A very highend system

[CnoEvil]

I was lucky enough to be invited to a musical evening the other night, where they were playing the following system:

DCS Scarlatti 4 box CD player (£45k) + VTL 6.5 Pre (£11k) + VTS 2 x 400 Valve Monoblocks (£18k) + Focal Utopia Mystro (£31k) + all wired with Telurium Q Ultra Black s/c and Telurium Q i/c while sitting on Black Ravioli.

Despite the speakers not having been run in, and the room being far from ideal, this system sounded incredible. The detail that the DCS dug up from a CD was remarkable, the VTS didn't sound like tube power amps (but they didn't sound like SS either), and the speakers were full range as they hit around 21Htz at -6db. On a good recording we sat open mouthed in awe.
The scale, realism and dynamic shifts were simply magnificent at volumes right up to concert level.

Most systems that I've heard have sounded broken in comparison....though saying that, if I had £110k to spend I think it would be slightly different - maybe a touch sweeter.

Well done to all involved

Cno

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing your experience Cno, that must have been awesome.

I've never heard such a high end system in my life, the best thing I've heard was my father's hi-fi, an old Luxmann amp with a pair of great Infinity Speakers.

This said, I think that I'd rather invest 110k £ in something else; maybe a nice house for myself.

 

[CnoEvil]

Thanks for sharing your experience Cno, that must have been awesome.

I've never heard such a high end system in my life, the best thing I've heard was my father's hi-fi, an old Luxmann amp with a pair of great Infinity Speakers.

This said, I think that I'd rather invest 110k £ in something else; maybe a nice house for myself.

Cheers DL.....it's for people who who find this sort of money down the back of the couch.

It was fun to hear what £110k can buy.

Cno

 

[Paul.]

I'd buy one of these and get my stalk on

 

[True Blue]

Being reallt thick now, but 4 box CDP - Transport + DAC + Power Supply whats the fourth box???

 

[CnoEvil]

I'd buy one of these and get my stalk on

Now that's a highend telescope!

Looking through it, would be as close as I'd get to that system.

 

[chebby]

Being reallt thick now, but 4 box CDP - Transport + DAC + Power Supply whats the fourth box???

Clock?

 

[CnoEvil]

Being reallt thick now, but 4 box CDP - Transport + DAC + Power Supply whats the fourth box???

Clock?

Yup. It's the clock in a seperate box - supposed to make a surprising difference.

 

[mitch65]

Being reallt thick now, but 4 box CDP - Transport + DAC + Power Supply whats the fourth box???

That'll be the strong box for all the spare cash!! :bigsmile:

 

[Anonymous]

It would be fun to open a thread (or use this) where each of us writes down his/her dream system (possibly with prices of each component), one of those so expensive that we will never afford to buy it.

Just to daydream a bit and have a laugh.

In my dream system there will surely be the Utopia III. Most gorgeous floorstanding speaker around imho.

Not sure about the rest of the system though.

 

[CnoEvil]

It would be fun to open a thread (or use this) where each of us writes down his/her dream system (possibly with prices of each component), one of those so expensive that we will never afford to buy it.

Just to daydream a bit and have a laugh.

In my dream system there will surely be the Utopia III. Most gorgeous floorstanding speaker around imho.

Not sure about the rest of the system though.

I did this a while ago, and it was an all Audio Note system worth a cool £450k.

 

[lindsayt]

I’m sure the system you heard was a very fine sounding system.

Were the speakers actually Focal Maestro Utopia III speakers and not Mystro speakers?

The Maestros being speakers where the bass cones start rolling off at 60hz. They then rely on reflex ports to extend the bass below that. They also have a minimum impedance of 1.7 ohms at 110hz, which is rather amplifier unfriendly. Their efficiency at 93db/2.83v/1m is good but not that good due to the nominal 4ohm impedance.

The 6550 valves in the VTL’s give a robust sound, especially with multiple output tubes per channel. A 45 or 2a3 or 300b SET amp would give you greater detail, clarity, purity in the midrange at the expense of some bass grip with many speakers. Good SET amps can be bought for £3500 new.

With high output sources such as CD players I prefer simple resistor based passive pre-amps, costing £300 new. Why boost the signal excessively with a line stage only to cut it back with a volume knob?

I reckon I could put together a system for £10,000 that would sound better than the DCS / VTL / Focal combination. A system that would sound awesome on “average” as well as good recordings.

