Experience with Plinius M8 & P10

Hey P59teitel...

Thanks for your detailed insights and experiences...
I listened to teh Plinius M8 and P10 today on Expolinear speakers in Berlin...
I did not know speakers, room and electronics before... So it is really a hard guess on the components I listened to today...

I guess the Expolinear's ribbon tweeters created a very special airiness and "lightness" in sound, that Wilson's don't create. It was close to electro static sound. The Expolinear guy is a very experienced Audiophile.

He described old Plinius components in general as balanced with longterm satisfaction guarantee. If that is so, his loudspeakers seem to be very airy and transparent.

Bass control in this room and the speakers was not so impressive, but definitely had a certain slam...

My impression was, Plinius seems to be more significant sounding than symphonic line...

I of course asked the retailer, if I could check the components at home. He declined. So I felt a little pissed. As a reaction he offered 5% discount on top of the 50% overall discount. Components are new... but I feel like I would by "the cat in the bag", like we say in Germany...

So... I am sure, the components are fine and well built.
But I am not sure, if I would exactly like the character of the Plinius...
:/

The price is very attractive and I guess it will be sold within the next few days... Tough situation.

I don't expect airiness of Symphonic Line, but I want some more Slam and still good resolution and strong imaging (not necessarily to the extent of SL)...

Tough decision making...

From your description of your audition I would guess that the Expolinears are voiced differently from Wilsons and may not produce bass the way that Wilsons do? You might want to try a few different amplifiers with the Expolinears to get more of a sense of their tonal balance, and from there try to project to your Sophias. If you find the Plinius combo to produce the most bass weight and slam with the dealer's speakers, they should do the same with yours.

But yes, still a risk to buy and pray. The price though is low enough that if they didn't work out, you could probably sell them here and come out even or pretty close. And I have heard that Plinius is more widely known in Europe than in the U.S., and is widely understood to mate well with Dynaudio speakers. So at least you'd have a strong used market if you wanted to keep looking after getting them home.

Decisions, decisions...let us know how it works out.

Okay... So I did the "Leap of faith" buying a still expensive Preamp / Poweramp by only reading about it and hearing it in unknown environment.

I just liked the way it was built, the specs looked nice and design goals were all things I can agree to. Nonetheless risk is high.

So since today afternoon I have M8 and PA10 from Plinius in my Studio room, wired with balanced Vovox cables and Synergicistic Research going to my Sophia's. Source is either Apple with Apogee Ensemble DAC or Meridian G08, both with Symphonic Line cables into the M8.

So... the machines are still heating up, breaking in.
But I already can say, that I got quite exactly what I was hoping for. More balls and punch than my Symphonic Line RG09, but probably not as detailed and open, though really nicely balanced so far. But much more detail and transparency than my old Bryston BP25-BST-4-chain...

So: all good at this end of the ocean... :)
I will judge on transparency, resolution, soundstage and imaging, once I have gotten more familiar with the new components...

AND: My Logitech Harmony now can remote control my WHOLE system here. And the Plinius stuff also looks nice!

I AM VERY HAPPY SO FAR.

My Symphonic Line RG09 will go into the living room and fire my other Sophia's...

I guess I now have the perfect set up for my needs :)))))

Glad you are liking it! Achieving happiness with your system is often an elusive goal.