My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!
@jafox Sure there are more detailed cables than the Dominus , but there comes a point where too much is TOO MUCH. If you can’t turn it up loud (Reference levels )and listen for extended periods before it becomes too fatiguing, then to me it ,is too much to take. Sure it is very impressive to have Huge detail, but it gets fatiguing very quickly.I’ll take Musical over hyper detail all day. .To each his own. |
Viber6 ... Take Note You said you like to hear upfront .. Live... presentation. Reference level loudness would be just that. It is not un-natural. Now you seem to be talking out of both sides of your mouth. I did not and do not say that you HAve to turn it up loud . I said it CAN be turned up loud and give a "LIVE" presentation... without fatigue. Still sounds great at medium levels. Of course everything is system dependent |
Viber6 You are just wrong.... period . I never said that Ii like to crank my music That is not the way I listen . Well .. maybe occasionally. I said that you CAN with the Purist Audio Dominus cable ... without fatigue.. My electronics are NOT rolled off. Please stop telling people how their system and equipment sounds , when you haven’t heard their system or equipment. Also can you explain what better spec tubes means .They all have a set of voltages and currents that they operate within.Some may operate towards one end of the spec or toward the middle . some offer lower gain .. at the expense of higher plate current .. etc. Way too many operating parameters for a vacuum tube . i guess it depends on what you want from the tube. Lower Microphonics is always preferred . Is this what you mean ? |
jafox . I agree wholeheartedly . I could play it loud because it was Awesome Sounding .. just as you stated..It had nothing to do with anything lacking. . . There are very few cables that can play at those levels,with the clarity coherence and tonal balance of the Dominus. It is the quietest cable that I have ever used ....Oh and BTW, It... hands down... has the most detailed and textured bass from any cable that I have ever heard. That is why I said that the Dominus cable is my all time favorite . It is very impressive. |
WC, We never really knew which cables were used in which positions during this testing . We did get that the Platinum 8 were used with the Lampizator when being used as a pre-amp, but other than that we don’t know the speaker cables or what was feeding the Lampi (source and cable) When the REf10 was in the loop , which cables out of the Lampi, into REF10, then which cables to the amps from the Ref 10 ? Analog in and analog out on the REF10. that is 2 sets of cables just into and out of the Ref 10.... right ? You have a lot of variables due to cabling requirements....., unless i missed something. |
@WCSS whitecamaross OP1,386 posts01-10-2019 9:56pmSo right now, I went back to the block audios and they sound great but they don’t seem to wow me as the titan fidelity was doing earlier today. However, they have been unplugged for over a day and I remember when I first got them I wasn’t impressed. I became impressed until the next day. They sounded totally different so tomorrow night might be a great showdown as well as Saturday. Both amps will be fully warm Saturday afternoon before the shoot out. I want both to at least be idling for a full day. The preamp and dac will be on 3 hours before the shootout begins. My buddies will jot down their impressions on paper and each person will listen alone without anyone else in the room so that nobody is biased. Once each person listens to about 3 songs through each amp (their own selection) then the next person will go inside and do the same until we are all done. I will then collect their notes and see what each person decided and their opinion on the amplifiers. I will be sure to post what each one of them wrote down on paper. ....any notes taken by anybody . How did you keep score ? . ..Still no songlists...curious I am curious as to some of their adjectives used to describe things . Any pics of the dudes with their jaws hitting the floor ? I am a little surprised that everyone was in agreement on what they liked . That is curious.. look at your first sentence in the above quote. BUT........Of course, the Block Audio amps......have to win... they cost more ...Right |
Viber, Your opinions are .. just that. Some of us like extended listening sessions . That requires the presentation to NOT be "in your face" It can still have all of the treble and not be "in your face" I know that you have a hard time with it , but "in your face " gets old quick.. It is impressive.. at first... BUT , not for the long haul. Of course ,that is my opinion.but, I tend to think that I am not alone. It sounds like WC is in the same camp. That why i said before ...To Each his own. |
Viber6 I have to agree with Jafox. you come off as almighty... like you know everything and everyone should listen to you because you know it all. It is you who is being disrespectful with your Almightyness You do not have the experience of most of the equipment that you talk about and comment on . Most people here know better than try to talk about equipment they haven’t heard. You go as far as trying to say that A is better than B.. even though you have never heard either. Above in your post you even try to tell WC where the distortion will come on the volume . Also, the optimum position of the volume control for the highest needed volume is near wide open, for purity and fine gradations of volume options. If an additional preamp’s gain at your max volume is mid position, you are getting a little more distortionWTF |
