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 jays_audio_lab

jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Mrdecibel: the vivid audio speakers look far but far better in person than on pictures. They look like an exotic piece of furniture in the living room
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Room is about 14-15ft wide. 

Guys so out of my 4 connections, they are at a split decision right now. 2 say the magicos will be better and the other 2 the sopras. Hahah. It’s interesting indeed !
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Tomorrow: BAT gear makes its first appearance here. Will it disappoint? 
We shall see...
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
alright guys, 
i will try to post pictures of what i have had although i don't know if i have pictures of every single thing, but you might catch glimpses of stuff throughout time. Send me a link where i can begin to upload pictures. 
Lastly, the magicos arrive tomorrow at 11am est. I don't expect to have them up and running until about 1pm or so. I will give my listening impressions and then at some point bring out the Focals unless i change my mind tomorrow for some reason. 
Lastly, here are a couple of things i want to address in the event that i do decide to do a shootout:

1. If Focal loses: Let's keep in mind the Magico is twice the money. Also, Magico is a sealed design so maybe my room likes it better? 

2. If Magico loses: Is it the fact that the  tweeter is too high relative to my ears?  yes, the focal tweeter would be almost at my ear height. Is it the down firing port that my room prefers? 
There is no real 100% clear answer. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
It’s incredible how many people are waiting on my report of the magico s5 mk2. 4 dealers, you, and a bunch of other people
that have messaged me. As matter of fact, I had one of my connections ask me to bet $5,000 dollars against his pick which are the magico. He said he’ll be happy as hell to take my money.

One last thing, I was told I need to wheel
them in the House but they can’t be on wheels to audition them which means spikes will be needed and then once they are into place, guess what ? I can’t move them on my own...220 lbs each and I was advised not to move them forward because all the weight is in front so they can easily tip over. 2 people already damaged theirs  by moving them alone. This could present a big challenge if I plan on listening to the sopras. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Soooo... you all ready for my initial impressions?
First comment is that my room feels like I added room correction after I fired up the magicos...
also sounds as if someone opened the door to another layer of instruments within the music. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Guys,
im 50/50 on opening the focals. That said, people tend to love to assume that if i open focals and then sell them, that they suck etc. 
However, I may open them and see what happens. Not sure when I will open them
because I want to enjoy the magicos and get acquainted to the sound. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
My apologies kren. My comments above were for Ricevs. 
Ricevs: what amp are you using and what does your system consists of? 

jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
I think that people are biased anytime they know it's Merrill playing. Some automatically say " it's mechanical, etc etc " just to stay consistent with what their perception is. I believe a blind test is due and that is what I'm going to do next. I'll hide what is playing on my next shootout. I won't even say if it is parasound or Merrill or dag or Gryphon. It's time to shock your own ears. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Ok guys,
I’ve been doing a few things around the house while the speakers are playing with the ref10 and simaudio. My brief impressions versus Wilson Sasha 2:

1. Better bass than Wilson Sasha 2 in my room.
2. Clean articulate sound that does not disappear even at low volume.
3. They need power. They sound good but I suspect they need more juice than what I’m feeding them.
4. Instrument decay is better than Wilson.
5. More sparkle than Wilson Sasha 2.
6. They can play loud and remain relaxed without compression
7. Nothing stands out in terms of sound. It’s very balanced and doesn’t want to give you more of any frequency.
8. Incredible build quality. It’s so perfectly finished from corner to corner.
9. The bass is there but isn’t the type of bass that will punch you in the gut for no reason. The music has to have those notes for the speaker to do that to you. I like bass but I gotta tell ya, I don’t need more than what these are giving me and I didn’t even try to position them for more bass. I just threw them in the room.
10. I will be honest and say this is not the speaker for those of you trying to buy emotiva amps, Parasound, rotel etc. You simply can not understand unless you had them in front of you. Looking at them make me want to go out and buy constellation Taurus Monos, expensive stillpoints, Etc. The speaker has this weird psychological effect on you that you just want to go out and buy even more expensive front end components. it feels as if I had a Porsche in the driveway and now I want to buy it expensive exhaust, wheels, etc. 

That said, yes I am declaring the s5 magico mk2 superior to the Wilson Sasha 2. This speaker is to go toe to toe against the Alexia.
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Will, which ones did you own and what was your set up?
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
It’s 3am eastern right now and I’m now going to bed... 5 hours straight of listening to the magico s5 mk2. 
I played from YouTube videos to dsd files, tidal, crappy mp3s etc. I tried a lot of different formats to see how the speaker behaved. I’ve got a few more things to update on which I found interesting. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Neoliths are still lingering in my mind. Haven’t abandoned the idea 100%. 

jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
From the center of the woofer. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Magico is controlled. There’s no “jumping at you “ factor. It goes about its business with finesse and control.

