Silverline Sonata III & McIntosh MC275?

03-12-09: Bondmanp
I have heard Alan's speakers at two HE shows in NYC. The first time, he was
demonstrating the Boleros with his homemade flea-watt tube amp. (The
sound was delicious, btw, and to date, the Boleros remain my dream
speaker).

Thanks for sharing that info, Bondamp. It's interesting that Alan chose to use
different amplification. Did he have a Pass Labs amp in the room? I wonder if
he decided he didn't want to ship his Pass amp for reasons of economy or risk
of damage. I believe the Pass Labs amp he used at the two shows I attended
is his own personal amplifier, rather than a Pass Labs show demonstrator.
Since he lives in California and the show you attended was in New York, the
cost and risk of shipping a 150 pound Pass Labs X-600.5 could be
prohibitive.

FWIW, at my request, Alan Yun did demonstrate his SR-17 speakers with his
Silverline tube amp (can't recall the tubes or power output, but it was his own
design, and an amp he sells). I thought the speakers sounded tipped-up and
too hot in the highs for my taste. This demo was not part of his primary
demonstration that he repeated throughout the show, which focused on his
new Prelude and Minuet models powered by the monster Pass Labs amplifier.

I had an extensive email conversation with Ralph Karsten during the time I
owned the Atma-Sphere M-60 amplifiers. He once listed Silverline speakers
on his list of tube friendly speakers. After doing some research into the
Sonata III model subsequent to our conversations, he determined the Sonata
III model did not fit his criteria for speakers that work well with his OTL tube
amps (due to the impedance curve and specifications), and he deleted them
from his list. I recall Ralph saying that the Sonata III could be made
tube friendly if the woofers were wired in parallel rather than in series (could
be the other way around...). Doing so would change the impedance curve and
eliminate the impedance dip in the bass frequencies.

However, Ralph did acknowledge that other speakers in the Silverline model
line-up, including the Bolero model, do fit his criteria for tube friendly
speakers .

Tvad: Honestly, I can't remember if there was any Pass gear in the room with the Boleros. It was a number of years ago. There was absolutely NO Pass gear, or any other gear than what I mentioned above in the more recent show where Alan showcased the Minuets and Preludes. I remember, at Alan's suggestion, moving around the room to hear the Minuets from different locations. I was looking for a subwoofer, too. There wasn't one, even though it sounded like too much bass output for such small speakers (both Minuets and Preludes).

I've heard horror stories of lost and damaged equipment at the NYC shows, and even one case of a rather large theft. Under those circumstances, using cheap electronics is understandable!

BTW, I've asked before, but I'd love to know if anyone has heard the Allegros (which seem to be Preludes with extra woofers). They are more in my real-world price range than the Boleros.

Bondmanp, FWIW, When I demo'd my Bolero's at Alan's I listened to some jazz over some stacked Minuets driven by Alan's inexpensive SS stuff, mentioned above, and probably what you heard at the show. Come to think about it, that is what was hooked up when I got there and Alan was anxious to demo it, even though he knew that was not why I came.

Anyway, they were very impressive - imaging was unbelievably good. If I could fault anything, it was that overall the sound was just a tad dark, not as balanced or finely detailed as either the Sonata or Bolero model, and obviously there was no deep bass, but what there was was quite good.

A set of good compromises at a very attractive price I think. Tonally they were more like the Bolero's than the III's. Personally, I think a lot of the attributes and differences (I observed) can be attributed to that little mod'ded Monarchy amp's interaction with the speakers. When I got my Bolero's home and set up, they did not sound much like they did at Alan's. They were much more open and balanced hooked up to some of my tubed stuff, not nearly as dark. But at Alans the III's never sounded dark at all.

The conclusion I reached was that for someone on a budget those stacked Minuets and a good sub woofer would be a great combo for someone on a budget, and in a small room, sans sub would be an even better deal.

The conclusion I reached was that for someone on a budget those stacked Minuets and a good sub woofer would be a great combo for someone on a budget...
Newbee (System | Reviews | Threads | Answers)

I absolutely agree. The Minuets were quite impressive. I thought the Preludes were equally impressive, and possessed a somewhat more weighty sound due to their lower bass response.

Thank you all for inputs.