Viber6
Spouting off at every opportunity as you do does not earn respect. You think you must comment on everything as if you know everything. .That is why you come off as a Pompus now it all. Your opinion is better served on equipment that you have heard or used. You try to tell people what is better than the other based on what others say, .This is not VALUABLE or wanted by others. Almarg and Bill_k are respected here because they do not spout of in the same manner as you. The people on thread have spoken, but, once again , you are too Pompus and Almighty to understand or be able to accept that. |
Viber6 I said that you can get different tubes to give a more relaxed presentation. I did not have any in mind because I do not know which different tubes it can use .. I am not familiar with and have not used any 300B or equivalents But as far as 5U4G. I think my big 6 used that rectifier and I remember that I preferred the Mullard brown base Coke Bottle shape CV378 |
Here is a bunch of tube trials in the Lampizator Pacific Dac http://hifiknights.com/reviews/sources/lampizator-pacific-the-glassy-story/ Where to buy these tubes https://best300b-com.myshopify.com/collections/bestsellers |
Viber , A 300B has specific operating parameters (SPECS)... all the same regardless of manufacturer. It is usually an operating range of for example ...plate voltage , plate current .etc. It is the same for a 12AX7 etc, really any tube #. The tube number is the design and is usually developed by one company initially . Then other companies also manufacture it as time goes on. The different designs and implementations of them from the various manufacturers to achieve a tube within those specs, is what makes them sound different . |
Room Perfect Tips: 1) Do not measure the front third of the room 2) Except for Focus Position measurements (which are pointed horizontally toward the front soundstage at each listening position), do NOT point the mic at any speaker during room measurements 3) Try to keep the mic at least three or four feet away from any speaker when measuring 4) Keep the mic at least two feet away from any surface. 5) Vary your measurements - walls (upper/lower), ceiling, floor, large furniture I know this link is for the MX151, but lots of good stuff here .MX160 is Very similar Page 1 reading is more than enough to get the gist of RoomPerfect and MX options and choices for settings. https://www.avsforum.com/forum/86-ultra-hi-end-ht-gear-20-000/1479699-official-mcintosh-labs-mx-151-mx150-owner-s-thread.html |
I wish I still had my Purist Audio Dominus Fluid XLR interconnects and Dominus Fluid Power cord , but unfortunately, I do not .or I would send them for WC to try . The Dominus is a blend of Copper ,Silver and Gold. . The Nordost Odin interconnect is 24 copper Ribbons,(each 20 gauge) with silver plating. I am betting that the Odin sound a lot like the Verastarr Grand Illusion. which were very detailed ,big soundstage , up close presentation , but lacked bass IMO.... maybe the Odins have the bass.. ??? That would be my main concern with them. |
WC , You did not actually go to the show..right? Is it your Dealer who is giving you the feedback that the Neoliths sounded terrible ? Keep in mind , he wants to sell you expensive gear so he can make a lot of money. I am not saying they didn’t sound bad , but keep that in mind. Do you think he would tell you that the Parasound Audio gear sounded Great with the Neoliths, and you do not really need those Block Audio Amps ? I am just sayin’ |
Uh. I think I see why there are none. (Sim Audio 880-M) Read the comments after the review...Yikes https://www.stereophile.com/content/simaudio-moon-evolution-880m-monoblock-power-amplifier |
I have the Oppo 203 and use its HDMI input . The Oppo 203 has 2 HDMI outs (same as the 205). One is dedicated to Audio only The other does both . I run the Audio only HDMI out(of the 203) to the MX151 the other HDMI out (of the 203) goes to a 70 inch 4K Sony TV.. I also use a 4K HDMI switch ahead of the 203 .This way i can input (Dish ,Roku Ultra,JRiver Media Center etc) All are HDMI out of the Source to the switch , HDMI out of the switch to the HDMI in of the Oppo 203 (Oppo is set to Bitstream). I am also running a digital coaxial out of the Oppo 203 to the digital Coaxial input on my McCormack DAC-1 Deluxe. I am using the Analog out of the McCormack DAC-1 into one of the Analog inputs on the MX151. This gives me a lot of choices for sound .,especially since the MX151 will only allow analog inputs in order to play different sources in Zone A and Zone B .. like ..at the pool outside . Zone B is the pool for me I can use either the MX151 DAC or the McCormack DAC-1 Deluxe DAC. Is that as clear as mud ?. I still have not yet tried the DAC of the Oppo 203 or Analog outs. |
I will say that my Oppo 203 playing Pandora plus Through roku ultimate is very engaging . All of my devices are hard wired to the ethernet. If i compare the JRiver Media center PC playing .wav files that i have ripped from cd, i actually kind of prefer the Oppo 203s sound . Now both of these are being bitstreamed to the MX151 through Purist Audio HDMI. My Mx151 is doing the Digital to Analog .What i do notice is that the Oppo 203 is more lit up sounding, or forward. This is good at low to medium volumes. If i turn up really loud it can sound a little too overdone .. so to speak . Whereas if and when i crank up the JRiver to loud volumes , it is not as overbearing . Whether this actually means anything or not, i do not know . It's just an observation on the Oppo 203 vs JRiver PC |
