I just played the YouTube video I uploaded through my phone and you simply can't use your phone speaker guys. If I use headphones then it sounds much better...don't use phone speakers please....
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 jays_audio_lab
So this review of the Sasha DAW just came out yesterday. It’s insane that they freaking use a MacBook to stream music !! These dudes are supposed to be the best people out there reviewing stuff !!! How is this possible ? They are supposed to be experts and do this for a living. Why the hell don’t they use a real music renderer ?? This is crazy. With all their connections and free stuff they get, you mean to tell me they use a laptop ? Look at the page of the associated components on this review https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialties-sasha-daw-loudspeaker |
@kstaken. Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate and respect your input here since you own both pieces so I have no reason to doubt your findings. I will have to agree that the luxman gear isn’t totally transparent because it sounds awesome with everything you throw at it which we all know isn’t the case with most recordings. That said , the same could be said for cardas clear beyond xlr. They make things sound more musical and engaging which ends up in long listening sessions. I think the key here is what are we trying to do ? Do we want to listen for long hours and enjoy the presentation the way the artist wanted us to or the way the manufacturer of the components wants ? It comes down to picking "your poison " because at the end of the day you have to decide what you want. I tried components that were neutral and I couldn’t wait to get off the couch. Magico is suposed to be a neutral speaker that measures extremely well on the bench, but does this mean you’ll end up listening until 3am? Some say that they are cold, soul-less speakers that don’t make you tap your feet. For me it is really about the long listening sessions. It is about having a system that makes me look forward to come home and be totally in love with what it does. I have an acquaintance that wants nothing but the facts from the components and that’s fine but often times I noticed that I can’t sit next to him for long hours because I lose interest in the presentation. I can also think of it in terms of cars. I would love to own a Dodge Viper ACR so I can drive it on the weekends and feel the incredible connection to the road, the pure raw power , the lack of air conditioning that makes me feel closer to a real race car. However, do I want to drive that car to Orlando to go to Disney for a 6 hour round trip? Most likely i would do it once and that’s it but I’m sure the sweating, my head hurting from the exhaust notes and having to drive with the windows down plus the lack of comfort would make me not want to do it again. Yes it’s probably an insane ride but it is for quick trips. Audio is really no different. Now, the hard thing to do is to have a combination of both; a system with transparency but with musicality. Thats the hardest thing to have in the right proportions and perhaps what I am after. |
I think the HARDEST thing for most people to realize is that the perfect system for ALL music genres does not exist. I could build something that i feel is excellent with what i listen to and then you walk through the door with your CDs and you are disappointed with what you hear. What i do feel is that a combination of transparency, neutrality, musicality is extremely difficult to achieve. Maybe one day i will try this Benchmark preamp and see what how it interacts with my other components. Constellation, Luxman, Dag are 3 outstanding brands that can be accused of not being completely transparent, but boy oh boy do they make you sit and listen for hours and hours. I can't knock people who love full clarity, transparency and neutrality though, but I just hate to have to constantly be turning the volume up and down because i hate the brightness, harshness or nastiness that some recordings have. This leads me to also understand that this could be very well the reason why i might be preferring soft dome tweeters a little more than Beryllium (but this does not mean i could not go back to Beryllium). Soft dome, just like ribbon tweeters tend to not agitate my ears as quick as Beryllium does. With that said, are those of you who love transparency in your components using electrostatics? (i know Kstaken is) because if you are all about "full disclosure" in terms of the sound quality you prefer, then i am assuming you feel the same about your speakers and we all know electrostatics pretty much are at the top in that regard. |
Thanks for the correction Riaa. As far as the amp shutting down, that might be an issue here because the Alexia 1s are pigs when it comes to power. I love how much they draw me into the music even though they aren’t perfect and I wish they did some other things better but those other things they don’t do are not really of much importance to me. Again, soundstage width, height, control ,musicality and clarity are all at the top of my list. Everything else such as superb transparency and neutrality aren’t as important but this doesn't mean I don't care about them. I still need some of those traits "sprinkled " somewhere in there. |
Disregard precious link. Use this new video: https://youtu.be/iSxYxCSxMHg Wilson Daw, full Merrill see up. Levels are the same on both clips. Let me know if you all feel there is any real advantage or not really worth it. |
