Full TAD System Experience at AV Designs

All my Hi-F friends know that I am nuts about all things TAD. So, a few weeks ago, when I was told by AV Designs' Tony that they were putting up a complete TAD system for demo, I made a beeline for it.

The complete TAD system from source to amplifiers to loudspeakers. TAD is one of those rare Hi-Fi brands that have the technological prowess to cover the entire Hi-Fi equipment chain

The TAD-D600 CD/SACD player which also came with digital inputs (S/PDIF on RCA and  AES/EBU on XLR), was acting both as a disc player and a DAC 

From top, the Bryston BDP-3 Digital Music Player which was used to stream music files to the TAD-D600's built in DAC; the TAD-C2000 per-amp; the TAD-M2500 power amp

TAD-C2000 pre-amp

The TAD-M2500 power amp. 250w into 8ohm, 500w into 4ohm. This is a class-D amplifier that employs a linear power supply, it is heavy and runs warm. Its sound defied all my previous impression of class-D sound (i.e., precise, lean and somewhat dry), I can't tell it apart from a well-designed class AB amplifier

The TAD-CR1 mkII loudspeakers. These TAD Compact Reference speakers, to me, were definitely the star of the show   

The about only distinguishable outward feature of the mkII from the original CR1 is the texture of the bass cone, which on the mkII has a kind of a weave pattern and is matte looking

 

My listening experience with this TAD system didn't disappoint, nay, it was much more than that, it was very impressive.

Despite its size relative to the showroom which has a floor area of 800 sqft, the TAD-CR1 filled the huge space with well defined, rich, and very balanced sound from top to bottom. 

First time listeners to a TAD system would never fail to be impressed by the marque's expression of dynamic contrast, speed and attack, and this system demonstrated these qualities in spade. However, once one got over this, one would also start to appreciate that these TADs were capable of much delicacy, subtleties and nuances too. Their capabilities with both the macro and micro stuff were what gripped the listeners' attention and led them to listen on and on. 

I captured a video clip of the TAD system in action with my phone which was then compressed by whatsapp. Even through a compressed recording I believe you could still make out this system's ease and control in terms of its dynamic expression while not losing out on timbral richness. 

AV Designs is putting some of the TAD equipment on special offers. If you are interested contacted them at 03-62411237.

From Janus To Signature, Aesthetix Janus Signature Preamp

The Aesthetix Janus comes in three performance levels, the basic(which is un-named), Signature, and then lastly the Eclipse, for ultimate performance 

I've had a long love affair with the Aesthetix Janus preamp. I first started with the review of Calypso a couple of years ago. You see, the Janus and the Calypso are basically the same thing, sans the phono stage, in which the Calypso does not have. As per my review of the Calypso here a couple of years ago, I just grab the Janus without even an audition when it became available here as used buy.

Every little thing I loved about the Calypso is also here on the Janus, the slightly bloomed seductive mid range, the slamming bass an the all round detailed sound. But what I didn't like so much on the Calypso, is also present on the Janus, such as that slightly whitish noise floor, and that slightly grainy top end texture. Many guys who came to listen to my system always point out that slightly grainy top end texture to my ATI Reference 6004 power as the culprit. I had some how suspected it to be too. That's the power of persuasion, if one guy said it, you wouldn't think much of it. When the second guy says it, you start to really notice. But when the third guy says the same, it must be confirmed then, that all of them are somehow right, even if you didn't want to believe at first! By the way, that's how advertising works too, repeat the message often enough, to the listener or viewer, it becomes just that bit more convincing with each passing repeat.........   

Here is a side by side comparison between the Calypso preamp at it's most basic(left), vs the Signature(right). Immediately obvious are the yellow cap vs the red caps on the Signature. There some other minor parts change, but mostly the Signature also uses better grade, lower noise floor, match pair tubes. Lastly, one upgrade on the Signature you do not see is the 4 pieces Walker Audio feet located at the bottom. These were specifically designed for the resonance properties of the Aesthetix chassis. The regular or basic version gets 5 pieces of rubber feet at the bottom.

