Built for the love of music...

[SCAudiophile]

Had to pull a few pictures down tonight; they'll be back in the future, hopefully sooner rather than later. Thanks to Mike B. for the help!

 

[brodricj]

....and D1 stack...

You do realize that is begging to be upgraded to a D1X stack.

 

[brodricj]

Had to pull a few pictures down tonight...

Yeah, I thought you were skating on thin ice with pics of that top secret stuff from the Shunyata skunk works.

 

[AJ Soundfield]

Wagner, Shostakovich, Mahler, Bruckner, Beethoven, the list of favorites that fit that description of most challenging goes on and on!

You're a classical music guy?
Cool. Get to attend live in Greenville area?

 

[SCAudiophile]

You do realize that is begging to be upgraded to a D1X stack.

Possibly but having heard both and how this performs cabled up as I have it here, I do not feel like I'm missing anything sonically in terms
of quality, just another presentation style.

You know us audio nuts though,....never say never

 

[SCAudiophile]

You're a classical music guy?
Cool. Get to attend live in Greenville area?

I definitely love classical as well as many other genres....I have been to hear the Greenville Symphony many times since 2007 and they have evolved
a few levels up in repertoire, quality, etc....started out very good and now tackle the big works (Mahler, and others) very credibly. I also
like what the Music Director has brought about. i've also seen BB King, and some other great concerts at the Peace Center as well as
much local talent at various venues here and in Asheville...

 

[SCAudiophile]

Just completed a major upgrade in terms of totally decoupling an almost 300 lb speaker that stands 6 feet 1 inch tall from the room to eliminate the prodigious amounts of energy this speaker can produce from feeding into the floor and subfloor (and crawlspace under house) and ultimately feeding back into the speaker. This delivered a lot more than even the highest expectations I had. I'd researched available options for over a year and even considered going back to the use of Stillpoints Ultras 5's (now v2) or other footers like Magico MPODs (sized for M6 speakers) or the larger IsoAcoustics footers and received a great recommendation from a friend to look at Townshend Audio from the UK.

Townshend Audio custom podium journey…. began this design project back in January after several months last year of investigation into many other excellent products in this space from HiFi-Stays, Magico MPODS, IsoAcoustics and many others.

I decided upon Townshend after quite a few conversations with other “big speaker owners” who had bought and used all other top offerings for high-end footers with the larger speaker models from YG Acoustics, Wilson, Magico and Legacy Whisper XDS and MBL 101e MkII and MBL Extreme owners. They all wound up with Townshend’s podiums as their preferred solution, some after spending many thousands more on competing solutions.

Townshend makes 5 different standard sizes of the platforms for different combinations of size plinth and weight-bearing capacity from 50kg up to 200kg. They can accommodate any speaker over 200kg of any weight through a custom design and going from 4 to 6 load cells.

Due to the unique angled back profile, the size of the Legacy Valor plinth, a 298-pound actual weight of my speakers as-built and the height (6 feet 1") plus their load distribution a custom sized Townshend product was needed. The same is true of the other Wilson, larger Magico, MBL and YG owners I spoke with. The process of collaborating with Townshend was great and they were extremely responsive at all points even allowing me firsthand calls and emails with their lead engineer to arrive at the CAD drawings needed to commission the project. As a result, they now have an option for any Legacy VALOR owner in their design portfolio.

Townshend completed the order after commit in the shortest time possible (about 5-6 weeks) and then shipped them in custom-built real wood crates. They arrived without any issue whatsoever.

The finish quality is heavy duty, beautiful and first class in every way. I am very happy with the end product. This project was measured and designed down to millimeters to facilitate the CAD and laser-cutting processes. When I got them out of the crates, they were exactly to promise and to measure.

Pardon the blue masking tape in the photos...I am still tweaking final speaker position based upon original best-position.

The playback quality of the speakers once installed on them far exceeds any expectations I had, and have markedly improved every single aspect of playback, including bass of course, all the way up through midrange and treble clarity, total imaging, soundstage depth, density, 3D rendering, etc.

