My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!
Video being uploaded. Round 2: Alexx with full synergistic research Please note: this is the first round with Alexx and synergistic research. We don’t really have points of reference with the Alexx so you can’t go back to comparing to the Alexia or DAW. You MUST compare Alexx to Alexx BUT you won’t be able to have that opportunity until next time I do another Alex video with my cables and playing the same songs found in the video that is getting uploaded right now. |
Jay, I certainly respect your need to monetize your research, and you don't have time to post music videos of every combination. I would suggest short music videos of just 1-2 basic songs that we all know, such as Nils Lofgren's "Keith don't go" and "Man in the moon." We still haven't heard much of the Alexx on common songs. BTW, I love his Acoustic Live CD containing those songs. For pop music, it is a fairly natural recording. I like many more of the tracks on it, for the subtle guitar artistry and sounds. It is also interesting that the recorded level is much higher than on my usual classical recordings. That is because the dynamic range of pop music is greatly reduced compared to the much wider dynamic range of classical music. A comfortable listening level for the voice of Nils is about 10-15 dB lower on the volume control than the voices on classical recordings. |
Science and measurements gives us tubes, transistors, alloys and metals
in chassis construction and circuit boards, even the wire in cables.
Listening is very subjective and varies from one individual to another.
What you hear in your cables pleases you personally but may not please
someone else. That is fine but you cannot disregard the importance of
measurements in manufacturing and that certainly plays a role in the
final product, the listening. I like what I hear in my cables, or, I guess don't hear! I would never buy a cable that has poor capacitance, resistance or inductance specs assuming it would sound terrible and is ultimately a very inadequate design. I am also a big believer in proper shielding to keep out the extraneous noise and robust connectors for a tight gas free fit. To get these things costs money and that is OK with me. I do not believe in using cables as a tone control. Like all components they should get you as close to the source material as possible without imposing their own coloration. What measures bad usually sounds bad. What measures good may not always sound good but neutrality is a goal worth attempting! |
I do not believe in using cables as a tone control. Like all components they should get you as close to the source material as possible without imposing their own coloration.This has got to be one of the biggest canards in all of audiophilia. When you change one amp for another, part of the reason is that you prefer the tonality provided by amp B over amp A. Cables are components like amps and speakers. If this weren't the case, there would only be a handful of cable manufacturers left in the Darwinian economy. |
Simplicity is still king in audio. Less contacts the better. Sure it’s not always practical, choices have to be made. Some wants to buy complex big expensive speakers that will need big complex expensive amps. Their choices , not mine. In the end, it doesn’t sound better...just bigger...louder... Someone can achieve this otherwise. Someone has to look whats inside, make a little research, be warned sellers are not always fully honest, etc. |
i agree techno. one aspect of WC's journey which has made an impression on me is that the big power/big direct driver game is a fearsome death match i don't necessarily want to be involved in (anymore - i did have a go for a while, albeit at a very limited scale) i absolutely love watching WC do this and i am astounded at some of the results. WC keeps reminding us seeing this stuff like this is unusual. I couldn't agree more. Are Synergistic Research risking anything with this current trial? I thought some of the youtube comments and observations regarding an upper frequency shift being characteristic of SR stuff were a bit interesting. how often is such stuff presented in a comparison where you've got the Alexx shining its big light on what SR does. and then the comparison with Gryphon cables will also be an interesting data point. |
I know some might not take into account youtube comments, but i think that they should at least be read. It you feel one way and you see that the YouTube comments are the opposite of what you feel for the most part then that should make you scratch your head and perhaps bust out headphones or something else to hear the presentation. I’ll circle back to the Alexx and my cabling in a future video. Maybe i will try the same system but use my speaker cables and leave the rest of the synergistic research stuff in place. Harder to pick apart things when you are walking at the top of the mountain. Everything is harder and i must say it also gets more confusing. There are moments where I feel i hands down prefer the synergistic research and then the next morning my ears tell me the audioquest dragon is superior... It’s a constant back and forth where it isn't easy to pick a winning combination. |
Jay,
I hear you. I recently replaced all of my interconnects and speaker cables. Sounded much more natural and extended at frequency extremes. It was a nice improvement over my previous cables. A month later, I replaced all of my power cords. My bass was now fully extended and sounding natural. I made A/B testing to make sure that my new power cords sounded better, which they did initially and sold all of my old power cords. A few weeks later, it started playing into my mind. I am now feeling that I have a slight loss of slam/dynamics VS my previous power cables. Is it my memory playing some tricks on me, or is it the new power cords who have now broken in and sound softer than my previous cables? Who knows... |
Often the confusion is a result of the fact that cable differences aren't that great compared to much larger differences among speakers, their setup, and electronics. Fluctuating power quality from the wall or power conditioners can swamp the relatively minute intrinsic cable differences. I don't accept the statements by the deaf measurements people who refuse to listen carefully and claim there are no differences, but I say that there ARE differences which are relatively small. |