That said, I had a little bit of edginess yesterday with my ref10 and simaudio. I believe it’s the toe in angle that I need to play with. The speakers are 4 feet off the back wall and 3 from side walls with the tweeters pointed at my shoulders.

Magico has the craziest amount of separation I’ve heard in my room. Yes, even more than three G1 but that is my room was too small for them.
The instrument separation is really jaw dropping. Things now appear in places that I never could tell where they were coming from. Drums that show up on the right speaker sounded as if they came from both speakers in other speakers. The mids are clean and clear like water. No muffling effect on these speakers of any kind. If you sense muffling, it’s the song you’re playing. I actually TRUST it enough to know it’s accurately playing the music exactly as it’s being fed to them.
lastly, I think I prefer the gryphon 300 with them over the ref10/simaudio.
Another interesting fact is that when you first sit down to listen to them, they don’t wow you immediately but once your ears lock in on them, things begin to happen that make you go wow. 


jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Viber: i like your advice. I had them pointed directly at me but on certain cuts of music they got a little bright. Yesterday I tried toeing them out and it did get a little more mellow. Of course I have to play with the angle and positioning a bit more but overall the speaker is as honest as it gets. I love it and hate it at times. It’s kinda like when you have a friend that tells you the truth to your face.... you hate him but deep down you know he’s telling it like it is. 
Could I see me living with magico ? Absolutely. They are perfect size for my room, easy to place, etc. I need to let my ears get more and more acquainted. 

jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
I don’t hate them enough to let them go. Their pros outweigh their cons. If I ever decide to open the sopras, it will be an exercise for me to know and that’s it. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Remember, many many people here sell equipment because they hate it, or because they want to move up the ladder or because they are downsizing. That said, anytime I sell something it’s assumed that it is Because it is no good which is ridiculous. This is why I’m thinking if I open the sopras, I’ll keep the impressions to myself and if I sell them then nobody will know if I even opened them or not. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
If I bought Emotiva amps for my magicos, do you realize the amount of bashing i would get here ? Lol 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Send the amp my way. I’ll gladly let you know my opinion. 

jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
I am going to say that I heard that magico and Luxman is insanely good.... 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Mikepaul: right now, I am not planning on it but if I roll out of bed one day and decide to then I will. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Thanks respected_ent. You may want to say that again so a few of those new comers don’t begin to whine about my practices here. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Well guys I opened the focals yesterday and they are getting broken in as we speak. Screw it, I need to see what this will turn into. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Ok guys. I see a lot of enthusiasm in regards to the sopra 3s!  
Ok so they now have about 30 hours playtime. Here are 3 of my initial impressions:
1. Huge bass 
2. Smooth highs with absolutely zero fatigue. It doesn’t matter what recording you play, the speakers don’t sound bright. 
3. They disappear like Houdini. Mids are dead center and everything is really well balanced. 

More to come in the next few days. They are really REALLY a satisfying speaker. Nothing sounds bad at all as long as you can control your bass. The diablo puts out massive bass with them but the ref10 and simaudio do not. 
This my first rodeo With focal and Im telling many here it’s a damn steal. It’s an awesome speaker for the money. Is it better than the magico? Don’t ask... I won’t answer that because they are very different speakers. How different? I guess you all will need to stay tuned to find out... 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Your issue is the direct stream connected directly. Get a preamp in the middle and some silver cables and that will fix you brightness. the directstream is good, but never better than an actual preamp doing the job. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
my sopras are literally thrown in the room and directly in front of to magicos. I just toed them in directly at me and i am about 9 feet away from them. I have not even tried to get them set up properly.
You know, the focal sopra 3 reminds me so much of the revel salon 2. It is incredible how much it brings back memories of those speakers.
That said, i had my wife listen to one track yesterday on the focal and then the magico and she chose the focal over the magico. This was also the same result with the person who helped me unpack the focals. He also chose them over the magicos.
I must get high powered amps for the magicos. What is making others choose the focals is their ability to spread the sound effortlessly with my current amps and the magicos although they do sound great, i feel they fall behind due to the lack of massive power. I suspect the magicos need just brute horsepower in order to sing more. Yes, now that the focals are here, i can tell their differences a little better. Yea, the bass on the focal gives the music this feeling of fullness that seems to be lacking on the magico due to its sealed design and also because again i dont have at least 500 watts per channel strapped to them. Maybe with more power i can get a sense of fullness from the magicos.

