Hi @mesch ... so I was able to visit James’ house yesterday. It was an interesting visit. First off, James is a gracious host, he took his time to answer all my questions and let me listen to music for a fairly long time. At no time I felt pressured to make a decision. His enthusiasm, passion and knowledge about his craft is commendable.
Having said that, there were a few reasons why I thought the experience was not enough to let me reach a definitive conclusion. First, he didn’t have the Blackhawk or Osprey at his house, so we ended up listening to one of the higher end amps from the Reflection series, I think it was around $14K. As per James, other than the power and chassis, the circuit topology is the same so the sound characteristics should be fairly similar between all their amps. I don’t know, but I’m somewhat skeptical about the claim, not that I have any reason to distrust his opinion. It would have been nice if I had a chance to listen to the Avian series (and I had mentioned about it explicitly before visiting). It will be too much of a leap of faith for me to purchase the Osprey based on my impressions of a much more expensive amp.
Secondly, we used their CeLest’ speakers for the demo. I think they are very competitive within their respective price bracket ($4000) - neutral, transparent, above average resolution, and well controlled base. The big surprise was how well they projected vocals. Reminded me of my Harbeths, which is a huge compliment! However, I felt they lacked just a bit in refinement and tonality which is important for me. I wish they had more higher end speakers for the demo to allow a customer to assess the full potential of the amp. But for $4000 a pair, these speakers definitely deliver the goods. I understand that comparing them to my more expensive Olympicas is not fair.
I was expecting to be blown away based on what I’ve read on the internet, but I wasn’t. The Reflection amp was certainly better than my Cronus Magnum II; it had a bigger (width and depth) soundstage, definitely a richer and fuller sound, but IMO not enough to justify the huge gap in price. To be fair, James has offered to inform me if he gets the Osprey at his house. I might take my Cronus to his house to do a direct comparison. Until then, please feel free to take my impressions with a grain of salt :)
And lastly, the trial period is not entirely risk free. There is of course the return shipment cost, but also a 7% restocking fee. Given all this, I will hold off and continue to search for other alternatives. Of course, if I ever get to hear the Osprey in person, and compare it directly with my Cronus Magnum, I might change my mind. But for now, the search continues.
Having said that, there were a few reasons why I thought the experience was not enough to let me reach a definitive conclusion. First, he didn’t have the Blackhawk or Osprey at his house, so we ended up listening to one of the higher end amps from the Reflection series, I think it was around $14K. As per James, other than the power and chassis, the circuit topology is the same so the sound characteristics should be fairly similar between all their amps. I don’t know, but I’m somewhat skeptical about the claim, not that I have any reason to distrust his opinion. It would have been nice if I had a chance to listen to the Avian series (and I had mentioned about it explicitly before visiting). It will be too much of a leap of faith for me to purchase the Osprey based on my impressions of a much more expensive amp.
Secondly, we used their CeLest’ speakers for the demo. I think they are very competitive within their respective price bracket ($4000) - neutral, transparent, above average resolution, and well controlled base. The big surprise was how well they projected vocals. Reminded me of my Harbeths, which is a huge compliment! However, I felt they lacked just a bit in refinement and tonality which is important for me. I wish they had more higher end speakers for the demo to allow a customer to assess the full potential of the amp. But for $4000 a pair, these speakers definitely deliver the goods. I understand that comparing them to my more expensive Olympicas is not fair.
I was expecting to be blown away based on what I’ve read on the internet, but I wasn’t. The Reflection amp was certainly better than my Cronus Magnum II; it had a bigger (width and depth) soundstage, definitely a richer and fuller sound, but IMO not enough to justify the huge gap in price. To be fair, James has offered to inform me if he gets the Osprey at his house. I might take my Cronus to his house to do a direct comparison. Until then, please feel free to take my impressions with a grain of salt :)
And lastly, the trial period is not entirely risk free. There is of course the return shipment cost, but also a 7% restocking fee. Given all this, I will hold off and continue to search for other alternatives. Of course, if I ever get to hear the Osprey in person, and compare it directly with my Cronus Magnum, I might change my mind. But for now, the search continues.