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!
@technik MikeL’s Evolution Acoustics MM7 are not full range speakers with subs added on as a afterthought, but a four tower coherent system. One part was designed to work with the other, and was painstakingly set up/adjusted by the designer in the room. The room itself has been treated in every nook to accommodate these speakers and Mike has made small adjustments over many years. Not quite the same as taking a full range system and adding a set of aftermarket subs. Not that this can not be done successfully, but many end up overloading the room with loss of transparency in the process. Quite a few on WBF have ended up getting rid of their subwoofers after realizing this.
Jay - much earlier in the thread I asked you how you could possibly appreciate or evaluate any of your equipment when you were constantly changing the system virtually on a daily basis. You explained to me that your goal was to build a YouTube channel and a consultation service and that your target audience would not have the patience to wait a month between changes. I totally agreed with you that if your goal was to build a business, that seemed to be the correct path. At least that’s the way I remember it. But, IMO your tastes have evolved and you are talking about a system for yourself and asking your listeners to weigh in on whether you should choose a more analytical system or more "easy on the ears" components. I think your earlier answer to me still holds up. If you are choosing a system for yourself, you should pick whatever keeps your ass in the listening chair the longest. Period. Do you want to sit and listen or get up and screw around with the components? If you want a system for yourself, IMO the former wins every time hands down. But if you want to feed the audio junkies who salivate over Mephisto vs Boulder as if it were a wrestling match, then you should keep nothing and keep rotating new gear through your system and go through hours of listening to systems that make you want to leave the room. Neither decision is wrong, but it depends on your ultimate goal - System for yourself or build the YouTube channel,. I don’t think your audience would be thrilled with watching you sink into a cushy chair with a cigar and brandy listening to a beautiful-sounding system for 4 hours at a stretch, but who knows? People watch the fireplace videos at Christmas time so maybe. Excuse me if I am interpreting your posts incorrectly. I did not pour over every word of every post, so it's possible I got it wrong.
Really enjoyed the D’Agostino amps, very musical and enjoyable. These would be my choice over the hyper detailed etched sound. I’m surprised you are mixing it with the Boulder. Didn’t you always say keeping the same manufactures together for better synergy. Wonder how much better with the D’Agostino pre. Very very nice sound but I think you’ll find the matched setup to increase clarity. I based this on your past videos.
GuysThe dag pre was in my room already and with another wilson speaker. You could easily go back to my old videos and watch it play with my s250. It's mated with a wilson speaker and a dcs dac so you could easily have a very good idea of what it could sound like. Circle back to my old videos and listen to both components together.
Well, Unless I’m nuts, i don’t feel the critical mass footers have done anything special on the momentum m400s either. They have been under the boulder for 30 days straight, and now 5 days under the momentum. If someone comes in here and says I need to wait 30 days on the momentum too then I’ll give these things to my daughter so she can play with them in the pool or with her barbie dolls. Someone whose ears i trust contacted me and said that under his top end amps, the footers did NOTHING NADA that was positive. I’ll still give the momentum about another 5 days and see if anything got better.
This could be my preliminary opinion, (again just preliminary) but I think these things don’t have a positive effect on some of the best amps out there. I hope I don’t bite my tongue in 5 days but I will if things get better. I also think that if I didn’t have the boulders here then I could have easily been mislead into thinking that more brightness and synthetic elements are an improvement which the boulders totally dismantled for me the moment I remove them from under them.
On a different note, the transparent opus gen 5 boulder powercords are here... My gut says the boulders will catapult themselves to a whole new level, but my mind says to remain objective and see if things just became different and not necessarily better (as was the case with the footers). I had a conversation with boulder and they told me that changing cords will change the sound but that i need to remain clear as to whether this change is positive or negative and that people often times associate different with better. The reason why this audio industry exists and why manufacturers keep making tons of money from us is because we can’t differentiate between natural and unnatural sound. Often times, all manufacturers do is give us some seasoning sprinkled on their new model which in turn makes people think the product is superior. There aren’t substantial changes every 4-5 years when it comes to amps and preamps (dacs are different). The thing is WE DEMAND as consumers for new products to be constantly available to us or else we don’t buy. Take a look at the new 2021 cadillac escalade for example: it is the same engine as the previous generation... Almost identical horsepower too. This explains why some manufacturers like gryphon and boulder don't have a new amp or Preamp every 5 years as opposed to audio research which has a new linestage as soon as tax season is around the corner.
Closenplay-Yes there are challenges trying to convey the sound quality through YouTube - but it is more about giving the audiophile the opportunity to peak interest enough to stop over and audition. There aren’t enough dealers out there these days and we need to support one another. Our store in Huntington NY has over 20 different speakers to audition. You are also correct that Jays room and our showroom are different, the gear is different, and the speakers are different. But again it was not intended to compare- Jay simply suggested I purchase and use the same Shure MV 88+ microphone and use the same settings in the Shure App and use and have the average db at 82 and have some fun.
