Ok guys,
the shoot out has ended. We listened to several songs through the titan at massive volume levels and it did not disappoint. The soundstage was immersive, dynamic, excellent bass control, zero compression, great highs (more on them later) awesome mids and just everything was there for me. Everyone was very impressed with this amp using the ref10 as a preamp.
We then moved on to the block audios and we repeated the same songs. The immediate response from people was “no contest this is far superior, incredible liquidity, more clarity, better highs, Fuller sound”. I think everyone here unanimously chose the block audios over the titan.
The blocks just exposed the superior highs it possesses and although everyone was content with the highs of the titan, the blocks just showed you how much better things can get.
Result: first win for the block audios.
Soon after that shootout we started to do the dac vs ref10 through the block audios. We started with silver 7 rca cables to connect the dac with. The ref 10 easily bested the dac but later I decided to use the platinum 8 rca and try again. The immediate impression was “holy cow” the dac is now beating the ref10. We used a couple of songs and everyone chose the dac over the ref10 when using the platinum rca on the dac. However, my argument was (still is) that the dac doesn’t really always best the ref10. There are songs where the dac simply can’t give you enough volume and the ref10 can. There are also situations where the song isn’t well recorded and the ref10 makes the song pleasurable to listen to and the dac won’t do that. Sure, some can say “I prefer the dac because it’s true to the source or the recording etc etc” but the truth is that this is bs. NOBODY wants for any song to sound like poop through their expensive rig. We all want for things to sound their best. Some say the ref10 is euphonic some others can say the dac is True to the source. However, know that the dac WILL NOT ALWAYS work well with amplifiers. You have a much more difficult job finding a set of amps that work well with the dac. This is not really the case with the ref10. It will be more compatible with more amplifiers than the dac will. The ref10 allows you to keep switching amplifiers and sources while keeping things working find but with the dac you have less opportunity to try more amplifiers because it may not have enough juice to make some amplifier sing.
i love the larger soundstage and fullness of the ref10. Anyhow, towards the end I ended up showing my friends songs where the ref10 outshines the dac and after they heard them they agreed with my point: the ref10 will forgive you far more and present you with more opportunity to enjoy a broader range of music even if it’s not well recorded.
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So techno, when are you dumping the McIntosh and getting a Lampizator pacific ?
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I’m glad some of you found my findings interesting. In my current journey, I simply can’t see how I can sell my ref10 and use the dac as a preamp. Why? Because I go through a lot of amps and I’m sure there will be amps that I won’t be able to fully test with just this dac. I have to use about 95% of the dacs volume in order to compete with the ref10 at only half the volume....
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My pleasure bigddesign. indeed today we hit peaks of 108 dbs with the logans and the titan. I wish those people who don’t believe there’s an electrostatic that can play loud with dynamics could have been here. I would have given them the remote control and my iPad and let them blast their ears off with any decibel level they choose while the back of their head vibrates against the chair.
Oh before I forget, that was 108 dB without any sort of compression or lack of slam. First time I get to hear my neoltihs play so loud that I just made me realize (as what one friend said here) where the hell do I go from these speakers? There isn’t really anywhere else I could do. If had bought the magico m3, I would have probably been told today “can you turn up the bass? Can you turn the treble down a little when you crank it up? “
Witn the Neoliths: if you love bass and fullness, check. if you love huge sound, check. if you love mids, check. If you love sound that comes behind your head, check. That said, this is NOT THE SPEAKER for those of you who complain about everything. If you are the type that will say “ nah that 80 inch oled is too big for my room or nah I bought the 6 cylinder camaro because the zl1 camaro eats too much gas or nah I chose to marry the raggedy looking girl because the hot one requires me to pay for her hair and nails and pretty outfits for her to look hot for me all the time, etc etc “ then DO NOT GET THE NEOLITH. It’s not a speaker for the whiners or those of you still wearing diapers.
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Speaker cables: wireworld platinum 7 on the highs and wireworld silver 8 on the lows (Both are the same length)
Balanced cables coming from the preamp are wireworld silver 8. Usb cable is platinum 7. Powercords on the blocks arre 10 dollar stock power cords and the powercord on the dac is the silver 7. Powercord on the preamp is the shunyata sigma nr.
