My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!

@kren0006 

Amén brother !

Well folks, after a year of hard work and dedication and many hurdles, my website is finally LIVE!!!. 

I am very happy and somewhat emotional at the same time because the amount of leg work, anxiety, financial commitment and backaches have been overwhelming, but I finally did it and I hope you guys enjoy this. 

Within the members section, there are over 5 hours worth of content that has NEVER BEEN SEEN before on my Youtube channel. 

Thanks for the support and remember, I couldn't do this without you!

Cheers!

Why do you refer to Jay as WC?  I mean I know it was initially referred to as that, sort of, but once he was Jay’s…, why?

@rpeluso - As I recall his username was initially WhiteCamaroSS.

I still refer to him as WC too.   If he lets us know a preference, I will use that going forward.   If he doesn't care, then it doesn't matter.

Dave

For 80% of this thread he was WC. Only last 20% Jay. So we are grandfathered in. Even if he prefers Jay I’ll stick with WC, haha  ; )

Jay/WC/Jaywc/wcJ/whitecamaros/Best sound east of the Mississippi (sorry OCD Mikey). We all should be congratulating u on the website. That is such a HUGE achievement, the effort and outlay i can’t fathom and the looks are fantastic. One element I was most curious about before choosing mid or hi tier:

- level of access to your extra videos depending on the tiers of subscription. From what I infer “hi” tier has the most but how does that compare to mid vs low?

Congrats again on this next step

The number of videos are primarily based on the component rankings i provide for each group. There are plenty of videos on all groups but the top group has my raw opinion on "garbage" components which the rest of the groups don’t see. I also have an active WhatsApp group for the top membership. All these members were shown yesterday on camera the new boss amplifier plus everything i have hiding in the room. In short, it’s not just videos but also live chat with me via WhatsApp.

Interesting website.  Unique are the offerings of esoteric stands/isolation components I have not seen elsewhere.

One suggestion.  Change the wording of the three membership levels.  Low-fi and mid-fi members who still pay a significant fee are striving for the best hifi components they can afford don't consider themselves low-fi or mid-fi.  Excellence can be found at all price levels.  How about this for the three membership levels--good, better, best.  OR--tier 1, tier 2, tier 3.  Arts organizations that seek support have membership levels such as--friend, generous supporter, angel benefactor.  Etc.  

@viber6 

Perhaps, the support should come by becoming a member first and then you can  send a private note with your recommendations? 

I watched the video. In my opinion the comments succinctly summarize the differences between two different amplifiers. Moreover, I submit the comments more broadly describe differences we hear between systems, some being "truthful" and others "colored". My opinion has always been there isn't an "absolute better" component and/or sound, because it comes down to the end users preferences. 

WC,

On the website, under My Journey, I see Brands I Represent at the bottom of the page.  I was curious, so I clicked on those links to look at the manufacturer's site.  However, the IsoAcoustics link is going to the wrong place.  Just thought I would let you know.

Dave

Thanks Dave. It has been fixed 

Does your website have a forum? For some reason I thought it was going to, unless you don't see it unless your logged in.

I didn't know you sold IsoAcoustics, I've seen discussions about stands maybe I just didn't make the connection. I just bought a pair for my front speakers.

Nice website I deal with websites in my work and they all say to put your journey on it, it draws people in and connects them with you. 

No forums YET... Thats a full time job...the site will eventually scale up and more will be added. 

All subscribed and rolling these past few days. Already enjoying the extra video content and worth every penny, to me. Honestly, so many of us enjoy/have enjoyed, and learned from, your thread and content for so long, I feel like there should have been more monetary support along the way. so thanks. and looking fwd to all that is to come.

@zprr 

thanks for the support!

I liked amplifier #2 better than #1, especially on tracks 2 and 3. I thought the clarity was better and the dynamics were better. Piano sounded more real; same with trumpet. Gonna go watch the reveal video now.

Edit: Wow, surprised. A new king!

I’m sure many will be surprised that the Luxman was the winner. It’s called selecting a product based on listening as opposed to reading subjective reviews, looking at pictures and advertising.  I think people want products that actually sound good as opposed to ones that let you know how crappy the source material is. Maybe mastering engineers need that, but it gets old fast at home. 

Good points. You all should have been extremely surprised with this last shootout because i was. I even had to change my pick !!!

WC,

Seems like Luxman really upped their game with this new amp.   I think this goes back to one of the negatives you had about the Pass Labs amps - that they haven't really done substantial upgrades.   I think the .8 series came out 8 years ago. 