Maybe I was not clear, I ´m on the same side. I beleive the Wilson Alexx and those kind of reference speakers don’t need subwoofers. Or whats the purpose of getting huge reference speakers if bass was compromised or lacking.
t would be useful to know how low the Wilson's actually measure in Jays room, and if there are any room modes that need to be addressed, then one would know how flat the response is because more than likely it could be enhanced with a bit of dsp. I believe that Chris at Computer Audiophile or whatever that sites called now had that done with his Wilsons and said the improvement was profound.
This is why I urged Jay Very Hard to TRY the Lyngdorf Roomperfect , when he had the Mx160.. . It really isn't that hard to setup , several videos on it. I really wished that you had , so that you could at least give your opinion on it . I would bet that it would win you over. Maybe not , but I so wanted you to try it . It will integrate all of those subs and it will give you the best Bass that you have ever heard. read about it or ask anyone who uses it or has used it . I am quite sure that they will agree.
Tjassoc.....that add on super tweeter is the Enigma Acoustics Sopranino...very nice driver. The bookshelf speaker (mythology, I believe) that incorporated that driver was very impressive when I heard it a few shows ago.
@whitecamaross looking forward to hearing your observation on opus power cords. if they perform well and elevate the performance, they will be a bargain compared to nordost odin and odin 2 power cords and AQ dragon.
They are breaking in for the next 2 days. We will see how they do soon. Boulder is also expecting a call from me next week. They claim their amps are so well built that a Powercords should make marginal improvement.
Jay, did you read what you wrote before posting to get a feel for how that falls on the ears? Also, remember Boulder told you not to pet the sweaty issue of whether to use anything under their amps? Of course, you're gunna find out bout dem cords! At worst, what.......you just pay to have them re-terminated? Vegas prop bet: 10 to 1 kren or speed or both respond before Jay? (well...of course not now!) BTW where has speed been, as well as viber (seconding a previous inquiry)? Do hope everyone is healthy.
Finally got a chance to listen to the D'Agostino video. Not bad, but didn't have the bass control of the Alexx woofers that the Boulders or Mephisto did. Little looser with the Momentums I thought. Also less resolution in the treble vs Boulder. At least that's the way I'm hearing it.
Very good. Get ready, everything has transformed over the last 24 hours. The momentum has the upper hand when it comes to synergy with Wilson and the Mephisto and Boulder are superior designs that are banking on engineering to best the momentum’s compatibility with Alexx. More to come later this week. The momentum will go to battle against the Mephisto. I plan to do the very first 85-87 average db shootout. This will and should be drastically different than my previous shootouts. Are monoblocks really better than a single chassis stereo monaural design? $61,000 vs $65,000. Mephisto doesn’t seem to be the amp to be using footers with. Its feet are too tall and so it will sit on the stand as it has been while the momentum will probably be on the critical mass footers. Boulder is taking a back seat for this one. I got other things I want to evaluate with it such as Nordost odin speaker cables and opus powercords. I have a fourth set of amplifiers arriving this week. These are far more affordable and less powerful than any of my amps. More to come.
stop saying the Mephisto is a stereo amplifier. It’s 2 mono amplifiers joined together. 2 transformers, 2 POWERCORDS. This is not an opinion, it’s a fact.
Does it have two separate inputs? Does it have two independent outputs? If so, it's a stereo amp. The rest is just topology.
2 powercords, 2 transfo , 2 mirrors boards. That’s 2 mono (glued together ). You are wrong on this specific matter and simply won’t admit it.
Does the amplifier accept two independent inputs and provide two independent outputs? That’s a stereo amplifier, by definition. A mono amplifier can only drive one channel. I’m not sure why you insist otherwise - you seem to be preoccupied with the amplifier’s topology.
You might want to check out Gryphon’s website here. You'll see that Gyrphon makes it clear which of its amps are mono an which ones are stereo. The page dedicated to the Mephisto calls the amplifier "Mephisto Stereo," and rightly so. Perhaps you think the manufacturer is also "wrong on this specific matter and simply won’t admit it." You might want to contact them directly!
... Playing with words to misguide...It’s not a stereo amplifier
Are you claiming that Gryphon is "misguiding" its customers by calling it a stereo amplifier? Did you check the links I provided you: Gryphon’s website and the amp’s "Mephisto Stereo" page? The manufacturer itself clearly describes the amplifier as stereo. So perhaps rather than arguing with me you should take your issue up with Gryphon.
