2. amps-preamps
  3. 126624-10101

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!


128x128jays_audio_lab

Showing 50 responses by kren0006

kren0006
1,859 posts
 
People only want to see the New York Yankees play the West Central High School Yankees once.  Once is enough.  They can go watch a high school game if they want to see that level of competition.  We want to see major league games here
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
"If you want to find out what class D can do then you need to explore."

And I suggest you do that on the dozens of threads devoted to that - not here. 15 minutes over.

We gotta hear about the secret monos and preamp and VAC stuff for crying out loud, and music server. Not $2k class D amps.  WC you've had these monos for 2-3 months already - we need to know what they are.

ricevs, Know when to let it go. Viber stuck his neck out and sent in his amp and I give him a lot of credit for it. Nobody could have seriously expected it to compete with what Jay has, and it didn’t, but it didn’t embarrass itself either. You got what you asked for, a shot, and WC gave it a fair shot and a lot of his time. But enough. Just my opinion. If there is a clamoring I guess that’s different but so far everyone saying back to the good stuff
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Great video. Love the direction. Channel never better!

VAC vs Arc!!

Top SS vs Top Tube on Wilson XLF!!

Yep, room and channel are definitely at an apex at least to this point !!

Now if you pull the cover on those SS monos and they are top of line Boulder that just may be too much to handle!
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
I agree. I thought amp 2 was much more detailed and had much better clarity than amp 1. I said so before the reveal with specific reference to piano chords or any time music got complicated. Amp 1 didn’t have the detail or clarity there. Fell apart. WC confirmed using same words I did. I even offered a reason the YT poll might have been closer than necessary (music selections too simple).

Amp 1 was brighter but this was a negative because it made it less authentic. For someone who likes unnatural brightness I could see why they prefer amp 1.


That said I didn’t think amp 1 was excessively bright in a profound way, but noticeable and edgy in a distracting and unnatural way to some extent. I’m not going to rip on amp 1 too much. It was a David/ Goliath matchup that ended predictably. I really want to hear if WC thought it could compete with any bottom tier amps. McIntosh maybe?
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Irrelevant. A 5 year old who listens to amp 1 and amp 2 and can tell that amp 2 is demonstrably better is imminently more qualified to assess audio than is a 70 year old concert violinist who thinks amp 1 is better.

This wasn’t close where legitimate subjective preferences could account for the difference, as WC confirmed. According to WC who was in the room, amp 2 was better in every possible way, and the differences were massive, not subtle.

Maybe on YouTube those differences were blurred, but I have no doubt Viber would pick amp 1 in person also. Because he likes unnatural, overly bright, sound. That’s his preference and he states it every time he posts. Musical training has nothing to do with listening to audio, except that you should know what various instruments are supposed to sound like. Viber, refresh me about what your piano training is. Do you think amp 1 sounds more like a piano or amp 2?

That it has now been explained to him by psnyder that excessive brightness is unnatural and independent of clarity is troubling to him, understandably, so he first tries a rambling, hand-waving tangent to distract, but when that fails and psnyder says, so what?, that has nothing to do with the point I'm trying to teach you, Viber falls back to requesting everyone's music training resume, which again, is irrelevant to listening and interpreting audio quality. The lesson that Viber needs to learn is that brightness doesn't equal clarity, and certainly doesn equal quality.  Psnyder is trying to help him learn that. Not ripping anybody - but we’ve seen this all before
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Viber said: "Each has advantages and drawbacks compared to the other. It is incorrect to say that one is better than the other, especially since most honest people found them close. Those who say that one blows away the other are merely hype-sters, salesmen, etc."

Actually, the only advantage the Rouge had was in price. It was soundly beaten sonically in every conceivable way, according to WC in the room and several (including me and psnyder and others) who could hear it through YT.

Actually, it is incorrect to say anything other than one not only is better than the other, but massively better.

