e-mail
to:
Adnan
Salihoglu
|
Adnan
Salihoglu is a close follower of novelties in the Hi Fi
world. He is not the kind of person who sticks to only one
system, but likes changing components and even systems
frequently. Thanks to him many other audiophiles are exposed
to different Hi End systems without having to go to dealers
or traveling to shows.
Adnan's impressive system's
most striking components are the Sound Lab A1 (full range
electrostatic) speakers which are specially rewired by his
close friend Peter Evans and the 600W tube power ARC
Reference 600's.
Adnan is married (no, I'm
not joking!), is one of the board members (1998/99) of
Istanbul Hi Fi Club, prefers and listens to LP's (70%),
listens to jazz (70%) and classical (30%) music.
System's
Components
|
Turntable:
|
Clearaudio Master
Reference
|
|
Arm:
|
Clearaudio Master Reference
|
|
Cartridge:
|
Clearaudio Insider
|
|
Turntable speed regulator:
|
Clearaudio Accurate Power
|
|
CD Transport:
|
Mark Levinson
31.5
|
|
D/D Converter (16/44 to 24/96):
|
DCS 972
|
|
D/A Converter:
|
Mark Levinson 360 S
|
|
Phono Preamp:
|
Jeff Rowland Cadence
|
|
Line Preamp:
|
Jeff Rowland
Coherence
|
|
Power Amps:
|
ARC Reference
600
|
|
Speakers:
|
Sound Lab A1 (with
"Ultimate 1" back plates)
|
|
Digital Cables:
|
XLO Limited Edition
|
|
Interconnects:
|
Fadel Art Reference
1
|
|
Phono Cable:
|
Clearaudio Master Reference
|
|
Speaker
Cables:
|
Fadel Art Gold
Line
|
|
A/C Cables:
|
Fadel
Art
|
|
A/C Filters:
|
Bybee Quantum Charger (for each
component)
|
|
Accessories:
|
Vibraplane (for turntable), Shun Mook Giant
(for ARC 600), VPI 17 (LP cleaner)
|
Adnan's
comments about his System:
AA: "Adnan, how would
you describe your system's sound?"
AS: "Big sound stage,
transparent, natural and detailed."
AA: "Do you think there
is room for improvement?"
AS: "I would like to add
very little triode like warmth and sweetness. I think I will
be able to get it by upgrading ARC Reference 600's to their
Mk.II version."
AA: "Have you got plans
for upgrading?"
AS: "Yes, as I mentioned
above ARC Ref. 600's to Mk.II, Fadel Art Ref. 1 to Ref. 2,
Digital XLO Limited Edition to Cardas Golden
Reference."
|
|
Re-Visit Notes (9 July
2000)
A year ago Adnan Salihoglu could spare a
dedicated listening room just for himself. With the
exception of Clearaudio turntable he sold all the
components of his previous system and bought first
a pair of Sonus Faber Amati speakers. It took him a
year to plan and gather all the remaining
components which also included various room
treatment items.
I was so impressed by the sight of his new
listening room (4 x 10 m.) that I could not refrain
myself from taking pictures from many different
angles (do enlarge them!). It was not just a bunch
of electronics and accessories put together
randomly but one could feel the big effort behind
harmonious colors, proportions and aesthetics. The
finishing of the rack woods was locally made using
exactly the same wood finish as the Amati
speakers!
The speakers were placed half way between the
front and the back walls, giving a lot of space for
stage depth. The listening sofa was very cleverly
put 1.5 m away from the back wall.
Let me now list all his new components (with the
exception of Turntable which remained
unchanged):
|
CD
Transport:
|
Burmester
969
|
|
D/A
Converter:
|
DCS
Elgar
|
|
Upsampling
unit:
|
DCS
Purcell 24/192
|
|
Line
Preamp:
|
Aesthetix
Callisto (with separate power
supply)
|
|
Phono
Preamp:
|
Aesthetix
Callisto IO (which has its own dedicated
volume control in order to get connected
to the power amp directly and not through
line preamp)
|
|
Power
Amp:
|
Komuro
845 Push-Pull (2 x mono). This 55W amp
will soon be replaced by the 100W model of
the same brand.
