Ok guys, my monitor audios pl500s have been sold to a fellow audiophile friend of mine who’s been following my journey for sometime. He’s coming from Sonus Faber olímpica 3s which I’ve also owned. These speakers will totally elevate his listening experience to another level hands down. He also owns the luxman 900u combo which I know has insane synergy with the platinums.
Going forward, all my listening sessions will be with the revel salon 2s until I buy the neoliths. I’ll be sad to see my platinums leave my home but they will certainly sing much better in his room because his room is much larger than mine which will allow these speakers to sound even better than they did with me.
BEST SPEAKER I HAVE OWNED HANDS DOWN |
Mike,
i use lumin s1, simaudio 650d CD player. |
Thank you guys for all the humble comments. I appreciate all the feedback you all give me and it’s a pleasure to share my personal journey. This thread has been going for a long time and it’s incredible the amount of people that reach out to me because of it.
I wish I did have a second set of ears to confirm my findings.
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Alright guys, i decided to plug in the krell 403e via unbalanced connections (krell does not recommend balanced connections when using tube preamps) and although i get a little bit of hum when i am about 2 feet from the speakers, Here are my impressions of the gs150 with 50 hours vs krell 403e:
1. Krell has far more bass control and sounds a bit faster on the bottom end.
2. Krell has about the same soundstage as gs150
3. Gs150 may have a slight advantage on certain materials.
That said, i had my wife do a blind test and she chose the Krell 403e. She said it felt as if things sounded "larger" lol.
I will say that on certain songs, there may be a little more air and last ounce of detail on the gs150 that may be missing on the krell, but again this depends totally on the material. Most people COULD NOT tell these apart. This is either a high praise for the tube amp because it can keep up with the monster krell or a high praise for the krell because it can produce damn near tube sound when connected to a tube preamp.
And now for the final news... As some of you may know, i had the luxman 900u combo and i really enjoyed it with my 803d3 speakers, but since i now own sonus faber cremonese, i am VERY CURIOUS how that set up will sound with my speakers so i just pulled the trigger on the luxman 900u combo again and it should be at my door next week. boy oh boy... THIS WILL BE VERY INTERESTING NOW.
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Thanks for the feedback Ron. I'm glad you liked my input and my recommendation. Having owned tons of amplifiers, I can usually have a pretty good idea of what an amp might bring to a system. I've heard many amps in my home and understand the pros and cons of each for the most part.
Please keep me posted of how the amp progresses. As I stated above, most amps will sound best after a few hours of use. I think the only amps that don't need a warm up are class d amps.
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Dave,
i don’t really run many amps in home theater anymore. To be quite honest i started this journey analyzing home theater amps and sometimes their 2 channel performance as well but using a processor as my preamp. Anyhow this journey has evolved into 2 channel simply because home theater for me has taken a back seat. I enjoy a good movie with great sound, but when you have a 14 month old sleeping upstairs, i cant enjoy subwoofers exploding dynamicly like they should and i can’t have action scenes vibrating my entire room. Long story short, my home theater experience has really diminished due to my daughter. I can’t watch movies during the day because i work and at night i hate having to watch a movie listening at low volumes. I don’t quite enjoy movies when i have to really turn down the volume. This is WHY i shifted over to 2 channel because i can certainly enjoy good music at pretty much any volume. I dont need a subwoofer for it either so the bass created by my speakers isnt of the same depth as what subwoofers do. Maybe one day i will go back to watching movies, but for now i occasionally watch movies with 2 front speakers and 2 surround speakers (no center or subs). |
Dave,
that Odeon continues to be the best multichannel amp period. Don't waste your time looking for a replacement because there's none. The only way to improve upon that amp is by buying monos for all channels or a 2/3/2 amp combination. Yes the krell 402e/403e/402e would kill the Odeon but look at the amount of money and the amount of electricity plus heat.
In a single chassis multichannel amp, nothing beats the plinius Odeon. I don't care where you look. NOTHING. No ATI, theta dreadnaught (yuck), classe, parasound, bryston, nad, Cary audio, etc.
That is one hell of an amp.
