@jg2077:
i think i know who you are referring to with regards to the Mephisto monos. I received feedback about them from someone who had the Mephisto stereo and wen to monos. He said it was an improvement, but that the stereo mephisto is going to give you 90-95% of the performance in most applications.
I am a believer that if anyone is going to spend big dollars on massive monos like the Mephistos, they need serious speakers like XLF, M6, Lyra, XVX or else you are wasting your money. |
@thezaks:
You should stay tuned... The amps and preamp just cleared customs in Miami about 2 hours ago... 500 lbs total weight lol
I will go on record and say that I AM going to piss some manufacturers off.. especially those that have been in my room over the past year or so. Once you all hear this stuff, i expect for people to begin to dump A LOT of their amps. These amps have already replaced Dan Agostino Progression monos, Momentum M400s, ARC 160M in homes from people who have trusted my word. Are they as good as Soulution 701s? i cant say because i have never heard 701s in my room, but i will say to you is that i need break this stuff in before i let you all hear it. |
Just took delivery of the monos and preamp... The break in time starts SOON!
Don't expect the enveil until a few weeks later. |
Nobody got it right yet.
I don’t want to do any videos just yet because i need a few things that didn’t come in the shipment so i haven’t fired up the amps. I’m only breaking in the linestage right now and it’s going through ups and down. I’m not about to throw something under the fire when it only has one day of use. I don’t think you all will get to hear any of this set up this month. However, I’ll do the introduction of the 725 linestage soon.
In the meantime, we will play with the 725, constellation, ref6 se and maybe use the gryphon amps with both preamps to keep you all entertained.
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Nope and the person who removed their comment before yours was also wrong with his guess of what the amps/preamp i bought.
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I can't argue with your statement above pokey. |
i hope you enjoyed my preliminary findings on the 725. There is a whole lot more to come with this piece. Stay tuned ! |
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There was no music between both, but rather just sound. Very little bass actually which made no sense (a mismatch somewhere between both). This is why i have incorporated my consultation service. There are tons of combinations that that don’t work and that i have not been vocal about. Granted only a few people want to spend money on advice even though they have the money to spend on expensive components (which makes no sense to me, but whatever).
What is interesting to me is that most of the systems i am currently building for others are typically systems that are under $100k total msrp. This demographic tends to value my opinion quite a bit more.
Some people rather buy components and gamble and lose THOUSANDS of dollars when they realize that they did not like what they bought or put together rather than allowing me to give them my input in order to minimize the room for error. Trust me, i am not getting rich off of this service, but i do have to charge for my time because that is time that i could be spending with my family.
I actually just found out that there is another Youtuber doing consulting after he found out i am doing it, but he is giving advice on components along the likes of $500 dollar streamers, $900 dollar amps, etc, etc.
More power to him! |
Based on my analytics YouTube app, today's video already has 2600 views and it's only been six hours...
This once again proves that the shootouts are less and less important for this channel. Good to know! |
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Comparing ANY tube preamp to a solid state preamp is if you were comparing this: - A 4-door sedan versus SUV
- Orange juice vs Coke
- Commercial plane vs private Jet
- A lion to a domestic cat
- A man to a woman
Can these comparisons REALLY be made? they are all more dissimilar than similar. You will always choose whichever preamp you like, but is it really better? for instance, maybe you love what tubes do to digital streaming which is to remove the "digitized" feeling, but that is more of YOUR PERSONAL personal preference right? What if the other person wants to hear the garbage on the recordings and not remove the "digitized" feeling? is he wrong for this? I certainly don’t think so. The 725 is made to be compared against its direct peers: - Boulder 2110
- Boulder 2010
- Momentum HD
- Pass labs xp32
- Pass labs xp30
- Ayre KXR twenty
- Luxman c900u
- Gryphon Pandora
- Merrill Audio Christine
- Jeff Rowland Chorus
- Constellation Pictor
etc etc etc I did forget to name more preamps because i was not really planning on naming any preamps on the video - i just went with the flow |
Interesting. What's the rest of your system? |
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For the first time today, I have been listening to the new preamp today but with the Gryphon Essence and boy oh boy...we got a dog fight in our hands boys!!!
The new linestage has awesome resolution, musical and low floor noise but it presents things WAAAAAY different than the Soulution. Both preamps are just amazing and as of today, i honestly could not part ways with either one. One does things the other doesn't and vice versa. It's so tough! |
It's all about preferences. Solution is king when it comes to resolution but there are some who don't like it which is fine. I am personally quite impressed by it. It feels as if someone "cleaned the windows" and you can now see clearly.
The other linestage will be introduced in about a week or so.
One last thing, please remember this video is raw and i took it without measuring DBs. I turned on the camera and pushed play. That said, the mic might have not liked it so don't forget that this is all a factor.
