Correction to my above post. The 8 inch Lii drivers ($500 a pair delivered) would get 50hz in room on the baffle I described......my friend in Pocoima has the 99 db 10 inch drivers on his baffle and they measure flat to 40hz. A pair of the 10 inch drivers are $1300 delivered (less than one quarter the cost of one Jay interconnect).
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
Chazzy, since you and Viber were both interested, here’s a short paragraph I copied from one of the reviews of the more recent SA1 that provides more context on that 1970s rivalry I mentioned: zstereo review, zstereo.co.uk, review from 2014 The original Spendor SA1 was launched just before the BBC LS3/5a surfaced back in the early nineteen seventies, and many thought it was a better sounding loudspeaker than its more popular rival. But the SA1 you see here is a distant cousin, and has evolved a lot since then. Only its dimensions (305x165x190mm) are shared – which coincidentally are exactly the same as the LS3/5a, but rotated through ninety degrees – along with the use of an infinite baffle cabinet design |
chazzzy, Thanks for the violin video, which I saw before. In the opening, you see Daniel Hope, a prominent violinist talking and playing. Unfortunately, he is playing in a very reverberant large room with wood floors and no furniture. No good audiophile would put his system in such a room. One time I went to a leading London dealer and was considering two great 18th century violins. His showroom was small but very reverberant. My favorite was violin A. I went back to the hotel and played in the wall-to-wall carpeted cafeteria. This time I preferred violin B. I was confused and didn’t buy either one. I found that in reverberant rooms the sound is darker in sound, with more low freq emphasis. The best rooms for playing, as with audio systems, are some magical combination of bare floors, carpets and other room treatments. I tried my Beyerdynamic DT 880 headphones into the headphone jack of the iMac. No question that the headphones better reveal the full range sound and spatial qualities than just the stock audio coming out of the mediocre speakers on the back. But the closet-like headphone effect is a disadvantage compared with the openness of even mediocre speakers in a room. These 880’s were the top choice of Headroom, a now defunct company for headphone amps and headphones. They have a gentle, tasteful HF rise which is good for detail. But I found that the crummy Beats phones sold by Apple produces inferior sound to listening to just the computer system without Beats. More in a PM to you. |
opm, Reverb magnifies and scatters all frequencies. I found when playing my violin is that it sounds darker in a very reverberant room than in a room with the right mixture of bare floors and a little carpet, etc. My friend observed this when he listened to me play. Of course, the other extreme of completely carpeted yields dull sound because of absorption at all freq. In reverberant concert halls, this effect is exaggerated--midhall sounds totally veiled because of all the multi path effects. I don't have a technical explanation of what I hear. Room treatments have the most benefits in reducing smear from low freq, but bad reverberant rooms smear HF as well, resulting in darker sound. 35 years ago, TAS had a review of top world concert halls. They rated the Vienna Musikverein as #1, and said that any seat sounded excellent. So I went, and tried the 3rd, 12th and 25th rows. That hall is fairly reverberant with its wooden floor, chairs and walls. The 3rd row was clear, but the 12th was rolled off, and the 25th was so badly smeared that I moved closer because it was intolerable. What a BS review from TAS. |
Here is a quick Sunday video: https://youtu.be/YkJpQFRasgE Constellation Audio Centaur monos Footers removed Notice the "attitude" of the speaker. Not as "agitated" as you heard before. Please familiarize yourself with this song beforehand so you can understand the vocals and what they sound like. If you use headphones, the bass should be quite obvious more than ever before. |
The Constellation/Rossini combo sounds quite good. Very natural but also tonally rich. I went back and listened to the Evo video again after the Constellation video. There is just something about the Evo’s presentation that is so luscious that it makes me want to hear more. Jay there was one thing about the Constellation video. The flute at the end was on the verge of sibilance in my headphone system. TBH I’ve never heard a flute being sibilant. The bullets maybe? Are they exaggerating the highs a bit much? Do you really need them in this kind of revealing speaker? Food for thought. Thanks for sharing these tidbits and tweaks. I find them just as interesting as the shootouts bud... 🍻🍻🍻 |
Yes you need the bullets. It’s not good to remove them but can be done. You should know that this song does have vocals that project out into the room. This is why I said for people to hear this song before they listen to the video. The song does not have the best vocals but i shot the video to let you all hear the overall feeling of what happened to the speaker. Remember one thing, excessive detail and clarity will lead to short listening sessions if played loud enough. I can’t sit in front of something that has too much of either for longer than 30-45 min. My ears begin to tap out. My ears seek resolution with some warmth in the mix. I can't even drink too much coffee or else i feel "off" all day long. |
