Difficult Choice


HI,
choosing a HI-FI from scrathc is a difficult exercise.
I'm asking for help.

I might get Lamm2.1 amps or Tenor 75i
i tried the hybrid amp from tenor and was very disappointed
I found it not as full and "real" than the 75i (kind of normal) but it was on the top "messy", lacking precision.
I was using a EMM Labs transport + Dac directly plugged in the amp + Kharma Grand Midi Ceramique
Very disappointing
I have to say that those EMM Labs did not impress me that much and I wonder if it is not better to use a preamp with them.

Kharma exquisite Midi seem to be a good choice even if it lacks some guts with the Tenor
A sub could be a solution but i did not try
I'm wondering if those VR9 Von S. are that much better than the Kharma
I'm interested to know as well what people think of
Sonus Faber Stradivari (do they work with SET)
Dynaudio Temptation (do they work with SET)
Pipedeams model 18
Audio Physics Caldera ?

More over, what preamp to use ?
There is a Audio Note on the offer but does it go well with
Lamm ?
What about the new ARC reference3 ?

Concerning the source, is the DCS suite that good ? I was not that impressed by the EMM Labs.

Thank you
dck

Showing 4 responses by amperidian

Marten Design Coltrane are among the best and easily the most natural sounding cone speakers out there, yet they retail for only about 29000 US when compared to other reference speakers. The VR-9 are really good too and I hear the VR-11's are real monsters .... :) but considerably more expensive than Marten Design speakers ... gotta earn the money!
If you go with solid state amps (like the Halcro DM68 monos) you can drive a large variety of reference speakers out there ... there are so many different designs ... Martin Logan Statement E2's ... Dynaudio Evidence Master (the best cone speakers in the world) ... Acapella Spharon Excalibur (the best highs in the world) ... MBL 101D (among the top 2 onmis) ... German Physics Loreley (the other great omni) ... Wilson Audio Alexandria X-2 .... some really good choices, it only depends on personal tastes.

dCS is good, so is Emm Labs but I hear that vinyl is still better (I mean the best of vinyl), consider that as an option. If you go digital I would recommend trying out the Whest Audio DAP .10u, really impressive piece (you'll need 1 more powercord and a set of interconnects)or their PS.20 for vinyl with the same result there.

Consider some powerconditioning for the system ... Shunyata and Transparent Audio optimal choices as well as Walker Audio's new gear ...with Shunyata/Elrod/Electraglide/Revelation Audio Labs powercords. Critical if you want to hear what the audio gear is capable of.

And don't forget mechanical isolation ... this is critical. Consider SRA or Symposium here, those guys really know their stuff as well as Grand Prix Audio.

Cheers
of course I forgot to mention the most important parameter ... the listening room ... what size, any treatments, what speakers sound best in it? .... etc

have fun
I second szutinglee on his opinion. Acapella sounds amazing but you need higher efficiency (and higher price) Acapellas if you want to use the Lamm's to drive them.

Avantgardes are good too, probably a better match for your Lamm amps.

Wilson defintely not a good match for you amps, Halcro suits those speakers very well IMO.

Have you considered silverlines? ... some of their models boast up too 96db efficiency and could mate well with your amps too.

For preamps, don't overlook the VTL 7.5 ... worthy of an audition at least.

All digital sources you mentioned are top of the line. You left out Burmester CD 001, Audio Aero Prestige and APl 3910 which are below the ones you mentioned but not too far off.
you should really try to listen to all these individual speakers before you settle on a choice ... I would surely chose the Acapellas over the Avantgarde's as long as the power is there to drive them ... their horns are better built to withstand the sonic signature of the horns themselves and offer a larger sweetspot.

... the Karmas are also among the best out there, VSA VR-11 or VR-9 should also be auditioned if you are considering this level of performance ...

but no matter what speaker you decide to get, none will approach the highs of the Acapellas ... I think most people out there will agree on that.