If you hadn't been abrasive at first with me, we wouldn't have had all this drama from the past.
Some jaws will drop when i announce it next week. You never know where or when I'll be bringing something else.
Before I announce what is coming, I need to give my opinion on the boulder and pandora. Many people have messaged me about this and they want to know my input so I'll do my review on both. |
The number of videos are primarily based on the component rankings i provide for each group. There are plenty of videos on all groups but the top group has my raw opinion on "garbage" components which the rest of the groups don’t see. I also have an active WhatsApp group for the top membership. All these members were shown yesterday on camera the new boss amplifier plus everything i have hiding in the room. In short, it’s not just videos but also live chat with me via WhatsApp.
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wishful thinking indeed... |
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Not sure why I answered that question above. |
Let’s talk synergy ?
I’ve been very vocal with some via text about the importance of matching components that play well together.
Power conditioners, power strips, regenerators,( whatever you want to call it) all have a sound signature or choke well designed components. People, I’ll throw a quick tip here for you guys: IF YOU HAVE A GREAT POWERCORD, STOP PLUGGING INTO ONE OF THESE POWER UNITS!
You are doing a "double filtration" which will kill the benefits of the power cord. If you have "average" electronics then experiment using the power conditioner or power strip or whatever you want to call it.
I’m about two seconds away from totally dumping all power units and go straight into the wall. I hope you follow my advice. I've been doing this legwork behind closed doors.
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Most people don’t know this but ALL focal speakers have now gone up in price effective today.
Scala Evo was 40k and it’s now 52k... Good luck trying to find one for less than 30k :)
Focal sopra 2 was 15k and it’s now 19k...sopra 3 was 20 and I think it’s 23k now... Maestro evo was 65k and it’s now 72k I think.
Ahhhh focal jacked up the Scala Evo price the most out of any other speaker they manufacture because it is indeed their money making machine... I'm SO HAPPY I got mine before this nasty price increase. :). |
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People,
you all need to remember that you don't get TWICE the performance by going from a stereo to a mono amp. It does not work that way. The mono will give you more separation, no cross talk, more power, but holistically speaking the stereo amp will be at least 80% of what the monos are.
Don't think monos will be twice as good because you are going to be disappointed. Stereo amps are always going to be the best bang for the buck. |
Folks:
Today I have a special guest in my room and we plan to do a Livestream in the afternoon. We are thinking somewhere between 2-4pm ET. Stay tuned for details. This will be a great opportunity to ask questions!
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Today's video:
Part 2 of my interview with KRELL’s COO. He will be giving details about their new reference amp that is set to be released next year and cause a big splash in the industry. Lots of great stuff 😉
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I have given you 2 sounds on this video so you can compare to prior video... Looks like the comments on the video are quite positive. At $27,500, the s2500 does do things that the smaller s1000. You all can compare both songs on both videos and hear for yourselves.
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If you like the Gryphon sound better than boulder then I’m not sure it makes sense for you to hear more boulder.... Go straight for the throat and get the Gryphon.
Its not like it will be any different... Still the same Dna on those amps as what you heard on my videos. |
I think right now i am focusing on the bigger things such as isolation devices, cabling, etc. Moving cables out the way, passing the vaccum, turning the lights off when listening, etc are the tiny things.
Lastly, there is a reason WHY my channel is called Jay’s audio LAB...
Labs tend to have $h!t everywhere.
I want to keep doing more shootouts and sometimes I just get too lazy to be picking up every single cable off the floor that i am not using for an hour or two. |
This hobby is as subjective as a miss universe pageant... Can we really pick out an ugly woman out of that line up?
Next speaker tip:
This speaker is said to be the end of the road for the vast majority out there and it is extremely stunning aesthetically speaker (again, this is subjective). |
Well,
The video I uploaded after last night's video will make some jaws drop...
It's a testament at what I have been saying all along. Inferior sources of information will get exposed and great recordings will bloom to the point that even your phone speakers will impress you. I had to record it to share with you all. Again, the cables are the same but the Merrill is now behind the wheel of the mephisto. Everything is STILL far from where I plan to take it and yet listen to the video and how insane it sounds as is. |
Looks like people enjoy my commentary about gear more than interviews. YouTube algorithms don't lie. They said today's video slowed down the flow of the channel.
