Lol. You are back ? It’s been a long time since you’ve posted here :)
I think people's opinion is really a matter of personal taste. Is anyone wrong for liking one presentation over the other? Nope... 31 out of 46 people chose presentation 2 so far and that just means more ears prefer presentation 2.
Are they wrong? nope. Are they other 15 people wrong? nope. |
Great question. I am learning a lot about this topic. That said, I still like big speakers which is why I bought a speaker that is relatively large for most people.
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@kren:
thanks man. i am glad you liked the chat. |
Subs could become part of the formula someday or maybe an entire speaker altogether. Subs actually would be something I'd do first before trying a turntable. |
That’s correct. Presentation 2 was without footers.
That said, according to everyone here the first presentation had more detail and everything else you mentioned. I guess we all hear different things because of our set ups at home ? |
When I get "messed with" I roll up my sleeves. We can always settle it like adults and leave things alone and move on or we can do it old school.
I don’t mess with nobody and that’s why I am in my room alone (the wife doesn’t care to listen to audio - just tv shows). Even she knows to not come in here to push buttons on any gear because she has her big tv and whatever she needs inside.
There’s more that I couldn’t mention on the live chat. If I brought it up, you all only got a slight taste of the whole pie I deal with. You are only going to be punked for as long as you let others do it to you. At that point, you should blame yourself for letting others do it to you.
Here’s a little background about me:
When I was little, I was bullied, had my shoes literally stolen from me several times and walked home barefoot. I was weak, the opposition used scare tactics to steal from me and I let them get away with it. Granted I was like 7 years old or something like that. Now I’m in my 40s, I know my rights (freedom of speech being one of them) and standing up for what I believe in as long as I’m not hurting others (this is key). If someone or something has it out for you, you have to get up and face it head first. This is the only way or it will continue and at that point you'll have to blame nobody else but you.
I am a huge believer in not messing with anyone who is not doing anything to you unless of course they are doing something foul to someone else in front of you or one of your loved ones.
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i still love Audiomica cables. I highly recommend them to people. |
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Can't sell them just yet. I will try them under momentum m400s next but I won't be waiting 30 days. I'll be doing 7 -10 days and thats it.
Momentum are with the footers as of yesterday so I'll have my impressions next week.
With my 2150s, the footers were a bust. They didn't live up to the hype and they robbed all the great qualities that the amps have. The average user will choose the first presentation (although the majority selected presentation number 2 on the polls which by the way which is what I selected) because the footers do change the sound are first glance but the long term effects of that sound are just not enjoyable. It reminded me of the old class d amps from the past. Very tilted on the high frequency, very "wired or caffeinated" feel after you sit there for quite sometime. Yes, when I removed the footers I felt it took away the extra boost of energy but it gave it the naturalness and beauty.
It feels as with footers under the boulder you are looking at a woman with a lot of make up but who isn't really pretty without it ? And with the boulder with no footers you're looking at a girl that is pretty and who is only wearing lipgloss on her face and nothing else. Hope it makes sense. |
Well
Here is my take on the critical mass 1.5 and find out which presentation was which! |
I’m not sure how to respond to you. I took a look at your system on your profile so I am not really sure what to say or how to address your question because our systems are too different.
Maybe someone else can chime in ? |
Momentum m400s with Audioquest Dragon Powercords and synergistic speaker cables are cooking. One thing i can say about the m400s: long loooooong listening sessions with NO FATIGUE at any volume. I actually worked all day with music at moderate volume on the background and my ears are fine. They don’t feel exhausted at all which is simply a welcomed trait. Friday i expect to let you all hear the M400s with the Critical Mass 1.5s under them. Let’s see how it turns out! Will you all prefer the synergy of the m400s with Wilson over the Boulders? anything is possible here and THIS IS what i wanted to do; To chase more synergy.
And before i forget, the Nordost Odin 1 speaker cables are also back... how will they do with the momentum and Boulders?? will they unseat my synergistic research speaker cables?? i am excited to find out.... |
Good points, and i have access to a fresh pair of 750se, but i have someone who told me to not go after the 750se. They seem to not be a great match for the Alexx.