And so the day came when I could do a part exchange plus top up to get an equally used Aesthetix Janus Signature, it got me thinking again, Hmm............

I asked for an A/B comparison between my regular Janus & the Signature, but the seller was not keen. He told me to just make that leap of faith, but after much back & forth negotiations, in the end he just said "save your $$$ as it probably won't make so big a difference that you can hear it straight away!" And since we parted on that terms I was glad the seller was honest and I could save my $$$ for something else.

Months went by and I never think about the event, until I was involved in  an audio forum on the web in which I participated, which had Jim White(boss & designer of Aesthetix products) on line as well. After the forum on the side lines, I checked with him if it was worth doing the upgrade from Janus to to Signature? His reply was not what I expected, he said "why stop at Signature? Go all the way to Eclipse!".  I asked what Eclipse? Jim said "it's the last preamp you'll ever wanna buy!, unless you want the absolute best, that is the Calisto" You see, in the world of Aesthetix, you start at the bottom with just the:

a) Basic or regular product

b) Signature

c) Eclipse

d) SOTA! 

With each move up, you need to double your budget!

I told Jim budgetary issues aside, the Signature is available to me in a trade swap, then Jim asked "What are ya waiting for?" And Jim went on about in detail how the Signature is so much better in the next 20 minutes! By the end of the Skype call, I was completely & utterly sold.

I called the seller again, the item in question still available, and proceed to make the leap of faith.

The innards of the Aesthetix Janus preamp & phono stage. The built in 4 tube phono stage is very well designed and not some after thought freebie thrown in. Also note the front face control board & power supply section is fully covered  to prevent EFI/RFI leakage in to the audio circuitry. Going one step, by copper coated chassis would be nice too, but I know.......... that is only a very Japanese thing!

By the following day, the Aesthetix Janus Signature was in my man cave and from the moment of first sound, the difference was obvious. First, the noise floor, or rather the total lack of it! The whole musical background was eerily silent, just pitch black, no tube hash a.k.a. white noise what so ever! Next notice able thing was the top end, where there was slightly grainy texture before, it's now no more....... just smooth airiness on the high hats and cymbals. It goes TIZZzzz.......and decays in to a dark nothingness. My last experience hearing and feeling top end like this was the review of the Audio Research Reference 3 preamp! However, that ARC Ref 3(as it's affectionately called) does it with a slight haze of tube hash! 

Next the strong seductive mid range presence and that slamming bass is still there with the Signature. However, only now that slamming bass has layers & layers of texture built in. I could hear so much more going on in those low notes. The start-stop of bass lines is super tight, without loose end to say the least. And lastly, without the noise floor in the back ground, the whole sound stage in flushed out in to the staging wall of my man cave and beyond, complete with spatial cues if the recording captured it. You can say the projected sound stage is almost close to 3D, there in my room and beyond it's borders.

This gives the overall feeling of music as an event, rather then trying to do a reproduction via 2 speakers. That is the total satisfaction of this well decided upgrade! by the end of the day, I was kicking my self for not doing it sooner! You know, for a balding middle age fatty, life's too short for boring hifi!   

And if $$$ is not an issue, why not go for the Aesthetix Janus Eclipse? Again, as you can see the differentiation here is the caps and even lower noise floor tube selection. In Eclipse level, even if you don't see it as it hidden undercover, Jim tells me the power supply transformers are also up graded.  

