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
I’m not buying that stupidity. I told a friend of mine behind closed doors that we are at the mercy of the streaming services. How can you ask a DAC to make you vodka or tequila if all you’re putting in it are grapes? It can’t...all it can do is make you wine that might be a little bitter or sweeter depending on the grapes but it’s STILL WINE. The law of diminishing returns is huge with DACs probably even more than other components. Don't go out spending a zillion dollars on DACs. I own two of the best dacs so my opinion has a ton of weight. Find something balanced for your system and don't look back. Switching dacs is as stupid as trading in your car in each year for the same model over and over. Dumb move. |
When it comes to the Antileon Evo, you will get a ton more fullness and bottom end but remember the antileon is a darker sound. This is what made the antileon one of the most sought out power amps: it is more forgiving than other Gryphon amps. Do we want forgiving? Some say the Antileon Evo might be the best amp that Gryphon has ever made but that is for each person to decide. Currently, I’m listening to the constellation centaur monos with great results but they don’t slam or hit the bottom octaves like Gryphon. Actually, no amp that i have owned has deeper bass than Gryphon - period. Constellation has this way of gluing you to the chair but if you value massive dynamics then it’s not for you. I also can not try the Antileon Evo with my system because i don’t have two dragon powercords for it and i don’t think it’s fair to use hurricane powercords on it because they are not at the level of the dragon which is what I’m using with the Essence (antileon needs two 15a and essence needs one 20a) In short, if i wanted to do the same exercise with the antileon, I’d need to buy two dragon powercords with Msrp of $9800 each. Pretty crazy eh? I can tell you that the entire point of this shootout is to see what each DAC does with constant variables. Imagine if i had to buy MORE powercords or line conditioners just to make one dac get close to the other one? I mean, WHAT do we say to the person that is saving their money to buy the msb or DCs? Do we tell them that their DAC sounds just ok because they are using stock powercords? I’m not exactly content if i buy a component that costs a lot of money and then i also need to spend tons of money on cables or else it sounds like garbage? That’s unacceptable in my book. Let's say i bought the 100k msb select dac and i took it home and then i find out that the msb reference beats it because I'm using 2 ultra high end PCs on the msb reference? I'd be pretty damn pissed off. You mean to tell me now i gotta spend $20k on top of the $100k just to best the cheaper reference with upgraded powercords? That SHOULD NEVER BE THE CASE! That said, I've seen it and heard it in my room how some cheaper models outperform the more expensive siblings by adding upgraded powercords. |
Testing 1, 2... New microphone, room treatment and Constellation Audio... https://youtu.be/Zhni945ozKQ |
You all also forget a few important facts about the Vivaldi: 1. It has multiple chassis which means? MORE POWER CORDS 2. It needs top end digital cables to connect all chassis together The msb reference needs 2 powercords (if you have dual power bases) or just one powercord if you bought it with only one power base, but it does not need any sort of expensive AES cable to connect each chassis. That said, both dacs are extremely protected on the used market and often times are sold very quickly once listed. Most of the current MSB dacs are rarely online because most MSB owners just dont have a reason to move to another brand. What i do hear is that you typically see DCS owners move to a MSB DAC but rarely the other way around. |
Nope - soft dome tweeters are rarely "hot sounding". They are smooth sounding by nature, but if the rest of the system is tuned to have "high frequency extension" then it will sound more projected because that is what you are doing. Dynaudio is also using soft dome tweeters and i never found it bright when i owned it, but again you can make anything sound bright if you choose to. On the other hand, "warming things up" by using transparent cables can be an option, but an expensive one since the OPUS speaker cables are crazy money and you have to send them in to get "tuned" each time you change electronics. The XLF has a lot of clarity and its adjustability will do wonderful things for a lot of different room sizes, but it is still revealing of whatever you are doing with the supporting cast just like a lot of other speakers. However, the sheer size of the speaker WILL make it feel as if there is more energy because it does have 2 tweeters, 2 big midrange units. This was a speaker that Wilson Audio used in MASSIVE ballrooms at shows with 50-PLUS chairs in the room so it is capable of humongous dispersion. It won’t shy away from telling you with a big pronunciation what you have done to the sound. |