Speaking of Alexx, i was thinking last night WHAT SPEAKER could i buy if i wanted to bring something else in to replace the Alexx that did not cost me an arm and a leg and here are my options:
1. Sonus Faber Aida 2
2. Magico M6
3. nothing follows
4. nothing follows
5. nothing follows
That pretty much summarizes my thoughts. At this level it gets HARDER to find options and i am here to admit something to you all: it is a HELL OF ALOT more fun to play at the cheaper price points because more options are readily available. |
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Yesterday i turned on all 3 power amplifiers (momentum m400s, Mephisto and Boulder 2150s) for about 5 hours and i began to listen for about an hour each. I really REALLY feel like all 3 do some great things:
Momentum m400s:
-Easy listening
-You don’t wonder or look for microdetails while you listen to them
-Everything sounds very pleasant
-You can leave them on 24/7 and you never feel like your ears need a break
-Extreme synergy with Wilson Alexx
Mephisto:
-Arnold Schwarzenegger’s musculature (his prime days)
-Big bold mids
-Bass that makes you want to buy critical mass footers to place under your chair to avoid vibration
-3d imaging that makes you wonder if speakers are playing independently
Boulder:
-Your ears now have hearing aids because you can hear what you couldn’t before
-Everything is balanced with nothing sticking out
-Devastating dynamics
-Each song has a different volume so you reach out for your remote all the time
-NO song sounds the same through these
Each one has such great attributes and it becomes such a painful exercise to select one. I listen to the Boulder and i am blown away and then i switch to the mephisto and whoa this one does a little more of this and that and then i switch to the momentum m400s and now this one does something else that is also appealing.
Who can choose what to keep? I STILL CAN’T choose. I am actually surprised how much i like the momentum this time around than the first time i had them. Maybe it is the critical mass footers under them? the audioquest dragon powercords? Not sure, but they are sounding very nice.
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Rockport is on my radar, but i need to be patient. That Sonus Faber Aida 2 left a long loooong lasting impression on me when i heard it at Axpona 2018. The soundstage is larger than the Alexx and the bass is also much fuller believe it or not. Some say that is the best speaker under 200k MSRP and some have reported to me that they sold the M6 magico to buy the Aida 2. Either way, in order to replace my Alexx and stay at the same level of performance there will be less options for me. It was more fun when i had the DAW and speakers at that price point !
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Here are my answers:
1). All 3 fit quite well. They all sound incredible with Wilson for different reasons
2). Momentum are probably the better one, but i think this is mood dependent too. Some days you might want a long listening session with a ton of speed, dynamics, slam, resolution and some other days you want to listen more relaxed with a glass of wine and not be knit-picking the presentation.
3) Momentum is by far the easiest one to sell anyday of the week. Not even close when it comes to this aspect.
If i sit in my room working all day, relaxing, being calm, and not judging anything critically then the momentum wins over both of the other amps. On the other hand, if i want to hear things as truthful as possible without having this sense of "technicolor" , but rather just pure facts then it is either the Boulder or Mephisto.
One last thing to remember is to wait and see WHAT the transparent opus powercords will do to the Boulder amplifiers. This will be key in many ways.
i also want to mention that something needs to be said about unlimited dynamics, speed, slam, etc. I realize that when you have an amplifier like the Mephisto and Boulder 2150 you get all of those traits, but you also are almost unable to "calm yourself down" when listening. Does this make sense?
Think about it like this: How could someone relax when listening if you are in front of level of "thrust" and speed that throws you around all over the cockpit? It is like thinking that astronauts can actually relax when the space shuttle is taking off at 25,000 mph.
You are almost forced to decide which kind of tonality you need because no power amplifier has both. Could i turn the Boulder into the softer presentation of the momentum? i think so, but i would have to kiss goodbye to the supersonic speed and dynamics, etc. Trade-offs indeed...
