The night the music died.
Phase one somehow has grown out of control and spilled into phase two. I have now sold one Plinius amp, one set of Valhalla speaker cables, all four sets of Valhalla interconnects (replaced by John’s NBS Statement interconnects), The Great Northern PASI (Passive Audio Signal Isolator) and the original Hydra power conditioner with specially made Anaconda power cord.
As I stated earlier the second amp and speaker cable was acceptable as was the Valhalla being replaced between the pre amp and amp. When I added a second set of NBS Statement cables between the PASI and pre amp it was still very pleasing albeit beginning to lose some inner detail. The next night came the PASI and final Valhalla interconnects. The PASI sold within an hour of being listed. This added some edginess and a bit of artificial glare to the sound. Still acceptable but some of the naturalness was gone. Piano was now beginning to sound digital once again, but I could live with it.
Last night the system fell apart as one too many steps were taken. I removed the Hydra and Anaconda power cord feeding the Hydra. The only component plugged into the Hydra was the Sony SCD-1, and I was not sure how much (if anything) it was doing any more. You see I had installed dedicated circuits and new outlets to my system, so I thought maybe the change would be subtle. Well subtle it was not. Suddenly the entire soundstage became flat and un-involving. No more is there space and dimension to the notes; it’s all like looking at a poster of the mountains vs. seeing the mountains in person. All the subtlety, inner detail and naturalness have left. The tonal quality is no longer neutral; it’s now edgy and biting. Bass became large and uncontrolled. This is of course in comparison, it’s still far better than a lot of systems I’ve heard. That being said, I have killed my systems magic. It’s gone! Each change was distinct and yet acceptable until this point. I do not give full credit to the Hydra and its very costly power cord, I think it’s the sum of the total that has effected the sound. It’s just once this last piece was removed, so was the life of the music. I was starting to sense the loss with the PASI, but the two together, well I just went too far.
I can not ethically and will not renege on the sale of my Hydra/Anaconda, but I will offer to take it back if he does not like it. As for how I now proceed, I simply do not know. I wonder if the new super clock would help if I modified my SCD-1 further. Audiomod also has some other modifications, including a re-built power supply that might do the trick. That would cost as much as I made on the Hydra/Anaconda, (not to mention the cost of shipping again) but it might be the answer. Or would I still feel unattached? What if I traded in my Calypso and upgraded to an older Callisto? That was surely magical when John and I tested it in my full system, so many changes ago. I do not believe simply finding a new power conditioning system is the answer, in that I was loosing the joy even before that change.
I do not know what to do now. I have reached the point where others posting above saw me going, where the whole system is lost and it might be best to just start over. I’m not (I hope) going to need to do that. I do however need to do something, for in the state it is now, I simply do not enjoy the music for last night the music died!
JD
P.S. Thanks for dropping off the other cables John. You truly are a good friend.
Phase one somehow has grown out of control and spilled into phase two. I have now sold one Plinius amp, one set of Valhalla speaker cables, all four sets of Valhalla interconnects (replaced by John’s NBS Statement interconnects), The Great Northern PASI (Passive Audio Signal Isolator) and the original Hydra power conditioner with specially made Anaconda power cord.
As I stated earlier the second amp and speaker cable was acceptable as was the Valhalla being replaced between the pre amp and amp. When I added a second set of NBS Statement cables between the PASI and pre amp it was still very pleasing albeit beginning to lose some inner detail. The next night came the PASI and final Valhalla interconnects. The PASI sold within an hour of being listed. This added some edginess and a bit of artificial glare to the sound. Still acceptable but some of the naturalness was gone. Piano was now beginning to sound digital once again, but I could live with it.
Last night the system fell apart as one too many steps were taken. I removed the Hydra and Anaconda power cord feeding the Hydra. The only component plugged into the Hydra was the Sony SCD-1, and I was not sure how much (if anything) it was doing any more. You see I had installed dedicated circuits and new outlets to my system, so I thought maybe the change would be subtle. Well subtle it was not. Suddenly the entire soundstage became flat and un-involving. No more is there space and dimension to the notes; it’s all like looking at a poster of the mountains vs. seeing the mountains in person. All the subtlety, inner detail and naturalness have left. The tonal quality is no longer neutral; it’s now edgy and biting. Bass became large and uncontrolled. This is of course in comparison, it’s still far better than a lot of systems I’ve heard. That being said, I have killed my systems magic. It’s gone! Each change was distinct and yet acceptable until this point. I do not give full credit to the Hydra and its very costly power cord, I think it’s the sum of the total that has effected the sound. It’s just once this last piece was removed, so was the life of the music. I was starting to sense the loss with the PASI, but the two together, well I just went too far.
I can not ethically and will not renege on the sale of my Hydra/Anaconda, but I will offer to take it back if he does not like it. As for how I now proceed, I simply do not know. I wonder if the new super clock would help if I modified my SCD-1 further. Audiomod also has some other modifications, including a re-built power supply that might do the trick. That would cost as much as I made on the Hydra/Anaconda, (not to mention the cost of shipping again) but it might be the answer. Or would I still feel unattached? What if I traded in my Calypso and upgraded to an older Callisto? That was surely magical when John and I tested it in my full system, so many changes ago. I do not believe simply finding a new power conditioning system is the answer, in that I was loosing the joy even before that change.
I do not know what to do now. I have reached the point where others posting above saw me going, where the whole system is lost and it might be best to just start over. I’m not (I hope) going to need to do that. I do however need to do something, for in the state it is now, I simply do not enjoy the music for last night the music died!
JD
P.S. Thanks for dropping off the other cables John. You truly are a good friend.