Yup I get it. In my 2 channel system I don’t experience that same kind of listening fatigue because I listen at lower volumes than you. I’m my headphone rig though subtle changes in that near field presentation can make my rig almost unbearable. In the same breath done right, the subtleties of detail and textures in a properly tuned headphone rig are incredible and one of the reasons I enjoy them so much. In my headphone system the difference In tonal signature between both is surprisingly small. Just a tad bit of warmth/richness or dryness one way or the other. |
chazzzy, The recording is on the laid back, mellow side, then all of a sudden near the end, the higher pitched flute surprises with its loudness. I didn't hear much HF from the flute, but it is brighter than the preceding instruments, so appears to stick out on this veiled recording. The ear is most sensitive at 3-4 kHz, so we are hearing high energy in this upper midrange/lower HF region. Sibilance is usually at 6 kHz, and is usually heard with consonants of the voice especially since singers often put their lips on the mike. Processing effects exaggerate this. |
Tomorrow’s video will be about my own trials and the steps i feel are important when it comes to building your next system. 1130 AM ET https://youtu.be/0lYJFmcRNBE |
@jays_audio_lab I would like to see you try out the Starsound Technologies http://starsoundtechnologies.com/ComponentPlatformsDetail.php?SP-SA-XL-2 This for speaker platforms http://starsoundtechnologies.com/ComponentPlatformsDetail.php?SP-SA-XL-28 I think this is kind of impressive . The list of people at the company and their Education and background Mission Statement: The mission of Star Sound Technologies, LLC is to promote and advance fact-based research and consumer education surrounding vibration in musical reproduction through the promotion of Live-Vibe Technology™. Adapting this technology to improve the sound from audio and video related products, listening and recording structural environments as well as musical instruments. Enriching the world with higher levels of musical dynamics and harmonic structure maximizing the human emotional and physical experience through listening.
Meet our Personell: .Mr. Robert MaicksPresident Mr. Robert Maicks has over forty years experience including the areas of the recording sciences, sound reinforcement engineering, stage development and concert production. Throughout his career he has attained additional experience in product development, manufacturing and many additional facets of business such as marketing, retail operations and professional sales training. In the audio/video and music related fields, Mr. Maicks has developed an honest reputation as an open minded, well informed industry reference for both consumers and manufacturers alike. His ability to merge public demand with industry-first concepts and products has provided a solid yet extremely versatile foundation for the success of Star Sound Technologies, LLC. Executive Vice President A Lehigh University graduate, Mr. Locke Highleyman has accrued extensive experience with the mechanical and electrical engineering arenas. A founding father of Star Sound Technologies, LLC, he not only participates in multiple research and development capacities but is also heavily involved with hands on prototyping new designs. He continues to expand our product suite and is heavily involved in developing test plans for third party product research and performance validation. Material Science Engineering & Development Star Sound Technologies Research & Development Board Graduate of Indiana University Robert McKinney School of Law Graduate of Lehigh University - Materials Science & Engineering Mr. David Roberts has held diverse roles including serving as CEO for EnerDel, a Board member of a Chinese joint venture with Wanxiang, IP counsel for Caterpillar, an engineer with Lockheed Martin and is a patent & business attorney in private practice with Gutwein Law. Mr. Roberts now serves as President of BIC - Battery Innovation Center, a public-private partnership catalyzing next generation energy storage solutions by incorporating leadership from academia, industry, and government to quickly build, develop, and test safe, reliable, low-cost, and lightweight energy storage systems. Mechanical Engineering & Development Star Sound Technologies Research & Development Board Graduate of Lehigh University - Mechanical Engineering & Computer Sciences Mr. Todd Zimmer specializes in static and dynamic mechanical systems analysis, and is actively involved in overseeing all in-house engineering projects, including CAD design and CNC development. Mr. Zimmer holds the position of senior managing engineer at Sargent Manufacturing Company | ASSA ABLOY Engineering & Development Star Sound Technologies Research & Development Board Graduate of AMU Technical University Hedemora , Sweden - Electrical Engineering While in Sweden, Mr. Peter Israelson worked for over a quarter century years designing and engineering state-of-the-art amplification. Along with his formal education, Mr. Israelson has an innate ability for merging the concepts of electrical design theory with the stimulating emotion of auditory perception. He is well known for his ability to carefully match components to maximize musical sound quality in any design. Mr. Israelson is currently building State-Of-The-Art amplifiers using Magnetic Conduction Technology developed and patented by Magnetic Innovations LLC working with our dear friend and innovator, Rick Schultz of High Fidelity Cables. Magnets are used to conduct signal compared to copper wire and