System #56 (Aerius i)

[Marcello]

Marcel Räpple
Schaffhausen, Switzerland

ML Model:
Aerius i, purchased used in 2003, standing on 3 ceraballs each

additional speaker:
Velodyne spl 1000 MkII subwoofer

electronics:
Rega CURSA 3 pre amp
Rega MAIA power amp
Rega EXON 3 monoblocks
Rega PLANET 2000 cd player
Rega RADIO tuner

interconnects:
YBA Glass (electronics)
MDM 1402 (subwoofer)

speaker cable:
YBA Glass

Power cords:
Rowen (swiss product)

notes:
First owner of the aerius i was a friend of mine. I felt in love with the sound of this speaker every time I was in his house. He also used some REGA electronics. He moved in a new house and didn't find an optimal installation for the speaker in the new rooms. My luck, so I could buy the ML's. I started playing them with the MIRA integrated amp (2x60 W/8 Ohm) only. That was in early 2003 and the story began.........

2003 - upgraded CDP from REGA Planet to REGA Planet 2000
2003 - changed interconnects and speaker cables to YBA Glass
2004 - added Velodyne SPL 1000 MK II Subwoofer
2005 - added REGA Maia power amp and started bi-amping
2006 - upgraded amps from REGA Mira integrated to REGA Cursa 3 pre and 2x REGA Exon 3 power amps
2006 - added new, tailor made rack
2006 - changed power cords to Rowen
2006 - put the Aerius i on 3 ceraballs each (www.ceraball.com)

At least I'm bi-amping the Aerius i using the two monoblocks for the panels and the stereo power amp for the woofers. The better result for my ears than the opposite way. Maybe next year, I will take a listen to the new REGA Saturn CDP.

Below a few pictures taken after the latest changes.

 

[TomDac]

Welcome Aboard!

Hi Marcel,

Welcome aboard. Nice system.. Very simple and clean. I would experiment with moving your speakers out away from the wall a little bit and see what happens to the sound.

Tom.

 

[Marcello]

Hi Tom
Thank you for the warm welcome.

I will make some experiments in positioning the aerius for sure. We are looking out for the best in sound and look. The story never ends with ML and you can go more and more into detail modification and still get some benefits - that's fascinating for me.

Marcel

 

[kach22i]

Nice looking set-up, very clean looking. I bet it's very lively sounding as well.

1. If you have not tried the Jim Power's "toe-in" technique you owe it to your self to give it a try, it works.

2. If you like the sound now, leave it alone because the my next suggestion will send you down a dark slippery slope. Room acoustics; drywall behind the speakers, absorption between the speakers (can be a painting - backed with batt insulation), and a combination or diffusion and absorption behind your listening position. Reflective floors and coffee tables are frowned upon but we all live with them.

3. Splitting the signal for a sub-woofer may be detrimental if not a direct output from the preamp.

4. Putting the sub in the corner may cause boomyness (or may not). The sub could be even harder to place than the main speakers - front wall where you have it is a good starting point.

Welcome to the board, cheers George/kach22i.

 

[Marcello]

Hi George

Thank's for your input.

You are right, our living room is a little bit "specific" in the question of room accoustic: ceramic floor, hard walls, non-symmetric side-walls - window on one side/open space on the other side, open cieling in 1/3 of the room, coffee table of glass........

I connected the MAIA poweramp to the MIRA's pre-out and the sub to the MAIA's link-out (that allows to control up to 5 power-amps in parallel).

With the sup in the corner I am quite happy. It's not boomy for my ears and it was a respectable improvement to the sound without the sub. I regulated the sub to play up to 60 Hz.

Marcel

 

[Marcello]

Here there are some additional pictures.

pic6: taken by night with only the two lamps close to the aerius i on
pic7: view from my listening place

Marcel

 

[Marcello]

...two more pictures:

pic8: view from the dining area to the living area (you can see the open cieling and the big windows)
pic9: view from the gallery down to the living area

Marcel

 

[kach22i]

Nice space from a architectural viewpoint, lots of light too.

Listening tip: Most music sounds better with a drink in your hand. When I listen to a really old beat up garage sale record, even after extensive cleaning; a glass of wine takes the edge off of the snap-crackle-pop. On digital it takes the harshness out of the top end. Overall though, don't drink alone - will just make you fat.

The Cardas record is a life saver, I had not listened to my system in a month, the first track was real hi-fi sounding and edgy. Put the Cardas record on, anti-static everywhere with the Zerostat and I was back in sonic heaven. The reason I mention this is there are some treatments that can relax the sound. I have a little bottle of CD treatment spray which works, you can also Zerostat a CD. This could help ease any hardness in the sound from all of those hard reflective surfaces.

Is there a Cardas CD?

 

[Marcello]

Thinking about amp-upgrade

Hi everybody

Since a few days now I have two REGA EXON monoblocks (rated at 125 W/8 ohm; 225 W/4 ohm) at home just to audition them (thank's to my local dealer). So I use the existing MIRA integrated as pre-amp only and passively bi-amp the Aerius i with the existing MAIA power-amp for the high and the new monoblocks for the low frequencies.

I also thought about going for the new vantage, but now I am glad that I gave the REGA monoblocks a chance. It is amazing to realise how much potential still was in the Areius i that I have never heard until today. A much better overall sound with a lot more definition and control in bass and more details. The whole thing opens up now in a way I didn't hear it in our living room before. I think (and my wife fears.....) there is no way back........

This week, in addition, I will also get the REGA CURSA pre-amp from my dealer and I can hold all the gear for about two weeks over x-mas. I can't wait to hear the effect of the real pre-amp in comparison of my as pre-amp used integrated amp. I will finally decide after a few hours of serious listening, but I am very close to order the stuff already now!

