Magico S5 Speaker - SET UP ADVICE PLEASE - Tow-In - Etc.

So the middle circle is for the signal and the bottom wrap around piece is what i solder it too? The one with the little teeth on it?
Thanks 

Yes.  The black wire would be soldered to the wrap-around piece having the little teeth in it (the part of the plug that is closest to the lower left of the photo I provided).  The small circle that is further forward and is centered in the middle, which in a normal RCA cable would be used for the signal connection, should be left unconnected.

Also, as you most likely already realize, since you are using two subs the red and yellow wires from each sub would BOTH be connected to the amp's positive output terminal for the corresponding channel.  In other words, the red and yellow wires from the sub on the left would connect to the amp's + output terminal for the left channel, and the red and yellow wires from the sub on the right would connect to the amp's + output terminal for the right channel.  The RCA plug to which the black wire from the left sub is connected would plug into the amp's RCA input for the left channel, and the RCA plug to which the black wire from the right sub is connected would plug into the amp's RCA input for the right channel.

Best regards,
-- Al
 

Thanks - I took all the sub cables for both suns and matched them and spliced them together- red with red - yellow with yellow and black to back and made into one cable and then attached nice Cardas spades so all are one - and nice and easy to hook to speaker terminals - is that ok?
thanks 

If by "spliced them together" you mean that the red wire from one sub is electrically connected to the red wire from the other sub, and the yellow wire from one sub is electrically connected to the yellow wire from the other sub, that would be wrong.

That would result in both subs reproducing an identical monophonic signal representing the low frequency content of the sum of the two channels, rather than the left sub reproducing the low frequency content of the left channel signal, and the right sub reproducing the low frequency content of the right channel signal. So you wouldn’t be gaining most of the advantage of having two subs.

But if you just mean that they are physically bundled together, and none of the wires are electrically connected to each other, that would be ok. Or, alternatively, you could electrically connect left sub red to left sub yellow, and connect that combination to the amp’s left channel +, while connecting right sub red to right sub yellow, and connecting that combination to the amp’s right channel +. With the RCA plugs that are connected to the black wires plugged in as I described in my previous post.

Best regards,
-- Al

Yes I took both Reds and assumed that meant both go to right channel and the two wires were then put into a single spade to easier to deal with install - I figured that is the same as apply both via bare wire to the same channel and makes install - unstall easier then wrapping each wire around each speaker terminal - that was annoying and what I did at first and did the same for yellows and backs?? Should I have mixed the yellow and red rather than combining red with red and yellow with yellow. It's so easy to mess this stuff up ???

Should I have mixed the yellow and red rather than combining red with red and yellow with yellow?

Yes.

Connecting red and yellow to different channels is necessary when only one sub is being used. But it defeats a lot of the benefit that using two subs can provide, because the subs would no longer be able to reproduce low frequency information that differs between the two channels.

So as I indicated in my previous post...

...electrically connect left sub red to left sub yellow, and connect that combination to the amp’s left channel +, while connecting right sub red to right sub yellow, and connecting that combination to the amp’s right channel +.

And yes, properly connecting a sub or subs can be tricky, as different situations (one sub vs. two; balanced amp vs. single-ended amp; monoblocks vs. stereo amp, etc.) can call for different approaches.

Best regards,
-- Al

Absolutely easy to use a soldering iron if you are handy at any form of DIY. The only thing you have to be careful of is to "tin" the wire a bit before soldering the connection and in order to make a good solder you must get everything heated up - so a bead of solder touching wire and connector and iron tip will do the trick.

I am sure their are YouTube videos about soldering. The only thing you can't fix is SMC components as that requires a special iron but most high end audio is discrete anyway.

There was also another poster that mentioned something that you might take into account, maybe the former owner did not play music on them for many hours, meaning that your speakers are maybe not even broken in. That could also explain a lot.

Try a tube preamp.  Please.

I'm traveling for business down to Dallas until Wednesday. Running my system entire time - can't run them too loud as to be fair to my wife and kids but running it.
moved them further apart - since the pictures and been working on tow in a lot but straight just doesn't work - miss too much info. 

So have it down to:

BAT VK32SE tube preamp
and I'm trading my speaker cables toward it.

i don't want to buy some cable I've never heard - so thinking Cardas - was thinking the Clear but they are not a really laid back so thinking 
Cardas Clear Reflection which they say add some Golden Reference - a little thicker in hip (lower mid bass) 

i know - I know - don't use cables as tuning machine but getting good synerg matters.

also thinging PAD Corvus Revision - PAD might be a good fit?