Many of you who have been following my hifi escapes on this blog will probably know my lusting for the a fore mentioned Audio Research Reference 3 preamp. This Aesthetix Signature up grade have me dispel of that dream. But if you asked me, that ARC Ref 3 preamp is still one heck of a reference, that while the later Ref 5 and Ref 5 SE could not match at all, despite being the more technically correct representation. You could say that post Ref 3, ARC made technical improvements on noise floor and super transparency, but along the way, just lost the soul of music. The Aesthetix Janus Signature did not commit that very same sin. All that technical improvements described above, was accompanied by real soul of the music. Soul of music, it's something you feel with the music, the emotions that carries the music. Not many high end  hifi components can bring out the soul and emotion that is in the music these days. For me, that is a major failure of many high end hifi manufacturers theses days. Technical supremacy means nothing if it fails to connect the listener's soul to the emotions that carries the music.

Jim White is THE phono stage & preamp designer to be celebrated today!   

Also with this posting, I wanna tell so many of the guys who listened to my system previously and faulted the ATI Reference 6004 power amp, that your assumption(and to some degree mine too) has being wrong! The ATI Reference power amp deserves way more credit than the general perception.  

My Humble CAS, Asus Tinker Board & Teac UD-501 DAC

Asus Tinker Board in it's most basic form

I first experienced CAS in 2010 and quickly adapted to it with excitement back in 2011 in the form of Bryston BDP-1 & DAC-1 combo. It's now more than 10 years since, and at one point, even before I started my hifi sabbatical in 2016, I had already given up on CAS. Somehow, I still prefer physical medium for my emotional connection to music. While the conveniences of CAS and sound quality can be highly achieved indeed, I somehow still have a preference for physical medium when it come to music. Something that you can hold in hands just feels more real. Should you feel otherwise, then to each his own. I am not one who likes to argue and get stressed over hifi matters.

I have also since learned not buy packaged music streamers & DAC sets such as the above mentioned Bryston duo. As technology moves too fast, and so does the rate of depreciation. It's a killer blow, never mind the sound!

Then a buddy of mine, Simon introduced me to this dinky little CPU called Asus Tinker Board, which is the equivalent of the Raspberry Pi CPU. Coupled to Volumio Music Player interface app on one's smart phone, it's an easy & cheap solution to music streaming. Simon says the Asus Tinker Board can be used as a HTPC too, but with different set up & interface app. Now, who wants to play a game of Simon says?

Power supply goes in from side, unused HDMI output, and all other USB inputs/outputs & LAN from the back. Note the blue/black Oelbach USB cable which connects to the Teac UD-501 DAC

Simon had the Asus Tinker Board set up in a small plastic casing with window top. The Asus allows 4 USB input/output, and 1 LAN input. On the side, it has a Type B Micro USB power connector, and HDMI output. The Asus can be powered from any Android phone 5V power supply with the above mentioned connector. While any old Android phone power supply or charger will do the job, the Asus does sound a whole lot better when powered by a 1.2 Ampere, 5V  linear power supply. There are now plenty of such power supply to choose from, mostly China of origin. I got mine from a Asus users group buy sometime back.

The good part about using the Asus Tinker Board or any Raspberry Pi CPU as streamer is that it will adapt to any music storage resolution formats such as WAV, FLAC, or DSD at no extra cost. The only question is, can your DAC process it? With this, I took the opportunity to pick up a used unit of Teac UD-501 DAC, which can do all the resolution format available today, and for a half sized hifi component, it also has XLR analog outputs, which are definitely my preferred connection. Back in 2014, when this unit first became available, I had a go with it and really liked it. A few years later today, the latest Teac UD-505 DAC model revision still bears much functionality and design cues based upon the UD-501.  

The whole CAS set up from left: Teac UD-501 DAC, Multi USB Input, 5V Linear Power Supply(bottom) & Asus Tinker Board(Top) 

I used USB Type A to Type B cable from Oelbach to connect between the Asus & the Teac. With the overall tonal neutrality of the Teac DAC, it was actually the music file ripping quality doing the talking most of the time. The system was totally transparent & highly revealing of the rip quality. Using Cardas Neutral Reference XLR cable from Teac DAC to pre-amp, I did gain back some of that much needed warmth to make some of those busy sounding hi-res audio just bearable. 

