Death of MSRP prices is taking over...
https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/international/soundstage-uk/1426-hi-fi-shops-the-death-rate...
https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/international/soundstage-uk/1426-hi-fi-shops-the-death-rate...
My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!
Death of MSRP prices is taking over... https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/international/soundstage-uk/1426-hi-fi-shops-the-death-rate... |
hi, i am fine, but have been too busy. My neoliths are leaving on Monday and i have decided to hold off from buying another speaker. i have my Dynaudio c4 Platinums to play with in the meantime. i don't know what i will be doing. Sasha Daw, Focal Scala Evo, Salon 2s, 800D3s, Sonus Faber Cremonese, etc. Not sure what will end up happening because i have a lot in my head. |
I dont like to be that blunt because some people can get their feelings hurt, but yes i personally rather own a luxman 900u or simaudio. Pass labs NEEDS a complete overhaul and release something new soon. Gryphon released the "essence"models Parasound released the new Jc1 + Krell did the XD upgrade on their amps Merrill audio did the "element" models Bryston did the cubed series Mcintosh did the 611 and 1.25kw Simaudio - 860 v2 ARC - 160S The following companies need to do something new with their stereo amps: Hegel Pass Labs (xa25 isnt really doing something new...) BAT Mark Levinson |
Hi, it was a combination of a financial and room space. The ceiling is about 8ft and there was only going to be about a foot above the Neoliths. I thought it was just too small of a room for them so I am now looking for a speaker that will hopefully somewhat satisfy me. Yes this might mean I need to have about 3 shots of tequila before each listening session so it doesn’t allow me to be in much of a shock each time. I don’t expect the same wall of sound though. It’s something I’ll have to deal with. Right now, it’s looking like the new focal scala Evo will be my next speaker. It will be my first rodeo with their utopia line so im excited to be honest. |
Why don’t we keep things real here: if i did what magazine reviewers do which is to sit and live with all of this, you all would be bored as hell because all i would be posting are the same damn songs with the same damn amps and preamps... who wants to follow the dude who is reviewing the same damn amp and preamp for the last 3-5 months? NOBODY.... My sickness of changing out gear constantly is in reality what keeps you coming back here for the most part. Again, let’s keep it real here... Most people here tune in because you want to see what is next and if i am ever going to be giving my input on an item you own. I am not gospel, but some of you do appreciate my input because I ACTUALLY own and play with these toys and dont go off of magazines and some of you respect that. Also, there is always people who reach out to me for input on certain components and i am always glad to give you my opinion. |
Hi, yes they are keepers. Without a question. Best FULL class d amp I’ve ever owned. I had quite a few people listen to them here with the room lights off and they always chose the Merrill Over whatever else I played here. That said, there’s another big name amp that will hopefully set foot in my room in about a month or so. I’ve never owned this amp but I think it is going to be a reality now. No this amp isn’t 15k or 20k on the used market. It’s more than that. |
Hi, the Rowland preamp with the matching psu unit sounds INSANE. very musical and smooth with incredible clarity. That said, the Merrill is faster, sounds a little more punchy and great muscularity. They are very different sounding and it is hard to say one is better than the other. It totally depends on what kind of music you listen to. Do you like 80s music ? Or music that perhaps wasn’t recorded with high resolution ? Then probably the Rowland will add sweetness that will indeed make everything sound satisfying. If you want nothing but the truth then the Merril is your ticket. However, be mindful that this is not going to forgive you. For instance, I’m not a fan of the Dynaudio c4 with the full Merrill set up and nordost Odin 1 speaker cables. I detect slight brightness on the music that is totally absent if I use wireworld platinum speaker cables which is exactly what I am saying to you all: be ready to change cabling, sources, etc in order to dial in the sound to your liking. One thing that has impressed me with the Merrill Monos is the tremendous bottom end with zero bloat or overhang. It just kicks and then disappears and then kicks and then disappears instantly. As good as my Rowland 925s are, they are no match for the bottom end of the Merrill. No contest in that regard. |
Ladies and gentlemen, The focal scala utopia EVOs arrived today and I am totally shocked at how amazing they sound. Wow. There's so much muscularity, detail and air that is simply too good to be true. I am using the oppo 205 as a preamp and the classe cam600 and I can't believe what I'm hearing. They are not even broken in and I'm already happy with what I hear. The dynamics on these is awesome and reminds me of Wilson audio. Guys, I gambled buying these without hearing them and I'm floored. Who said they need subwoofers?? Hell no they don't. Stay tuned... I've uploaded a pic of them ! |
I am going to say something to you all: if you are sick of trying gear with your speakers in order to make them sound good, buy The focal scala utopia evo and be done. I am not kidding either. They sound incredible with just about anything you throw at them. I am even trying mp3 files (yes I did) and they still sound amazing. Its really an insane sounding speaker. Yes, it kills the sopra 3 in all regards. They are not in the same conversation which is why they are double the price. Don’t say I didn’t tell ya’ll.... |
Hi, I listen to everything but classical music, funeral music, hotel lobby music. These were the main genres they played at axpona last year. I also remember hearing the focal grande evo and I selected it as the best speaker of the entire show. Why ? Because those focal reps had BALLS and played everything through those speakers. They didn’t shy away like other companies there. I totally loved that approach and that stuck in my head. I will also say that I personally select the focal scala evo as a superior speaker to the magico s5 mk2 and Wilson sasha series 2. I can’t compare to the sasha daw but i have a gut feeling that the Wilson daw is still a speaker hard to place and that relies on a good room to have accurate bass. I love everything about this focal and I can’t seem to find one bad thing thus far other than the fact that I am finding myself listening at louder volumes than normal because I want more and more of what they already do. |