@kren: I forgot to mention that i have been using the silver tuning bullets on the synergistic research Galileo cables through the entire system. The silver bullets are used to produce more air and extension which is also another reason why Viber calls it "hot" tweeter. I just switched to gold tuning bullets and they bring out more musicality and reduce the excess energy on the high frequencies |
sometime later throughout the week. I will also be doing the shootout with another amplifier and the new mic, but i have not decided if i want to do it with the constellation monos or the Gryphon Antileon EVO. I know i had said i was going to use Constellation Audio, but i am not sure just yet. I need to do a few more tests here on my end and see which amp would be best for this next quick turnaround. |
nah - but maybe the Q7 mk2? lol It is just that those are videos where i disclosed what my thoughts were with the m6. Lots of curious folks out there and since nobody puts it out there like i do then that is a reason why they made it to the top. I am sure if i did the same kind of video with XLF, the same thing would happen. It is really more about ME TALKING that makes videos interesting to people than just showing gear play music too many times. |
Well, with regards to shootouts, Youtube analytics just told me that my views have significantly decreased since i posted video 2 of the shootout lol!!! Looks like most people don’t want to see repeated shootouts over and over again. My best performing videos over the last 28 days:
Analytics are like "the boss" on youtube. You either listen to what they are telling you or you are getting a blank check in the mail at the end of the month from Youtube monetization. Over 60% of my best performing videos tend to be those where i speak... Jay has to start listening to algorithms or else he is working for free and i can’t have that... So, going forward, i will have to limit these shootouts because it is a limited amount of people who really care to see this. They rather have me say what i think of each brand and my ownership of each than sit through endless a/b comparisons. Anytime i do shootouts, it seems to "stall" views and it takes a lot of my time to accomplish this because of the editing, connecting, disconnecting gear, level matching, etc, etc. Keep this in mind folks for future reference. i have to get in front of the camera more often and provide insights about this crazy level of gear and minimize the shootouts. |
thank you - this video is already getting a ton of hits and it is another prime example of WHAT people want to see me do. I kept it as real as possible with regards to dacs. Everything i said on that video should apply to ALL OF YOU. Dont get caught in the damn hype because if you are only streaming as i am, you are burning a boat load of cash for no reason. Dacs are getting STUPID expensive because we are getting caught in it and let’s not even start talking about how often DAC’s are replaced... How do i do this? most videos are done on Saturdays.. i start shooting, editing, moving components, etc, etc on Saturdays at around 10am and finish at about 3pm... It does take time and effort to try to put out content. |
Blumartini was a good friend. Him and i met over 6 years ago and it was on craigslist believe it or not. I can't remember if i was selling some polk Audio speakers or if he was selling his b&w speakers that he owned at that point in time. He came to my home several times to listen to the different versions of my system. Great guy. My wife couldn't believe it when i told her he was gone. She said he always had a smile on his face at all times and that she just couldn't believe it. Sad indeed. |
Sorry for your loss Kren. Yes - it does put things into perspective. You never know when is our last day here. It's cool to see people trying to apologize or agree to disagree. I'm glad i can at least give you something to be entertained with during these times. You get to virtually play with my system without having to spend a dime and hopefully it makes you realize a thing or two before spending your money. I know some of you have bought mágico speakers, Wilson speakers and even Gryphon amps because of my shoot outs (I've been told this by some of you) so I'm glad i was able to somehow contribute to your journey. Now let's see the DACs and discover which is which. |
i have thought about it, but the Taiko server is big dough... i have received different feedback from different people who have heard it or own it and let's just say it is a mixed bag at this time. Some say Aurender is still better and others say the opposite. It is not a "guaranteed" win for the Taiko extreme. |