Cardas or PAD? What do you think?

fsmithjack-
Dallas is a fun city. Drop by John Fort Audio and listen to Silent Source cabling. Mr. Fort is very insightful regarding Audio and is a wealth of information. Safe travels.

Please call bat vk 32 will not fix problem

Toss those over priced aluminum cans that no mater how much $ you toss at them are not doing the job and buy a horn system.

Yes my much younger, beautiful new wife of 8 weeks would love me to bring home the huge bright color horn speaker things. She puts up my hobby but I try to not over do it and horns would definitely over do it x 1,000 

Audiotroy is just emailed you via Audiogon 

Corvus is probably not a good match to simmer things down.  They are more on the forward side compared to other PAD models.   They were too forward for my Thiels,  and also more forward than Venustas and proteus which I also owned.

Did you give up on KS?  

I gave up on the Expression's. My HiDiamonds although bright in my system were overall a much better cable. Would love the emotions but the only used one out there were sold. I am looking to buy used - good cables are way too much $$ new.

Thanks 

Hi fsmithjack,

Saw that you posted that you are in Dallas on business until Wed. Albert Porter is in that area and I think he has his weekly audiophile get together on Tuesday evenings (?). Could be a good chance to experience the Purist cables FWIW.

Dave

I hear you, the emotions are a huge jump in price, way too rich for my blood.

Thanks dcockrum - little free time down here this time around but wish I could have hit him up - that would have been cool. 

Got a line on a pair of Cardas Clear Reflection - say just a bit warmer than the clears - thinking I'll give them a try 

Cables as EQ is what you are doing if the loudspeakers were of proper design the amplifier cable loudspeaker interface would be easy to optimize. But if a cable fetish is what this threads about I apologize and will let you all have at it. 

Pretty sure Magico is a well designed speaker, Pass Labs is a well designed amp and a Bricasti is a well designed DAC but my present speaker cables with this combo is bright - poor match -nothing too abnormal there in the Audiophile world - just looking for a better balance is all. No cable fetish here just trying to get some feedback from owners that may have first hand experience is all. 

No toe-in, lots of space to sides and behind. Otherwise compensate with room treatment. Brightness can be ameliorated with damping around and between the speakers, including the floor.

Best,

E

Thanks Erik - there is tons of space to the sides and behind. Around 8 feet to the side walls about 4 feet out from back wall - I've gone with a little less tow in but they seem to need at least a little or you lose more than you gain. I bought my current speaker cables because they were a great match with my SET tube amps and triode preamps. They peeled layers off and were great with tubes. They are very revealing and what was a great match with tubes are too much of a good thing with solid state it seems. I have not tried any room treatments though and wish I knew more about how to do that because it will probably help nicely!
Thanks 

Wanted to update my threads

Hey Guys - I borrowed an inexpensive tube preamp and man what a difference. My rig was screaming for tubes. So much so now I'm thinking about a tube amp also?

I know Magico needs / should have a SS amp. I only listen at normal levels. Just don't enjoy music real loud except once in a while. Do you think an ARC Reference 150 amp can drive Magico S5 Speakers proper at normal levels in my room? I just think for my taste with these speakers tubes can go a long way. Not quite sure that the ARC REF 150 is enough amp though? Thoughts?

Loaded a few pics of my re-fit rig that is starting to take shape. Have new speaker cables coming (Cardas Clear Reflection) and new preamp (BAT 32SE) and am considering trading my Pass Labs X350.5 and a few bucks for a ARC REF 150. Thoughts?

I moved speakers out to very outside edge of carpet that can be seen in 3rd pic or so and that helped a bit. Pics make them look closer together than they really are.

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/5160

That Magicos need big solid state amps is a canard. They will work really well with powerful tube amps. Unfortunately I suspect that 150W may not do it. It’s nothing to do with playing loud but all about having the headroom for the dynamic range these speakers are capable of

I get great results with my Q3s and VTL MB450III but while my dealer thought they would sounded good with EAR890 monos (140 W) I found that combo lacked life. As the S5 are less sensitive than the Q3s I would worry that 150W could come up short

Thanks and yes that’s exactly what I was afraid of. The type of tubes needed I gear is too expensive and out of my price range :( 

What about - would not have thought of this normally but another member mentioned them.

a pair of Primaluna Dialog Premium HP in mono blocks - with KT150’s these have 192 wattts and supposedly the tranny’s to drive my Speakers - just always thought of Primaluna like I look at Hyundai? Not fair maybe - nothing wrong with Hyundai- not sure either way other than to say I alway bought Toyota’s / Audio Research or BAT. 

