e-mail to:
JAn
Deckers
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The
whole sad/lucky story is mainly the same as every one else.
I started at the age of 14 with a DIY amplifier, and build a
few nice amps, and as a student at the academy of music
hadn't the money and time to build more. After that period,
with a nice job, I started with a nice tube amplifier, but
wasn't really satisfied with the sound. So I mailed
tube-audio-guru Dick van de Merwe, who designed an update
for my amplifier. Actually I only used the output
transformers.
Now I'm listening to a
push-pull 2A3 (direct heated) amplifier, with a (for the
experts) mu-stage paraphrase splitter using a 6SL7wgt and
12HG7 tubes.
I did have two systems of
loudspeakers, a Focal set (sold now) and a Scanspeak set
(still playing very smooth), all DIY. My CD-player is a
Marantz CD67 very heavily modified, and now outnumbering a
very expensive Cyrus and van Medevoort DAC. My interlink is
a van den Hul the First between CD and amplifier, and the
loudspeaker cable is a TNT-audio FRRC-cable.
My room is about 35 m2, with
(red) carpet on the floor.
When building, tweaking and
trying I listened to a lot of CD's, mostly classic, but also
the good pop music (in my honest opinion). Mostly
to:
Stokowski's Symphonic Bach
(really great), Gustav Mahler 5 symphony with L. Bernstein,
Sting (the best of) and The Eagles (Hell Freezes Over). And
last but not least to my own record (the original master)
made with three other people. Mainly quiet songs, with
piano, guitar, bass and bass clarinet and voices of
course.
Mostly I'm listening to
classic music, a lot of Bach (I love Glenn Gould playing the
piano). From lets say 1650 till 1930, I don't like the
really modern ..... uh..... music (???). Further some pop
music, from Queen, Sting, Eagles, Supertramp, and Dutch
"Cabaret" music (really a Dutch style not to describe in
English), the most famous is Herman van Veen. Also Klezmer,
non-european music (arab, rai, Iraq, Indian and so on and
Turkish music brought to me by my pupils!!! And really
nice). So it is 70% classic, and 30% the rest.
System's
Components
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Turntable
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Pro-ject 6.9, with Grado Platinum Reference
cartridge
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CD Player:
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Marantz CD67, heavy tweaked and
modified
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Phono Preamp:
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DIY tube amplifier for the TT
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Power Amp:
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Custom made 2A3 tube push-pull
amplifier.
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Speakers:
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Scanspeak Opus but will be updated very soon
by a Wilson Audio Cub imitation (uh…
inspirated by is a better word).
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Interconnects:
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Van den Hul the First, DIY silver
interlink.
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Speaker Cables:
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TNT FRRC
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Jan's
comments about his System:
AA: "Jan, how would
you describe your system's sound?"
JD: "The sound is
smooth, very nice mids and high, really a lot of detail and
never becoming harsh. You can really hear a violin player
breath while playing, and feel the emotion in the
music."
AA: "Do you think
there is room for improvement?"
JD: "Yes there is
always room for improvement. I am planning to make other
speakers, and again another amplifier, this time really
single ended. This will give even more detail. I think it is
a life time job to get the perfect system (does it
exist?)."
AA: "Have you got
plans for upgrading?"
JD: "As I said, my
speaker. Those will be a DIY system inspired by the Wilson
Audio Cubs (high efficiency), and later on a new amplifier,
and a new DAC maybe."
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"Re-Visit"
Notes (19 May 2001)
Here is my first upgrade story of my
system. A lot has changed since my first visit.
Let's start with the most visible one, my new rack.
I bought a nice rack made in Denmark, Aarvik. It
looks great and sounds good.
Then I had a very big change by building some
new loudspeakers. It is actually a clone of the
Wilson Cub, but with a different tweeter, namely
the Seas Excel tweeter. It sounds superb, sweet
tasty and so on.
After that a new DAC appeared in my system, made in
the Netherlands by Tribute. It uses the famous
PCM63K convertor, and amorfe-output
transformers.
Further I updated my amplifier with Black Gate
caps (for the cathode of the 2A3) and Hovland
Coupling caps. Made all internal wiring pure silver
(99.99%) and also the speaker cable and my
interlink.
At the moment I am using The First (van de Hul)
as digital cable, that's a real discovery. Superb
great!!! Try it.
Actually only the amplifier is the same, except
for the caps of course.
How does it sound. More analog, more taste, more
balanced. It was good already, but now it sounds
like heaven. The only new part that will come is a
new preamp, using the 76 tube for the line, and the
6SL7 for the phono. When that is finished I will
visit again.
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"Third
Visit" Notes (13 April
2003)
Got another job and moved to another place. So a
lot has changed in my system…..
Source:
Sony SCD-555ES. A very good sounding
SACD-player. Even with the normal CD it sounds
great. Like Guido de Laet I will make some
modifications for even a better sound.
Totally new amps. As told before, I built myself
a new preamp, Melisande. But it has changed already
3 times. Started with the 76 tube, and then the 26
(DHT) tube, I'm using at the moment an old
post-tube. In the near futere I'm going to build
another preamp.
I also built Zeus. A single-ended power amps
with the KR300BXLS output tube. It uses the best
materials like amorfe-core output trannies,
paper-in-oil capacitors, internal wire is 99.999%
silver. Wow this thing really rocks. Guido de Laet
made the wooden chassis for me, a real artist don't
you think?
Made myself some nice subwoofers for my new
system. Now the orchstra sounds really great.
Timpani are there, and the deep organ tones are
really deap. I uses an Eton woofer. The module is
from Thomessen.
All speaker cables and interlinks are also
99.999% silver (and of course DIY).
The sounds is detailed, smooth, wide stage and a
joy for the ear. A really great improvement.
Some more improvements are a better 220v filter,
and again another preamp. With a different chassis
for the line-stage and the PSU.
New Homepage: http://members.home.nl/deckersmoll/
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