We actually had a showdown here at my house with the CD-LAD vs the BP25.
The amp was the Spectron driving the Newform 645 ribbons. CD-source was the Levinson 390S. Cabling was JPS, and Empiricle Audio Silver (for comparison). Both preamps were run single-ended for fairness sake (this Plinius was only singel-ended).
The BP25 was first noticed as being quieter; the notes came out of a black background. The Bryston also had a more tuneful bass and low-midrange, the Plinius was rather dry.
The Plinius seemed to have more "air" on top, but over time it became apparent that it was a sort of HF "hash" or noise. Also we noted that when pushed hard, as in turning up the volume, the Plinius started sounding "strained" on the upper mid-range.
One listener (the owner...) at first thought that the Plinius had more detail and information on top, again it turned out that there was no more info, only the slight upward tilt and the (slight) hash.
It took a lot of back and forth to determine that the Bryston was actually presenting more real info, but its slightly dark nature vs the lighter sound of the Plinius had our ears fooled.
The amp was the Spectron driving the Newform 645 ribbons. CD-source was the Levinson 390S. Cabling was JPS, and Empiricle Audio Silver (for comparison). Both preamps were run single-ended for fairness sake (this Plinius was only singel-ended).
The BP25 was first noticed as being quieter; the notes came out of a black background. The Bryston also had a more tuneful bass and low-midrange, the Plinius was rather dry.
The Plinius seemed to have more "air" on top, but over time it became apparent that it was a sort of HF "hash" or noise. Also we noted that when pushed hard, as in turning up the volume, the Plinius started sounding "strained" on the upper mid-range.
One listener (the owner...) at first thought that the Plinius had more detail and information on top, again it turned out that there was no more info, only the slight upward tilt and the (slight) hash.
It took a lot of back and forth to determine that the Bryston was actually presenting more real info, but its slightly dark nature vs the lighter sound of the Plinius had our ears fooled.