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https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl AUDIO FORUMS >> Reviews >> Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1718697177 Message started by LiquidBlue on 06/18/24 at 08:52:57 |
Title: Re: Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden Post by Dominick on 06/18/24 at 13:40:31 Liquid blue….Thanks for sharing your system with us. I love the setup and I’m in awe of your record collection! The best part about sharing your system, is that we have all started with a basic setup and have slowly made changes over time. When you hear those subtle and not so subtle changes that we have all experienced, we are happy for you because we have been there. Your ah-hah moments reflect on our own ah-hah moments. You are off to a great start…so please continue to share and post your experiences. Dom |
Title: Re: Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden Post by will on 06/18/24 at 14:15:16 Thanks LiquidBlue. What a nice evolution. And creative process never ending as long as it keeps waking us up to new discoveries that make life more involving, I look forward to more of where your explorations have taken you so far (that bait at the end of your post), and where they will take you from here! Happy days! |
Title: Re: Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden Post by CAJames on 06/18/24 at 14:26:18 Nice room, nice pictures, great story! Looking forward to future installments. |
Title: Re: Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden Post by HockessinKid on 06/18/24 at 14:31:16 Liquidblue, Congratulations on your quite remarkable system and for providing background on it's evolution. It's a fun hobby and provides tremendous enjoyment when everything comes together. Decware equipment provides an exceptional foundation for building a lasting system. I sometimes sigh when I see so many struggle with putting together a great sounding system. I've had a few friends go through equipment changes spending thousands in the process and never being satisfied. Most were driven by the latest and greatest new offering touted by the Audio magazines. 😟 Enjoy the music! HK |
Title: Re: Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden Post by Sean on 06/19/24 at 02:35:07 Nice setup! Love the backstory as well. I'm realizing once you find the right ladder to climb, it's a much better experience. 10 yrs ago I was hooked on vintage receivers and a set of Sansui speakers...the wrong ladder! As for the room, maybe just drape a blanket over the glass and maybe hang one from the top of the entertainment unit. Room treatments can be a slippery slope! |
Title: Re: Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden Post by LiquidBlue on 06/19/24 at 18:20:19 Thank you all! I appreciate the kind words and feedback! HK, funny about friends and how their paths differ. Was something I wanted to post about, having good direction. Also, reminds me of a funny story I thought I'd share. I was recently visiting friends and family back east. My friends wife is always scared when I come over and talk music, because she thinks he's gonna want to buy something big. I told her there can be huge improvements made with little to no money. They have a dedicated listening room, but it's in the early stages with setup and treatment. One night I came over. We sipped some bourbon and I showed him how to align the cartridge with a protractor. We then moved his listening seat and speakers around. He was amazed with the results. About an hour later his wife walked into the room, mumbled something about the speakers being out into the room. We told her to have a seat and put on Crime of the Century. Her response, "WOW...WOW...OMG! OK you need to mark where these speakers are now and push them back when we're not using them". ...It's the small victories... :D |
Title: Re: Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden Post by LiquidBlue on 06/20/24 at 21:21:56 With every journey, there’s a destination in mind. However, without the proper roadmap, who knows how long it could take to get where you’re going and will you end up spending way more than you need to, to try to get there… A lot of wrong turns and frustrations. With a proper understanding of the route and some faith, it can be a pleasant journey and the destination can be spectacular! I was fortunate to find a roadmap along the way that really guided me and helped me to get to where I am. I don’t believe there is a final destination, but there are clear markers that you strive to reach. Some have the resources to get there fairly quickly. Others like me, take a little longer to make it happen. But when it does, WOW! I think I first heard about Decware back in 2017, when perusing various forums like the Hoffman forum and later the Decware forum. It was discussed how SET amps gave the purest and for some, the most desirable sound of tube amps. The Zen amps were highly touted and my Energy Veritas speakers