Update: i will be picking up a lumin s1 and test drive it here at home. The goal will be to see how much better it is than my ps audio direct stream dac. i suspect the lumin s1 will blow away my ps audio direct stream. Just a gut feeling based on my initial research.
My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!
So I have been in a long journey looking to find the best amplifiers for my martin logan montis. As you know, the match between an amplifier and speakers has to be a good "marriage" and needs to be blend exquisitely. Right now, I think I might have found the best sounding amplifier for martin logan. I have gone through approximately 34-36 amplifiers in the past 12 months. Some of these are:
Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series
NAD M25
PARASOUND HALO
PARASOUND CLASSIC
KRELL TAS
KRELL KAV 500
KRELL CHORUS
ROTEL RMB 1095
CLASSE CT 5300
CLASSE CA 2200
CLASSE CA 5200
MCINTOSH MC 205
CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7
OUTLAW AUDIO 755
LEXICON RX7
PASS LABS XA 30.8
BUTLER AUDIO 5150
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005
With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer.
My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)
NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes)
Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)
Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)
rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)
cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)
parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)
lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)
McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.
butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)
pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.
classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)
Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:
PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.
Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.
Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?
Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp.
Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.
It is articulate sounding too
Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.
Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.
Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.
Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.
Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either.
Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.
Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.
My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.
That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!
Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series
NAD M25
PARASOUND HALO
PARASOUND CLASSIC
KRELL TAS
KRELL KAV 500
KRELL CHORUS
ROTEL RMB 1095
CLASSE CT 5300
CLASSE CA 2200
CLASSE CA 5200
MCINTOSH MC 205
CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7
OUTLAW AUDIO 755
LEXICON RX7
PASS LABS XA 30.8
BUTLER AUDIO 5150
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005
With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer.
My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)
NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes)
Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)
Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)
rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)
cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)
parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)
lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)
McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.
butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)
pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.
classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)
Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:
PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.
Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.
Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?
Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp.
Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.
It is articulate sounding too
Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.
Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.
Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.
Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.
Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either.
Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.
Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.
My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.
That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!
Showing 50 responses by jays_audio_lab
Just wanted to let everyone know that i have not been listening to music lately. i have been doing a projector shootout instead: Sony 695ES vs Epson 6050UB. I am not about post a video about this since it is not audio related. I have not listened to music since my last video. Next video might be the Shunyata Denali 600T vs Audioquest Niagara 5000. Let me know what components i should connect into them and which i should leave out. |
Best class d I have ever heard ? I gotta say this is the Merrill audio amps... Merill audio element 118s just mauled my rowland 925s. Each person who sat in my room was unanimously choosing the merill. Unfortunately there is this stigma with class d amps that doesn't allow manufacturers to make more of these designs. I even heard the new rowland 925 replacement will be class full ab instead of what they did before. I support class D but I'm a small fish in the pond and that hurts many others. |
I sold my 1.2kws... now it’s time to decide if I should get the boulder 2060 and my ref 6 versus my luxman combo. Damn it... two people have said no don’t do it because I hate the boulder then I’ll take a very long time to sell since it’s a 250 beast that few want to deal with. I’ll go ahead and ask a few people here and see what the feeling is. Ok here we go, how many of you think the luxman combo WOULD BEAT the boulder 2060/ ARC REF6 preamp combo ? |