On the other hand, I've received several emails with regards to my videos with OCD Mikey which essentially say he's not good for my channel. Hmm... How do you all feel ?
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@carey1110
No problem. It's cold and lonely at the top of the Everest for sure.
Anyhow, I will be evaluating some footers from a brand that approached me at axpona this year. I've never heard of it but they seem quite interesting. I will also be bringing some crazy cable lifters from a German brand that are well... Very expensive. I want to see if they are really better than affordable cable lifters.
I am also waiting on the turntable stand which hopefully arrives at the end of the month. I have 3 friends with a deep vinyl collection who will loan me their best records and see where the cards may fall.
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@kren
i like your way of putting it, but i did not understand your second point above lol
@smodtactical:
Boulder 3,000 series are next level, but that is serious $$$ |
Alright boys
Thanks for all the posts above. I appreciate you all doing the dialogue back and forth even if there are differences of opinion.
That said, my interpretation of synergy is as follows:
The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
when I put components to work together, It takes me a few hours or days and I can pick apart what is or isn’t being done.
It’s a feeling of magic like being in Disney World. The music flows, the sound is expansive, deep, layered, 3d, and emotional.
Synergy doesn’t mean something is automatically neutral. Neutrality is a different thing altogether. It is simply a clean window that doesn’t add a tint to the entire presentation.
Neutrality is awesome but it walks a very thin line between enjoyment and disappointment.
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Wednesday at 12pm ET you'll know my thoughts on this experiment.
I want to give everyone the chance to to listen and watch the video first.
Also, if I can, I'll be doing a live chat Tuesday night where I will unveil the amplifier that has made a return.
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@straycat
Thank you. What you see on that video also happens to be the pieces that i have talked about on this thread. There were more pictures that were left behind that didn’t make it but i wanted to make sure that the majority of my pictures were on the video.
The reason why the pictures shuffled rapidly is because I wanted to display as many as possible within the 5 min song.
I figured people can pause the video to check out each pic if they want to.
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@rsf507
I am glad that my exposure of this cable served you well. It is indeed great ! |
Heading home...long day and filmed a ton. Stay tuned for a great video tonight. Grab your beer or drink of choice.
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Hi,
I've never used any platforms with my amps. I throw them in my rack and begin to listen.
I will look at my pictures to see which amps I've forgotten to add to my review. I know I forgot to write about the plinius sa103, sa100mk3, Ati signature 4007, octave audio v110 integrated.
As i stated above, my front end are the Martin Logan Renaissance, Mcintosh c1100 preamp. Someone mentioned above why not tube amps ? It's simple, I use amps as part of my home theater too and tube amps DO NOT work well in a home theater application. They don't have the dynamic swing capabilities that solid state or class d amps have. I've tried them and they get lost with action scenes not able to keep up with the rest of my solid state amps. If I was only a 2 channel guy then yes I'd try a few.
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All-
i will be responding to everyone tonight after I get off work. I will also add a few more amps to the list.
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Alright guys, i just sat down and started to play these MC601s while i write what follows below:
Plinius SA100MK3: VERY AMAZING AMP. This amp has a gorgeous amount of detail and nice bass. i was very impressed by how much bass it retained even a low volumes which is a hard thing for many amps to do! I really don’t remember ANYTHING bad about this amp. It sounded very nice with my Dynaudio C4s.
Plinius SA103: I bought this amp because i thought the SA100MK3 was amazing so i had to try it. Anyhow, i found this amp very detailed, great overall tonal balance, BUT I DID NOT GET THE SAME OOMPH in the bass department that the sa100mk3 had. I called plinius several times and they told me this amp uses dual transformers and that i needed to re-wire my electrical outlet with a 12 gauge cable, etc, etc which i was not going to do. I felt this amp was a tad more detailed than the plinius sa100mk3, but if i am being honest here, i preferred the sa100mk3. It had bass that "thumped" at any volume level.
