I have been playing music every day since I have gotten these new amps. I had a pair of SR orange fuses waiting and installed them the day the amps got here. All of my gear has Orange fuses. All of my gear has the same Wireworld Electra silver 7 power cord with reference ends. I bought all that while I was waiting for the amps.I went down the cable rabbit hole, and decided that I was not going to mix and match cables on this system. All of my XLR and RCA cables are wireWorld. I just found that, that brand of cable suited my listening.
The Saturn 103 C power conditioner plus the power cables, make for dead silence, and zero noise on the system. when I play classical, jazz,or folk music, you can hear nothing in-between breaths, and notes.
I spoke to my dealer yesterday, and we got onto the Sugden, LA-4 pre amp, which is a critical component with either the Sugden SPA-4, or the MPA-4 mono blocks. The fellow who bought my SPA-4 amp already had the LA-4 pre amp on a different brand, whose brand name escapes me. He said it was a great pairing, and he could only imagine what it was like with the SPA-4. I told him he wasn't going to be disappointed. My transfer is an Audiolab 6000CDT paired with a Saturn DAC. I had an Aqua La-voce S3 DAC on this system, and moved it to the basement when I got the Saturn DAC. That should tell you how good it is. The Aqua is a fantastic DAC, for the same Money, the Saturn is that much better. The Saturn Phono stage makes my vinyl sound every bit as good as the digital does. it made vinyl come alive.
Speakers are the Confidence 20 series, and they pair very well with Sugden, and they love the 165 W of pure class A power. Dynaudio are current heavy speakers, they will take all you can give them. Speaker cables are Madison Audio Lab E3 Extreme1 cables.
As for impressions now, I can sit in my listening room, and just hear and feel the difference. These amps do honestly make me feel different than the single SPA-4 power amp did. I played all of the usual cd artists I love and have become familiar with, and just melted in the chair.
I took one more leap down the rabbit hole, and I being an electrician, installed a single dedicated 20 AMP circuit with a cheap $26.00 PASS & SEYMOUR hospital grade outlet. The results were a pleasant surprise. The bass and midrange were the first thing I immediately noticed, their presence were now pronounced. On a few female tracks I play, I was always waiting for the slight shrill on the recording at certain parts, that was now GONE... So I decided to go one better, and bought a Cardas Audio 4181 US outlet. That was a good investment, it just seemed to capitalize on the soundstage. I have since added a 20 amp circuit to the basement system.
With the system as it is now, plus the room treatments consisting of a combination of absorption and reflective panels, as well as 2 sets of SR frequency transducer dots on the walls.I feel I have reached my end game in this journey. I made 6 absorption panels 2 foot by 4 foot 4 inches thick with rock wool safe & sound insulation, I installed them behind each speaker, one at each first reflection point, and a cloud above each speaker. That was a weekend and a $220.00 investment, worth every penny.
The end result of everything I have mentioned, has taken me the better part of 4 years to complete. I now sit down in my listening chair , and just feel and listen to music. The speakers are not even in the picture anymore, they have disappeared into the wall. I don't hear speakers, I hear music. I look forward at the system, and I can pinpoint where each instrument is on the wall, the separation is insane. I am now able to focus on multiple instruments all playing at the same time, nothing is covered up, they all get their time on stage.
Dave Brubeck "Take Five" is a perfect demo track for any audio system, that will show you where your system needs work. The snare drum hits on that track are so strong, you can feel them in your chest and teeth. The sax is not shrill at all or fatiguing to listen too.
Female artists I enjoy are Janis Ian, Album Breaking Silence, and Chantel Chamberland Temptations. Carmen Lundy Self portrait. Those 3 cd's are recorded very well, and will let you know where you need to improve. I used the Carmen Lundy and Dave Brubeck cd when I made any changes to the systems, they will pick up and let you hear so many critical things that you will notice when you make a cable change or an equipment change.
I have a lot of classical music on vinyl which I purchased from a friend that I have not been able to listen to yet. They are all good quality pressings so I am sure I will be pleased.
The soundstage on my system changes depending what you are listening to. When I play a jazz cd or one of the above mentioned female singers, the system sound is very intimate and cozy, it's like you are sitting in a small lounge. when I play a big band cd or a classical cd the soundstage widens and makes you feel like you are in a huge concert hall. I may not be describing this in the best terms, just what I understand I guess. All I know is my system is dead quiet, crystal clear, crisp and articulate.
Happy listening everyone.
