Update:
Sasha DAW - Sold
New speaker replacement deal fell through. Ugh.
Looks like i will be having plenty of time to play with the 20.7s and
after many requests, i have finally decided to buy the new Parasound JC+ monos. I am looking forward to hearing those monos :) |
Ok guys , Long overdue but today marks a new beginning. I have uploaded my first YouTube video which was shot Jan 2 2020. Here is the link and please subscribe since you all will be the force behind my channel. Thank you for following me throughout the years. I can't thank you all enough. https://youtu.be/4yU2lGJuLeA |
That was my plan but then I thought about violation of copyrights etc etc so I didn't add anything. I will add music clips on future videos. For now I am digging up old pictures from when I started this journey. |
YouTube will certainly help me ignore many people. I'm actually very excited about that.
|
Boulder is gone. Needed to finance the magico m3. Will end up getting another boulder later this year.
Why haven't I sold my nordost Odin 1 pcs? I haven't found another cable that can give me this performance for the money. How about the Esoteric k1? Well yes it is going to be listed soon. How about the pass xs 300s? Because it's one hell of an amp and until I can find something that can come in here and beat it, I don't think I'll move them. How about the focals or Wilson's or magico ? Focals are for sale , Wilson alexia might be for sale and im sure the magico m3 will too. Why ? Because I could end up with a Wilson alexx at some point and I need money to buy such expensive speaker.
Is this detailed enough for you all ?
Best pre, or amp, or powercord, or dac, or car, etc. It all gets sold in order for me to move forward . I don’t hang on to anything period. It is in my nature. Do I need to be any clearer ? I mean I don’t know how else to say it? Should I hire someone else to come here and translate ? It all gets sold whether it is in a week, a month, a year, etc so that I can use this money to buy the next thing I am interested in. I’m not sure what’s hard to comprehend for some of you ? I know most of you get it and don’t care since it’s clearly not impacting your life or taking food off your table but others take it like it’s a crime , illegal activity, etc. That said , those that are bothered by this should pitch in and send me some money so I can finance the next $250,000 amplifier I’m sure I’ll review someday. How’s that for a change ?
Anyhow enough said. |
Thanks to all of you who have subscribed to the channel. Next week will be the very first big amplifier shootout of the year. I've finally been able to bring home the long awaited amp:
Dan Agostino momentum m400s ($65,000)
Vs
Pass labs xs300 ($85,000)
This video will be posted later in the future since I want to first layout my journey and do a little more of an introduction of other amps, speakers I've spent time with, preamps etc. I'm trying to gather pictures and videos from everything I've had and talk a little about what I remember until I catch up to what im currently playing with.
Big things to come down the road for sure.
|
|
I love it !
Let's hope those coupons aren't expired! |
I will try to post video 2 today. I'll let you all know when I do ! |
|
Fyi: this is a 250 dollar microphone now and not the other one I used for testing. I think this mic grabs far more detail and information than the last one. I’m actually impressed how good it sounds even on phone speakers... This gives you a closer look and feel of what my system sounds like in here. Nothing was boosted on the mic EQ either. Everything is set to flat. |
Dan D Agostino vs Merrill Audio shootout tonight at 8pm EST.
Last time the Sasha DAW will be heard. |
Thank you pokey, Ken and Briano. You guys are a perfect example of why I do this. I have taken notes on your suggestions. |
|
Cool. I appreciate the feedback. Can’t always please everybody and I’m alright with that especially when I’m in no shape or form being compensated at this time so if it’s free advise then hey someone will be thankful and thats all I care about. There are plenty of other YouTube channels that could give you what you are looking for mrdecibel or anyone else for that matter. You don’t have to buy my advise because it’s free and if it’s free then you should happy with what you get. You can block it, delete it or keep watching it which is probably what youll end up doing anyhow.
Something that’s quite interesting to me is that a normal person who is looking for a tv show on Netflix will browse and watch something for a few episodes to see if it catches their attention to keep watching the show. If it doesn’t hook you then you move on and begin to watch another show right? So why not do this with my channel or this thread ? I mean do you keep watching a show you hate ? Who does that ? Why not change the channel ?
. I’m seeking constructive and not destructive criticism. If you have destructive criticism then save it. Just don’t watch it and move on to the next video. For those that want to keep watching then please follow me so we can see how far we can go..