Dave

The Luxman is just a typical warm SS amp for lovers of tube sound.  Compared to the G Essence, it is fuller/richer in the midrange and bass, just like tubes.  This fullness yields more dynamics and an easy going tonal balance.  The G Essence is less full in the midrange, so it appears less dynamic, in a manner like the Simaudio.  I agree with everything Jay, Carlos and Oz said about how the Essence is more focused, revealing with a more open soundstage than the Luxman.  Oz rated the Luxman at 7, and Essence at 9.5.  I agree.  The Essence is smooth and actually more musical than the Luxman, in the sense that it is more accurate and true to life, revealing more of the music.  So I give the Essence the reigning award for high fidelity at its price.  

Jay, if you have the opportunity, a great shootout would be the Boulder 1161 vs G Essence.  Both amps cost about the same, with the 1161 having more power than the Essence.  They are probably in a similar sonic camp.  Does class A guarantee better sound?  Within the Boulder line, yes, as more class A power is available higher up in price.  But even the 1161 runs class A at low power where low level resolution resides.  It would be interesting to see if Boulder's overall design makes up for not being fully class A vs Essence.

Small point.  At 7:06, you said the ESSENCE has more richness and bass, and then 30-40 seconds later you said the Luxman has their qualities.  I think you meant the latter, so you might want to edit at 7:06.

Thanks again for this shootout, with the added bonus of comments from Oz and Carlos.

I would say that the most pervasive and consistent complaint on this forum is dealing with harshness or brightness, however you want to describe it. Audiophiles buy these hyper-revealing components and then have to spend countless thousands dialing them back with cables, footers, room treatments and whatever else. Or else they only listen to “demo” music that sounds good. Everyone enjoys this hobby in their own way, although I think that to many, this hobby is just a source of constant stress. But I think one reason the results came out the way they did was because of the question. “Which system do you prefer?”  Not “which system sounds the most accurate or the truest to the source?”  So a more euphonic system might do better in a “which sounds better” poll, but worse in a “which is most revealing of the source” poll. Political polls are manipulated this way as well, and it becomes obvious once you become aware of the manipulation. 

What a decisive win by Luxman. Nearly 75% in the poll, and definitively by WC when he didn’t have to soft-play his real thoughts because the biased owner of the Gryphon was present.

I have historically very much liked both the Luxman and Gryphon (and Boulder) sound, so I had absolutely no bias (unlike a frequent poster who make excuses here) going into the shootout. I expected that I would choose Gryphon, and would have been fine with that.

The other thing you really have to tip your cap to Luxman for is that the msrp of its amp didn’t change over these last couple years. M900u was $20k and m10x is too. That doesn’t happen

Congrats to the folks at Luxman.  I have been a loyal Luxman owner since the 70's having owned literally dozens of their pieces. While I have migrated to a more expensive brand, Luxman will always have a special place in my audio journey. 

BTW - I still have my L-595A SE playing happily in my second system.

Thanks to Jay for this great shoot-out!

The M900u was initially 20k when first introduced into the USA...because the original importer decided to do some price gouging on his own behalf. Kudos to Luxman for switching to another distributor and keeping in line with their own pricing program... at the retail value of 15k...So there is a 5k increase for the new M10x.

The about face in favor of the Luxman doesn’t make sense. 

During the October 11 video with the 3 listeners in the room, it was clearly stated that the Gryphon was superior.   The claim that Jay was soft pedaling because the owner of the Gryphon (his friend – that Jay steered toward the Essence) was is the room is nonsense.  If you listen from approx. 11 minutes until the end, this doesn’t sound like soft pedaling.  And what about the 3rd participant who was also  in the room?  There was no doubt which one he thought to be superior either.

In the video regarding the poll results, Jay basically says that he wasn’t sitting in the right place while in the room for one of the amps, and, therefore, had to go back and listen to a recording via headphones – and only then did he realize that his conclusion, and those of the other 2 in room participants, were wrong.  This rings hollow.  In the room wins every time.

The about face was poll driven. Nothing more.

By the way, based upon the video, I preferred the Luxman also.

Definitely good things coming from Luxman. Great power amplifier for the money. I can’t think of a better amp for $20k. That said, it’s a matter of time before something else comes out that beats it. Remember, Luxman 900u was in the 3rd spot for me (essence and 860v2 were ahead ) and look what the m10x has done while keeping the same price point. That’s commendable and more people here should recognize that Luxman didn’t back up prices even through the pandemic and yet the rest of the brands had multiple price increases. How can Luxman keep the same price and make a component better ? Someone explain that to me...

Those of you who complain and rant about brands jacking up prices should recognize what Luxman has done and give them props. 

Hi Jay,  Good comparison of the Luxman and Gryphon.  It surprised me as i was not a Luxman fan prior.  comparing the Luxman to a Boulder is not apples to apples.

