Hyperion HPS-938 speakers
I also like Hyperions and I can tell you that careful component matching is a must. But if done successfully the sound is very satisfying and musical without the edginess/brightness that you are describing and which I have heard ones or twice when paired with wrong puppies. About your thoughts about Macs......... I would say yes.....not exactly tubes but musically satisfying. Might be a very good match for Hyperions. Also don't overlook the source, room acoustics, preamp etc. A lot of it comes down to synergy and room characteristics. Cheers |
Wifes and audio don't match well. Mac and Hyperion will. Audioquest will work well in your set-up and with Mac. Owned both not too long ago. CDP....well, yes it is true that you will get what you pay for it but there are nice choices in all categories. Find the best player in around 1K-2K that is musical (not detail, sharp or super reviling). Few for future references: *Rega Apollo *Consonance Reference 2.2 MKII tube output cdp *Jas Musik *Morrow Audio cdp with tube output (buffer) From $1000 to $1800 new. Used at 20% to %40 off depending on age and condition. Good luck |
I wouldn't recommend silver cables in your setup. They might be to hot for your rig. Then again , silver cables are not created equal. Some are very good with little coloration and some poorly design are somewhat sharp, edgy and can project the illusion of very fine detail which is nothing more then coloration that will drive you nuts over time. I could give you a deal on my silver speaker cables that were custom made for my friend and end up in my system when he was cleaning up. Those are top of the line Vampire that cost about 2K. You can have those for 1/10 of the original price. But they are huge monsters. You don't want those beasts with your Hyperions. I would recommend something like Audioquests, Cardas, Morrow Audio to name a few. Copper is more appropriate for your set up then poorly made silver wire. IMO. However you can experiment with KK silver cable for the sake of " been there , done that" . They are OK. Used to own the balance version. Cheers Mariusz |
It should open up at about 100h mark. It needs a little time to settle in. It's quaite normal behavior for new equipment to go through sometimes weird periods during breaking time. I would not worry to much about Mac, it will get only better from now on (like wine). Musical Fidelity tube buffer might be in fault here but it is only my speculation. It wouldn't hurt to remove it temporarily from the system to evaluate its beneficial properties ......,or its negative effect on the overall sound quality. From mine expirience, unnecessary components in the system rob the detail, clarity and most importantly transparency. It is just like throwing in the signal path extra caps, resistors, boards, power supplies and cables. Less components between the source and the speakers the better. I am not saying that it is your case but it is just a thought. So try that and give your nice brand new Mac some time to reward you with sound you are seeking for. & not to worry, I can't sleep anyways. |
Hi Dave, nice story.......sounds like I have heard it before, oh yaaaa , everytime I change something major in my system my little girl notice it right away. Wife notices only the differences when it comes to balance on our bank account. David, what preamp qualities interest you the most. Stereo with Home Theatre pass thrue or HT processor? If I were you I would go for the formal. I may also add that tube preamp would work really nice in your rig. Some of the cable brands that you have mentioned offer 30 or 60 days money back on their products. It would not hurt to try them and see/hear for yourself. I have owned Signal and one of anticable's speker wires to name the few. However in my system Morrow cables rule. I like these cables so much that my second system will also use 100% Morrow Audio cabling .....but that is just me and YMMV. Do what your gut feeling tells you. Cheers Mariusz |
Hawkeye43, are you interested only in HT preamp or you want the best of both Worlds????? It can be done you know. Your budget would help make some useful recommendations. P.S You will never reach musical nirvana with HT processor alone. No matter how good it looks on the paper. Dedicated 2 channel rig which can coexist with Surround Sound Home Theatre setup is the only way to get the best of both formats. Invest in very good stereo preamp and surround sound processor. Don't worry we will guide you through if in need. Cheers Mariusz |
Home theatre and high quality Hi-Fi is definitely possible and it doesn't necessarily have to cost an arm and a leg to do it right. I am not a huge advocate for Home Theatre since I have left that journey and started or more like revisited the roots of the original multichannel experience - "Stereo" . But this time with the fresh start which means, eliminating all of the unnecessary distractions like, SACD, DVDA, AC3 , DTS, THX etc. and video from my consideration. While educating myself how to do it right and with caution and fear of making mistakes that I will have to pay dearly in case of failure. That adventure was and still is very enjoyable and fun. Considering the fact of very small loses due to in home auditions, blind.....or more like deaf purchases of used gear online and time that was invested in auditioning, attended trade and costumer shows. This of coarse wasn't a matter of weeks, months but years. In my humble opinion it is extremely difficult to accomplish both with a single component such as HT processor, which is design with multitasking and versatility in mind. Incorporating every aspect of HT experience , sacrifices had to be made. And I don't care what the manufacturer's claims are about specifications, noise, integral separation and interference is, as it is impossible to achieve the Holy Grail of both Worlds in the single unite......However for someone with adequate funds strategically allocated in key components and willing to reach the the goals of uncompromising performance isn't all that difficult. I would suggest the best component for HT duties. I am unfamiliar with present gear and/or what that might be ( I had a Krell Showcase prepro at one point. That is as far as my experience goes. Heard other gear but I am sure it all have change by now). For HT only , I like Anthem Statement D1 Preamp-Processor , which I have heard plenty and believe to be an excellent product for the money. I am sure that you know many others just as good but remember....its purpose is