Carver Black Beauty - 305 watts  $12,900 retail

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/carver-black-beauty-305-power-amplifier/

Those S5s would sound a lot better in a dedicated room, with a dedicated line, with acoustic treatments covering some of those hard, reflective surfaces, including those wood floors.
The room is responsible for 50% of what you're going to hear.
I also agree you need a pre-amp.

Tom

Those Caver tube amps do look great.

Yes this is my only Audio room for better or worse.

Do you think some throw rugs on the floors might help?

i have a tube preamp -coming and bit warmer and I think better speaker cable option coming as well. 

The idea of "taming brightness" or "changing tone" with ridiculously expensive cables always seems very nonsensical to me.  Essentially you're ok buying 5K cables to filter the signal, but you are not OK with just introducing a decent equalizer in the chain.  Perhaps check out and buy a nice tone controller? There's one from Schiit that just came out, very affordable, so that's worth a shot.

Hey Guys - I borrowed an inexpensive tube preamp and man what a difference. My rig was screaming for tubes. So much so now I'm thinking about a tube amp also?

I think what you're hearing is just impedance mismatch between your DAC and the Power Amp. Like someone suggested earlier you can play around with the gain settings on the DAC or buy a decent tube preamp.  I'd recommend the Dehavilland Ultraverve 3. Since you are using SE connections, you have a lot of options. Active preamps do make a lot of difference.

OK, that's your room. Cover as much of the floor, walls and windows with rugs, drapes, tapestries, etc. Especially cover the first-reflection points at the side walls, front wall, ceiling and floor between your listening seat and the tweeters. Also cover the wall behind your seat if it's within 5-6 feet behind the seat.
Jim Smith's book, (Get Better Sound), is very helpful and it's only $40 or so. 
Please post updates on (hopefully) progress...

Tom 

Nitewulf - the speaker cable change I made cost me a total of $150 dollars.

I bought my $3,200 HiDiamond D8 Speaker Cables 3-meters as demo’s for $1,200 and then sold them for $1,200.

I then purchased $3,300 Cardas Golden Reflection Speaker Cables 3-meters for $1,350.

Hence the net cost of $150

Regardless of what anyone says about cables I know they make a gigantic difference in my systems.

Moreover, my former speaker (that I still own and love) has a wizzer cone and phase plug vs a top quality beryllium tweeter - my old speaker had a semi-shelved treble and the Magico’s extend to the heavens and then some with a rather robust treble.

These are not perceived differences or a matter of how one hears somthing differently but rather legit, actual, physical - mechanical differences in designs that work differently with different types of cables and components.

My old speaker cables were known to be very high resolution and a bit forward and up front and worked great with tubes and SET amps as they peeled off the layers nicely but in a different system such as my new system they can be bright. No big surprises there. I knew it might be an issue when I bought these Speakers. 

The Cardas Cables are modern so not warm per say like the old legacy models but in relative terms a better match and compared to the HiDiamond definitely a richer, fuller, warmer cable.

The idea being that this $150 investment would be a good spend and provide me a better match or synergy to get closer to the type of sound I prefer. My goal was not to use as a tone control but rather to do less damage. My old cable was the wrong cable and I’m hoping this cable helps.

If the HiDiamond was a more balanced and nuetral cable then this change would not have been nessessary but I bought those to light up and peel of the layers of my Tube SET amp that was driving a speaker who’s treble was derived from a wizzer come and phase plug.

Now when plugged into a solid state amp with no tubes driving the ruthless Magico’s I was just asking for trouble and trouble I got. 

Along with these cables im also adding:

BAT VK-32SE Preamp Factory Certified w/1 year Warranty and built in MM phono and remote and brand new tubes. 

Im looking forward to the changes.

Another member wrote that I am making too many changes too quickly.

There is some truth to that I’m sure but I knew my Speaker Cables needed to be changed and I wanted to get a tube preamp in there also. I’m hoping these changes combined with more break in time make a big difference.

Enough that I can start enjoying these great speakers. I will give these changes a little bit of time but if I don’t like it then I’m off to a tube amp. The most powerful I can afford with my trade. 