Maple, My Rowlands are gone... My Dag Integrated has been gone for the longest time. i actually traded that in towards the Constellation gear i had. Pass labs xp30 is long gone, Neoliths gone, etc, etc. Am i the only person who has what i own? And although i don’t own you an explanation, WHY do you care so much what i do with my gear? should i just store it in the backyard until the south florida heat and humidity melts it away? is that what i should be doing in your book? It does not matter what i do, where i sell it, how i sell, who sells it for me. I can do as i please with it, but one thing you need to be sure on is that i OWN ALL OF IT. I don’t sell a thing for ANY DEALER. Every single piece i have here is mine. I don’t have to sell for any dealers. i have no need for it. i also don't know what is it that you think i need to do with my equipment? i mean it is common sense i have to buy it so i can review it and then sell it at some point so what is the big deal ? |
@riaa. i am contemplating that. However, just remember that it is A JOB once you are on Youtube and want to make money. If you don’t put out videos constantly then your subscribers drop off like flies. With my 9-5, it can be a challenge to keep posting videos on Youtube all the time. I would have to totally be on a schedule every single day in order to record, edit, upload, and constantly look for new content. i can’t be uploading a new amplifier review every week. I mean, i would run out of amps to review quite fast ! If i am doing Youtube, i gotta do it right or else i won’t. One final thing you have to remember is that I must sell everything i buy at some point. If were to be harsh with components that are not great to my ears then who would buy this component from me when i need to move it? and if manufacturers were to send me stuff to review, do you really think they will send me stuff if they feel i might talk bad about their product? They won’t send me anything so i go back to square one which is me having to buy product as i am doing now and then having to sell it again. It is a VERY VERY DIFFICULT spot to be in. |
All- So today has been quite an interesting day. I feel like it has been all about attacking me or figuring out how to tick me off. I don’t know if it is because i have established great relationships with many dealers and the fact that i probably end up locking in better deals than the majority of you could that some of you are bitter or totally angry about it. Please let’s not forget, and i want to remind you as well, that i buy far more than most of you do. This is just ONE of the many reasons why i can buy and try things as often as i do. Also, this is VERY LABOR INTENSIVE. I do this ALONE for the most part which means i uncrate the Neoliths alone, i uncrate the boulder 2060 alone, i put together and disassemble crates together constantly. I move speakers and heavy amplifiers all over my room floor or living room constantly. I drive over to Uhaul, rent a truck and then drive 6 hours and then come home and have to have MY WIFE help me offload some of this heavy stuff so that YOU ALL can sit behind your computer and read what i have to say. How come NONE of this is being put out on front street or spoken about? How come the work behind scenes isn’t being acknowledged? Is it because i haven’t brought it up? Yes, i had to have my wife help me lift those 170 lb XS300s pass lab power supplies off my truck and then get them out of the box. Have you ever tried getting a 170 lb pass labs out of a box and felt the razor sharp heatsinks that can easily chop up your fingers?. Where is compensation for all of this? I love what i do, but to assume that i can’t at least recuperate my investment when i am with 4 herniated disc, spinal stenosis, etc is pretty unfair. Let’s keep it real, i am making an effort day in day out, but i need to make it worth it for me as well and not just for this to be a one way street. Just my .02 cts |
Hahah. You’re right Guido. @Riaa. I’m going to check out that link. Oh and you're right about having a passion and trying to monetize it somehow. Actually , there's a quote that the joker said in one of the Batman movies that says : " if you're good at something, never do it for free " and you know that kind stuck in my head for years and years and now it is when I'm going to probably begin to apply. |
@david_ten I'm in no way shape or form going to apologize given the attacks I went through yesterday by we all know who. I want to continue here sharing my findings and for those who have nothing positive to add to just either read and stay out or just to not come back. Anyhow , I am doing the demo of the Odin 2 powercord, Odin 2 speaker cables , dcs upsampler and dcs clock as I type this. For those of you who are interested in hearing my findings then please stay tuned. |
Nordost Odin 2 speaker cables are incredible. They went away from the sound of the Odin 1. It's far more natural , zero brightness, more relaxed and just superior to Odin 1. These cables I'm demoing have about 20 hours on them and they already feel more accurate than my Odin 1. Granted , these are a huge price tag but they already feel on another level than mine so I am just imagining what they will do once they are fully broken in. I wasn't supposed to try these cables becuase I knew this was going to happen. Ugh |
In conclusion for nordost Odin series in terms of added sound quality change: Odin 1 Pc > Odin 1 Speaker cables Odin 2 speaker cable > Odin 2 PC As far as the Dcs clock and upsampler when connected to the dac : The upsampler yields greater sound benefits by itself than the clock does by itself so if you need to choose one box for your dcs dac then choose the upsampler first and later down the road get the clock. |
Speaking of the devil, here is the review that released today on the benchmark preamp. https://www.stereophile.com/content/benchmark-la4-line-preamplifier |
