on here, and the money from selling my ADS/3 (and other bits) has meant that I'm (very slightly) cash-positive after my upgrades over the last few months. But I'm sure that my expenditure on new vinyl will fix that...
The search for knowledge is not nourished by certainty, but by a radical distrust in certainty
Defender
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 1266
Joined: 2018-02-14 22:35

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by Defender »

you have a great system and on one hand it must be nice to feel and enjoy the moment when you are finally arrived - although I by myself feel a little bit scared about that as I also enjoy the journey to get there and it also must feel strange if there is not much more you can do.
How is the Entity performing? How is the Karousel?
David Neel
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 975
Joined: 2008-02-08 23:17
Location: The Magical Forest

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by David Neel »

Haha! Yes, it's a great journey. I remember forty years ago, I felt I'd arrived at the destination with my LP12/DV505/FR-7/Naim 12s/250/Gale 401As. But the vinyl I had then sounds so much better now... so I'm sure there will be more I can do. Hopefully without too much expense. Apart from the sheer musicality of Fredrik's electronics, I love them because I've stepped off the upgrade treadmill offered by Linn and Naim.

The Entity and Karousel are both fundamental improvements over the Urika and Cirkus. Not just more of the same, both introduce new capability to my system.
The search for knowledge is not nourished by certainty, but by a radical distrust in certainty
Defender
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 1266
Joined: 2018-02-14 22:35

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by Defender »

thats great to hear - my Entity its on the way and I cant really wait to hear it.
Karousel might be done later this year so I can enjoy the improvements of the individual upgrades
tokenbrit
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 2039
Joined: 2012-03-22 19:47
Location: New England

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by tokenbrit »

David Neel wrote: 2020-04-20 21:03 Time for an update...

These are strange times, and being in lockdown on my own means that music is more important than ever. I'm particularly grateful for all the work and experimentation which has gone into Hakai. I finally got mine singing, really singing...
Strange times indeed.

Congratulations on all the upgrades, and the release of funds for reinvestment. Was there anything that you've done recently to the Hakai to get it singing, or did the lockdown just give you time to appreciate it?

All the best - stay well.
Charlie1
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 4831
Joined: 2007-12-11 00:30
Location: UK

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by Charlie1 »

Bet is sounds great! Hope to hear it sometime soon/ish.
David Neel
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 975
Joined: 2008-02-08 23:17
Location: The Magical Forest

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by David Neel »

tokenbrit wrote: 2020-04-21 00:55 Was there anything that you've done recently to the Hakai to get it singing, or did the lockdown just give you time to appreciate it?.
Hakai has been singing since November, when I settled on Debian/MPD/upmpdcli. I've now forgotten which versions, as I haven't been tempted to tweak since, although I know there's a better version of MPD when I can learn to compile under Linux... grommets for the SSD (thanks FPM!) also helped.

All the best to you too!
The search for knowledge is not nourished by certainty, but by a radical distrust in certainty
David Neel
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 975
Joined: 2008-02-08 23:17
Location: The Magical Forest

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by David Neel »

Charlie1 wrote: 2020-04-21 10:19 Bet is sounds great! Hope to hear it sometime soon/ish.
As soon as coronavirus permits...
The search for knowledge is not nourished by certainty, but by a radical distrust in certainty
David Neel
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 975
Joined: 2008-02-08 23:17
Location: The Magical Forest

Roll on the winter solstice

Post by David Neel »

Time for an update! Charlie1 (and Spannko) did finally get to listen to my system, about a year and a half (and an apartment move) later. There is some commentary on that day in the Källa section, and I have surprised myself by deciding to embrace streaming - my debian Hakai is used to play from LSNAS (I recently tried Spotify and preferred LSNAS). I have bought an ipad mini 6 and rebuilt my network to Fredrik's recommendations in preparation for Källa. Hakai now sounds better than ever.

Källa 026 is due to arrive, appropriately, on the winter solstice - the festival of rebirth.
The search for knowledge is not nourished by certainty, but by a radical distrust in certainty
Discodave
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 349
Joined: 2017-05-18 14:50
Location: Belfast, Ireland

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by Discodave »

Källa 026 is due to arrive, appropriately, on the winter solstice - the festival of rebirth.

Ha, very good. Health to listen!
LP12, Lingo 3, Cirkus/Kore, Tramp 2, Basik Plus Ania, Linto
Majik Ds, Kisto, Tundra 2.0, Majik 109
David Neel
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 975
Joined: 2008-02-08 23:17
Location: The Magical Forest

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by David Neel »

Two years on, and Källa has changed my listening habits, and broadened my already reasonably wide musical tastes. It has become my more-used source. There are some things my LP12 can do that Källa can't, but for the majority of the time in the past two years it has been streaming not vinyl. As a result, my Kandid is over four years old, twice the age its predecessor managed.

