Official Wavecor Ardent Reference Thread - How we realized the Dream

[sdl2112]

Yes...gorgeous. They don't look like DIY speakers, they look like hi-end production. Your photography is top notch too. Definitely Stereophile worthy....

[JonMarsh]

Ben and Darrel will be enjoying a Holiday next Monday...

Don't forget, Canada gets the end of the year Holidays started a little earlier than those of us south of the border....

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/dining/canadian-thanksgiving-food.html?emc=edit_th_20161005&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=55273049

I'll be on the road then, but figured I should pass on the well wishes in advance for a Happy Thanksgiving!


Jon

[scottvalentin]

Thanks Jon!

[dar47]

Thanks, Jon

Ya the kick off to the season and soon for all of you guys too. Glad to see you gave him a poke on positioning but he does have them for a long time and hopefully the next place will afford a little more room. Like him mine are soon coming upstairs to the living room and it should be fun playing with placement but it will be hard to beat the current place mine are in now. Ben had a extra sand and 5 coats over mine and it sure payed off so maybe I will go back at mine after see them in the light of day.

[benthe8track]

Those are looking great and fantastic job on the TV stand - great use of IKEA cabinets!

Are you hosting Ardent listening parties yet?

Thanks, and hey if you want to build a set feel free to come by and have a listen.

Someday, just for fun, try pulling these out away from the wall and use a Cardas style setup (math described in a note on their web site).

Good call, I still need to get a carpet so they will probably end out a little further out when it shows up. I'm not 100% I can actually position them exactly in a golden fashion, the room is pretty shallow. I'll see what I can do.

gorgeous
details on the TT & phono-pre, please.....

Nothing crazy, a Bryston BP-26 with the built in MM phono and a Rega RP6 with the Exact 2. I love the simplicity of it.

Yes...gorgeous. They don't look like DIY speakers, they look like hi-end production. Your photography is top notch too. Definitely Stereophile worthy....

Thanks, they were a lot of fun to build.

Haha Thanks Jon. It's almost time for turkey.

The Hypex in that little ghent case puts out a TON of heat. I ordered some active cooling to install in the back of the cabinet. There is about .75" clearance between the wall and the back of the IKEA cabinet so it will be a tight fit.

[JonMarsh]

The problem with finishing...

Thanks, Jon

Ya the kick off to the season and soon for all of you guys too. Glad to see you gave him a poke on positioning but he does have them for a long time and hopefully the next place will afford a little more room. Like him mine are soon coming upstairs to the living room and it should be fun playing with placement but it will be hard to beat the current place mine are in now. Ben had a extra sand and 5 coats over mine and it sure payed off so maybe I will go back at mine after see them in the light of day.

The problem with finishing is that it can seem like it's never finished- there's always some additional work or buffing one can do to make them just a bit nicer... But I wouldn't dissuade you from taking them a little further! Now if only I had at least 10% of the knowledge of Ron in that department...

Enjoy your T-Day on Monday! I'll be in the middle of a Road trip to Seattle...

[Renron]

You flatter me, Sir.
Living with the orange peel and loving the sound. It just keeps getting better and better.
A little off topic, but maybe not..........What is the next recommended Dac up the $ food chain from the Schiit Modi 2 Uber? Doesn't have to be a Schitty Dac.

[wkhanna]

one of the V best values i have heard in a while is the Chord Mojo.

my V good friend just picked one up at Capital Audiofest back in July.
a direct comparison to the Hugo (which belongs to another V good friend) via headphones & room speakers showed the Mojo to be nearly all the $2k Hugo with a slightly 'smoother' & 'rounder' sound.
it almost came down to personal preference combined with equipment type & music genre.

the differences were subtle & which one was better would mostly depend on the previous list.

in the under $500 catagory, it is a heavy hitter, imho.

& besides, who would not want a DAC you can run over with a tank?

[BobEllis]

I'd suggest Modi MB or Gugnir MB if you can't get authorization for a Yggy. Bifrost MB seems to be the same DAC as Modi MB, with a bit of reclocking thrown in front of it.

Of course, I'd like to hear your impressions of MB vs Delta-Sigma at the Modi level. I don't have much to compare it to, although it handily beat the M-Audio FW410.

[wkhanna]

....... Gugnir MB if you can't get authorization for a Yggy. .......

i still love my modified Gungnir after more than two years...

[JonMarsh]

I don't have enough contemporary experience in that price range any more to have an educated or worthwhile opinion...

In that general range I would take a close look at the Schitt Bifrost MultiBit, particularly because of the filter, but also the chip used.

In more of a mass market vein, I've been very impressed with the overall performance on the bench and sonically of the Cambridge Audio 851D, especially since it has a high grade precision analog volume control built in, and includes AES/EBU inputs and balanced outputs. For what I paid, about $1K, I thought it was a steal.

