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!
OCD Mikey is an interesting character… I enjoyed the Interaction between you two and the different aspects to which you each spoke to.. Mikey is a dealer and believes in his wares.. nothing wrong with that.. I take his bias accordingly.
You rush through equipment in a hurry to get to the next flavor of the month.. which is fine too, but you also gloss over the architecture and technical bits that are important to me.. OCD Mikey gets a bit more technical which I find useful.
different styles and equipment choices…. It’s all good..
Thank you for your very generous offer ! I would love to attend a concert as it’s been several years since I have been to one.. but unfortunately, I have some health issues that keep me from traveling, my hometown of NYC. haven’t been back in there in many years. Thankfully, this hobby allows me to enjoy the experience of music in my home. Thank you again for your offer !
Jazz at the pawnshop is one of my favorite live recordings.. Arne, Bengt and Lars
Doing high Life is one of my all time favorite tracks.. That must have been a great live performance.. I love hearing the cash register in the background during that song.. A true live recording that brings you there, atmosphere and all..
Agree. Perhaps an open invitation to Agon, Wbf, ashark members to come on your channel would be interesting. Particularly around a specific subject, expertise or those that may be critical of your approach or views/reviews. Let them get on camera.
Re: Mikey. He is entertaining. i also respect his knowledge/experience. It is hard to imagine he is unbiased given his representations. Obviously. I trust your opinions more as unaffiliated. That has been your ethos. I think folks see through this pretty easily. Also, making blanket statements about something being superior based on one system in a moment in time, is obviously not conclusive and reeks of salesmanship.
But u stick to your truths in joint videos, we will all be watching. thank u
I would agree Jay. Your commentary on gear is based on a wide set of experiences, and those of us who don't have as many reference points really appreciate those experiences coming through your commentary. Your neutrality and honesty is also very refreshing.
On the other hand, typically the interviews are with the representative of a single brand who have good intentions but invariably also some biases and commercial interests. This is doubly true if it's an interview with a brand that haven't gotten much exposure on your channel first, like Krell, which will end up a bit disjointed. I imagine it might have done better if it was Shunyata or MSB which were recent topics of conversation.
What might be more interesting is more collaborations and conversations with other prolific Youtube audiophiles or reviewers, those would do numbers.
Looks like people enjoy my commentary about gear more than interviews. YouTube algorithms don't lie. They said today's video slowed down the flow of the channel.
On the other hand, I've received several emails with regards to my videos with OCD Mikey which essentially say he's not good for my channel. Hmm... How do you all feel ?
I completely agree. The Krell Theater 7 XD is the best home theater multi-channel amp I've had in my system, and I've had many, including a custom-upgraded Plinius Odeon 7.
@divertiti A huge thanks. This pretty much confirm I will start by home auditioning the Luxman and the Accuphase. The Diablo and the Boulder are very difficult to find in my area, probably 1 dealer for each in Canada.
The KRELL XD lineup is awesome. Last night I was listening until 2AM on my RAAL SR1a headphones with the KRELL K-300i integrated. I realized that the KRELL was the very best with these headphones, the most relaxing sound with bass and smoothness. I have tried about 5 different amps with them.
This morning I traded in a popular amp I was using for my headphones (in another room) for the a new KRELL Duo 125 XD.
Thanks, Walter @ KRELL, for your advice yesterday. Love these XD amps.
@Belpat In that case since you only want SS, your choices become simpler, home audition each of the following and pick one:
Luxman 590 AXII - Lots of bloom and body, not as tight or grippy on bass control
Accuphase - I haven’t heard this, but usually people say it’s more bloomy and lush than Luxman
Gryphon Diablo 300 - Very dynamic and bold sound, but lack a bit of refinement, sometimes can be very raw and brash but huge bass slam
Boulder 866 - A good balance between dynamics, speed, authority and refinement, great everywhere but it doesn’t add artificial bloom or body, so cable matching might be important to make sure it’s not too lean on the Spendor which is already super fast.
And yes, 30W class A is enough for the Spendor, the Luxman will output higher into AB anyway.