Octave Audio v110 integrated: i tried this unit with my Confidence C4s and i will say it REALLY impressed me when i first turned it on. I mean, it was like my speakers became something else. TONS OF BASS that i couldn’t believe what i was hearing. I liked it so much that i wanted to keep it and made it part of my home theater by using its passthrough mode. That said, it just didn’t really keep up with the rest of my amps. It got lost time and time again when action scenes came on. It almost felt as if my front speakers were not even playing at times. I later just realized that Tube amps just don’t have the dynamics and slam needed for movies. I must have tried all sorts of settings, calibrations, etc and i just couldn’t get it to blend with the rest of my set up. If i had a channel set up and no home theater, i would have certainly kept it.
ATI SIGNATURE 4007: Here i was again. Trying to see if maybe i didnt give the 6007 signature amp a fair shot when i first bought it so tried this less powered version. I found that it really is a solid amp if you are looking to do 100% home theater with occasional 2ch listening. This is the amp that you throw in a rack and shut the door and let it play for years and years and years without ever worrying about it. However, it is NOT IN THE SAME LEAGUE as the JC1’s, pass labs, Krell 402e, etc.
EMOTIVA SA250: I was actually very impressed by this affordable amp. i connected my crazy expensive mcintosh c1100 to this amp and i really was amazed by how it handled my electrostatics. I could say that there were other amps that were far more expensive and yet they couldn’t hold a candle to this amp. It had plenty of everything and i really thought if this amp was made by someone else, they could charge 10 times more for it.
Someone above asked me why i don’t try tubes and i think i pretty much said why above. I just feel tubes are awesome for 2 channel and i probably would have an all tube set up if all i did was 2 channel, but in my situation i need an amp that can excel at both.
As far as the xa30.8, that is one great amp. I think it is the amp you use if you live in a nice studio apartment with a nice pair of focal diablo bookshelves speakers or Dynaudio C1s (or something like those) and you do serious listening late at night without ripping your neighbors walls off. This amp will give you every ounce of detail and 3 dimensionality that you wish to have, but IT IS NOT a monster and dynamic amp as the 350.5 or 250.5. or 250.8. The xa30.8 is a very intimate sounding amp. It is not the amp that will make your jaw drop when you let it blast as loud as you can handle. That is when you purchase the x250 or x350.
i want to be very honest, and i want to put this out there. i find the XA pass labs amps to be amazing amps, but you WILL BENEFIT from having speakers with powered woofers such as martin logan electrostatics, goldenear triton 1s,etc. In my personal opinion, the best amps to come from pass labs are the CLASS A/B amps. Any X series amp to be specific. They just have outstanding slam and will knock you back in your chair when you crank them up. Up until this day, i still have not heard a better slam and dynamics than the pass labs x series whether it be the .5 or .8.
One last thing i wanted to say is that i am writing this out for all of you who are looking to gather as much info as possible in order to make a smart buying decision. However, my reviews here are based on my own experience and not what some reviewer got paid to say on a magazine. i don’t get paid, i don’t make anything from this. It is just my passion/hobby. Some of you will recommend other amps from brands that nobody has ever heard of or that are so unknown that i simply won’t dare to buy. Why? because as you can see i go through amps almost on a weekly basis and i also need to be able to sell them when i want to try the next amp. Does this mean that i am missing out on a lot of other amps? i am sure i am, but i am also being smart about my buying decisions. Essentially the sale of each amp finances my next amp purchase. i can’t buy an amplifier that i simply can’t sell for 3, 4, 6 months etc.
One more thing i was thinking about doing was to give my opinion on processors. I have owned quite a few as well and can certainly give my personal opinion on many of these, but that will come later.
Anytime you see something that i am selling, rest assured it is only because i am looking to move on to the next thing and not because there is something wrong with it. I could be totally in love with an amp today and think it is the best I’ve owned, but i will still move on from it when something else catches my attention.
In the meantime, i will continue listening to these 601s.
cheers! |
the XPR monos were on my bucket list, but they are long gone now so that won’t happen anymore. I almost bought a pair of xpa-1 the other day, but i just didnt do it because i am still playing with the mc601s.