I'm a bit of a diva these days and don't use anything that doesn't support balanced connections, and AES/EBU. we all have our personal issues... :B

[Renron]

Tanks and DACs can live together in harmony. Who woulda thunk it???
After reading too many friggin' reviews of DACs in the <$500 I think I'll save up for the MBMODI, great reviews and it's $250. I can test drive it for 2 weeks to compare to my El Cheapo DAC. Thanks for the allowed thread drift.
Back to Ardent Heaven!
Ron

[BobEllis]

I doubt you'll send it back. Mine is just moving to my secondary system when the Yggy funding gets approved.

[JonMarsh]

Hope the financial approvals go faster at your end than they do at my work.... from everything I've heard, I think you'll like the Yggy. What I've heard about the sound of it reminds me of my TotalDAC D1 Dual. Both are R2R ladder DACs.

[flamethrower1]

Dar, even with the high quality pics, you really cant tell if they are TS or not TS.
Maybe its all in the way they sound, my guess is its not.
Kind of surprised that other people did not ask, I guess it is only one or two people that think it matters.

[meb46]

Ben - awesome work, you must be thrilled with the finish!

[Renron]

Dar, even with the high quality pics, you really cant tell if they are TS or not TS.
Maybe its all in the way they sound, my guess is its not.
Kind of surprised that other people did not ask, I guess it is only one or two people that think it matters.

Flamethrower,
I'm kind of a dolt and not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
I'm under the impression that "TS" (in this thread) means Table Saw construction in lieu of CNC cuts.
Could you please explain your post? I didn't understand what you meant.
Ron

[Steve Manning]

Flamethrower,
I'm kind of a dolt and not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
I'm under the impression that "TS" (in this thread) means Table Saw construction in lieu of CNC cuts.
Could you please explain your post? I didn't understand what you meant.
Ron

Glad I wasn't the only one.

[JonMarsh]

Me neither. That makes it a quorum, right? :W

[Renron]

I've never been embarrassed to have others think I'm slow.....

[JonMarsh]

My Ardent's have a new home and a very happy new owner....




Latest word is that he completely re-arranged his living room to follow some suggestions, and like others, has had some late night listening sessions because he just couldn't stop....

[wkhanna]

is the corner placement one of room tuning & performance optimization or driven by WAF?

one thing is for sure, it pays to always be nice to your co-workers...:W:B

i am not sure i could be so generous.....or tolerant....

i put the top surface of my 65 litre Natalie Portman's at 20 degree slope to ensure no one ever places anything on top of my 'Twins'.....:nono:

[JonMarsh]

Well, I've urged him to use a Cardas layout the long length of the room; originally he had these firing across the width of the room. I've urged him to try pulling them out from the corners; hopefully he'll try that some time.

[dar47]

No! I thought those were permanent for the music room :roll:

Well I'm sure he is excited, but next time your there just slip a little elbow to the little earth:huh: and lamp they are way to nice for that, haha.

[Renron]

I'm sure they are appreciated by their new owner. But.............., they are being mistreated with stuff on top of them and squished into the corners.
OK, mine are mistreated by a turd of a DAC. Pot calling the kettle black I suppose.
That room needs a large rug in front of the speakers and some wall treatments / curtains.
Doc, you gotta help straighten him out. At least get them out of the corners. Threaten to take them back, that should do it.

Seriously, we ALL make compromises in our listening rooms. I hope he appreciates how fantastic these speakers truly are.

I'm trying to tune my room with my 90 lbs Dog, a little to the left, sit, OK now lay down, maybe a little more to the right. Perfect, stop snoring...........
Ron

[Steve Manning]

I'm sure they are appreciated by their new owner. But.............., they are being mistreated with stuff on top of them and squished into the corners.
OK, mine are mistreated by a turd of a DAC. Pot calling the kettle black I suppose.
That room needs a large rug in front of the speakers and some wall treatments / curtains.
Doc, you gotta help straighten him out. At least get them out of the corners. Threaten to take them back, that should do it.

Seriously, we ALL make compromises in our listening rooms. I hope he appreciates how fantastic these speakers truly are.

I'm trying to tune my room with my 90 lbs Dog, a little to the left, sit, OK now lay down, maybe a little more to the right. Perfect, stop snoring...........
Ron

Our new pup leaves the room when I turn the music on ...... should see her when we watch a movie in the other room in surround sound, she is not at all happy.

But your right, there needs to be an intervention on the Ardent's new home.

[wkhanna]

& i thought i was the only audio snob around here:rofl:

the poor guy is just gettng started down the path to the Dark Side & we are already taking him out to the shed for a flogging with a Light Sabre :roflmao:

[Hdale85]

That's a pretty high caliber speaker to be "just getting started" with lol.

[CraigJ]

Lucky new owner and will figure things out in time.

[Steve Manning]

That's a pretty high caliber speaker to be "just getting started" with lol.