It's also an amazing thing to see an almost 300 lb., 6' 1" speaker "float" and when pushed, easily move in 3 dimensions, and quickly absorb the shocks and return to stationary in a matter of seconds. The bigger surprise is to feel absolutely zero vibration and resonance in the floor directly in front of the speaker and yet feel the force of bass, mid-bass, etc... moving air.

Very happy with the results and looking forward to listening to a lot more music to re-explore my speakers!

 

[ICUToo]

Just completed a major upgrade ...Pardon the blue masking tape in the photos...I am still tweaking final speaker position based upon original best-position.

Thanks a lot for the post, SCAudiophile, that's all really interesting. Audio lost a lot when Townsend passed recently.
I have tried a bit of decoupling lately- it seems to help a LOT. As with you, I've found improvement throughout the frequency spectrum.
Serious question- how do you move your speakers? Especially how do you move them once they're on the platforms?

 

[SCAudiophile]

Thanks a lot for the post, SCAudiophile, that's all really interesting. Audio lost a lot when Townsend passed recently.
I have tried a bit of decoupling lately- it seems to help a LOT. As with you, I've found improvement throughout the frequency spectrum.
Serious question- how do you move your speakers? Especially how do you move them once they're on the platforms?

That is certainly "the" question when it comes to anything like this for a speaker of this size. The initial install, as with installing footers
of any other kind and moving a good sized speaker like this, was a two-person job and some careful thought. The essential ingredient was
to know exactly where the speakers sound best in the room both playing as passive speakers and also with the Room Correction that
Legacy Wavelet provides (which does NOT get you out of the task of doing proper passive speaker "best location" placement). After almost
2 years and a lot of experimentation I had found the best place for the speakers in the current room so step 1 was to precisely mark the outside
edge (outline) of the speaker base on the floor so I knew exactly where the speaker needed to be sighted in to coincide with once on the podiums.

Step 2, with 2 guys working together was to have 1 of us rock the speaker gently back on its back 2 legs while the other carefully slide the Townshend
podium into place all the way up to the back speaker footers. Step 3 was then both of us "walking" the speaker and getting it centered on the platform
and squared off. Step 4 was one person hold the speaker while the other got down on the floor and pushed the Townshend platforms back and sliding
them into their near-final place with some "sighting in" and verifying with (Step 5) a couple of minor adjustments to get the speaker and podium to align the
speaker over the blue masking tape targets on the floor on all sides. Step 6 then is adjusting the isolation pods (the legs) in pairs to make sure the
podium is floating no more than an inch above the floor and even on all sides to get it level to the human eye. Step 7 is taking good "calibrated/verified"
level and checking the speaker on all sides front and back to ensure it is completely level and 100% vertically aligned straight as well.

Moving the speakers on the podiums themselves was the same "walking" motion and process due to the extremely thick and hard blasted finish they manufacture.

Sliding the podiums themselves on a smooth surface takes some care and even force on 2 legs at a time; someone to steady the speaker vertically helps
however I did do it myself a few days ago as there was a slight distance away from the target markings where is missed. I was able to get push the podiums
myself with a bit of care. It would have been better or at least less disconcerting to have a helper but I figured it out on my own.

They tell me that on carpet the podiums with their slick disc footers on the legs will move; I see that as requiring more care, a bit more force and definitely
not done without a second person as carpet is more challenging to contend with. They did tell me they have many customers who use them on carpet so
they can surely advise as to best techniques.

Hope this answers your question...

 

[SCAudiophile]

I haven't updated this thread in a while so here goes...

Purchased upgrades since the Townshend Platforms:


. Added 2 Esoteric S-02 stereo amps in place of my prior 4ch amp (which I enjoyed for 2.5 years)

. After 19 years with Adona AV45 racks, upgraded them all to Adona Zero GX Reference racks...

