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
Guys, what do you think of the DCS total suite and the Accuphase DP100 and DC101... don't you think they deserve to be contenders ... moreover the Reimyo does not play SACDs
David:

I had the full dCS suite alongside the Meitner CDSD/DCC2 combo. The dCS was very, very good overall, providing excellent transparency and detail, but I thought it was a little brittle sounding and lean, and the bass wasn't as resolved as I thought it would be. The Meitner, on the other hand, was just as transparent (if not more so) and far more natural sounding. That's just my experience, of course, and many will probably differ. In addition, the dCS needs four boxes to accomplish what the Meitner does in two. That's not a small consideration for those of us who are space challenged. At any rate, both the Meitner and dCS are state of the art. The Reimyo is as well, but the sound isn't really to my taste. And it doesn't have SACD. I don't have much experience with Accuphase gear, other than some friends who have owned their digital gear have had mixed opinions about it.
Dear all,

what is your opinion on Martin Design speaker, which looks like a Kharma Midi Ceramique ?
And does anyone knows about Tidla speaker ? (those ones look like Eidolon Avalon Diamond)
When I say that they look like other speaker I'm not talking only about the outside buth the nside as well... and I'm not critisizing
Regards
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