Do you use an integrated in your main system?

Joe, I use a integrated as well, a Constellation Inspiration integrated I bought from a friend at a great price. Here's a pic of my current setup with my Inspiration (bottom left) and my Lumin P1 (top left) The Lumin P1 is fabulous product, and in my setup, it functions as my streamer, DAC and preamp. I set the Inspiration to Unity Gain and it functions as the power amplifier. This is because the LEEDH digital volume control on the Lumin P1 sounds better than the analog volume control on the Inspiration. Oh, BTW, and Mike is a Lumin dealer, also ;)

CA-Rack-1pt-Rev2.jpg


Getting the Lumin P1 and using the Inspiration I was able to remove., get this....15 pieces of gear (components, ICs, PCs, cables, yadda, yadda) from my main rack alone. Not counting the TT setup, I now only need 1 pair of ICs and 2 PCs. My EAR 324 phono stage designed by Tim (RIP) and Michell TT/SME/Koetsu are on the right rack. I use the TT occasionally, but mostly these days, I stream from a remotely-placed Roon music server via LC/LC optical fiber to the Lumin P1 (which also has an optical SFP port).

It's a much simpler setup than I had previously, and simple is really good because simple always works.(y)

Cheers, Joe!
OMG that’s awesome.

When I heard the Constellation, I really wanted it but I couldn’t make it happen. Now that I’ve downsized, for now, I’m excited to see what new gear is out there. My Hegel has a built in dac and it’s wonderful.
 
Hey Joe, welcome back my friend. I have always like Goldmund/Job as well. Too bad they decided to not produce them any more.
Hi Randy,

Thanks! Much appreciated. I might just have to step it up to Goldmund, if possible. But, there’s so much great gear out there.
 
Joe, here's a picture of my current setup with the remotely-placed Roon Music Server (named "Alita" as in "Alita, Battle Angel), which is located in a spare bedroom (to put it on another AC mains circuit than the main system). You can see how simple this is from a set-up perspective.


Streaming-System-Setup_P1.jpg
That’s awesome. I’ve really been out of the loop and need to get reacquainted with all the new technology, ugh. But in reality it’s probably gotten a lot easier too.
 
No integrated in my main music room. In my 2-channel HT system in my great room I use a Boulder 866 with Magico A5s. Plenty of wallop for me and I don't have to worry about A5s blowing up when something on the TV does.

I did use a VAC Sigma 170i in my music room for a while but I soon migrated to VAC separates. The VAC integrated is really a sweet taste of the separates.
VAC is awesome but I’m wrestling with the idea of tubes again. There’s more of an emotional connection with the music listening the tubes but sometimes they don’t cooperate and create noise and other problems. VAC does make it easier though.
 
OMG that’s awesome.

When I heard the Constellation, I really wanted it but I couldn’t make it happen. Now that I’ve downsized, for now, I’m excited to see what new gear is out there. My Hegel has a built in dac and it’s wonderful.
I've been very impressed with Hegel's engineering prowess and product design. I don't know what it is about those Scandinavian audio engineers, but they're amazing. The guys at Audio Group Denmark, who make the Axxess, Aavik, Borreson, and Ansuz product lines make superb products as well.
 
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That’s awesome. I’ve really been out of the loop and need to get reacquainted with all the new technology, ugh. But in reality it’s probably gotten a lot easier too.
I'd say 90% of my listening these days is using Roon to play digital music content ripped from CDs to my music server's hard drive. Occasionally I spin up an LP, but its mostly digital these days.

Here's a pic of my Akasa-cased NUC in the spare bedroom that functions as the Roon Core music server as shown in the graphic in the diagram posted above. I bought this used from a local audiophile here in the Bay Area for only $350, and it sounds significantly better than my Mac Mini did functioning as the Roon Core. If you'd like to get one of these, just let me know; I can provide a reference to someone who makes and sells these and can configure it to meet your specific needs (e.g. on-board storage for music, etc.) BTW, the two smallish rectangular devices behind Alita and the router are the After Dark Master Clock for EtherREGEN (ER is sitting under the stainless steel doorstop to it's left) and the AfterDark power supply for both ER and the AfterDark Master Clock (shown on the right). The AfterDark Master Clock took EtherREGEN to whole other level of audio quality.

Server-Thr-Qtr-Frt-View.jpg


I have a subscription to Qobuz and it's a great way to discover new music, as well as listening to the various playlists they have available. It fully integrates into Roon, so you can simply use Roon for streaming content from Qobuz, as well. When I find an album I like on Qobuz, if it's available as a CD, I'll buy the CD, rip it and put it on the music server's hard drive. If you ever need a recommendation for a Roon-type music server (known as a Roon Core), let me know, I can provide some recommendations.

Cheers.
 