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Anyhow guys, I think the 403e krell has shocked me with what it can do with tube preamps. I am also starting to believe that sonus faber cremonese may sound better with quality watts from solid state amps
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UPDATE: i just wanted to let everyone know that the deal with the person i was buying the luxman pieces from fell through so i won't be getting luxman at this time.
That said, this opened up funds for me to possibly buy something that ALOT of people have praised to me: BELCANTO BLACK SYSTEM. I am not 100% certain, but i may end up selling my audio research reference 6 and audio research gs150 if i decide to buy the black system. It would be a total shift for me to go from all tubes to all class d. However, the bel canto black system is supposed to be the elite in terms of class d. Nothing is supposed to surpass it. |
i am hoping as well Kenny. I just need to figure out a few things first and then if it all falls into place, i may pull the trigger. |
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Update on gs150: So as the break in continues, i STILL find the krell 403e connected to my reference 6 preamp sounding damn near identical to the gs150. I mean, i am closing my eyes and try to find a difference and MAYYYYBE at times and depending on the song i can actually a slight tiny difference: a little more depth in the sound and at times a tad more sparkle, but again this is splitting hairs here and i have to actually be looking for these differences.
So far, my early assessment of tube amps -this gs150 to be specific- is that i am not impressed and not willing to shell out 1300 dollars for an entire tube set every 4,000 hours when my solid state amp is damn near identical when connected to the same source and same preamp. however, i can see value in a tube preamp more than tube amp. I am telling you all, your system needs to be 200% dialed in for tubes in order to really capitalize on what tubes can do.
Please note, this is my early assessment of my amp at 60 hours. My preamp has 493 hours so it is already broken in. |
Ok, i will make things a bit interesting here and for the first time gather input from everyone. As some of you may know, i own the audio research reference 6 and the audio research GS150 amp and sonus faber IL Cremonese speakers, aurender n100h streamer and gamut cd3 reference cd player.
So far i find it good sounding (amp has 50 hours or so, preamp has about 490 hours). That said, as i said above, i have the opportunity to purchase a bel canto black system and trade in my audio research set up.
My questions to you all are these:
1. Would you make the switch from the audio research above and go into the bel canto black system? if so, why?
2. Do you think this switch will enhance my listening experience? how so?
3. Is this a mistake in terms of sound quality? Please elaborate with this question.
I am very curious as to how many of you follow my thread and answers to these questions will certainly help me make a decision. You are now in the drivers seat and can either make me move into the bel canto black system or push me away from doing so.
I look forward to your responses guys ! |
fsonicsmith: i appreciate your feedback an reasoning. You are correct, i did state that class d is the fastest to depreciate followed by tubed gear. That said, although we all know the black system is 50k, my cost would be far less than that. I would be buying "just right" if i were to make this move.
I had thought about the black system many months ago and did not pursue it, but i did have the chance to bring home the black integrated and i thought it was incredible and THE BEST BASS I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE BY FAR!!.
One thing we all need to remember about tubed gear; The value with tube gear is less and less due to the fact that many people try to negotiate you on the price based on the hours you have on the tubes. This creates a hard position for most people because buyers will always pull out the " oh i gotta buy tubes for all this pretty soon which will cost me x amount of dollars etc" so then you have to begin to adjust your price accordingly. In short, tubes and class d gear do not have the same "appeal" for many reasons:
1. tubes have a cost of ownership associated with it
2. Class d technology changes all the time
David: Interesting feedback as well. That said, you are also only giving your input based on what you have heard which i totally understand. As i mentioned above, i heard the black bel canto integrated and it was incredible and my connection said the black system will stump all over the integrated and that it is a whole new animal.
Some of the reviews absolutely praise the black system. They claim there is no other class d system that sounds like it and let's not forget this system has been out since 2014 and it is still a current model. Belcanto states that they have no plans to change it because they can't find a way to make it better.
I appreciate all of your responses though and you have given things to think about! Keep the feedback coming! |
i have been trying to hear one of those, but unfortunately they are scarce and not show up often.