See how one never knows differences unless you own both of them at once? Of course if you get the magicos into your home you will blown away because they are an incredible instrument, but you would not know what else would satisfy you unless you had another speaker in there to try.
It is kinda like my daughter; she has never tasted any sort of soda so she does not know how good it feels to drink an ice cold coke so all she knows is her apple juice is really good too, but once she tries it for the first time then she will most likely be tasting something different that also excites her taste buds.
You don’t know what you are missing in what you have unless you have something else to compare it to right in your own room.
Of course the magicos will feel a little underpowered, even slightly anemic at times, but i can say that because 3 minutes before i got done listening to the sopras with full bottom end.

jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
You are spot on. That’s why I’ve not given up on them. I just bought a laser tape measurer to get things as dialed in as possible. They need to be positioned perfectly and yes I won’t ever get the bass the focals give me but man they sound so deep and it feels as if someoek opened another door behind the music. We will see where I end up. Will it be the focals ? Will I stay with Magico ? we shall see...
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
The general feeling is cardas is meatier but lacks the air of the Wireworld.... You all wonder what Odin 1 xlr and Wireworld Platinum 8 Speaker cables sound like ? ... :)
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
I may buy a pair of 28b3 Brystons or believe it or not, a pair of 1.25kw McIntosh to see if their horsepower does anything. 
I played around with the magico more Today and tried to get the right toe in, listening distance, etc and I got them to sound much better. They are so damn incredible with certain music. I need to get better amps. I just have a gut feeling on this one. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
thank you
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Hi guys: just came home with a pair of amps I did not expect to bring back but I needed to try more horsepower on the magicos. Guess what ? I was damn right!
They need gobbs of power. I just strapped on a pair of McIntosh 601s and man the speakers just sound 30% percent better easily. They sound larger, the excess high frequency energy from some recordings has receded and now they sound much more dynamic. It’s as if they took a shot of steroids by getting more current from monos. I’m very happy with this result. I will keep listening and will report back.
I will try the focals at some point tonight. Let’s see !!!
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Let’s not forget they are strapped to a ref10 preamp which is twice the money. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
I believe that McIntosh and audio research preamps is solid and great. That said, I may try pass labs 600.8 for the very first time. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Midfi is an amp that sounds muffled in comparison to hifi amps. The average person couldn’t differentiate between a mid fi or hi fi amp but when you own both at once, it’s easy to tell them apart. 
The McIntosh 601 helped big time but I also attribute this to them being Monos. 
If the 601s can make such a difference, I wonder what a pair of 600.8 can do? Or luxman 900u Monos? That is what is triggering me now... 

jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Ok guys so  I’ve been listening for the last 2 hours and without me even realizing it, I caught myself listening at 85 dB... this is nuts because I’m typically listening at much higher volumes than this yet with this combination I don’t feel the need to put the pedal to the medal. I feel like I can comfortably hear everything in the music at around 83-85 dB. Hmmmm 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
@rsf507 
good point
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Guys, so there are things we don’t think about here. First off, just because I said 85db, it doesn’t mean any amp that can do 85db comfortably will work. The massive current from Monos will sound very different than a small amp even though they are both at the same volume. The magicos need juice to come to life. Yes I’ll say it again, magicos need juice to get moving. I have tried 3 amps already with them and only the high horsepowered one wakes them up.
Also, I listened to the magico last night for hours and it’s a great instrument. It’s really a window to the music. That said, I have realized that accuracy can also be a bit boring and lacking emotion at times. It spooks the hell out of you at times because you hear so much more in the music but I also caught myself analyzing the music much more than ever before and guess what? I forgot to enjoy the music. This has given me food for thought. This made me realize that speakers that aren’t accurate and impose their sound signature isn’t a bad thing either. There is a place for both types of speakers. Here’s what I think so far and still have not chosen what I will do:
1. Wilson: aside from the bass issues I had in my room with the rear port, it’s a big sounding speaker. It has a huge sound with awesome dynamics. It actually grew on me in the 3 months I owned it.

2. Magico: the king of accuracy. It’s like the raw ingredients of each meal you eat without any seasoning added. Think of it as boiled chicken with steamed white rice (follow me here)

3. Focal: dynamic like Wilson and revel. Smooth, incredible oomph in my room with its downfiring port. Think of it as curry chicken with rice and beans. It won’t let you get most of the true taste of the music due to its added flavor.