One last thing, since when is a hobby such as this or any hobby AT ALL not supposed to be entertaining?. Isn’t that the point? Also, a reviewer gets paid , I don’t so I guess you are partially correct that this is fun me. It isn’t my job and so since this isn’t my job I feel like I can approach it anyway I want and go whatever I feel like saying. |
I am just one more data point is perfect. I agree with that statement. If my way of talking about gear doesn't suit your taste buds then try something else that will.
I don't contribute to other threads because of the following reasons:
1. I have a family that needs my attention
2. I have a full time job that needs my attention
3. I don't want to cause drama by going into other people's thread as some of you like to do
4. I am not concerned with whatever others are doing.
See , when I was younger I was always trying to see what the person next to me was doing or I was looking as to whether they got paid more than me even though I did more work, etc. That did NOTHING for me other than piss me off and want to be less productive.
Now days, I am worried about me and making sure I am improving on my last version of me. Ive learned that if you concentrate on you and only you then better things happen to you. How do you think I've gotten this far with audio ? I mean I must be doing something right if I'm able to support a family and be blessed to own this level of gear right ? And no this isn't bragging but only facts of my current situation.
|
Or maybe how good a properly set up Merrill audio system can be? Shocking right...I told you all....class D is here and has arrived.. just demonstrated how good it can be. Lots of good comments on my YouTube channel |
Wait until I use my ref6se on the Merrill Monos the end of next week....it will be a DOG FIGHT... |
You all are missing one key point: the Merrill Preamp is 12,500 and the dag is 40,000.... And yet most people on YouTube are leaving comments saying they can live with either. That’s an impressive thing |
@jetter
Thank you for your point above. |
I'm not quite sure that my video quality isn't good though. I shot it with the Galaxy note 10 which does 4k hdr videos. Someone above posted that my first video came in 4k but you all need to also select this setting on youtube. It is not automatically selected by default so be sure to select the 4k quality.
Ask far as the audio, I will look into this further. |
@techno_dude.
You know, now that i come to think about it, you of all people have been the one person who keeps bashing me lately (one of a few) about my videos or my practices in general and yet you don’t look in the mirror to analyze what you said above. You don’t realize that you pretty much want me to mislead a manufacturer into thinking that i really want to buy something when deep down i want nothing else other than to review it and then toss it back to them (pretty much unethical behavior) which i don’t do.
Next time you are tempted to make a negative comment, make sure you look in the mirror because i will call you out (and so will others) on this over and over and over again. Remain cool and so will I.
|
Thanks Jose and those of you who have messaged me privately to ignore the non sense that's been coming my way over the last few weeks. There isn't a hair in me that has to do with me being a show off. Remember, I came from polk audio speakers, Onkyo receiver, etc etc. I know what it is like to own audio equipment of different budgets.
Anyhow enough said. Let's switch gears.
If there's anything at all that you guys want me to talk about on my next videos then please mention it here or via pm . |
Keep in mind that I’m being thrown in the fire against big time players. For instance:
OCD GUY: he’s a seller and a manufacturer and well
Steve Guttenberg: writer of magazines with tremendous network
AVshowreports: well the name speaks for itself
Pursuitperfectsystems: similar to AVshowreports
As of right now, I am nowhere near close to stand on the ground the walk on. They travel to shows , (Munich, axpona , CES, etc ), they write on certain publications plus they do this FULL TIME. I’m a one man operation with no free happy meals from McDonald’s. If I want to try it, I gotta buy it. Simple as that.
It is not as easy for me to keep up with others who do this around the clock plus the massive amounts of gear they have access to which for me is probably 20% of what they have access to. They can pick up the phone and call Jeff Rowland and have a product delivered at their door for next to nothing. Your guy, WSS here gets a brick in the mail instead. Let’s keep it all in perspective here. I am a goalkeeper in a soccer match and have zero offense or defense to help me stop the other 11 players from scoring.
I’ve got both feet planted on the ground and as of right now I need to slowly ramp things up as long as finances allow. I’ve got zero problem walking into best buy and buying a mic and tripod and whatever else I need to get but I need to see a decent amount of followers for me to step up my game. It will come but be patient as well. My wife is a graphic designer, video editor, website designer etc. She can easily edit some cool videos for me but I don’t want to bring her on board until I see enough of a supporting cast (meaning all of you ).
