Amandarae,
I know someone else who is very particular about sound and music that thinks the Linkwitz Orion project speakers are really something special. I'd love to hear them sometime. I think the fellow I'm speaking of will be building his in the near future, so maybe I will be able to listen to his once they're finished. They definitely have a unique look, due, in part to their design.
Up until recently, I've been striving for accuracy, low distortion, transient speed, and dynamic capability -- basically a reference quality system that would quickly tell me all I wanted to know about a given recording or component. I believe I have found that with my Benchmark/NuForce/VMPS system, which is all solid-state. Surprisingly, in spite of its high resolving capability, it is not harsh or irritating (unless it's in the recording). So this system has become my true reference.
But within the last couple of weeks, during a review of other speakers in a second system, I got the chance to try a set of the Aural Ersatz TAD-803 (single-driver mod) speakers.
I was immediately struck by how smooth, musical, and immediate they sounded. Yes, they were a little rolled in the bass and the extreme treble, but they provided a truly eye-opening and most satisfying musical experience. I'm finding there's really no substitute for great midrange reproduction. I can literally sit there for hours, pouring through old favorite recordings with a grin on my face, even dozing off at times, because it's just so relaxing.
Presently, I'm using a Parasound belt-drive transport into a Monarchy M24 tube DAC, which feeds a Kavent A210 tube/MOSFET hybrid amplifier. Cabling is mostly SignalCable Silver Resolution. It's pretty impressive sound for the dollar, IMO.
All the above adds up to me saying, "I can definitely relate."
I know someone else who is very particular about sound and music that thinks the Linkwitz Orion project speakers are really something special. I'd love to hear them sometime. I think the fellow I'm speaking of will be building his in the near future, so maybe I will be able to listen to his once they're finished. They definitely have a unique look, due, in part to their design.
Up until recently, I've been striving for accuracy, low distortion, transient speed, and dynamic capability -- basically a reference quality system that would quickly tell me all I wanted to know about a given recording or component. I believe I have found that with my Benchmark/NuForce/VMPS system, which is all solid-state. Surprisingly, in spite of its high resolving capability, it is not harsh or irritating (unless it's in the recording). So this system has become my true reference.
But within the last couple of weeks, during a review of other speakers in a second system, I got the chance to try a set of the Aural Ersatz TAD-803 (single-driver mod) speakers.
I was immediately struck by how smooth, musical, and immediate they sounded. Yes, they were a little rolled in the bass and the extreme treble, but they provided a truly eye-opening and most satisfying musical experience. I'm finding there's really no substitute for great midrange reproduction. I can literally sit there for hours, pouring through old favorite recordings with a grin on my face, even dozing off at times, because it's just so relaxing.
Presently, I'm using a Parasound belt-drive transport into a Monarchy M24 tube DAC, which feeds a Kavent A210 tube/MOSFET hybrid amplifier. Cabling is mostly SignalCable Silver Resolution. It's pretty impressive sound for the dollar, IMO.
All the above adds up to me saying, "I can definitely relate."