@riaa.
My stomach is hurting from laughing so hard. Lol..
You seem to be the only person who can keep these 2 under control.. they will now go and hide and then come out of their holes to bite again. I might hire you and pay you a fee to be my personal online bouncer.
I still remember the story about those granite bases... That was hysterical .... |
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Do those lamps have a bigger soundstage than your tektons? |
@tjassoc
Yep. I owe you that. I know you asked me a few days ago and I will try to do it over the weekend. |
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Thanks pokey 77
Where the hell were you man? Thanks for slapping these 2 clowns.
Much appreciated |
Ok soooo.. who is going to the Florida show this weekend ? I am going to go listen to a few speakers that strike my interest. I also want to hear the magico m6 being driven by luxman 900u in mono configuration.
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Funny private message I just received:
"Those guys are ridiculous, are they thread superheros, saving us sheep from the mighty whitecamaross..."
LMAO. That was such a great comment. Yes they are indeed saving you all little kids from the wolf of Wall Street whitecamaross !! |
There's some truth to the comment above. I love trying new stuff. |
@rsf507
I review and move on. :)
I could easily say my Taurus are better than those amps above but that’s not true. I still say what I liked best even though I no longer own them. That’s exactly what my journey should be.
I can always go back to what I liked down the road. I’m the same with cars. I love the Corvette z06 but I’d love to own the Dodge demon and if I have to trade in the z06 for it then so be it. I can always go back.
I don't fall in love with material things. I can appreciate them, be impressed and enjoy until something else grabs my attention. Sometimes I gamble and end up going backwards but I see that as a learning experience. Imagine if I kept the xs300, dag momentum and block audio ? That's a boat load of money to keep tied up so if I want to try something else then I need to sacrifice what I have. Think about it, I usually have 2 amps at a time to compare and then one is sold so I can bring the next one I want to try and so forth. That said, I'm running out of amp choices but I will expand on this on a later post |
@tjassoc
ok so i know you wanted me to add a comparison of a few amps. Now keep in mind, these amps were used with different speakers and in different systems (they were not compared at the same time with the same exact components):
Block Audio SE: Incredible muscularity. I found this particular amplifier line doing some research and everything i dug up was actually very true. It had tremendous control over my Neoliths along with liquidity (class A of course). The construction is impressive, it does not run as hot as pass labs or even the Dag m400s. I can’t really find a single negative thing to say about this particular amplifier. It is not a well known brand here in U.S. but rest assured it will blow your mind. I am hearing from the person i sold them to that this amp blew away his Rowland 925s, arc 160m and other amps i can’t remember right now. He can’t seem to let go of them because they just continue to impress.
Pass Labs XS300: What can i say about this amp that i haven’t already said? The walls come down, speakers disappear, huge soundstage, bass control, mids are beautiful. One knock is that this amp NEEDS quality power cords. Yes, the difference between using stock pcs and nordost 1 was staggering EVEN THOUGH it has external power supplies. i called pass labs and gave them that feedback as well. I had 3 people come over to listen to them and do this power cord swap and the change in sound was DRASTIC. Another knock is the heat... yes the run hot, but that is because they are always biased at full throttle. Lastly, they take time to sound best... You can’t judge these beasts right away. You need at least 24 hours of play time before they really hit their sweet spot.
Dan D Agostino M400s: Gorgeous looking amps with such a sex appeal that remains unmatched in my book. They sound extremely inviting, smooth, a little more relaxed than the xs300s and yes they do run hot, but not XS300 hot. Amazing feathery-silky smooth highs. I believe this amp needs to be carefully matched with speakers. Personally, i would not match it with electrostatics, but that is me. One knock? the finish is difficult to keep shiny and clean. I have also received reports from owners that the finish does begin to fade over time so if you get these amps please pay extreme care to the finish and keep it as clean as possible.
Constellation amps: i had the constellation Centaur 2 and now own the Taurus mono blocks. This amp was easily one of the very best amps i have ever heard my Neoliths. It has tons of air, big sound, musicality and lots of resolution. I have always said this and i will repeat myself again: THIS AMP IS THE LUXMAN ON STEROIDS. It really reminds me A LOT of the luxman, but with bigger, bolder sound. As far as knocks, i would say that the "vanilla" looks might not appeal to some of you. However, i have had people here that totally love how they look because they don’t call attention to themselves. Cable matching is crucial and i would say wireworld platinum cables or audiomica consequence cables really make it shine. I am not totally sold on Nordost odin 1 and constellation as far as synergy.