Actually, as to the last paragraph, it’s pretty much the opposite. "Blows away" is subjective, of course. Nobody (I don’t think) is saying the Rouge sounded like garbage (I said I was impressed by it and appreciated the shootout), only that it was far inferior to the other amp. But that’s nothing to be ashamed of. It should be for the cost delta. In its price range I suspect the Rouge is competitive and performs well.
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
With all due respect it is very clear from psnyders posts that he has much deeper audio assessment experience than you do, just as WC does. Or at least competence if not experience which is all that matters.

You may play violin better but that’s irrelevant to assessing audio gear.

I graduated with four degrees. So what? Some in my class with same education were absolute idiots. Competence illustrated by assessment is what matters here. That’s where the five year old who can consistently pick amp 2 over amp 1 is better at assessing audio and I stand by the analogy because this was a blowout case of massively mismatched competitors according to WC who was in the room
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
I was hoping the cheapie would win, and said so, but I knew it wouldn’t because I’ve listened to all manner of gear at both levels dozens or hundreds of times and I can hear the difference. It isn’t hard if you know what to listen for. There’s no magic bullets in the game despite what ricevs would like you to believe. There is good sounding inexpensive gear, NO DOUBT, but not inexpensive gear that beats what WC has, which was the claim of Viber and ricevs. Completely different levels of performance.

Is there inexpensive gear that some listeners who may be less experienced with expensive gear of the quality WC has or may have fringe audio preferences may prefer to the gear WC has, well obviously the answer to that question is yes.

Notice I am not saying all expensive gear is good. Just like experienced _____ (fill in the blank for any profession) or expensive _____ (fill in the blank for any product category), some will suck and be awful despite the experience (or the price of the audio gear). But what WC typically has and certainly has now is top notch in quality.

All that said, the exercise was useful to quash the "giant killer" talk I suppose.  Let's see how long it takes to resurface.

kren0006
1,859 posts
 
So how many different components are in the room that you haven’t revealed yet?

when are you planning to?
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Unnatural and inauthentic brightness is neither detailed nor high clarity.

It is distortion.  Contrived, unnatural distortion.

Don't be confused.

That's it, that's the post.
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
It isn’t a surprise WC is ditching the Soulution preamp because when he switched from it to the ARC Ref6SE with his VAC amps the Ref6se was so much better per his comments at the time.

That was a case where a much cheaper component (the Audio Research preamp) beat a much more expensive one (Soulution), at least per WC with that particular mix of gear.

With both Soulution components he’s now owned, (integrated amp, preamp) he’s found lower cost competitors he much preferred. Like with Magico speakers he never quite embraced, so yeah I wouldn’t expect him to go back there either
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
What we really need is a SS v Tube shootout. 
VAC and ARC vs mystery set on the Wilson. 
Time to get to the adult stuff here  ; )
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
He can’t say it but he was pretty miserable the whole time with Magico. He didn’t enjoy them nearly as much. Very evident from his posts.

I haven’t heard Magico in person that I can recall now anyway (maybe heard them in passing not sure) so don’t really have an opinion except based on WC videos


kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Why? Nobody would care about my opinion of Magico speakers and I wouldn’t blame them for not caring. 
I would but no dealers locally unfortunately 
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
I’m not predicting he’ll say ARC better all around than Soulution especially when he selling that now but with his current reference VAC amps and Wilson speakers he couldn’t have been more clear with his spontaneous quote that I pulled.

The reason it stood out to me and was so easy to find is because he’s never had so dramatic a reaction, and that’s my point.

In fact he’ll probably be mad at me for dredging up that quote lauding the Ref6 at Soulution expense. The only reason I did it is that Viber denied WC had said it when of course WC had with much more gusto than I’d initially implied 
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
But that’s why I’m suggesting the all tube vs SS shootout. Let’s hear how good that combination is
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
That’s because you don’t want to remember anything that goes against your sonic views.
To refresh your memory, WC said this less than a month ago:

“Omg i just removed the 725 Soulution and inserted my arc ref6se... 😳
The arc preamp and vac amps is just WOW WOW WOW... I suspect I’m not going to bed tonight.
Will it shock some people if i decided to do an all tube rig and ditch my solid state gear? Because right now, that’s what I’m feeling like doing.”