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@larry:
I have more than enough bass to be honest. My wilsons have never lacked bass in my room. This wasn't the case in my living room though. Im also not into trying to mess with crossovers and dialing things in, etc. I've always loved the full-range speaker sound and if I find the speaker lacks bass then it means it's not the right speaker for my room.
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If I felt I needed to relieve the monster boulders from bass duties, they’d be sold right now...this is WHY you buy a monster amp like boulder. It needs no mercy from anyone. It doesn’t need your help or a lending hand. If anything your ears will need help in the form of ear plugs or hearing aids down the road. You could throw house parties or block parties with these things.
I was guilty of thinking maybe I shouldn’t push my previous amps hard all the time or maybe turn them off when not in use because the capacitors might wear out faster.
Believe me, I don’t have any mercy of any kind of these beasts. I go balls to the wall every single day and they just wink back at me 😉
I can't baby something that is built like this. If they fail me then I probably was the one who did something stupid.
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You all are 200% correct by the way. Yes I know subs would enhance the presentation to a whole new level. I’m aware a sub would do things a speaker can’t completely do. My issue is that it involves more tweaking, crossovers, moving subs around the room to get them dialed in properly, and knowing me I’d want an expert to do such feat. There is also the point that Kren just brought up which is me not able to fully taste the control of an amplifier. Another point I wanted to bring up is that i haven’t heard a system with subs that blows me away yet...I’ve been at shows and I don’t think I remember a sub making the difference and I also have been at a local stores where subs were used and I felt and still feel that my bass here in my room goes much lower and it is more impactful. I also dont have anyone near me (that i know of) with a system that would properly display the advantages of using sub. |
Weak and bad bass...so you're saying that unless there are subs with a REFERENCE speaker, the bass is weak and bad...interesting... These are news to me now. .. Reference speakers are aren't really reference unless subs are added.
So then getting a pair of wilson daw and adding subs would end up being a far better speaker than the alexx because the bass from the subs is of more importance than the time alignment, extra drivers and size of the alexx. |
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GuysThe dag pre was in my room already and with another wilson speaker. You could easily go back to my old videos and watch it play with my s250. It's mated with a wilson speaker and a dcs dac so you could easily have a very good idea of what it could sound like. Circle back to my old videos and listen to both components together.
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Well,
Unless I’m nuts, i don’t feel the critical mass footers have done anything special on the momentum m400s either. They have been under the boulder for 30 days straight, and now 5 days under the momentum. If someone comes in here and says I need to wait 30 days on the momentum too then I’ll give these things to my daughter so she can play with them in the pool or with her barbie dolls.
Someone whose ears i trust contacted me and said that under his top end amps, the footers did NOTHING NADA that was positive.
I’ll still give the momentum about another 5 days and see if anything got better.
This could be my preliminary opinion, (again just preliminary) but I think these things don’t have a positive effect on some of the best amps out there. I hope I don’t bite my tongue in 5 days but I will if things get better.
I also think that if I didn’t have the boulders here then I could have easily been mislead into thinking that more brightness and synthetic elements are an improvement which the boulders totally dismantled for me the moment I remove them from under them.
On a different note, the transparent opus gen 5 boulder powercords are here... My gut says the boulders will catapult themselves to a whole new level, but my mind says to remain objective and see if things just became different and not necessarily better (as was the case with the footers).
I had a conversation with boulder and they told me that changing cords will change the sound but that i need to remain clear as to whether this change is positive or negative and that people often times associate different with better.
The reason why this audio industry exists and why manufacturers keep making tons of money from us is because we can’t differentiate between natural and unnatural sound. Often times, all manufacturers do is give us some seasoning sprinkled on their new model which in turn makes people think the product is superior. There aren’t substantial changes every 4-5 years when it comes to amps and preamps (dacs are different). The thing is WE DEMAND as consumers for new products to be constantly available to us or else we don’t buy.
Take a look at the new 2021 cadillac escalade for example: it is the same engine as the previous generation... Almost identical horsepower too.
This explains why some manufacturers like gryphon and boulder don't have a new amp or Preamp every 5 years as opposed to audio research which has a new linestage as soon as tax season is around the corner.
