Assemblage 3.1 or MSB platinum

Amazing that I also am running the 3.1 into B&W 802's with North Creek outboard Xovers, and I find it very musical, with not a hint of brightness. I upgraded the cheapo standard opamps to the far more expensive model (part of the PLATINUM upgrade package), and the sound improved greatly. I am using my CAL Icon MkII as a transport, run the 3.1 balanced to a Bryston BP-25 preamp and BAT VK-200 amp. Sounds like beautiful music to me!

Thanks Madisonears for your comments. The 3.1 that I auditioned was the Platinum package which is all the more reason that I was so disappointed. My transport is a Theta
Basic II feeding the EAD 7000III DAC. 802 Series II are modified by North Creek and I've added Golden Flutes which make a substantial difference in the bottom end. All interconnects are Gamut. Speaker cable is the new Silver Sonic Q-10. My reference point is my ears-I constantly go to live concerts, especially chamber. What one hears typically is the mellow and wonderful resonance of the wooden bodied instruments-that's what is missing with the 3.1 Who knows, maybe I received a defective unit-but after 100 hours of music still sounded like the cello player was on vacation...and it was even more pronounced on larger classical pieces. I imagine that these differences are what keep us interested in the pursuit of excellence.

More to Madisonears. Forgot to mention several other key points. Preamp is a Linn Kairn hooked to an Aragon 4004 amp. More importantly, I bought an Assemblage D2D about 4 months ago and it truly was the one component that has made the single most favorable change to my system. CD's that were slightly strident all of a sudden became much smoother with a depth and "air" that had never been present before. The D2D was hooked up in line with the 3.1 during my auditions. Perhaps the D2D is so good that it masked whatever standalone qualities the 3.1 might have had if I had auditioned it by itself. I guess I'll never know. Good luck with your listening experience!!!!