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I think the conversations are now more directed towards preferences rather than something sounding bad or good. I'm pretty confident that over 90% of you all could easily grab one of the 4 linestages and 4 amps i have here and connect them to the xlf and find the sound you like best. |
Correct. That said, if we are being honest here, most of us do care or are influenced one way or the other or else why would we be participating on forums so much? If we are NOT GIVING A DAMN about anyone’s opinion and are closed off to trying different things then we wouldn’t be on here. We would be home listening to music and not reading forums or magazines or anything because we are "supposed" to be happy and convinced that what we have is the best there is to OUR EARS. Is that really how we feel though? That's open to debate I'm sure. |
725 is broken in. It also was dead cold when i shot the video. It needs a solid 2 days of being plugged into the wall at the very least.
Don’t worry; we will have plenty of more videos with the 725.
It is crazy how much imaging this thing has. It is astonishing actually and the midbass is UN-FREAKING-REAL.
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I'm doing a quick peek today of the new linestage playing with the Gryphon Essence.
A few reminders:
-Preamp has about one week of total play time.
- Stock powercords
- i won't keep volume levels at 82db
- this is a spur of the moment video. No editing or anything like that.
-Songs are randomly selected
-Dont try to compare to previous videos. Take the video at face value and focus on it.
First appearance EVER on my channel. Never owned it before.
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Very different presentation. I might say that this one could have more musicality than the previous video.
It's still clear but it's not as projected.
I can blow my ear drums with it and it's not because of brightness. There is ZERO, NADA, not a hint of brightness. If you hear brightness, it's coming from your set up. |
I am telling you, this is going to be HARD to decide... both preamps are completely winning me over. I have been listening to the "secret" preamp today for about 3 hours straight and now the soulution 725 for the last 2 hours.
What a hard decision... TO ME, choosing between both preamps is FAAAAAAR harder than choosing between the DCS & MSB.
The question that remains is WHERE is the REF6SE in all of this? If i am being sincere, i don’t feel like plugging it in... I really liked how it sounded the few times i used it here, but after hearing both of these preamps i feel like the battle is between both of them and the rest of my preamps are simply on a different tier group.
During the first hour or so, i was throwing at them songs from Oasis, Alanis Morrissette, Hootie and the Blowfish, etc which we know are not audiophile songs, but this is allowing me to see HOW each preamp behaves.
Then the second hour or so i was selecting songs from Santana, Pink Floyd, Eagles, and the last hour i am doing the typical presentations that you all are accustomed to from my shootouts.
One interesting fact here guys is that ever since i brought both of these preamps i find myself not paying attention to the XLF anymore. What do i mean by that? well, i dont find myself thinking "l feel i need a less or more bass here, maybe i should move them closer or father away from the wall or toe them in or out, etc, etc". NONE of that is going through my head AT ALL since i started to play music with these preamps.
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Interesting that you say that. You know, there was someone who emailed me and who is active on whatsbestforum who currently owns XLF. He said to me that he's had Mephisto and soon the new Robert Koda k160 monos. He said that the XLF is a speaker that is far ahead of many "electronics" even today let alone back when it was released in 2012.
Most amps just make the XLF sound "loud" but very few can make it "sing". Essentially, electronics that are "great" with most speakers are only "good" with the XLF.
However, the speaker does not punish you for having "ok" electronics. It just does not fire on all cylinders, but it keeps you happy with eight cylinders instead of the 12 that it is capable of. |
Started this listening session at 1pm today and it's now 730pm and still blasting music. This is probably the most fun I've had in the last 6 months. No ear fatigue, no ear ringing, NOTHING.
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All comments above are welcomed and appreciated 👍.
I respect what you all believe in and I’m not trying to change anyone’s preferences. The Jay from 4 years ago that had neoliths in his living room would have been laughing at the Jay from today. I’ve transformed (as we all do) and I’m now looking back at my mistakes. Do you all remember my amps on the floor way back when? Do you remember me without bass traps in the corners?
A lot has changed since then and I am getting ready to break the news of the next brand i am going to represent. If you ask WHY? simple: there is NOTHING LIKE IT and trust me I’ve tried a boat load of components that are aiming to do the same but can’t.
I’m being strategic about what i want to put my name on. I’m not going to be a convenience store - selling beer, pizza, gas, Tylenol, etc etc. When i put my name on something, it will be because I’ve tried a ton and i keep going back to it. That said, i will STILL bring more gear in for review. I don’t represent Gryphon and yet i feel like a cheerleader for it? That goes to show you that even if i don’t represent something, i will give it props if they are well deserved.
Mrdecibel, trying to do a YouTube channel at 68 is not a smart move. It will take a toll on you and it is A LOT of work. Don’t forget the commentary that is associated with each video.
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The comment was meant to show you that i would have a harder time choosing between these preamps than the two DACs. Both dacs are good so it wouldn't break my heart if someone dropped money on the table for the msb and i had to keep the DCs or the other way around. The DCs sounds good and so does the msb.
