Viber,
Has it ever occurred to you that the issue with your hearing could be the reason why you must have so much detail?
Has it ever occurred to you that the issue with your hearing could be the reason why you must have so much detail?
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!
20,890 responses
viber, I agree with most of your statements however I believe your need for utmost clarity and pronounced top end stems from your age and lifestyle. While (I'm guessing) most people would prefer a preamp in a system you prefer a DAC direct to amp setup because it is more detailed and has a more emphasized top end. You being a musician for most of your life, playing and listening in loud environments has most likely resulted in moderate hearing loss, especially the top end. I'm guessing you have your Rane EQ set @ +10 db starting at around 5-6k hz up to 20k hz. So while you find an elevated top end normal and tonally pleasing, audiophiles in the 30-50 year old range would find it harsh, threadbare and fatiguing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your preferring a tipped up frequency balance. It's what you require to counterbalance your hearing loss. |
ron17, Good observations and speculations. I'll integrate what you said into a common principle gleaned from my 40 years of audio experience--more information and accuracy are always accompanied by a relatively thin and threadbare tonality. Yes, eliminating the preamp yields thin. Yes, the Pass sounds thicker (or, the Essence sounds thinner), warmer and less detailed. So why is more information associated with thinner tonality? One reason is that more HF info is revealed, which skews the tonal balance upward, or conversely that less HF info skews the tonality downward to more dominance of lower freq. Example--on less accurate equipment, a mandolin recording sounds a little skewed towards a larger guitar. Another reason is that more accurate electronics reproduces the true to life sound of the natural instrument, whereas the less accurate electronics adds fuzzy distortion around the edges, a kind of halo effect which fattens the sound. This fullness is often misinterpreted as more complete harmonic structure, but the reality is that it is merely an overlay of electronic veil and warmth. A good way to appreciate this is to carefully listen to everyday sounds of nature like the sharp percussive impact of golf clubs, baseball bats, etc. With grossly distorted playback on TV, these sounds are fuller and much more rounded, perhaps more pleasant but not truthful. |
I admire your in depth critiques of, surely, many of the best amps available. Surely, the amp is critical, if not, central in any system. One might say amp and speaker are the two hands clapping. But not many of us are able to spend many tens of thousands. Especially considering the price, AGD may be among the best there is. $8.3K-$19.5K. The only Class D galium nitride based amps using a patented chip (transistor) designed specifically for audio. I highly recommended that AGD be reviewed. I have never heard anything but rave comments |
I've heard DAC direct to amp many times followed by inserting a preamp and repeating the track. I listen at low to moderate levels and I agree that there seems to be more info Dac direct but I always come away feeling the sound is thin and threadbare....even at low levels. The latest shootout (Round 1: Pass labs X600.8 versus Gryphon Essence monoblocks) delivered more of the same tonal and clarity differences between Gryphon and Pass. I hear more information, detail and neutrality with the Essence monos. The Pass gear sounds thicker, warmer and less detailed. With lesser recordings the Pass amps might be easier to listen to. It's to Gryphon's credit, even with stock PC's it's still more transparent and detailed. I think to get these two sets of monos closer in tonality I would try Odin1 PC's on the Pass monos and Dragon PC's on the Essence. The Odin1 PC's on the Pass amps would add detail and lean the tone out a bit while the Dragon PC's on the Essence monos would warm up the sound by rolling off the top end and boosting the bottom end.....In the end the Essence monos would still be more detailed and neutral. YMMV |
Jay said a dac doesn’t exist that he’s heard that is better dac-direct than with a good preamp. Ever, in all of his trials - listen to the video and read his comments above. And he agreed with my statement above that for BEST SONIC RESULTS (not some fringe subset of sonic results), preamp wins every time. Every time - not sometimes - every time. Case closed according to WC. (I notice he did not agree with your characterization, Viber). WC has the experience, Viber, you do not (though your fringe sonic views are absolutely correct for you, I don’t doubt that - I truly believe you when you say you find that type of presentation best, and granted everyone hears differently). It’s just that most people (nearly everyone) need to be able to listen to music loudly from time to time. |
Jay says, "I want for people to simply be aware of the trade-offs involved when using a dac instead of a preamp." I am in agreement with that statement. He also said recently that dac direct gives more resolution and clarity than with the added preamp, at the price of ability to withstand high SPL's. The added preamp gives more B@LLS. Agree again. But for those who want maximum clarity and unravelling of complexities in music with respect for natural SPL's without blasting, dac direct is the preferred option. |
Every person has a budget and yes you can certainly use a dac without a problem, but there are sonic limitations. A dac does not have the capacitance of a great preamp and it does not open up the sound anywhere close to a well-designed linestage. I want for people to simply be aware of the trade-offs involved when using a dac instead of a preamp. |
Right. I mean, you’ve owned most of the dacs worth owning up to the $80k USD level, and that is your definitive conclusion that having a good preamp is always better, even with dacs up to that level, so that is a pretty unambiguous statement on your part based on your vast experience. Just good to get it on record. |
Preamp is KEY. There is no dac that has the B@LLS that a real preamp has. If this dac exists, please introduce me to it. Maybe one day there will be dacs that can do both jobs without an issue, but for now there is no replacement for a preamp. Anyhow, today's shootout took me more time to edit because i edited the video differently. I did one song with the Essence followed by the same song with the Pass Labs X600.8. This will hep you all in comparing things without having to go to different videos. Hope you all enjoy it! |