For me (and my ears) the upgrade step is worth the money. Here in Switzerland 1 x CURSA pre-amp / 2 x EXON monoblock costs in total 4'500 swiss francs. I don't know the retail prices of REGA in US, but just calculated with the latest rate of exchange it is about 3'500 US$. The vantage will be a little bit under 9'000 swiss francs here (= 6'800 US$, a step over the US retail price). So the double compared to the amp-upgrade, and more that I am willing to spend.

Now I really can't wait for x-mas to have the time and listen to my "new sounding" Aerius i............Marcello

 

[amey01]

Hi there......

I would also experiement by moving your carpet rug forward so that the area between the speakers and your is carpeted wholly...nice set up though!

 

[Marcello]

oops.....I did it!

One hour ago I went to my local dealer to order the auditioned stuff: one REGA CURSA 3 pre-amp and two REGA EXON 3 power-amps. Nice little after-xmas-gift, he (even when financed by myself)!

Yesterday I got a pretty good offer from a second-hand HiFi-shop near Zurich to sell my in future no more used REGA MIRA integrated amp. I own a first-generation REGA PLANET CD-Player too that I will sell them. This little extra-bucks were a good decision-helper........!

Now I count the days!
Marcello

 

[Robin]

Beautiful Musical System...

Marcel,

Welcome to the ML Club!

Your system looks beautiful, I bet it sounds as good as it looks. You took some beautiful photos of your system... What music do you listen to mostly, jazz or rock?

Cheers

-Robin

 

[Marcello]

Hi Robin

Thank you for the kind words.

For my ears the system sounds wonderful. But I must say that I don't have a lot of expiriences with other electronics combined to the Aerius i. Before I bought the ML's, I had a pair of Infinity RS 4000. The Aerius i was a huge step forward, of course.

A few weeks ago I took a 2 hours listening-session in a store in Zurich with the Summit. Not with the best electronics and not broken in, but I was very impressed anyway. From a realisitic point nothing to think about seriously because absolutely out of my budget! So I thougt about the Vantage first and know I stay with the Aerius i together with the better amps I ordered. I am not sad about that, because I love this speaker and it is good to have them in my living room for another few years.

What I am absolutely not happy with is the rack. It is a low-price piece I bought more than 12 years ago for my first appartment. I think that will be the next step.

Most of the time I listen to Blues, Jazz, Singer/Songwriter but also good unplugged records or Rock/Pop sometimes. Then there are also some world music records in my collection I really love, Khaled (Africa) or Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer (Buona Vista Social Club) i.e.. My last favourites are the new Katie Malua record, James Blunt - "back to bedlam", a Bill Evans anniversary-collection (3-CD-Box) and a best-of Paco de Lucia (flamenco guitar). But this list changes every few weeks.

cheers..........Marcello

 

[Robin]

Great taste in music...

Marcello,

You have wonderful taste in music. The types of music you listen to on your system must provide you with a wonderful listening experience.

What brands / styles of audio equipment racks are you concidering? An Arcici Air Suspention Rack?

Cheers

-Robin

 

[Marcello]

Hi Robin

What's really interesting concerning my prefered music styles is a little bit like the story about the chicken and the egg! It was the ML sound that motivated me to listen to other, different kinds of music - an the more I listened to them, the more I feld the requirement for electronic updates.......and.....and.........I'm sure a lot of members here know about this feeling!

The rack-project has not really started yet. So I didn't evaluate any concrete product. What my wife and I are thinking about is to order a "tailor-made" table for our eating-area by a local cabinet-maker. And then also order a "tailor-made" rack, made of the same wood as the table. Anyway, we are looking for a solution with a very good optical integration with the room architecture and the other furniture.

Cheers..........Marcello

 

[Robin]

Your plans sound wonderful...

Hi Robin

What's really interesting concerning my prefered music styles is a little bit like the story about the chicken and the egg! It was the ML sound that motivated me to listen to other, different kinds of music - an the more I listened to them, the more I feld the requirement for electronic updates.......and.....and.........I'm sure a lot of members here know about this feeling!

The rack-project has not really started yet. So I didn't evaluate any concrete product. What my wife and I are thinking about is to order a "tailor-made" table for our eating-area by a local cabinet-maker. And then also order a "tailor-made" rack, made of the same wood as the table. Anyway, we are looking for a solution with a very good optical integration with the room architecture and the other furniture.

Cheers..........Marcello

Marcello,

Your musical tastes and your system are very fine. I also like how you are planning to customise your future rack with woods to match your eating area. You and your wife's plans sound fantastic so as is your system...

Cheers

-Robin

 

[Marcello]

They are here.....

Yesterday I picked up the new REGA stuff. In the evening, after work, I installed the new amps and listend to them for about tree hours. I am very happy with the result!

I have updated the description of my member-system, but the pictures are still the old ones - hope to change that soon.

The coming weekend we are out of home to visit some friends. So no more listening sesssion, sigh..........

Marcello

 

[Marcello]

system update

I've updated my member system with a few words about my system development over the years, since I bought the ML's, and added a picture showing the new, tailor made rack.

Marcello

 

[kach22i]

Nice rack!

For a guy.

 

[lugano]

Hi Marcel, from another swiss member We both suffer from the same things - swiss prices, customs taxes on things bought in countries around us, little or no availability of many interesting brands... anyway, I wanted to ask you a question about the ceraballs. (I use them too, but for my equipment - under the CD player and under the amplifier): did you notice any improvement in the sound by using them under the speakers ?