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hi Jafox,
i have two 20a dedicated circuits and i also have the standard 15a outlets. i had the blocks turned on on "eco mode" where they just idle in class ab and then the titan was off to the side on a 15a outlet just idling all day long and the night prior as well. i have 4 outlets total behind my equipment.
So in regards to the dac vs ref10, again the dac is incredible as a preamp, but you need outstanding rca cables and power cords to really make it shine. The ref 10 will sound good with more music types than the dac will. I loved the dac, but you all need to remember i go through many amps and i want to be sure i am being fair with each amp i buy. i don't want it to ever be a situation where the amp doesn't sound good because the dac does not have enough juice for it.
i played the dsd album from "thriller" and selected the song "human nature" and it was no contest the ref10 ate the dac alive on that song. It just made his voice bigger, soundstage went behind your head and the dac did not do any of that. It gave a good presentation but it was a little more lethargic in comparison.
What i might do is to purchase or demo a platinum 7 power cord on the dac to see how much better it gets. |
Tjassoc:
Speaker cables: wireworld platinum 7 on the highs and wireworld silver 8 on the lows (Both are the same length)
Balanced cables coming from the preamp are wireworld silver 8. Usb cable is platinum 7. Powercords on the blocks arre 10 dollar stock power cords and the powercord on the dac is the silver 7. Powercord on the preamp is the shunyata sigma nr.
I would love to get hands on the xs300 but we can’t seem to come to an agreement in terms of price. The block audios need this caliber of competition to really put them to the test. We will wait and see if the xs300s will ever make an appearance here. |
zprr: the blocks just have so much of everything in spades. As a matter of fact, I DO NOT THINK the xs300s have the level of clarity and bass control (going by my recollection of the xs150 I owned). I think they would sound slow with nowhere near the bass control of the blocks.
The titan has a huge soundstage with incredible dynamics and fullness. I could be perfectly happy with it had I not heard the blocks right after. the level of construction of the blocks is just incredible. You look at the binding posts, Heatsinks, etc and it screams quality. Lastly, remember that I have not really tried playing with powecords with them as of yet. I briefly tried the shunyata sigma nr but I will try wireworld platinum 7 powecords soon.
Overall, the titan is a special machine with tons of control and dynamics. It is above many amps I’ve previously owned here. This amp fights amps costing far more. It would kill any of the pass labs solid state amps by a long shot. It would spit out parasound, Krell, classe, McIntosh, theta digital, Hegel, and many more I can’t think of right now.
If you have speakers that need to be woken up and spread a huge soundstage, dynamics and neutral then this is your amp. Hands down |
Just added the platinum 7 powercord to the dac and things are just getting harder and harder. |
Ok so I just listened to the ref10 vs Lampizator dac for 2 hours at about 95db The dac now has platinum 7 powercord and interconnects.
1. The lampizator brings it. It comes with force and tons of detail. Awesome soundstage but not as big as the ref10
2. Lampizator sounds awesome and there’s even a little more detail at times that might not be so apparent through the ref 10
3. The lampizator can get a little “hot” sounding when you sit down for quite a bit. I noticed a little “ringing” in my ears which has never happened through the ref 10
4. Both are excellent with excellent recordings but the ref10 kills it with poor recordings.
5. The ref10 has better bass control or just meatier bottom end.
It really comes down to preferences here. It is like Pepsi and coke to be honest. Some feel Pepsi is too sweet and others find coke too bitter. I personally could go either way but I did notice that my ears were getting a little “overwhelmed” with the lampizator because it’s just a little more in your face. The ref10 cruises with wide soundstage and smoothness and never ever causing fatigue.