. Elrod Masters Series Diamond Special Edition power cord to connect my power conditioner(s); total Master Diamond SE cables in system now equals 3, the rest are Shunyata Omega QR-S and Elrod Masters Series Gold

. Omega QR-s with another one soon to be ordered

. Upgraded all chassis ground cables from Shunyata Delta v3 and a couple Alpha v3 to all Shunyata Sigma v3 ground cables

. Added a Shunyata Everest 8000 conditioner to replace a Triton v3 and Typhon QR combo that I have enjoyed for well over 4.5 years

. Added a Shunyata Altaira signal ground hub for my transport, dac, and master clock stack

. Added a second Shunyata Altaira signal ground hub for my 2 stereo amps, preamp and Legacy Wavelet II.rev3

Added 20 Shunyata Sigma v3 signal ground cables to various devices...


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[SCAudiophile]

Updated photos...

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[SCAudiophile]

Quick week#1 update on the Everest upgrade powering my P1 Transport+P1PSU, 2 D1 DACs and Cybershaft clock (preamp, amps and speaker-enclosed amps + HDPlex LPSU for Wavelet):

. Deeper more articulate, effortless bass and subbass

. Even better spatial rendering

. Tonal accuracy and layering improved from deepest bass through treble

. Musical realism and beauty elevated for complex spaces

. Dynamics seem even better paced and more effortless

. I have to set my preamp at least 5-6db lower on every track I've tried to achieve same performance level, excitement, SPL, etc...

This upgrade (from Triton v3 + Typhon QR) brought more than I bargained for...

My entire system is on one 20-amp circuit.

When I asked Caelin if the Everest could accomplish broad based noise removal on the entire circuit (as I'm hearing things that would require all my amps and preamp to have seen benefit) affecting everything, even if not connected to Everest, he responded "Yes! Get a noise meter, and it can be verified...".

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[Puma Cat]

That pretty much sums up my experience when I installed my Everest over my Denali v2, Mark. Another way to represent it would be:

 

[brodricj]

..When I asked Caelin if the Everest could accomplish broad based noise removal on the entire circuit (as I'm hearing things that would require all my amps and preamp to have seen benefit) affecting everything, even if not connected to Everest, he responded "Yes! Get a noise meter, and it can be verified...".

In the same way Typhon reduces noise when it is connected only to the wall duplex (and nothing else). Everything else on that circuit will benefit from the noise reduction with Typhon in parallel connection.
My Everest "upgrade" didn't bring the same findings with my Esoteric components.

 

[JCS123]

That is a stunning rig!

From the photos showing stairs, it looks like that might be the top level of the house.

If I had that kind of system, I would probably wall in the stairway and install a door with a solid lock - and one slot for food and beverage delivery. I might remain in that room for weeks on end....

 

[brodricj]

That is a stunning rig!

I think the Esoteric Grandioso components are the best looking HiFi gear ever created. The photos don't do them justice, you need to see them in the flesh. They are a masterpiece of mechanical design and manufacturing.

 

[SCAudiophile]

I think the Esoteric Grandioso components are the best looking HiFi gear ever created. The photos don't do them justice, you need to see them in the flesh. They are a masterpiece of mechanical design and manufacturing.

Absolutely agreed!

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[SCAudiophile]

That is a stunning rig!

From the photos showing stairs, it looks like that might be the top level of the house.

If I had that kind of system, I would probably wall in the stairway and install a door with a solid lock - and one slot for food and beverage delivery. I might remain in that room for weeks on end....

Thank you! That room is on the 1st floor to the right of the front door. The kitchen and dining room are the next 2 rooms [emoji2]

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[SCAudiophile]

In the same way Typhon reduces noise when it is connected only to the wall duplex (and nothing else). Everything else on that circuit will benefit from the noise reduction with Typhon in parallel connection.
My Everest "upgrade" didn't bring the same findings with my Esoteric components.

Yes, I loved my Typhon QR for that reason. The level of noise on the line is reduced additionally with Everest from all I am hearing. This is the 4th gen of that tech.

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[SCAudiophile]

That pretty much sums up my experience when I installed my Everest over my Denali v2, Mark. Another way to represent it would be:

[emoji2962]

Exactly!

Thanks....

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