For now, I am going back and forth between my audio research gear and the belcanto system. |
One additional curve ball to all of you, I also have access to a pair of jeff rowland 925 monos... What is the feeling about these when compared to audio research? vs belcanto black? |
thanks Guido. I will keep that in the back of my mind. |
Hi guys,
so after doing a bit of research and deliberation as to what my next move will be, I decided to no pursue the belcanto black system at this time. I decided to give another pass Labs a shot with my sonus fabers. As you know, I really like pass Labs but felt the x350.8 was not the right match for my speakers so I decided to pursue pure class a power this time around and purchased a pair of pass labs xa200.5 monos along with the matching pass labs preamp. As many of you know, this is supposed to be one amazing pair of monos with tons of power and class a power on tap. Having owned the xs150s, im clear as to what the pass labs xs sound like so it will be very interesting to try the xa200.5s which have even more class a than the xs150s. Yes, pass labs is coming back again so I’m really looking forward to seeing how a full pass Labs set up is going to do against the audio research. Remember, pass labs class a is "supposed " to sound like tubes without tubes so I will be really testing that claim in about a week when I have an all class a vs tubes shoot out. Stay tuned!
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Guys:
the bat is great. No real loss of anything in my opinion and it has balls. Amazing component. |
decisions decisions... so i have access to a boulder 2010 preamp and a audio research reference 10 preamp. I can only get one at this time, can anyone give me their input as which one i should get? something tells me to get the boulder to see the synergy with the boulder 2060 and another thing tells me the audio research 10 could be a game changer.
Ok, give me your input guys |
hi guys, yes i agree so far with your feedback. i love my reference 6 but i am very curious about the boulder 2010 because i want to really hear how the pair sounds with my salon 2s. i still have this last itch to hear both components together to find out what they are capable of. I am very curious about the ref 10 though, but given that there are not many 2010 preamps out there, i guess i could justify this opportunity to pull the trigger and see what happens. I have several opinions from different friends of course who claim the ref 10 is probably superior in every way simply because it is a newer design. |
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Ok so I may end up playing with 3 separate preamps and amps all at once. You guys are killing me here :)
i am now leaning heavily towards the boulder 2010 rather than the ref10.
If that 2010 doesn’t wow me given the price, I’ll probably sell the boulder combo and revisit the Belcanto black system. |
I’ve never owned the Titan but I do like simaudio stuff. I know the Odeon is the best multichannel amp I’ve owned. |
Hi guys,
i picked up a Mcintosh mcd550 sacd player today and i was doing a real A/B comparison between the mcd550 and my oppo 205. I will tell you one thing, it was ridiculous how mediocre the oppo 205 is as a cd player. I know it is a different price point, etc, BUT WHY do you hear that it is supposed to be so amazing and besting other reference pieces? i just HATE the hype that magazines give these things because the reality is that it is all a bunch of BS. There were a couple of reviews on the oppo 105 and how great it was and that it was being used a reference cd player by some, etc ,etc. This couldn’t be further than the truth. I am here doing REAL A/B comparisons with both. i have the SAME CD with the SAME SONG playing on both and connected my reference 6 preamp. Both are exactly at the same db level and i just switch inputs back and forth and it is crazy to hear how much better the mcintosh is. I am already planning a full night worth of cd music tonight.
The reason why i share is? well i just want EVERYONE to know that NO AN OPPO BLURAY IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR A REFERENCE CD PLAYER. Don’t make that mental mistake that by spending 1200 dollars you have a cd player that is better than other true stand alone reference cd players.
The oppo 205 is a great bluray player and that is where it ends. |
No worries Kenny.
as far as using a Dac as a preamp, I'm not so sure. I've tried the direct stream and it was very good but nowhere near close to my audio research reference 6. I'm still a firm believer that there's no replacement for a real preamp. |
Lalitk: i mentioned that some reviews call the oppo 205 or even the 105 a "reference cd player or preamp". I was like really? It is a great unit considering the price, but i am trying to make some people understand that they don't need to bite the bs magazines write.
corvette: i have not owned emotiva monos, but i suspect they're great amps for the money. i have emotiva amps now and i had to send one in for something minor and emotiva was amazing to deal with. They really try to make things right with customers.