For me this very cheap(costing less than MYR3000, excluding cables!) & cheerful CAS set up is all I have to continue with convenience music,or when I just need some back ground music.

An Encounter with Franco Serblin's Ktêma

No one does loudspeaker aesthetics like the Italian master, Mr. Franco Serblin.

Every hot-blooded audiophile would swoon when he first set eyes on Mr. Serblin's creations, previously under Sonus Faber, and now under the company that carries his name.

The Ktêma is the flagship in a 4-model deep line-up from Franco Serblin, the company. This beauty is rarely encountered on our shore. I have seen and heard them only in KLIAV shows, and performance wise they had come across as a bit of hit-and-miss under show conditions.

Now, an audiophile friend of mine, Victor, had acquired a pair and I finally had the chance to listen to them in a properly set up environment.

The Ktêma spots a high gloss piano black body, with a polished aluminium top, a non-rectangular cross-section construction (Franco Serblin describes it as "a rigid, triple arch-shaped structure. The two lateral front cheeks are concave, while the woofer compressor is convex"), and on top of all this add Franco Serblin's unique invention, the shoestring grille. It is a sight to behold to say the least. Unfortunately I didn't have my DSLR with me, taking their photo with my handphone can't do them justice, so I just have to borrow a photo from their website:

Victor did a revamp of his system recently, moving from vintage JBL loudspeakers and tube amplification to the modern Franco Serblin Ktêma and Vitus amplification, coupled with a complete renovation of his hifi room, with an extension in size to make it a very nice 12ft x 25ft space. He is an exclusively vinyl guy, though he had a CDP, he didn't spin it once during my entire visit, telling us that the performance gap was just too big between his vinyl and CD. 

Victor had made a big effort to acoustically treat his room in the space of just a couple of months, as you can see from the photo above, using a combination of absorption and diffusion approaches and with a good measure of Shun Mook thrown into the mix too. 

During our visit, the Ktêmas were  matched with Vitus' RI100 integrated amplifier that has 300w on tap. There was no issue in control and in loudness capability that we could discern. In addition, the smooth and civil temperament, in my experience, of this Vitus amplifier pretty much complemented the character of the Franco Serblin loudspeakers in the same direction too.

Victor's analogue front-end consists of a VPI turntable with an outboard power supply and speed controller, and a beautifully crafted exotic looking Reed 2A tonearm fitted with a Etsuro-Urushi Cobalt Blue cartridge. The output from the cartridge is then routed to an Audio Note AN-S2 Step-Up Transformer, and then to an Audio Note M2 RIAA phonostage.

Just a few notes into the first track that Victor played, I knew we were listening to a very high quality system. The first immediate impression was the highs, which was pristine, crisp and choke full of nuances and details, and yet there was no aggression and sharpness that would poke our ears. The treble performance from all music genres and all sorts of LP pressings was well behaved, even a little self-effacing and not once drawing undue attention to itself.

The next thing that became apparent was the imaging and soundstaging. Vocal materialized and floated within a well-formed soundstage, which is a phenomenon I experienced only rarely. Image separation and layering was impressive, with each instrument having its own space while integrated into 3-dimensional stage. The listener's attention can easily switch between instrument and follow its progression. The presentation unfailingly has a high degree of airiness and details.

The all important mid has natural body and warmth, female vocals was especially attractive. Well, nothing Franco Serblin built had failed to impress in this area. Listening to Carol Kidd's "When I Dream", for example, would just melt anyone's heart.

The bass region was very well done. Given the size of the loudspeakers with two 9-inch woofers, situated in a new room, where the owner had only a short 1.5 months to acclimatize, what I heard could be called miraculous. First of all, there was none of the problems associated with the bass region, there was no boom, no bloat, no blurriness. Secondly, the bass played tune, was rich and had a nice bloom. If anything, my nitpicking self would just like to ask for a tad more slam. 