WC, A few quick Q's: Is the SR stuff new? That could explain the elevated mid/highs and lack of body that folks were complaining about on ytube. Might need time to break in. Is the SR Atmosphere cabling at the same price-point as the AQ Dragons? Would the SR Galileo be more apples to apples with the AQ Dragons? I know you have what was provided to you, so you probably don't have a choice. Dave |
The SR is not new. It’s used and it has been in the system for days now. The dragon speaker cables are 22k for 2m... So we are not exactly comparing best buy audioquest here against SR. People need to understand that the comparison here is not a "cheap" cable vs SR. Don’t think or assume that you can buy the cheaper audioquest cables and beat the SR. That is being dillusional and not really rational. Remember, this is audioquests best speaker cable which has been said it bests my previous odin 1 speaker cables. Here’s a review in case you are curious about this audioquest Dragon speaker cable: http://www.audiodrom.net/en/speaker-cables/detail/37-speaker-cables/679-audioquest-dragon-zero--bass... Ps: wilson informed me they have a customer with WAMM who uses full audioquest Dragon cables throughout his system... |
Yep...that's pretty much my point. I can't become a DJ over youtube unfortunately. Sometimes I want to play different songs but then I get people who go off because I am playing music that I didn't play with previous speakers. I've had requests that I attempted to play and youtube shut them down due to copyright...that's another thing you all need to remember. I would love to play music that everyone is happy with but is that really possible? ... |
I also hate reverb and other processing effects which detract from the pure sound of the musicians. For comparison purposes, I like relatively natural simple recordings like "Man in the moon" which feature a single voice and guitar, although there are other guitars on a few tracks of that Acoustic Live album. Importantly, I enjoy this music, so the taxing exercise of evaluation has the rewards of nice music and lyrics. I thank Jay for introducing me to this album. |
The audio setup definitely gets messier with all of that SR stuff in there - many more wires, plugs, etc. And, much more cost for the ancillary items. Is it worth it? Can't wait for another video or so, and for WC to share his thoughts. I'd also be curious to see how the SR stuff sounds with the Gryphon preamp. Dave |
My room is treated and has thick carpet throughout... I have acoustic panels in ever single wall of my room. You might be hearing the direction in which i had the mic pointed when i spoke. Anyhow, i will be doing a Gryphon Pandora test with SR and Audioquest as well. This way we can see how things go with the matching linestage. It is VERY VERY important to make sure components are matching at this stage. I can’t stress that enough. I have gotten away with murder in the past, but the Alexx are now telling me "not so much anymore buddy" so i am not forced to be as careful as possible. Expect 2 more videos which will include the Pandora Linestage and we will circle back at the end for a discussion. My thoughts will come at the end of all the cable swaps and shootouts. Boulder 2150s have shipped and are in route to me. I will introduce them to you all as soon as they arrive, but i won’t be doing any Boulder vs Gryphon until Christmas week. That is the perfect time in order to gain more traction since most people will be off and on vacation therefore more views/subscribers. I want to do a 3 part series of the Boulder Vs Mephisto and my favorite will stay while the other will pack its bags and move out of my house in late January/early February. |
In general I really appreciate the variety of music that WC plays in the videos. WC, when you say that the Alexx is pointing out flaws that you’ve always gotten away with before, do you mean that Alexx is the most resolving and highest clarity speaker you’ve ever had? Oh yeah, and keep the lab as messy as necessary to do the work!! That’s how it’s supposed to look! Much cleaner than the lab of the marantz sound master! https://www.audioadvice.com/videos-reviews/marantz-30-series-overview-model-30-sacd-30/ |
i don't know if it has been the most resolving because the Focal Stella was also very resolving, but the Alexx just puts things on a microscope and you can't get away with mismatches or gear here. Things that could have sounded good on the daw and alexia 2 might not sound good here. This speaker does not allow for "shortcuts" if that makes any sense. |
Today we have reached 3,000 subscribers and i would like to thank all of you for staying along my side. If i have ever offended anyone, please know I hold zero grudges against anyone. My emotions sometimes get the best of me but that is only because I am very passionate about what i do just like you are about your own passions in life. I expect great things in 2021 and more raw opinions about ultra high end. I hope to meet some of you in person next time we are able to attend a show. For only having 3,000 subs, I'm shocked at the amount of people that are aware of my channel and the impact it is having. It begs the question, how much more impact will it have once I reach 30k, 60k subs? The sky is the limit but i plan to reach that limit with you all. Jay |
congrats wc on 3k subscribers. that is amazing! finally caught up on the videos after this short respite. for me, there are so many short helpful nugget observations through the course of the videos that you make. i am glad to hear them and acknowledge that they can’t all be captured here on this thread as they used to be before the youtube videos. totally get it. that said thanks for still keeping this thread alive as I really appreciate the dialogue and contributors’ perspectives. frankly, i do not spend much time reading through the youtube comments. I wish there was one place where everyone could engage but understand that is not the modus operandi of the day. regardless, excited for the next reveals and still, most importantly, your evaluation commentary on various equipment once you feel comfortable to share your observations (even if perfect playback, break-in and set-up conditions are not fully achieved). Hope you are enjoying your music there. |
Let me predict the future again... ...the Boulders have less bass... Obviously, any amp has less bass than the Mephisto, because it is what Gryphon does to all their amps..,they bias up the bass. They are geared that way. It impresses the boy in you that crave for that omph feeling... The my system has more bass than yours type of guy. The my Camaro has more hp than yours type. |