The only way you all can help me bring more gear that you guys want to see is by subscribing. That’s it. That’s the biggest lending hand you all can give me. Subscribe and ask your friends to subscribe as well. If you do your part, you got my word I will do mine and we will get something different than what’s out there. Something more personal where you can feel like the component you are thinking of buying is just around the corner from getting reviewed by me. That you can message me and have a personal relationship with me , etc. I want to do live Q&A sessions where we can all talk and learn. Maybe even give you more of a raw answer about certain components you want to spend your hard earned money on ?
My point is, I want to eventually bring more and more clarity and shorten your path to audio Nirvana while still staying true to myself which by the way it is extremely hard to balance the truth and reality of something while minimizing the backlash that might come if you don’t deliver the message correctly. |
All good. My humble readers are the ones that want you gone. I’m actually speaking out more to you because they have messaged me privately asking me to address you so yes they don’t need the lack of productivity you bring to the table. |
How Funny. Now he plays cool because he sees everybody is ganging up on him. |
Keep getting buried techno. You're doing an excellent job at it. |
next amp: Parasound JC1+ MONOS.
It will be one VERY VERY interesting amp. I remember the original jc1s when i had them and it had tremendous grip on the woofers of the B&W 800N i had at that time. |
I own both set ups and can stay with both. What I am shocked by is how much performance the Merrill is bringing to the table against a WELL KNOWN BRAND that is built around Wilson audio. Remember, Merrill isn’t voiced with Wilson and dag voices with wilson which means it is meant to sound awesome with it which it does. That is what is crazy here.
There was always a lot of noise being made around class d but now I see a lot of people being muted by what I showed last night. I present facts without speculation. The proof is in the pudding.
I think if I use a ref6se or ref10 with the Merrill 118s, it will be incredible. I think the full Merrill system sounds killer for the money.
Viber, we are all waiting to hear from you now. I sincerely doubt that the bryston amp you own bested the Merrill you demoed. |
Nah. We are gonna keep drilling you until you go away. |
So I still own the Odin 2 PC and it’s on my dcs vivaldi dac. I’m not sure about the Odin 2 speaker cable yet because the only one I have access to is 4m in length which means I will be paying for extra cable i don’t need. I need no more than 2m max.
I’ll be shooting the momentum m400 vs pass labs xs300 this weekend but that won’t be uploaded until later on. I want to add a few other videos before I upload that battle.
I am also going to be doing a "throwback" by bringing back an amp I’ve owned before. This amp will also be going to battle vs the m400s . |
I can’t categorize certain products as the best sound because they might not be but this doesn’t mean they aren't good. Luxman 900u Is an example: Best bang for the buck, but did I say it was the best sound period ? You are indeed confused.. :).
Good point though. It allowed me to clarify things a bit better.
Bass is awesome but the more I dive into this , the more I realize that bass is more room dependent than highs or mids. It really needs the most contribution from your room..
|
Dan Agostino momentum m400s have arrived. I’ve been waiting on these for years.
Will Dan Agostino best Nelson Pass ?
Each xs300 draws 900 watts idling and the m400s draw 750 watts so both are not really far apart in power demands.
The m400 is certainly gorgeous and perhaps the most beautiful amps out there. The xs300s look like a Tonka truck that can take massive abuse and never quit. More industrial looking.
One interesting fact is that I’ve never read anywhere that a reviewer is using momentum m400s as their "reference " amp, but I’ve read a few reviews where the reviewer owned the xs300s as their reference amp.
At this level, I don’t expect either one to squash the other. It will be more about what each one does better than the other and figure out strengths and weaknesses. It's kind of like comparing a Mercedes s550 vs BMW 750.
Are you all curious as well ? Stay tuned to find out. |
@jonaiken
Thanks for the feedback. We shall see soon ! |
Your negative criticism is "constant " as ron17 had mentioned. Case closed. |
Techno,
Are you now done ? Or should we continue to watch you get roasted here ? Can I continue with my thread knowing you won’t go back to the behavior you’ve been displaying ?
Let me know, I don't mind pausing my journey so some people can straighten out your behavior. |
I’ll return when I’m ready. You’ve been warned that your negative criticism, constant opinion of gear you haven’t heard and lately just simply an effort to attack high end gear for your own satisfaction isn’t really cool anymore.
When you throw punches as what you’ve done in the last few weeks, you have to expect that it’s a matter of time before they come back you as you have experienced today. I hope today has given you a good idea of how pissed off some people are at everything you’ve been doing since you returned.