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@respected_ent
i might do that then. For now, here are my final thoughts:
The Pacific Dac is SPECTACULAR in every way. Not only is it a great dac, but it is incredible as a preamp too. It is more of the type of presentation that you would get in the front rows where things seem a bit more "energetic" and in your face. You get all the detail and clarity you need, but if you like to listen quite loud, it might make your hearing a little agitated after a few hours of listening. The ref10 is more of the presentation you get in middle and back rows. It is larger, less in your face and NEVER EVER FATIGUING. It does not matter how hard to try to get fatigued, the ref10 just won't ever do that to you. You can blast your ears with it and it just wont do that to you.
One last thing, please remember that for the most part, in order for anyone to do LONG LONG LOOOONG hours of listening sessions without any fatigue, you need smooth, relaxed, musical presentations. You can't be at an IMAX theater with 20,000 watts of power at full throttle watching MAD MAX 6 hours in a row. Your ears won't take the punishment.
However, maybe you other tubes things will get super interesting for the pacific dac :) |
w1000i
i did hear about the musical fidelity ams100, but that is a hard amp to come by. I read an article about it a few nights ago. It certainly has my interest.
viber6
i understand your way of thinking from your last post. However, i think i am not the only person who enjoys listening to music for longer than an hour at a time. My explanation above was to simply state the differences between both. THIS IS WHY the ref10 is dearly loved by a ton of audiophiles. Maybe it is the fact that it allows you to just sit for hours and hours and NOT ONCE do you get tired or bored of listening? |
@greyhound
I agree with what you said about things not needing to be in your face in order to be enjoyable. I also agree that MOST OF US judge components by listening for 5 minutes and in reality it takes more time than that. This is why anytime I give my initial impressions I call them “preliminary” Because they might change as I sit down for weeks with a component. Sometimes I’ve had an impression that wowed me and then as I take my time to compare I realize that I need to scratch a few things I’ve said.
With that being said, we keep going back to the “live presentation” and the need to get closer to it, but I remember going to live performances that made my ears bleed... does this mean I want my ears to bleed at home too? Not really... I want my components to bring it to my home but also being “enjoyable” and “listenable”. I want them to “remaster” these live Performances and make them even better at my home.
The other day I took my wife out for a drink and there was a band playing live music with all sorts of instruments and you know what she said? This sounds awful (it was very loud) and she plugged her ears with a paper napkin.... I laughed and said “ oh so you NOW SEE AND HEAR THE DIFFERENCE FROM BAD SOUND AND FROM WHAT WE HAVE AT HOME HUH?”
she said “ I can’t believe How the human ears get used to good or bad sound “ |
I can’t judge those who like classical music but I just start dozing off each time I try to sit and listen. I guess that’s why we have different colors in life.... |
Ladies and gentlemen:
tonight I’ve done more serious listening between the dac pacific Lampizator and ref10.
This week I added the wireworld platinum 7 powercord to the dac and I am now using platinum 7 xlr from the ref10 to the amps.
Last weekend when I did the shootout I was using wireworld silver 8 xlr to connect the amps to the preamp. I chose the ref10 over the pacific lampi because it was more forgiving with bad music and just threw a bigger sound overall. The dac was less forgiving but still stellar sounding nonetheless.
Anyhow as I said above, I added the platinum silver 7 powercord to the dac and platinum 7 xlr to the preamp/amp connection. I’ve been listening to the dac as a preamp for the last 3 days after adding the platinum 7 powercord cord. I let my ears simmer in the sound and get as acquainted as possible with the sound.
Today, I fired up the ref10 and began to do a/b comparisons and I am now gauging things better. The ref10 is huge sounding with air around the instruments and clarity in spades. It has been the only preamp that woke up my revel salon 2s in regards to the bass. It added a ton of fun to every single songs that I’ve played through it. It has never ever disappointed me. That said, I can now honestly say that things have shifted and I am now leaning towards the pacific lampi. Reasons why:
1. It sounds liquid and very detailed at low volumes. This volume level is what I mainly have to listen to when I do late night listening. The ref 10s relaxed presentation stays relaxed at lower volumes and that makes it a little harder for me to pick up the same level of detail as the Pacific DAC.
2. The dac sounds as if the singer brings the mic closer to his mouth while the ref10 does not. This effect helps tremendously when I listen to music videos (YouTube videos) which I do listen to here and there in order to see how much clarity a component can dig out from an old music video from the 80s or 90s. This exercise has been crucial for me in the past especially when testing a cable’s ability to absorb noise.