What i think emotiva benefits from besides what you mentioned above is from an excellent source and preamp/processor. I think my mx160 processor (which i am selling on here) sounded spectacular with these emotiva amps. I tried other amps i had here and i honestly couldn’t tell them apart. The mx160 made those emotiva amps sing amazing. People sometimes underestimate the importance of a quality preamp or processor. Right now, i am a believer in a tube preamp with a solid state for a 2ch and home theater application. It is tough to beat. |
All-
Starting with the bhk300s and below that list above, I've used the Martin Logan Renaissance. I no longer own the c4s because the minute I heard the Renaissance, my jaw dropped and went home and immediately listed my c4s. It was a day and night difference.
As far as the krell amps that someone mentioned above, no I haven't heard those. I don't find krell to have the bass that magazines rave about. I've had a lot of krell amps and NO OTHER AMP in my room gave me more slam than the 350.5 or 250.5 or the jc1s. Those are my top 3 amps when it comes to bass.
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Pass labs x350.5 demolished my krell 402e in bass and midrange. The krell sounded flat and had zero fullness. The 250.8 is better than the 350.5
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I keep saying it again, if you want slam and dynamics with fullness to the sound then you should stay away from the xa series from pass labs. Those are amazing amps but they are more for classical or instrumental music or if you like amazing midrange. They don't give you the bass attack or punch that some of us like.
As far as how I can do this and constantly buy and sell amps, I am very well connected and have had tons of relationships with many dealers. I have long and good standing relationships with them so there is no problem there. i also send them many of my friends to buy from them.
Ottablue, I am glad you liked the 250.8. I told you it was killer !! Glad you bought it from me and I didn't really have enough time with it but it was enough to hear a massive improvement from all other amps I've owned.
I just got finished listening to the Mcintosh mc452 and will list it for sale soon. Review coming ! |
I'm probably never going to buy that brand . As stated above, I purchase amps that I don't have a hard time selling down the road. I'm sure there are many amps out there that are excellent but being that this is an expensive hobby, I can't buy something that I can't get out of once I'm done with it. Another perfect amp that I'm curious about would be the Magnus audio line of amps. Those are on my taste buds but after doing serious research and talking to a few well known people, that's an amp you buy and keep because it won't sell and that's not something I'm willing to do.
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How about you all think of me as the guy who spends his own money to try amps and give his personal opinion so that you all don't have to spend your own money going around trying all sorts of amps ? Isn't that great for most of you ? At the end of the day you all come on these forums doing your own research about a component you are curious about trying so my thread does exactly that. It gives you preliminary information about an item you are unsure about. I leave my feedback and you guys do your own analysis as to weather what I say makes you reconsider your next amp choice or it just confirms that you are buying the right amp.
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Agreed Bill. Plinius is grea stuff but not everyone is going to be spending the extra money to upgrade their electrical system etc. Plinius should think about these things. To me, the 100mk3 was better sounding with my dynaudio c4s. The bass was better.
Nothing beats the pass labs 350 or 250 in terms of bass though. It's a game changer. I felt as if all of a sudden the bass was more energized and deeper without me touching anything else.
Pass labs is the top of my list at this time. Overbuilt, amazing in every way but they do run warm and don't fit in racks so there's a compromise there. |
No i haven't. I've only had the theta dreadnaught d and It was ok. |
It's not so much about bass but rather the fullness in sound. There's nothing more that I hate than an amp that sounds thin and costs tons of money. I like fullness and huge soundstage with the right oomph when needed. A good analogy would be that I don't buy a mustang so that it sounds like a Honda Civic with a muffler when I put the pedal to the metal. I like muscular full sounding amps with enough enough sparkle up top so that I don't get ear fatigue.
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They have powered woofers and yes you can hear the change in bass tone as you change out amplifiers. I noticed this when I owned Montis. Contrary to popular belief, the Martin Logan electrostatics have powered woofers that let you hear more bass if the amplifier has better low end punch. Please refer to the stereophile review of the montis where they can validate what I am stating here. The bass improves and sounds as if you went to the back of the speaker and turned the dial up a few notches.