I also wanted to share that the xa200.5s have officially shipped to me along with the matching xp30 preamp. They are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. I plan to pull them out the same day and turn them on to be sure they are working 100% and then they will sit there for about 2 days until Friday night when the first shoot out begins. |
The pass lab .5 series seem to be more musical and forgiving than the .8. MJ recollection of the 350.5 vs 350.8 is that the .8 has more resolution and the bass seems a tad deeper but the .5 sounded better with even poor sources. |
corvette: i only would use subwoofers if the room i have was really terrible and couldnt get any speaker to give me the bass i want. I rather not use any subwoofers if i can help it. I also go for Jl audio fathoms ( i have owned just about every single jl audio subwoofer including the gotham).
UPDATE: The monstrous pass labs xa200.5 have arrived and it is as if i brought king kong into my living room. The only other amp that has physically impressed me so much are the xs150s i had.
Anyhow, i turned them on to test them and make sure all is well and everything is good so far. They are playing with my audio research 6 as i type this. Incredible sonics, MASSIVE BUT MASSIVE soundstage. i don’t think i remember the xs150s sounding so huge and wide but i didnt have the cremonose with those.
Initial impressions from a cold start:
Pros:
Immense amount of sound
Instrument decay is the best i recall hearing
i hear things i didn’t hear before
gorgeous full midrange
crazy amounts of bass control that punches you in the stomach
midrange is dead center
instruments sound organic and real. Piano sounds as if i can almost hear the fingers tapping on the keys.
cons:
sound a tad bright from a cold start with a little graininess
THEY MUST BE CONNECTED TO SEPARATE OUTLETS. My circuit breaker tripped each time i turned them both on at the same time. i need to turn one on at a time.
All in all, i still have to continue listening, but the first impressions seem to have me very pleased. I am actually willing to say the .5 pass labs are better than the .8s for sonus faber speakers.
i still have the pass labs xp30 in the box so i will need to bring it out and see if synergy exists with it and the 200.5s and if this synergy is better than that of the reference 6 and xa200.5s.
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Jafant: so far it's kinda early to analyze the pass xp30 because it needs 24hrs of being turned on to sound best but my intial impressions with both preamps and xa200.5s are these:
reference 6 very detailed and clean sounding.
Reference 6 is very transparent and gives you exactly what you put in.
Reference 6 has great bass control
xp30 has detail and sounds very open
xp30 sounds amazing regardless of the source.
Xp30 isn't as true to the source as the reference 6
so far its too early to tell. Both have strengths and weaknesses so a choice would have to be made based on listening preferences and the material played.
I feel the audio research ref6 has the edge if you listen to jazz and classical but the pass labs has the edge on pop, electro, and HANDS DOWN in rock. The reference 6 can get a tad bright if the material is indeed recorded in such way but the pass labs xp30 doesn't really ever sound bright at all yet it contains tons of detail.
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There won't be luxman anymore. My set up will be either the pass labs combo or the audio research. I'm just going to be doing comparisons for several days |
Thanks Dave. I am right now in shock at how amazing the xa200.5s are. I love that they really don’t put out the same heat as the xs150 monos. I love them so far. I actually told the wife last night that she better get used to seeing these "alligators" as she called them because they are most likely to be kept.
I actually agree with her. When you view them from the top, they look like the back end of an alligator because they’re so long.
I am willing to also add that these amps are game changers. I mean, I can’t even think of another amp that has surprised me as much.
if you look at my previous reviews on other amps, you'll see my love for the xs150s. Really mind blowing amps but boy do they run super hot. If your room isn't massive, you'll be breaking a sweat after a few hours.
Anyhow, right now (things could change) I am leaning to selling my audio research gs150 but I need to be 100% sure.
I feel like my sonus fabers woke up. They sound so muscular and full sounding even at low volumes. Really impressive is an understatement for these amps.
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I want to chime in here since I’ve been absent due to my workload:
1. I like to give my raw opinion on gear I’ve had here. I will say I’ve heard gear in different stores and I wasn’t impressed BUT I believe you can’t really give 100% certainty until you place it in your room and push play. Look, I didn’t like Wilson Sasha’s when I heard them at a store but when I brought them home I thought they were awesome. They sounded very different and engaging here.