I submit that this is quite literally the strongest reaction WC has ever had in 5 years to a component switch. Remember now????

sept 10, look it up. we talked about it for days. pretty hard to miss how much better WC thought the ARC was than Soulution. He said then he wanted to sell all SS. Reread the quote 
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
I’m not missing the point. I said clearly “with that mix of gear” and WC’s preferences. ( in particular I said “at least per WC with that particular mix of gear”)

His quote above from Sept 10 directly comparing ARC and Soulution, not mine. Go find even one other example where he had a stronger reaction and provide the quote
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Got it
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Good first post and welcome, post more often.

The thing I disagree with tho is that for WC cost isn’t really ever a concern and he almost never voluntarily takes a step backward in quality.

There are rare occasions but always temporary before it is onward and upward ( possible exception once being at Vivaldi level at DAC and maybe never getting back to that level). It’s a pretty addicting path to follow. Glad it’s his money and not mine, lol
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Like psynder I think WC wasn't too impressed with PS Audio regenerators from his ownership time with P20
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
“REAL HERE: tubes win all day when it comes to listener engagement - PERIOD.”

Pretty strong statement here from WC. Agree with previous poster, appreciate the comparisons 
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
You guys are finally realizing what I’ve been saying all along. Viber twists WC’s words to try and suit his agenda. He does it endlessly, and I mean endlessly.

Look no further than WC’s last Soulution review video. WC makes the point emphatically for about the 1000th time that a good preamp is ALWAYS better than dac direct, in every way.
But here comes Viber saying dac direct is preferable. Seen it a million times before. Then he insisted his amp was better than WC’s in some ways (clarity) yet WC tells Viber exactly how lacking Vibers amp really is after giving it a fair trial, but on we go with Viber continuing to twist WC words. Many others told him how his amp lacked clarity as well but he ignores things he doesn’t want to believe.

The problem for Viber is he only reads reviews and listens to his stuff. He’s never heard top equipment like WC has yet he comments as if he has and starts making hand waving analogies to distract. Now many have had enough and are voicing their opinions and calling him out.

Theory versus experience. I’ll take WC’s audio reviewing experience.

kren0006
1,859 posts
 
SHOOTOUT!!! This is the one we need to hear! Tubes vs SS at highest level!

(make it blind too pls)

well blind in sense of we don’t know which amp is playing, but be transparent and reveal what the SS setup is beforehand. No reason to keep it secret any longer
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
It’s nothing personal. I just don’t appreciate how you twist WC’s findings, as so many others have noted just in last 20 posts. 
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
I liked the video and glad you had an 8 hr session. Yes amazing that you hadn’t upgraded outlets til now.  One thing you’ll notice immediately even before the break in is the vice grip hold on heavy plugs. No more sag
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
He isn’t even telling us what the monos and preamp he’s had in the room for three months are yet.
No way he’s revealing something that hasn’t even arrived yet.
So WC, why so secretive on something that’s been in the room for months already? You’ve never held out that long before? Do you not own it?  Or some other reason?
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Okay, makes sense, but then why so slow to reveal the monos and preamp?  Is it because you don't think it quite sounds good enough without a server and you don't want to reveal the brand and then people will think it isn't very good?  Just trying to make sense of the delay because you haven't done this extreme before ....
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Didn’t you have a SR grounding system about 8 months ago also? You didn’t seem to think that one was all that great as I recall. Sounds like this one works much better.... You definitely have better speakers now that maybe makes it easier to hear the improvement, I suppose that could be a factor also ....

(I don’t think the Alexandria XLF’s are ever leaving, haha)


Edit: well of course they'll eventually be sold, but you seem happier now with the system than ever before, and not by a small margin - by a landslide!!
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Dang, I missed some posts that are now deleted.  Bummer. Snooze you lose....
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
I commend all of you who are trying to educate Viber and help him better understand audio intricacies. And doing so in a pleasant manner. You guys have more patience than me!! But it’s good to stay positive. Well not as positive and mushroomy as ricevs but positive nonetheless lol

The Beethoven analogy above is pretty damn good - well done sir
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Viber, the reason very few here respect your sonic views (as is clear by the responses you’re seeing) is not because they are fringe views and, as Paul accurately states, tend towards exactly the type of sound most audiophiles try to avoid (poor quality, INACCURATE sound).

