Tony Tune-age System

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-03-27 00:41

This is my first attempt at posting pictures of my system. These pictures don't reflect the current changes and upgrades being conducted 8) .

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-03-27 00:47

Linn Sondek Turntable: Chris Harban Movingui plinth, Trampolin II, Cirkus bearing system, Keel, Akurate Radikal, Ekos II, Akiva moving coil cartridge and Linto. A new Linn Dynamik power supply has been orderd for the Radikal, and a Linn Urika phono preamplifier will be installed at the same time.

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-03-27 00:55

Linn Isobarik DMS speakers, Perreaux 350P amplifier with Elrod Power Systems A.C. power cord (EPS 3 std.), one meter length of Nordost Heimdall speaker cables.

Music Lover · Post by **Music Lover** » 2011-03-27 16:30

Sweeeeeet :!:

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-03-27 21:42

Music Lover wrote:Sweeeeeet :!:

Thanks for the kind words "Music Lover"... 8)

Post by **lejonklou** » 2011-03-28 23:32

That looks really nice, Tony!

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-03-28 23:34

Additional pictures:

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-03-28 23:37

lejonklou wrote:That looks really nice, Tony!

Thanks Lejonklou, I appreciate your opinion :!:

Efraim roots · Post by **Efraim roots** » 2011-04-07 23:42

Thanks for sharing Tony! Your system looks really cool! I'm sure it sounds great too, you should be able to get some real Live feeling in there :-) Do you prefer your poweramp + cables to equivalent Aktiv Linn amps? And all that big powercords, have you tried them againt Linn originals? I guess Linn originals would save you quite big money to put towards a EkosSE or something ;-)

Don't you think it would be better to get your LP12 out of the corner and put the table on the other side of electronics rack, have you tried? With such big speakers I guess bass vibrations would be strong in the corner?

Efraim roots · Post by **Efraim roots** » 2011-04-07 23:46

btw, what tuner do you have, is it nice?

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-04-08 12:54

Efraim roots wrote:Thanks for sharing Tony! Your system looks really cool! I'm sure it sounds great too, you should be able to get some real Live feeling in there :-) Do you prefer your poweramp + cables to equivalent Aktiv Linn amps? And all that big powercords, have you tried them againt Linn originals? I guess Linn originals would save you quite big money to put towards a EkosSE or something ;-)

Don't you think it would be better to get your LP12 out of the corner and put the table on the other side of electronics rack, have you tried? With such big speakers I guess bass vibrations would be strong in the corner?

Thanks for the kind words Efraim. You have asked some good questions regarding my component selection, and I'll explain how the decisions were made.

As for the power amplifier, it was a better sonic performer than many other brands. It was compared against Krell, Mark Levinson, McIntosh and a few other power amplifiers with similar power ratings. Linn didn't make the Klimax series amplifiers at the time. Although I have heard the Linn Klimax Twin and Klimax Solos since then...they were not connected to my system.

In all listening sessions, it was my opinion that the Perreaux 350P was more musical overall. It handles delicate signals with grace, but it is very powerful and makes a great match with the Isobarik speaker. However, it would be interesting to compare my Perreaux against the Linn Klimax Solo power amplifiers in my system.

To some extent decisions have to be made eventually, and my decision to purcahse the Perreaux power amplifier has been very enjoyable...with no regrets. The Elrod EPS-3 standard power cord was compared with various stock power cords, and it was compared with several aftermarket power cords from Shunyata, Synergistic Research, PS Audio, and other brands. The selection process was very time consumimg and it was a major learning experience as well. So needless to say, the EPS-3 performed better than all other power cords which were tried. The power cords on my front-end components went through the same type of listening process before final selection also. And yes, they were expensive but worth the cost and effort. But I have learned that cost does not always determine performance.

The turntable and audio rack were in reverse order originally. But the audio rack does perform better in it's current location, and the floor is a little more stable where the turntable is currently located. As such, the turntable does sound very good and there have been no vibration issues. But it is approximately six inches away from both walls which made a small improvement. My original Linn Technician worked with me on the location of my audio rack and turntable, and we were very sensitive to the potential sonic issues.

My music room has two large openings into other areas, and one large window. These particular room conditions are very tough to deal with in terms of system placement. However, we were able to find the "system sweet spot" eventually.

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-04-08 13:03

Efraim roots wrote:btw, what tuner do you have, is it nice?

Thanks again Efraim, I wasn't sure if it looked okay in my system or not. The tuner is very "old school" and was made in the 1970's time frame. It's a Pioneer and although I've been wanting to replace it, other system priorities keep taking my money. But that said, the Pioneer tuner does sound remarkably good, and it would cost way more money for any sonic improvement.

Efraim roots · Post by **Efraim roots** » 2011-04-09 22:56

Interesting Tony, I guessed there was no coincidence you chosen your cables and amp, nice to hear about your decisions.