2. Techno dude has a valid point in regards to some manufacturers that ask for you to upgrade a component right off the bat. This is why I didn’t want to do room correction, or even roll tubes. I wanted to evaluate product the way it comes out of the box. How does it stack up against the rest ?
3. Rhia: i do agree that in order to evaluate a product, hands on experience is an important one because you can pin point what you hated or loved about it. It’s really hard to do this outside your home. Why? Because you know exactly what your own system sounds like. Your ears are dialed in for your system. You will easily identify the changes when you swap out components.
4. Many brands do sell a lot of snake oil and I unfortunately can’t put them on blast. I have learned that you can’t always trust specs, design, etc. Sometimes when a new version gets released, nothing has changed. It’s just a different color or a different grille. Internally nothing has changed. Why ? Because most manufacturers need to keep selling product.
I love everyone who keeps this thread going. Rhea, techno, mike Paul, Jacob, ron, thezaks, Guido, viber and the rest that I’m forgetting to mention, you all keep me going day in and day out. You guys rock and although you have different points of views, we are pretty much a family here. I appreciate the effort you guys also put in here. Rhea is nuts, techno dude is crazy, and I’m the craziest mofo out of everyone. :) |
All good guys. Rhea is a good dude. He’s probably crazier than I am. I’m trying to pry is m400 monos and he won’t let me. Damn it. If he was my neighbor, we would have no wife or a family because of the crazy amount of shoot outs we would do.
What I feel techno did was to say what came to mind but I also understand what he meant. You know how many times I’ve tried to say “ this amp sucks and it will only sound good with a 5,000 dollar power cord”?
The bottom line is when we buy a car, like a Lamborghini aventador, we aren’t expecting to drop another 30k in engine work in order to be impressed. We want it to make us go like HOLY crap as it comes from the factory and whatever we buy for it is icing on the cake. Granted, the bhk300s aren’t a lambo. I think they are a good bang for the money. Are they better than Luxman? Nope. But for the money, it’s a good pair of amps.
Another great example is the ref10. It’s an example of being blown away with it the way it comes. With factory tubes it sounds like holy shit. If you roll tubes then it will probably be far better.
Lastly, I wanted to thank grey9hound for sending me some cool music. I received a lot of CDs from him and I can’t wait to play all of it so I can Comment.
Rhea, I’m gonna take those m400s from you. I’m telling you I AM !
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I was offered a bat 600se and 655se. I passed on both because the market for those amps is very shaky and unstable just like pass labs. For instance, a luxman 900u amp which is 15k and the pass labs 350.8 which is worth 14k as well don’t have the same used market value. The luxman is worth about 2500 dollars more than the 350.8 on the used market. |
Yes the amplifier affects the bottom end on marring Logan electrostatics. If your amp has more bottom end then the woofers will let you know even though they are self powered. |
Miketuason: the 2301 is the best amp I’ve ever heard from McIntosh. Far more engaging.
as a matter of fact: the bhk300s Monos sound much better than the 601s. They are tube based so they will engage you more. |
Ok, i have been doing more A/B comparisons between both preamps and its a tough one. I have listened from reggae to pop, blues, jazz, rock, etc and it is really a tough one. I feel like the audio research reference 6 shines in certain tracks and bests the pass labs xp 30 and then in some other material with dynamics such as rock, i find the pass labs preamp a little "faster" sounding with a bigger soundstage. Again, this is now a race that really relies on the material played. I will continue my experimentation here. |
hi guys,
so in an effort to keep things more even and without any sort of inclination to any particular brand, i had 2 friends come out last night to listen to 3 different set ups which were:
1. luxman combo
2. audio research ref 6/ simaudio
3. audio research ref6/ boulder
what i did was to have each person listen to 2 songs of their choice through tidal with each setup, BUT it was a blind folded test. They had to step out of the room while i switched each set up so they would have zero idea what was playing. i covered all of the equipment with towels so nobody would know what was playing. That said, here is what each person chose after it was all said and done:
Friend #1:
1st place - Luxman
2nd place - audio research ref 6 / simaudio
3rd place - boulder/ audio research
Friend # 2:
1st place - audio research ref 6/ simaduio
2nd place - luxman
3rd place - boulder / audio research ref 6
Me:
1st place - audio research ref 6/ simaudio (wins by a hair)
2nd place - luxman (very close race for 1st)
3rd place - boulder/ audio research ref 6
Anyhow, we all agreed that the boulder 2060 just sounds lifeless, clinical, analytical and it is probably in need of either its matching preamp or just a pair of Rockport speakers which we all know has synergy with it.