Overall, this is a very musical and enjoyable system to listen to. It is music replay at a very high level of quality. 

Bravo!    

Phono Classic Restored, Marantz PH-1 Phono Stage

Those 4 nondescript looking feet at the bottom are actually made of the same die-cast metal alloy as the side cheeks. It adds to overall weightiness of the unit

Front & back panel of the Marantz PH-1 phono stage, in some countries, Marantz called it the PH-22 phono stage, with a 230V power supply system

In 1991, Marantz introduced the Music Link series of half sized audiophile quality components to the Japan market, in view to accommodate the new lifestyle of coping with smaller, yet ever increasing property prices. The Japanese economy was at it's peak at the time, just before the bubble burst a few years down the road. Some studio apartments or SOHO as they are called these days, in Japan of that era could be only slightly bigger than my 12ft x 10ft audio cave! It was something that most young working adults could afford in the mega expensive cities of Japan. Expensive properties aside, these young working people also wanted high quality music in their daily lifestyle, right?

The Music Link series comprises of a jewel like top loading CD player, phono stage, pre-amp, and mono block amplifiers as shown below. Some Japanese Yuppies even going as far as having 2 pairs of mini mono block amplifiers to bi-amp their bookshelf speakers! As you can see below, Marantz even have an optional, sold separately matching component rack to house the whole system on offer.Obviously, now you're aware that the Marantz Music Link series concept components are JDM only. And possibly some small volumes were sold in Germany where these well built, Champaign gold finished units were well loved.  

Top loading Marantz CD-23, Music Link series CD player, very nice!

The whole Marantz Music Link series, from clockwise: Marantz SC-22 preamp, MA22 mono block power amp, PH-1 phono stage, & Marantz DAC-1, which is self explanatory. There is also a dedicated rack, designed to match the Music Link components.

Now with the introduction of  Marantz Music Link series finished, let's go back to my story. I have been Linn LP12 sick for some time now, and missing it a lot more after listening to a newly acquired unit in a buddies system. The Linn LP12 sound just stuck in my mind and nailed heart for good. The agony went on for days and months. I was kicking myself in the ass every time I thought about that silly decision to let my original LP12 go to a buddy. I knew I would just have to sulk it in and get another Linn LP12 unit one day soon.

Having those thoughts were very dangerous liaisons indeed, as I only have a simple system that consisted of a CD player, turntable, preamp with built phono stage & power amp. How would I connect the eventual Linn LP12 in the system? An extra phono stage was the obvious and only answer........

As soon as those thought crossed in my mind, this dinky Marantz PH-1 popped up on our favorite local hifi classifieds. It was not cheap and had to work with a 100V step down converter(this is a Japan Domestic Model, remember?), but then again, good things no cheap, and cheap things no good either! right? In many ways, I am very much like those Germans who like their hifi finished in matte Champaign gold, hmm..........

A Goggle search reveals this dinky PH-1 phono stage is still a prized collectors item in Japan and that it had a pair of MC step up transformers built in for MC input............. now this is where it really got me interested! Not only that, the MC gain stage is up to 68 db, which is more than enough for even the lowest of MC cartridge outputs. I contacted the seller, but he could not demo the unit, since he had already let gone his turntable, but he assured me money back guarantee if the Marantz PH-1 didn't work, and even threw in the voltage step down tranny that he was using to sweetened the deal. And so I took a chance.....

The over view inside, note the side mounted potted 100V power supply transformer, too bad I can't get an 230V equivalent of the same size!

I went home and proceeded to hook up the PH-1 to my existing Kuzma Stabi turntable since I didn't have a Linn LP12 yet. I connected all the power cord & interconnect , power up and the blue indicator light didn't turn ON! I called the seller and he was surprised when I told him the unit was not working. I told him the indicator light didn't turn ON, he was puzzled and asked "What indicator light?" After a long explanation, he realized what I was going about, and he told me that he never saw any indicator light ON from the very first day he brought the unit back from Japan, but he assured me once I put on an LP and spin it, I should be hearing it! I did just that and it sang.........., the Marantz PH-1 sang!

