Dave and Carol Clark's System

[Dave Clark]

Bold are long term loans.

LOUDSPEAKERS

Vandersteen Quatro Wood CT, EnigmAcoustics Tweeters, Reimer Speaker Systems Tetons (with the Hi-Vi Isodynamic Planar tweeters and series crossovers) heavily treated with Marigo VTS Dots.

ELECTRONICS

PS Audio BHK 250 amplifier, PS Audio BHK Signature preamplifier. Clayton Audio M200 monoblock amplifiers (with Hi-Fi Tuning and Furutech fuses), Heed Quasar phono stage, Channel D Lino phono stage, and the Heed Thesis phono stage. DEQX PreMate +, Marantz 2230, and a Kora integrated.

SOURCES

Digital: PS Audio DirectStream DAC (with Bridge), Playback Design MPS-5 player (with a Furutech fuse), DEQX PreMate +, Mytek Brooklyn, and an Oppo BD-105.

Analog: Transrotor 25/25/60 Leonardo turntable with a Shelter 901 MC cartridge w/Marigo dot. Audiomod MK2 arm.

Computer Based System (main system)

Primary: Integrita C4 NAS from Certon, Auralic Aries and Mini, SBooster power supplies, USB cables from JPlay, Wireworld, WyWires, Skogrand, Dynamic Designs, Kubala-Sosna, Audience, andSablon Audio.Network cables from JPlay, Audioquest, Cardas, Wire World and Sablon Audio. Acoustic Revive lan isolators.

Secondary: Mac Mini (Quad Core i7/8GB ram with iTunes 11, Pure Music, Audirvana, or Amarra) to a Sonicweld Diverter HR via either the Locus Design Nucleus or Cynosure V2, Cardas Clear, WyWires, Purist Audio, Light Harmonic, Audience, Sablon Audio, JPlay, or Furutech USB cables. Purist Audio Contego S/PDIF RCA or AES/EBU, von Gaylord Chinchilla AES/EBU, Locus Design Core S/PDIF RCA or AES/EBU, or DH Labs D-75 AES/EBU digital cables feeding the digital inputs on the Playback MPS-5 or PS Audio DirectStream DAC. Drobo FS with four WD Green 1TB drives. Shakti Stones and Onlines. Audioquest Carbon, Sablon Audio, and JPlay Cat7 and Netgear gigabit switch. Atomic Audio isolation platform.

Oh, and the iFi USB 3.0, Purifier 2, Schitt Wyrd, PS Audio LanRover, and the UpTone Regen.

HEADPHONE RIG

Focal Elears, Sennheiser HD600, AKG 702, and Audeze LCD 3 and EL-8 headphones. Headamps include the Heed Audio Canamp/Daculus DAC combo, Mytek Brooklyn, iFi Macro iDSD, and Lambert. Cables from WyWires, Double Helix, Wire World, Moon Audio, and Cardas. Portable headphones from Zu Audio and AKG. Portable headamps and such from ALO, Astell & Kern, Audioengine, Light Harmonic, and Oppo. Silver Circle AC conditioner. AC cords from WyWires and Sablon Audio.

CABLES

Interconnects from Locus Design, Audioquest, Triode Wire, Kubala-Sosna Emotion, Purist Audio Proteus Provectus Revised, Purist Audio Neptune, Skogrand Beethoven, and Sablon Audio. Kubala-Sosna Emotion, Purist Audio Proteus Provectus Revised, Purist Audio Neptune, Sablon Audio, WyWire Diamond, Audioquest, and Skogrand Beethoven speaker cables. Kubala-Sosna Emotion, Audioquest, Purist Audio, Sablon, Triode Wire, Dynamic Design Heritage, PS Audio, Kaplan GS MKll, Dynamic Design Spirit-C Digital (CD player), Tel-Wire, Pi Audio (Mac Mini), and Luminous Audio Power Lynx Mega AC cords.

