WCSS, It's Friday, do we have to wait for FedEx/UPS to deliver your new fire bottle amps?
My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!
So I have been in a long journey looking to find the best amplifiers for my martin logan montis. As you know, the match between an amplifier and speakers has to be a good "marriage" and needs to be blend exquisitely. Right now, I think I might have found the best sounding amplifier for martin logan. I have gone through approximately 34-36 amplifiers in the past 12 months. Some of these are:
Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series
NAD M25
PARASOUND HALO
PARASOUND CLASSIC
KRELL TAS
KRELL KAV 500
KRELL CHORUS
ROTEL RMB 1095
CLASSE CT 5300
CLASSE CA 2200
CLASSE CA 5200
MCINTOSH MC 205
CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7
OUTLAW AUDIO 755
LEXICON RX7
PASS LABS XA 30.8
BUTLER AUDIO 5150
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005
With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer.
My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)
NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes)
Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)
Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)
rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)
cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)
parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)
lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)
McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.
butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)
pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.
classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)
Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:
PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.
Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.
Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?
Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp.
Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.
It is articulate sounding too
Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.
Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.
Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.
Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.
Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either.
Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.
Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.
My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.
That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!
Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series
NAD M25
PARASOUND HALO
PARASOUND CLASSIC
KRELL TAS
KRELL KAV 500
KRELL CHORUS
ROTEL RMB 1095
CLASSE CT 5300
CLASSE CA 2200
CLASSE CA 5200
MCINTOSH MC 205
CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7
OUTLAW AUDIO 755
LEXICON RX7
PASS LABS XA 30.8
BUTLER AUDIO 5150
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005
With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer.
My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)
NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes)
Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)
Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)
rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)
cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)
parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)
lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)
McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.
butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)
pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.
classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)
Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:
PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.
Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.
Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?
Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp.
Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.
It is articulate sounding too
Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.
Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.
Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.
Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.
Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either.
Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.
Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.
My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.
That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!
Showing 50 responses by klh007
I saw the Pass XS 150s at the Capital AudioFest last weekend driving the GTAudio Works magnetic planars supported below 80Hz with 4 12" servo controlled Open Baffle subs per channel, magnificent! Even the XS 150s are huge, massive, and very heavy, but they brought game that elevated this system to heights never before achieved at CAF in their room. They used 60 watt Pass monos the past 2 years, but the addition of the XS 150s really upped the sonics of the system, brutal impact when the music delivered it, stunning dynamic swings instantly, wide and deep stage with the stage starting 4 feet behind the speakers and going back 25’, and very emotionally involving, I got caught up with RLJ flirting with us singing Danny’s All Star Joint, delicious! WCSS is correct about the XS Pass amps, I can't speak for the XS 300s, but the 150s were special in a system I'm familiar with and I'm sure the 300s are even better, listen to them if you have an opportunity. |
WCSS, The GTAW room at CAF was 4 times bigger than AXPONA and the system was incredible. The GTA 3Rs were wildly dynamic, had a soundstage that began 4' behind the plane of the speakers and went back 30', voices were in the room real, decays lasted a long time, bass was perfectly blended without drawing attention but room crushing when demanded, and the system was emotionally engaging drawing me into performances easily. They would work in your new listening room so please keep them in mind when you go speaker searching again. You are so right about the Pass XS amps, leaps beyond other Pass lines, truly extraordinary! Please consider Vinnie Rossi's L2 SE Direct heated triode preamp in your preamp search, it is a special piece of kit. Text me if you're interested in trying one and I'll see if I can help make it happen. |
I was hoping you were heading toward bringing in a pair of GTA 3.1Rs with 2 x 12" OB subs per side, their room at CAF was stunningly good and the presentation was tonally neutral, something you are appreciating. They upped the ante by using a pair of XS-150s, you have the bigger XS-300s and they would be the perfect match, clearly surpassing the sound you liked at AXPONA by a wide margin. Boxes can sound very good, but I believe planars are even better w/o any box colorations and a huge soundstage including pinpoint imaging, the stage starting behind the 3.1Rs letting them disappear and going 20' back was one of the mesmerizing attributes of their room at CAF. |
I am an avid reader of Jay's thread, and an owner of GTAW speakers, an earlier model 2.5. I knew from the moment I heard them at Capital Audiofest that they were like Magnepans on steroids, sold 3.6s and bought my first of 2 pairs of GTAWs. Matching up OB subs with planars is the perfect coherent solution for planars' diminished low end dynamics and impact. I'm thoroughly enjoying Jay's journey and I hope he continues to audition gear, make video shootouts, read our impressions and then tell us what he thinks. Jay liked the GTA speakers at Axpona in too small of a room, I hope the right circumstances occur and he gets a pair someday. Maybe he'll get a deal on Wilson Alexx, Vivid, or Von Schweikerts? That's what fun about following Jay, he likes surprises! |
@viber6, A speaker that should be on your radar is the Sanders electrostatic hybrid. A flat full range panel crossing over below 200Hz to a sealed box 10" woofer, electronic xover standard and must be bi-amped. Tremendous clarity/transparency and to my ears the best integrated cone woofer to stat panel, they are stunning and I spend at least 45 minutes in Roger's room at shows because his system using 2 of his amps is so natural and real sounding as well as emotional involving, a very under appreciated design, IMHO. |
Here is a quote lifted from Audiophile Style regarding DAC direct vs adding a line stage/preamp;
Not every DAC goes direct into every amplifier perfectly. After experimenting a lot with both approaches, with a lot of DIY efforts where I could change the output stage to suit the amp, I have found that current headroom of the DAC's output stage seems critical to get a robust DAC direct sound. Some IC opamps used in output stages only have around 30 mA current capability, where others can have 75 mA, or even over 100 mA. Of course the stoutness of the power supply powering those IC opamps also matters. If the IC opamps in the DAC output stage are operating anywhere near their limits, they tend to sound a bit weak in terms of dynamic expression.