Nothing is above anyone’s paygrade if you work hard at it and doing things right without hurting anyone along the way. People who "steal" their way through life eventually get their casket or inmate number along with the orange jumpsuit. Better to sleep good at night knowing the cops are not going to be knocking on your door one day. I could not live this way. Hell, if I am being honest here, I have thought at one time or another throughout my life " man I could take this and nobody would ever find out" but then my mind says " yea take it and youll pay for that ten fold" so I just say to myself nah im good and happy with what I’m blessed with. Actually, here is a true story: I think I was 17 ? I remember going to the atm to deposit money that my parents had given me and the guy in front of me withdrew money and forgot the card inside and the ATM was asking " do you want to do another transaction? So I withdrew 500 dollars (that was the limit) and I went home with the money that belonged to someone else. Fast forward 3 weeks and my car was broken into and someone stole my CD player (Clarion cd player with a remote control ) and so I ended up having to pay for a new cd player, and tbe deductible plus the glove compartment they damaged. I think it was like $1,500 dollars total? After that day I realized what I had done and how life was showing me that what you do wrong will come back to you. Just remember, You put your mind to it and things can happen. Life has mysterious ways of working for us all. I started with an onkyo receiver and Polk audio lsi7 speakers and well the rest is history. You can do it, remain positive. You just gotta want it and it can happen. |
As far as the lumin s1 vs the ps audio direct stream (red cloud installed), i will say i heard the lumin s1 edge out the ps audio when i was using the expensive 16,000 dollar wireworld speaker cables, but once i went back to the silver eclipse 7 speaker cables i felt like i could not tell them apart anymore. It was harder to pick up any difference between the lumin and the ps audio through my luxman set up when using the silver eclipse 7 speaker cables. Anyhow, today i decided to just plug in the Reference 6 after not using it for a month or so and man it sounds so incredible. I really feel like both preamps are spectacular, but it really depends on what is it that you are using them for. Both uncover different things within the music and both are amazingly smooth and detailed. The only thing i would say the reference 6 is a pain about are those tubes that need to be swapped out and that it does not fit in standard rack spaces and it runs very hot. The luxman doesn't have any of those issues. |
Hi guys, right now i own the luxman 900u amp and preamp as well as the audio research ref6 preamp and gs150 amp. That said, i am contemplating purchasing the boulder 2060 so i can use my reference 6 with it and see if it can indeed best my luxman 900u combo which i have praised here for a few months. However, i don't buy things that i am not 100% sure of because it would be one expensive test. I have access to a boulder 2060 that i can have in my hands tomorrow, but what if i don't like what it does? i could potentially be talking about losing a couple of thousand dollars to try it and not to mention the back breaking session to go along with it. I have attempted to see of my connection will let me audition it in my home and even offered him 250 dollars to let me hear it here in my home and he said he does not want to deal with the hassle and the lifting required. He said if that amp leaves, it is not coming back so hey i understand it. That said, i love everything about that amp when i see it, but i can't say that i am going to for sure love it. The luxman amp is intoxicating at many levels and it only weighs 100 lbs. Time will tell... |
@dpac996 Nice. I am slowly trying to get used to lower listening levels but it will take me some work to not want to crank it up. My issue is when I like something, I want more of it and that is in life in general so that’s why I end up with louder sessions. I need to slowly go away from that though. Not sure i could ever do 70db though... |
Right now, i plan to keep my luxman set up and begin to get acquainted with the boulder sound. This is new to me in terms of what true neutral amps are. I will say that this boulder amp is VERY VERY FAST SOUNDING. The music almost sounds as if it was on fast forward through it. Really interesting how it just pushes the music out. |
Alright guys, the boulder has been playing since 11pm and it is 145am right now. Before i begin, please know this session was done at about 85db in loudness which is a little too low in volume for me, but the baby is asleep so i gotta try to do what i can for tonight. Anyhow, my initial impressions were so so. I was not really like holy sh@t wow. I felt like the sound was dull, bland, non exciting. I was using the audio research ref6 as a preamp and i wasn’t really impressed. I then switched to the luxman preamp and the feeling was even worse unless i used the loudness button on it. So i decided to go back to the luxman combo and yes there was noticeably more detail and sparkle happening. I felt as if the treble knob had been turned to the right. Anyhow, i went back to the audio research ref6/boulder combo and again i felt as if the detail lost a few ounces of sparkle. So i sat down, let music flow through the system with the boulder/ arc combo and i started to notice that the words to certain songs were more articulate. I felt as if the words were easier to understand. There were songs that i couldn’t ever know what they were saying and with the boulder i can actually make out what these words are. I thought that was very interesting. So i kept playing and playing more music and started to realize that some songs sound good (at 85 decibels still which sucks) and some other songs not so much. In essence, the boulder is not forgiving. It does not give a damn to present you with the raw truth of your material. If it sucks, it will let you hear it. For instance, try to watch a youtube video from any show from the 90s on your 4k tv right now and notice how crappy it looks? Same thing goes for this amp. It does the same with your music. Here is the compromise, do you want ALL YOUR MUSIC to sound good? the luxman has the edge here, but it may not be the true definition of transparency because it is "coating" the sound with its flavor. That said, do you want to hear what your system sounds like as it is? the clables, the source, the material, the preamp, etc? the boulder shows you this. Lastly, i noticed that my ears don’t get fatigued nor do i want to turn the sound down after hours of listening. Is it because i am listening at 85 decibels or because the boulder is not bright or forward, but rather dead neutral? I am leaning towards the latter. One more thing, let's not forget system synergy is key so maybe this amp needs a boulder preamp to really shine? who knows... Next session will be over the weekend when the wife and kid are out of the house. I prepare to do full throttle sessions of 100 decibels or more and hear what these 250 lbs are all about. |