After I sold the montis, I tried salon 2s, goldenear triton 1s, B&W 800s, dynaudio c4s, and almost owned the klipsch palladium 39f but one day I decided to go and listen to the Renaissance. They were connected with a simaudio preamp and stereo amp and I used my iPhone with a crappy RCA cable and streamed Spotify which is a mediocre source. Well, my jaw hit the floor. I couldn't believe what I heard. I have ran these Renaissance in full range mode while watching movies and turned off both of my JL audio fathoms and the Renaissance destroy the JL audio subs. They just do everything right. |
Unfortunately, my reviews going forward will be with electrostatic speakers since i have no intention of selling my Renaissance speakers in the near future. For now, here is the review on the MC452:
Mcintosh MC452: TONS OF POWER. It doesn't run out of steam and has enough juice to satisfy any sort of demanding speaker. I also will say that it has very nice detail up top with nice separation. It has enough bass, but it won't match the pass labs or jc1s, but that does not mean it sounds thin either. It actually surprised me enough to say it is a good overall well rounded amp. If you have laid back speakers, THIS IS THE PERFECT AMP to bring them alive. As far as looks, well this is as good as it gets. Mcintosh just looks very pretty regardless of where you place it. I don't think i have been so complimented on how beautiful my looks after i brought Mcintosh gear a few weeks ago.
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Rob,
if you are coming from jc1s and need that type of juice, go for the 350.5 or .8.
As far as the comment about my selection of amps due to resale value or marketability, yes that's what I choose. This is a hobby and I'm not in it to lose money when I can avoid it. I post my experience here for you all to use it as additional feedback and nothing else. Just because I haven't auditioned an amp that you think is better doesn't mean I wouldn't. Just feel free to send it my way and I'll pay return shipping back to you. As I stated above, I won't try an amp that I can't sell without sitting on it for many months. I like to be able to bring an amp in my home, use it, audition it and then sell it and use that same money to finance my next purchase. So far, I have pass labs as king of the hill. If one day I want to go back to it, it's only a phone call away. As simple as that. That said, right now I'm playing with my mc601s and already making calls to bring in a 350.8 or Bryston 28bsst2.
I will continue to use my electrostatics for another year or so. One thing you all need to remember is that I don't get paid for this like reviewers do in order to hype a product. Don't believe everything magazines write because I was guilty of that and learned the hard way. For example, the krell 402e got praised as having massive bass which I never heard at all. The most bass I've ever heard was from the 350.5 followed by the jc1s and 250.8. Every other amp was on a separate tier groups in regards to bass.
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I'm about seconds away from bringing back neoliths .... I keep struggling with regular sized speakers. It's like riding on an Escalade and then you hop on a Toyota RAV4. Impossible to forget the massiveness of the big boys.
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I’ve been told by people close to me that the benchmark stuff is good for the money but it’s not at the level of gear we typically have conversations about on this thread.
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Hi all,
happy holidays to everyone. i have once again abandoned this thread due to family time and work. i read what was asked after my last post on this thread and here are a few things i can say:
No i have not heard any Coda amps. I did get some feedback from someone i know who claims they are very good amps for the money and they sound very musical ( i trust his ears).
As far as the anthem p5, i did own it and it is a tank. That said, i find ALL ANTHEM amps to sound sterile, cold and very lifeless. They seem to have plenty of power, but they are not amps that can be really enjoyed in terms of 2 channel. They are more targeted to be part of a home theater set up. Again, that is my personal opinion based on my prior experience with the anthem P5.
Some of you have asked that i should mention what i own in terms of components so you can get a clear understanding and here is what i own right now:
Speakers:
Martin Logan Renaissance (sold 2 weeks ago)
Monitor Audio Pl 300 Platinums
Revel Salon 2s
JL audio Gothams
Jl audio F113s
Preamps:
Classe Audio CP800
Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp
Mcintosh C2500
Mcintosh C52
Processors:
Mcintosh mx161
Mcintosh mx122
Krell foundation 4k
Sources:
Cambridge audio 851 network player
Ps audio Direct stream dac with Bridge 2
NAS DRIVE with DSD files
Amplifiers:
Mcintosh MC601s
Emotiva SA250s
Krell Chorus 7200
Classe Audio CA5200
i also ordered a pair of Mcintosh mc275 MK6 tube amps which i will use as monos. My intention here is to hear these puppies in a 2 channel configuration and choose from the different preamps that i currently own to see what sounds best with them.