The balance swung back a little when Entity became 1.2, a minor upgrade with major impact. The other minor (!) upgrade has been TM2.2 to TM3. The system is now even more magical. But I can't resist a little tinkering, and so I have recently tried some well-reviewed cables at about three times the price of the Linn interconnects and speaker cable I already have. Hmm, no thanks, a pair of Linn blacks was better. But this evaluation identified that in my apartment move two years ago, my pairs of silver interconnects got scrambled. OOPS!! I had four pairs of silvers. Two were perfectly good, the third was okay (dealer terminated rather than factory) and the fourth was not (second-hand bodged). Källa was using the okay third pair. One good pair was connecting Sagatuns and Tundras. The LP12 turned out to have one channel from the other good pair and one from the not-okay pair - swapping that one dodgy cable for a good one was a revelation! A subsequent trial of the latest Linn silvers convinced me to get a full new set.

I was lent a Superkikkin by the ever-helpful John at Kantata Audio, when my SMs went away for the 1.7 upgrade. I then made a discovery about my racks. I have Quadraspire SVT bamboo, and these allow for the top shelf (only, as it will not support anything on top again) to have a bronze upgrade. So with two stacks side by side, I have always had the LP12 on a bronze, and bought a second when I got Källa. Source first and all that. Entity shared the Källa shelf. When the SK arrived, it went on a mid-shelf vacated by one SM. Then I got curious, and compared this set up (Källa on bronze, SK below) with the opposite (SK on bronze, Källa below) - to my surprise I preferred the preamp, not the source, on the better shelf! After confirming this finding when the SMs returned, I've now split the rack into three stacks. A centre one for LP12, Entity, Radikal, Källa, and two outer stacks for two Monos each. So the SMs now have the bronze supported shelves, and another is on order for the LP12.

I have finally got a Radikal/2 upgrade, keeping the Akurate casing to save funds for another cartridge. The Radikal/2 only makes it more obvious that the Kandid is no longer in its prime.
The search for knowledge is not nourished by certainty, but by a radical distrust in certainty
User avatar
springwood64
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 789
Joined: 2008-10-13 18:19
Location: UK

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by springwood64 »

Thanks for sharing David. Just goes to show the value of a bit of curiosity ...

Hi fi systems are so complex in their interactions, that it's worth being prepared to explore every now and then.
Pete

Linn Axis, Kinki, Källa (GS308T+Amplifi HD x 2 + BJC), Boazu, Espeks
Charlie1
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 4831
Joined: 2007-12-11 00:30
Location: UK

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by Charlie1 »

Yes, nice summary of your progress.

Wondering what you will think with a fresh Kandid fitted.
User avatar
Tony Tune-age
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 1579
Joined: 2009-12-19 19:07
Location: United States

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by Tony Tune-age »

springwood64 wrote: 2024-02-13 21:13 Hi fi systems are so complex in their interactions, that it's worth being prepared to explore every now and then.
That's a good point, and it can certainly pay off in the long run.
Tony Tune-age
User avatar
ThomasOK
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 4358
Joined: 2007-02-02 18:41
Location: United States
Contact:

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by ThomasOK »

Definitely an interesting story on the changes, David. Your mention of the cable ordering reminded me that I had just done a bunch of Linn Silver cable comparisons last weekend with lovely results. So I posted that story in my system thread. These things do all make a difference and it is always nice to find a musical improvement that is cheap or free and relatively easy.
The LP12 Whisperer
Manufacturer, Distributor, Retailer and above all lover of music.
David Neel
Very active member
Very active member
Posts: 975
Joined: 2008-02-08 23:17
Location: The Magical Forest

Re: David Neel's magical system

Post by David Neel »

David Neel wrote: 2024-02-13 18:56 - to my surprise I preferred the preamp, not the source, on the better shelf! After confirming this finding when the SMs returned, I've now split the rack into three stacks. A centre one for LP12, Entity, Radikal, Källa, and two outer stacks for two Monos each. So the SMs now have the bronze supported shelves, and another is on order for the LP12.
Since I did this, I've slowly realised that the music sounds less lively, Initially I thought this was the SMs burning in, but replacing Kalla on top, and demoting the SMs has been musically positive, the usual joie de vivre is back. So I now think source first IS the way to go after all...
The search for knowledge is not nourished by certainty, but by a radical distrust in certainty
Post Reply