 

[Richard Allen]

I was lucky enough to be invited to a musical evening the other night, where they were playing the following system: DCS Scarlatti 4 box CD player (£45k) + VTL 6.5 Pre (£11k) + VTS 2 x 400 Valve Monoblocks (£18k) + Focal Utopia Mystro (£31k) + all wired with Telurium Q Ultra Black s/c and Telurium Q i/c while sitting on Black Ravioli. Despite the speakers not having been run in, and the room being far from ideal, this system sounded incredible. The detail that the DCS dug up from a CD was remarkable, the VTS didn't sound like tube power amps (but they didn't sound like SS either), and the speakers were full range as they hit around 21Htz at -6db. On a good recording we sat open mouthed in awe. The scale, realism and dynamic shifts were simply magnificent at volumes right up to concert level. Most systems that I've heard have sounded broken in comparison....though saying that, if I had £110k to spend I think it would be slightly different - maybe a touch sweeter. Well done to all involved Cno

If it were me, I'd harp back to my studio days. Tannoy Westminsters, Sony Esprit Monobloc power amps, Spectral Pre and a Sony DAT player. That was awesome in tis day.

 

[proffski]

Thank you so much for sharing.

I had a similar experience a few years ago, it certainly shows up the failings of most ordinary set ups eh?

 

[Frank Harvey]

I was lucky enough to be invited to a musical evening the other night, where they were playing the following system: DCS Scarlatti 4 box CD player (£45k) + VTL 6.5 Pre (£11k) + VTS 2 x 400 Valve Monoblocks (£18k) + Focal Utopia Mystro (£31k) + all wired with Telurium Q Ultra Black s/c and Telurium Q i/c while sitting on Black Ravioli.

I bet it comes with a nice ongoing electric bill as well! :rofl:

 

[Clarkey_71]

Ahhh........

Reminds of the days back in the early 90's when I used to go to thehifi shows at the ramada at Heathrow.

I always remember that the Mark Levinson room was the one that people were drawn too. They often had £100k systems demoing. It was always strange to see all the hifi anoracks (myself included) crammed into a hotel room trying to listen to the system.

It's funny the things you do!!!

 

[Thumpa]

Hey Cno

I don't want to sound unappreciative ... but for that kind of coin, I woulda hired Lou Reed for a GIG!!

(And the 50 - 100 rich-only invites, not batting an eyelid, woulda paid for the followiing night -- and a system...)

 

[CnoEvil]

Hey Cno

I don't want to sound unappreciative ... but for that kind of coin, I woulda hired Lou Reed for a GIG!!

(And the 50 - 100 rich-only invites, not batting an eyelid, woulda paid for the followiing night -- and a system...)

...book a "Lou Reed" concert, and you can listen for a day; purchase a "highend" system, and you can listen for a lifetime.

 

[CnoEvil]

I was lucky enough to be invited to a musical evening the other night, where they were playing the following system: DCS Scarlatti 4 box CD player (£45k) + VTL 6.5 Pre (£11k) + VTS 2 x 400 Valve Monoblocks (£18k) + Focal Utopia Mystro (£31k) + all wired with Telurium Q Ultra Black s/c and Telurium Q i/c while sitting on Black Ravioli.

I bet it comes with a nice ongoing electric bill as well! :rofl:

...bill schmill. If you can afford that system, you probably have your own biomass generator.

 

[CnoEvil]

I’m sure the system you heard was a very fine sounding system.

Were the speakers actually Focal Maestro Utopia III speakers and not Mystro speakers?

The Maestros being speakers where the bass cones start rolling off at 60hz. They then rely on reflex ports to extend the bass below that. They also have a minimum impedance of 1.7 ohms at 110hz, which is rather amplifier unfriendly. Their efficiency at 93db/2.83v/1m is good but not that good due to the nominal 4ohm impedance.

The 6550 valves in the VTL’s give a robust sound, especially with multiple output tubes per channel. A 45 or 2a3 or 300b SET amp would give you greater detail, clarity, purity in the midrange at the expense of some bass grip with many speakers. Good SET amps can be bought for £3500 new.

With high output sources such as CD players I prefer simple resistor based passive pre-amps, costing £300 new. Why boost the signal excessively with a line stage only to cut it back with a volume knob?

I reckon I could put together a system for £10,000 that would sound better than the DCS / VTL / Focal combination. A system that would sound awesome on “average” as well as good recordings.

Lindsay, sorry for the very late reply, but I was away at the time and missed your question.

The speakers were definitely Maestro Utopia 111s.

Your insight into the VTS amps explain why they neither sounded "valvey", nor solid state. Also, good as the DCS sounded, personally I would prefer a decent valve based solution for playing CDs or streaming (possibly NOS).

I'm not sure I could put a better system together for £10k (new), but I certainly could put (imo) a more musically involving system together for a third of the cost.....for the full cost,
a sensational one.