Thanks all for the great conversations above. Man i wish you all lived closer so we can do this here in person and i can interview some of you about your own rig. I'd love to learn more about your situation and what you are doing to make it better! With regards to the Taiko, yes it's $28-30k... Big money |
Here’s a quick video from today: Antileon Evo with DCS Rossini direct. NO PREAMP And the new mic. https://youtu.be/Np6Ix4LVe9s |
Yep - if you got the cash then do it and get more performance. I just don’t think it’s the wisest move to buy a 30k DAC and having to spend 60k to beat it. That extra 30k is better used on a better amp or better speakers for that matter. Manufacturers know we aren’t exactly the brightness lightbulbs in the tanning bed so they take advantage of that. They play tricks with our head to get us to buy the "next great thing". Think about it: what do they do to create a better product? It’s simple... Same bs they all do: -external power supply -batteries to get us off the grid-better ground -mundorf capacitors -bigger transformers That’s it folks. Those are the tricks they have up their sleeve all the damn time. For instance, look at the new aurender n30. What do you see? An external power supply. You don’t think they have known all this time that the n20 needed an external power supply to be better? OF COURSE they knew...but they wait for us to buy and then they magically have the solution for a better unit. The writing is on the wall often times. DACs are maxed the hell out especially if all you do is streaming. They don’t know what to do next to release a new DAC. Oh wait: they know what to do so we buy again: New chip New chassis Isolate it better There isn’t much else to do with DACs. Again, if you’re streaming, it doesn’t matter...you’re playing the same damn songs you’ve always played. Don't get me started on the DCs built in filters... What a joke. They don't do a damn thing. You all want to go buy the hype? Go on and buy your next great DAC. Burn 20k on top and play the same songs from tidal and qobuz. I have been trying to find the difference between qobuz and tidal here and I'm like hmmm... You sure both streaming services aren't owned by Jay Z? Because most songs sound like it's coming from the same damn DJ that's playing the music from the other end of the network... Sh!t i forgot to pay my tidal subscription... |
@golfnutz: Relax man. It’s just a video lol. You aren’t making life decisions nor are you throwing a party in your home while you play my videos at 100 DB. All i did was present the Antileon Evo with the DCs direct into it. Just a reference point. It’s not for you to go and say "you won’t listen to my videos". Are you always this drastic? Are you the type that if you buy a car and the remote control does not unlock the door then you won’t be buying that car anymore? People were raving about the mic not long ago... Now it sucks? It’s fine if it sucks.. Amazon has a 30 day return period... I’m simply shooting videos with it and letting you all hear it. Has it occurred that it might be the recording that sucks? I’m not sure - I’m just saying because the other recording i did seemed to be mind blowing for many people. Try listening to the video in a few hours again and report back. Maybe the video hasn’t fully processed? Let me know either way. If the mic sucks then it's going back. No biggie. I'm relying on you all to tell me. Just remember that in this particular recording i did not have a preamp in the mix. |
@kren Yes i agree with you. That said, today has been the revelation that i needed. The hot tweeter is or was due to the silver bullets from synergistic Research. The antileon Evo made this easily heard. I will now only use the gold ones. I'm shocked that even the DAc straight into the amp didn't give me fatigue when using gold bullets on the cables. |
Both dacs will remain and 2 power amplifiers will leave instead. Dac is more important if i am going to keep moving through speakers in the future. It is harder for me to acquire these 2 dacs than it is to get a power amp. Each time a current DCS or MSB model is listed, it is sold quickly. If i sold either one of these dacs and wanted to bring them back, it would cost me too much money. This has been a great conversation with regards to DACs. If ANY OF YOU have a dac you want to send me and would like to compare to either one of these 2 dacs, you all know how to find me. I won’t be buying a cheap dac in order to start comparing again so before that comment is thrown in here, let me squash it. You want your dac to go to battle against MSB OR DCS and see how it performs? then let’s make that happen for the whole world to see... Many people talk about EMM, Esoteric, Soulution, and many other DACs i can't think of right now, i am open and willing to give them a fair shot in here. |