I made the mistake of selling my electrostatics and the buyer does not seem to like them. He had never owned electrostatics so he is really not feeling them. I can honestly say i love the electrostatic sound and the reason why i bought these mcintosh mc275s (which will be here next tuesday) is because i want to try them with electrostatics. i am going to probably either buy another pair of renaissance or just a pair of 13a which are smaller and probably easier to live with.
Someone above asked if the emotiva is in the same conversation as a pass labs 250.8 or 350.5 and my answer is no it is not. It is a hell of an amp for the money and i have verified this by using my different preamps with those amps and i am always impressed at how much bang for the buck they truly are. That said, pass labs is pass labs and in my opinion they are really the best for electrostatics aside from tube amps.
As far as my Mcintosh mc601s, they are good amps (beautiful looking too), but they are no pass labs in terms of OOMPH.
One thing to remember is that i have previous experience using a tube integrated to drive my renaissance speakers and they seemed to simply get lost when watching movies. What i can say so far (without listening to my mc275s in mono mode yet until they arrive) is that tube amps for some reason tend to pull back the sparkle and detail that exists in movies which tends to make the front speakers not "jump" as much as the rest of the speakers. It is a weird effect to say the least, but i will be able to test this out once again but now with 150 watts per channel rather than 75 and see if the extra power makes a difference.
I want to say to everyone that i always have a lot of audio equipment that i go through and that i end up selling not because i hate it or i don't like it, but rather because i am simply looking to try something else that caught my eye. i have vast experience with many pieces of equipment and everything i say here is because I ACTUALLY have owned it and not something that i just read about on the magazines which i don't trust to begin with. i have read sooo many glowing reviews on different things and i ended up buying them and was truly disappointed. The point i am trying to make for you all is that you should not believe everything you read about audio. Let your ears be the judge.
If anyone is interested in anything i currently own just message me. i can give you my honest advice and opinion and i won't sell you anything that i don't think will take you in the right direction. i have received a lot of messages from people who were misguided by their dealer or magazines and are looking for true hands on advice. i am glad to take you in the direction you want as long as you have the budget of course. i won't transform your stereo to sound like a $100k sound system with only a 3,000 dollar investment so let's be a realist first. however, i can guide you each step of the way so that you don't have to keep buying more and more equipment and yet you are still not where you want to be in terms of sound. Some of you who are reading this and who have messaged me and i have helped to elevate their listening experience can chime in here and vouch for me.
Happy holidays for you all !!
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The Odeon is the best multi-channel amp there is. The other amp that comes second is the Classe CA5200. The Odeon does run very warm when driven hard just like a pass labs. I used the Odeon with 110v without any issues. |
I have tried both and can't hear a difference. I now just plug them into my furman piece |
Neoliths , sonus Faber Aida, von scheikert vr55, vivid audio g1 s2,.... Hmmm decisions ... decisions.. |
Ok so first:
@zprr.
Thank you for confirming what I said. You clearly understand my logic and reasoning. I appreciate you coming out and speaking out loud about what I said and suggested. I firmly believe i know what I am talking about since I'm not giving advise based on what I read on magazines or forums.
I know NOTHING about components I haven't personally owned. I don't believe ANYONE can speak with certainty about any component they personally haven't lived with.
Viber, i believe you are a doctor ? Should I then google any symptoms I might have and diagnose myself based on what md.com is saying and refuse to accept the diagnosis you gave me if I came in for a doctor visit? I
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i just received a pair of mc275s tube amps which I will run in mono mode with my renaissance. I recently bought a second pair of renaissance because after I sold my first pair, I really regretted it. The guy who bought them from me doesn't like them in his room with his set up. Anyhow, I got lucky and bought a used pair locally for a great deal and I'll be using now an all out tube amp and preamp and keep the mc601s in my garage for the time being. I want to focus on a 2 channel set up in the beginning of the next year and just put multichannel on hold.
Several of you have messaged me asking for advice and purchased a few of my pieces based on what you told me you needed out of your set up.
i plan to keep venturing and trying more gear next year and share more with you all. I realized that my first passion is 2 channel. That said, I began my journey with movies and have vast experience with many top processors. So far, I feel atmos is great but it's very minimal in terms of improvement unless you have a true dedicated room for it. A solid 7.1 set up is still hard to beat.
Happy holidays ! |
