Adrian Lungu's
System
Date of "Visit":
24 March 2001

"Re-Visit":
30 March 2003


the system


electronics


Audiomeca Keops


Missy

 

e-mail to:
Adrian Lungu







 


Hi, my name is Adrian and I just started to put together a mid-fi system. My first low-end system bought in 1996 (being a grad. student the finances were tight) consisted of Parasound CDP1000, Conrad-Johnson CAV 50 integrated amp and Meadowlark Kestrels. It sounded great for my small listening room, but I always loved electrostatic speakers. 

Last year I replaced my entry-level system with something more like mid-fi. I bought InnerSound Isis speakers. Wow! Not only they sound great, they do look great in my living room. Of course they required lots of power and the CAV50 had to go being replaced with InnerSound ESL amplifier. My wife loves them a lot and she spends long time listening to her favorite artists while painting (some of her works can be seen on the wall behind the speakers). 

Our cat Missy (Maine Coon) is a true audiophile! My other hobby (another expensive one!) is to collect wine bottles and Swiss wristwatches.

I am also the editor for "The Source", the newsletter for New Jersey Audio Society. NJAS meets every month and the membership is fee $30/year. We welcome everybody with an interest in music or audio systems. Unfortunately, we don't have a web page.

I'm listening to 80% classical music, 10% acid jazz, and 10% classic rock. My collection is about 70% CD's and 30% LP's. 

Some of the CD's I use for evaluation: Dvorak Sym. 9th with Macal/New Jersey Sym. Orch., Up, Bustle & Out "One Color Just Reflects Another".
 

System's Components
 

Turntable:

Rega Planar 2/RB250/AT 440ML

CD Player:

Audiomeca Keops

Line preamp:

InnerSound

Phono preamp:

Parasound PPH100

Power Amp:

InnerSound ESL

Speakers:

InnerSound Isis

Interconnects:

Tara Labs Master Reference 2

Speaker Cables:

Hydra A1

Power Conditioners: 

Panamax 500, Panamax 1000

Power cords:

DIY

Adrian's comments about his System:

AA: "Adrian, how would you describe your system's sound?"

AL: "System sounds very involving with amazing bass and beautiful midrange. I always have goose bumps when listening to jazz or small-scale classical music. " 

AA: "Do you think there is room for improvement?"

AL: "There is always room for improvement. First of all, I plan to separate the audio components from the home-theater set-up. I'm working in creating an audio-only room in the basement."

AA: "Have you got plans for upgrading?"

AL: "I plan to replace my analog rig. I will buy a Michell Gyrodec SE with RB300/Goldring 1042 cartridge and I will replace the phono stage with InnerSound's phono preamp (hmm, I just love those InnerSound products!). "


the new room


CD player is now placed on top of a vibration control device

 

 

"Re-Visit" Notes (30 March 2003)

I do not have any additional gear (actually, I got rid of my analog rig), but right now the system is in its own dedicated listening room and that was the biggest impact on the quality of sound. The room is perfect and almost accoustically dead.

Another big improvement in sound (tighter bass, very quiet background, good treble extension) I got when I placed the CD player on top of a vibration-control device. This device is home-made by a friend from New Jersey Audio Society. the top layer of the platform is "suspended" on the bottom layer by the means of different magnets. This design makes the CD player free of absolute any kind of vibrations! I didn't believe in these kind of tweaks before, but now I've been convinced. As you can see the platform is nicely matching the gorgeous finish of the Audiomeca Keops CD player.

All the cables now are SignaCable, a big improvement over the Tara Labs that I had before.

Next step? A good D/A converter. Preferably one with a tube output.

 

Home