This tells me 2 things, first the noise floor of the Marantz PH-1 is absolutely non-existent, zero, zilch! It was dead quiet like as if it was never turned ON, but only fact that it was turned ON! I was really impressed. The next issue is not so positive, it means I have a dead LED indicator that needs replacing. 

See the 12V bulb in the housing located behind the front panel?

Time for a little DIY action since I am also a little curious about what's beneath all that very nice matte Champaign gold finish? I took a quick observation on the dismantling points of the copper coated chassis, with die-cast  side cheeks and the 4 feet. The first thing I noticed was the weight of quite a few kilos for such a dinky half sized component. The Marantz PH-1 can be said to be built with pride inside out, as you can see from all the naked pictures here. All parts are either audiophile approved where mattered, or straight industrial standard which are made for long service life. Once the chassis is opened up, we can see the power supply section on the left side which is partitioned by copper coated plate for shielding, the pair of MC step up transformer on the right, and the actual, MM phono gain stage board right in the center of the box. The thru hole PCB board quality is excellent for 90's era audiophile grade product, but will be bettered by today's typical SMD type high end PCB. For DIY-able repairs, I always prefer the 90's type thru hole PCB boards. SMD PCB boards may have some sonic and appearance advantages, but will be almost impossible to DIY repair!

The actual MM gain stage section of the Marantz PH-1

I easily removed the so called LED or what looks like an actual light bulb, located just behind the front panel power ON indicator housing. I went to Jalan Pasar electronics street in search of the replacement, which was identified as a 9V bulb by the spare parts vendor, who ask me if I am repairing an old TV or radio? He said "this bulbs have been obsolete about 15 years ago, I only have a few pieces left. Once I sold them, they are gone forever!" After I hearing that, I bought 2 extra bulbs to spare. They cost 3 times the price of a 5V LED. No wonder these bulbs are obsolete! 

Upon return I tried to power up the bulb with a 12V battery, the ones you used to power your Smart Tags! The bulbs light up with a warn yellow glow of a regular house hold bulb, but 1 or the 3 pieces blew up in smoke as soon as it lighted........ And so I begin to solder the bulb's connecting wires to the power supply PCB, test power ON, and perfect! And I still have a spare working bulb, just in case for the future. With that I closed the chassis and it was time to hook the Marantz PH-1 to my system again.

The pair of nicely potted MC step up transformer as seen from top! 

The MC gain set to L(only 2 settings available, L or H) and played around with the Equalizer setting I to IV by playing an LP on my Kuzma Stabi turntable. The gain was enough for the 0.4mv output of the Benz LP cartridge and the equalizer setting I seems to sound the best of the four.

After days of playing with the Marantz PH-1, I am again reminded of the late Ken Ishiwata's signature voicing here. The highs are lush, very laid back with just enough mid range lift to maintain the magical female vocal presence in play. The bass is soft in texture, but yet each note clearly defined. On the whole a very relaxing kind of sound that is typical of JDM hifi product tuning. However, I am still mesmerized by that total absence of noise, be it hiss or any other form. The softly polite sound of the Marantz PH-1 stands in total contrast to the built in tube phono board of the Aesthetix Janus preamp, which is big scaled, bold and very hard driving, which made it perfect for rock, blues & club music in general.

Now with the Marantz PH-1 ready and waiting, it's only a matter of time the Linn LP12 joins the party. Stay tuned, while I take my time to warm up the Marantz PH-1 phono stage.

Today's version of the Marantz Music Link series which is simplified to consist of a CD player, and an integrated amplifier with head amp built in. It's called the Marantz HD-CD 1