My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!

Stay in the love and joy......remember your essence. Be happy and at peace with yourself and others.

(whattup ricevs........it's Friday!)

That (were it to happen) would kill the non-biased objectivity angle that you now enjoy but at least makes sense as to why the secrecy on disclosure oh these last long months

: )

Right, I don't think anyone is complaining and no need to justify a decision like that to anyone here. Simply making an observation.  

Yep, dealers are awesome for imparting knowledge about the brands that they carry. On rare occoasions dealers will offer advice such as a brand they do not carry is superior to those they carry, but that is typically pretty rare for obvious reasons. Nothing wrong with that - they want to sell what they carry, duh. But because they have a financial incentive in providing their advice, the objectivity is lost versus a neutral third party. That’s all.

Doesn't mean it is wrong for anyone to choose to believe the dealer when he says what he carries is the best - that's everyone's individual perogative.  Just do so with eyes open.

Absolutely.  Hobby wouldn't exist without them and I always try to purchase locally at brick and mortar dealers because they make it possible to audition the equipment.  Really glad to see them generally doing much better business since covid and for most part thriving again

Yet some A’gon members who have systems that far exceed WC’s (such as Mike Lavigne (sp?)) insist that analog is superior if cost is no object - see some discussions in the analog section.

The reason WC is resisting analog is convenience (or hassle, depending on how you look at it), not based on sound quality.

But I feel like I predicted a couple years ago that 2022 would be the year WC goes vinyl.......prediction not looking so hot as we approach 2022, ha

Called it two pages ago. Right again : )

Well it’s debatable for sure, but I’m in the camp that says it’s a deficiency of of the amp, not the speakers.
Why?

Because the conventional way to build a system is to buy speakers first, because they are most important and have largest impact on sound quality, relatively speaking, and then fit amplification to the chosen speakers.

As such, the amp can either handle the speakers, or it can’t.
Certainly fair to point out that the Wilson’s are a difficult load, of course, but anyone buying them likely knows that (or should).

simply stated, amps are to be fitted to speakers in most cases, not vice versa - speakers should be foundation of system that everything else built around.  

I wouldn’t slam the amps, but I’d say they are incapable of driving that speaker, not the other way around

With all due respect, that’s like saying the Ferrari is a bad sports car design because all seasons that get strapped on a Camri don’t work on it.

But we can disagree, it’s fine 

Sure, you can do it backwards if you want. Just as you can first buy your favorite set of tires and then afterwards search for a car that they’ll fit on. But that’s not a good way to arrive at the best ride

Yeah, admittedly not the best analogy.

On the contrary, even extremely vague statements can have great value if the observer is finely attuned to the preferences of the one making the vague statements. For example, if WC says he really likes X much better than Y, that is probably enough information for any of us who are attuned to his preferences to give us useful information. I presume that OCD guy has enough content out there where such vague statements could also convey value if one were familiar enough with him.

Edit:  I meant to say "non-specific", not "vague".  There is nothing vague about "I prefer X strongly to Y," but it isn't specific as to why

Daryl

This is gonna sound really dumb and unconvincing but I was actually gonna predict a Magico. Over weekend WC said he wouldn’t be revealing til late in week so I thought I had some time. Oh well, I always support earlier reveals.

I’ll say that the one thing that was giving me pause was the claim of best bass. Didn’t think a cheaper but still non ported Magico would beat the M models, let alone some of the others he’s had.

I am definitely much more of a forum person than YT, but respect WC’s chosen path and wish him success

1 dog year = 7 human years

1 WC month of audio ownership = 1.5 years typical audiophile ownership period

; )

It’s come up here occasionally top digital sq vs top analog. Interesting comment today from someone whose system makes WC’s look like WC’s makes most of ours look (that’s kinda a joke). Mike Lavigne is who I’m talking about.

anyway, he went from Msb select ii (WC’sdac) to Wadax, which he says is much better. And he has analog systems well into six figures. So he’s been around the block.

