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Starting from Scratch -Please Help Pick 1 out of 3

Dear Friends,
Hope that all of you are well, in a moment of transitional evolutional state of mind i sold off my Rogue Cronus Integrated, my Tannoy Stirling Speakers ; well pretty much the spine of the entire system.

I wanted to start over, i listen to a lot of varied stuff ; usually very complex stuff ; i love the weight of solid state gear and the resolution of their baselines and the treble which intermittently sound "filled" ; i also love the midrange liquidity of tubes especially on vocals and the natural timbre of orchestras and drum snares.

So i had gone on a spree to audition some gears, some which couldn't be heard are also included as a part of the system (say, i listened to the power amp but not the pre) i couldn't get to some of these due to various difficulties but generally i've put a package of 4 different set ups - i hope learned pundits here can guide through this to build a good system which i will use for a long time.

I am not the type for frequent upgrades.
Thank you!

The Candidates

Group 1
------
Pre : Rennaisance Preamplifier MKIII by VAC (Valve Amplification Company)
Power : VAC Phi 200 Power Amplifiers (Valve Amplication Company)
Speakers : Harbeth SHL5 [or] Devore Fidelity The Nines (Please Pick)

Just love the look of this system!

Group 2
------
Pre : Modwright LS 100 or Ls36.5
Power : Pass Labs XA 60.5 (Class A 60 wpc) but can take a few months to save
up for Pass Labs XA100.5 (Class A 100 wpc) if it really matters.
but evidence shows otherwise :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXGf3AonFCQ
Speakers : Magnepan 1.7
Which sounds great!

But Will the Modwright (semi-tube) impedance match with the pass'?

Group 3
-------
Pre : Leben RS28CX Premium Preamplifier
Power : CS-660P Separate Power Amplifier
Speakers : Harbeth SHL5 (or) Devore Fidelity The Nines (or) Devore Fidelity Orang Utan

Group 4
-------
Pre : Modwright LS100
Power : Pass Labs XA30.5 Monoblocks (30 watts Class A)
Speakers : Devore Fidelity Orang Utan

Also Please Feel Free to Mix-Match and Advice.

Music will be fed from my MAC to my DAC and to these.

Thank You!
thegoodarcher
thegoodarcher OP
70 posts
 
Mbovaird Thank you for your long and detailed response, really appreciate it.
I am quite really, not a subwoofer guy - i usually leave the music and tend to fiddle with the subwoofer in the middle of a track which takes away, the whole point of kicking back and listening to music, so woofers are not for me.

I rather look for something full range which handles bass well.

Quite frankly, i've tried classes before and always found them to be somewhat underwhelming..as far the DAC goes ; i just bought a M2Tech Vaughan Super DAC (USD 7999) - i believe is right and and is ready fit for any matchup

The Vaughan DAC is fed by I2S connection via a HiFace Evo with Evo Supply.

So really not looking for any DAC at the moment.
For a Phonostage i have a Softone Model 4 from a Japanese Manufacturer,
which does everything right, so i do not need to walk down that avenue i believe at least for some time.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
6,996 posts
 
The goodarcher,
What type of sound/music reproduction do you really want?
The Pass Maggie combo is quite different from VAC with Devore. I doubt you`d like such different systems equally.

All VAC with full range Devore is getting many votes for a reason. Pass is a very good SS amp but if won`t duplicate a good tube power amp(nor will the tube amp mimic the Pass) if in fact that`s what you desire. They`re two different camps for sure.Warm SS amp does`nt = organic tube sound.Which one appeals to you more?
Regards,
thegoodarcher OP
70 posts
 
Dear Charles1dad,
Thank you for your reply, as a music lover - hands down - i do and always will prefer the sound of the valves - to me right now : it has not come down to Tube or Solid State its not even an even fight ; tubes have that rich intricacies that solid state just cannot offer, but some i believe like pass labs comes pretty close.

The reason, in my choices - i have partnered Pass Labs Amplifier with the Modwright LS36.5 (a tube based design)

The thing that worries me most, is the inability of most "tube amp" designs to translate modern music, such as film scores which has everything mixed in (sometimes even techno meets classical) as in some of Ryiuchi Sakamoto's work, but i can be so wrong - as my tube experience has only been through
a few amplifiers (The Rogue Cronus Magnum - being the closest champ) even
vs amplifiers costing 2x or 3x more.

I wish there was a dealer where i am, where i can experience VAC in its full effect, but alas - i had to go to a friends place to listen to the preamp, theres no dealer in my country, but i have spoken to a distributor who off late was seen carrying Pass Labs in their show, I've asked this guys to approach VAC, and i just have to see where it leads me to, for this reasons i have to be very
"Sure" when placing the order ; thats where good guys like you come in to advice, a country like India is a bad place for hifi, i hope new companies that have venture in open more up-to-date showroom with multiple system combination.
jdoris
852 posts
 
A vote for 4. On my hearing the Devore O93 and 096 sounded a lot better than the (good) Nines. For a few grand cheaper, I think the 93 a better value proposition than the 96.

At RMAF, John D. told me the low watt Pass class A made a good match with his boxes.

Why a Modwright pre instead of a matching pass?

Good troubles to have, do you.

John
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
6,996 posts
 
Thegoodarcher,
I understand your circumstances and dilemma more clearly. In your case and given your desires, the Pass amp could be best for you(hard to say without actually hearing all this stuff).
I have a lot of experience with VAC components so I`m confident in suggesting them(with a tube friendly speaker). IMO this combination will play any and everything very well.It won`t do SS type bass'slam' if that is what you seek(you`ll get beautiful tube bass instead).Which do you prefer? Rogue is decent tube gear and value. However, VAC is simply on a higher sonic plane(and should be for the cost premium).

You`d likely be happy with any of the system choices you listed.
Best of Luck,
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