My boulder isn’t new. It’s 5 years old. It has been off for about 3 months though. Yes you are correct that my judgement is preliminary which is why I am going to playing it for a few weeks to get used to it’s sound. Right now all I’m doing is what I am perceiving which could or could not change as time passes. |
Ok, i have been listening for about 3 hours today. Here are a couple of things: 1. Huge, but HUUUUUUUUUUGE control of the speakers when you crank it up. I dare to find a speaker that this amp does not drive. It is just ridiculous how it handles loud passages. 2. I decided to bi wire the amp to the monitor audio platinums and left it on all night as well. It sounds very different from last night. It now has more of what i lacked. It has more detail than yesterday, more background detail are now more forward. The midrange continues to blow me away. 3. No fatigue with it. It just comes in and gets the job done. I am starting to slowly like it. That said, i have not used the luxman amp today so i haven't done any comparison at all. i am trying to only focus on the boulder right now and then after a few days i will jump back to the luxman and see what i lost and what i gained. So far, the boulder is showing me its strengths I am also finding myself listening to music that i had not listened to in a long time (Tracy Chapman for instance, sounds incredible with this amp). |
Funny you ask about the ref6SE. I actually had people make comments on youtube about wanting a shootout of the ref6se vs luxman 900u with the luxman 900u amp. People want to see these two preamps go toe to toe using the 900u amp. I plan to do that video at some point this week and let them go to war. The ref6se has about 120 hours i think? Not sure if it is indeed a fair comparison, but what the heck, why not do it? it is part of the fun to see how things stack up even though in some cases it might not be in the best situation. As far as electronics are concerned, i think i am set for now. I was thinking of bringing the vivaldi transport which is a boat load of money, but i just can’t get myself to spend that kind of money to play the 50 cds i might have? So, i am starting to shift gears (mentally) and want to bring a taller speaker in my room. I am not there yet, i don’t even know what it will be or if i will even materialize this thought. So far, all i have really contemplated over the last 24 hours has been: Sonus Faber Aida Martin Logan 15a Magnepan 20.7s Dynaudio Confidence 50 Vivid Audio G1 S2 Tidal (not sure which one) Granted, this list changes daily so some of those models might not be relevant in a few days. i also wanted to stay away from the ultra expensive offerings because that is stuff that i can't get rid of later on. There is stuff out there that i want to try, but i have to stay on track and remember that all of this stuff eventually has to be gone so i can try something else. I WISH i could bring the big von schierkert, but i have to remain grounded and know that some stuff isn't really to play with. Yes, that is EXACTLY the word i was looking for: "play". Some stuff out there isn't for you to "play" with. |
4. Best bass i have ever heard from any of my amplifiers ever. Clean, tight, fast, zero bloating. It just swings the bass notes with precision and without feeling taxed or compressed regardless of volume level. 5. Luxman amp runs hotter than this boulder. 6. The longest decays i remember hearing. Instruments seem to linger in the air longer before fading out. 7. Instrument separation is better than i have heard in the past. In a couple of songs i can hear the guitarist playing off to the left when before i thought it was in the middle of the stage. 8. Although i can see WHY some may prefer the luxman due to its liquidity and musicality, the reality is that the boulder is a true window to your music. This can in fact come off as a cold sounding amp or dull, lacking excitement. however, this couldn’t be farther than the truth. 9. 107 decibels and still zero compressions, zero fatigue, huge attack,dynamics and immense pace. Bass is so tight and deep that it feels as if my 77 inch OLED tv is about to come off the wall where it is hanging. 10. This is the amp that you can throw a party in your house and let it loose and not one single person will say to turn it down because it doesn’t scream. It doesn’t sound harsh. The music just gets louder and louder without making you want to turn it down. Very interesting effect to say the least. 11. One downfall i have found is that this amp seems to fall apart at low volume. It seems to lose its magic. This could be perhaps the audio research preamp and not really the amp? who knows, i would have to buy the matching boulder 2010 preamp to really see what this amp can do. That will give me a very close idea of what it can do. One thing i have learned to do throughout this journey is to NEVER EVER judge an amp from the get go. Alot of amps will blow you away when you first sit down and listen but CAN YOU LISTEN for extended periods of time without turning down the volume? that is the question that many of you need to ask yourselves. |
Luxman c900 vs audio Research Ref6SE: https://youtu.be/8wxkl5-OJyc Please watch the video in its entirety! |
I told you all... Full luxman combo is no joke. If you have a different preamp and it is not at the level of the audio research 6se, all you gotta do is watch the video to realize that if the luxman sounds better than the ref6se (with 900u amp) then imagine how it would sound in your set up if you have a preamp of a lesser caliber than the ref6se... |