the results deserve an audition - amazing is an understatement. Product Development Specialist Star Sound Technologies Research & Development Board Mr. Thomas DeVuono worked in the music and audio fields since 1972. Moving forward as a sales and technical trainer for Ovation Audio where he met and trained with industry personalities as Nelson Pass, John Dunlavy and Tomlinson Holman, Mr. DeVuono joined the team at Star Sound Technologies, LLC in 2000 and participated in the development of Sistrum Platforms, the Caravelle Loudspeaker System and the STAGE Platforms Project. In 2000 Mr. DeVuono began the research and development of a brass endpin designed to enhance the sound of a cello. We initiated production seventeen years later. The Tone Acoustics Enpin replacements are recognized as one of the finest upgrades for cello and upright bass ever manufactured and are being sold on a global basis. Currently Mr. DeVuono and Star Sound Engineers are applying Live-Vibe Technology to tympany, vibes, marimba and drum kits with the goal of developing a standard system for the concert grand piano. Corporate Development Officer Star Sound Technologies Research & Development Board Graduate of The University of Wisconsin – Madison. Holds undergraduate degrees in business administration & economics and an MBA degree in marketing. Mr. Dale Humphrey has been involved with many aspects of the audio business for over thirty years spanning retail sales experience, distribution and business strategy. His primary vocation is in financial services and he has leveraged this background to advice a number of audio-focused organizations to refine their competitive positioning, set product development and manage sales channels. Mr. Humphrey began working with Star Sound Technologies in 2012 and assists in a number of projects including financial management, factoring product development and sales strategy. Mr. Jeff Whetstone Electrical Engineering & Program SpecialistStar Sound Technologies Research & Development Board Graduate of Lehigh University - Electrical Engineering Mr. Jeff Whetstone, as an Electrical Engineer for AMETEK Aerospace and Defense, currently designs instrumentation including active capacitance-based fluid level sensors and fuel gauging systems. As a talented musician, Mr. Whetstone's passion for electronically reproducing the "live performance" fuels his involvement in the refinement of our product circuitry build and function. Engineering & Technical Advisor Graduate of Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (D.E.E.) Dr. Wilbur Highleyman holds fourteen U.S. patents and has been published extensively. He has been responsible for implementing dozens of real-time mission-critical systems for companies such as Amtrak, Dow Jones, Time, McGraw Hill, Tandem, Federal Express, Chemical Bank, SIAC, Smith Kline, G. E. Credit, Southeast Bank, Harris Satellite, A. C. Nielson, and Harris Satellite. He has published extensively on availability, performance, testing, middleware, and other technical topics. He is the author of Performance Analysis of Transaction Processing Systems, published by Prentice-Hall, and is co-author of the three-volume series, Breaking the Availability Barrier. These books are available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. Dr. Highleyman is co-inventor of "Method of increasing system availability by splitting a system," U. S. Patent No. 7,113,938; "Asynchronous coordinated commit replication and dual write with replication transmission and locking of target database on updates only," U. S. Patent No. 7,177,866; and "Split processing system for providing increased system availability," U. S. Patent No. 7,194,488. He is also co-inventor on several other patents and patent applications in the fields of continuous- and high-availability technologies. He is past chairman of ITUG, the HP NonStop Users' Group, and is active in presenting availability seminars and providing availability consulting. Dr. Highleyman is also a sought-after technical writer and researcher on a wide variety of technical subjects. Dr. Highleyman focuses on development of test plans for third party product research and performance validation. They call it "Vibration Management for Superior Sound" That is what their platforms are designed to do They Good thing is they do not cost 5-10k. I cannot fathom why any of these devices should. just make sure to buy the Audio points (spikes) and the coupling discs . They are sold separately. One set of Audio Points goes on the bottom of the platform and with your Carpet , you doo not need coupling discs for the bottom( only for hardwood and such on the bottom). Then for the topside of each platform you need a set of the Audio Points (they come in different heights) AND the coupling discs . they go between the spikes and the speaker bottom side , so that you do not scratch the hell out of the bottom of the speakers like dummy me. 100% Total and Complete Guarantee .Star Sound Technologies, LLC is committed to 100% Total and Complete Customer Satisfaction throughout all of our product offerings. Sorry to paste so much info about the people at the company. At least you do not have to pay for WebSpace. and I kind of figured that most people here would not even click on the link, if i put one up. At least it shows that there products are based on or developed from SCIENCE, |
