Which components knocked you out on first listen?
I got goosebumps the first time I heard the Yahama NS-1000S speaker. This was in a stereo store in NYC Leonard Radio, now long gone and must have been in the late 70's. They were playing a choral recording of some kind. To my ears at that time, although a little bright it sounded holographic and real. I coveted those speakers for a long time after that, but they were always beyond my means and out of my price range, until I lost interest. Although I didn't spend enough time with these speakers to know if they would suit me sonically overall and I did have reservations about the depth and power of their bass response, I was delighted to find out years later that this speaker, along with the similar NS-10, remain underground classics of the audio world. My first speaker was the original Advent Loudspeaker (ca. 1970). It certainly was an audio purchase of which I was very proud. I thought it was smooth and had a great low end for its price, but as good as it was, it didn't do to me viscerally what the Yahama speaker did. My dad, who was a recording engineer for almost 40 years, had a Revox A-77 reel to reel recorder (ca. 1966), a very fine piece of equipment indeed. As it was relatively easy for him to procure various, excellent, high-quality microphones, and he was then interested in producing new acts, he was able to make some fantastic home recordings which were much more alive and dynamic than anything I was generally hearing on vinyl commercially at that time. I wonder what happened to all those tapes? Other components which knocked me out remain in my system today. Number 1 would have to be the CAT SL-1 Ultimate preamp, which I can now admit is not perfect, but still does more things very well than any other that I have heard. It has dynamics and bass and low-end power and weight to die for, a beautifully smooth and tonally balanced and accurate mid-range. I also like my First Sound Presence Deluxe Mk II preamp, but not quite as much overall. After working to find power cords which work well with it, it is more transparent than the CAT, has that stunningly quiet black background, throws a slightly wider soundstage, really kicks out the female vocals to their best advantage, but lacks a little weight, depth and power at the low end at least in my system. I am trying to find an amp which will show the First Sound to its best advantage. Lastly, there are my Pass Aleph 4 amp and my Vandersteen 3A Signature speakers, which have sufficient accuracy, bass extension, midrange purity, overall smoothness and presentation of detail to allow me to hear the differences in all the other components. |
Original Martin-Logan CLS with Entec Lf30 subs driven by Audio Research D115mkII amp and SP10 preamp Quad 63s with Entec SW1 subs driven by Spectral DMA50 amps and DMC10 preamp Avantgarde Duos driven by Audionote Kondo (?) integrated amp Wilson Watt/Puppy 7s driven by Jadis Defy 7 amp and Hovland HP100 preamp |
Old tannoy 15 incher with a tweeter in the center. This sounded so realistic! I went up to a grand piano, and closed my eyes, and played a few notes, and I had a hard time distinguishing them apart! I had a chance to talk to the famous maestro Jung Myung whun, and he said it sounded better than all the orchestras he conducts! (McIntosh amp + Cd player) I love the sound for their realism, as well as for their profound spirit they seem to convey in classical music. There are soft and mushy sounding upscale speakers that sounds glorious, but listening to them for awhile, makes me miss a realistic sounding speaker. I think it would be nice to have a several set of speakers connected by speaker selector like Niles (ebay). Many audio lovers go that rout I heard, coz different music sounds better on different speakers, and buying is fun (the real reason) :>) |
Tact 2.2x room correctiion preamp. First heard it at a friend's house and it blew me away--opened up and separated the performers in a much more lifelike way, and added layering to the stage and fleshed out and added body to the vocals--was like listening to a different (and much better) system. After experimenting with a dozen cables and half-dozen amps in my ($25,000+)system , but still not completely satisfied, I wondered if the Tact could do the same for me. Well, it did even more. Not as much a difference with soundstage, but cleaned up the whole presentation. My best description is that a blanket was removed from over the speakers. Everything opens up and the natural decay and detail just hangs there. I erroneously thought my 10'x16'x24' dedicated room was decent. Not anymore. Made all the amp and cable changes seem quite subtle and unremarkable. I'll also second the Apogees. 12 years ago I heard the Duetta Sigs at a dealer with top-of-line Mark Levinson gear and was enthralled. I bought them, but unfortunately was never able to get them to sound as good in my room/system and eventually sold them--which pleased my wife ;-) |
