I need to assume no one here has pursued the recordings I mentioned by Tony Minasian ( of Tonian Labs ). All 5 of his recordings are available on line, and they are truly of reference quality. I play these recordings on a pretty basic system in another room of mine ( modified Heresy IIs, modified Magnavox CDB630, Douk Audio $50. 1 in 1 out passive box using ALPS 27 attenuator, a single, modified Polk DSW 440 sub, and any number of power amplifiers ( examples : modified Yamaha P2075, modified Hafler DH220 ), and I will tell you : with these recordings, this system sounds like a million bucks. Point being, as agreed above....we are at the mercy of the media ( the recordings themselves ). " Drums and Bells " is a given, to own.
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
@whitecamaross That seems to make sense to me. I do agree if you use up a dealers time, and you don't plan to or never will purchase from them, you should be ready to compensate them for said time. I think if the shoe were on the other foot that "the user of a dealers time" would probably feel the same way. |
Well, Here it is... My long awaited tekton review plus my preliminary feeling on critical mass footers. https://youtu.be/pV237KJMw5k |
WC, I need to say what I am about to say. Suggesting to Eric Alexander ( head honcho at Tekton ) to think about " improving " the cosmetics of his speakers for the creation of more sales, is very interesting. #1 : If that is your primary complaint about them ( at the level of your gear ), you are actually stating they are great for the money, which you did state. #2 : Most folks ( based on what I have read ) who do not like the looks of Tekton, have not heard them. Besides that, most people complain about their size. #3 : Speakers of this size, are generally in a dedicated room, so only the main listener needs to decide. #4 : How many Ulfberhts have been sold, vs. your particular Wilsons ( or any Wilsons ) ? #5 : In all my years of audio involvement, I have not seen another speaker company as popular ( backordered ) as I have seen Tekton ( and I go way back with Klipsch Heritage and Klipsch pro ). #6 : Eric Alexander is a drummer, and has a " pro " background. Look at photos of some of the most popular monitor speakers used in some of the most prolific recording studios. The speakers are generally large boxes ( besides the smaller units sitting on the consoles ), without grill covers. #7 : Look at jazz clubs, arenas, concert halls ( etc. ) and what do you see ? Typically large boxes. #8 : And I need to be careful with this one. Based on me not hearing your Wilsons or the Ulfberhts, I am guessing, but I feel, the Ulfs will be able to hit higher, cleaner SPLs, than your Wilsons ( different designs ). Getting back to price. 12 K vs. 109K. I have a few more examples, but I needed to say all of this. Also, about the footers under your Boulder mono blocks. Positioning them under the chassis, in different locations to the underside, will all have a dramatic, and different " sound ", maybe better, maybe worse ( in your situation ), but changes it just the same. One other point about the Tektons. Someone buying the Tektons, especially for home theater, will possibly have them behind an acoustically transparent curtain ( I have done many installs like this ), and will never see the speakers. This is the design of every movie theater I am aware of. Be well my friend. Always, MrD. |
I made an effort to not puncture anyone's feelings about Tekton while still delivering the message and I believe I did that quite well. I have to believe there are far more tekton Ulfberht than Alexx, but this doesn't mean anything.. this means it's a more affordable product which means more people can buy it. Are there more camrys than Bentleys? Yes of course there are. I won't attack or bash anything because I have mentioned it multiple times, i am not married to any of this including all my gear. I will simply state my experience with products and nothing else. Remember, I'm sharing my view with things i have here and not using someone else's system or room to judge. I gain absolutely nothing from trashing a brand and that simply has not ever been my intent. If i feel a brand isn't worth the asking price, i will say it and i did just that with the accuphase e800. If something is a rip off, i will say it and don't care if it affects me when I have to sell it (i did this accuphase if you remember correctly). Will there be a speaker that i feel bests my Alexx for me and my taste? Sure there is always better. Have i met that speaker? Not really , not in my room anyway. Don't worry, i got another speaker coming soon....should ship out tomorrow and yes I bought this one and it is not on loan. It is quite affordable actually. I actually can't freaking believe i got talked into buying another speaker when i didn't want to keep messing with the Alexx. They are so damn heavy even if I push them on wheels. Oh well, you know I'm probably the craziest guy out there. When these new speakers arrive, i will do a live chat to unveil them. |
