do you know why there was no life to the music Ozzy? that's because they were using those crappy transparent ofc junk cables that they charge an arm and a leg for, those boxes screw up everything they make everything sound dead and lifeless the best cable to use is OCC single crystal wire, has been proven now for 50 years to be the best wire for audio far superior to anything ofc at any price.
So, I listened to a $1Million Dollar System
So, I listened to a $1Million dollar system.
A somewhat local dealer had an event that showcased the Dan D’Agostino Relentless Epic mono block amps, Relentless Preamplifier, Wilson Audio Chronosonic XVX speakers and subsonic subwoofer. Along with the Transparent cabling, HRS stands, DCS Dac and other accessories I estimate the total cost to be over $1Miilion.
I was able to sit in the front row center. The speakers estimated to weigh over 700 lbs. were toed in quite a bit towards the listener.
The demonstrator played a lot of obscure music that centered on some very deep bass. I must admit the bass was quite impressive.
Eventually (reluctantly) the demonstrator played a few tunes that I requested, and I was quite surprised.
With this million-dollar system the music sounded quite dull, the rep called it “mellow”, but to me it was dull. There was no life to the music, limited highs and zero music coming from the extreme left- right.
For instance, I use the Linda Ronstadt track “Blue Bayou” as a reference. Within this track at about the 40-60 second mark there is a mandolin that plays in the extreme left channel. On many systems that information is buried deep into the mix. However, systems with high resolution can play it clearly. Unfortunately, with this million-dollar system I could not even detect it.
So why is it? Can the Wilson speakers be adjusted in such a way as to accent the bass and attenuate the mid-treble? If so, why would they demonstrate that way? Were the speakers too toed in? Or was it because there were about 10 people in the room (btw, a large room) which muted some of the speaker’s energy? Whatever, I was NOT impressed.
ozzy
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It is this one, right: https://dandagostino.com/products/relentless-preamplifier? Its description doesn’t make much sense to me. For instance: "The audio circuit topology starts with a new discrete differential FET input stage featuring a voltage input signal capability of an extraordinary 30 volts." Why would one want 30 volts of input sensitivity? For XLR input, a sensible default would be 0.775 volts, for RCA 0.250 volts. It is fashionable these days to go up to 4.0 volts and 2.0 volts correspondingly for XLR and RCA, yet 30 volts is just way too high. Output of, for instance iPad, would be way too low for that, with resulting subjective lack of dynamics. "All signal gain is realized in the current domain using proprietary multiple-output current mirrors with nearly 30 times the linearity of other designs" . There is no gain in a current mirror circuit. That is why it is called "mirror". Well, one can argue that a gain of 1.0 is still a gain, yet I would argue that one could also get a passive switch box with passive volume control instead of a bunch of current mirrors, and be done with it. "Utilizing no negative feedback anywhere ..." How does it achieve linearity then? Does it use some alien technology amplification components instead of transistors or vacuum tubes? If not, and the input signal swings the whole allowed range, then absence of negative feedback must result in non-trivial distortions. If the idea is that the expected input voltage is standard, so that the input differential stage operates over a small portion of its range, thus increasing linearity, then the issue of excessive noise arises, subjectively perceived as lack of detail. Unless, of course, the preamp, once again, uses some kind of alien technology for amplification and passive components. "Total Harmonic Distortion <.006%, 20Hz to 20kHz" At what input voltage? At what gain setting? Without specifying those, the specified distortion figure isn’t overly informative. The preamplifier may well be nice, yet it also may be both more distorting and noisier than typical professional gear used in mastering studios. Hard to tell from the description and specs. |
@ozzy It may be that the sound of the system simply did not suit your taste - we each have different sound preferences. Presumably your own (much cheaper?) system does suit your taste. So just to put us in the picture please let us know the components of your system. |
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