My Wireworld ic's and speaker cables. These cables left me dazed and confused for a few weeks after installing them. Also, the Avantgarde/BAT demo room at the 2003 HES. That demo was the closest thing to actual live music I have ever heard. The sound was real "live" music, not a stereo simulation of live music which can be all well and good. But that demo showed me what it really takes to really GET THERE! |
The first speakers that really knocked me out were the Acoustat X. The ones with the built in direct drive tube amps. The sound was (to me at the time) unbelievable. It sounded like there was a harpsichord in the room. They were so beamy you almost needed a vise for your head. Anyone else ever own these? |
Twenty some odd years ago I was blown away by a Keith Monks record cleaning machine.....Nitty Gritty came out with a machine for $350 and had to have one.....Wore it out and bought a VPI RCM.....A few years ago I found Optrix and it made CDs sound listenable.....Bought a beveling machine for CDs called an audio desk systeme and it was a revelation....As far as gear goes the ARC SP3A-1 was an eye opener....The Goldmund Studio was killer, but the Rockport was so much quieter and so easy to use....Rockport speakers were wonderful ten years ago, but the Sound Lab M-1s are cleaner.....Epiphanies are few and far between in audio unfortunately.... |
circa 1970/71 (16 yrs. old) walked into a friends Uncle's house. His Uncle had these two speakers (make unk.) which had to be 18 - 24 inches in diameter and this contraption with more tubes than "Carter" has pills. We begged him to play it. We were "blown away". I'll never forget it. Heck I had a "FM" converter in my car to one speaker. |
the first high end system i heard was a sota saphire with a sumiko mdc-800 tonearm (the arm) and a sumiko talisman s cartridge. that was running into a perreaux sm-2 preamp going to a belles class a amp. the speakers were vandersteen 2c's. before this all i had heard was japanese midfi equipment. i knew from this point on, music listening would be different. |
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vopin&1043544749&openusid&zzTok20000&4&5#Tok20000 Click for pics of components in my system that blew me away. Enjoy! KF |
JBL 150A's hooked up to a Hafler 500 power amp and a 110 preamp. I had the JBL's hooked up to some Kenwood separates and though I was in audio nirvana. A friend brought the Hafler gear over alone with a turntable. Our jaws all dropped. Totally clean and totally clear three dimensional sound emanated from the space in front of us. Still the best I have heard. A system that just plain worked. All my gear went up for sale and was sold the next weekend. Heard the perfect sound, and could of had the perfect sound but nooo I am still searching. That system had perfect synergy by dumb luck. Maggies 3.6's and a bryston 4bsst are next. |
My first encounter with tubes was with an old Leak Stereo 20 power amp. I picked it up at a garage sale and had all of the caps/resistors etc replaced with audio grade parts. The sound was unreal, so musical and non-fatiguing. It blew away my Linn LK1 and LK2-75 combo, for a fraction of the price. Although memories fade, my recollection is that it sounded way more natural and musical than my current CJ CAV 50 integrated. |
pair of cary monoblocks driving swan speakers. front end was a high end turntable. I think the preamp was a sonic frontiers.I cant recall the model of any of the equipment,but the sound was astounding. It was if you could reach out and touch the musicans it was so real. instuments hung in the air,breathing life into every note. |
I have to second the Nestorovic Type 4 speakers. Made by Mile Nestorovic who was the main design engineer, I beleive, when Macintosh tube amps were at their zenith. He started his own company that some feel make the best tube amp, speakers and subwoofers in the business. They are rare and expensive. His subwoofer design is genius. The type 4 are his top of the line speakers. They are a pyramid shaped, time and phase aligned 3 way, with a leaf tweeter, 5 inch domed upper mid, and 8 inch lower mid. In a System 16 they are placed on a 20" stand with anonther pair of type 4 speakers placed on top in a head to head arraingement along with 2 subs. I was on the speaker merry go round at the time I heard these. Had a pair of Maggies that were the best of all I had tried so far including stats and many high end dynamics but I was still searching until I found these. Love at first listen and I knew my search was over (at least for now). These loudspeakers reproduce naturally what is in the music. All frequencies are very well reproduced and balanced. Another impressive point is the diffusion. You will never believe that there are two columns of loudspeakers. It is a feeling that you are covered in all directions with music. It sounds as close to the real thing that I have heard. |