3. I had the wife sit down and listen to both while blind folded. She kept picking up the lampizator. She said the ref10s was somewhat warm sounding.
With that said, this could be the start of a new adventure in terms of preamplification.
I’m shocked to say the least but my ears have identified something that is stimulating and really amazing. I want to keep tweaking the sound of the lampizator with other things I have in mind. I also still need to get powecords for my monoblocks. The entire set up will have silver cables throughout in order keep things with synergy. This is super exciting and incredible. I never thought this dac would grow on me so much over the past few days but I can’t deny facts. What a spectacular component. I DO NOT REGRET FOR ONE SECOND not having bought the MSB dac. |
Techno,
i agree with you. Let’s just wait and see first if that’s the route I want to take. I need to try different xlrs with ref10 and the platinum powecords too. Before I decide to eliminate anything, I gotta be sure because all of the gear I own right now doesn’t show up on the used market often. 2 of my friends are advising against me selling the ref10. They say it’s a massive mistake if I’m going to continue trying amps. I agree with that statement.
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Hi jafox,
yes I have the p10 from ps audio as power conditioner. As far as tube rolling, I’m definetely thinking about that. I want to see how much better the dac will get. I also need to try 2 more cables with my ref10. I’m not done yet with the ref10. That component is outstanding.
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Hi all,
im now switching some cables around and I’m using a gold 8 wireworld rca for the dac and the platinum 8 rca that was used on the dac is now the cable being used to connect the preamp to the amp. I find the presentation better but I don’t know if it beats the dac being connected to the amp directly. It’s EXACTLY what I’ve been saying before; the preamp widens the sound and makes recordings that don’t typically sound good such as rap, r&b, 90s, 80s, etc sound more pleasant. It feels like
they are more impressive and smooth with great bass control. It’s as if the ref10 puts a layer of “butter” on the imperfect recordings and makes them sound extremely good. I also find the ref10 better when using xlr as the output cable rather than rca. It could also be the block audios just liking the xlr better.
That said, the dac has an insane amount of clarity especially at that 90db and under. It becomes probably a tad more liquid and with a deeper midrange than the ref10. If you want to listen to the neoltihs at levels where you just want to see how impressive the presentation can get then the ref10 does it far far better. It has that extremely loud volume that can make the block audios scream and show you their potential at loud volumes. In addition to that, you don’t get any fatigue because the ref10 doesn’t let that happen. It’s a pretty difficult situation because one does excellent at a certain volume level and the other one at a different level. It’s like deciding between a 1/4 mile race car or top end car. Do you want to beat everyone in the 1/4? Or do you want to fly by them at 130mph and leave them in the rear view mirror ?
Have you all ever watched a 1/4 mile race where one car keeps beating the other but that losing car was catching that car and if the race didn’t end at the 1/4mile mark then the other car would have passed the wining car? That is EXACTLY the best way to put it.
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I’d recommend that you buy the Diablo. You got a pretty big room and the Diablo would help with the bass since those speakers are bass shy. Nothing is really lacking with the Diablo and you wouldn’t notice what I mention because you’d need to own the luxman in order to tell them apart. Both are great integrateds but have a different presentation. Gryphon is muscular sounding and luxman is sweeter sounding.
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Anyone here tried the KR PX4 tubes ? I was told by reputable source that those are the tubes to have with the Pacific DAC. Would like to get feedback from anyone with experience with those tubes. |
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Lemon haze;
what does your system consist of ? |
You can get more gain from different tubes... |
Fsmithmack,
I’ve said it in my thread several times, Pass labs is inferior to the luxman 900u series unless you are talking about the expensive xs series. Nelson pass is sitting in his home retired and collecting checks. I highly doubt he did anything for the .8 series. There’s zero comparison between pass labs 350.8 and the luxman 900u. The 900u makes the 350.8 sound broken in comparison. You are talking 2 different tier groups. They shouldn’t be in the same sentence. I’d take the 900u luxman amp one million times over the 350.8. Get yourself the luxman 900u and don’t look back. You’ll thank me and those who told to get it.