I don’t know why you have something against those who have the opportunity to own some of the best stuff out there. No clue why that affects you which is now clear to everyone by your latest comments. You don't want to be known as the guy who hates on others who have more. I said it above, concentrate on you and don't worry about criticizing those that don't affect your life. |
Sure,
So I’ve always said that I believe plinius is one of the best bangs for the buck considering what they sell for on the used market.
I believe they have the highest price/performance ratio. They are well built, they have excellent high frequencies with great musicality.
I don’t really dislike anything about plinius other than the fact that they run extremely hot.
If you want bottom end control then grab a plinius sb301 mk2 , but If you value highs over lows then grab the sa103.
Those models have been discontinued so they should show up on the used market at very good prices.
Also, those amps benefit tremendously from good powercords so don’t be cheap. Buy a great powercord for it. There’s also a modification you can do to the outlet that will enhance its performance ( I don’t know the details on this ).
I’d take a plinius over parasound, bryston , nad, theta digital, new krell amps, McIntosh 601, 611, 1.2kw, mc452.
Don’t disregard the plinius line of amplifiers.
|
The time has come...find out what are the weaknesses of these two loudspeakers!
|
Good points Dave. I'll be sure both are on stock powercords and with 5 hours of playtime. |
|
I arrived at 3am this morning ... I posted that video to show that I'm going to be doing the video and to communicate something after not posting any videos for a week. Cut me some slack. |
That's the plan... Still trying to decide |
350.5 is special. I actually prefer the 350.5 over 350.8. Only thing it doesn't have is controlled bass but the 350.5 is far more musical. |
|
@kren
@thezaks
@mrdecibel
Thanks for your comments above ! |
|
Thank you guys for all the feedback. I will say that yes i don’t have the "bubbly" personality that some youtubers have, but maybe it is because i am a former military man? kinda hard to go from being structured and all business to an all picturesque personality (at least for me).
i tried to be as raw as possible which i know it is not necessarily a good thing for some of you, but some do like it.
That said, i do understand that there are things that i could have added such as:
-Fuses
-more stands
-stillpoints,
-metal blocks on top of the amps (or whatever they are called)
-10 different sets of power cords ( in order for me to drive myself crazy and never really end a review because i will be trying powercords 24/7)
- different outlets
- different fuses on the circuit breaker
-etc
-etc
-etc
-etc
However, please know that i simply CAN’T also go through that because that also becomes a trial by itself. That becomes an entire new journey which i haven’t really done. If i were to now use this stand, that stand, the other fuse, this powercord, the other powercord, then when does it end?
i can’t sustain that "tweaking " aspect.
Do i think that putting the pass labs xs300s on the floor just like the momentums would have had a different outcome on my findings? probably not.
I want to pull a product out of the box, give it ample warm-up time and then put it through its paces. Maybe it is my fault for not being clearer, but i won’t be embarking on tweaking other than maybe a power cord change (Nordost Odin 1) or XLR and that is about it. I am essentially taking the car the way it comes from the factory and taking it to the track. I won’t be putting on slicks, suspension, exhaust, supercharger, etc in order to see how fast it can go. That is for the person that has the time and money to do so. I will continue to give you the raw results and it is for you all to decide if YOU want to embark on the expensive tweaking journey if you decide to buy any of these components in the future.
I am simply reporting on the "raw" potential of a component. Let’s face it, how many times have you all read a review and did not even know if the amplifier reviewed was also sitting on the floor? did they always mention they did a fuse swap? no right? a different outlet? so for all we know they are doing the same thing i am doing here and we don’t even know, but i am just being open about it which is something that can’t be said about many magazine reviews. A lot of these tweaks are left unknown.
So going forward, remember, i am reporting on RAW potential. At the end of the day, at turd is a turd even if you polish it right? I have not seen an amplifier that went from being garbage to being an world class amp just by doing a fuse change and a power cord swap. You should be able to quickly detect if something is indeed special and this feeling is exactly what will make you feel the need to go the extra mile by refining it using tweaks.
|
Now that I think of it, the powercords on the momentums are better than the spaghetti - like powercords I had on the xs300. I believe the PCs I used on the pass labs are as thick as an Ethernet cable. Not kidding either. |
Has anybody here compared the bnc digital output to an USB output from a dac ?
Tonight I randomly decided to go out bnc from my aurender and into the bnc input on my dcs vivaldi and I was just listening to random music as I was typing on my laptop and well I got caught in the music for no reason ... Mind you, I wasn’t trying to compare anything but there was this cool feeling with the music that for some reason I don’t remember feeling when using USB ? Thoughts ?? |