Now I know you are a man of means.  I know this for two reasons; 1) your uber exotic equipment, and 2) I signed up for your YouTube site!  So get an Audionet Stern and a pair of Heisenberg amps.  They will give your current amps a very big run for the money!  I am also a big fan of Kubala Sosna Elation and Realization cables.  The 'air and high end' described above is quite possibly a lack of meaty midrange. Bright / thin cables do this.  They accentuate the treble and sound brighter, not better. Looking forward to getting in the Audionet big boys!  I currently have the Audionet pre G2 and Max amps with Elation Cables. My front end is in a different room / different circuit. Nucleus+ > Upgraded Switch (JCAT M12 coming!) long run to my Muon Filter System (Supra CAT8) > Auralic Aries G2.1 WITH THE BOMB OF A CUSTOM SEAN JACOBS POWER SUPPLY (huge upgrade), USB to Tambaqui DAC.

I signed up like you asked, so let's do it!  Ken :)

@fastfreight 

Thanks for the support and becoming a member of my site. 

Yes - i plan to keep bringing more great amps in the future. You amp and preamp have been on my radar. 

A quick update: i am assembling the new artesania Audio prestige rack which will accommodate the turntable, stromtank and Boulder 2010 phonostage. We are almost there folks ...it's been a battle to get everything ready for the big turntable set up but that will bring a ton of new eyes on my channel and good conversations. 

Luckily, i found a few vinyl lovers with big music collections that are willing to loan me their records if i let them borrow a few powercords to play with. Hey i can't beat that 🤣 !!

@aolmrd1241 - With all due respect I'd like to clarify the situation which led to Luxman reducing their retail prices across the board several years ago. It was not due to "price gouging" by their previous distributor, rather Luxman decided to open Luxman America and assume responsibility for US distribution internally. As a result they eliminated a level in their distribution structure and were then able to lower their retail prices by 20 - 25%. I know this since I purchased my C-900u when it was distributed by the previous distributor at $20K, and then later bought the M-900u after Luxman America had taken over and it then sold for $15K.

Thanks Bill...I had heard at one time that the huge markup was intentional by the first distributor. 

Simaudio similarly created a notably better amp w the 860av2 compared to the 860av1 and the 870a.  The 870a was retailing at $22k before being replaced by the $20k 860av2.  fwiw

Jay,

Yes, that’s a good deal--you play the LP’s and they play with the power cords. Try to get several examples of the same recording on LP vs digital. Someone said that CD’s could be mastered differently than LP’s, so if you have a few pairings of CD or other digital format plus LP, that will help you best answer the question of whether you prefer analog to digital. If Oz has analog tapes of the same LP, then you have 3 formats of the same recording, and that will be most informative. Then you can present at least 2 formats of the same recording on shootouts for the world audience to judge. At this high level, this has not been available before, and I guarantee your subscriber numbers will skyrocket. Oz seems to favor analog, but Carlos has both, and he could make another video appearance with great interest from all.

Otherwise, if you don’t have the two formats to present on the same recording, it will be an apples/oranges comparison, and nobody will be able to draw any valid conclusions about the best analog vs best digital.

@fastfreight

You sound like a Bill Parish customer.....my favorite dealer.  Bill has a certain way of setting up for digital playback.  Bet your system sounds great.

@viber6 

I'm not really worried about people comparing both formats...to be honest... 

Jay,

When you initially hear the TT setup, it will be a shock, but many things will have to settle.  Don't draw quick conclusions as to whether analog or digital is best.  My experience with many cartridges is that at first the sound is bright, and then after 100 hours or so, the sound mellows out and stabilizes.  The cantilever suspension is probably tight at first, then loosens up.  Years later, an aging cartridge is like people who get sagging skin and muscles as they age.  Then you can try loading options on the phono preamp.  Higher loading brightens the sound, but too low loading causes loose, rolled off HF.  Raising the vertical tracking angle by raising the arm pivot brightens the sound and rolls off bass.  Lighter tracking force increases HF at the risk of mistracking,  You can do all these adjustments judiciously based on your tastes.

You will need at least 1-2 months to explore all these TT/arm/cartridge/phono loading options.  Meanwhile, you can share your experience at various stages of experimentation.  This will make great content.

If you watched my last video, i specifically said NO TINKERING will be happening. This is why Oz will come and set it up for me and I'll be pushing play. I spent the money on a good cartridge and turntable and a turntable expert will do all the tinkering. My evaluation will come from the presentation itself. 

I'm paying for the 2500 HP dodge viper twin turbo and taking it to the homestead speedway. I don't have the desire to get under it,  turn wrenches and adjust the suspension or swap out cams. 

It's good to have a setup man like Oz to get you started.  However, his tastes differ from yours, and it really is easy to make slight adjustments as I mentioned.  I am not much of a DIY'er, but these are easy things to do, just like trying new cables.  These things affect the sound much more than you realize.  Daveyf said that tonearm cables matter a lot, but even I haven't bothered with that, because that is like getting under the suspension of a car.  Like you, I wouldn't mess around with that.

The yen has gotten destroyed in the past year. No surprise Luxman can hold US prices.