Glad you enjoyed the recording. The baroque solo piano pieces up to about 15 min are subtle and contemplative. Some people who don’t understand this music might think that contemplative moods call for a laid back, dreamy state and would choose warm electronics for listening. However, to fully appreciate these subtle, sublime moments, it is desirable to choose revealing electronics, speakers, etc. The Prokofiev piano piece from 16 to 25 min is more acrid and dynamic. Overall, this recording is an excellent demonstration of the many-faceted qualities of the solo piano. Of course, the pianist is a superb artist.
If feasible, you would enjoy hearing the upcoming concerts in this hall in NYC as my guest. I marvel at opportunities I have had in comparing great recordings to the live venue, such as when I went to Stockholm and was in the small Stampen where a classic 1976 audiophile favorite recording was made, "Jazz at the Pawnshop."
Jay.. I disagree with your assessment concerning power conditioners..
Try balanced power and learn about the virtues of CMR, Common Mode Rejection. It’s Physics, not snake oil.. My BPiT, Balanced Power isolation Transformer is rated at 10 times the wattage output than my equipment is drawing. So there is no shortage of power for transients, etc.. the improvement in lowered noise floor is dramatic, no need for overpriced, overrated PC’s that change or color the sound..
Thanks ! that is a great recording.. Pianos are VERY difficult to get to sound “real”. Most recordings and playback systems make piano sound like a string instrument, when a piano is actually a percussive instrument with hammers hitting the strings. Impact and dynamics make it sound real….
great piece..! I need to play this through my main system….
Part 2 of my interview with KRELL’s COO. He will be giving details about their new reference amp that is set to be released next year and cause a big splash in the industry. Lots of great stuff 😉
divertiti, Thank you very much. Since I don’t want to deal with tubes, the LM is not an option. I believe there is a single Gryphon dealer in Canada and it is in Vancouver, 3000 miles from me. That leaves me with the Luxman. 30 class A is enough to drive the D9.2? (90 db - 8 ohms). Accuphase E-650 could maybe be an option.
@Belpat, I have owned the Spendor D9.2, they are great speakers. They are very high resolution so you will want amplification that has a continuous quality and add body to the sound if that makes sense. The Luxman 590 AXII is a great SS choice. The Line Magnetic 805IA is a great tube choice. If you can up your budget, a used Gryphon Diablo 300 would be the ticket.
Mikey misses everything about MSB. And I’ve heard Playback for a decade which is just “good digital” like Aqua and the rest. Sure, it’s warm and smooth but it sounds like digital. Somewhat homogenized digital at that.
What MSB singularly does now since the Select is flow and continuousness that competes with my Brinkmann rig. In fact, analog only guys who visit my room say it’s the only digital they would own and their mind relaxes like on a piece of vinyl. I’ve actually done this comparison with folks.
and the Ref dac is $49k now; includes the same clock as Select but with a single power supply.
Well said, about choosing components that bring life and avoid boredom, which to me is not pleasant. Yes, real and natural means including the bite and attack. What do you think about the live recording I posted at the end of the previous page?
Jay, the common meaning of "synergy" as used here, is some magical combination of bite and warmth. However, the reality is that the warm component will shave off some bite. If your recordings sound "ruthless" with accurate components, it is because they are processed and artificial. Tell me if you think that video I posted sounds ruthless on your system. You don't have to like this esoteric classical music (even I didn't know the 1st half with solo piano, although the piano/singer piece at 26 min is popular)--just listen to the piano briefly to appreciate the delicate detail which is natural. Any "synergy" combination of components will just shave off this recording's detail and make it just a little in the direction of boredom.
Your ideas about just using a great power cord without the power conditioner have merit, but this is not about synergy. In my NYC apartment, the power quality is probably much worse than yours in suburban Florida, so in your environment you may be right. But there are days where the power is so bad that the excellence of my system is nearly completely trashed, to a similar extent as described recently by Mike Fremer in S-phile. The Shunyata Denali 6000 has improved things to a good extent, compared to other products I have tried. I like my 2 Nordost Vishnu power cords with it, on the amp and CD player.
