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Sinan Ustunkal
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Sinan is single and
this easily explains the very comfortable and serene look of a pair of
Dunlavy SC4 sitting in his main (5 x 8 m.) living room. Sinan and Dunlavy
are on the verge of a divorce (see his comments at the bottom), and I think
the picture (third from the top) reflects the tension between the two!
Sinan is an interior designer and also
designs and builds wooden furniture. One of his creations interests us
more than anybody else: CD storage drawers. My friends Aydin
Esen (visit also
his new site), Mert Aybek,
Haluk
Ozumerzifon and Osman Tumay all use
his CD drawers.
Painting is another hobby of Sinan. One
of his paintings occupies the background of his portrait (top). As his
forced smile gives away, my visit took place took place only five days
after the terrible earthquake.
Aydin Esen accompanied me during my visit.
We asked him to write a small piece of music as a souvenir of the day.
He did not refuse us (bottom picture). We called it: "Impromptu Audiophile".
Sinan is a member of Istanbul Hi-Fi Club
and listens to contemporary classical (80%) and rock and jazz (20%). The
CD's he is using for evaluation purposes are the followings:
-
Best of Chesky Vol.2 / Chesky
JD 68
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Audiophile Classics from Divox
/ LC 01851
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XLO Reference Recordings / RX
1000
System's Components
| Turntable: |
Rega Planar |
| Arm: |
Rega |
| Cartridge: |
Shure V15 VxMR |
| CD Transport: |
Sonic Frontiers SFT1 |
| D/A Converter: |
Sonic Frontiers SFD2 Mk.2 |
| Line Preamp: |
Sonic Frontiers Line 3 |
| Phono Preamp: |
Sonic Frontiers |
| Jitter Unit: |
Genesis Digital Lens |
| Power Amp: |
Krell FPB 250 mono x 2 |
| Speakers: |
Dunlavy SC4 |
| Interconnects: |
Transparent Ultra XL |
| Digital Cables: |
MIT Proline |
| Speaker Cables: |
Transparent Reference |
Sinan's comments
about his System:
AA: "Sinan, how would you describe
your system's sound?"
SU: "It is natural and has good
balance."
AA: "Do you think there is room
for improvement?"
SU: "Yes, I need some more bass
extension."
AA: "Have you got plans for upgrading?"
SU: "Yes, the speakers. I will
most probably buy Revel Ultima Salon speakers."
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Re-Visit Notes (8 April 2000)
If you just read above Sinan's last answer regarding his "upgrading
plans", you may notice that, in August last year, he had the intention
of changing his speakers. Well, he did that and he also did some more drastic
changes: he renewed most other components of his system and very recently
moved to a new flat.
With the exception of CD Transport, DAC, Digital Lens, Power Amps and
the speaker cables all remaining components are new and I will list only
the renewed ones below:
| Turntable: |
Pro-Ject Perspective |
| Arm: |
Van den Hul |
| Cartridge: |
Benz Micro Ruby 2H |
| Phono Preamp: |
ARC PH3 |
| Line Preamp: |
ARC Ref. 1 |
| Speakers: |
EgglestoneWorks Andra |
| Interconnects: |
Transparent Reference XL,
Ultra |
| Digital Cables: |
Transparent Reference |
| Phono Cable: |
Transparent Reference |
| Accessories: |
Audio Power 215 Power Conditioner |
The superb looking rack carrying all these new electronics is designed
and built by Sinan. The turntable sits on a suspension plate which is an
integral part of this rack.
When I first entered Sinan's new listening room with its inclined ceilings
(see the bottom picture), I had the impression that its acoustics were
too "live". The music was not yet on but the reverberation of my own voice
was proof enough. I was expecting to hear an overly bright sound but I
was wrong: the sound was very musical and untiring with a very acceptable
balance from top to bottom. But I was still thinking that the room needed
some dampening. We placed a small size rug on the floor between the sofa
and the electronics. Even this small addition made a considerable improvement.
Sinan is now planning to partly cover the ceiling with absorbing material.
I'm sure the result will be great when the room is properly treated. But
even in its present condition the sound is very good.
Well done Sinan. Happy listening!
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