Ari Balci's 
System
Date of Visit:
09 January 1999

Re-visit:
17 July 1999

The System

Jadis CD Transport

CD Collection and System

 
 
 

 
Ari is probably one of the most colorful members of Istanbul Hi Fi Club. He is always good humored and radiates positive energy. Like Mahmut Yener he lives on the Asian side of Istanbul and that is why it was more convenient to visit both of them on the same day.
Ari is heavily involved in Cross Country Cycling and exercises methodically to keep himself in shape for his cycling outings. He claims that regular exercise is very beneficial for an audiophile as it improves hearing by better blood circulation.
He's got an outstanding CD collection: 6000+ (!) CD's and all of them classical.
Before listening he shines his CD's with "Mr. Sheen". We noticed a very distinct difference after treatment: funny enough the sound becomes brighter as the CD's polished surface! It is hard to make a recommendation as we are not sure about the long term effects of this chemical on the CD's surface.

System's Components
 
CD Transport: JADIS J1 Drive
D/A Converter: Sonic Frontiers SFD-2 Mk II
Line Preamp: JADIS JPS 2
Power Amps: 2 x Marc Levinson 23.5 (bi-amp mode)
Speakers: B & W 801 (8 ohm)
Interconnects: Audioquest Diamond
Digital Cable: Illuminati
Speaker Cables:  Audioquest Dragon

Ari's comments about his System:

AA: "Ari, how would you describe your system's sound?"
AB: "It has a monitor character: very natural and without coloration."
AA: "Do you think there is room for improvement?"
AB: "No, I have no major complaints at present."
AA: "Have you got plans for upgrading?"
AB: "The CD part, but I'm waiting for the new standard."
 

System's initial position

happy couple!

System's final position

Re-Visit Notes (17 July 1999):

Ari had two major changes (or upgrades) since my last visit: he moved to a new house and bought Adnan Salihoglu's Sound Lab A1 speakers (he got the speakers first, so his move is not so surprising!).

Ari's new house has four stories including the basement. His private listening room is in the attic (overlooking the Marmara sea) and therefore no WAF to worry about anymore.

For the moment his systems only major change are the  Sound Lab A1 speakers which replaced the B &W 801's and the rest of the electronics remained the same as in my previous visit.

Ari had only moved 10 days ago, so he wasn't totally settled (who would in such a short time!). My friend Nejat Basar (who was accompanying me during this visit) and me thought that it would be much better if Ari moves his system to the opposite wall which was free from door access space and thus both speakers could be positionned with the same distance from the side walls. Ari agreed and we immediately did the change. The top picture shows the system in its original position and the bottom picture in its new and final (I hope) location.

Great speakers and a beautiful new house: well done Ari, congratulations!

 
Home