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Owners of "Giant Killers"?

We often read of folks who have heard "Giant Killer" products: amps, preamps, digital sources...

We also often read about products that are tried, and are "excellent and worth the audition", but are not chosen for the listeners's system because of a better product.

I'm wondering how many Audiogoners actually own a "Giant Killer"?

Has someone heard a component that offers great value, but beyond the dollar value offers perfomance that has truly been good enough to replace the "Giant"?
tvad
gunbei
2,327 posts
 
Mghcanuck and Marko455,

I need to make an apology for insinuating that the Ack! wasn't a good DAC. After rereading my post I'm afraid my humor didn't come through the way I intended and it seemed like I was gloating. Not a very constructive post by me. I'm sorry.

I'd been changing other components at the same time and found a combination that I liked a lot. And I was even more surprised to find that I preferred the cheapest DAC of them all. The Audio Mirror D1. The preamp and amp in my listed virtual system are now the eXemplar Exception II and Bel Canto SET40, and the balance of the Audio Mirror seems to work best for me with these new components.

So in the end, my long time Kora Hermes took the silver. But now all this swapping, listening and testing has me thinking of getting a player like Tvad's. This is madness!
mghcanuck
116 posts
 
Gunbei,

No need to apologise. I didn't detect any gloating, which I wouldn't really have any great objection to anyway, I mean if we can't share our happiness about equipment that reproduces music in a satisfying way... Well, it just seems these forums are the place to do it, as well as discuss the downsides. You obviously took the time to evaluate different DAC's, and other equipment, in order find one that you find to your liking. Well done!

It might be madness, given your apparent satisfaction with the Audio Mirror DAC (and your current set-up), to spend 10 times the money on a new player. Although, I believe I suffer from the same affliction. ;-)

Are you still using the Theta Pearl as a transport?
gunbei
2,327 posts
 
Mghcanuck,

Yeah the Theta is still there. But, Tvad and Boa2 got me thinking of the APL Denon.
therudedog
9 posts
 
Guerilla Audio cables! I'd put these cables against anything, money no object! I still can't get over how good they are...
audiojoy4
96 posts
 
I have just bought the Space tech lab preamplifier 113.
Beat my previous reference Hovland HP100, then beat my present reference the Django transformer passive preamp.

For $800 what more can I say and it has only done 3 hours of break in.

Tvad still waiting for the uk apl denon.
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