Before you buy anything new, I would experiment with some other speaker placement options, such as a foot here, a few inches there, more toe in, further from the wall, etc. I would also contact Greg Roberts and speak with him about your concerns. What is the "break in" time for the Luceras? This should not be, ime. BTW, I do not agree that the Altec A7 is similar sounding to the Lucera. All horns have similar characteristics to one another, which is why I, and many others, lean towards horns, but these two are quite different from one another. Just my 2 cents. MrD.
What next for a Volti Lucera based system
Hi All,
I have about 150 hours on a new pair of Volti Lucera speakers
This is a continuation of my transition to a lower power stereo system. My journey has been Magnepan 1.2, Magnepan 3.6, Thiel CS3.6, Theil CS5i, Tyler Acoustics MM5X, Zu Soul Six, Klipsch Forte iv; along with complementary powered amps for the various speakers
My current Setup is as follows:
PS Audio PWT
Mojo Mystique EVO B4B DAC
Don Sachs DS2 Preamp
Quicksilver Horn Monos, First Watt F6, First Watt F7, Don Sachs Kootenay 120
Volti Luceras
I honestly liked the Klipsch Forte iv's and thought the First Watt F7 tamed most of the treble edge. The Volti Luceras are a big step up in refinement, bass, clarity, and soundstage. Having said that, the Luceras don't have quite the same "you are live presence" of the Fort iv's. I seem to prefer the First Watt F6 and Quicksilver Horn Monos best with the Luceras.
I am thinking that it might be time to upgrade my preamp. I am pursuing better soundstage meaning more depth and width outside of the speakers. I also am looking to maximize musicality and emotion. I am pretty sure that I value accuracy over warmth. My current setup provides sweetness if it is on the recording.
As I dig into reviews and blogs I am convincing myself to to stick with a tube preamp even though a Pass pre with separate power supply seems interesting. I am happy with single ended. No long cable runs.
I have heard Conrad Johnson preamps most notably a 17LS2, and a couple a of lower end Audio Research preamps over the years.
My most current research seems to be leading me to consider the following gear tied to a roughly $7,000 budget:
VAC (used Renaissance mk5)
ARC (used Ref 5, or a stretch to a Ref 6)
LTA (new Micro ZOTL level 3)
Modwright (used LS36.5)
BAT (used ?)
Please let me what you think and please share your share your reasoning as I am trying to learn about more expensive preamps.
thanks,
Dsper