Bottom line: Magico is electrostatic like accurate. There’s nothing it won’t do. Focal is not near as accurate as Magico but it makes music taste good.
Lastly, the magico is the only speaker that allowed me to feel the size of the room where the recording took place. Again, it gives you spooky feelings at times. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Ok guys so this morning has been very productive in terms of the overall input I’ve received. Keep them coming !
With that said, I just had a dealer drop off for an in home trial the new SONORE SIGNATURE RENDU SE unit. The goal is to take the laptop out of the equitation and for me to begin streaming from this device while connected via usb to the esoteric k1 dac. 
We shall see if this indeed makes a difference or not... 
As far as speakers, let’s see what ends up happening when the dust settles. Things are very interesting right now. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Hi everyone,
i really will say I’ve learned so much from experimenting with both speakers. Here’s a curveball, I just got an opportunity thrown at me for a pair of Neoliths... I may have to send both the focals and magicos in order to swing this purchase. It’s not 100% done but the noise has started with my connection who said for me to stop messing around with magico and focal and just squash the hell out of both and get the Neoliths because this way I won’t have to question anything. This way I’m playing with a speaker that can rival 100k+ magicos all day long. Hmm .... man oh man. The thought of switching to those gets my mouth watery. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
I spent some time last night with the focal and A few relatives who don’t have the same level of experience as we all do. Anyhow, his wife selected the magico as more of a “HD” type of sound. She said it sound as if she heard a little more information. Her husband said he liked the focals because it appears that the magico are “too perfect” like skin without a blemish and felt more trapped by the focal sound.
I thought their words were indeed
interesting.
The focal is indeed a very enjoyable speaker. I mean, i also heard a few things on the focal that were not so obvious in the magico. My friend also mentioned that for sure the focal seemed to have more midrange than the magico which I agree but lets keep in mind that the magico is about balance and not to boost any frequency over the other.
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Well said jafox. I actually do agree you forget about the magico after you listen to the focals for a bit. It’s like you do appreciate the magicos insane accuracy but that does not mean you miss it when you hear the sopra 3s. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Charles, and everyone here: THESE ARE MY FINAL THOUGHTS ON MAGICO:
I think the magico is a formula 1 race car. It’s beyond well engineered, incredible at all the extremes and think along the lines of you getting inside a formula 1 race car for the first time to drive it. How would it feel? Impressive. Just jaw dropping but can you drive it for 3 hours straight? Can you handle the massive heat in the cabin? The stiff suspension that connects you to the road? The loud exhaust notes ? Can you handle wearing the suit and the helmet for hours on end ? THIS IS EXACTLY THE VERY BEST ANALOGY I CAN GIVE. I CAN NOT THINK OF A BETTER WAY TO DESCRIBE IT.
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Tempting techno. I wouldn’t mind getting the 900u amps again. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
Last thing i still don’t know which speaker will remain and which one will go. Both do great things in their own right. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
That’s something I was told as well. That the neoliths have been in small rooms and they sounded incredible. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
I use a MacBook with roon and connected via usb to my esoteric k1 with a wireworld platinum usb.
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
I appreciate your words viber. Makes a ton of sense. I did own the clx art before for a little bit and it was incredible. Just beautiful to listen to and I’d say I preferred it over the 15a renaissance. As far as the neoliths, yes I have a possible deal aligning and yes I would need to sacrifice the magicos plus a few other pieces.
I spoke to Martin Logan and they said the speakers would work just fine in my room because they don’t interact with side walls.
I was told that yes I won’t be able to hear them at their full capability because they need a bigger room but that even in my room they will blow away anything else I’ve owned simply because it’s a massive panel sending you a large picture of information that you can’t hide from.
I’m not 100% mentally ready yet for them but I would say I’m about 70% there.
One thing that stuck in my head today was something that someone said to me which was: “ it doesn’t matter how many more speakers I bring here. It will take one hell of a speaker to beat the neoliths which will cost substantially much more money”
That comment stuck with me. It kinda gave me the feeling of not looking back after entering something like the neoliths because your ears will be used to that massive sound that will make most other speakers sound small and lethargic in comparison.
So essentially let’s just say I’m only enjoying 70% of the neoliths because of my room. Well even at 70% of their capabilities the neoliths will destroy a boat load of speakers. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
So the sonore signature se did not make any difference from my laptop. I only streamed tidal so I was warned that maybe for tidal it won’t be as effective. Long story short, if you’re streaming tidal and you are using an outstanding dac like the esoteric k1 that I’m using, it doesn’t make sense to use the sonore signature se. It didn’t make any real difference that I could pick up through the magico. My laptop sounded just as good. That is a testament to the esoteric dac more than anything. 
jays_audio_lab's avatar
jays_audio_lab OP
5,381 posts
 
The neoliths do not interact with the side walls. This is huge for me because my room is only 15 feet wide. Electrostatics are a different Animal than the vivid audios were. You are comparing apples to oranges. They couldn’t be more different. The only thing they have in common is the sheer size.
The only reason why I can’t just do it ASAP is because of the logistics. Even the magicos were a project to get inside the living room. Heavy as hell so imagine how the neoliths would be. They won’t fit through the door so they have to come in through my sliding door and at a 45 degree angle outside of the crates. 
More to discover