Warren, I really admire your passion for the Passion. Your sincere enthusiam and love of this unit is inspiring. I have never heard the Passion ( I have an Audio Refinement Complete in my 2nd system. It is very musical) but your passion makes me want to hear the Passion.
Integrated: Plinus 8150 vs Concentra II
My system: Meridian 508.24 + Sonus Faber Cremona + Plinius 8150.
When my Cremonas arrived I thought that maybe my Plinus 8150 was not good enough to drive them. With so many good reviews on the new Concentra II I have decided to try it on my system (in Europe the Concentra costs 3 times more than the Plinius). I was surprised since I was expecting that the Concentra would beat the Plinius in every aspect. Well, it did not.
The Concentra has a wonderful (huge) soundstage, lots of air between the instruments and it's very musical. On these items, it sounds MUCH better than the Plinius, yes. BUT, the Plinius has clearly a deeper bass (possibly a litle boomy) plus the highs are much softer. But the main difference is in dynamics: the Plinius is much faster. The Concentra is slow so voices tend to sound unhappy.
So, is there any other (integrated) solution? Feel free to suggest. But, please, cost does matter to me...
Thanks in advance.
When my Cremonas arrived I thought that maybe my Plinus 8150 was not good enough to drive them. With so many good reviews on the new Concentra II I have decided to try it on my system (in Europe the Concentra costs 3 times more than the Plinius). I was surprised since I was expecting that the Concentra would beat the Plinius in every aspect. Well, it did not.
The Concentra has a wonderful (huge) soundstage, lots of air between the instruments and it's very musical. On these items, it sounds MUCH better than the Plinius, yes. BUT, the Plinius has clearly a deeper bass (possibly a litle boomy) plus the highs are much softer. But the main difference is in dynamics: the Plinius is much faster. The Concentra is slow so voices tend to sound unhappy.
So, is there any other (integrated) solution? Feel free to suggest. But, please, cost does matter to me...
Thanks in advance.