I think this echos Jay's thoughts on this question, not all DACs have the juice to be as dynamic and controlling as needed and a preamp can bring back the dynamic excitement and control letting the amp and system reach their upper limits of performance. |
Here is a quote from Jay; "A lot of talk about tekton speakers here but why don’t I see a massive amount of owners posting here" ? Jay I don't see readers interested in Wilson Alexia IIs and Mephistos as your demographic? Even kren mentions when Viber goes on about Tekton he just ignores it. Tekton's brand is built on superb value and sonics in the top echelon without the big price tag. The drawbacks are clear, a giant box, heavy, no veneer only auto colors, direct sale only. The rewards are many as have been described including very sensitive/easy to drive, top to bottom coherent, very transparent/detailed yet not bright or etched, truly full range with deep bass extension coupled with adept articulation, dynamically alive and exciting, wide and deep staging with accurate imaging, and affordable. Here is a link to my review of Moabs after enjoying them for 9 months; https://www.avshowrooms.com/tekton-moab-loudspeakers.html The Wilsons I've heard at shows, especially since Daryl took over voicing them, are sensational sounding albeit in another price spectrum as Tekton. I'm really looking forward to your upcoming preamp shootouts, and I want to know the identity of the "unknown" very heavy entry. Good choice keeping the Maggies, bass flavor of an amp will be more easily recognized on the 20.7s than 13a. Hope you stumble onto a great deal on Rockports, they seem to have strengths in your wheelhouse. |
@viber6, The Tekton speakers with double arrays, 2- 7 tweeter circles with a single tweeter in between acting as an MTM design handle everything from just below 300Hz on up with the same driver which makes for outstanding coherency and stunning vocal clarity and transparency. The single array has tweeters handling frequencies from about 600Hz up, still lower than most midrange drivers are crossed over at, and doesn't have quite the top to bottom coherency or clarity compared to their double arrays, but it's close. The Moabs are the value leader having the dual arrays and are truly full-range displaying powerful bass which extends down to 20Hz, at least in my room they did. |
Here is a quote from a review of a pair of Gryphons, Essence pre/power that sheds light on what Jay is hearing with the Pandora/Mephisto combo, it says polite dinner jazz is elevated to involving instead of snoozing; HiFi+ "Let’s talk about what’s wrong with the Essence amps: nothing. Let me
expand on that a bit: N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Yes, an amp that takes 45 minutes to
run from ‘good’ to ‘awesome’ every time you turn it on might be a turn-off to
seekers of instant gratification and there are going to be people who will be
willing to trade some aspects of the overall sonic gestalt for overstated or even
exaggerated performance elsewhere. And of those latter types, the people who
seem attracted to a very mellow, laid-back-to-the-point-of-unconsciousness,
soft-edged dinner jazz presentation might find the expressive, powerful and
upfront Essence too far in the other direction. On the other hand, the rest of us
will find the Essence copes with audiophile dinner jazz extremely well, and as
an added bonus it loses its stultifying, Rohypnol effect." |
@viber6, Please leave your Mytek Brooklyn in your system and send the giant killer Bryston 2.5B SST2 down to Jay's place so we can all hear how it measures up against the Mephisto instead of you guessing how close it might be? Calling your hand, let's have a real comparison and end the populations. After I get one of Walter's Voyager GaN amps in-house and burned in I want to send it to Jay so we can hear what a well-designed budget amp can do driving the Focals compared to the Mephisto. Come on viber6, send your amp to FL where your appreciation of it can be compared to a great amp in a very resolving system, fair? |
@kren0006, I thought Jay’s issues with the 20.7s were mainly impact, weight, and inability to pressurize the room, ie not muscular? The GTA panels combined with SI OB subs with 6 12" woofers per channel absolutely can pressurize any room and reach deep with explosive impact while mating seamlessly with the panels as both are radiating the same way, maybe Jay will be able to hear them at an audio fest sometime in 2021? |