Most of my buys include either a trade or the sale of somthing else to fund most all of it.

Just didn’t want everyone thinking I was buying all this stuff for crazy money or anything like. It’s the exact opposite actually. Many times only a few hundred dollars is the net difference that changes hands.

As far as putting an EQ in there somewhere. I’m just trying to get my rig where the different parts play nice together and are good matches.

Trying to mix and match and use this site to get info and feedback to help me do that. Trying to minimize and reduce poor match causeing damage. I think I have good enough components where if I can get the synergy match right they should all do what they do best which is sound great. That’s the hope and goal anyways! 

Excellent thread! fsmithjack-
have you considered a B.A.T amp to match the B.A.T. VK-32SE ?
Happy Listening!

No but I probably should I guess but don't think I will.

I am a HUGE fan of their preamps though. Some call them dark or closed in or shelved up top but I know for a fact that is not true and its not because of the BAT pre that would ever cause that. Well yeah maybe up top compared against a super sterile extended solid state preamp that they only thing they do that I love is air up top and their great transparency but that is a tube ss pre debate not the BAT pre.

The people that call the BAT pre dark is due the rest of their gear being exposed by the great BAT pre's. BAT pres highlight other problems in your system vs the BAT pre itself actually being the culprit. They will expose you so from that standpoint they are a pretty serious units. Sort of like my new Magico S5 Speakers. Best be careful because the rest of your system will be stalk naked and the weakness exposed but sometimes its hard to find exactly what part in the chain is causing the trouble. That said I love their pres and think they are very special and their tube amps for power our outstanding but never had luck with with their big SS amps and owned a couple of them. That last one was the main reason I am sour on their big SS amps.   

I had a big BAT is my system a couple years ago and was decent but after a short while wasn't a fan but that could have been due to the other items as every single items in my system has changed from that time: 

I owned:

Wilson Sophia 2 Speakers
CAT Renaissance SL-1 MK III pre
Manley Snappers
PSA DirectStream DAC
PS Audio Powerplant Premier
PAD Cables

I found the Snappers sounded decent but could not drive these Wilson's properly and were a poor match. I loved the Snappers but they just did not grab hold of the drivers properly. I got frustrated to the point where the snappers were actually started to bother me as at times were flat out flabby. Was considering a full re-tube but the life on them wasn't that bad.

In came the big BAT VK600SE and I liked it much better than the Snappers but the magic was gone. Not the tube magic but just the sole and the part of the music that we really connect with. I mean it was sort of there but it was elusive and sort intermittent rather than in spades.

To make a long story longer I picked up a cheap $700 BelCanto amp can't remember the exact model but it was one of the One models and it was excellent. It was amazing how much I liked the way that little SMPS amp sounded. It tough me about matching where before that I was just throwing darts. It did not have the bass or near the power of grip but much of the magic.

Its funny now thinking of it but the Snappers, BAT VK600SE and then the BelCanto experience really taught myself exactly what I wanted.

I knew what I wanted sound wise just didn't know how to get there so this led to a great time of learning and growth in my audiophile journey.

It let me down a dizzying road of furious rig refit of box swapping and speaker swapping and I was learning. Deep learning about power supplies and cables and different types of tubes and ss designed and no feedback and impedance matching and system matching and SET amps and high sensitive speakers and everything was on the table. It was enlightening and frustrating but I would not change it. I think in this I was searching for a sound. In this hobby you can read and learn and should but most of it comes from good old trial and error in terms of dialing in ones on ear. After that I settled on a great system about a year after than and ran that rig for a couple years happy as can be until this most recent system refit. My me a year and a half is long enough for one rig. I need to keep my rig and gear fresh. If it sits too long the components will depreciate too much so I like to keep the ball moving.

I now know so much more and I was confident enough to go with 103db single full range driver Rethm Saadhana V3 Speakers 8ohm driven by 2 watt SET 2A3S-FFX tube amp to Magico S5 Speakers 4ohm driven by 700 watt Pass Labs X350.5 solid state amp. As of now the Rethm/SET has the advantage but the Magico's are closing the gap quickly as I remove the exposed weakness along the Magico's keep getting better. My speaker cable switch from HiDiamond to Cardas made a very big jump. I have a PS Audio P10 on the way as well so I am building my system around my Magico's with much more knowledge than when I tried the BAT amp.  

typed on phone so please excuse all the type o's :)

UPDATE: I wanted to update my 3 threads. I appreciate very much all the feedback and help during this process. The folks on the GON are the best!