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ron17,
i concur with your assessment of the sb301mk2 vs simaudio. You are spot on with your analysis.
denon1:
the 200.8 pass labs did not come through, but that did not change my opinion on the .8 series line. My opinion is based on facts as opposed to what a magazine said. I have had both here, the 350.8 and luxman 900 and both connected at the same time. I think i know a thing or 2 about those 2 amps he is inquiring about.
Lastly, you are comparing integrated units vs separate components. If you read his question, he is inquiring about the 900u pieces and not the 509x you are giving your opinion about. Let’s make sure we address questions exactly as presented and not formulating answers based on other models/components.
4425:
Any pass lab owner that disliked my comment about the .8 series can easily come to my home and bring any .8 amp of their liking along with napkins to wipe tears off their face from the punishment that a pair of 900u amps would do. The .8 series needs to be discontinued and replaced with something better. The .5 series was always the better series no matter what the general public wants to believe. (PLEASE NOTE: My opinions do not include the xs series. Lets make that very clear)
ONE MORE THING: My opinions are based on ACTUAL HANDS ON EXPERIENCE in my own space. |
Through my own experience, NOTHING i have owned has sounded 100% like tubes. The momentum integrated and luxman 900u are the 2 that sound the closest to tubes that i have ever owned. |
@fsmithjack
i can say to you that the luxman will drive the Magico S5 Mk2 which by the way i have also owned. I have owned those components you are about to bring into your home. i am not speaking from a write up written by stereophile magazine.
A single luman 900u will work fine and give you a lot of hours of enjoyment, but it won't honor everything the S5 mk2 can give you. You need to scroll back a few pages and read my impressions of the magicos. You need POWER with them and they will reward you.
As far as preamps, if you don't own the ref10, then you need to go with the luxman 900 preamp. This preamp brings the most out of the 900u amp. However, i have not heard your preamp so i can't comment on how it will do with the 900u amp but i am assuming it should be a good match.
I do not think i have met anyone here who has been unhappy with the 900u amp unless they are playing with a mcintosh preamp, plinius preamp,etc and doing all sorts of crazy matches that i know factually would make that amp sound inferior. From experience, stick with the 900u combo and add another mono 900u down the road. It will massively improve your experience. |
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let’s get back on track. Ok, so for $hits and giggles I just bought a McIntosh mx160 with the room correction along wirh a McIntosh c2600 tube preamp. Techno,
are you starting to sweat now? Yep, your preamp is here but I don’t know if I will even connect it. |
Wesc,
I bought the McIntosh mx160 and c2600 in order to do what some have said to me before which was to incorporate room correction so the mx160 will do that for me. I plan to use it as a preamp and run the room correction and see what results I get. Soon after that experiment is done, I’ll try the c2600 so I can give a mainstream tube preamp a run here. Yes guys, these pieces are for those of you who wanted me to try “cheaper” components and give my input on them.
I’ve never owned the c2600 but I owned the c2500 and tbe mx160 before. Let’s see how they do now with the block audios and the Neoliths. :)
Now, can we all get along and continue to ride together? I’m trying to throw curveballs here by getting gear that you all didn’t expect me to get and it is Mainly so that nobody feels left out here.
Let’s keep rolling...
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Bhk 300 sounded good with my magico s5mk2. Plenty of detail and good bass control. I have nothing against the bhk300s as far as what they provide per dollar. Great bang for the buck. Will they beat a single luxman 900u? It is not that they would beat it because the luxman will still be a more refined and engaging presentation but if you know you won’t get a second luxman then I’d probably get the bhk300 because those speakers really need all the power you can afford but two 900u would stump on the bhk300s. Your situation is the speakers. If you had focal sopra 3s then I’d get the single luxman 900u because one 900u can easily drive the focals.
hope this helps |
I’ve owned the gryphon Diablo 300. Awesome with magico. Jump on it.