were 93.5db sensitive, so maybe it would work? But it was quite daunting, having always used higher powered SS amps. Further, I was using a very unorthodox setup and couldn’t find any info of low watt tube amps being used with my speakers. I did a ton of research and ultimately, couldn’t get past the power concern. So I decided to go the route of a 20 watt Aegir solid state amp and get my feet wet with a Freya+ tube preamp. The combo sounded really great, but I felt I was still missing something. At some point I came across an article that really changed everything. It took a number of reads to really start to grasp things. Steve’s article on low powered SET amps with high efficiency speakers should be a must read for anyone getting started, but who think they can never get satisfying sound and pleasing bass from a meager 2 watt amp. It really sunk in why this path would give the purest, most realistic results. It took a while to make sense to me, but once I gained a little clarity, I knew it was the road to take. For me, this actually took many months to gain that faith, to actually remap my route. https://www.decware.com/paper43.htm I loved my speakers and built my system around them, but recently I got to a place, where I was ready to put the final piece in, to get to that destination, that mile marker that I set out for years ago. That was to have a single driver, crossover less speaker. My current speakers were a 2 way design, crossed over at 2.2k. They sounded great and imaged insanely. They gave a 3D presentation and totally disappeared. But what could a single driver bring? I again did quite a bit of researching and discussing with a few owners, including a few kind people here, before solidifying my choice for the Omega Super Alnico Monitor. I contacted Louis at Omega, who was great to speak with. He was patient to answer my questions and open to my ideas of aesthetics to make a custom pair for me. I wanted a walnut burl on the front baffle, with a dark walnut finish on the rest of the panels. He advised the dark walnut was becoming difficult to source, but had some fumed oak that would look really good. His work is impeccable and he carefully matched each speaker with a mirrored finish. Very high quality work! ![]() I’ve had the SAM’s in place for two weeks now. I knew within the first 10 hours that I’d either sell my old speakers or store them for when I can have a HT room and a dedicated listening room. Next to my Decware gear, these Omega speakers were the best bigger audio purchase I’ve made. The synergy with my amp is great. The cohesiveness and immediacy is incredible and the tone and texture of sound, as well as the imaging and detailed layering of soundstage is captivating. They bring that immediacy without shoutiness, once broken in. It’s brought an amazing level of realism. I listen to a lot of classic rock and progressive rock, as well as various styles of jazz and fusion. These SAM’s do well with all of it. Bass is surprising with these, again, once broken in a bit. Yesterday I turned off my sub and was pleasantly surprised with how full the bass is. I’ve adjusted my sub to cross lower and just fill in the lowest octave. Perhaps a more powerful amp like the Rachel or Sarah may bring a little more to the game, but if you are contemplating a pair of speakers to match your Zen amp, these will play very well together and give a refined and detailed presentation to your music. I feel the sound I get is as true to the source as I’ve ever had, thus far. I’m very content at the moment. ![]() |
Title: Re: Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden Post by Geno on 06/21/24 at 00:27:10 Hi Liquid. Love your setup and room. And nice album collection! I started to comment the other day, but got to doing something else. I noticed in your signature, that you had Omega’s listed, but your initial pics did not show them. I’m glad I didn’t comment at the time, because you cleared it up. The speakers are gorgeous!!! I love a burl wood look, and yours are exceptional! Congrats and happy listening! |
Title: Re: Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden Post by CAJames on 06/21/24 at 01:28:05 I love stories with happy endings! Those speakers look incredible and I know they sound (at least) as good as they look. Decware and Omega is a 21st century classic. P.S. If you want a little more juice just get another UFO25 ![]() |
Title: Re: Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden Post by LiquidBlue on 06/21/24 at 02:41:23 Thanks Geno! I like your tastes as well. The live edge open baffles look sweet! I hope they sound just as good or better! Really nice!, CAJames, thanks for your advice, impressions and encouragement to go for it! Yes, very happy! No need for another UFO25…yet!! |
Title: Re: Zen In The Rocktopus’s Garden Post by Kamran on 06/22/24 at 20:44:12 Love Love Love the setup and the backstory LiquidBlue! Thx for sharing! And keep it coming! |
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