Amplifier XXX: This amp is here now. I am quite impressed by its large presentation, liquidity and visceral bottom end control. More to come on this amp :)
In short, there is no universal law that will always pay you dividends when it comes to amplifiers. That, my friends, is something you all need to remember when swapping power amplifiers.
Yes that preamp, cables or speakers you have right now MIGHT NOT be a match for your next amp purchase, but there is no way to find out unless you bring it home (tell me about it :). Remember, 9 times out of 10 you will have to probably also change something else when you introduce a new component in the mix. Don’t be afraid to try and figure out what else you can do to improve on that amplifier purchase and be a little more flexible with cabling as well. I know some of you are die hard nordost fans, cards fans, ( i have spoken to some of you) and let me just say that you should be open to experimentation with other cable lines. i am now doing this more than ever and my findings continue to impress me.
With that said, my top tier group of amps in no particular order are: (yes all solid state :) )
Pass xs300
Block Audio
Dag M400s
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@rsf507
Thanks for the comment above. |
i said this because i don't think most people would use a Parasound preamp with a Momentum s250. All i was trying to show was that i put together the system in order to hear what the full presentation sounds like.
See, when you mix and match components you can either improve the presentation or go back, but when you use what the manufacturer built (in this case amp and preamp) then you dont have to worry about it.
Of course, i am still going to try a Ref6se with the element 118s to see what happens. Later this week, both systems will do another shootout, but with my 20.7s instead and see what happens. Maybe the results are different? |
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Ron17:
I almost fell out of my chair laughing my ass off with your last post. Lol... What you said is EXACTLY HOW I FEEL but I refuse to say it in those same words because some people have thin skin and get offended quite easily. Thank you for articulating things for me though.
I wish I could do all these shootouts, but a man has to eat and put food on the table. I don’t get a dime from this at all. I don’t get free cables or bookshelf speakers or even free batteries for my remote controls. I’m not asking for any of that but I am being honest with you all.
YouTube has paid zero cents to me and thats fine because it takes time, but until then I am unable to go nuts and buy a warehouse worth of stuff to do shootouts.
I’m not sure if you all have watched the "last dance’ on Netflix about the Chicago bulls where Michael Jordan says he knows he can’t please everyone. He said " if what I do as a basketball player is something you agree with then great but if it isn't then maybe I’m not the right role model for you and you should not be following me".
I couldn’t agree more. |
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Thank you axememan. You might want to repeat that statement above in capital letters so that some people can get that message clear in their heads. |
Thanks pokey. Let's squash the worms.
Guys the video might not be working because youtube blocked it due to copyrights. I had a song from Fleetwood Mac in one of the videos I shot so give me time to edit it and take that part out of the video and reload it. |
Stay tuned guys. I will be uploading a video of the Florida audio show that took place this past weekend |
Hi,
I was impressed as well by them. Listen , for the money it is really great stuff. They stood out for me as well. |
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@mrdecibel
Lol !!!!! Amen ! I just literally fell out of my chair from laughing so hard at what you just said. If you only knew how many people message me DAILY telling me to just leave those poisonous people alone and ignore them...... People ACTUALLY WANT for me to keep going and continue to share my findings. However , in life we gotta learn to take all the good with the bad and that's one tough pill to swallow.
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Moving on:
So as you all know, i have been using my Constellation Taurus monos and Pictor 3 preamp with the optional DC filter for the last 2 weeks now. I also added Cardas Cleary Beyond XL power cords on the mono blocks and that elevated their bass performance as well as the soundstage. That said, i have to admit one thing about Constellation amps: They are very moody for some reason. One day, they blow you away and then a few days later they don't have the same effect. This was the same exact issue i had with the ARC REF10 when i had it and the Lampizator Pacific. I have never really experienced this phenomenon with other solid state gear - only with Constellation.
Anyhow, i have said it many times, this is a luxman on steroids. Big, bold, awesome control, soundstage width, depth, and just the perfect amount of sweetness while retaining resolution.
If you have speakers that could use more resolution, more detail, more sparkle, more life in general, i 100% recommend constellation. However, if you own speakers that already have detail by design, you can still use constellation, BUT you must be very careful with cables. You need to tweak here and there in order to "relax" the overall presentation.
If you own panels, YOU MUST TRY CONSTELLATION by any means. TRUST ME on this.
Coming next, i will unveil the newest member of my system :)
Is there anything you all want me to do on my next videos? maybe a cable shootout? Odin 1 speaker cables vs Audiomica Consequence?