I would select neither DAC as i said on the video because i don't care which one stays. If someone offered me the right money for either one, I'm packing it up and shipping it. |
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1080 is because your display isn't 4k... Your display needs to be 4k in order to have that option available. |
Part 2 of this video will be about the Gryphon Antileon Evo and the Essence. I will also make a BOLD STATEMENT that might shock some of you.
By the way, on this last video, i recorded in 4k, i added an external light as well and you should be able to select the "4k" setting on the video itself on youtube. Let me know if this looks clearer to you all. |
I am in the middle of other big changes at this time. Something i have been using for quite sometime now might go and something new will replace it. Working on it now! |
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The essence defeats all of them. |
No offense, but you can't compare Bryston to Gryphon. Not in the same conversation in my opinion. Yes, I've owned Bryston and they left me wanting more.
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I have never owned any gryphon monos other than the essence. Can't really comment. |
Yep. Overhead is key with many speakers but Wilson simply rewards you. |
One key characteristic of the XLF is that i don't think I've heard (or don't recall hearing) in past speakers is how it does not spread its wings with insufficient power or overhead.
Do you all see that tweeter mounted on the rear? Think of it as an indication of WHEN the partnering amp has enough juice to make it come to life. If there is enough juice and drive and overhead then you hear the sound travel behind the speaker and also over your head but when there isn't enough then that tweeter feels as if it doesn't even turn on. |
i won’t get into a back and forth with regards to amplifier design. I have done the listening tests which are pretty telling when it comes to who is the better amplifier.
I am also no trying to downplay Bryston’s amplifier circuitry since i am no engineer. I simply feel that they have been left behind by many other brands.
I do believe that there is an amp manufacturer that is charging an arm and a leg for amplifiers that are NOT performing at the level of its peers.
i won’t go into details as to WHO that is, but just know that there is such a thing and this is WHY sticking to amplifier brands that are proven and which have been out in the field performing is REALLY important.
To piggyback on RIAA’s point, most people want to buy Kobe beef at pork skin prices, most people want to steal Gryphon amps at Parasound price. It aint happening (i have tried for years and waited like 2 years to finally get my first Gryphon amp - Collosseum).
Gryphon amps are not like pass labs or mcintosh where you know that you will see another amp the day or the week after. You will see one Gryphon amp listed once and then once it is gone, it takes months or years before you see another one listed. I don’t have to tell you this, i am sure you all know this. |
I'm uploading a video of the Antileon Evo with Soulution 725 shortly. I'm selecting songs from the 80s ON PURPOSE. |
You just heard the antileon Evo with Soulution 725. You can easily pick up the inferiority of the recordings from the 80s.
Yes, i was honest as far as my music preferences. I don’t sit here blasting dire straits, Dayana Krall, etc. Those are recordings i use to assess the potential of my system ,but they don’t do anything for me when it comes to my soul.
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I’m working on the other components that have been here for a week now.
I need another week or two before i begin to transition into new electronics and something else as well that is getting tuned for me right now.
A welcomed vacation is coming for me as well. It’s time to step away from the system for a week to let my ears reset.
I’m a huge believer that time away from the system is just as important. Right now, I’m taking 2 consecutive days off from the gym during the week and now that I’m in my 40s, i have discovered that it helps my joints BIG time to step away from the gym every few weeks or else i get tons of joint pain.
MRI said i have FOUR herniated discs and the doctor doesn’t understand why I’m still able to be mobile other than perhaps because of the muscle mass.
Doctors can be confusing as hell by the way. I got one doctor who tells me to quit the gym and that will help me a ton with the back issues because i won’t be pounding my joints and another doctor that said for me to NOT quit the gym because the muscles are protecting me from "falling apart".
Then i considered back surgery and one doctor said " do it NOW" that you are young, strong, athletic and your recovery time will be faster than most people who don’t work out and then the other doctor said " don’t do anything unless you are miserable. Surgery is your last resort".
This sounds as confusing as when you talk to multiple dealers about a particular brand 😂 |
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Greatly appreciate your feedback above. I'm fortunate enough to not have to feel the need to go under the knife yet because my pain isn't 24/7. It's more if i sleep wrong or happen to do something that isn't good for my back. I can't even squat 2 plates on each side because i feel quite nervous and as if something else on my back is going to pop. Yet, i can leg press twenty two 45lb (900 lbs) for 12-15 repetitions.
My issue is that my legs have always been WAAAAAY stronger than my upper body but i never "evened out" my strength. This pretty much caused my back issues (one of which happened while leg pressing -herniated another disc from the pressure on my back against the support on the chair). I didn't even know you can herniate discs while bench pressing - meaning with a bench supporting your back.
No surgery for me. I have retired from bicep-curling 80 lb dumbbells for reps. |