Folks, I made my best to go through the 250 pages of this great Forum but I did not find what I was looking for. I am looking for a great Integrated to match with my Spendor D9.2. I have been using Naim amplification for a while and I believe I could get better with a different brand. Any of you guys have experience using the Spendor D9.2 with the following Integrated.
Luxman L590 AXII
Luxman L509
Accuphase E-650 (Price is roughly the same as the Luxman here in canada)
Pass Lab INT60 or maybe INT 250
The Spendor are here to stay for sure. My dedicated room is roughly 15" X 22" . Finally I will not move to separate AMP/PRE.
Your experience would be truly appreciated since it is almost impossible for me to DEMO any of those combination in my area.
I’ve been very vocal with some via text about the importance of matching components that play well together.
Power conditioners, power strips, regenerators,( whatever you want to call it) all have a sound signature or choke well designed components. People, I’ll throw a quick tip here for you guys: IF YOU HAVE A GREAT POWERCORD, STOP PLUGGING INTO ONE OF THESE POWER UNITS!
You are doing a "double filtration" which will kill the benefits of the power cord. If you have "average" electronics then experiment using the power conditioner or power strip or whatever you want to call it.
I’m about two seconds away from totally dumping all power units and go straight into the wall. I hope you follow my advice. I've been doing this legwork behind closed doors.
Jay made some good comments above regarding neutrality.. In my many decades of owning many different brands and types of audio gear, I have been through many changes to my system after I learned that “pleasing” sound can be boring and dull after awhile.. I just recently restored the “bite” and “edge” to my system because it was too smoothed over, pleasing …. But not sounding visceral or Real. It’s much more “natural” sounding now with bite and attack. More open and dynamic.. more of a Live experience..
My methods are different than Jay’s , but my goals are similar.
Watch some of his videos and read some of his Youtube comments, it’s quickly apparent that’s his entire MO, attack brands he doesn’t sell to push brands that he does, and then attack people who either disagrees or calls him out.
I’m familiar with Mikey. I’ve been subscribed to his channel for over a year. Overall his channel is imo actually quite good. One of my favorite videos is one in which he did a comparison of DSD vs lossless PCM on a Led Zeppelin master track. That review was unbelievably informative and the recording amazing. He also does DAC shootouts quite often using his MPD-8 as reference and I find them to be quite qood.
The point here is that although Mikey has lots of good takes and information, in this one regard he does himself a real disservice. Very few people are going to come away feeling that Playback Designs blew away the MSB or vice versa. It’s too bad that part of Mikey’s schtick is to heavily criticize more expensive pieces and then try and sell cheap stuff he’s a dealer for.
Here is Mikey’s DSD v PCM shootout. We’ll worth a listen.
I find Mikey’s review way over the top, unfairly leaning towards a product he reps and not reflective of anything I hear thru my system
Watch some of his videos and read some of his Youtube comments, it's quickly apparent that's his entire MO, attack brands he doesn't sell to push brands that he does, and then attack people who either disagrees or calls him out.
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. Actually since your last DAC shootout. Hope you’ve been well and have a wonderful holiday season.
Couple things before I give my thoughts. The Playback DesignsMPD-8 has been on my radar for quite awhile. One of my dealers dropped his DCS dealership in order to carry Playback Designs. Those of you not familiar should read about the Founder’s pedigree. Extremely impressive. I’m also a fan of OCD Mikey, but have found he tends to favorably review as well as push items he reps.
Both DACs portrayed the music beautifully and unlike previous shootouts were extremely difficult to separate or in this case to even tell apart. Soundstage was deep with great special queus on both DACs. Music and vocals were presented in a natural and very musical manner. I went back and forth numerous times to try and pick out any differences and simply couldn’t. Maybe,just maybe DAC #2 is very slightly more open in it’s presentation with DAC #1 being just ever so slightly darker but that’s it. After listening initially I gave DAC 2 just a sliver of an edge but to be fairer I have to say this is a toss up and if you read my previous DAC shootout thoughts I am not a toss-up kind of guy. My system is extremely discerning and after going back to the video even now I literally cannot hear any significant differences. With regards to Mikey’s comments on the MSB being souless...Absolutley not. In fact I find the MSB to be quite natural with a relaxed and musical presentation. I find Mikey’s review way over the top, unfairly leaning towards a product he reps and not reflective of anything I hear thru my system
It says quite a bit about Playback Designs that it's 22k flagship competes quite evenly with an 80k DAC from the pre-eminent DAC maker in the industry. Bravo Playback Designs! 👏👏👏
Nah, you haven’t had one that sounded great yet. Why bother - why would you expect different results this time? All you ever did was make excuses for the speakers when you had them and be miserable. I think with the last one you spent like $250k on amplification trying to get them to be decent. Stick with what you are pretty sure you will like and know will be able to make sing.
