My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!
@sqitis I no longer have a dedicated preamp. I'm back to just a home theater processor - currently, the Theta Casablanca IV with Xtreme 3 DACs. Come back here and let us know if you do the upgrade for the SLP-05. Dave |
I agree with the previously mentioned brilliance vs brightness. I definitely like hearing a natural brilliance, rather than artificial or overly done brilliance, which comes across as bright to me. Also, the Gen 3 of Emotiva is a different amp than the Gen 2's - I'm not sure it would be fair to eliminate the Gen 3 as an option, based upon one's experience with a Gen 2. Plus, they offer a 30 day eval, so experience can be easily obtained. I had a 7 channel Gen 3 for the 30 days, and even though I ended up returning it, I was mightily impressed with it. In the end, it was a little bit thin (not bright) for me - I wanted a little more weight in the presentation. However, for someone who has a limited budget, I think the Emotiva is a terrific value. That previously mentioned Mytek Brooklyn would also be interesting to check out as well - again, for a limited budget. If I was budget limited, I would get the Gen 3 Emotiva again and pair it with a power cord that adds a little weight to the presentation. WC - I hope you can get the 200.5's again - I'm sure they'll come up on Audiogon. Dave |
@viber6 I mentioned a power cord to help with the weight of the Emotiva’s presentation, since I’m coming from a 7.1 home theater perspective. I agree with you for 2 channel setups - it would be easy enough (and cheap enough and simple enough) to check out the EQ. For 7 channels, however, It’s much easier and cleaner (in my mind) to do one power cord for a 7 channel amp than it is to have four eq’s, + four more power cords, etc. You might think differently, and that’s OK. @mrdecibel You told someone to not bring in fuse suggestions and to let WC complete his amp journey. The only problem is that the journey has already been at least 2+ years (that we know about) and may well continue for a good long time. Fuses are cheap/easy enough to try. I honestly think it should be WC’s decision. Dave |
@viber6 Yes, I did try the Emotiva in two channel, as I do all of my amps. I also noted the little bit of thinning in 2 channel, but I was also amazed at how good it sounded. Good to know that the Reference might be fuller sounding. I also agree with the logic of having a 2 or 3 channel amp for the L/R and maybe center channel, and then another amp for the surrounds and maybe center channel. I’ve had that in the past with Cary and Pass Lab products. I’ve also had Cary and Pass Labs preamps for two channel and utilized the unity gain for HT. It’s probably the best way to go for sure. Once kids came along, I realized I don’t have time for 2 channel, so HT became the priority. If I play music, I play it 7.1. So, I wanted a really decent 7.1 system. The Theta Casablanca IV with Xtreme 3 DACs works very well for this scenario, after having gone through 5-10 processors. And, I’ve been going through 7 channel amps as well. I now have one that is making me happy and is allowing me to move on to cables, now that I have some good components. I actually agree with mrdecibel - I would not want to try a fuse upgrade until I found the amp that I liked. However, others might choose to do differently. Dave |
@bigddesign3 You could try the Cerious Technologies Graphene Extreme speaker cables at $649 for an 8’ pair. Bob is the owner and lives here in Phoenix. Terrific guy! Right now, he has a Black Friday special still going on A’gon here - the 8’ pair for $399 with a 30 day money back guarantee I believe. Worth checking out! Dave |
+1 on the Audioquest Hurricanes. I had a previous (previous to the Storm series) gen of power cord (NRG1000) from Audioquest and was not impressed. There's definitely something different in this series of cords, so I for one would not make a general statement on AQ power cords, based upon the cords previous to the Storm series. I'm also trying out the Cerious Technologies Graphene Matrix power cords right now (breaking them in), so I will eventually make the comparison between those and the Hurricanes. Dave |
@whitecamaross In reading your posts, I’m not totally clear - are you comparing the sigma NR’s to the stock cables or to the WW cables? I agree about wishing that cable manufacturers would do break in on the cables, so that a few day’s in one’s home is all that is needed to check it out. If it truly takes 1000 hours for some cables, then the 30 day eval doesn’t quite get you there, even if you run them 24X30. I guess that’s one reason why I buy used cables whenever I can vs. new cables. Dave |