Guys my speakers were not even close to broken in. As in Brand New or very close to it. 

Goodwin's told me this, they called it cold, and told me not to worry and promised me they would change dramatically.

You know how it goes though - you hear what you hear and that sort of supersedes everything else but I was trying to be patient although I'm pretty impatient by nature as my words have made pretty clear but I am learning and growing as an aphile.
 
I was inclined to be believe them as they are the Magico pro's but I was worried because I was so unhappy with how they sounded at that point.

I just didn't think when I bought a used 2 1/2 year old pair of speakers they would need Full Blown brake-in but I was wrong.

Also, I thought that even if they did need break in I doubted they would evolve so much to make that much of a difference. I hear all the talk about break in being over rated and it is more a matter of us getting used to them verse them actually changing but I also would think if anything does need break in it would be speakers with the CAP and drivers needing it.

All this said I am utterly amazed at how much they have changed. Sure I made a speaker cable change that made a nice difference but that is not where the true evolution was. I am probably around 350 hours on them or so and for a good 8 to 10 hours a day out of 24 for the last week and a half I have really given them some nice volume and some good old SPL's and given them a chance to stretch out.  

I am told the 500 - 600 range is when they really settle nicely but I am very impressed and so happy how they are evolving. now These are some very serious speakers. So much better than I thought they were going to be. PS Audio P10 landing today and BAT VK-32SE close on its heals. 

As always I am going to plug my Amp via wall direct and hope to get a dedicated 20 amp set up for it and the P10 down the road in the near future but I am over the garage and getting in there means removing fire proof sheet rock etc so that may be a little while out.

Do any of you guys think it is worth plugging my Pass Labs X350.5 into the P10 or just stick to plugging into the wall.

Why did I chose the P10? Couple reasons is one many people like them and i got a such great deal on  brand new one thought it was worth a try. Audiotroy told me a conditioner and another server are needed. Although I am pretty happy with my server but am open to new ideas and growing. What do you guys think?

Thanks 
   

Thanks! for the update- fsmithjack
Happy Listening!

Hey guys - I have some new developments in my system that I had shared in my other threads and wanted to share with you guys also. Thanks

Hey guys - wanted to update you. I got the BAT VK32SE and my PS Audio P10 Conditioner from Fedex and have had a chance to install and listen a bit and these adds allow me to see right away where and how they fit or don't fit..

Like I said I am learning and working toward building my new system re-fit and figuring it out on the fly. I know I am going to make mistakes because most all my buys are without listening first. I know not ideal but also most items I am buying are used so that is sort of the price of this approach. Saves a ton of money but I also don't get to try in my own system first but also buying used and properly allows me to re-flip the items that are not the fits I am looking for.

This said here we go.

I know it is very early but right out of the gate the BAT is not for me. Great preamp and nice and warm and sounds great but these Magico speakers are so transparent and so resolving that they crave - require and demand nothing but the most transparent and neutral components in the chain.

The BAT just provides a bit too much in terms of moving away from neutrality.

I now understand why all you guys want components that are dead neutral. I never got that before but I sure do now. Clear as day!

Once your system gets to a level of transparency where every little change really is highlighted and effects the whole you want everything else that is added to not take from that.

The BAT is sweet and has great bass and sounds great but I have been running my Bricasti direct and realize just how much more I appreciate that sound vs what a tube preamp offers.

Maybe another tube preamp that is more neutral would be more to my liking but I am on the transparency train now and its hard to add anything that doesn't help scrub that window clean and make it as clean and as pure as possible where the BAT added too much tint to that window. A pleasant hue of tint but I tint none the same and many of you told me this and I want the glass in that window as pure and as pristine as i can get it and would love help and feedback from you guys.

Many of you called this but it was important for me to try a decent tube to get that doubt out of my mind and sort of flush my brain of that idea. Sure tubes can add so much that is desired but in my situation the trade off's where too steep of a price for me and one I am not willing to pay.

What do you guys think?

I am thinking Solid State preamp. Ayre K-1xe or maybe a Mark Levingson 326s. I would love a Pass XP20 but none out there used and the XP30 way too much money and the XP10 might now be able to outdo my Bricasti direct. Decisions / decisions.

Also, the PS Audio P10 is fantastic. I love it and it was a nice add on the neutrality and transparency front so happy about that.