Your right about that ..... I've been playing with this stuff for decades and I'm still not there. 8O

[Renron]

& i thought i was the only audio snob around here:rofl:

the poor guy is just gettng started down the path to the Dark Side & we are already taking him out to the shed for a flogging with a Light Sabre :roflmao:

Funny!!! Morning coffee out the nose. it's called tough love. Huggie up!
Why are the speakers Naked??? For God's sake, put on some grills!
Ron

[JonMarsh]

They're partially finished, that's a follow up to do. he'd rather not have waited for me to find time to finish assembling the grilles... think about it. :W

[TEK]

That's a pretty high caliber speaker to be "just getting started" with lol.

+1 on that thought...

[wkhanna]

...... he'd rather not have waited ........ think about it. :W

yeah, the more i do think about it, the more jealous i get............:B:M

.....i mean, crap, i probably would have paid the freight, insurance, AND signed a healthy lea$e agreement to have those in my home.........


alright.....enough is enough........time to grow up & just be happy for the lucky fool, err..... ehmm...... i mean..... lucky fella. :W

[Renron]

Doc,
With your Delorean / NSX time machine I thought you would have had all the time you needed.
Ron (thought about it)

[JonMarsh]

Ron,

Do you have any idea the damage that can be done to the space time continuum with multiple time loops? Once you go down that path, it becomes a nightmare- you can never return to the original present- at best, just some facsimile that may have surprising differences which take weeks or months to uncover!

For a clear example of this, follow/review season 2 and season 3 of "The Flash". Another relevant example would be "Timeless", and how easy it is to paint a sister out of existence with a seemingly minor shift in events. The risks are far too great to undertake that path just to catch up with work or some DIY projects... :E :sh:

[wkhanna]

just ask Donnie Darko

[Hank]

Methinks there's WAF at work there. Jon, they look great and I'm sure the new owner will love them for many years.

wkhanna, I really like your sloped-top design. I gave my daughter and son-in-law my towers for their wedding present (they asked me to build them a pair like mine, but I didn't have time, so gave them mine). The gorgeous rosewood veneer is still breathtaking, but each tower's top needs refinishing because of sweating glasses carelessly placed atop the towers I only do hand-rubbed Danish oil veneer finishing, which is the least protective finish.

[Steve Manning]

each tower's top needs refinishing because of sweating glasses carelessly placed atop the towers

Hank ..... that made the vain in the side of my head twitch. 8O That's when I call over the Dark Lord for the finger force squeeze ......

[Renron]

Your local residential glass shop will cut a piece of 1/4" glass and smooth the edges for ~$20 / each. Not as pretty as without, but cheap insurance when company is over.
Ron

[Renron]

Is that a heater next to the Ardent on the right?

[JonMarsh]

Is that a heater next to the Ardent on the right?

No- air filter/ionizer or something like that

[TEK]

Hmm, all these nice Ardent setups - I think I have to include mine in the gallery as well!
A lot of hours in front of these - both with music and movies. I would day that the soundstage is close to perfect! They are also capable to deliver more than enough sound level for my usage - even when I feel like listening at stupid high levels. As you can see, they are "helped" by one 15" woofer on each side (rythmiks servo subs). There is also a 18" Aurosound ns18 in the back of the room.
This setup helps the bass beeing very nicely distribuded without mich standing waves - giving a firm
bass going very deep.
The speakers are crossed over to the sub by the receiver (Marantz AV8801) at 40hz (lovest possible frequency). All speakers are beeing adjusted to level and distance, but I'm not using room correction as I do not like the resulting sound.
I'm using nc500 mono amps for the l/r speaker, and a thule 5 channel amp for the center and 4 surround channels.

My room is approximate 27m2. The roof is made up by 2.5cm thick rockphone sound absorbing plates. The whole room has double walls and sound barriers against the rest of the house. The door is sound proofed at 40db.
The two posters you see on each side of the room is DIY sound absorbers.

The screen is a 106" projector screen with a roof mounted Sony projector.
(Sorry about the rotation of the two first images - the forum does it by some strange reason)

[BobEllis]

OK, TEK, now I'm embarrassed to post my room pictures. Beautiful job on your Ardents and a very nice room. I don't use a sub except for movies, it's just LFE and surround channel bass. There are only a few tracks that I miss it. I agree, the imaging is stunning. I don't use a center, the phantom center sounds better. At least until I build a stubby Ardent to take that duty.

If you get a chance, try Cardas positioning. Among other lovely attributes is vertical imaging. In Chesky's binaural headphone demo there are a few vertical imaging tracks. They feature a shaker or a bell sounded from 1 foot from the floor to about 8 feet above the floor. In Cardas position the Ardents displayed them ranging from about 2 feet to 6 feet off the floor. I expected to hear some reduction in the vertical image as I put the living room back into a normal configuration. My very understanding girlfriend is OK with the Ardents about 4' from the back wall (Cardas says 8.5' in this room). Between the loss of space behind and reinsertion of the coffee table, there is no movement at all in the image on those tracks. The speakers still sound great, and give some image height on other tracks, but vacuuming the carpets will be an excuse to move the furniture out of the way and revisit Cardas.

These put a smile on my face every day.

[Renron]

Tek,
OK, now your just showing off. Excellent theater setup I'm jealous.
Ron