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I did use it for my home theater. It was a great room correction |
Understood. My apologies. |
They are breaking in for the next 2 days. We will see how they do soon.
Boulder is also expecting a call from me next week. They claim their amps are so well built that a Powercords should make marginal improvement. |
Given that today is a holiday in the U.S. and some people might have the day off plus all the emails of people wanting to know what speaker I have brought home, I have decided to release this today at 12PM ET
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I hope you all enjoyed the reveal!
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I will be doing both actually.
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I just finished shooting the full VAC setup. I am working on doing the Soulution/Gryphon as we speak.
One thing i want to add, i will NOT be disclosing what system is playing because i am under the belief that people who like tubes will choose tubes no matter what. If i block the view of the electronics and let the music play then we will know who likes what based on the sound. I plan to do 3 separate videos which will play one song each and then create a poll for each video in order to see what people are selecting each step of the way. Once those 5 videos have aired, i will disclose what each presentation was and see what people chose.
Lastly, DO NOT EXPECT for presentation # 1 on each video to be the same gear on all 3 videos.. I WILL NOT do that this time around in order to keep everyone guessing. To me, this will be THE BEST in order to test your REAL PREFERENCES without knowing what is playing.
Presentation 1 could be VAC on the first video but then Presentation 1 could be Gryphon/Soulution on the second video.
Contenders:
Gryphon Mephisto Solos ($120k)
Soulution 725 ($60k)
versus
VAC 450iq monos ($120k)
VAC Master Preamp ($28k)
I will be using a full loom of Shunyata cables since they dont need calibration.
Headphones or your quality streaming gear is what i expect for each one of you to use. I would rather you not use your laptop built-in speakers or your mobile device’s speaker. This would be to me, a disqualification from your opinion.
If i am taking the time to burn my lower legs with the heatsinks of the Mephistos at full-bias while changing cables, i know you all can do your part too.
Jay
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Very good. Get ready, everything has transformed over the last 24 hours.
The momentum has the upper hand when it comes to synergy with Wilson and the Mephisto and Boulder are superior designs that are banking on engineering to best the momentum’s compatibility with Alexx.
More to come later this week. The momentum will go to battle against the Mephisto. I plan to do the very first 85-87 average db shootout. This will and should be drastically different than my previous shootouts.
Are monoblocks really better than a single chassis stereo monaural design? $61,000 vs $65,000.
Mephisto doesn’t seem to be the amp to be using footers with. Its feet are too tall and so it will sit on the stand as it has been while the momentum will probably be on the critical mass footers.
Boulder is taking a back seat for this one. I got other things I want to evaluate with it such as Nordost odin speaker cables and opus powercords.
I have a fourth set of amplifiers arriving this week. These are far more affordable and less powerful than any of my amps. More to come. |
Boys and girls...I’ve accidentally created a match in here that takes my mind out of the room completely. It makes me begin to think about random stuff that is completely fueled by the music playing....
I need to make a video about my top 3 systems EVER..
Ever wonder what these are? Hmmm 🤔...I think you guys can guess one but the other 2 might escape you...
One last thing, today's video is the best performing video EVER. No other video I've released has performed like today's video. It appears the general public has a thing for me changing speakers... Data analytics never lie...
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I can't say... I want you all to hear the comparisons of full vac versus soulution/Gryphon.
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I don't know if I'm crazy today or what but the transparent powercords are starting to make me be like WDF...
😲 |
i won’t spill it out just yet... i want to be sure BEFORE i say something.
Well guys, since i did not have the best experience with the Critical Mass footers, i started thinking today and i was wondering if the Mephisto COULD be feeling a little "in your face" due to the Critical Mass stand.
Do you all recall me saying when i first got the Mephisto that it seemed very "energetic" at times to the point that it was just a little too much? Well, a lightbulb went off today in my head today and i decided to remove the Mephisto and place it on top of the Artesania stand that you have seen in my room. In order to make the Mephisto fit, i had to remove its feet from underneath and secure the screws on the chassis by using a nut. Anyhow, long story short, the Mephisto is now resting on the Artesania stand and i am SUPER EXCITED to hear how it will sound after a few days of letting the weight settle.