ACCESSORIES

Silver Circle Tchaik, Entreq Poseidon Ground unit, TELOS Ground Conditioner, Stein H2 Harmonizers, Nordost Qv2, Qx2, and Qx4, Synergistic Research Atmosphere, Bybee Power Purifier v 2.0 AC Conditioner, Nanotec Nespa #1, Furutech RD-2 demagnetizer, Acoustic Revive RR-77 and R-777 with KingRex DC power supply, Golden Goddess Super Effect Speaker Bullets, Blue Circle BC86 Noise Hound (office system) and Audio Prism QuietLines (throughout the house). Two dedicated 20 AC circuits. Tons of Shakti Stones and On-Lines, and Original Cable Jackets (frig's AC and telephone line). Various Marigo VTS Dots used extensively throughout the system and room (window behind listening seat). EchoBuster acoustical treatments and Shakti Hallographs. Black Raviolis, BDR cones and board (turntable), BDR cones and Jumbos, Daedalus Audio DiDs, Synergistic MiG, and Mondo racks and stands. Walker Audio Ultimate High Definition Links, Talisman, and SST, and Furutech Nano Liquid. Clever Little Clock. Peter Belt treatments. audioexcellence az AudioDharma Cable Cooker for all cables.

[JCOConnell]

Nice systems. How do you get all those long term loaners?

[Dave Clark]

I am the Editor and partner at Positive Feedback www.positive-feedback.com. So is my wife, Carol.

[MylesBAstor]

I'd like to add one thing to Dave's comments. Both Dave and Carol Clark and David Robinson (the trio who run PF) require that all magazine writers must identify what gear we own and what pieces of equipment are on loan from manufacturers. Not too many other mags demand that sort of transparency from their writers. That helps avoid a lot of issues in the long run.

Now don't necessarily confuse long term loan with being left for free. You can see that Dave owns most of the gear in his system and those items marked in bold are mostly pieces of equipment that Dave has just reviewed or is in the process of reviewing.

Other than that, they're the two best guys I've worked with in the audio industry and run a great organization! Now I wish we could get David on here!

[tom_hankins]

Very nice system Dave!

[Dave Clark]

Thanks. Many years to get to where we are today.

[Dave Clark]

Thanks Myles... we feel the same about you. Much love to you and Heidi!

[Alrainbow]

May I ask how long do you listen to a device to comment on its sound ? A week or month and amount of hours ?

[Dave Clark]

All depends... hours, weeks, months. Some things only require a few hours to get a feel, some things need longer, but to get a solid feel for a review we will spend 30-60 days with it in the system. Which does not mean we listened for 30-60 days in terms of hours as we all have other things going on during the day. So figure a few hours here and there... but it all adds up. There are times where we have too much here and getting a review takes longer as the line to the system is long. Obviously if we love something we do what we can to purchase it though there are times when the manufacturer does not need/want something back and allows us to hold onto it for an extended loan. Bolded as noted. We do not hold onto anything we do not love or use. If we buy it, then we agree to not sell for at least a year - though everything we have ever bought we have kept for 10 years or so. Any products left with us for an extended loan are never sold.

Go here for more http://positive-feedback.com/editorial-philosophy/

What is your experience in time needed to get a feel for the sound of a component?

[MylesBAstor]

Thanks Myles... we feel the same about you. Much love to you and Heidi!

The Vandy/PS Audio combo must make some sweet sound!

[Dave Clark]

Have had a number of people here who all say that the system is really fun to listen to... tonally spot on with dynamics and extension.

[Alrainbow]

I would say a month or so , but for me not just in one system. I feel varying things a bit may sound confusing but it also adds additional info. Speakers , headphones as well. Each system has qualities the others don't so missing what you know should be there is a good clue.
One day I had the he6 and he1000 headphones going back and forth yilded what was missing
now changing Amps yielded additional clues about it.

[cpp]

Love the system Dave. My wife loves the Quatro CT, We think its our next speakers.

[Dave Clark]

We do too. reviewed the non-CT versions over a year ago and while we wanted to pull the trigger at the time, glad we waited for the CT ones. Plus Richard delivered the review pair in the wood we wanted.

[cpp]

I asked the wife what she liked about the speakers, she said "the wood matches the end tables and they will go nicely with the plants" what ! huh !

[Gusf]

Very nice system Dave. I enjoy you and Carols work.