How about comparisons between using a preamp in the mix and then just using the DAC direct into the amps? I am open to suggestions so let me hear everyone's input so i can see what is feasible on my end.
thank you guys! |
Thank you @mrdecibel :)
Someone has to go and check their treble control on the McIntosh preamp .. |
@ghasley
@keoliphant
@ron17
@chazzy
@paulsnyder
@Riaa
and many others who have supported my cause
Thank you so much for your comments and having my back. Let’s put the final nail in the coffin and begin to focus on carrying on what we all have been doing through the years. Remember, i am not the entire effort here and i could not do this without you all. You guys are what makes me want to keep pushing and continuing to do what i do. Thanks a bunch ! |
@4425
Unfortunately that is not possible on these forums...
@keoliphant
I have the shunyata Denali 6000t so maybe I'll try it and report back. Thanks for the tip.. |
Guys ,
Let's ignore and continue this together. Please let me know about what I asked above. Give me ideas |
Part 1:
Some brands that needed to be called out!
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I've got an idea guys,
How about I do a cable shootout but I won't say which cable is playing so that this way there is zero people being biased ? I think that would be more interesting ? It would you be you guys the ones that will say which sound you like better and then I'll disclose which sound you preferred best ! |
Thank you guys. I will try to be as clear as possible as far as what cables will be used and if you guys feel I should not use a certain cable then let me know. For instance, I'm planning to use cardas clear beyond xl on the Monos but would you rather have me use stock powercords to analyze what the nordost Odin 1 xlr and Odin 2 xlr will do vs audiomica xlr and speakers cables ? That's just an example ... Let me hear your thoughts |
Ok. It seems that we have different opinions as far as what PC I should use for the test ... |
@thyname....
There's no way to block people unfortunately.
As far as powercords, I think going with stock PC on the amps would be best ? What do you all think ?
Let me hear everyone's opinion so I can put a plan together. I can either do my cardas clear beyond xl or the crap stock ones. You guys decide and I'll put it together. |
Nope, this new tweak was something I've wanted to try for myself. It's not big money either but it does help. The other 2 components will be shown in the future. |
@ron17.
Yes I did say that. However, since that moment, I have added cardas PCs on the Monos and that really helped a lot. What I am trying to do here is to see if it makes sense to just use stock pcs or if I should use cardas for this exercise. There's no real way of knowing if the cardas PCs are helping the Odin more or the audiomica more. This is why I think maybe we should just roll with stock pcs ? Also, I've added a new tweak that I haven't shared with anyone just yet and it's not a cable. This tweak helped in many ways and I plan to use it for the shootout and will disclose what it is :) |
@ron17.
Yep, that cardas pcs helped things with the Odin cables. However , maybe if I had Wilson speakers I wouldn't need cardas PCs. Focal certainly benefits from the warmth and musicality that cardas introduces. |
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Guys
I don't own 20a nordost or audiomica. I only own 15a PCs. It's either going to be stock pcs or cardas clear beyond xlr 20a PCs. |
@rsf507
Ahh... I own 5 nordost Odin 1 pcs and one Odin 2 PC... I mean how many more do I need ? Also, I hardly ever bring power amps that use 20a PC so why would I have more for ? This is why I got cardas 20a PCs and I also have a single 20a audiomica PC coming. I can’t have the same car in 10 different colors my friend ... I need to know how to distribute the money across my system. I bought 15a PCs because thats what most components are and what I have the most use for. Lastly , do you think 20a Odin PCs show up used often ? They do not ... And I don’t feel like spending 16,000 -18,000k in 2 new Odin 1s....it’s a stupid expense. I rather use that massive amount of money to buy the dcs upsampler or another set of speakers or maybe another amp ? ... |
@chazzy.
You would love focal Utopia if you are a sucker for detail ... |
@ricred1
What qualities did this vortex cable add to your system that were easily heard that the dragon did not provide? |
@ron17.
Have you tried Odin 2 PCs ?. |
Oh wow.... There's no question that it's really about system matching. This is really what it all boils down to. |
Awesome feedback guys on your personal journey with nordost. This is exactly what I like to read in order to help other fellow audiophiles make educated buying decisions.
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@chazzy.
At the end of the day , it's really about what makes you sit and listen for hours on end. If the Tyr2 is doing this for you , that's awesome. Some of us can't find that happy medium because we keep thinking about what else is out there that could be better. Enjoy the hell out of that cable and make a move ONLY because you want to try something else , but always remember that this could also be a step backwards. It's not always a step ahead when you buy something new. |
Yep.yep. This is why all I'm doing is reporting what my findings are in my own and that's it. |
@ron17.
Ok. I've got no problem with that. Email me. |
Interesting. I might have to check out vortex ! |
Tonight :
I plan to unveil one of my new components. What will it be ? Any guesses ? |
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