WC, now that we are buddies, I can agree with you; you are crazy, but in a good way, lol. You are passionate, you are doing something you really enjoy, and maybe something, never done before. It is always enjoyment for me, as well as others, and many have learned from your experiences. Always, a positive thing ! |
Thanks mrdecibel. Well Tekton has responded to my video on the comment section of my videos. If you’re interested in hearing what Eric said, please go check out my video. Eric was great at taking my feedback and as you can see he was a class act. This is how things should be and in the end you all win with my thoughts and they also win with my constructive criticism of the product as well as what can be done to take their products to the next level. Cheers ! |
@whitecamaross thanks for honestly sharing your thoughts on CMS footers. although CMS has a very complex and good engineering and construction, its such a wierd thing that a product sounds like crap for 3 weeks and one day it magically transforms into a eureka moment or like a miracle.incremental changes i can understand but one fine day complete transformation is unbelievable.and if it is so the product maker better have a white paper to explain the dynamics behind their material science and construction and change in properties of of why this happen other than just terming it as settling in or break in. even other products break and settle in but nothing changes as in day and night. |
@goodsource: I'll be able to give a definite answer once i remove the footers this Saturday which will mark day 21. I will know what they added or took away with certainty. Some of you have said to move the footers closer to the feet of the amplifier and i am planning try that but i am not waiting another 21 days.... Either sink or swim. I am telling you guys, the insane imaging of the boulders is what got my shocked when i first heard them and that has pretty much vanished. Let's wait and see what happens this weekend. |
WC, I had thought it was supposed to take three weeks with the Center Stage footers, but was supposed to take less time with the Center Stage 2 footers? I agree with moving the footers close to the existing feet - at least, something to try. I'm sure Boulder has reasons for putting their stock footers where they are located. Then the CMS footers will be on the frame of the stand, just like the stock footers, instead of the filter area of the stand. I don't blame you for not wanting to wait another 3 weeks :) In the end, you might find out that the Boulders prefer their own feet. Dave |
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Is it wrong to put such isolation components directly under the actual footers of the amps? In general, is what I'm asking, not in this specific case, where here the amp is too big for the stand so that the footers aren't fully on the stand platform. I understand in this case the amps are too big for the stands, so that is one reason WC has the isolation components away from the footers of the amp. |
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@sequence56 the problem is not that CMS footers take time.the problem is lack of explanation around it.even more worse that the designer instead of understanding and explaining characteristics authoritatively,is just relying on trial and error of his customers that for 2 weeks for one component , 3 week for other and for relentless it took 4 weeks. pretty pathetic IMO for such high priced footers. |
I kind of like Starsound Technologies approach to dealing with vibrations and resonance. They have researched and analyzed Isolation – Absorption – Resonance Transfer . IMO Their Platforms work very well.. The original was Sistrum Apprentice Paltforms http://starsoundtechnologies.com/liveVibeDetails2.php?THE-PROVING-GROUNDS-3 All of their current offerings and all with 100% Total Customer Satisfaction Guarantee http://starsoundtechnologies.com/Products.php Now ,I am not saying that they will work on the Boulder Amps . It sounds like the people at Boulder are saying that the amps are designed in a way that already addresses those vibration, resonance issues. The speakers may benefit the most from some Starsound platforms , BUT, it is probably not feasible for the 450Lb , Behemoth, Wilson Alexx |
