System #437 (Vista)

[danvu]

Five months after getting my Vistas, I have finished building my stereo system and I can also say I've reached my audio nirvana. I finally can afford the system (at half of the retail prices ) that just last year I never thought I could have. Thanks to MLO members for all the help I got to get me to this point, especially Spike for being so patient answering all my emails, giving me guidance. So here it is:

1. Member Name: Dan Vu

2. Location: San Jose, California, US

3. ML Model: Vista

4. Year Purchased: Dec 2011.

5. Mods/Changes: None

6. Associated Electronics:
. Aperion S-10 sub
. Rogue Stereo 90 Super Magnum tube amp driving the panels
. Monarchy Audio SM70 PRO amps driving the woofers, running in monoblock config
. Modwright LS100 tube preamp (thanks to Todd, tsv_1, for giving me a good deal on this)
. Monarchy Audio NM24 DAC. Former: CAL Sigma II tube DAC (thanks to Spike for giving me the DAC)
. Monarchy Audio DIP
. Harman Kardon HD990 CD player
. MacBook Pro for music server
. Impact Acoustics Sonicwave speaker cables, Monarchy Audio PCOCC speaker cables, Monarchy Audio DR-1 ICs
. EDP Linestar Power Conditioner/Power Supply

7. My story and original system before the rebuild:
http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?13446-My-Story

Whole system




Monarchy SM70 PRO amps


Modwright LS100 preamp


DAC/CDP

 

[slowGEEZR]

Very nice! I've read good things about the Monarchy amps and I love the looks of the ModWright. Enjoy!

 

[projectormovielover]

Very good choice of mono amps as the 70's often fly under the radar despite the great reviews. There is a lot of great mods that can be done to make them sound even better and I have always wanted to try a pair using balanced ic's

 

[danvu]

Thanks Steve and projectormovielover for your compliments. The LS100 does look good (and sound great too). Regarding the SM70, I agree that it doesn't get the attention/appreciation it deserves. I too was skeptical at the beginning thinking that it noway could outperform the Emo UPA1 and I was totally wrong. I think mainly the reason is that the designer/owner of Monarchy, Mr Poon, doesn't advertise much, if not at all, nor build/expand his network of dealership. People in this hobby for a while know about him, his work and products. But new people to this hobby probably dont. I didn't until our fellow member Spike introduced me to his amps. Nowadays, Mr Poon is pretty much just doing it for fun and keep things going and not caring much about expanding or getting profits. However, he is a very cool guy. I went to his place to audition the amps, was impressed and bought them right then.

So, projectormovielover, you mentioned mods on the SM70 to make them even sound better. What kind of mods you've read/heard or done yourself ?

 

[projectormovielover]

It was a review were the writer was talking about using internal wiring from nordost and a few other little mods that further improved the excellence these amps provide. I will try hunt this down although I suspect this may be a DIY project than a vendor service

 

[amey01]

Welcome.......

 

[danvu]

Thanks guys.

 

[beek]

I saw somewhere He is retiring?

 

[danvu]

yeah, he actually told me that. He is looking for a good buyer to sale his company and retiring in a few years. But finding a good buyer is not easy. Anyways, it's not like he is just selling old stocks and clearing his warehouse. He is still building new units and improving existing products at the rate that would keep him busy and for fun, not to get more products out of the door and more cash in. The units I got are actually freshly built and customized with more expensive gold plated binding post and better fuse, an extra $80 value for free. So very nice guy.

 

[beek]

Great to see a good design & guy with a product that excells that is not a blood sucker..

 

[Spike]

Hey Dan,
So cool to see your system finally came together. It was fun to have participated in your journey and saw the evolution of your system. Now, you can focus more on the music :music:

 

[danvu]

Hey Dan,
So cool to see your system finally came together. It was fun to have participated in your journey and saw the evolution of your system. Now, you can focus more on the music :music:

Hi Spike,
Thanks a lot for all the help and the DAC. You made it much easier for me going through the process of upgrading. Now I can say it sounds about 90-95% of your system. Heheh.

 

[Rehan Azim Hashmi]

Welcome to Martin Logan Owners.

The Vista's for $2000 is a great purchase.
Hope you get minimum 2 decades of enjoyment listening to music through these precise electrostatic transducers.

 

[tsv_1]

I somehow missed this thread. Dan - your system looks terrific with those Vistas flanking your gear!

I'm glad the LS100 has found a good home with you - and let me add for everyone's information that Dan was just great during our transaction. I would not hesitate to do business with him again (buying or selling) if the opportunity were to come up.

Cheers

 

[danvu]

Thank you, RAH.

Todd, thanks for your kind words. The LS100 sure has found a good home. It will stay in my system for a very long time

 

[danvu]

Adding tube flavor to the system

Added a Rogue Audio Stereo 90 Super Magnum to drive the panels

 

[slowGEEZR]

Sweet! :rocker:

 

[danvu]

Thanks Steve

 

[khenegar]

tube power

your system looks very nice but i would try to give your tube amp more breathing room. heat is there worst enemy. happy listening

 

[danvu]

Thanks khenegar. Yeah I'm aware of the heat problem and trying to solve it. There's only about 2.5" of clearance on top and it's not enough breathing room but I have no other choices. Thinking about putting a small fan in the back to blow out hot air or put one of those double fan notebook coolers on top of it to ventilate.