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VAC is awesome but I’m wrestling with the idea of tubes again. There’s more of an emotional connection with the music listening the tubes but sometimes they don’t cooperate and create noise and other problems. VAC does make it easier though.
The reason I sold my tube gear was, since the pandemic (which really disrupted mfg. supply chains), I've found it hard to find tubes that are both consistent (from tube to tube, regardless of specification) and most importantly, durable. I had a C-J ART amp in for a review I was writing a few years back and I had a power tube blow up (as in, BANG!) while I was listening to it. The reviewer who had it before me also had the same problems and in fact, had multiples of the power tubes, in case one blew. Some of the tubes that were sent from him, along with the amp, were, in fact, some of the tubes that had also blown-up on him while he had it in for review. That was a key deciding factor for me deciding to sell my C-J gear and get the Constellation.
 
VAC is awesome but I’m wrestling with the idea of tubes again. There’s more of an emotional connection with the music listening the tubes but sometimes they don’t cooperate and create noise and other problems. VAC does make it easier though.
Joe,
I hate tubes. I love tube sound but I hate tubes. That is why all my tube gear is "tube-light". Only one pair in my DAC. One pair in my VAC Master preamp. My two Essence 80 monoblocs have a total of four KT88s and four 12AU7s. More tubes in the monoblocs but ony two types. I was floored when a friend with a high-level AN DAC told me how many different and total tubes it had.
 
Joe,
I hate tubes. I love tube sound but I hate tubes. That is why all my tube gear is "tube-light". Only one pair in my DAC. One pair in my VAC Master preamp. My two Essence 80 monoblocs have a total of four KT88s and four 12AU7s. More tubes in the monoblocs but ony two types. I was floored when a friend with a high-level AN DAC told me how many different and total tubes it had.
I don’t think I have the patience anymore for tubes. It’s funny, I have a lot of tubes that I bought “just in case” for gear that I no longer own. I wish I hadn’t.
 
The reason I sold my tube gear was, since the pandemic (which really disrupted mfg. supply chains), I've found it hard to find tubes that are both consistent (from tube to tube, regardless of specification) and most importantly, durable. I had a C-J ART amp in for a review I was writing a few years back and I had a power tube blow up (as in, BANG!) while I was listening to it. The reviewer who had it before me also had the same problems and in fact, had multiples of the power tubes, in case one blew. Some of the tubes that were sent from him, along with the amp, were, in fact, some of the tubes that had also blown-up on him while he had it in for review. That was a key deciding factor for me deciding to sell my C-J gear and get the Constellation.
Wow! Holy smokes that would scare the crap out of me. Let alone possibly damage the speakers. I would not be happy about that.
 
Wow! Holy smokes that would scare the crap out of me. Let alone possibly damage the speakers. I would not be happy about that.
It's the reason I sold all my tube gear, including my LampiZator Baltic 3 DAC. Using the Constellation Inspiration with my Lumin P1 has been a revelation. It is a simple system, and the simpler the system is, the less things that can go wrong, and it sounds absolutely superb. You may remember what "Papa", Nelson Pass, has long said about amplifier design: "The simplest circuits sound the best". Well, Papa's right.

And, I've found the simplest systems sound the best, too. Fewer components, fewer devices, fewer cables, fewer power supplies, fewer sources of noise, and fewer failure modes*

And...they always work.

*- Failure Mode: Anything that can go wrong
 
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I totally agree. I need to visit Mike and get a sense of what he’s has going on in the store.

It’s funny, even though I didn’t have a system setup, when I did listen wherever I could, enjoyment was through the roof. It became a more emotional experience. Something hit just right and I could just relax and enjoy.
 
VAC is awesome but I’m wrestling with the idea of tubes again. There’s more of an emotional connection with the music listening the tubes but sometimes they don’t cooperate and create noise and other problems. VAC does make it easier though.
This is why I made the decision to get out of tubes. Many I have had sounded great, but they always seemed to be very temperamental and at any time may not give me their best. I would say the amazing Audio Mirror may very well have been the finest amplifiers sound wise that I have owned but you never knew from day to day if the big old Russian tubes were going to act up.

So I have gone straight solid state, amp, pre-amp, DAC, headphone amp, guitar amp (got rid of my Fender tubes and got an Orange solid state).
 
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This is why I made the decision to get out of tubes. Many I have had sounded great, but the always seemed to be very temperamental and at any time may not give me their best. I would say the amazing Audio Mirror may very well have been the finest amplifiers sound wise that I have owned but you never knew from day to day if the big old Russian tubes were going to act up.

So I have gone straight solid state, amp, pre-amp, DAC, headphone amp, guitar amp (got rid of my Fender tubes and got an Orange solid state).
Solid state has gotten sooooo much better these days.
 
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