Haluk Ozumerzifon's 
System
Date of Visit:
02 January 1999

Re-Visit:
10 February 2002


The System


Genesis 200 left speakers


Michell Gyrodec

e-mail to:
Haluk Ozumerzifon



 


Haluk looks like one of  the luckiest members of Istanbul Hi Fi Club: his system occupies nearly one third of his main living room with the massive four piece Genesis 200's dominating the scene and he has a wife! No, they are not separated, they live very happily together. In fact, Haluk told me that it is Meltem (his wife) who pushed him to buy the Genesis 200's while he was still hesitating! All audiophiles who's got wives with low tolerance level for our hobby I suggest you to make them read this and show them how beautifully these huge speakers are blended in the decoration and became part of it. If the will is there anything is possible (no, not only in a cartoon but in real life too!).

Haluk listens to classical and jazz music equally.  He enjoys listening to CD's but still prefers the LP sound which he finds more natural.

System's Components
 

Turntable:

Michell Gyrodec

Arm:

Rega 300

Cartridge:

Benz Micro Ruby 2

CD Player:

ARC CD2

Phono Preamp:

ARC PH3 SE

Line Preamp:

ARC Reference 1

Power Amp:

ARC VT200

Speakers:

Genesis 200

Interconnects:

Transparent Ultra XL

Speaker Cables: 

Transparent Reference XL

Power Cables:

NSB

Haluk's comments about his System:

AA: "Haluk, how would you describe your system's sound?"
HO: "I like very much its big sound stage. In addition to that it is very well balanced, warm sounding and detailed."
AA: "Do you think there is room for improvement?"
HO: "I have no problem with my system. I think now I can play with room acoustic treatment and thus improve the quality of the low frequencies."
AA: "Have you got plans for upgrading?"
HO: "I'm thinking to buy SME 5 arm and maybe Insider cartridge. For the CD player, I'll wait and see."

 


the system


SME 5 arm, Insider cartridge


Diffuser


PS Audio P600


the rack from the side

 

Re-Visit Notes (10 February 2002)

It's been three years since my first visit (time really flies!). During these three years Haluk made many changes which are not of a "major" kind but the improvements are far from subtle. If you read his above answers to my "plans for upgrading" and "room for improvement" questions of three years ago, you will notice the consistency of his actions with his plans: he bought the SME 5 arm, the Insider cartridge, Marantz SA-1 CD player, worked with room acoustics and also made other changes which I will try to cover one by one. Each of the upgrades will include Haluk's own comments regarding the nature of the improvement. So, here we go.

Benz Ruby2 cartridge replaced by Clearaudio Insider:
"Ruby was a more tolerant, less detailed and smoother cartridge. Insider is much more detailed and dynamic. It makes good recordings far more enjoyable but at the same time it is less tolerant to less perfect recordings."

Rega 300 arm replaced by SME 5:
"If properly tuned, SME 5 arm enables the cartridge to follow the groove in an ideal manner, thus to read all the information. Its resonance point is 6Hz and therefore it is below the audible limit. This feature eliminates the rumble and makes the low frequencies cleaner and tighter."

Van den Hul MC phono interconnect is replaced by Hovland Groove 2:
"With Hovland cable the bass is better defined and controlled, thus mids are more detailed and the trebles are cleaner. The sound became more open with better depth and larger stage."

ARC CD2 is replaced by Marantz SA-1 SACD player:
"Even as a standard CD player Marantz SA-1 is very musical and analog like: it is very natural, less edgy, more liquid and less tiring. It is also more dynamic and more open. SACD is a totally different league, of course."

PS Audio P600 Power Plant:
"It re-creates its own AC current which is devoid of all sorts of mains impurities. Due to power limitations it is only feeding the front ends and the preamp. With the Power Plant the background noise is seriously lower. The soundstage depth and size and focus are very much improved."

RPG Skyline style diffuser (locally made):
"The center stage became fuller and depth is increased. High frequencies seem to be less harsh and cleaner. It also gives a feeling of a better tonal balance."

In addition to the above Haluk also changed his rack system from a vertical one to a more horizontal looking one, which improved the center imaging.

One final point: this year Haluk is the president of the Istanbul Hi-Fi Club.

Yes, there are many upgrades but one very crutial point remained unchanged: the examplary tolerance level of his wife! Well done Haluk and Meltem!

 

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