WC, Good reminder in last video that a preamp ALWAYS sounds better than dac-direct at audiophile levels of equipment. Hopefully the deniers will learn that based on your extensive experience and won’t pine for you to do dac-direct. You could not have been more clear on how wrong the preamp deniers are, based on your extensive experience |
On this electronic piece, as with vocal pieces, this Pass is like all the other Pass stuff previously presented and the Pass XP15 phono stage I heard at home years ago. Compared to the Essence monos, Pass is rounded/dull/murky on the entire freq range for the electronic guitars. The piano has less brilliance and shine in upper midrange/HF. To say the Essence is "brighter" is literally true, but this "brightness" is consistent with its higher resolution, liveliness and sparkle, and not at all unpleasant. |
Repost to compare on same song, "Private Investigations" https://youtu.be/FgGVH1e_eyM--Pandora + Essence monos |
Im pretty sure none of the streaming services are using the initial early to mid 1980's digital mixes. If your getting 3 choices Im sure they are ALL Post 90's/2000's overly compressed options. Doesnt make sense to me that somebody only does HALF the homework. You spend all this money putting together a High End System BUT then you feed it less than optimal recordings in most cases. (Im not talking about people who only listen to music from the past 20-25 years which I have ZERO interest in) It's like putting 87 Octane Gas in a High Performance Sports car. You have no idea what your missing. Ignorance is Bliss as they say. |
I am not at all impressed with the $700K M6 system. Despite what may be the most detailed of all electronics, Soulution 701 + 725, the sound is muffled and muddy compared to what Jay presented with the song, "Say Something." That's what excessive ambience and processing does to recordings and music. The other possibility is that the Scott Walker setup is in a narrow room, so it creates a distant tunnel effect that muddies the sound. I like Jay's room and setup better, which lets his system "breathe" better. |
Take 2, the song, "Say Something" is an excellent clear upfront recording of the voice. It is true to life, and not bright or anything out of balance. But the last video, the song, "Liberty" is muffled by comparison on voices and instruments. The first recording will much more easily demonstrate differences between components. To show how important good recordings are, even mid-fi speakers and components playing the first recording will sound more lifelike than the most transparent speakers and components playing the second recording. You can enjoy all your music even on poor recordings, but a great system won't necessarily bring you more pleasure from poor recordings. Musically, my favorite performances from 1920's through 1940's aren't worth listening to on my system, so YT from the computer is more convenient and good enough. High fidelity happened in the 1950's, and Jay also heard great sound from an analog setup from 1950's recordings. |
It may be "lazy" as WC points out, but it is also a very wonderful way to find new music. Opting out of streaming music wholesale because they may not have the best version of a recording is shooting one's self in the foot. I'd encourage you to give it a try for a month, most services give you that to decide if you like it or not, so there's no loss. -BTW, Tidal often has two or three different versions of the same release. Not sure on the other services. Cheers |
Funny how 2 guys "familiar" with OZZY dont know how to spell his name :) You have to have access to the very best recordings for any particular title before throwing them all under the bus. Thats why I will never stream....you dont have 5+ different masters/mixes of the same album to choose from. Your just stuck with whatever your subscribed to which is incredibly lame in my opinion. Some of the OZZY remasters are completely unlistenable. REMASTER doesnt mean Better. In my realm of music you usually find that the VERY FIRST CD pressings from the 1980’s are still the best sounding ones. Guarantee thats not what your streaming services are making available. Just sayin...Rant over |
So this is one reason why i just spent money on more acoustic treatment. I could be getting reflections from the beryllium tweeter. Keep in mind, there will always be edginess with some recordings. If a system doesn't sound bright when they are blasting Ozzie Osbourne then i firmly believe that is a system lacking resolution and transparency. There is absolutely no way in hell that one can play song after song and not encounter edginess throughout some of them. The pass 600.8 are in the house and getting playtime before i throw them in the fire. Then once I'm done with that shootout and the room treatments, I'll finally do the Gryphon Antileon Evo versus the winner of the shootout. Will the Antileon Evo in stereo form smoke the essence and 600.8? Is it possible for a stereo amp to do this? We will find out soon enough. |
So, here is a Magico M6 pushed to the extreme. The total MSRP of this system is about $700,000 dollars NOT COUNTING the room treatment and the stands. This is just in electronics and cables: https://youtu.be/WNzMaaMsmgw |
https://youtu.be/n4MMC8sovfs Is it me or are people REALLY liking the essence monos based on the comments on youtube? |
well, Today's video is the last video of the Gryphon Essence monos before we do the Pass Labs x600.8 versus the Gryphon Essence monos shootout. On a separate note, i have just purchased over $6k worth of acoustic treatment for my room. I will be the first person to showcase a new panel technology that just came out. I was told it will take about 3-4 weeks so after this next shootout i will be doing more reviews instead of music videos because my room will be going through some changes. |
Jay, I purchased some Guildford of Maine acoustic panel cloth directly from the manufacture, and found a local seamstress to make the curtains for me - https://www.guilfordofmaine.com/swatches/2100-408 The process was pretty simple, just need to make sure you order enough material for pleated curtains, and purchase the curtain rod. |
Maybe down the road i might do it. One thing I'll tell ya though, the M6 IS THE SPEAKER to use if you want to know if the small things like outlets actually make a difference. The smallest things are heard with this speaker and THIS IS EXACTLY why some don't like it because it will reveal crappy recordings... |
In all seriousness, room treatments would be really interesting - especially if you share the options you considered and why you ended up choosing whatever you settle on (or cycle through) Don’t remember if Rhodium outlets and cable connectors ever contemplated on this thread but that might be another interesting experiment |