I threw them in the room in front of the dynaudio c4s. They are about 5 feet out into the room and I am about 9 feet away from them. They were 9 feet apart and slightly toed in. No spikes yet but I will be playing with the tilt once I have played with them. The bass is OUTSTANDING in my room. I had my wife listen right now and she thought I had subwoofers playing the entire time until I told her I didn't. Merrill audio 118s will be taking center stage on Saturday and that amp has far but FAR better bottom end than the cam600s I'm using now. The esoteric will also add more oomph as well as soundstage. I have also just ordered the new shunyata 6000s version 2 unit and will be installing audioquest outlets this weekend on my 20a outlets. There's more to come in terms of fine tuning things. However, if all i had was what i have right now, I would be totally happy too. Let me ask you, what's better on the evo than the sopra 3s? I have my own opinion. |
The focal utopia grande evo was the best speaker of the show in my opinion. I found it the type of speaker that makes you get off your seat and keep playing song after song. It is also extremely fast sounding and totally blows my mind in many ways. Now I can honestly say I'd take this speaker over anything magico makes under 55k retail or anything Wilson makes besides the DAW or alexia 2 because I haven't heard them so I can't say it is better. Again, the greatness of this speaker is the fact that it just sounds good even if you had your damm iphone connected to it with a RadioShack Mini cable. Yes, I am being serious here. The speaker will clearly pay off dividends with better components which I will validate soon. I am beyond Impressed with the high frequencies which never get harsh on me. They just flow side to side and top to bottom. I don't know why anyone would want more bass to be honest because I have more than I could ask for and its tight, fast and with zero overhang. That said, don't let the high efficiency fool you into thinking you'll get the most out of them with a small amp. Yes it will sound good but the WOW factor, especially the bottom end, will become more impressive with more clean power. |
Ok guys, The oppo 205 is probably getting beat here in my room as we speak. The panasonic 9000 seems to have the upper hand in sound and in picture but it does not seem to best the oppo when playing music CDs via xlr out. That said, I can say that the oppo 205 is starting to show its kinks and aging gracefully for sure. |
The goal is for me to give my personal opinion.I'm taking the steering wheel from this point on and I rate them as I see them. I go by what I like best. That's it. If anyone disagrees, please order stereophile or absolutely sound and hit the x button at the top right of your browser right now. I rate them as I see them while in my possession. If I like brand x then I like brand x because I feel it tastes how I like it. If I like vodka then I like vodka. Don't burn your energy trying to convince me to drink whiskey. |
Focal scala utopía EVO = Wilson audio dynamics + magico detail without brightness plus luxman musicality. Pros: Incredible detail and air Thunderous bottom end with no bloat Fast sounding Dead center midrange that doesn’t get overpowered by the rest of the speaker Sounds amazing with just about anything Cons Price The model above it costs 25k more Lively presentation might not be everyone’s cup of tea Will require excellent amplification in order to really get the last ounces of wow factor. |
My 2 channel is separate from my HT. They don't share anything but the room. Both bluray players are connected via hdmi and I find more detail coming from the Panasonic than the oppo. When i use the xlr outs into my amps and use them as stand alone preamps, the oppo seems better but I will need to confirm this once the Panasonic has more play time. Update: I have locked in my next amplifier. I'll give you a hint: it is tubes :) |
Hi, I have the Merrill gear but it’s not mine. It’s my local dealer’s. I have also bought the matching preamp for the tube amp so stay tuned... Here's what I plan to do once the speakers are broken in (they have about 130-150 hrs right now): Full tube front end versus full Merrill front end vs classe cam600s with /tube preamp/merrill preamp Who do you think will be the best combination for my focal speakers?? Class d amps versus tube amps versus class AB. It is about to get interesting! |
Good guesses guys. I wanted to provide an update right now on the speakers. They are breaking in and their sound is all over the place. Yesterday they were a tad bright and today they sound a little congested. I was told by a dealer that I need about 1,000 hours to really hear what they are capable of. I have music playing at 95 db in the room 24/7. As far as what amp ? Well I will taking delivery of it friday night so stay tuned. I will post pics! |
Well, i just put the system back in full synergy mode and here is how it is sounding: https://youtu.be/DQ8OCEVP6_o |
Another 24 hours of playback on the evo scala has yielded less of the " in your face" presentation I was hearing in the first few days. The highs are starting to settle and are becoming less artificial. The bass seems to not pop off the speaker as it first did in the beginning. The bass seems to not energize the room as much as it did before (not sure if I like this particular trait) but I am assuming this is probably because the sound is beginning to even out from top to bottom. If I were to make a preliminary opinion on this speaker, I would say that my instinct tells me that this is a speaker for tubes or for sweet sounding gear like constellation or luxman. Still yet to be determined after they are fully broken. A friend of mine thinks the Merrill 118s with the tube preamp I am buying will be the ticket. He thinks the merill will handle slam and dynamics while the tube preamp adds some sugar to the presentation. I still have my doubts but he might be on to something. Hey, let’s not forget the Jeff Rowland 925s are on the bench waiting to enter the game so for all we know the 925s might be exactly what these focals need. That said, I only have about 180 hours on the speakers so I am sure the presentation will change over the next 7-10 days and that Is why I won't have my final findings at this time. I need to hit at least 500 hours of the speakers. Also, the nordost Odin 1 speaker cables are getting one hell of a break In period too. |