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Food or beryllium tweeters for my DeCapo's

The question is moot. Like any TRUE Audiophile, the speakers must come first. Food is a luxury that I sometimes cannot afford. I have decided to feed the Reference 3a DeCapo-i's the meal that they so much deserve. The new Beryllium tweeters fresh as summer corn from Divergent Technologies. I first decieded to purchase the DCaps about a month ago. Speakers come and go 'round hear like the wind at my rear. It seems that every time I look up there is a new baffle staring at me. Sometimes not even a baffle. Maybe a tootie looking horn or chrome balls with a metal grill. You get tha picture. I'm an addict. Driven by reviews, a few words from other addicts or a half naked cabinet. Yep, that's me and I'm proud of it. I've made so many mistakes that it is a wonder that my ears haven't packed their cochlears up and walked out the door.
So there I sat about a month ago, armed with nothing more than a Jolida 202brc and wad of cash form the last set of flying baffles. What to do what to do...(?). Just as I was starting to itch all over, you know the feeling, slobbering over pictures of the stuff you cannot afford.. You dream about all the speaker candy here on A'gon and elsewhere; like the audio salons that you have been baned from (the owners harsh words still ringing in your ears.... GET OUT ! YOU CHEAP BAS.... ) I still remember hitting "enter" and there they were. Gloss Cherry DeCapos on wonderful Skylan stands. Were they gone yet ? I trembled as I stumble typed the words out to the owned... Do still you them have ?? Please me let know ASPA. The hours seemed like weeks as my fingers dug into the new leather case for my Ipad. You would know the one. The only APP is the one for A'gon. The hours seemed like weeks .... And then ! The reply.. "Yes, I still have them". As the thousand hot pokers left my body, I replied... I'll boy them. He was close. I drove to pick them up, brought them home with a minimum of speeding tickets and let the little Jolida do its work on them. The thousand or so speakers in my memory banks turned dark and left me alone to absorb the wonders of these little cherry boxes. My mind immediately searched its cells for my best amps. Edge, Rowland, Classe, CJ, ARC, Bel Canto, Kora... The list seems endless, and ALWAYS "that" question..... Tu be or not tu be. Nuts. The speakers are soooo good. What to do?... The answer came in the Heavenly form of an Audio Analogue Maestro Settanta Rev 2 integrated amp. It arrived and pure bliss smacked me between the ears. The only thing missing was perhaps the over the top Beryllium tweeter. There was a little food left in the cabinets. A half a gallon of milk, some cheese and small pudding cups. There was enough money to order the tweets.
As I sit on my porch, smoking my pipe, the words "out for delivery" are on FedEx's tracking page. I just looked in my pocket and found a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. It won't be long now. Should I let you know ?

Moron this later.
Tubeears
tubeears

Showing 1 response by jim2

jim2
168 posts
 
Tubegroover:
His system just sounds about as good as I’ve ever heard it and get this, he changed electronics from vintage ARC gear to a Creek Integrated, you wouldn’t believe it and neither would I until you heard it.

Have we grown tired of the De Capo’s? ;)

I’ve read the late Bobby Palkovich of Merlin Music passively (for him) suggest to a customer "a medium powered NAD amp may satisfy you" - regarding his speakers. (I think there were Merlin TSM monitors) I spoke to Bobby on several occasions. For those of you who never had that experience, he was a Type AAA guy. It was a bit like talking to a tornado or a bull. You were just trying to hold on and hopefully remember the answers to what you were calling him about. Strong, Big personality. Big Brain. Obsessed with his product. As a VSM owner for more than a decade, I’d learned that if he gave "official" or even passive approval for another product to be used with his speakers, it was something to take note of.

And then there is what I learned in 1989 in the Wofford College dorm. My "Natural Sound" Yamaha receiver and Boston Acoustics speakers sounded better than anyone else’s stuff (if they even bothered). And the heresy of the "Loudness" dial and "Bass" and "Treble" adjustments seemed to overcome the fact that they were jammed up above midget twin beds and against cinder block walls. Didn’t matter, you could make them make music with those knobs. They did and our door stayed open. Killer.

Then there are the Silverline Minuet Supreme speakers that I snagged on this site. And then last week, Amazon dropped off a brand spankin’ new Yamaha "Natural Sound" integrated amp with my trusted Bass, Treble, and Loudness dials. Does is matter that they are jammed in the office on a TV table? Nope, I can make them make music. I’m not sitting here with my head in a vise *concentrating* on "soundstage" and other such nuisances. Kick Ass! Probably a little like a Creek integrated.

Why buy Silverline? I ran into Alan Yun when my wife and I went to CES in 2001. As far as audio goes, I have 3 strong memories from that trip:

#1 The Merlin Music / Joule room with Bobby, and Jud Barber from Joule. It wasn’t long after that visit that I had a VZN80 amp.

#2 Alan Yun and a wide array of speakers in the Silverline Audio room that just made music.

#3 Reference 3A De Capo speakers driven by an Antique Sound Lab tube amp. I distinctly remember how much I liked these speakers - 15 years ago, with a brief listen.

Yep, here is what I heard... picture from CES 2001... the interweb remembers too:

http://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_8_1/images/ces-2001-day-4-reference3a_speaker.jpg

I suspect many of us know there are "secrets" out there for this stuff, and over the years you pick up on them - like NAD and Creek amps. Whether you are willing to listen to the secrets and take not of them is another matter altogether. A large part of the struggle is the mental game of "what aren’t I experiencing because I don’t have THAT?" "Surely, *that* must be better because it costs more than what I have and everyone says it’s awesome, right?"

I’ve heard a few things about this, that, or the other. The De Capo’s and Berning amps are on the list. So are Joule Electra and Merlin Music. And Yamaha... True, not much of that is cheap. Even so, I’ll bet I can make a pair of De Capo’s sing with my Bass, Treble, and Loudness knobs on my (brand new, yet) trusty Yamaha "Natural Sound" integrated amp. Wanna bet?

And, for what it’s worth Tubeears, Palkovich liked the Audio Analogue stuff with his stuff, so it’s been on my list too... I’m not sure it costs enough though...

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