@whitecamaross BTW, i really liked your personal review of the Tekton Ulfbhert video. I thought that you gave a very honest , detailed explanation of the sound of those in your room and what they do well and some of what you thought might be lacking as compared to Wilson. Which speaker cables , which IC from Source to Pre and which IC I really think that the Bass would become faster, more defined and more detailed and articulate, when those bass drivers loosen up . That does take a couple of hundred hours or more in most cases . Now if you were to play some really dynamic music at pretty loud levels , it would get better.. quicker. Actually , I have an equipment "Break In" Disc from a well known manufacturer. Remind me to send it to you. It is supposed to help speed up the break in process. As much new gear as you get ,it could be very helpful to get your stuff sounding better, in less time. |
I did like the way you described the Tektons sound in your room. I do Imagine that the Tektons,on any Model in the line,have never been hooked up to the Caliber of Equipment that you possess. If you inspired Tekton to put out a new Model Line with Premium Cabinets..Drivers and Crossovers then well done! $35,000 and Up .. I think the PS Audio Speakers will be in that Range when they are finally released as well. |
Hi guys, yesterday i went to my Gryphon dealer for a listen.He had the Wilson Benesch Resolution driven by Pandora and Mephisto and a Emmlabs DV2 DAC.After a while we switched the Pandora for a Thrax Dionysos linestage and this thing just blew my socks off.I didn't expect the Thrax linestage to be that good!!!!This thing just smoked the Pandora, the Thrax linestage brought the Mephisto to a completely new level.In comparison the Essence preamp just didn't exist lol |
Meh. Right now i am going to be selling and listing Mephisto and boulder. I could live with either one so whichever sells first at this point. Wont really make a dfference when it comes to satisfaction because both have a special thing going. Top 2 amps on my list. The rest of the amps I've owned would be fighting for third place. |
WC, I'd also be curious where the Pass Xs300 fits in ranking order - especially with this being the "My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!" thread. Of course, I realize the Cons are probably that they take up a bunch of space and that they run hot (or at least very warm), as well as taking a good while to sound their best. It would be interesting to have those Xs300's in place on the CMS stands and with the current cabling and see how they compare to the Boulders and the Mephisto. I don't expect that you will be getting the Xs300's again. If you really don't care about whether you keep the Boulders or the Mephisto, then I'd sell the Boulders. That way, you only have to invest in one power cord, one stand, etc. You can then spend money elsewhere. However, as techno__dude pointed out, I'm sure you will sell the one that goes first. Then you can try out one of other amps on your 2021 list. Dave |
Unfortunately the Boulder 2150 is not an amp that will sell fast due to the money that it is. I suspect the Mephisto will sell faster because it has never been available on the used market and it would be substantially less money for a lot of people. That said, i want to ask you all what i should do in regards to powercords with Boulder. I am torn because i could either get 2 - brand new - Transparent Opus terminated for Boulder OR get my Audioquest Hurricane re-terminated for Boulder.... Damn it this is a tough one... |
Jay, I would suggest that you try the Transparent Opus. You know how the Audioquest sound. Since the purpose of Jay’s Audiolab is to try new stuff, it seems logical to try the Transparent Opus, especially if they could be re-terminated back to their stock version for resale, if you do not like them. It would be a mind bugger not knowing if the Opus is the holy grail of PC... |
This Saturday you will know from ME if the critical mass footers were snake oil or not with Boulder... It will be day 30 this Saturday so at this point it is sink or swim. I personally do not believe in going any longer than 30 days with any component. If you don’t like ANY COMPONENT within 30 days, guess what? David copperfield ain’t coming to make you magically like it. I strongly believe that if I don’t like something within the first hmmm 2-3 weeks, 99% chances that I won’t like it at any point of my ownership. Only few components (can count in one hand maybe) have changed the way I feel about it after 2 weeks. My judgement is pretty darn good with this. The truth will be told once I lift the massive boulders off the stand while my wife removes the footers and then I sit down and hear if things went backwards. Hell I might do a video of both presentations and let you all hear the difference but WITHOUT telling you which presentation is which. I still feel as if I lost this intense imaging the boulder had when I first got them. This is now missing ever since I used the footers. My ears will tell me immediately what happens once I remove the footers. |