fsmith, you need to try to read at least the last 10 pages of my thread so you can gain as much knowledge as possible. You might be able to answer a lot of the questions you are asking. |
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I probably won’t do that until tomorrow night. I’ll give my opinion on it once I do. |
Ok guys,
so i have held back for the past few months from saying anything because I thought this thread would sort itself out and everyone would just continue to follow the main objective of this thread which is to follow my journey whether it is a new dac, preamp, cables, speakers, etc. I’m trying more than just amps now because the pool is shallow and quite frankly I don’t see anything unseating the block audio monoblocks anytime soon. With that in mind, I want to put it out there: if you are consistently derailing the main purpose of this thread and are essentially creating your own thread within my thread then I want to politely ask you to begin your own journey by creating your thread and do as I have done for the past few years. When I started this thread I didn’t know if anyone would even read what I had to say and look how far it has come. I’ve put a ton of time and effort and yes money too into this thread from all the purchases I’ve made so out of respect to those loyal followers and myself please take your interests outside of my thread if it does not fit in. Begin your own journey and share it with others that want to read what you have to say.
Thanks |
Greyhound,
thanks for the info on the set up of the mx160. I plan to pull it out of the box as well as the c2600 but I’m quite busy with the family. Not sure if I’ll get to it this weekend. |
ok guys,
i wanted to follow up my previous statement in regards to this thread.
My entire wish here is for me to continue sharing my journey with you all. I have spoken with a few of you on the phone and understand the frustration that is caused when this thread is derailed. I have said time and time again: I want for everyone to contribute here as long as it is relevant and useful. For the most part, my posts are quick and straight to the point because I know that nobody likes to read lengthy posts. Most of you come to this thread for 5-10 minutes and quickly understand what’s the topic of the day and what’s being said which makes this far more appealing. I’m pretty aware of what my followers/readers wish to have and the content that attracts them to keep following me.
That said, I also want to be sure that I address those that use profanity in order to get their point across. Please remember that’s the type of behavior that can get this thread removed and I know that EVERYONE comes here a few times a week (if not everyday) in order to see what’s new INCLUDING those that use profanity. If you feel strongly about a certain issue then try to word things correctly without profanity. There’s no need for that. As you can see, I’m starting to get more involved and beginning to ask of you (for the first time ever) to help keep this alive. I know that some of you have differences and disagreements and that’s part of life, but remember one thing which is if they remove this thread then it’s gone and is it really worth it? I know MANY OF YOU have learned through my journey and some others are just using it for entertainment which is fine. If you are bored and don’t care for it then don’t follow the thread but don’t ruin it for those that are really benefiting from it.
I hope this is clear going forward.
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C2600 is plugged in and idling at home. I’m at the movies with the wife so I’ll do some listening when I get home in an hour. |
From a dead cold start, not even broken in, the Odín powercord has elevated the dac. More focused sound, more emotion and more bottom end. Stay tuned... |
McIntosh 2600 preamp impressions coming shortly. I’m doing more listening as we speak.
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C2600 tube preamp prelim impressions:
1. Warm presentation where the highs are not as prominent as the ref10 or the Lampizator pacific
2. Vocals have less POP
3. Soundstage is smaller than the ref10 or Lampizator
4. 3D effect is there but to a much smaller scale.
5. Good tight bass
6. Pushing the preamp at high volume levels can make things less romantic and it gives the feeling of a less “organized “ presentation
7. Awesome dac for the money although at times it seems to skip the first few seconds of each song
Overall, I’d say it’s a good preamp given its price point. You certainly wouldn’t miss the ref10 or the lampizator until you hear them next to each other. The lampizator is still superior as a preamp or a dac when compared to the c2600. At low volume levels, the lampizator bested both the ref10 and c2600 and at loud volume levels then the ref10 takes the cake.
I can call out the deffiencies of this preamp only because I have reference pieces in my home. The average person that doesn’t have anything to compare it that is proven to be reference equipment wouldn’t pick up on these problem areas because the preamp certainly gives you an overall enjoyable presentation that you couldn’t really criticize much.