Anyway, after I asked him awhile ago whether top digital like Wadax could approach top analog, he still said no. Then today somebody asked him if one had a $100k digital system (dac and server), how much would they need to spend on an analog system (TT, arm, cart, phono pre) to equal it in sq. His answer surprised me, but he should know:

“i would say generally a $30k-$40k (new retail price) analog system (tt, arm, cart, phono) will surpass a $100k dac such as the MSB Select II with Taiko Extreme server, or dCS Vivaldi Apex stack....if the analog system is well set up and good analog sourced pressings (but maybe not the very best) are used.”

in his Wadax thread under digital if interested

Yeah, zero interest in arguing for the millionth time.

There are exceptions, but in general, imo, price often, not always, but often, can have a correlation to quality in audio. I said a correlation, not a definitive. But anyway, you have your opinion and many with much more experience will disagree, and that’s fine. That’s why you think your Rouge sounds better than Gryphon, after all - and if that works for you that’s cool. : )

Anyway, I just posted the reference to the other thread in case others are interested, as it’s come up here and many have advocated for WC go try vinyl, that’s all. And because his current dac is discussed in that thread and according to ML, surpassed. Fwiw

The sad fact is many people just want to hear themselves "talk," and are looking for acceptance for their ideas, even when everyone (it seems) is telling them they are full of it. I pretty much agree with what Carey said above. Just ignore them, because shouting into the wind will only aggravate and raise blood pressure more, and will be futile anyway. The long-time readers of the thread know who the valuable contributors are, and who the charlatans are.

Of course, each is free to judge for themself who falls into each category.

There might even be some who read the thread purely for the drama, haha. I’m trying to take the high road more than I did in my youth, hehe

HAHAHAHAHA

But then after being proven wrong he’d no longer be able to spew the blather, better to remain in fantasy land without accountability, but yes that would be hilarious.

Have ricevs come too with his $2k tweaked system that destroys the Boulders for good measure.

When the cryins done they can hug it out and ricevs can tell Viber he’s still beautiful and everyone is beautiful and nothing is everything and lamp cord is still prettier and sounds better than an untweaked roll of sausage

(not a personal attack on either and especially ricevs can be funny sometimes I don’t mind reading his stuff just the constant downplaying on WC’s stuff to elevate their own fringe views gets old, to say the least)

It's probably the Gryphon Apex amp

Not surprised at all. In fact I said one or two years ago in this thread that 2022 would be the year that you would. Since we’re about exactly half way through 2022 I’d say I nailed it perfectly. 
 

Remember for last 3 years WC has been saying any time it got brought up that he was not interested in vinyl, didn’t have the time or patience, etc 

That’s great - glad to hear the Boulders are so good. In all these 400 pages it’s rare that you’ve ever been so determinative like that - they must really be special 

For the one millionth time in this thread .....

It’s the age old thing of Viber telling WC that dac-direct (or phono direct or whatever) to power amplifier is better than using a good preamp. And for the millionth time WC telling Viber it is a "laughing matter"

Iteration one million and one will probably happen early next week

I thought you’d said you really liked the Fyne Audio speakers and almost bought them. To change the subject.  Yeah cmon let’s all be nice 😊 

whatever dude - need attention, much?

I’m with rsf. They look cool to me

I started listening to the first video at work and was thinking I’d go with #1 but then got interrupted and couldn’t finish 

I think it's a couple things. First, the presentations are pretty close - it's kinda hard to tell much difference unless you are really concentrating and not letting your mind wander.  And that's kinda difficult when we have no idea what we're comparing against - it's just a big black hole.  Better to tell us what the two contenders are to keep our interest, but keep it blind so we don't know which is which -- but at least we know what is in play.  imo

Interesting reveal on the power cords. I admit I had a hard time telling the difference. I was inclined to pick the Transparent cord (#1), that was my initial reaction as I posted, but I intended to go back and confirm that initial thought with follow up analysis just never got the chance (too busy with my kids). But I know either way it would have been very close, not a landslide or even an easy choice for me

Projection much? Apparent andeven obvious

Sorry, I haven't been paying that close of attention to the battery-powered discussions.