I am batting 500 liking 1 out 2 of my last changes/adds.

Also, on my new focused path of neutrality and transparency I am making another speaker cable change. I know a couple weeks is very quick for these changes but in light of what I have learned it makes sense to me.

I switched from HiDiamond D8 to Cardas Clear Reflection speaker cables. My main reason at the time was my speakers with the former cables were incredibly bright and I wasn't happy with my speakers and this cable change and the added break was very helpful to fix this.

The bottom line is the HiDiamonds and the Magico's were not a good match so I pulled the trigger and made the change. I went to warmer and richer cable which was a nice change but the cable is a warmer and richer cable. I want neutrality and transparency so I today pulled the trigger on a cable change.

I sold my Cardas Clear Reflection speaker cables for the same price I paid for them so no financial pain there but they did help me learn more about my speakers and my preferences as it relates to these speakers. Also, what drove this is my ideal cable came available so I pulled the trigger. These were more money than the Cardas CF cables. Not a ton more and but a few hundreds more not crazy expensive considering the buy sell road i take but I am hoping this will be a nice change because these are a more higher end cable and well thought of cable and are known to work great with Magico's

Kubula-Sosna Emotion 2.5 meter Speaker Cables. I am hoping these are great. I am hoping these and a solid state preamp rather than a tube preamp will get me closer to where I want to go. Both changes are chasing that neutrality and transparency goal. There is always the fear of going too far the other way so that is why rather than a Nordost or a silver cable I went with the Kubula-Sosna Emotion as they are known to be a musical cable yet quite transparent.


I think my guiding goals are now transparent, musical and neutral and in this order is this is what will drive all my future decisions and not sure I could own this so confidently without my trial error process of trying on this BAT tube preamp.

What do you guys think?

Any good SS preamp idea's?

Any of you guys here these speaker cables I just bought?

Thanks as always for all the help.

I just started a thread asking about these 2-preamps but you guys have been with me on my system re-fit and wanted to see if any of you guys had feedback on these preamps:

Esoteric C03 preamp or Mark Levinson 326S preamp

ANY FEEDBACK - THOUGHTS - IDEAS would be so appreciated.

Definitely cover the TV with a blanket just to see if that makes a difference.....
A long thread just on that specific topic.

@kalali
I take it the idea is to minimize reflections off the front panel of the television. If so, in your opinion then, would "covering" just the screen/front portion of the panel produce a benefit/improvement in *all* (most?) cases where a flat screen television is between two speakers (and the front panel is perhaps an inch set back from the plane of the drivers)? In this scenario the rear and sides of the television would not be covered. Thanks.

Magico-livin'on the bright side of life!

I like Ayre a great deal. Also a little dark, and supernaturally quiet. You will understand when you listen.

Another pre you might want to listen to for it’s absolute candor is the Parasound JC 2. Definitely two different experiences, but neither is cool nor juicy like a tube pre can be.

Something else to try also, without a lot of juiciness to it is a modern (< 5 years) ARC preamp. The solid state and tube gear has lost some of it’s starkness but not turned exuberant.

I caution you not to get too crazy about "transparency." Meaning, you can end up with a system too cool sounding, and lacking in a welcoming or engaging transcription.

You may also want to try one of Magico's own faves, the CAT pre's. They play them a great deal for demo's and tour with them. 

Hey Eric_squires. Thanks for the info.

Yes I agree totally in your comment to not make your system to cool. Have to guard against that for sure but it’s funny because I’ve loved and I mean loved Tubes my whole Audiophile life but know they don’t seem to fit in like they used to. I pulled the trigger on a Mark Levinson No.326s Preamp. What a great Preamp. It has taken me a little while to get used to but I love it. Also, just made a deal and am making an amp change also. Going to a Hegel H30. Not as warm as the Pass but Hegel is not bright or cool and nice and relaxed but vivid and dynamic and transparent while still providing decent warmth. I’m looking for a bit more resolution, transparency and more dynamics but without it becoming cooler so hoping the Hegel fits the bill. I’m ok with giving up some of the great Pass warmth for better resolution and transparency. Hope it works out like that. 

Poor Erik. He's lucky enough to have had parents who chose the cool spelling of the name, only to have so many here call him by the lesser spelling. Yours truly---Eric.

Looking forward in reading about the ML / Hegel combo- fsmithjack.
Happy Listening!