Beyond a certain level of competent design all you are paying for is appearance/jewelry.
Not sure what to think
This weekend I spent A/B testing a new preamp. My system: OPPO 105 (I only have CDs), Bryston 9B-SST amplifier, B&W 801 loudspeakers (circa 1980) no special cables, non-sound treated room. My current preamp is a Krell-KAV 250p recently serviced. I have always wanted to test a McIntosh preamp. My dad had McI equipment when I was growing up and recently visiting local stores with McI in their listening rooms blew me away (as would be expected in a vendor-setup room). I borrowed a McI C-49 to try out.
I spent 3 days putting different CDs in and out. Rock, jazz, classical, house. In rock, 80s rock, prog rock, anything I knew super well. I tried a few SACDs, too. I had to keep switching the cables so there was always about a minute or so going between the equipment.
I wanted BADLY to hear a difference. I really did. Between the childhood nostalgia, the looks of the McI (yes, I know music is for listening, not watching what it comes out of), and the vendor visits, I was ready. I had to believe my "vintage" Krell would not stand up to a modern, much more expensive McI. I spent hours going back and forth and back and forth. I kept telling myself I would hear something different on the McI and I just did not. So many discs, keying in on different types of passages, focusing on the bass or the vocals or the mids. You name it, I was ready for that one tiny moment to say "drop the money on a McI and don't look back."
Alas, as much as I still have a passion for the McI for the non-auditory reasons above, for the moment I will be sticking with my Krell. I am not here to knock McI - I still love the thought of it, or any type of equipment that might upgrade my listening experience. I guess I should feel good that the Krell is still working and maybe something else will come along in my future. My sound producer friend suggested I spend the dollars on room treatments. :-)
- ...
- 53 posts total
@jasonbourne71 I appreciate that perspective. I don't nearly enough about the very technical side of these pieces. Another level of being an audiophile for sure. @soix Yeah, one of the dealers was excited for me to try tubes or a hybrid. I have never heard tubes on my system that could be very interesting to try. I really appreciate the recommendations. |
That can happen sometimes. I love the look of MacIntosh and have gone into a dealer more than once with the intent of listening, loving, and buying a piece of Mac equipment and gave up the idea very quickly. It simply lacks detail. Each time within a minute, often quicker it’s off the list. Many people love it. If all you listen to is rock, the weight of the sound can be attractive, but it is not for everyone.
If you want to get into the high end see about a used Audio Research preamp. You get detail and natural musical sound. |
I’m not sure if your experiment proves much more than what you've stated -- e.g., about solid state, low or high cost. or other extrapolations -- because it’s possible that the acoustics of your room are masking differences you might hear with a better treated room. It’s also possible that your speakers are not revealing the difference, but my money is on the room. Only once I really dialed in my room could I start to hear differences between gear. I can tell differences between my class D hypex amp vs. my tube amp. vs. my class A amp vs. my class AB amp. I can hear the difference between tube changes in the amp or preamp. But all this only became possible when I measured and adjusted the room. Mediocre acoustics is like putting a lot of ketchup on different meats; they all tend to taste the same. |
- 53 posts total