Folks,
It seems to me as if someone from mágico has called each person or dealer and instructed them to post against my own findings.
I wasn’t attacking the brand by any means. I simply shared my findings with actual evidence. For the record, before I say something I typically have proof and fact-check what I say. I’m not going to embarrass my sources either by saying who shared what with me.
If you watch my YouTube comments you’ll notice the comments from those coming to the rescue. But why? What did I say to upset anyone? It’s ridiculous.
Here I am, former owner of:
M3
M6
S5mk2
A5
S3mk1
Do I need more on my resume?
Should I work on the $229k mágico q7 mk2 to make myself more qualified?
Some audiophiles REFUSE to buy European products because of how much money it costs to ship back to Europe. I know of someone who had soulution 701s and he sold them after he spent $9,500 to have them shipped to Switzerland for service and yes this person has money to ship them but he said that he doesn't want to be hustled.
Are you saying that owning Magico’s has a much higher cost of ownership than Wilson’s?
I think almost all audio gear has a cost of ownership, some pieces more than others. It’s is quite hard to name a piece of audio gear that increases in value over time, never mind keeps its value.
Your analogy of the Toyota to the Land Rover is an interesting one, again in high end audio, I think there is even more ’brand’ consciousness than in automobiles. Certainly with regard to certain products that are priced in the very upper end of the hobby, there is an assumption that reliability and ability is a factor...even though this may not be the case at all.
I always laugh at the example one of my experienced a’phile friends gave me a few years back, when he was shopping for a good DAC. Ended up with a Bryston BDA 3, which shocked all of his less knowledgable friends. They were surprised why he bought the lowly Bryston vs. the much more expensive Lampi that they all owned ( and which he could also easily afford). My friend wasn’t so enamored of the inner workings of the Lampi. In the ensuing shoot out that followed, how many of his friends do you think were still as enamored of their Lampi’s?? So yes, price isn’t always a determinant in this hobby as well....
I believe some people CAN afford a certain product but they don’t want to pay high cost of ownership even though they have the money to pay it. Just because you have the money to buy something doesn’t mean you want to pay for the high costs of ownership. Think like this:Toyota land cruiser is like what, $80-100k? Why do you think people buy it with their eyes closed not caring to pay the price? Because cost of ownership is low....it’s bullet proof...it doesn’t break. It doesn’t need special expensive oils. It doesn’t need special tires and doesn’t need all the craziness that others such as land Rover need. The land cruiser can easily demolish any other suv known to man and even with high mileage they aren’t cheap. They are also not expensive to repair (if they ever need repairs) .
Yes I get the argument above, but trust me I speak to a lot of people through my consultation service and some of these people DO NOT want to deal with certain scenarios.
@jays_audio_lab To your point that a blown driver can happen any time, that is correct. However, if we look at the number of speakers out there that have never had their drivers replaced, I am pretty certain that it would be a significant majority, perhaps even regardless of age! You blew a driver due to carelessness, but i do not think this is as common as you suppose. Your point about the cost of a driver is well taken given the examples you post, but IMO the odds of this happening are nowhere near as great as you may think. Unless, one is extremely careless!
I do question when was the last time that a consumer who would likely buy an expensive pair of speakers ( north of say $20K) would concern themselves about the cost of the materials to build the product. There are a lot of speakers on the market in that category that cost the manufactures less than a 1/5 of the asking price to build, and in some cases -- a lot less! ( BTW, this applies not just to speakers, but most high end audio gear, and as you correctly pointed out...cabling is another story entirely!)