I want to say Merry Christmas to all of you. I really never thought that my posts would generate enough interest that people would actually want to leave a comment. Here’s the thing. I still experience today that very same overwhelming excitement every time I receive an email notification that a comment has been left on one of my posts. EVERY SINGLE TIME! Granted, I no longer run around like a chicken with its head cut off when it comes to every single component I come across, but I most certainly do get excited to review the next component and share my thoughts with you all. I love that people want to leave comments here, not because I’m trying to set some kind of comment record, but simply because each comment leads to an interaction and it is these interactions that motivates me to continue writing and working on my craft every day. For those of you who have been visiting this site for a long time – I truly thank you for your never-ending support! And to every other person who has ever read or chosen not to leave a comment don’t think for one moment that I don’t feel incredibly fortunate to have you as a reader and in many cases, as a friend. To all those who have emailed me over the last few years with questions, comments or just to say hello, let me tell you that these interactions are immensely rewarding to me as well. I encourage you to keep the emails coming as each one I receive quickly leads to an abnormally large smile stuck onto my face. And for anyone who has ever thought about sending me an email, you should never hesitate for even one second and who knows, maybe our paths will cross one day ( I've met some of you at Axpona this year). ONE LAST THING!I’d just like to say once again, and this is for absolutely everyone, whether you’ve been hanging around my thread for months or only a few weeks or even if this is your first visit here… Gracias! Whitecamaross |
The moment has arrived. I will be doing a comparison of the nordost Odin 1 PC vs Odin 2 PC plugged into my DCS. The speaker cables are still odin 1, standard PCs on the pass amps since I need to take one of them to compare it. I’ll need to first let the Odin 2 settle in the system for about 24 hrs before I do any critical listening. Everything will be plugged into the wall, moderate volume levels. I also will be receiving cardas clear beyond xlr on Monday which will be compared against my Platinum 8 Wireworld. |
Nordost Odin 2 PC has arrived. I am going to simply plug it in and let it settle in. Impressions to come tonight and then tomorrow night as well. I want to see how this cable changes with continuous playtime. I remember that my Odin 1 didn’t wow me instantly but the next day after it had been playing music I was impressed tremendously. I am still unable to get out of nordost Odin powercords. I can’t find anything that rivals them and if it exists then please send it my way. |
Feedback I was given about it wasn't very good... Here's my issue with cable manufacturers: if they are releasing cables that retail at this price point , they better bring a dog fight for the big proven brands. One reason I like nordost Odin is that it sounds great and it actually sells once you are ready to sell it but then you scratch your head and wonder what the hell else would you get and well there aren't reslly many options that compare to nordost Odin. If I were a cable manufacturer and wanted to take down nordost Odin , Id buy nordost Odin and bring it to my factory and try to create something that bests it but the issue is that it isn't easy to do. It is not a walk in the park. |
I'm not embarking on buying crazy expensive powercords unless the offer makes sense. Right now the odds that another cable will come here and kill the Odin PCs are very slim which means I'll end up selling them and I'm not about to take that kind of risk on cables unfortunately. Why ? Well because not many people will spend crazy money on a PC. We gotta keep it real about this. |
Without further delays , here are my initial impressions of the Odin 2 PC on the dcs dac after 8 hours of playtime: - a feeling of "rightness" in the overall sound presentation - more relaxed than I remember the Odin 1 being ( still need to compare later ) - super bowl size soundstage - bass appears leaner with certain tracks but then you switch to the next track and it punches you in the gut. This is simply me understanding that the cable is letting me hear the song exactly as it was intended to be heard - super low floor noise - mids are literally dead center as if someone had them chained and locked in between the speakers - transparency is world class but this will punish you with bright recordings - cardas clear audio xl PC has more bass but it leads me to believe that this is what cardas intended to do with this cable and perhaps not true to the material being heard - voices are beyond articulate. I no longer need to to look up lyrics so I can understand what is being sung - freaky 3d sound - decays have a "lightbulb" behind them that makes it easy for you to follow them until they fade Overall, this is simply world class. This is miles ahead of any other powercord I've had with the exception of it being the Odin 1. I actually don't think the Odin 1 will equal it but it will be interesting to know how close they are in performance. Will it be a 10% , 20% , 30% difference? Stay tuned to find out. Five star rating all the way ***** |
Ok so here are my impressions of the Odin 1: - gobbs of detail - good soundstage, but what calls your attention is the level of resolution in between the speakers - brighter than Odin 2 - good bottom end but Odin 2 added more layers - mids are great but they are little darker in comparison to Odin 2. - slower than Odin 2 - dynamics , detail and pace is here |
Of course. We can all also compete against usain bolt too by lining up next to him and try to outrun him. Does this mean we are neck to neck with him to the finish line ? Competing doesn’t mean nor does it imply that you actually kept up or hung in there. You are correct that the sigma would compete though. Remember what I said , I want to best my Odin PCs but that hasn't happened. |