Dont worry CuriousJim. The OP doesnt want any blood on his hands. Can you imagine the headlines the next day if this thread ceased to exist. "Aspiring Violinist Drowns himself in Princeton Church Lavatory". The only clue left behind as to the troubled mans demise was a note in his right hand which simply reads "God is Dead".
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
C2600 tube preamp prelim impressions: 1. Warm presentation where the highs are not as prominent as the ref10 or the Lampizator pacific 2. Vocals have less POP 3. Soundstage is smaller than the ref10 or Lampizator 4. 3D effect is there but to a much smaller scale. 5. Good tight bass 6. Pushing the preamp at high volume levels can make things less romantic and it gives the feeling of a less “organized “ presentation 7. Awesome dac for the money although at times it seems to skip the first few seconds of each song Overall, I’d say it’s a good preamp given its price point. You certainly wouldn’t miss the ref10 or the lampizator until you hear them next to each other. The lampizator is still superior as a preamp or a dac when compared to the c2600. At low volume levels, the lampizator bested both the ref10 and c2600 and at loud volume levels then the ref10 takes the cake. I can call out the deffiencies of this preamp only because I have reference pieces in my home. The average person that doesn’t have anything to compare it that is proven to be reference equipment wouldn’t pick up on these problem areas because the preamp certainly gives you an overall enjoyable presentation that you couldn’t really criticize much. In bodybuilding (which I have done in my past) there is a phrase that says “you’re Mr. Olympia “ when you are standing all by yourself but as soon as you stand next to other competitors then you’ll know what your weaknesses are because the competition will expose that. if I were to grade it and the ref10/lampizator were an “A”, I’d give the c2600 a “B-“ which could change if I keep trying preamps. Nothing to be ashamed of given its price point. |
Nice review WC. The vocals have less pop because you have to boost the treble , as Mac preamps are tuned to the darker side. I have to put around +5 to +7 treble depending of the music playing on my C47. Then the vocals and highs are waiking up. And the C2600 is said to be warmer than the C47 and C52... The dac is very surprising for the money , isn’t it ? Can you eleborate as to how the Pacific is better than the C2600 used as dac and pre for both. |
The dac inside the 2600 is very “bold” and forward at times. When I connected the pacific to the c2600, the preamp had far better mids and smoothness. It became “livelier” with more ounces of liquidity. It came closer to the ref10 but again I still have never been able to match the massive soundstage of the ref10. The c2600 is a great all in one solution for sure and I can honestly say if I were looking for a preamp that gave me the tube flavor without breaking the bank, I’d get the c2600 or a audio Research 5se. I just love tubes with solid state preamps. I am actively looking for the ayre twenty preamp. That will be the biggest challenge for my ref10. |
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Great WC. Bold and forward is pretty much how Sabre 9018 chip is known to be. I agree with your description, I also thought the same when I compared it to my 8k dac, the dedicated dac was smoother up top...almost truncated....I think it was the dsd filter that cuts the very top highs. It took me some time to adjust to the more forward sound of the Sabre dac in the Mac pre. In the end it matched my laid back polite speakers better. I really enjoy that midrange boldness about it. It makes the instruments sound richer, my other dac was thinner sounding in the low mids. Sure, it would be very interesting to know about how the flagship Ayre preamp compares. But , that Lampi will be very hard to detrone. |
WC, I am not sure what you mean by "I love tubes with solid state preamps." The sound of any DAC is a combination of its preamp stage and the DAC chip or proprietary dac module. If I am correct to say that the dac in the Lampi Pacific is not the Sabre 9018 which is hot according to greyhound, then the Pacific sounds precise due to its preamp stage. Is its preamp stage still a little tubey? Getting the Ayre Twenty preamp would be informative. |
@whitecamaross Nearly opposite of my findings with C2600. The DAC in the C2600 is of little interest and rather ho-hum. The treble is a bit too forward. Bass is not tight at all - fairly middle of the road compared to SS - but fortunately it isn’t overly lush or warm like most tube amps. Of course, this demonstrates that you can’t learn much in a few days about the capabilities of a tube preamp. You need to spend some serious time tube rolling and what I describe is possibly entirely different because I have different tubes. Judging by your comments, I could achieve closer to the sound that you describe with NOS Mullard (Dullard) tubes. However, if you have stock tubes then I wonder if your C2600 is in need of repair? Your description is really that far off! @techno_dude Any preamp that needs +5 or +7 on the treble has got to be in serious need of repair or is very poorly matched with the power amp. |
Shadorne, My speakers are on the very polite side, and the Mac preamp is a bit dark and warm ( Mac house sound) So my speakers benefit from the treble tone control. That being said, if I had Focal or B&W speakers ( wich are a bit tilt up in the highs) the tone controls would most probably be off. I believe that is why Mac gear pairs really well with those two speaker brands. |
This question goes for those preamplifier experts: how do you know if one preamplifier will sound louder than the other? I think I have an idea but don’t want to assume anything. I’m contemplating the ayre kxr twenty but the only way I want it is if: 1. It produces more volume than my ref10 2. It can take an RCA signal and transform it into xlr the ref10 is amazing but it seems to require quite a bit of volume with my block audios. I would want the ayre preamp to provide more volume much quicker. |