Is it true that Stromtank or Ricevs collection or any battery powered device pretty much gets rid of any advantage of dedicated AC lines?  Or do these solutions sometimes (e.g., at peak power times) still rely on overflow help from the AC?

Like I said, haven't been paying close attention so if this has already been answered, I apologize

Which videos are we supposed to be comparing? The latest one with the qobuz one?

Edit: This is easy - Stromtank 2500 destroys Stromtank 1000, which sounds muddled in comparison. 2500 has much blacker backgrounds and better mid and treble clarity, not to mention better bass tautness. It instantly just sounds much cleaner. I mean - not a shocker - what else would you expect? Company would have to be pretty dim to make a much cheaper product in its lineup sound better

Yep, that’s what I did. It was easy for me. easier than the power cord last couple videos. I posted my conclusions as an edit in the post before this. Only had time for one listen - gotta go pick up my daughter from practice

Well I’ll guess we’ll have to wait for WC to tell us exactly how they compare on all the factors based on actually being there.

Go read my post again. I said exactly how the s2500 was better. Among other things It had better clarity and it wasn’t close

Okay, but I think you’re wrong and the 2500 actually lets through more high frequency content with better clarity. Let’s see what WC says - he’s in the room.

This is perhaps analogous to the Rouge trial, where you thought it had better high frequency content and clarity, but others like me and WC said, no, it didn’t, it was inferior there as well as all other areas which of course is nothing to be ashamed of given the price gap there, but it was what it was.

Different preferences, different hearing abilities, different abilities to assess what we hear - why different folks like different things

Haha, sounds like a lot of excuse making, hand waving and revisionist history. Congratulations on realizing your analysis was wrong, Viber. That’s a start. Glad we could help

Hahaha yes that was funny, agreed. 

This is like old WWF where in the end Mr. Amp, Viber and ricevs will form an alliance that nobody likes and everyone roots against    ; )

Ricevs = Jimmy Mouth of the South Hart

Viber =  the resident whipping boy for the big stars who just keeps coming back to get whipped, but his persistence finally makes them relent and let him join the team

Mr. Amp = Bobby Heenan

What's going on with the turntable?  Maybe I missed it.  Is it being used or is everything digital for the time being?  When will the turntable be put through paces?  Again, sorry if I missed it amongst all the other chatter - busy

cleeds and clearthink actually have me cheering for Viber in this stupid argument. WTF?  

When one hears ad infinitum that nobody really cares for the opinions they are presenting, yet they persist in repeating the same tired objections, it’s akin to an argument.

To be clear, you have every right to post, as does Viber (who often does the same thing), but congrats, you’ve made him seem like the rational defender of the thread, haha (not a rip on Viber - he makes good points occasionally when not pushing his preferences)

Agree. Great that the moderators can help to protect the insecure. That is important.

hahahaha, so sensitive? Quick with that mod tattle request, it is

Good post. It’s a more recent thing that people are trying to tear WC down with stupid, non-supported allegations. Like they have motives for not wanting him to succeed. Maybe like Dave said, maybe they are getting paid by competitors of WC or by manufacturers who do not approve of his reviews or whatever, and wish to sabotage him? Or maybe they’re just pricks? Who knows?

The thread has always been subject to (mostly unwanted by nearly all) tangents, but this recent trend of a couple hating on WC by fabricating sh&*t is newer. Oh well - life goes on.....

Stay safe from the hurricane WC

Shootout plan sounds great.  Looking forward to it.  Good choice of amps

On video #1, I am still deciding between amp 2 and amp 3.  Amp 1 was the worst.  It had a flat, unrefined presentation. Sounded 2-dimensional. Did not seem to present as much material, veiled and muffled.

Still evaluating between 2 and 3.

I'm gonna give the edge to #2 - better bass control, tighter.

So 2, 3, 1 for me on video #1.