System #72 (Sequel II)

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raphant69

raphant69

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Member name: Raphaël ALEXIS
Location: Paris, France

ML model: Sequel II
Year purchased: 2002

Associated electronics:

Teac VRDS T1 CD drive
Wadia X32 Digimaster DAC (Frenchcurve model)
Mark Levinson N°26 preamp (MC phono option)
Mark Levinson N°23 power amp
DIY turntable (with Ortofon MC15 super MkII cartridge)
Vintage analog T2 Yamaha tuner
Teac RW800 CD writer
Sennheiser HD 580 headphones
Rega Ear headphones amp
All cables and interconnect by Supra

Hi,
My first experience with ML speakers was the listening of Quests with a friend
in the early 90's. Wow, I was a student but I knew I would bring ML back home one day.
My system is a strictly 2 channel one.
The Mark Levinson N°23 is having fun driving the Sequel II's so the system is very dynamic and the bass are clean and well controlled.

The DIY turntable took me 6 months of work, including conception and realisation and its sound is between Rega and Thorens, warm but dynamic (I built a 12" carbon tonearm).

The 2 next upgrades I plan are first new panels for the Sequel II's and a new drive (CEC)
 

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Thanks for your welcome Chris.
Your system looks very nice too, I love Prodigy's. I've never heard them but they must sound fantastic with the Krell amps.
 
Salut Raphaël :)

Very nice system indeed... :)

Unless I'm mistaken, the ML & ML combination is not very common... How would you qualify it compared to the most common amplifier brands used with Martin Logans (such as Krell, McIntosh, etc...)
 
Bonjour Patrick

Thanks for your post

I didn't know that ML & ML combination is not common. Could you tell me more about that?
What kind of speakers would match with Mark Levinson according to you?

I can't talk about the ML & Krell combination because I heard it too long ago and don't really remember. I just know that the Krell's are great electronics.
Considering McIntosh, which are obviously great too, Mark Levinson amps are much more dynamic and detailed, with a very neutral sound. The drawback is that they do not provide the warm sound some audiophiles like. It's all a question of choice...and philosophy. Mine is to use the most neutral electronics to respect the personnality of the recordings.
Maybe it's a way to have a no boring system...
 
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Raphael,

Welcome to the ML Club!

Awesome system! Your system looks to be a very muscial. What are the dimentions of your room? Also, it looks like you have a piano. What brand of piano is in the photo's? Do you play? If so, what kind of music of you enjoy playing?

Again welcome.

-Robin
 
raphant69 said:
Member name: Raphaël ALEXIS
Location: Paris, France

ML model: Sequel II
Year purchased: 2002
Click to expand...
great looking system. have you got any more information on the DIY turntable?

and have you considered putting a wool area rug in front of the system to stop reflexions?
 
Bonjour Robin and Zaphod.

Thanks for your welcome!

My room is approx 31 feet long, 12 feet wide and 10 feet high (hope my meters to feet conversion is OK and I'm not giving you the measurements of a stadium or a match box) and I actually plan to put a carpet in front of the listening area.
The piano is a digital one, a Yamaha Clavinova and my wife plays it.
Personally, I play drums, but not in my living room!

Zaphod, I built this turntable 5 years ago and it's still working great.
The body is made of massive MDF wood (the walnut you can see is veneered wood) and its weight is 18 Kgs.
The tonearm is made of carbon (that I have stratified myself, with very high quality carbon fiber and epoxy) and is 12" long.
I used the measurements (overhang and all distances) of the SME 312 as reference.
The motor is a very silent high precision synchronous model (so it's directly connected to 220V 50Hz with only a capacitor to give it its rotation direction) and is mounted on a carbon/sorbothane/carbon sandwich.
I picked up the plate, the counterplate an the pulley from a ERA turntable.
ERA was a famous french brand of turntables in the 70's, have you ever heard about it?
I enjoyed building an original turntable, with a 12" tonearm. It was a great experience and it's a pleasure to listen some good old vinyl records on ML's.
Look at the pics for turntable details.
 

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Love the Table !!!

I was cruising through the members sysytem pics (catching up on what I have not seen since I joined a couple of months back) when I came across yours, I too enjoy my vinyl and wanted to compliment you on your table. Sweet looking piece !!!
 
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Thank you dave!

Bonjour Dave,

I looked at your system. Great one. Great preamp and a very good turntable too!
It seems that like me you are an analog and almost two channels lover, which is quiet rare nowadays whith all these 5.1 stuffs.
Do you plan to swap your Rotel monster for a tube amp which could easily drive your Vantages' stators? Maybe an Audio Research that would match with your SP16l.
I was also near to buy a RB 1090 a few years ago when I found my second hand Mark Levinson combo.
Happy listenning and regards from France.

Raphaël.
 
Bon soir, I actually tried my little Jolida 302B (50 watt integrated) and was not blown away. I now have it being used in secondary duty in the living room matched up with a Rotel 1072 CD player and a pair of Totem Arro speakers. I have always liked the combination of a tubed pre-amp with SS amp combo dating back to my Maggie days.

Adieu,

Dave aka"Twitch"
 
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