That being said, that was last night. Tonight i am listening to the simaudio, but i am using the ref 6 and luxman 900u preamp and i am getting a preliminary impression that the luxman preamp with simaudio amp might be better than last night’s winner (ref6/simaudio combo). i am trying different songs and at times i feel the luxman pre/simaudio outshines the ref6/simaudio but as i change songs then i feel the other way around. it is indeed one hell of a hard exercise to say the least. |
Classe is decent but too warm sounding. Simaudio is more detailed. Haven’t you noticed that B&w was always showcased with Classe ? That’s because it helped with the brightness of the speakers.
I will say the salons and simaudio amp have insane synergy. It’s like cheese and wine. I could easily sit here and be happy with those 2 together and just find more preamps.
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Thanks Guido. Look I’m not saying that I know what this boulder amp can do unless I bring the matching preamp. However, I’m not sure anymore if the pream will change things to be better sounding. I really don’t think it will save things for me. Boulder seems to be built incredible but I don’t know why they don’t make them less clinical. How the hell can a 200 watt amp sound bigger and fuller than a 600 watt class a amp ? Mind you, I’ve used 3 sets of speakers and 2 different preamps with this boulder amp. You’d think things would be different at some point but the truth is that it doesn’t get better.
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I left my boulder amp on for weeks. Things got better but they still don’t impress me. I’m most likely not willing to make the huge investment on a boulder preamp. So far this amp has not shown me anything but perhaps bass control. That’s it. |
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Guido,
i have a gut feeling the 2010 preamp is amazing. I actually had the same feeling about the preamp too and I haven’t heard it. I wonder how much better it is than the pass labs xp30 or luxman?
I have a funny feeling that the preamp is the special piece too.... I’ve always wanted a game changing solid state preamp |
So i just spoke to a boulder deal who swears my issue with the 2060 is because the 2060 and the 1060 are no good. He swears the 2050 monos is where boulder begins to show you what they can do in terms of sound quality. He swears if i buy the boulder 2050 and 2010 combo that i am not going to need anything else. Of course, i told him that i currently have a sour taste in my mouth with the boulder brand and its musical presentation and so i am not going to just go out there and buy a 2050 & 2010 when i am not even liking what i am hearing. Typically, people MOVE UP the ladder within the same brand when they are blown away and not disappointed. Meaning, if you own a mercedes c230 and love it, you want to eventually move to the s550 because you love the brand, but if you hate the c230 because you have issues with it, etc then you are probably not going to go to another model. However, with cars it is different because you can actually test drive the other model you are considering.
i told him that the amp sounds lifeless and sterile. It almost feels like the amp is playing music inside a morgue rather than in a listening room. It feels so out of place when compared to my other amps. What i have noticed is that current AND former boulder dealers do have a strong passion for the brand.
They also told me that boulder shows you what you have in your front end and my question to them is " damn it, how much do i have to spend to make boulder sound better than my cheap amplifiers ? $40,000 dollars? " i mean that would be ridiculous to spend that kind of money in order to best a simaudio, or a luxman amp. Now he has me thinking about changing cabling, sources, yada yada yada and my thing is that WHY does so much need to change in order to just improve on what my more ’affordable" amps are doing already? It is not like i am trying to best 100k dollar amplifiers with the boulder amps. That is what is mind boggling to me. Why do i have to change cables, sources, this and that ONLY to make this boulder amp beat a cheap simaudio or luxman amp? are they kidding? |
So guys,
as you know in order for me to keep this thread alive I have to buy things right. I can’t overspend and take massive losses between each component I try. Ayre now is very dangerous to the because the owner died and that will be a big point to be talked about in terms of resale value. This is why I can’t try brands that only a handful of people have heard of. Why ? Because I have to sell that down the road and I need a buyer for it.