The "Mephisto Stereo" - that is exactly what Gryphon calls it - is indeed a dual-mono stereo amp. I’m surprised that this nomenclature causes you such confusion.
Dual mono amps bolted together——— two powercords. ( call it stereo if the illusion is your cup of tea)
Gryphon can call it what they want, they are misguiding as it is not a typical stereo amplifier ...
Gryphon is also not saying out loud you need to blow out $ for two powercords...https://gryphon-audio.dk/shop/power-amplifiers/mephisto/ NOWHERE on that page they tell this to the reader, not even in the described « « pure power in power out » section. Why is Gryphon not mentioning this most important detail ?
techno__dude, Mono = single or one by definition. To me, even if they are dual mono amps, the second they are bolted together, they become a stereo amp - it's now two channels in one block.
No worries if you see it and define it differently - don't stress about it. I understand the gist of what you are saying - the two channels are more isolated than typical stereo amps - more like two separate amps than typical stereo amps. Dave
Yeah, not sure why it really matters so much. Nobody here is really confused about what it is. Chill. In a month or so it'll be gone, most likely, maybe sooner.
i won’t spill it out just yet... i want to be sure BEFORE i say something.
Well guys, since i did not have the best experience with the Critical Mass footers, i started thinking today and i was wondering if the Mephisto COULD be feeling a little "in your face" due to the Critical Mass stand.
Do you all recall me saying when i first got the Mephisto that it seemed very "energetic" at times to the point that it was just a little too much? Well, a lightbulb went off today in my head today and i decided to remove the Mephisto and place it on top of the Artesania stand that you have seen in my room. In order to make the Mephisto fit, i had to remove its feet from underneath and secure the screws on the chassis by using a nut. Anyhow, long story short, the Mephisto is now resting on the Artesania stand and i am SUPER EXCITED to hear how it will sound after a few days of letting the weight settle. I am thrilled to hear the Mephisto soon and i am predicting that it might be an incredible improvement from where it was before. (fingers crossed). If it isn’t the case, i will be sure to share that. This is going to turn into a Critical Mass stand versus Artesania :-)
WC, You’ve mused recently about feeling unsure about which direction to go with the channel as you’ve said you are having a hard time finding amplifiers that are interesting to you moving up higher from current position.
Well, here is an idea that will cause your # of subscribers to explode (I predict to over 15k or 20k, from the current less than 4k, and will also cause huge new views of old videos and set you up to really take off.
Why do I say that? Well the three things that will really drive subscriptions and active following are: 1) reviewing things that are interesting to people not just for theoretical reasons, but which are actually within the realistic wheelhouse of many more than that of current crop of gear reviewed on channel; 2) creating a competition; and 3) inviting active participation. This will do all of that.
Ok, great, that gets people interested, but why would it be interesting to you? Well, this idea will give you a solid 3 months worth of content possibilities, as I will lay out. Also, it will allow easy parrallels to be drawn by you to past videos and invite people to go listen to them (driving viewership), and it will relate to the reference equipment you currently have (Boulder, Alexx, etc.). And it will be something that nobody has ever done before, not at this level (I’m assuming - not a YT audio expert so I could be wrong).
You can thank me by sending me the crappiest loom of cables you have in the corner that you don’t want any more. Haha, jk.
So what is it? First, all you will need to do to free up the funds to do this is sell Gryphon Mephisto and Pandora, as their combined msrp should exceed the msrp of everything I mention (assuming you can get used versions of everything so that the costs will roughly balance, give or take a rounding error which in your world is low five figures, probably, ha, meant as a compliment).
Okay, what I’m envisioning is something that pits top integrated amps from many of the same companies that serve as gateways to the hi-end separates that are your passion. You’ve had some of these previously (providing opportunities to link to old videos), and some will be new but you have had their pricier bretheren (again, opportunity to link to old videos).
So, announcing: WC’s 7-way "Survivor" style integrated amplifier shootout, where WC will get 50% say of who stays and who goes, and the YT subscribers (via polls on YT channel - again, opportunity for growth) vote to decide based on head to head competitions who stays and who goes, until the list narrows down to the winner. That 50% number picked arbitrarily so that you retain a big say in outcome (as you are only one in room), yet give subscribers a huge say as well. Alter according to preference if appropriate.
Basically a shootout of top integrated amps in the $9-15k price range, which are much more realistic to acquire for many audiophiles as compared to your reference gear, but will serve as gateways to eventually acquiring gear like you have now.
This is still different than anything anyone has done before, so you will still be breaking new ground. But you’ll be doing it in a way that will attract more people and if you execute it well they will stay with you and grow into all the old videos (growth opportunity for views) and anticipate when you get back to reference quality reviews.