In bodybuilding (which I have done in my past) there is a phrase that says “you’re Mr. Olympia “ when you are standing all by yourself but as soon as you stand next to other competitors then you’ll know what your weaknesses are because the competition will expose that.
if I were to grade it and the ref10/lampizator were an “A”, I’d give the c2600 a “B-“ which could change if I keep trying preamps.
Nothing to be ashamed of given its price point. |
The dac inside the 2600 is very “bold” and forward at times. When I connected the pacific to the c2600, the preamp had far better mids and smoothness. It became “livelier” with more ounces of liquidity. It came closer to the ref10 but again I still have never been able to match the massive soundstage of the ref10. The c2600 is a great all in one solution for sure and I can honestly say if I were looking for a preamp that gave me the tube flavor without breaking the bank, I’d get the c2600 or a audio Research 5se. I just love tubes with solid state preamps.
I am actively looking for the ayre twenty preamp. That will be the biggest challenge for my ref10. |
Correct. I guess I know a thing or two huh ? :)
ill keep listening next week and then bring out the mx160 next weekend. I want to see what room correction will do.
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Maybe what you are feeling greyhound is what I’m picking up on the C2600’s dac. Granted, we are knit picking here.
I also meant that I love a tube preamp with a good solid state amp. I still prefer solid state amps over tube amps. |
I highly doubt that this unit is in need of repair. That said, techno and I have the same observation about the C2600’s tonality. |
This question goes for those preamplifier experts:
how do you know if one preamplifier will
sound louder than the other? I think I have an idea but don’t want to assume anything. I’m contemplating the ayre kxr twenty but the only way I want it is if:
1. It produces more volume than my ref10
2. It can take an RCA signal and transform it into xlr
the ref10 is amazing but it seems to require quite a bit of volume with my block audios. I would want the ayre preamp to provide more volume much quicker.
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The esoteric k1 has an enormous soundstage with tight bass but it is very transparent. It won’t forgive anything. The lampi pacific is more forgiving because of the tubes in the mix.
I hope to have the time to try the mx160 this weekend. |
Interesting techno. I might give that a try! |
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Heading home with a Nordost Odín powecord for the dac. Stay tuned
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This is a demo cable from the same dealer who let me borrow the Shunyata Sigma HR. I hear so much detail in the back of the music that was never there. it is as if someone went to wipe the dirty windshield and now i can see right through it. Hell, even the c2600 sounds like a different animal with this powercord. I am just in pure shock to see ONE POWER CORD make such huge change here. Now i am being told that they have a pair of Odin 2 xlr and possibly another Odin powercord for me to try as well... I am not sure i can dare to try anymore Nordost because the price is indeed crazy steep, but YES THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE in the sound. I don’t know what others have experienced, BUT i can say with my Neoliths, Lampizator Pacific and Ref10, the Odin Powercord made an incredible change.
Lastly, there is ONE THING that stands out to me: i feel like the music now became more "emotionally involving" and as if i can follow the music and each instrument a little better until it fades out. Everything sounds more organized and coherent with more focus.
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Initial impressions of the Odin Powercord:
1. Incredible detail retrieval
2. Mids are CLEAR, ARTICULATED. i can understand lyrics better than ever before
3. Tight bass
4. Don’t have to crank things up in order to enjoy the music
5. More cohesiveness
6. More of an emotional presentation.
7. i can hear the instruments move from left to right and right to left like i haven’t heard in the past.
8. I can’t get off my couch
Yes, A POWERCORD is doing this here. Biggest shock of this year so far.
PS. Before anyone begins to say that i am derailing my own thread, i have stated in the last 2 months that the pool of amplifiers has become very shallow for me. Not much interests me other than Gryphon amps.Pass Labs xs300s and possibly the Momentum M400s. That is about it folks in terms of amps, BUT this does not mean i may not revisit the luxman 900u monos down the road with my Neoliths or maybe a cheap amp like Parasound JC5s in mono mode. I will prepare curve balls for you all when you least expect it and bring an amp back from the dead. |
I will let you in on a little secret: Krell has some SERIOUS STUFF coming out soon... I have seen some prototypes and it looks like they are aiming to make a come back :) |