I can personally think of a pair of speakers that are now retailing for slightly north of $90K that cost the manufacturer a little more than $2K to build....and that’s just off the top of my head!
Here’s the recording of the live concert from last June. No audience because of covid. I went to this hall last week and was impressed by the utter naturalness and immediacy of the piano sound. I sat in the 1st row just right of center. A cheap simple video recorder was used near me. For this natural recording, there is no unpleasantness, so any warmth in playback would subtract from the delicacy of the music. The soft, delicate piano begins around 1:13. You can appreciate what I said within a few seconds. A female singer begins around 26 min. Enjoy.
"Real NEUTRALITY is ruthless and it will piss you off too. It doesn’t care about you or your preference. Real neutrality isn’t in the form of coffee with creamer but rather just pure black coffee which some of you can’t stomach because you get heartburn or acid reflux."
Sounds like viber's cup of tea."
Superficially, yes, my cup of tea. More deeply, no. The undertone of that quote is unpleasantness. But the real purpose of audio equipment is to get more information out of the music you enjoy. Neutrality is the absence of superimposed colorations on the original music. Neutrality will reveal more information, a happy outcome. I agree with psnyder149 that grill cloth is an obvious factor imposing colorations. Why would anyone want to subtract information with the grill cloth? If the bare speaker is unpleasant in sound, the cloth may reduce the unpleasantness, but it also reduces the musical information retrieval. A no-win situation, so get rid of that speaker, OR work on room placement. But don't add warm other components which have a similar effect as the grill cloth.
Now for Jay's tantalizing statement--"As a matter of fact, I’ll make a bold statement: these amps have exposed the boulder 2150s character as being a tad sweet and smooth." Right on! Gryphon Mephisto monos? Let's hear more of the real music with the 725 and these new amps!
One reason many people here like warmth is that most of these pop/rock recordings are highly processed, so neutral components reveal more of these unpleasant processing effects. But live recordings of classical performances have minimal processing and are far superior to production studio processed recordings. I'll post one soon to illustrate.
A blown driver can happen under many circumstances and not just due to age as mentioned above. I blew both tweeters on my Alexia mk1 by not paying attention to what I was doing.
We can’t amortize drivers over the amount of years we used them without any issues. It doesn’t work that way.
Nobody talks about the points I presented in my last video. How many of you knew it costs that much to fix a blown driver on a magico m series speakers? Not many people I bet..
I’m simply shinning a light where others aren’t. I report my own findings and share with you all.
Some good points in your video above. One thing about the cost of replacement drivers and their relative value to the speaker, while you correctly expose the issue that the Wilson’s and the Magico’s have, with the Wilson drivers being cheap and somewhat easy to replace, while the Magico drivers are expensive and difficult to replace ( with shipping and other factors increasing the price), I think you fail to discuss one other factor. That factor is how often is one likely to replace a driver. IMO, if you consider the number of speakers of any particular brand out there and then look at the frequency of how often the drivers need a replacement, I think you would see that this is not only infrequent, but years can accrue before a replacement is required. ( sure, if little lord Fauntleroy happens to stick his finger through a driver that can mandate more immediate replacement, but otherwise?)
Therefore, the cost to replace a driver should be amortized over the number of years that it will likely become a factor...and in this case we can see that the cost in all instances comes down considerably for all speakers ( even the Magico). So, is this really something that the consumer should be that concerned about?
Lastly, there is another variable that I think is well worth while considering, and it is this: to some folk, the ’ultra high end’ is still incredibly affordable. These folk make more than the cost of your entire system in less than an hour, and they do this constantly. To others ( the majority?), the cost of the ’ultra high end’ is so far out of their reach that it is not even feasible in their wildest dreams and with their current or future earning potential! Are the folks in my first example thinking they are getting ’ripped’ off--I doubt it, are the other folks ( assuming they have somehow saved up to acquire any of this gear) thinking they have been ’ripped’ off....???🤨
@jays_audio_lab While you may believe that your amps are neutral, this is probably far from the case. Through history, amps have improved and become more neutral, but I think when you get to hear the generation to come and then another generation after that, you will realize how very colored your current amps are.
All gear is colored, it is just a matter of degree.
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