You could pit the speakers head-to-head one on one, or play all 7 and ask to vote off the weakest. Lots of ways it could be handled. But each round could play out over a week or so, maybe two weeks.
So what speakers to use? Well, Alexx is probably not the best choice, but good to have also to try them with, to see which can handle the difficult load. But the obvious choice to use as the workhorse speakers with these integrateds willl be the Sasha DAW. Why? Well you already know the least expensive L590AXii drives that speaker well (you told us), so the others should be able to as well. And, it will open up comparison possibilities with Alexx (that’s a whole string of content), and open up look-back opportunities for all the old DAW videos (again, pushing up views). I think you could get the DAW and all 7 integrateds for close to what Mephisto and Pandora would net, again, give or take.
There are just so many possibilities that you could do with all of this. If you wanted to make it 10 integrateds for round numbers, maybe add D’Ag integrated, Diablo 300 (though both more expensive than the $15k cutoff), or Simaudio or Rowland or Hegel 590 or .....
Admittedly, this would be driven not necessarily by what is most interesting to you (I’m sure this isn’t as high on your list as 2160 vs Mephisto), but it would have explosive interest among audiophiles who already subscribe and many more who haven’t yet. It would be for brand and channel building, primarily.
Anyway, give it some thought...... Conceived of it driving in to work today. No worries if it is too big an undertaking for you to go down, as it for sure would be a lot to tackle
WC, You could also do the absolutely ridiculous and give the Emotiva XPA-DR1 monos (650W into 8ohms, 1000 into 4ohms) a try with the Wisons - can you imagine that? An under $2400 pair of monos with an over $100K speaker. Or, maybe it’s not too ridiculous, considering that you had the lower priced Tektons with your higher priced electronics.
I think there’s a lot of Emotiva followers, so you might gain a whole crowd with that kind of video.
Anyway, just fun things to think about. Ultimately, you always bring the fun WC. Dave
Hey.....while we're spending your money, how about room treatments? There's Synergistic Research, ASC, GIK Acoustics, Vicoustic, Auralex, Stillpoints Aperture etc....Man you could do shootouts for months.
You all ready? Boulder and Transparent are about to be front and center. This time, 85db average instead of the typical 82db. Ever wondered what 1,000 watts of class a is like at 85db? Grab your drinks...coming... Headphones or no headphones...won’t matter...
Ok, the youtube comments are going up in flames on this last video. What can we expect from the momentum? What have the footers done to the momentum after 7 days? Is this recent presentation of the boulders a hard act to follow for the momentum or the mephisto? What if I said there are a few tricks left that i am working on for the other 2 amps? Would you all still believe that this is a hard act to follow for the other two amps no matter what I do ?
So as not to sound like a "Debbie Downer" ( never an intent, just keeping it real), I'll try to serve up the old good, bad, good sandwich. Good--- good on you if you prefer the T cords over stock. Bad---If you want us to accurately compare the sound of the T cords with the stock, you need to play all the same songs (as before) at the same level, 82 db (as before). Otherwise you're just comparing apples to oranges. Also, there is big time distortion in Liberty, assuming it is the mic overloading. The influence of your room on the sound is also becoming more apparent the higher the sound level. Hard to believe only one or two tubers heard the distortion?!?! Probably speaks to what most are listening through. To Mahgister's (much respect, btw) point........Amazing how most are waxing obsequiously about the sound quality when the same song will sound better by streaming it directly. They act as if the sound is magically better through the tube because of Jay's system...whaaaaa? Good----(sorry, a twofer) Fabulous if you get even more of that Boulder goodness with the T cords!
@closenplay: You aren't saying nothing that hasn't already been said on my previous videos...i also have not done the before and after video with powercords but IF YOU KNOW AAAAANYTHING about me, you'd know that the video comparing both cables will come. The intent of the video was to showcase the cables in order to get a reference point as they continue to be broken in. Once I feel i have given them enough break in time, I'll do the before and after video. When it comes to the so called "influence of my room", i don't think there is a room where you couldn't hear something vibrate, rattle, etc when you have this massive power thrown at you unless you are playing music in a cell inside alcatraz where all walls are concrete. If I could transport my system into your room, i promise you, you'll hear something vibrate somewhere as you push things this hard which by the way I couldn't quite handle for long periods of time. I felt like I was sitting on a massaging chair because it vibrated. The distortion could be the mic but I didn't get the "clipping" red light it has alerting you when it's clipping which is interesting.
WC, Sounds really good - very impressive. So, you replaced the power cords on the Boulders, but I also wonder how much of a difference it is making that you have the DAGs on top of the Boulders. I'm guessing that also affects the sound by damping the top plates of the amps. Once you are done with the CMS footers testing, you could try the Boulders with and without those amps/foorters on top. Dave
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