Jeez.. Mike.. you make it sound so appetizing and makes one go rush out and demos these items .. being 2 hrs from Montreal.. I have to go test these Tenors.. I have to also find a pair of those Kharmas !.. but I do not think there are Canadian dealers.. I have to admit.. my big knockout was when I put in my first Mark Levinson Amp .. I had swapped out an ATI amp.. what a revelation.. not that the ATI was a bad amp, on the contrary.. but the ML amp was soo good and detailed.. next was the AA Capitole MK II.. was my first high end CD player that I found was worthy of replacing my ML DAC and transport. good thread ! |
Apogee Duettas. In the mid-80's I heard these at a Denver dealer, Listen Up, with the at the time requisite Krell KMA 100's and a CD source. The room was long with the speakers up on an elevated platform; subdued lighting with the speaklers gently spotlit and a hushed ambience implied that something special was going to happen. And it did. Lush, seamless sound issued forth which was powerfully extended on the bottom as well as being extraordinarily delicate and airy on top. And this was on chamber music from my nascent CD collection! The music floated; the huge speakers disappeared; I flipped out. I scraped up the green to buy these about 18 months later. I used them with a Counterpoint SA-20. I subsequently had Levinson ML-2's and a Rowland 5 on them all of which I felt were inherently better sounding amps than the Krells. I could never duplicate the sound I heard that cold, rainy day in Denver. Setup is everything. |
Over the years I've had many "knocks-me-out" up grades. I guess my first moving coil; Fidelity Research & their step-up device. I think I only slept 3 hrs in 48--from pulling out all my records. That was 1978. Lots of those sessions since-- but not quite at that level. Installing a King Cobra/ then an Audio Magic Stealth was quite an improvement. |
Which components knocked me out on the first listen??? Well, in that regard, I can think of several. And they are the following: Speaker System: (01). Vandersteen 2 (first connected to PS Audio Delta Power Amplifier back in 1990, then connected to a McCormack Power Drive DNA-0.5 in 1997 (being controlled by a McCormack TLC-1 Line Stage)) -- 1990, 1992, 1995 and 1997. AND (02). KEF Reference 102 (back in 1987..... being driven first by a Mission Integrated Amplifier..... then a Bryston 4B, and then a Nakamichi PA-7 with Stasis Technology..... and was impressed each time I listened to them. I was impressed so much, that I went ahead and bought a pair a year later. Still continue to be impressed by them 14 years later) -- 1986, 1987, and 1988 (eventually purchased). Power Amplifier: McCormack Power-Drive DNA-0.5 -- 1997. Mark Levinson No.20 Class A Mono Power Amplifier -- 1989. Nakamichi PA-7 (with Stasis Technology) -- 1986. Preamplifier: Adcom GFP-750 Active/Passive Line Stage with Remote Control -- 1998 (purchased in 1999). McCormack TLC-1 Transparant Line Stage -- 1997. Mark Levinson No.26 (fully configured) -- 1989. Audio Research SP-10 MkII -- 1985. Audio Research SP-11 MkII -- 1988. Integrated Amplifier: Classe CAP-151 -- 2000. Compact Disc Player: Meridian 506.24 -- 2000. Super Audio Compact Disc Player: (01). Sony SCD-1 -- 1999 (02). Sony SCD-777ES -- 1999. When it comes to being floored on the VERY first listen, the components listed above come to mind. And to be fortunate enough to purchase two of them, and come close to purchasing yet another one says a whole lot about the list that is being listed above. I will be purchasing a DVD player that is capable of playing SACDs (which will either be a Sony DVP-S9000ES or a Sony DVP-NS999ES) shortly. --Charles-- |
my top 'knocked out on first listen' would have to be a few weeks back with the Rockport Sirius III turntable. i had driven 1800 miles over 36 hours to go pick it up from it's former owner. i purchased it without ever hearing it.....it took 4 hours to disassemble and load into my SUV (all 600 pounds worth) and then after driving back we disassembled my Sirius II and set-up the III. when i first dropped the needle i thought something was wrong....everything had slowed way down....then i realized that there was so much more information in every note that it created the illusion of much more of a look into the musical message. i was literally floored with what it did. i had anticipated it being good but until i heard what it did i just was not prepared for it. my top "unexpected" knocked out experience would have to be my first experience with the Tenor amps. i had arrived at a friends home late one evening to return a demo pair of amps i had decieded to buy.....i casually sat down to briefly listen before unloading my car....and whammo! the clarity, resolution and top to bottom coherence just grabbed me. i was very familiar with my friends system so the differences were profound. i was in love at first listen and have lived happily ever after with the Tenors. |