No, that is not the reason.

The reason is that you lie and make crap up to suit your fringe views. And you do it incessantly.

Example: “90% here prefer soft, rolled off highs”
Wrong. I”d bet very few do. Everyone raise your hand if you prefer soft, rolled off highs. I prefer accuracy, which is what most of WC’s stuff has. Your Rouge, by contrast, was not accurate at all, which experienced audiophiles recognized even if you couldn’t. Go rewatch WC’s review of your amp. It parallels what Paul and I posted before the reveal, but with additional context.

Example 2: You say Jay has said the VAC is soft and pleasant, implying it is not accurate. That is a lie. You just cannot handle that VAC is MORE ACCURATE than the gear you favor.

So yes, you have a lot to learn, my friend, as so many here are trying to show you. The last page or so are folks graciously and patiently trying to help you grow in your audio journey.

Your preferences are your preferences, and that’s fine. But don’t lie about what others think or what WC thinks to suit your fringe views
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Haha, I don't think that's what he meant
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Yeah, it’s insufferable. Will never see the light of day. Suggest just ignore. Completely ignore
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Stand-mount speakers with good subwoofers can always sound great in isolation.................right up until the point where you hear the tower from the same family with the same subs. Then game over. Always. (unless you’re in a phone booth)


[obviously I'm a little tongue-in-cheek here, but yeah, pretty much always]
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Sure, but either way. Same point.

Not minimizing stand-mount systems. I have two such and love them for what they are. But ......
kren0006
1,859 posts
 

WC:

if you had to pick one speaker to live with for a year:  JA Pearl or Sasha DAW?

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

Not shocked at all. Joseph Audio makes amazing speakers.

Surprised that the $37k Joseph speakers blew away the $60k GTA? Not at all.

And don’t apologize for the electronics. Aren’t the Pass XS300 more expensive than the amps on the almost half-price Joseph Audio? So surely amp cost plus speaker cost the Pass/GTA cost much more than the Joseph/Emm (if Emm cost $80-90k as you said).

Congrats to faxer on 2nd place. Impressive win over JBL.

WC, for sure, bring in Joseph Audio. Don’t dump the XLF but just bring in Joseph Audio. Super clear by the praise that you heaped on it that it was by far your favorite (describing bass, layers, had everything, etc.)

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

Pearl v DAW would be a great shootout 

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

Viking Acoustic is a brand I could totally see WC trying 

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

Viber, just rewatch Jays 3 best rooms video. He goes on and on praising the JA speakers with tons of specific detail. Amazing clarity, layers of sound, incredible bass, amazing soundstage and on and on.

when he talks about GTA he doesn’t do any of that and mostly makes excuses for them. You have to read between the lines with WC.

if he likes the GTA speakers at all he will purchase them. Let’s see if he does. That will tell the story initially. If he really likes them, they will stay in his room for 2-3 months or more.

of his top three speakers of show, WC talked extensively about purchasing both the Joseph Audio and the JBL speakers (or another horn) and bringing them into his room.

By contrast, as to any future interest with GTA he said he’d like to lug his 200 lb amps into the show to hook to the GTA to replace the Pass Labs electronics that faxer used which WC could barely hide his disdain for (talk about throwing Pass Labs under the bus as not worthy). No hint that he’d ever consider purchasing, which for someone who goes through 75 components per year doesn’t take much interest for him to acquire (pretty low bar with WC - if he likes at all he buys it to try it) says a lot as to his level of interest   
 

Maybe I'm wrong and WC will buy GTA, but I doubt it after watching the videos .  But let's see

so again, with WC it’s about context and reading between the lines. If you need me to spell it out more clearly than this for you I can but rewatch the video, read this post and you’ll get your answer

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

There you go, Viber. WC has no interest in purchasing GTA speakers even after demoing them under the dealer’s guidance.