I am thrilled to hear the Mephisto soon and i am predicting that it might be an incredible improvement from where it was before. (fingers crossed). If it isn’t the case, i will be sure to share that.
This is going to turn into a Critical Mass stand versus Artesania :-)
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Ok, the youtube comments are going up in flames on this last video.
What can we expect from the momentum? What have the footers done to the momentum after 7 days?
Is this recent presentation of the boulders a hard act to follow for the momentum or the mephisto?
What if I said there are a few tricks left that i am working on for the other 2 amps? Would you all still believe that this is a hard act to follow for the other two amps no matter what I do ? |
You all ready?
Boulder and Transparent are about to be front and center. This time, 85db average instead of the typical 82db. Ever wondered what 1,000 watts of class a is like at 85db?
Grab your drinks...coming...
Headphones or no headphones...won’t matter... |
Here you go! Blast it !! https://youtu.be/-VIOgNjX248The last 90 seconds of the video will give a sense of massive dynamics and effortless behavior of the 2150s. |
The momentums have been with Critical Mass footers for about 10 days now. I will wait 4 more days for a total of 2 weeks and let them sing in front of you all. We will do the before and after test once again too without you all knowing which presentation has footers. I am now only a few days away from deciding which amp will be sold out of the 3 i own. I can’t keep them all especially now that i have a 4th set of amps in the room. My gut tells me to keep the momentum (i will share my reasons why later on) and sell either Boulder or Mephisto. The issue is that selling the Boulders means i have to also sell the linestage because most people who would entertain buying my Boulder 2150s would also want the matching 2110 and i am not wanting to sell the linestage at all. The linestage is an excellent component that can be part of many future amplifiers going forward. My logic is this: I can use the 2110 with just about any amplifier out there and for the most part i will get excellent results. I am getting great results with Momentum, Gryphon, and other amps i can’t remember now. This linestage seems to get along with many amps out there (my 4th set of amps will be yet another test). Here are brief notes about each amp: - The 2150 monos are the most detailed and ultra-resolving amps i have had that make you say "holy sh@t"
- The Mephisto has the most tremendous control over the Alexx and makes the woofers feel as if a mule was kicking them from behind which is amazing for a lot of music that needs this extra body on the low registers (great imaging too)
- Momentum sound just right all the time with just about any song. They arent as highly resolving as Mephisto or Boulder, but they have a way of drawing you in that is like a "voodoo" effect.
Boulder 2150 = Lamborghini Huracan Mephisto = Corvette Zr1 Momentum = Mercedes Benz S63 AMG (v8 twin turbo) Hard to pick when they are all great amps and bring different qualities to the table. Scotch/vodka/tequila are all good, but hard to choose one over the other. |
@closenplay:
You aren't saying nothing that hasn't already been said on my previous videos...i also have not done the before and after video with powercords but IF YOU KNOW AAAAANYTHING about me, you'd know that the video comparing both cables will come. The intent of the video was to showcase the cables in order to get a reference point as they continue to be broken in. Once I feel i have given them enough break in time, I'll do the before and after video.
When it comes to the so called "influence of my room", i don't think there is a room where you couldn't hear something vibrate, rattle, etc when you have this massive power thrown at you unless you are playing music in a cell inside alcatraz where all walls are concrete.
If I could transport my system into your room, i promise you, you'll hear something vibrate somewhere as you push things this hard which by the way I couldn't quite handle for long periods of time. I felt like I was sitting on a massaging chair because it vibrated.
The distortion could be the mic but I didn't get the "clipping" red light it has alerting you when it's clipping which is interesting.
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Just found out that Boulder will have the following price increases:
Boulder 2150 new price = $112k/PAIR
Boulder 2110 new price = $65k
Effective March 1st
Magico is also raising the prices effective March 1st.
i know of 4 other companies also jacking up their prices in March and in June. Expect price increases guys...we can thank Covid for this..