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Thanks for your point. You pretty much nailed it. I couldn’t have said it better myself. I want to try brands like magnus audio, rogue, etc. But that’s a risky thing to do because if I were to be wreckless with brands then I’d be filing for bankruptcy in no time.
I have built a great network of connections and I have access to many brands with prices that most of you couldn’t get. Why? Well think about how much gear goes through my living room and all the business I must be doing in order for me to keep going ? My purchases have to be done wisely so that once I’ve tried it then I can sell and take minimal losses. That said, most of you don’t care about this because you just want to be happy and use your products and that’s it. I enjoy the journey of trying new stuff Constantly and then sell in order to buy the next item I want to review.
this is one of the many reasons why I’ve not tried ayre. I mean if someone sold me the ayre mxr twenty for 10k for the pair then I’d buy them right now. I don’t even hesitate at all when deals come my way.
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Hi guys,
Well after extensive listening sessions over the past few days (stayed up until 3 am last night listening to music) i have decided that my Pass Labs combination is my cup of tea. Here are a couple of reasons WHY:
1. I find it more dynamic
2. My music selection is more well suited for Pass Labs gear.
3. I find the Pass Labs far more powerful and full-sounding with my current speakers.
All in all, i will say that over the last few years and my amplifier quest which are now more than 200 amplifiers, the Pass Labs XA200.5 have won me over. I mean, i can't think of any other amplifier that i have owned that can dethrone these monsters. Ok, i would have loved to have the xs150s here again to do another shootout , but they are now long gone so i will stick with the present and not the past. Incredible is a word that remains "short" in terms of how awesome these amps are. I hear EVERYTHING at ANY VOLUME LEVEL. Tremendous bass attack, fullness, long decays, HUUUUGE SOUNDSTAGE, and a level of depth in the music that gives you the sense that you are in the actual performance.
With all that said, the xa200.5s will be my reference amplifier going forward and although i will always keep trying new amps, they won't be for me, but rather for my sheer curiosity with different flavors.
Yes, you read it and heard it. I am done trying amplifiers and my quest will be about fine-tuning my current set up. I want to try cables, a different source, etc. I want to now elevate my current set up.
For those of you who are interested in my Audio Research gear, i have it listed.
Incredible, but i really feel i am at a good place in terms of amplification for music. I thought i'd never say this!! |
Pass labs and Martin Logan is outstanding. Better than krell ever sounded in my opinion.
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Yes the luxman 900u and 925s Rowland’s remain at the top of the list. The pass 200.5 was incredible though. That’s Been just as impressive as the xs150 I owned.
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Here are my top picks for solid state amps based on used price:
best under 5k
bat 600se
best under 10k
simaudio 860a
best under 15k
luxman 900u
best under 40k
rowland 925
best overall amp for the money? Luxman 900u.
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Ok guys,
looks like the boulder 2010 preamp will be happening. This is a very dangerous move for me but I’m hoping I don’t have to get rid of this preamp and that it can blow away any other preamp I’ve owned.
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Well, i have been talking to several dealers and people with plenty of experience and i have heard that the issue my boulder has is that it has massive power demands and my standard 120v outlet isn't cutting it. I was told (read this somewhere as well) that the boulder 2060 sounds DRAMATICALLY different when using 240 volts. Long story short, i have been told by a few people i am starving the amp of power and i need at least a power regenerator like a ps audio p10 or p20 at the very least. That i can't expect the amp to show me what it can do when it does not have the electricity it needs. I am not going to lie, this definitely makes plenty of sense and i would not mind giving it a shot. Yes, i have not given up on things yet with this amp. I want to part ways with it after i have tried all imaginable with it. I still CAN NOT accept that such monster of an amp sounds so lifeless. |