Too big the proffered reason but of course he had no issue purchasing Martin Logan Neoliths (which were much bigger for the space he had then than GTA would be for this room) and Magnepan 20.7 for this room.

So read between the lines. He threw faxer a bone and interviewed him for 10 minutes which will get a lot of views and for people looking for $60k speakers that take up as much space as they do and require the huge subwoofers and dedicated amps, I’m sure they’ll consider those speakers, perhaps thanks to the attention WC gave faxer and the speaker.  Viber, have you placed your order for the GTA speakers yet?

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

It is too bad that WC disqualified most of the speakers he heard at the show from even making his ratings due to the presenters only playing crappy music.  Would have been nice to hear who the winners would have been without that major limitation.  Kudos to the presenters who were flexible and played requests.

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

This forum is about WC’s room dude. And he has decided not to buy the speakers after you gave your best shot. Everything else is just pontification.

WC gave you some free advertising with the video, but at the end of the day he judged the speakers not worthy of purchase. Size and resale value were his reasons, but again, that never stopped him from purchasing and loving ML Neoliths and Magnepan 20.7.

So there it is. Time to move on and focus on stuff that makes the cut to be in WC’s room, not stuff that doesn’t.

 

Edit: and I stand corrected on the XS300 comment, my bad on that.

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

Have nothing against the speakers. Good luck with them. But they aren’t going in WC’s room (unless you comp him a freebie) so advertise elsewhere.

This thread is about WC’s room and the stuff worthy of his purchase and display in the room, period. That is the thing I’ve been saying to you and Viber when it comes to GTA speakers all along, which is why I always said stop advertising and promoting until WC determines they are worthy for his room.

If they are good enough to be in the room, they will be (most hi end brands eventually are). If they aren’t, then they aren’t and it’s WC’s call. Pretty simple. His purchasing decisions always tell the tale.

Not misleading anybody, not a hater. Only being proven right in my prediction. By contrast you told me 8-10 months ago that when WC heard your speakers he’d be blown away and he’d buy them and they’d be in his room and I’d have to eat my words. I’ll take the high road and avoid any name calling and just let the results speak for themselves as far as that goes.

And like I said in earlier post I'm sure they must sound good if WC liked them enough to give 2nd place ahead of JBL, so congrats again on that.

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

Alright, alright got it.

(But actually the first reason you listed to Viber as to why you wouldn’t buy is because you’d have to resell after listening to them for a little bit (like everything else))

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

Sounds like you have your first taker faxer. Let's see a head to head of the GTA versus Vibers 20 year old cheapie that Viber says is better

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

Viber is probably the only person who’s heard both LOL. I’m gonna guess Viber is wrong again but let’s hear the shootout

 

edit: nah, on second thought let's not. I'd be a hypocrite if calling for that now since neither in WC room. But it is hilarious that Viber, who is the biggest GTA supporter here, thinks his old speakers are better. But that's Viber I guess 

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

YES!  Please switch gears and get us talking about stuff that has actually been in the room.  When are you going to reveal the monos.  It's been months dude!!

kren0006
1,859 posts
 

Only because you have extremely fringe audio preferences as you constantly tell us. You’re right, I haven’t heard those two speakers in person, which is why I wouldn’t comment on how they sound. But if you’re asking me whether a current $60k speaker should be able to beat a 20 year old speaker that probably cost a fraction of what the current GTA speaker costs, then yes, I think the GTA should be able to win. But I will take your word for it that your old speakers are better than the GTA, if you insist (as long as we please stop talking about them).

But the point is time to move on and concentrate on what WC has in his room, which is neither your speakers nor GTA, and he never will according to WC.

I am pretty interested in the Joseph Audio that WC says he is interested in acquiring and would love to bring them into his room. Would be very interested in WC’s take on how the Pearl’s compare to the Sasha DAWs, as either could be my next speaker, potentially.

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