First off, congrats on your selection. I currently own an SLI-80 and have for quite some time. It is a wonderful integrated. I would highly suggest you take a serious look at the Merlin TSM-M's and the Reference 3A DeCapos current model. I believe it is the i. I used the Audience Cables and have had great success. Good luck to you.
Respectfully,
Chris |
it is always wise to start with the speakers you think you can live with and work backwards. they will have the greatest impact(aside from your room) in regard to your listening. |
Chris/jaybo, thanks for the comments.
Chris - just curious if you have experience with the 300sei also, I plan to keep the system for a while, just want to consider all the options. Great reviews and comments on the sei over the sli. I will definitely look into doing a demo with either the Merlin or the decapos i. In terms of the cable, I am assuming you biwired your speaker cables. I plan to use au24 ic btw the source and the amp and au24 biwire speaker cables.
Jabo - in terms of speakers, besides the b&w n805 and the n802 which we both liked, we never audition other speakers. Any particular speakers you recommend to start the search?
Ken |
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You also owe it to yourself to try to audition the Spendor Classic series (SP 2/3, 1/2, etc.) If you like a nice smooth sound, this might be a great combination. |
Ken,
The 300SEI is definitely a step up but I think the SLI-80 is more flexible as it can drive a larger number of speakers. My buddy just bought one and he is bringing it over so we can try it with my speakers. We shall see. Anyway, I use a Single Wire Connection on the AU24 which I think sounds best. Even when I used it with a Bi-Wire speaker, I used a single wire connection with thier jumpers which to me sounded better than bi-wiring. There is a whole write up comparison on their home-page on why you should use a single wire and jumpers. check it out and good luck to you.
Chris |
jabo/bojack/chris: Thanks for the suggestions/comments.
Chris/Jabo: There is a high probable that we will go with the B&W speakers b/c my wife likes the exterior designs. If we can fit the N804 in the room, would you recommend that the 300SEI mate with N804 or N805 OR the SLI80 would provide more synergy with either the 804,805.
Again, thanks in advance for your opinions.
Ken |
Ken,
Take a look at their efficency ratings. I think either amp would work fine off the top of my head.
Chris |
Ken,
If you're considering the B&W N804, I'd strongly recommend reconsidering the N805 with a REL Strata III. About the same price with much better performance (IMHO).
Although I've never heard a pair, I'm really interested in what the Green Mountain Callisto would have to offer. However, do as much auditioning as possible before spending a time. Recommendations are only a starting point. |
hi,
"Chris/Jabo: There is a high probable that we will go with the B&W speakers b/c my wife likes the exterior designs. If we can fit the N804 in the room, would you recommend that the 300SEI mate with N804 or N805 OR the SLI80 would provide more synergy with either the 804,805.
Again, thanks in advance for your opinions.
Ken"
If you are going with B&W speakers then I would get the SLI-80 as the B&W's tend to soak up power.
I have a SLI-80 and love it, a great amp for the money. It lends itself to tube rolling, you can use KT-88s, 6550s, 6L6s or EL-34s as power tubes in the ultralinear or triode modes.
My present tube line up, nos RCA 5U4s, nos Tung Sol soild gray plate 6550's, Pope 6SN7s and Amperex PQ 6992s.
The best sounding new production power tube imo is the JJ KT88s.
good luck and good listening
Larry |
i am sitting in my living room right now, listening to coincident speaker technology partial eclipse II's with my sli-80 integrated and a 303/300 cd player. could not be happier! |
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Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the thoughts and recommendations. I will audition both of the amps to make sure we cover all the grounds. Will use the amp to drive either the N805 or N805s.
Ken |
I just ordered a cary 303/300 cd player can't wait to listen to it. I currently have a classe 201 solid state and audio research ls2b preamp, I am seriously looking into changing my preamp and amp to the sli 80 but I'm wodering if it would drive my von schweikert vr4jr. any thoughts on this? |
