Nick's Quatro CTs

[Steve Edwards]

On 5/8/2021 at 3:03 PM, nrenter said:

It’s spring…I’ve transitioned to the reposados and anejos. The browns will make a showing again as fall approaches. 

Cazadores Reposado (1 L at Costco) has been spending a lot of time in Studio V  

[nrenter]

On 9/23/2021 at 7:42 AM, randyhat said:

Hello nrenter, we have chatted before on another forum.  We are neighbors.  I am in Denton Co. also.  I'm about 4 years into ownership of a pair of Quatro Wood CTs.  Any interest in meeting up for a listening session? Or just to share our experiences and observations as Quatro owners?

Great to see your name! I'd love to get together and spin records. My next few weeks are congested but things should open up afterwards.

@ctsoonerwe're just north (and northwest) of Dallas.

[ctsooner]

I'm an OU guy and get down to Dallas yearly for Texas vs OU football.  Love Dallas.  

[nrenter]

Ayre Acoustics AX-5 / Twenty Integrated Amplifier, First-order crossover (-3dB at 100Hz referenced to 1kHz) installed by Ayre.

Ayre Acoustics CX-7e MP CD Player

Ayre Acoustics P-5xe Phono Stage

Ayre Acoustics L-5xe Power Conditioner

Ayre Acoustics QB-9 DSD DAC

Vandersteen Quatro Wood CT Speakers

Teres Audio 245 Turntable w/ Verus Motor + Custom Aluminum / Lead / Delrin Platter

Origin Live Enterprise mk3 Tonearm

Soundsmith Aida Ebony Cartridge

Nakamichi Dragon Cassette Deck

TASCAM DA-P1 DAT Deck

Mac Mini w/ Roon server and Tidal HiFi Plus

Degritter Ultrasonic Record Cleaning Machine

Pangea Audio AC 14se mkII Power Cable

• 1m AC 14se mkII between Ayre L-5xe and wall socket
• 1m AC 14se mkII between Ayre L-5xe and Ayre AX-5 / Twenty
• 1m AC 14se mkII between Ayre L-5xe and Ayre CX-7e MP
• 1m AC 14se mkII between Ayre L-5xe and Ayre P-5xe
• 1m AC 14se mkII between Ayre L-5xe and Teres 245 w/ Verus Motor
• 1m AC 14se mkII between Furman power strip and Ayre QB-9 DSD
• 1m AC 14se mkII between Furman power strip and Mac Mini

Pangea Audio AC 9se mkII Power Cable

• 1.5m AC 9se mkII between left Vandersteen Quatro CT and wall socket
• 1.5m AC 9se mkII between right Vandersteen Quatro CT and wall socket

AudioQuest Colorado XLR Interconnect Cable

• 1m AudioQuest Colorado XLR between Ayre CX-7e MP and Ayre AX-5 / Twenty
• 1m AudioQuest Colorado XLR between Ayre P-5xe and Ayre AX-5 / Twenty

AudioQuest Water XLR Interconnect Cable

• 1m AudioQuest Water XLR between Ayre QB-9 DSD and Ayre AX-5 / Twenty

AudioQuest CV-8 Speaker Cable

• 8 ft. AudioQuest CV-8 connected between Ayre AX-5 / Twenty and Vandersteen Quatro CT (true shotgun bi-wire).

AudioQuest Columbia RCA Interconnect Cable

• 1m AudioQuest Columbia RCA between Nakamichi Dragon (Play) and Ayre AX-5 / Twenty
• 1m AudioQuest Columbia RCA between Nakamichi Dragon (Rec) and Ayre AX-5 / Twenty

AudioQuest LeoPard Tonearm Cable

• 1m AudioQuest LeoPard Tonearm Cable (DIN to RCA) between Origin Live Enterprise mk3 Tonearm and Ayre P-5xe

AudioQuest Diamond USB Cable

• 1m AudioQuest Diamond USB Cable (USB A to USB B) between Mac Mini and Ayre QB-9 DSD

AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ

[TomicTime]

I just love love the groove of this very well thought out system ! Congratulations 

Enjoy the music

Jim

[ctsooner]

Someone is an Ayre fan too... ha!  I really like the vinyl set up.

[ursus13]

On 4/23/2021 at 7:15 PM, nrenter said:

Just dropped in Tool’s “Fear Inoculum”. Wowsa! Layering, texture and articulation. Power and refinement. Even the (dumb as dirt) dog was impressed. 

The imaging on Chocolate Chip Trip is pretty staggering. Nice to meet another Tool fan (and Ayre and Vandersteen.)

FYI: Fear Inoculum special edition vinyl is currently available for preorder.

[JonM]

On 3/10/2022 at 12:08 PM, ursus13 said:

The imaging on Chocolate Chip Trip is pretty staggering. Nice to meet another Tool fan (and Ayre and Vandersteen.

Just tried that track and you are right!  Funny I never gave it much attention before owning my Vandersteens. 

[Stringreen]

On 4/23/2021 at 1:06 PM, nrenter said:

I'll lead with this...the Ayre AX-7e w/ internal first-over crossover is no slouch. If I would have heard the AX-5/20 in a similar system in passing, I probably could have happily lived with the AX-7e. Now that I've spent time with the  AX-5/20, I could never go back.

There's 3 things that stand out to me about the AX-5/20: 1) the precision of imaging increased significantly, 2) transients are much sharper, and 3) the control of the low-end is apparent (even with the first-order roll-off and the contribution of the Quatro's integrated subs). The improvement (not just difference) is quite fascinating.

I'm working through a potential issue (or, perhaps non-issue..not sure yet) with the tape outputs. The AX-5/20 is not happy that, by default, Cardas routes Pin 3 to Pin 1 through a 10 Ohm resistor within their XLR to RCA adaptors (I still want to use my Nakamichi Dragon, and the Dragon is single-ended). The issue could be the circuit design, or it could be the way Cardas configures their adapters (and I just need to get custom XLR to RCA adaptors that ground Pin 1 and float Pin 3). I'm working with Ryan / Ariel on this.

...I have the Ayre c5xemp preamp that has 2 stereo outputs.  I use one to the Ayre amp, and 1 to the headphone amp.  If I keep them both connected, there is a sound compromise that Ayre confirnmed.   I need to unplug either the headphone amp output or the main amp output to retain the quality.  ..just thought I'd post this information.

[Stringreen]

12 minutes ago, Stringreen said:

...I have the Ayre c5xemp preamp that has 2 stereo outputs.  I use one to the Ayre amp, and 1 to the headphone amp.  If I keep them both connected, there is a sound compromise that Ayre confirnmed.   I need to unplug either the headphone amp output or the main amp output to retain the quality.  ..just thought I'd post this information.

Wrong.....the preamp is a K1xemp

[nrenter]

K-5xe(mp) or K-1xe?