@mrdecibel - you welcome the guy back, and then you tell him ’Do not..." and "you need to..." - conveying to him what he should and should not do. You also mentioned "We are not here for you." Yet, you are the one laying ground rules for this guy. When WC voices that he prefers things a certain way and wants to lay down some ground rules, then I will certainly respect that and help to support it. I like posts like riaa’s most recent post, where comments are made on the equipment being discussed, not on the person. Dave |
What I find interesting is that grey9hound does not seem to recognize that his comments were negative. Perhaps he genuinely did not intend for them to be negative, but they are negative. I’ve seen some folks in the past that have made negative comments, and when they re-read what they wrote and recognized what folks were talking about, they apologized for it. I don’t see that happening here with grey9hound, so it’s best to move on - the logic pointed out to grey9hound is just not coming across... Dave |
Thanks for sharing that grey9hound. I agree with viber6 that I don't want an overly cavernous soundstage that is not real. And, I agree that tubes aren't necessarily rolled off - depending upon how something is designed of course. The most real system I ever heard was tubes. It was really 3D and did not sound rolled off at all. Even knowing that though, I don't want to mess with tubes (I've had them - a Cary SLP05 preamp), especially since I no longer do 2 channel, so I find myself gravitating to solid state amps (along with my Theta CBIV) and cabling that takes me towards that sound, along with dynamics to handle the home theater. Dave |
@viber6 So, going with the items you've mentioned about different violins and rosin on the bow, then, in order to determine accuracy of a violin recording on a sound system, one would almost need to know these factors about the violin/rosin, etc used in the recording. Also needed would be whether or not the engineer eq'd anything to compensate for harshness or softness or sweetness, etc. It would seem that determining accuracy in a sound system might be very difficult, based upon these parameters. This makes objective a bit more difficult. Perhaps subjective then takes over, and for some, it's their subjectivity that factors into attempting to reach a certain objectivity. Dave |
@tjassoc You bet - lots of folks will feel the way you do. Your subjective preferences for the type of sound you like become the objective sound you want to get out of your system. I can see both sides. My dealer years ago had YBA CD players, as well as Cary, Oracle, and others. Some of those players were more neutral and transparent. The YBA CD1 dual chassis had the emotional connection for me and was the one I ended up with. I had that player for years. Now that I am away from 2 channel, I strive for a sound that gives me both sides of the equation. If I have to lean to one side just slightly, it will be the emotional side. That’s my preference, and I know many would prefer otherwise. Dave |
@viber6 It depends upon a person's perspective and preferences. The pluses/minuses might be tolerable and not "horrible" to some folks, and thus appreciated. For others, it might be "horrible" or at least - not liked as much, and a little sweetness to make it overall pleasing might be their preference. I agree with WC - I want songs from my earlier years to sound good overall, which for me, might mean a tad of sweetness. Dave |
@ricred1 You used the word "everyone", and I would disagree with that. Especially since I also agree that it has to do with how the components compare in the system/room as a whole. It's not an absolute - just because it's better in one system/room, might not mean it will be better in another system/room. However, I think WC has done a great job identifying how components work better with certain systems and preferences, based upon the sonic attributes. It's your choice to stay or leave. Dave |
@viber6 I believe that WC had the XS150 for a while, so he probably does have an idea of what to expect with the XS300. I think though that I remember him mentioning that the XS150 was super hot, even at idle. I would think that would steer him away from the XS300, but perhaps winter weather helps to forget those things temporarily :-) Dave |
