Finally received my SimAudio Titan back!
Some of you may remember I posted a few months back as to whether or not to send my Simaudio Titan HT200 5 channel amp to Sim for the recommended "cleaning and calibrating". After so much back and forth I decided to do it. The wife and I drove to the distributor in Lake Champlain and dropped it off on 14 May (Canada was and still is closed-absolutely ridiculous but that's another topic altogether:). Much as I was so distraught without her, I finally received her back last Thursday, 8 July. They said it would be about 3 weeks. Had I known it would have been almost 2 months I probably wouldn't have done it. But she's back and truly better than EVER! Disconnecting, lifting, packing I have to say wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated thanks to my wife who was truly a Godsend (she had everything labeled with little slip on tie labels that were absolutely ingenious) with the whole project...
This unit is about ~110 lbs. So whilst it wasn't easy it was SO worth it. Here's the thing, I was able to get my hands on a Monoprice Monolith 5x200 watt amp to hold me over the last 3 weeks. Whilst that unit is good for performance/cost it isn't nearly ANYWHERE near the class of the Simaudio. Nor should it be I guess at about 1/9th the price. That said the difference is truly astounding. So not only did it give some perspective and make me appreciate how good the Sim really is, it really drove home how different amps can sound (affect sound). I honestly can't even describe the difference. Everything truly came alive! I don't know how else to describe it but alive comes as close anything I can think of. To be honest I was even contemplating switching my Dyn Evoke's out during this time probably because I was going through detachment and abandonment anxiety (LOL). However since reuniting the Evoke's with the Sim they won't be going anywhere! Yes the Sim brought back the magic the Dyn's seemed to be missing a bit. I can only say WOW! For anyone wondering, YES amplification truly makes all the difference in the world. I have not been able to stop listening since. I HATE that I have to be here at work and can't be home listening to the magic of the Dynaudio/Simaudio combo. And even though the Sim Tech said the unit "was really in excellent shape to begin with" he gave it a "little TLC and a full clean bill of health"-that alone was worth it as she is 20 years old. Nice to know she was taken care of the previous 19 years before coming to me :)
I want to thank you all again for taking the time to weigh in. It was worth every penny ($435.00 including shipping which was almost 1/2 the bill) and the time without her. I gained perspective and a whole new appreciation for the Evokes and the Sim and how much of a difference an amplifier can make on overall sound...
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They tested and calibrated. Nothing was replaced. The tech said it was in excellent shape. The cost for the service was $225, however the shipping was $200. May seem like a waste of money to some, but being that she was 20 years old and even though Sim definitely "overbuilds" their gear it was worth it for peace of mind and whatever they did has definitely made audible improvements...I'd definitely do it again! |
Ah good to see it all worked out. I had a suspicion it would check out in good shape. Much of the discussion on capacitor life comes from older Tube or Class A gear which tend to operate at much higher temps, so it's really difficult to determine the service life of components that aren't stressed to capacity. Naim is one of the few manufacturers that continue to recommend regular service intervals but I suspect that's more about profit then need. Actually do they still recommend servicing on their new stuff? Its been a while since I checked out Naim so I apologize if that is no longer the case. |
Just ran into this topic. Thanks for sharing. I have a Titan 5ch myself, since 2002. It’s about the only thing that I haven’t replaced in 20+ yrs. I love this amp. It’s good to know that Simaudio is still supporting legacy products. After reading this, I just might send my Titan in for some maintenance. I just have to process the wait time. I also don’t have the shopping carton anymore. Under a month would be fine but I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if it was longer. |
@btw22 glad this helped. I brought mine to Sim right at the start/peak of the Covid thing. I’m sure their turnaround time I must be quicker now? It killed me to be without her for that length of time, but like I said I got the Monolith so at least I’d have something. But clearly the Sim outclassed the Monolith in every which way. That’s why when I got the Sim back I was truly awestruck at the difference in sound. Well worth sending her to Sim if for no other reason than to hear how healthy and well treated she was. That gave me complete peace of mind as I bought her used… Reach out to Sim and just see what their turnaround time is. Then grab an el cheap o 5 channel to get you through… |