kw6, Thanks for your input, but in my experience Martin Logans with their curved panels have less clarity in HF than the few straight panels like my Audiostatic 240. The original Kingsound King was the best of that company. Sanders Sound Systems are decent straight panels. ML designs yield a large sweet spot, but due to multipath distortion and rolloff of HF off axis, are not as revealing as straight panels, which have to be carefully angled to face the listener's ears. Narrow sweet spot, but worth it for a single listener. Curved panels have multipath HF smearing, and Jay actually demonstrated that a Wilson had better clarity than Martin Logan 13. I love the HF on Jay's XLF, finding them more revealing than most electrostatics, which are curved. I do appreciate the uniform coherence of most electrostatic panels in their range, but HF is their shortcoming. In fact, way back, the Koss 1A was a large stat panel with a large dome tweeter for HF. At the time, I didn't understand their rationale for using an "inferior" dynamic tweeter. But the overall sound of that Koss was excellent--the dynamic tweeter had excellent HF extension which complemented the midrange and bass transparency of the stat panel. No doubt that your Logan does a good job with the saxophone, which is mainly a midrange instrument. But for the HF bite of the sax, I like straight panels better. |
i have received many emails throughout the year asking how they go about building their system. Many channels don't really address this so i decided to use my personal trials and experience with different components in order to go over best practices to build a system: 1130 am ET today https://youtu.be/0lYJFmcRNBE Hope you all enjoy |
Yes Viber6 I agree that on stats flat panel is better but Martin Logan was just an example that is efficient enough to go with 40 watts of tube push pull. I never heard the top of the line Wilson’s only their lower models like Sabrina old model and Sasha. Maybe next yr Audio shows will be back in full swing and I can have a listen. But I have listened to me many so called high end speakers where you get the force of the acoustic instrument but sounds hard and grating and want to turn it down. With stats it’s there in the room with the force and brilliant tone of of the violin. But since you are a musician I trust your ears 😁 |
kw6, Also, for the violin I prefer ultimate HF extension which gives the bite and attack. The miracle of the live violin or any other brilliant instrument is the marriage of sweetness with bite/attack, which no system quite manages to do. One day a fabulous transducer will be available, driven by the sweetness of tubes. I heard the Alan Hill-designed Plasmatronics speaker which used the plasma gas above 500 Hz. Very natural and sweet HF. Some electrostatics were driven directly by tubes, such as the original Beveridge, Acoustat X. I heard that Beveridge, but it was a little rolled off in HF, still with a wonderful midrange and spatial effect. A later Beveridge was a conventional stat able to be used with any amp, which I never heard. |
kw6, Right. Stats have great purity so you can get nice subtle punch and crispness with low SPL. I am happy with string quartets played at average levels of 50-60 dB and peaks of 80 dB. The high efficiency of hybrid Logans gives great satisfaction for higher SPL's in classical and jazz music, but for loud rock, dynamic speakers are better. Sanders Sound Systems uses hybrids with straight panels, also good efficiency. Very reasonable prices due to sales direct. 30 day free trial, and Roger Sanders is a nice guy to talk to. He started out using curved panels, and switched to flat panels. His white paper on the subject is informative. Unfortunately, he is a small company, so doesn't get good rooms at shows. I heard one in a customer's large room at his home and was impressed, but at a NY show it was demonstrated in a tiny room and sounded mediocre. |
I prefer three 20a. One for both monos and then that leaves you 2 more for the rest. Remember that some components don’t sound great into a power conditioner. Having spare outlets is a must. Two 20a outlets will easily be used up. Gryphon stereo amps do not sound great when plugged into 2 different outlets. The bass doesn’t sound right and there is a light that turns on that says "phase" indicating an issue with the phase. It needs to be plugged into one outlet. |
Alright, Well another preamp is getting on a plane tomorrow and headed my way this week after it clears customs. This will be the most expensive linestage (Msrp that is) that I've owned. It is a current model and no i don't have the matching amps. Will this preamp sing with my constellation or gryphon amps? We will soon find out! |
I know it can be difficult on YT but i would like to hear a larger selection of music. Most on YT seem to have the same cherry picked playlist same genre ect. Even none audiophile recordings can have Easter eggs in them. I was at the audio show a couple weeks ago and it was amazing and boring at how many rooms were playing the same music. |
I agree but if i play different music then 5,500 people could say the opposite of what you are saying. If i embark on playing requests then: 1. I become a dj that doesn’t get paid what dj Tiesto gets paid while taking music requests from the entire world 2. People continue to forget that YouTube blocks songs that have copyrights. I’ve said this many times. You realize how many times I’ve tried to upload Fleetwood Mac? 3. Most people want the same songs so they can compare to previous versions of my system . 4. Playing new songs means people need to familiarize themselves with it or else they judge the system based on how poor or imperfect the song might sound. A perfect example would be one of the last videos i posted with constellation Audio. The mids on that song are projected and at times not the purest but then people think it's the system lol. Yet, they haven't actually heard that song before. See my point? |
