stevan's studio system

[nostinkingloops]

hi folks

the main change in my system over the last couple of years has been adding the elekit tu8600s 300b integrated amp.

the dynavector dv 500 tt, 507 mk2 arm, karat cart + entity feeding the line magnetic 812 iconic speakers.

the room, formerly the architectural studio of charles forberg, is quite large: 50' x 25' x 3 stories, with the hifi at the short end of the structure, which is a right triangle.

a musical quality i prize is "liveliness", and the entity provides that in full measure. listening just now to coltrane's Giant Steps the music was just jumping out of the speakers (and i was jumping out of my chair.)

i think the entity testifies to the fact that audio design is a dark art. one simply cannot deduce from specs or appearance what a given instrument will sound like. i have several phono stages and NONE does what this unassuming little black box can do.

[Spannko]

I love the look of your rig Stevan! For myself, I prefer a more visually modest system, but occasionally, my crazy audiophile other half rears its ugly head! I’d really like to hear a video clip of your system in action, if you can find the time 🤞

[matthias]

Stevan,
it looks and sounds like a great system!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl08Bc_njMU
Please, can you shed some light on your Line Magnetic speakers?
Thanks

[Hermann]

The Entity is really an amazingly good and small box. Very interesting system to look at. I would like to join you with some sound examples.

[nostinkingloops]

Stevan,
it looks and sounds like a great system!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl08Bc_njMU
Please, can you shed some light on your Line Magnetic speakers?
Thanks

oh, you found rich brown's video. the music is hadjidakis' music for the ballet Les Oiseaux - a favorite of mine, although i can't recall why i chose it for the video.

the speakers are replicas of the altec 812 iconics, but with a beefier woofer. i know that some people are allergic to horns, but i hear none of the negative qualities usually mentioned -- ringing, &c. i needed something capable of pushing air in this large oddly-shaped space. after several years of daily listening i can't find anything to complain about.

i'll say again that everything comes to life with the dv 507 + entity.

[ThomasOK]

Very interesting looking and sounding system, Stevan! If I remember correctly the DV turntable is a custom version of a Well Tempered, which seem to be good turntables.

I think you will find people here more open to different kinds of speakers and more interested in how well music comes out of them. I know I used to not think much of horn-loaded speakers, I'm sure due to experiences with some popular but not very musical sounding examples. But after owning a pair of the JBL 3677 I had a change of mind. They helped me win a Best Sound of Show award at RMAF back in 2016 in my room displaying Lejonklou electronics with a Klimax LP12, and are still used by several on the forum. I also owned a pair of the JBL LSR308 mk1 you will see talked about here for a while and still have a set of the smaller 305 mk1 as my computer speakers, both of them horn loaded. A couple of my dealers sell Line Magnetic so I was aware of their Altec redo but I haven't had a chance to hear them yet. Heretic Speakers also does some Altec versions that get good reports and some other horn-loaded speakers I heard at Toronto Audio Fest a couple of years ago were quite interesting too.

Thanks for sharing your setup.

[matthias]

i'll say again that everything comes to life with the dv 507 + entity.

Do you use any digital devices (servers, streamers, DACs) in your systems and if yes, I am curious which ones?
Thanks again

[nostinkingloops]

i'll say again that everything comes to life with the dv 507 + entity.

Do you use any digital devices (servers, streamers, DACs) in your systems and if yes, I am curious which ones?
Thanks again

yes i do! my music server is the salk streamplayer III SE, which i've said is one of the best-kept secrets in digital audio. (sadly, no longer available, since jim salk recently closed the company.) i don't do any streaming from services like qobuz or tidal, but have a substantial library of hi-res music. my primary dacs are the benchmark 3b and the yggdrasil MIB from schiit, but i've also enjoyed the tube dac from borderpatrol. the technology is moving so rapidly here that i've avoided locking myself in to preamps with built in dacs or, really, anything which costs more than a couple of thosand dollars.

[nostinkingloops]

Very interesting looking and sounding system, Stevan! If I remember correctly the DV turntable is a custom version of a Well Tempered, which seem to be good turntables.

