Ertan Karabulut's 
System
Date of Visit:
10 June 2000

Re-Visit:
27 April 2002


the system


the electronics


Dali 40 SE

 

e-mail to:
Ertan Karabulut


Ertan has been into Hi-End Audio for two years. He has always been a keen listener and had even run a recording studio in his university years (1980-83). The present system that he owns for the last 18 months is located in the main living room (5 x 7 m).

His wife was not so happy about the Dali speakers during their first days in their domicile. Later on she apparently started to like the "noise" they make and stopped protesting and/or got used to them. I call this WBI ("Wife Break-In").

Ertan is not a member of Istanbul Hi-Fi Club but plans to join soon. He listens to jazz and blues (60%),  classical (30%) and to pop/rock (10%) music.

The CD's he uses for equipment evaluation purposes are the followings:

  • Jacques Loussier Trio / Satie / Telarc CD-83431
  • Cody Moffett / Evidence / Telarc CD-83343
  • Paul Bley, Gary Peacock, Paul Motian / Not Two, Not One / ECM 1670


System's Components
 

CD Player:

Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1

Tuner:

Dynalab FT-101 A

Line Preamp:

ARC LS2B Mk.II

Power Amp:

Classe DR 25

Speakers:

Dali 40 SE

Interconnects:

Audioquest Diamond

Speaker Cables: 

Audioquest Forest

Ertan's comments about his System:

AA: "Ertan, how would you describe your system's sound?"
EK: "Monitor like, natural, open sound."
AA: "Do you think there is room for improvement?"
EK: "Yes, a little more bass extension and control would be nice. And of course a bigger listening room would help to increase the sound stage width and depth."
AA: "Have you got plans for upgrading?"
EK: "No, not in the near future."


the system


electronics


Michell Gyrodec


the panel

 

Re-Visit Notes (27 April 2002)

It's been nearly two years since my first visit. During my first visit Ertan had no upgrading plans in the "near future". Obviously two years cannot be considered as a "near future" (at least for an audiophile). So, during this period he had many changes: with the exception of his speakers (Dali 40 SE) and his CD Player (Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1) everything else is upgraded and a turntable is added. Let me give you the list of all new items:

turntable:

Michell Gyrodec

Arm:

Rega 300

Cartridge:

Benz Micro Gold

Phono Preamp:

EAR 834 P

Line Preamp:

ARC Ref.1 (upgraded)

Power Amp:

Mark Levinson 334

Speaker Cables:

Van den Hul SCS2

Interconnects:

Audioquest Diamond, MIT Proline 330

Power Cords:

Shunyata Black Mamba

Room Treatment:

DIY Tube Traps


He also switched from a vertical rack system to a horizontal one. I particularly liked the Project made turntable support system which seems very rigid and stable.

The other thing he did is to treat his room with four different Tube Traps placed in the corners. Ertan made them himself based on the description given on my "world friend" Jon Gale's web site. He is very happy with their performance and he says that they succesfully absorb the abnormal room generated peaks above 70 Hz.

As my first visit took place nearly two years ago, I'm not at all able to make any comments regarding the sonic improvements, therefore I asked Ertan to give me his own impressions. He said the following:

"Low frequencies have now much better control. The new system has a more open sound and its stage is deeper and wider. High frequencies are more extended and the overall detail has increased. Especially the DIY Tube Traps have contributed significantly to the end result. Now I also have a turntable and started to enjoy the greatness of the analog sound. All in all, I guess the upgrades took my system's sound to much higher levels."

Ertan has also other upgrade plans: he might replace his speakers with Amati's and he also considers to add one PS Audio line conditioning unit.

Ertan is now a member of Istanbul Hi-Fi Club. As you may notice from the bottom picture I was not alone during my visit. Click the picture to see the bigger version and read the names.

Well done Ertan!

 

Home