FREE HIGH-END AUDIO SETUP CONSULTATIONS


Hello everyone,

My name is Paul Gerbert (professional name). My real name is Pavel Sanaev. I’m a writer and film director from Russia who moved to Los Angeles about a year and a half ago.

About ten years ago, after directing several films in Russia, I became obsessed with the idea of making my next film in America. Very quickly, I realized that the most realistic way to achieve that goal was to finance the film myself. Since filmmaking itself could not realistically provide those resources, I started several different businesses outside the film industry.

One of them — built around my lifelong passion for music and audio systems — gradually evolved over more than ten years into a major high-end audio business.

I started with the restoration of vintage loudspeakers and building systems around carefully selected vintage components. Over time, I moved toward more advanced high-end brands, and within several years became a dealer for companies such as Blumenhofer Acoustics, Dan D'Agostino, dCS, Stenheim, Mastersound, EAR Yoshino and others. Later, our company became one of the leading high-end dealers in Russia, participated in many audio exhibitions, and received numerous awards at local high-end audio shows.

Then came the well-known events surrounding the war in Ukraine. Besides seriously affecting the business, those events also became a signal that it was finally time to move to the United States and pursue my original goal more directly.

I recently completed production of my first feature film in America and am currently deeply involved in post-production. In fact, the success of the high-end audio business made this film financially possible.

Here is the trailer, in case anyone would like to watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMxE74GzsNI

At the same time, the experience accumulated over more than a decade — system building, component matching, analog setup, vinyl calibration, speaker placement, system synergy and overall sound optimization — remains something I genuinely value and enjoy sharing.

I’m not here to sell anything. I simply enjoy staying connected to the world of music and audio that was a major part of my life for many years.

If anyone would like advice regarding:

  • building a home audio system

  • component synergy

  • analog turntable setup

  • speaker placement

  • achieving better sound for a reasonable budget

  • general high-end audio questions

Feel free to ask here. I’ll check this thread periodically and help whenever I can.

You can also see some of my past work and system portfolio here:

https://colossalsound.pro/portfolio/

One important note: I’m no longer an active dealer, which is why the website intentionally contains very little brand-focused information. It mainly serves as a portfolio of some of the systems and projects I worked on over the years.

 

colossalsound

@colossalsound Thank you for that very cogent explanation. Qobuz still features a large catalogue of primitive digital, much of it in the 70s-80s pop rock range. Revealing streamers/dacs simply magnify the deficiencies of the source material as presented in this format. If it's something I really want to hear, I play the LP. Pending some newly resurrected digital version.

I wish it was me, Jon, since you like your amp, but I am not that Pavel )

Hickamore, I'm glad that your personal experience confirms my article.

 

Thank you Pavel. And welcome. Your insights are refreshing to read. Logical. Thought provoking. I plan to ping you off line regarding my system given your offer!

Thank you for that informative post colossalsound, could you expand on why you would first invest in upgrading a steamer vs the DAC? 

For example I'm running a Blue sound Node 2i. Compared to the rest of my system it is certainly the weak link by a fair margin. I'm considering options to slowly upgrade it . My first thought was to get a DAC and use the Node as the streamer. That seems like the "conventional" approach to getting the most noticable improvement?

My listening for digital comes primarily from Qobuz. I do occasionally listen to CD's but that's another story and another week link in my system! Lol. 

Thanks, 

E.

Everhard, you're completely right - the DAC means more than a streamer. But I meant a specific unit, dCS Lina, which is a streamer/DAC in one body. And actually, most of the best digital components on the market are streamer/DAC units, and that's why I don't even separate them in my mind unless we're talking about high-budget systems with multi-unit digital ends like dCS Vivaldi, Varese, or MSB Select.

I know that many people use separate devices. For example, use Lampisator, Naim, or whatever else exists with an external streamer (which, btw, adds a cable connection and additional jitter). But since dCS is a ladder DAC, and this is a totally different story, I personally can't see any reason to switch from one DAC to another, instead of jumping straight to the point and getting a dCS. Which is a one-body streamer/DAC, as I already mentioned. 

Several years ago, it was too expensive for most folks. But now, when Lina came to the market, the price difference is not dramatic. Many folks will spend more just changing one mediocre DAC for another.