I really admire Jay's ability to resist getting too emotionally involved in a product and to let the timing of deals and availability of new gear drive his choices. It seems like he loved the Stellas, but an offer to buy them came quickly and M3s were offered at the "right" price so he pulled the trigger. I don't think this means Jay is done with Focal, he might climb the Focal ladder next time with Grande Evos? I bet he's on the lookout for a pair of Alexx and maybe has an eye on a Cygnus or Lyra from Rockport or an Agoria or Sunray from Tidal? Thanks Jay for letting us enjoy your ride through Summitt-Fi! |
Congratulations Jay on moving to a perfectly logical jump up the Wilson ladder, when I've heard the Alexx at shows they have been involving and very impressive, great choice! I wonder if they can be bettered, or more likely another speaker will have some different strengths and weaknesses and you alone get to pick the "flavors" that most appeal to your musical tastes? Keep us guessing and bring on the competition. |
@kren0006, In this case, Jay didn't purchase the SR kit, it was loaned by a fan so Jay didn't seek out the cables. I'm very excited to hear Jay make the cable and accessory comparisons because I've heard Ted make A/B comparisons at shows and his gear made very audible improvements when switched into the system. Good luck Jay, you have a lot of SR kit to experience, take your time and let us hear the differences on your YT channel. |
Moving away from the XLFs is a complete surprise! Your own words explain it, "I don't fall in love with anything", it's still unexpected. Packing up the XLFs would seem to be a 2 or 3 person job? I'm excited to see what is replacing the Wilsons, Rockport, Vivid, Vandy, Joseph, Kharma, too many to guess. |
Since we are discussing using a DAC direct into an amp, having a volume control in the DAC is necessary, or controlling the volume in the digital domain. Lumin has adopted the Leedh Processing which is apparently a game changer in regulating output,
|
Congratulations on making a speaker choice that is a sonic benchmark and has liquidity in the used marketplace. I really liked your comments on why the other 5 contenders didn't get the nod, I was hoping for Vivid but the resale was deemed difficult in spite of you loving their sonics and looks. Ted uses Magico as his reference speaker so SR cables should be a synergistic pairing. Jay, you made the perfect choice progressing from the ALEXX to M6 for many reasons, kudos to your decision. Can't wait for the Integrated shootout, and I hope the Boulder 866 might grace your room. |
Jay, you have really upped the ante with the MSB! A comparison between MSB and dCS will be very interesting, even at different price levels. Most of us have been to a show and heard both the same day, but in different rooms, this should be a first on a superb system letting us hear the 2 playing the same songs, I can't wait. I still hope you enlist a true dedicated server to feed the DAC that stays, Mike might loan you one for a weekend, that's all the time you should need to hear an improvement. |
@tweak1 ak1 and @viber6 , Here are the 3 YT videos; https://youtu.be/gueDCNUAapI Alexx w/best kit https://youtu.be/VEjje1WCvFw M6 Solution Int https://youtu.be/B8jm25r6Saw GTA Planars, Pass kit, Lampi DAC viber6, were the OB subs active for this recording? When I heard the GTA 3.1s at CAF running the pair of 6 12" OB woofers, voices were not thin, nor thickened by the subs as they ran a very low crossover frequency. I'm not sure Kren has heard the GTAs in a room like at CAF, but no Maggie comes close in regards to dynamic excitement, detail, low bass extension/impact, and realism. ML never sounds as coherent and also sounds dynamically compressed. Also Kren, Tekton is so swamped with backorders Eric has hired more employees and raised some prices, and used models often sell near retail. I agree with Ron17, the M6s driven by Pandora/Antileon produce the best sound Jay has assembled yet. I think a change in DAC and especially a dedicated server will be necessary to bring the next round of improvements. |
Jay, The amps coming at the end of the month, are those the ones you said were being made to order for you and were worth waiting for? Plus another pair of monos next week, hopefully one of those beasts will bring the M6s to their full potential. When you can, add or try a better dedicated server, you've already heard what a Taiko brought to the table at Mike's place. |
I'm surprised at the critical remarks regarding the XLFs, Jay is at the beginning of his XLF journey and hasn't had any time to even get them off casters, let alone work more on positioning, have a Wilson expert dial in time alignment, experiment with cables, and try other amps, they will get even better as he works with them. |