Something for WC to try, if he has not already... I’m guessing that when the Ref10 is in the chain, balanced cables are used to connect to the amps - is that true? If so, then I’m also guessing that single-ended cables are used from Lampi to amps, when the Ref10 is not in the chain - is that true as well? If both are true, then it would be interesting to compare SE cables from Ref10 to amps vs. the same SE cables from Lampi to amps. Some folks are saying that balanced is no better than SE. Would the performance be closer than that of Balanced cables from Ref10 to amps vs SE cables from Lampi to amps? That’s the SE vs balanced experiment. Overall, I think it might be tough to beat an outstanding preamp, even when going more oranges to oranges (single-ended to amps for both scenarios). I remember when WC first got the Ref10 into his system - he was so impressed, I believe he named it the most impressive component he’d had in his system to that point. That’s saying a lot, considering how much equipment he’s had. Dave |
@WC Back to the MX160. Yes, it has RoomPerfect, but not a great preamp section, when compared to something like a ref10. Too bad you can't get a McIntosh MEN220 to insert between your ref10 and the amps (or between the Lampizator and the amps). That way, you continue with great preamp/amp combos and add just the RoomPerfect. I think that would give RoomPerfect the best opportunity to shine in your setup and to fairly evaluate it as a possible upgrade to a very high end setup. Dave |
@WC I've been getting the same feeling about Krell. I have the Theater 7, and it's an excellent amp - supposed to be much better sounding than the Chorus amps, even though it's not as much power. However, it is supposed to have just as much current as the Chorus amps. I've been trying 7 channel amps for years, and I'm finally satisfied with this one. No more looking for amps - worst case, I'll do the XD upgrade. I'm playing with cables, as are you, so I'm enjoying the ongoing journey. Dave |
I agree with you WC - you can't try everything, especially mega buck stuff. I like your offer to pay shipping both ways. That way, if someone really wants you to try something they can share the wealth and purchase the cable and send it to you. I have a 15 amp 2 meter Audioquest Hurricane that I might send to you. I'll need another few weeks to evaluate it. Dave |
@thejeenyus54 I had a Pass Labs X350 and an X5 for home theater at my previous house, and it was absolutely fantastic. When we moved to our new house and started having kids, I downsized and thought I would try to find a 7 channel amp that would work well. 10 years later and many many 7 channel amps later - the goal has always been to get back to that sound I had with the two Pass Lab amps running my home theater. I had the Odeon last year - an experience I do not wish to repeat. However, that was my experience. Dave |
@ron17 I was very excited to try the Odeon and had one for ~7 months. I must have had a bad apple, since apparently most folks like it. Plus, I had the super duper upgrade done to it, and had problems with it. I was told that RF in my house was the problem, however, I've never had a problem with any other amp or component. Again, my situation was probably unique. I would guess that WC would agree with that, especially when I mention that my next amp was the McIntosh MC8207, and that amp was so much better. I am now happy with the Krell Theater 7 and no longer looking for 7 channel amps. Dave |
@ron17 Thanks Ron17 for your email (and post)! Good to know about your amp and the RF issue. The Odeon is the only amp I’ve ever had a problem with. There is a ground lift switch on the back, and in one position it was fine and just warm to the touch during operation - no problems at all. However, in the other position, then the amp instantly started burning up - you could smell the electronics burning. It was so bad, it scared my wife and kids. While I understand what you are saying with what happened to your amp, I’m not sure that this was RF. I think that they messed up this amp when they did the super duper upgrade. The sonics were essentially the worst of any 7 channel amp I’ve had in my house (with the ground lift switch in either position). That doesn’t seem to jive with the praise that this amp has received. Plus, the person who worked with me on this (nice guy, by the way) had me buy some testing equipment, and the test equipment did not conclusively show RF to be an issue in my home, yet he continued to think it had to be RF. I guess it never occurred to him that it could actually be something gone wrong with the upgrade. He eventually bought back the amp from me - he did make a profit on it. I didn’t care at that point - I just wanted to move on to something else. Dave |