Congratulations Jay on your website! I find some things very interesting in your journey. Either fortunately or unfortunately, your initial diatribe is repeated on every page. Look at all the amplifiers you said were great or may be the greatest! None of these compare to the equipment you know own and  tout. You and all of us have learned so much. One is that if you pay more you usually get nicer stuff. But so interesting that things you thought were maybe the best amps or nearly the best amps ever are now in your burial site. Anyway, now that you are more than Uber rich with your website,  please contact Bill at GTT and get in the Stern and Heisenberg amps to compare to what you were now using. I sound like a broken record I know. But I also know how good they sound! Ken 

Uber rich with my website? Huh ?

How can I be Uber rich when i just opened it like a week ago...you're assuming a bit much...

I also have no plans to bring that line through the distributor. If it happens, it will be because someone traded it in to me for the equipment I'm selling on here or my website. 

Folks - you all have to understand one thing: I won't pay "customer prices" anymore. I've done my boot camp on YouTube for nearly 3 years and over 700 videos. 

The only way i pay the same price as a normal customer is if i REALLY want the product and i don't have options. I leverage the used market 90% of the time for this same reason. My days of paying customer prices are long gone. 

You all saw my last video. I layed it out raw and uncut. 

fastfreight,

Several years ago, I went to Bill Parish's wonderful home and listened in several great rooms.  First time, he discussed how the Mola Mola Kaluga class D amp was the best amp for neutrality/clarity.  Bruno Putzeys had supposedly tweaked his MM Kaluga after hearing Bill's Soulution 700 series amp.  Bill said the MM was better than Soulution.  I didn't get to hear that comparison.  But we listened and compared an Audionet  (neither Stern nor Heisenberg) to the MM.  We agreed that MM is for people who prioritize clarity/neutrality, and Audionet has some warmth.  Not surprisingly, most of his customers prefer Audionet.

Ha, that vid was basically awesome. Fired up WC is fun - way to slap the folks who are mad about the Luxman/Gryphon decision. I loved how you explained that you couldn’t care less about which brand wins because you’ve owned them all and don’t have any allegiance -- that is just impossible for many to understand but it’s why your feedback is so unbiased. Also some just can’t disassociate with preconceived notions about how some brands should or shouldn’t sound. That’s too bad. Way to keep it real, bravo.

Edit: and north of $200k msrp can’t be Gryphon Apex, so it must be something else. Hmmm, DaTZeel I think

Good Morning Jay, @ron17, and @viber6,  Nice to hear from you all.

Jay - i am poking fun with the 'uber rich' comment.  Please forgive me! My point was maybe you could get some in for reviews now with all your cred!

Ron17 and viber 6, yes I am a GTT supporter and think the world of Bill as a salesman and honest guy.  He has a bit of my money.  I also started with a Mola Mola system of Makua with built in Tabaqui and Kaluga amps.  Beautiful in the family room, and drove my Salon 2's effortlessly.  Then I went (what I then called all in) for the Audionet Pre G2 and Max amps downstairs to go with my N802s.  My DAC downstairs was an  Auralic Vega.  I liked both systems.  But when I got my Tambaqui downstairs, the difference was subtly stunning (is that an oxymoron??).

I then sold the B and W's and upgraded to Hailey 2.1s for downstairs.  Now the difference was less than subtle.  The microdynamics, sparkle and just wanting to go down there.  Since I have Roon, and can play the same music on both systems, it is easy to walk up and down and compare in real time.  So I asked bill what was the difference?  Same DAC, etc.  He said the amps.  So I kept my Makua Preamp with internal Tambaqui and got another pair of Max's!  Wow.  The Salon 2's came to life!

The upstairs room is cathedral ceilings and the whole house long (family room, eat in, kitchen) and the tall Salon's fill the room, nicely aided by REL Carbon  Specials.

I liked the Salon 2s so much I lugged them downstairs to try.  They were too tall for my near positioned couch.  Back upstairs they went and thenIi got the Haileys.

This combo is amazing as well. It is the amps that are super fast, highly resolving, and non fatiguing.  And the Makua still looks great.  the amps sit below and are hardly noticeable.  My equipment is on the side upstairs, so except for the long speaker runs (homemade 8g copper with good solder) (under the floor) it looks and sounds great with speakers beside the fireplace.

i am working on my digital front end lately.  I have added an Auralic Aries G2.1 streamer and  it made a big improvement.  I then asked Sean Jacobs to make me a custom power supply for it, as i had heard about this.  It was more $ than my streamer, but the results are stunning.  Really.  I also enjoy a Muon Filter system in both  lodations and have a JCAT M12 coming soon!

Ironic to talk about sound.  My best Audiophile buddy moved to Florida (what was he thinking?) and I am here in Maryland.  Would love to get together with like minded folks!  Ken

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