BLACK MAMBA on CD player, SIDEWINDER on amp (from my notes):..............(These are just in the order I made note of them, you'll have to read the whole thing to decipher the positive from the negative aspects).........................Despite an upper bass hump, allowed me to hear into the deep bass range more clearly, even though it wasn't as loud. The deep bass was better focused, and I was somehow able to hear deeper, even though it was proportionately quieter and with less weight/slam. The TONAL ANOMALIES were still there (from the last combo I tried, where the Sidewinder was also on the amp, then). I.e., the upper midrange and treble were shelved up a little. Images seemed to float less freely of the speakers, and the background wasn't as black (when compared to the Black Mamba-CD/Proteus-amp combo). There was a grainy, hazy type of distortion thru pretty much the whole range (it had not been near as noticeable as, say, with the Sidewinder on the CD player, and the Proteus on the amp). The entire presentation was decidedly DIGITAL, not exactly a good thing (however the "jump" factor was the best it's been, so that was terrific, and by far THE BEST ASPECT of this combo). The treble was still forward, and attack transients were definitely hyped. The upper midrange could (again) turn hard at times. DESPITE ALL OF THIS NEGATIVITY, fatigue after long periods of listening wasn't as high as it has been with lesser AC cord combos, but as we all have been known to say, "it still wasn't exactly what I'm looking for", either..................And also to the credit of this combo, I did prefer it this way, as opposed to having the Black Mamba on amp, and Sidewinder on CD player. As I've already indicated, upper bass pitch specificity and dynamics (rhythm and "snap" factor) were OUTSTANDING, and do surpass all other combos (so far) in this regard.................Plucked acoustic guitar strings sounded "hi-fi", their attck transient over-hyped/delineated, and somewhat unnaturally related to the wooden body sound................Stage depth was quite good, but again with high frequency sounds coming slightly disconnected and forward several feet from where they really are in the recording's acoustic. The outlines of an instrument's edges were hyped, and the midrange/treble did possess an almost "cheap solid state", unrefined quality. The wonderful ANALOG QUALITY that was present in the mids and his of the Mamba-CD/Proteus-amp combo was COMPLETELY gone......................The extra distortion present in the mids and treblewas similar in character to that of a compression horn driver, but to a lesser degree. TO SUM UP: Putting the Sidewinder on the power amp (with Black Mamba on CD player) barely seemed to help, more than it hurt. This of course will vary depending on what one feels is important, besides the myriad system matching factors out there. THE TRADE OFF is tonal and image refinement, for dyanamics (from the upper bass, and upward) and imaging solidity. The Balck Mamba is SOOOO tonally refined (on the CD player, less so on the amp...also current limited a little bit on the amp) that IMHO it would be a shame to throw that refinement away in order to get the limited (albeit substatnial) benefits, from what the Sidwinder did right in this combo. I suppose if an otherwise similar system to mine, was EXTREMELY LAID BACK, but had subterranean bass extension, and otherwise had the creamiest/smoothest timbres and tones on earth (to a fault), then this combo would perhaps be well suited.