Totally correct. Reference songs are needed, so we can judge the objective quality of the system, not the beauty of the song. In a way, the music shouldn't be too enjoyable, because then we would get distracted from the purpose of A/B'ing. Good music can be enjoyed on a mediocre system, which is not the purpose of the A/B. Jay, I'll be a little contradictory and ask you to play the same songs from the video from ricevs, of the Lil Audio Silver 8. I reposted it on the previous page 334. The next video of the smaller Lil Audio is veiled and rolled off compared to Alexx on the song, "Liberty." However, the Silver 8 seems to be outstanding, far superior to the smaller Lil Audio. How it objectively compares to your XLF system is unknown. Both are superb in different ways. That's the value of A/B'ing on the same songs. Thanks. |
Coming soon... My new linestage: Soulution 725. Will it best my Gryphon Pandora? We shall find out ! I have huge expectations for this preamp. Feedback I've received from those who have owned it: - incredible dynamics - amazing bass - 8k resolution - musical Will it best my Gryphon? Can this preamp make my Gryphon amps sound better than their own preamp? Can constellation Audio sound better with this ? I'm extremely excited to find out. |
If the Soulution 725 has the expected characteristics of-- incredible dynamics - amazing bass - 8k resolution - musical, Then Yes to all your questions--"Will it best my Gryphon? Can this preamp make my Gryphon amps sound better than their own preamp? Can constellation Audio sound better with this?" Why? 8k resolution means clarity, which makes everything sound better=more clarity. After a while, once you understand this basic principle, you won't have to keep spending big bucks to verify all this again and again in many systems. Unless you keep trying to flavor your sound according to taste, which can change all the time. |
We shall see how the Soulution 725 does in here. We can not overlook "synergy" here. If i were to discover that the Pandora sounds better with Gryphon amps than the Soulution 725, does this mean the Soulution sucks? no... it means it does not "click" well with Gryphon amps or Constellation or whatever else i have. I am playing with great components so i doubt that anything i have in my possession is no good. I have quite a challenge coming because having 4 preamps in here will make things quite tough for me. I doubt that there will be one of them that will make all amps sound better than the rest of the preamps. I think each preamp will make a particular amp sing better and it will be up to me to decide which combination will stay. In my opinion, it is MUCH HARDER to evaluate preamplifiers than amplifiers if the preamps on hand are excellent that is. |
If you find that Pandora + Essence/Antileon "clicks" for you, that means you like the relatively euphonic sound of that combo. But I believe you value clarity more than some people think you do, and my point was that the clearer (so we think from others' experiences) 725 will enhance the clarity of everything--amps, speakers, cables, stands, whatever. Getting the XLF was a quantum leap in clarity which we both appreciate. Your passion for its revealing clarity leads you to be even more enthusiastic at obtaining pieces with reputations for extraordinary clarity, such as the 725. There will never be too much resolution/clarity if you keep SPL's sensible. You already sweetened the XLF will the gold bullets, so I predict the 725 will be a clear winner in every sonic department. For me, I prefer the greater air and crispness of the silver bullets, and I predict that the 725 will still win with silver bullets. Either gold or silver, 725 the probable winner. Since I recently did better time alignment of my tweeters with my main speakers, I have obtained much greater clarity. With the same Mytek amp, I can't believe how much more music I am appreciating. More details effortlessly come through, and I wonder how I could have missed a few basic melodic lines before. |
WC, Speaking of line conditioner, have you ever done a comparison of line conditioners? I know you’ve had the Audioquest Niagara and the Shunyata Denali/Everest. Perhaps a video with your opinion on what they contribute and what they take away (if anything) and how they compare? Have you had the SR PowerCell? Dave |
i will lay it real simple here: IF you have electronics that have some sort of external power supply like the boulder 2110 preamp for example, you are wasting your time and money using a power conditioner. My Pandora linestage has an external power supply and when i go into the Shunaya, it sounds compressed, choked, terrible. I am a believer that components that already have well-designed power supplies dont need stupid line conditioners. Will there be exceptions? of course, there will always be a component here and there that will respond positively to a line conditioner even though it has its own external power supply, but that is hardly ever the case. I will say that about 3/4 of my 2 channel electronics are not really benefiting much from the Shunyata everest. The MSB also was choked by the Shunyata by the way and well it does have 2 external power bases.. The DCS did improve with the Shunyata and so did my Marantz home theater processor as well as my 8 channel ATI Class D amp. |