Nestorovic System 12 in Mile's basement. I traveled to Seattle on business last week. While in the area I wanted to stop by Nestorovic Labs and check out their latest speakers. When I arrived I discovered Nestorovic Labs was at Mile Nestorovic's house. His wife answered the door and I got to meet the man himself. His laboratories and demo rooms are in his basement. Armed with Roger Waters album, Amused to Death we demoed his System 12. Mile, my son, & I listened together. I don't know if he enjoyed my tunes (he's a classical buff), but I was totally blown away. For those interested--he had a Sonic Frontiers preamp, an Accuphase CD player, a Sony super-CD unit, a Kyocera turntable, Nestorovic NA-1 tube mono amps running the Type 4's, and a large Nikko power-amp running the Type 8's. I dropped by his home without an appointment thinking the address was to a business, yet he was a very gracious host. Anyone thinking about an audition probably ought to call first, but it was a treat. |
Two....the first experience was when I was about 17 or 18 years old. I was sent on an erand by my boss to an applience store in downtown New York City, Hines & Boulet. This was 1962-63??? When I walked in the store I heard music (SOUNDS) that I had never before. It was so impressive that that was the day I was determined to follow my quest. I never foumd out what the speakers were, but I believe thay were the AR-1's. Then in 1974-1975 I wnet over a friends home (apartment) and heard for the very first time the Infinity Servo Static 1-A's. They were driven by ARC 76A's amps on the mids and 51's on the top. The SP 3A-1 was the pre amp with a Linn/Decca arm/Decca Cartridge.......oh my!!!! What a sound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Hi Cody, I will never forget when i combined my system with Audiogon member Jcbtubes. Well tempered reference TT, Spectral DMC 20 preamp, Spectral DMA 180 amp, and MIT best cable at that time through out the system. The speakers were a four panel ELS from Audiostatic. This was over 12 years ago. I have yet to hear a system at any price that gave a me a reproduced sound that sounded anything sounding reproduced. For what ever reason, we were never able to get the magic back of that one incredible night. A real memory maker. Just wish i could get it back. |
ProAc Response 3.5's powered by a Spectral DMA 180 and Spectral's CD transport & processor back in 94 I believe. The dealer played Dire Straits Love Over Gold CD for me. I swear Mark Knopfler was in the room with me. Then last year I heard the Avalon Eidolon/Boulder/Accuphase system. The same day I heard the Avantgarde Duos partnered with Hovland/Art Audio. Both were absolutely amazing! |
Around 1977-78.Walked into my first high end dealer and strolled into their main listening room, and what I heard just blew me away. Out of these tiny speakers, with no subwoofers ( Roger's LS3-5a ) driven by the then top-of-the-line electronics( all tube Audio Research ) with a top turntable(Linn LP-12) and Koetsu Rosewood I heard the most amazing and life-like sound I had ever heard reproduced next to live.Sitting mesmerized in a sound-drunken state, I officially became a true audiophile. |
No in store demo system has ever done it for me-- I have to hear the component in my own system to be able to judge its character and worth. But in home, I've heard (and bought) some really good ones: 1. Vandersteen 5 speakers; great mid-range clarity and incredible bass-- bought them. 2. Levinson M360S DAC; very musical, and made average digital sound-- well, not digital-- bought it. 3. Sonic Frontiers SFL2 pre-amp. The best I've ever heard, but didn't buy it because of a hum problem, and instead went with the newer Line 2, which sounds very good, but not quite as good as that SFL2. I had it upgraded to SE level and found some excellent NOS tubes for it, and it now sounds as good as that SFL2 I liked so much. I like some tubes in my system. 4. McCormack DNA2 Dlx amp; quick, natural sounding, and with excellent bass control and PR&T-- bought it and later had it up-graded to Revision A which was a nice improvement. 5. Not a component exactly, but Synergistic Research Sig. #2 speaker cables "wowed" me. These thick high purity copper cables were the first wires that clearly demonstrated to me how important wires could be, and I still use a variation of them today. Cheers. Craig |