If you all are now thinking of buying something and have been playing with the idea for quite sometime, you might want to pull the trigger before the price increase... |
Can't compare opus to any other powercord here other than stock boulder powercords. It's not a fair comparison. |
Let me just delete what I was typing. It doesn’t serve me well to start bickering back and forth.
I always end up losing no matter because I am the one showing my gear.
If I type what I had in mind, it would have started a new episode of "holy $h@t" here we go again..
Feel free to take your mask off and come see me when there is a new show and we are out of the pandemic. I'd still shake your hand.
Let's move on and keep sailing! |
@chayro
So the transparent cables are certainly doing something to the presentation of the 2150. The thing is I can’t let this feeling confuse me. I need to let the Powercords settle in for another week and then go back to the stock Powercords.
I think the biggest thing here is that Boulder has such a neutral sound that makes it clear and easy for you to know if the new added component or tweak actually elevated or took away from the naturalness of the boulders.
The linestage for instance, i am getting the feeling that it sounds FAR BETTER with the stock powercord. I keep trying other powercords but for some reason I almost always prefer the stock powercord. There is more imaging and separation and clarity with stock powercord on the 2110.
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Gentlemen,
This is good and healthy discussion.
@tjassoc
I liked what you said to be honest. I have no reason to not believe that you have a lot of experience with live music. If I lived in NJ, I'd certainly come over with an open mind and listen to your system.
I will add that i think "most of us" dial in our systems to our preference. Some like more bass and some don't.
All the system combinations I've had are pretty much different and all had something special.
Thank you for the great points noted above.
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The reality is that even if i brought each and everyone of you to come listen to my system, some of you might not like it.
I think it is that we all hear different and we look for different qualities in the presentation.
For me, i think I have already crossed the "neutrality" zone many times. I have found gear that isn’t neutral that made me perfectly happy.
For instance, i love luxman, constellation etc. Are they dead neutral? Nope. But when I’m not looking to be critical, this gear takes me to different places and makes me forget that there isn’t enough bass or mids or dynamics.
In addition to that, there is one additional factor that has BARELY BARELY come up in our discussions: OUR MINDS
Our mind plays tricks with us all the time. How many times have you all listened to your system and are completely blown away and to only return the next day and now you don’t like what you hear so you start to change things... Part of the reason WHY new components are always being released to us consumers is because we get tired of everything INCLUDING outstanding products.
I wish there was a way for me to avoid ending the "honeymoon" phase that exists with new components. It would save me a ton of money.
Anyway, i don’t think there is a perfect presentation which includes live music.
I’ve heard live music and I was searching for paper napkins to stuff my ears with (not kidding either).
I don’t believe for one second that there is anyone here who doesn’t have any common sense, but what I TRULY BELIEVE is that we have major differences of opinion when it comes to what sounds natural or unnatural. |
Search through my videos. The full momentum set up is on there. It was the s250 amp and hd preamp. |
As I wait for the boulders/transparent and Momentum/critical mass to fully break in or "synergize" , i have been writing down my thoughts on the worst components, cables etc that i have owned looking back 3 years so I'll be putting out a video on this.
Anyway, i want to also address a few things that have to do with equipment break-in or settling which has been something that has been a pain point over the last few weeks.
For starters, it is extremely EXTREMELY difficult for me to wait 1,000 hours or 60 days or 10 weeks, etc, etc for a component to break in.
Remember, most of my components are pre-owned so they aren't exactly new.
Also, please remember that if i let a component "settle in" for 1000 hours then this means I shouldn't unplug it or remove it or else the magic begins to vanish. This begs the question, then how can I continue with the show? If i can't remove cable x or y or any component then I can't quite present you all with different videos of different presentations.
Remember, the expectation from many of you is to be able to listen to many of my components and for me to keep mixing things up and to keep moving along to the next new thing.
In my time with high end audio, i have hardly ever ever ever met a component that didn't give me MOST of what it has to offer me right out of the gate (specially if it is used).
Most things (most) will give you the big chunk of the "performance upgrade" within the first week.
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Nothing is wrong with liking either one. Both are amazing products. |