I think you will find people here more open to different kinds of speakers and more interested in how well music comes out of them. I know I used to not think much of horn-loaded speakers, I'm sure due to experiences with some popular but not very musical sounding examples. But after owning a pair of the JBL 3677 I had a change of mind. They helped me win a Best Sound of Show award at RMAF back in 2016 in my room displaying Lejonklou electronics with a Klimax LP12, and are still used by several on the forum. I also owned a pair of the JBL LSR308 mk1 you will see talked about here for a while and still have a set of the smaller 305 mk1 as my computer speakers, both of them horn loaded. A couple of my dealers sell Line Magnetic so I was aware of their Altec redo but I haven't had a chance to hear them yet. Heretic Speakers also does some Altec versions that get good reports and some other horn-loaded speakers I heard at Toronto Audio Fest a couple of years ago were quite interesting too.

Thanks for sharing your setup.

hey thomas! i nearly pulled the trigger a few months ago on the active version of the ATC SCM50, so it was great reading about your positive experiences with the 100. ultimately, i decided it would force too many changes in my other listening space, mainly having to move the speakers from the long to the short wall, which in turn would necessitate moving listening position. based on a very persuasive review by robert greene in Absolute Sound i arranged for a demo of the "ortho-acoustic" larsen 9's, which i eventually purcased. i must say that nothing in my experience prepared me for what i've been experiencing with those. as you probably know, they're designed to go flush up against the wall, using the room boundaries to create the musical space. (greene does a nice job explaining the physics here.) i was surprised to hear from john larsen that, contrary to expectation, they could be placed against my floor to ceiling glass windows, which drives some people crazy -- but damn, it works! (in that room i'm also using another well-tempered turntable, the royale 400, with a sutherland SUT and backert labs phonostage.)

larsen.jpg

[ThomasOK]

That's quite interesting. I've never heard the Larsen speakers but I have wondered about them. I curated a system for one of my brothers that I put together as a very iconic retro system from the 60s. For that system I found him a pair of Sonab oa116 which I substantially refurbished. The Larsen speakers are based on the principles Stig Carlsson developed for the Sonabs, which John Larsen helped him with. John started his own company after Stig passed. I have to say that the system was quite enjoyable and sounded better than I had expected it to. My brother was thrilled.

An interesting aside is that I read somewhere that Stig liked to drop acid and listen to his Hi-Fi and that his speakers were designed to sound really good when listening from the floor. I don't know if this was accurate but when I got the whole system setup for the first time at the store I thought it sounded pretty good. Then I moved the chair and sat cross-legged on the floor and found it was indeed more musical from that position!

By the way, I see you have amps from the very colorful, and sadly passed, Jim Bongiorno. Quite the character and certainly a very interesting designer. I did sell a number of his products back in the late 70s. The amps are well complimented by your beautiful dog.

[Spannko]

I read somewhere that Stig liked to drop acid and listen to his Hi-Fi and that his speakers were designed to sound really good when listening from the floor.

True or not. It’s a great story!

[lejonklou]

larsen.jpg

What a room! 😳

[nostinkingloops]

That's quite interesting. I've never heard the Larsen speakers but I have wondered about them. I curated a system for one of my brothers that I put together as a very iconic retro system from the 60s. For that system I found him a pair of Sonab oa116 which I substantially refurbished. The Larsen speakers are based on the principles Stig Carlsson developed for the Sonabs, which John Larsen helped him with. John started his own company after Stig passed. I have to say that the system was quite enjoyable and sounded better than I had expected it to. My brother was thrilled.

An interesting aside is that I read somewhere that Stig liked to drop acid and listen to his Hi-Fi and that his speakers were designed to sound really good when listening from the floor. I don't know if this was accurate but when I got the whole system setup for the first time at the store I thought it sounded pretty good. Then I moved the chair and sat cross-legged on the floor and found it was indeed more musical from that position!

By the way, I see you have amps from the very colorful, and sadly passed, Jim Bongiorno. Quite the character and certainly a very interesting designer. I did sell a number of his products back in the late 70s. The amps are well complimented by your beautiful dog.

thanks! i will definitely try that tonight (listening on the floor, not the acid).

i do love the ampzillas. i have the ambrosia preamp to match, and they play very well together.

let me know when you're next in town (westchester new york). drop by for a listen (no LSD though).

[nostinkingloops]

larsen.jpg

What a room! 😳

thanks! our home was designed by charles forberg, son-in-law of walter gropius.