Integrated amp for my Sonus Faber Guarneri

Daveyf, yes, as I tried to say before, I only use the fixed DAC output from the iDecco, and not the pre-out or amp. Thanks for looking into that for me, though. I think the DAC portion if the unit is decent. Mine was the first unit sold in Japan (certified), and as such I got it at a special low price that made it very worthwhile. BTW, I notice zero jitter with the Toslink, and hear no difference via USB. I'll trust you and keep it hooked by USB for the rest of this test, though.

Off to the shop now to see whether there is any way to try something by way of another amp, a sub, and/or cables for a reasonable price....

Good morning,

If they're Homages...here is a (very minor but instant) tweak for bass. Make sure to hook up the speaker cables to the BOTTOM connection and run the bridge to the upper midrange/tweeter connections.

ideally, you would have a high quality jumper cable...but that is in the super, super, nit picky ideal situation. nevertheless, i did notice that bass was notably fuller when i hooked up the speaker cables directly to the lower speaker terminals vs the upper ones.

meanwhile, keep us posted this weekend on sub. it really is worth a shot in a hobby that i suspect you are going to stay in for years...trade-ins and new purchases are expensive...but if u have a reasonable path to keep upgrading...because some of your components (like a G) can keep up with upgraded electronics...you will find you are trading in a little less, and certainly making fewer "lateral" changes instead of true upgrades.

...oh and you may wish to try the speakers 1 foot closer to the back wall (ie, 3 feet from back wall) and re-do the toe-in either still directly facing you, or turned out just a little so that you can barely see the insides of each speaker...

..I was very enchanted by your Cellist friends description, also the fact he plays a Guarneri. I am a violinist indeed playing a violin by a maker of that family (there are five of them, believe it or not, the most famous being "del Gesu", the youngest nephew of my Pietro)
I loved mine, but incidentally now use Merlin TSM's
Cannot help you further, feeling you must use speaker for what they are intended; My experience with Accuphase E550 and later Berning ZH270 were outstanding; I personnally could not quite stand the flash character. In difference to a violin, which is a tool, speakers loose that quality, when to glossy. Sorry not much use.
Btw I feel the Yamahas 1000 are fantastic, heard them once at a guys, but he also had a pair of 10000's and they trumped them, thats life.

It's definitely NOT the amp...Test results

I took everyone's advice and tried out some more amps yesterday, in a 3-hour listening test at the shop where I bought the GH's. On recommendation of the owner, I tried the following amps that were in the shop (it's a used audio shop) and heard the general qualities below. I kept everything constant except the amp.

Recordings (in both players):

Wagner e Venezia, Winter & Winter (wonderful outdoor chamber concert, with extremely detailed outdoor audience sounds)

A Solo - P. Pandolfo - Cello suites (a favorite)

Rachmaninov - Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini - The USSR Ministry Of Culture Symphony Orchestra

A Window In Time - Rachmaninoff on a Bosendorfer (amazing reproduction from his paper recordings)

Segovia - Suite No. 3, Courante

Ella and Luis - "Summertime"

'Trane and Miles - "Round Midnight"

Nat and Natalie Cole - "Unforgettable" - Capitol Collector's Series

Cassandra Wilson - "Love is Blindness" - New Moon Daughter

Lisa Ekdahl - "Give me that slow knowing smile"

The Beatles - "Can't buy me love" (for fun)

Bits of some others

Sources:
- Njoe Tjoeb CD4000 player with 24/96 upsampler and Siemens 7308 Gold pin tubes (my own unit)

- iDecco playing WAV files from iPod (my own units)

Cabling by "Transparent"

Preamp:
McIntosh C-40

Amps and impressions
1. Luxman B-10 (SS) monoblocks (huge, heavy, 500 W/ch each)
EXTREMELY detailed, something like old Quad electrostics. I could discriminate clearly among among many people talking and feel where they were sitting relative to each other, even a few sparrow chirps, feet shuffling, etc. in the long intro to Wagner e Venezia. The strings were perfectly separated from each other. The overall feeling was "dry" though, and completely lacked lower notes.

2. Jeff Rowland 501 monoblocks (SS) (pleasingly small and light, 500 W/ch)
Nowhere near the detail of the Luxman blocks, but a warmer "wetter" sound and much stronger low notes. A kind of unnatural, "electronic" quality.

3. Luxman MA-88 monoblocks (tube)
Sharp and harsh on high notes. Didn't listen long.

4. Triode 845 Signature monoblocks (tube)
Much nicer sound than the MA-88, above, but something struck me also as "unnatural" about it.

What all of these told me consistently is that the "smallness" of the soundstage, or "being further away in the audience," as Lloydelee21 put it, is a characteristic of the speakers and not related to my amp, sources, or cabling.

It also showed me that in no way is my McIntosh MA6800 underpowered in terms of delivering bass or width of soundstage, as many of us (including me) suspected. The MA6800 is less detailed than the high-powered monoblocks above, or the Krell/Goldmund combinations I listened to before I bought these GH's, but I prefer the overall warmth and balance among instruments the MA6800 provides.

The Jeff Rowland 501 and especially Luxman B-10 showed me weaknesses in the iDecco's reproduction of WAV files from the iPod compared to the same WAV files played on my CD player, as Daveyf pointed out.

The GH's are truly amazing in how detailed they can be and also how revealing of the various characteristics of the amps and recordings played through them. However, as small speakers, they are limited in the "depth" or "width" of the soundstage (I wish I had more accurate audio vocabulary at my disposal) compared to my floor-standers.

As far as I can see, the only thing left that I can test in my last week of test time of the with the GH's (which is costing me about US$1000, by the way) is how they sound with a subwoofer, as others and Lloydelee21 in particular have suggested.

Lloydelee21:
While I was testing, someone brought in and sold a Velodyne DLS-R subwoofer to the shop. I was not allowed to try it, because it was not yet officially "owned" by the shop yet, but I have first dibs on buying it for a home trial or at least trying it (for free) at the shop. In your opinion, is this Velodyne DLS-R a decent unit to match with the GH's?

Failing the subwoofer test will definitely get either me or the GHs thrown out by wifey (read the previous post I had referred to...).