Where do you set the volume on your Ref10? Unity gain is around 60, if you are above that then you are tapping into the 12dB of gain (balanced) provided. Frankly how quickly you get to the desired volume setting is irrelevant as it’s a function of the design of the volume control, what you want to avoid is running the pre in the top 25% of its volume control range (ie above 8o or so of the 110 step range) You do of course also know that you can adjust the input sensitivity of the Ref 10 so you will get to your desired volume output at a different part of the volume control (the input gain offset function) |
WC, You can nitpick about the volume control and RCA/XLR connections of the Ayre preamp, but the bottom line is the sound. By reputation, it should provide the speed of SS plus some smoothness and maybe some warmth you like. So it may be just what you are looking for in tonal quality and resolution. Let's see how the Ayre competes with the Lampi preamp in sound flavor. |
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@grey9hound - According to the 6moons review of the Pacific it uses a Sigma Delta DAC chip, the identity of which remains a secret: "The digital board changed significantly as well. LampizatOr's chipless DSD engine can
be mounted if one desires yet has stopped being the default. Likewise
for their previous generation of discrete R2R PCM circuitry. This time
Łukasz rolls an ΣΔ chip. I was told that its supplier considers
LampizatOr influential enough to grant them being this silicon's
earliest adopter. The identity remains a secret. Once opportunity struck
to try this new chip, Łukasz acquiesced to a return to balanced
sigma-delta conversion. But it still took him a year to discard the
regular data-sheet implementation and build his own circuitry around it
from scratch."https://6moons.com/audioreviews2/lampizator4/1.html |
I got the price wrong on the Esoteric k1. Evidently it was the Grandioso player that WC had, at $31K. How do the cheaper Esoteric models compare to the Grandioso k1? What is the relative importance of a CD/SACD transport vs DAC? Is it a compromise to use your cheaper CD transport with the flagship Esoteric DAC at $20K, or better to get the Grandioso k1? These issues are analogous to turntables, tonearms and cartridges. In my experience with cartridges, it is the most important factor, analogous to the DAC, the transducer. Turntables are still important, analogous to the CD/SACD transport. |
Viber, I have some experience with Esoteric single box players, up to and including K-01... I have no experience on K-01X and K1. At RMAF I have had long listening session comparing X-05, X-03, and various versions of X-01... In most cases, the analog output of the devices were used. Similarly, still at RMAF, I have listened to K-03 and K-01 side by side. Consistently, I found X-03 to be preferable to X-05, the X-01 variants to be preferable to X-03, and K-01 to be preferable to K-03 (more complex, musical, subtle, stagy, etc. In my own system I have had my current X-01 LTd side by side with K-01.... I have much preferred K-01 over X-01, using K-01's apodizing filter S_dly2 and 4X upsampling for what was for me an optimum balance of audible characteristics. My experience with Esoteric K-01 are summerized at: <http://positive-feedback.com/Issue64/awards.htm>; There are third party user reports according to which the performance consistently has continue to rise with K-01X and then K1. If you want to read a significant number of credible user reports on K1 you may want to visit audioaficionado.org... The founder is to be a strong brand ambassador of Esoteric, and has considerable experience. Unfortunately I have never used the inputs of the Esoteric DAC stages, so I would not want to venture any uncautious guesses as of their individual merits. On the other hand, I am still using X-01 as a digital transport into my Rowland Aeris DAC using a Cardas Clear digital coax... And love the result! Saluti, Guido |
Hello Viber.... Aeris DAC is superior to the DAC component of X-01 Ltd.... Aeris powered by PSU is very significantly superior to the X-01 DAC section for all parameters I can think of. Having said the above, it is worth considering that the X-01 was designed around 2004.... Aeris DAC was designed some 6 or 7 year later as a then State-of-the-art PCM DAC.... And the PSU external Ultra-caps-based power supply is much more recent than that.... So, while I infinitely prefer my combo of Aeris+PSU to the X-01 built in DAC, the comparison is not particularly useful. Saluti, GUido |
guido, Many thanks. I have a Krell 64x oversampling dac from maybe 25+ years ago. Krell did their own proprietary design, not using any stock chip. The power supply weighs 20 lbs, similar for the other box containing the circuit. Even though the design is old, it may still have near SOTA sound, since it competes very well with my Benchmark DAC1 unit. So your comparison of the Aeris to the X-01 may still be useful, thanks. |
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WC, I had several of the Nordost Frey 2 series. Initially I was impressed with the precision of the RCA and XLR interconnects. After 100's of hours, they became mushy. Just be careful about these expensive Nordosts. No assurance that the most expensive will give you the sound you want. A lot of cable technical talk is snake oil. |
Hello WC, Keep us posted about how Odin develops.... Sounds exciting! As I mentioned a couple times, I have found nirvana with the Cardas Clear Beyond XL... Totally in love with this PC... Nordost Odin and Cardas XL are, with not too many other PCs, situated on the top rung of the power cord pantheon... Might worth trying XL out as well if you have the . Saluti, Guido |