only uncompromising HT performance. Stereo duties will belong to separate linestage (preamp) with HT pass-thru input. There are many great choices from both families. Solid State as well as tube preamp. Setup is easy. You have to setup your new stereo rig first. Connect the source like CD, LP or stereo outs of your SACD player to linestage as those would be used strictly with stereo mode. Then , connect the stereo preamp to your right front and left front amplifier channels and you are almost done. Now use the left front and left right "out" on your HT processor and connect those to left and right HT pass-thru "in" on your stereo preamp and remaining channels (C,BR, BL) to amplifier channels for the center, back left and back right channels. That is it you are done. How it work? Simple, when you are listening to your stereo system, just use the linestage and stereo components that you want to listen and which are connected to the preamp. You HT has nothing to do with it , you have to separate systems now. When you choose to watch some movies or play some multichannel tracks nothing special is require. Signal for "L" & "R" front is unaffected and linestage acts like it is not even there. It simply passing the signal thru. It is bypassing all the circuitry and it doesn't degrade the signal. My recommendation for one of the best preamps that I know of from my experience is Dodd Audio battery powered preamp with 2 6922 tubes and absolutely unaffected by power line filth since its 4 batteries can power this baby up to 20h on 1 charge. What is cool about it is that when you use the HT pass-thru Dodd doesn't need to be turn on. So when your wife wants to watch movies, simply turn the selector knob on Dodd and you can turn it of.....that is it, done. If she wants to listen to music, turn on the Dodd - select the source (CD,SACD stereo input, satellite radio or LP). Easy???? I think so. Your wife might also find it stress free and fun after few tries. Here are some links Dodd first impressions stereo mojo review 10 Audio review six moons review It sells for $3300 new but for limited time it is on sell directly from Dodd's website or Walter of Underwood (that is where I bought mine) - price is $2495 but I am not sure if the special sell offer period is still going on. Check with Walter of Underwood or Gary of Dodd Audio. Take care , do some reading ask around, search and you will find what you want. Cheers Mariusz |
Now use the left front and left right "out" on your HT processor and connect those to left and right HT pass-thru "in" on your stereo preamp and remaining channels (C,BR, BL) to amplifier channels for the center, back left and back right channels. Sorry for that it should say : Connect the left front channel out and Right front channel out from your HT prepro - to left and right HT pass-thru "in" on stereo preamp. Don't forget to select HT pass-thru on stereo preamp when you want to watch movies or listen to multichannel music. Dodd doesn't need to be "ON" but it must be in HT mode. When listening to stereo source, choose the appropriate input on the linestage that corresponds to the source that you want to listen and which is connected to linestage. Volume on linestage is by-passed when in HT mode. For movies use the volume on your HT processor. Sorry, it is late and I am seeing in double. Take care Mariusz |
Bill - you could not sell it even if you really wanted. Gary sells direct - no dealers. That helps to keep the costs down. Untill you hear it - your opinion is very.....baseless. We had a -Audio Rave- yesterday with whole bunch of people and gear. All agreed that Dodd was a very special - we also had a shot out between Dodd vs Modwright. It was very interesting to say the least. I will post my impressions on the other thread where I meantion those two going head to head at each other. Garage ?......maybe - but one does not need a fency store front and gazilions spend on adds to be respected and well known within the audiophile circles. Gary is very profecional and cares more about costumer satisfaction then most butique and well known brands. I tought that you should know that while looking down on the little guy that seems to trouble some competition.......and maybe even you Bill - is that the one of the best gear comes from ......yes the little guys like Dodd / Supratek / Audio Horizon /Modwright/RWA/Emerald Physics and many many others. But I can asure you Bill - Dodd is a such a small outfit that you should not worry. Onother thing Bill - neither did I or reviewers that actually had some experience with Dodd noticed what you said about the limitation of dynamics ....I am not sure....but hey - we that own or heard Dodd must be wrong and you are right then. I am not really interesred in proving you wrong ......what is the point....all I will say is this - it is a awesome preamp for the money that kicks butt .......battery or not. Garage or front page of Stereophile mag. .......does not matter. It it the listener that holds the final vote. And my vote goes to DODD Audio. Two - like you said - power line problems can be addressed with many filters / conditioners / PC / dedicated lines and isolated ground for all audio components.....but it costs money and lots of it - I should know. Besides it does not always eliminates the problem complitly. Especially true in big cities like NY. So enjoy reading all the positive feedbacks from Dodd users here and on Audio Circle. Cheers |
Hi Dave, Are you sure that only one set of pre-outs is active in HT mode? I have not tried this feature yet but I would think that both pre-out sets are active......I could be wrong though. If in fact that is the case there is always another way. If you are thinking to use a switcher , call Lloyd Peppard of Mapletree Audio to design one for you. It should not cost you more then $200 (I think it is called LR Pro switcher). He lives in Canada and you can contact him by calling him: tel - 613 387 3830 or by email: Lloyd@mapletreeaudio.com You can also call Walter of Underwood to assist you in custom build preamp or call Gary of Dodd directly. Walter's phone: 770 667 5633 email: underwoodwally@aol.com Gary Dodd- phone: 972 276 6865 email: doddaudio@doddaudio.biz Another way would be to look for true balance preamp that would do the trick.......but to get that kind of quality it will cost an arm and a leg. If balance is what you must use then go for quality switcher or balance preamp. However I would contact few people first to see if some design changes are possible to fit your needs. Regards Mariusz |