I have also been thinking about a really good tuner but my priorities has also been on other parts of my system. Now with Linn DS and everything maybe I get myself one of those one day instead and go for internet radio, but I guess FM is superior, haven't heard any comparisons tho. Wonder if a good old (like yours or similar) 70's FM tuner is better than internet radio on Linn Majik DS for example?

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-04-10 03:18

Efraim roots wrote:Interesting Tony, I guessed there was no coincidence you chosen your cables and amp, nice to hear about your decisions.

I have also been thinking about a really good tuner but my priorities has also been on other parts of my system. Now with Linn DS and everything maybe I get myself one of those one day instead and go for internet radio, but I guess FM is superior, haven't heard any comparisons tho. Wonder if a good old (like yours or similar) 70's FM tuner is better than internet radio on Linn Majik DS for example?

Hello Efraim, you bring-up some really good points regarding FM tuners and internet radio. There's also High Definition (HD) radio and satellite radio in the United States.

I'm waiting until the direction or future of radio in the United States is more clear. Satellite radio had a decent start, but seems uncertain currently. HD radio may not catch on enough to actually survive in the long run. But internet radio could replace FM radio, and it might become the only type of radio broadcast available. However, in the meantime FM frequencies are cost free and can have an acceptable level of musical quality. So for now, I'll continue to use my current FM tuner until there's a reason to switch. And if FM radio doesn't go away, I may eventually purchase another tuner, if the new tuner is really better sounding and actually worth the cost.

All of the Linn DS units are great sounding, and could be a logical choice. But they can also cost more money than many FM tuners. Some people think FM frequencies sound better than internet, and some people think it's the other way around. In my opinion, FM radio still sounds a little better than internet radio. But I would have to conduct more comparisons before making a final decision.

Nature · Post by **Nature** » 2011-04-10 08:56

Funny Toe-In in the first picture.

SaltyDog · Post by **SaltyDog** » 2011-04-10 14:35

I barely noticed. (insert missing smiley here)(smiley for parenthetical)

Post by **lejonklou** » 2011-04-10 14:55

Ha ha! I was utterly confused at first. Toe in?

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-04-10 15:35

Nature wrote:Funny Toe-In in the first picture.

I didn't notice until after the picture was posted...and figured somebody would see it eventually. Only took a few weeks ! ! !

SaltyDog · Post by **SaltyDog** » 2011-04-10 17:07

There was a time on the Linn forum where the feet in the pictures of peoples system was almost considered mandatory.

A clear sign of being planted in the listening chair.

Charlie1 · Post by **Charlie1** » 2011-04-11 19:22

Hi Tony - The speakers look a little closer together than I'd expect considering the space each side. Hope you don't mind my asking, but did you use the Tune Method to position them?

anthony · Post by **anthony** » 2011-04-11 20:41

Charlie1 wrote:

Hi Tony - The speakers look a little closer together than I'd expect considering the space each side. Hope you don't mind my asking, but did you use the Tune Method to position them?

Isobarik are good like that.

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-04-11 20:45

Charlie1 wrote:

Hi Tony - The speakers look a little closer together than I'd expect considering the space each side. Hope you don't mind my asking, but did you use the Tune Method to position them?

Hello Charlie1, I don't mind you asking questions. The speakers are a little over two meters apart...maybe three meters apart, and might look closer to each other in the pictures. Various positioning and placement of the speakers were carefully evaluated. It was a matter of which location or position sounded better.

My original Linn Technician and I spent over two weeks with speaker placement and positioning, including the the "toe-in."

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-04-11 20:50

anthony wrote:
Charlie1 wrote:

Hi Tony - The speakers look a little closer together than I'd expect considering the space each side. Hope you don't mind my asking, but did you use the Tune Method to position them?
Isobarik are good like that.

I have to say, they genuinely sound great and there are no strange bass frequencies or other negatuve issues...which is a good thing ! ! !

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2011-04-11 20:55

SaltyDog wrote:There was a time on the Linn forum where the feet in the pictures of peoples system was almost considered mandatory.

A clear sign of being planted in the listening chair.

Interesting historical information SaltyDog. Yes, you are correct...the person in the picture was in the listening chair ! ! ! And there is a listening sofa also.

Charlie1 · Post by **Charlie1** » 2011-04-11 22:30

Tony Tune-age wrote:Hello Charlie1, I don't mind you asking questions. The speakers are a little over two meters apart...maybe three meters apart, and might look closer to each other in the pictures. Various positioning and placement of the speakers were carefully evaluated. It was a matter of which location or position sounded better.

My original Linn Technician and I spent over two weeks with speaker placement and positioning, including the the "toe-in."

Good stuff. Sounds like Anthony is also suggesting this is normal looking setup for briks anyway. Cheers...