|
|
All
signal cables:
|
XLO
Limited Edition
|
|
All
A/C cables:
|
Shunyata
King Cobra (when you move the cable up and
down it makes a noise similar to a cobra,
I think it's because of the sand which
Shunyata filled in to eliminate the
unwanted vibrations)
|
|
Power
Conditioners:
|
Accuphase
PS1200,
Quantum
Charger
|
|
Speakers:
|
Sonus
Faber Amati
|
|
Room
Treatment:
|
6
x Studio Trap
8 x
Room Lenses
200
x Dots
4 x
Corner Traps
|
|
Accessories:
(vibration
control)
|
Q
Dampers
Vibraplane
Symposium
Ultra
Signal
Guard
Harmonix
TU-210, TU-1000
Clearaudio
Magix
Various
Polycrystal products.
|
|
Power
extension box:
|
Purist
Audio
|
The only thing was that most of the components
were not properly broken-in yet and the positioning
of the various room treatment elements were not yet
final. Once the break-in is complete, room acoustic
specialist Robert Stein (from Cable Company) will
visit Adnan and will fine tune all the elements,
including the positioning of the speakers. A third
visit is in order (I mentioned to Adnan my wish to
be present when Robert Stein is in action in his
room. It will be quite an experience!).
Although it is premature to give you any
comments about the system's performance, let me
just tell you that even at their present stage
(unbroken-in and untuned) the sound was very open,
had a huge depth and natural tonality (enough
said!). I think it will sound great once all the
adjustments will be in place.
Very promising and very exciting to follow.
Congratulations Adnan!
|
|
|
Third Visit
Notes (11 August 2002)
It's been two years since my last visit to Adnan
Salihoglu's dedicated audio room. Since then with
the exception of Room Lenses and Studio Traps the
whole system was renewed. With the glowing tubes of
four Tenor amplifiers and with retro styled massive
Kharma speakers the listening room now looks more
stunning than ever. I took as many pictures as I
could, attempting to reflect the striking beauty of
this dream room. But still Adnan complained to me
that he has difficulties moving the speakers in
order to adjust the toe-in angles as each of them
weighs 250 kg!!!
I also noticed that the Clearaudio turntable had
disappeared and the new system was now CD only.
Adnan explained to me that his decision to give up
the analog was due to the RF noise pick up of the
phono stage preamp. He lives in an area covered by
a substantial amount of RF and cellular phone
transmitting stations.
As the entire system is renewed, let me give you
the list of its components in a table format:
|
CD
Transport:
|
CEC
TL 0 Mk. II
|
|
D/A
Converter:
|
Kondo
Ongaku
|
|
Power
amps:
|
4 x
Tenor 75
|
|
Speakers:
|
Kharma
extended (with external crossover)
Exquisite 1A with Diamond tweeter and
Enigma cable (for all internal
wirings)
|
|
Speaker
cables:
|
Kharma
Enigma
|
|
Interconnects:
|
Kharma
Enigma
|
|
Digital
Cable:
|
Kharma
Enigma
|
|
Power
Cords:
|
David
Elrod EPS2 signature and EPS3
signature
|
|
Power
Conditioner:
|
Audio
Magic Stealth and Stealth
digital
|
|
Vibration
Platforms:
|
Silent
Running Audio Ohio class XL, Polycrystal
spikes
|
|
Room
Treatment:
|
In
addition to the previous set-up there are
now 4 x ASC Cube Towers at 4
corners.
|
I asked Adnan to give me his thoughts about
the sonic improvements he got with his new system.
Here is what he said: "The new system has a
considerably deeper and wider sound stage.
Particularly its mid range is more open and liquid.
There is an increased level of articulation on all
spectrum. Micro and macro details are also
increased. Low frequencies have more control and
the overall sound is more dynamic."
For me the most striking point was the
exceptional depth of the sound stage. Especially
while listening to a big orchestra, hearing some of
the instruments five meters behind the speakers
makes it very life like indeed.
Adnan has now placed an order for the missing
preamp to Kondo Ongaku. The other point Adnan is
willing to fix is the fluctuation of the mains
voltage. He is planning to buy a central voltage
regulator. But above all Adnan's biggest complaint
is the heat (so many tubes does not help in the
middle of an August heat wave!).
As this is an endless process, there will always
be things to improve, but as it is today this
system has an exceptional sound. Well done
Adnan!
|
|