Ok, so here is a question for everyone here: Let's say you have 2 pairs of balanced cables of the same length and the same brand. One is 2 models below the other one which means one is entry level and the other one is higher level. where would you use the better cable, between the amplifier and the preamp or between the source and the preamp? what do you think would yield the best results? the answer will shock you :) |
13. Boulder 2060 is just as fast sounding as the black system. It is the fastest sounding solid state amp i have ever heard. Incredible the speed and dynamics that this monster possesses. Also, i just took both preamps out of the race and i am using the lumin s1 as my preamp for the first time. I am VERY VERY IMPRESSED here to say the least. I expected it to get smoked by the luxman and audio research ref 6 and that is not the case. It can hold its own. |
I am right now holding on to both and considering buying the matching boulder preamp. I just want to hear the full bolder sound and see what it does for me. I tried the luxman yesterday and it sounded really amazing again and almost to the point me wanting to sell the boulder. I then went back to boulder and once I biwired the speakers then I realize the luxman holds its own if I compare both amps without biwiring but if I biwire the boulder since it has 4 binding posts then that’s when things change drastically and the boulder wins. |
I was just told by boulder dealer that the 2060 will drop my jaw if I get the matching 2010 preamp. He said that the boulder isn’t even close to its full potential because the audio research reference 6 isn’t even close to the boulder preamp. Anyone here with boulder amps ? What’s your experience with boulder preamps?? |
Lots of scenarios but let’s wait until you hear pass labs tomorrow... You all might be QUITE SURPRISED... When it comes to quality watts, let’s just say i am currently playing with an amplifier behind the scenes that I’ve never owned and it is insane (as expected)... I will unveil it in about 2 weeks. |
Coming soon: i will be releasing a video focusing on the worst amplifiers i have ever owned. I will not be talking about anything else other than amplifiers. i am putting a list together as we speak and please remember, this is MY PERSONAL opinion based on comparisons that i have done against other amplifiers i have owned. |
well guys, i decided to buy a pair of Revel Salon 2 and try again with this speaker. i figure now i have massive horsepower and all the front end needed for these so why the hell not try them. first impressions: NO BASS. very detailed, no oomph and they do not have the attack the monitor audio platinum 500s have in my room. I suspect the revel salon 2s are picky with rooms. They need to be in the right room with the right walls in order to blow you away. My room is far from that, but the platinum 500s are killers. They don't give a damn how big or wide or tall your room is. They will force 120 decibels in any space. I will continue to play with the revels and move them around, but right now i don't hear any difference by playing with the rear knobs. i have them about 4 feet off the back wall and 3 feet from the side walls. |
Revels have knobs but you gotta be an alien to hear much of a difference by playing with those knobs. I can’t tell a bit of of difference. Anyhow, the revels are supposed to be awesome. They are a good speaker but the monitor platinum 500s expose the revels age and design. The platinums can overload the room if you’re not careful but they are so easy to place. |
One last thing i did want to mention is that the platinum 500s are set up so perfectly that the tweeter sits almost at ear level when you sit down. They can fill the room in pretty much any direction and nobody in the room will be without a big soundstage. Salon 2s are excellent speaker FOR THE MONEY that they are worth today though. i wont lie. The salon 2s are a good buy because they have depreciated over their 12 year run. Revel MUST MUST begin to release a new model soon or they will be falling behind and they need to stop making the salons so damn difficult to drive. Even my boulder amp has to push a bit of power to get them going. |
i love panels and it has been something i have praised here many times. however, the platinum 500s are extremely close in sound, but they have the dynamics panels lack. No matter how good a panel is, they dont have the huge dynamic swing of woofers and tweeters. If i ever go back to panels, it will be the neoliths. Last night i had a chance to listen to the salon 2s again and yes they actually presented a good soundstage with smoothness. however, i changed preamps back and forth and i really couldnt tell a big difference in sound. The pl500s WILL show you the difference very easily. I still dont know why people are not jumping on the pl500s listed on here. i can place a bet that there is NO BETTER speaker listed on audiogon right now under 20k that can beat those. i actually had 2 friends come over last night and i let them listen to the salons/boulder/arc preamp combo for about 1 hour. they all said wow they sound amazing. I went ahead and connected the pl500s and did the same thing and their jaw hit the floor in the first 10 seconds using the same material and same electronics. Their words were "holy sh&t" they sound huge. They also all agreed that they wouldn’t have considered the pl500s if they had not heard them against the salon 2s. It is the same logic i have been saying here for many years which is many times it takes for you to have BOTH systems or set ups and play with BOTH at the same time in order to realize how good one is over the other. |
I like your analysis above... but you are spot on. I will say to you that since we both own the pl500s, we are clear on what they do best. Very few dealers have them on display and to be totally honest I bought mine from a dealer who was selling their demos. They told me the 500 was a hard sale for them and so they needed to part ways with them and I got them at a very good deal. I wasn’t going to buy them but I got a deal so I figured why not. Little did I know they would blow me away. They made my dynaudio temptations be a laughing matter. The salons actually sound better Than the temptations. That said, the gap between the salons and the 500s is big. |