Interesting - based upon what you are saying about the other power/line conditioners, seems like the SR PowerCell is a step above.
My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!
So I have been in a long journey looking to find the best amplifiers for my martin logan montis. As you know, the match between an amplifier and speakers has to be a good "marriage" and needs to be blend exquisitely. Right now, I think I might have found the best sounding amplifier for martin logan. I have gone through approximately 34-36 amplifiers in the past 12 months. Some of these are:
Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series
NAD M25
PARASOUND HALO
PARASOUND CLASSIC
KRELL TAS
KRELL KAV 500
KRELL CHORUS
ROTEL RMB 1095
CLASSE CT 5300
CLASSE CA 2200
CLASSE CA 5200
MCINTOSH MC 205
CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7
OUTLAW AUDIO 755
LEXICON RX7
PASS LABS XA 30.8
BUTLER AUDIO 5150
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005
With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer.
My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)
NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes)
Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)
Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)
rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)
cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)
parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)
lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)
McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.
butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)
pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.
classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)
Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:
PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.
Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.
Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?
Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp.
Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.
It is articulate sounding too
Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.
Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.
Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.
Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.
Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either.
Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.
Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.
My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.
That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!
Bryston ST, SST, SST2 series
NAD M25
PARASOUND HALO
PARASOUND CLASSIC
KRELL TAS
KRELL KAV 500
KRELL CHORUS
ROTEL RMB 1095
CLASSE CT 5300
CLASSE CA 2200
CLASSE CA 5200
MCINTOSH MC 205
CARY AUDIO CINEMA 7
OUTLAW AUDIO 755
LEXICON RX7
PASS LABS XA 30.8
BUTLER AUDIO 5150
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005
With all that said, the amplifiers I mentioned above are the ones that in my opinion are worth mentioning. To make a long story short, there is NO 5 CHANNEL POWER AMP that sounds as good as a 3ch and 2ch amplifier combination. i have done both experiments and the truth is that YOU DO lose details and more channel separation,etc when you select a 5 channel power amplifier of any manufacturer.
My recollection of what each amp sounded like is as follows:
ATI SIGNATURE SERIES 6005 (great power and amazing soundstage. Very low noise floor, BUT this amplifiers NEEDS TO BE cranked up in order to fully enjoy it. If you like listening at low volume levels or somewhat moderate, you are wasting your time here. This amp won’t sound any different than many other brands out there at this volume. The bass is great, good highs although they are a bit bright for my taste)
NAD M25 (very smooth, powerful, but somewhat thin sounding as far as bass goes)
Bryston sst2(detailed, good soundstage, good power, but can be a little forward with certain speakers which could make them ear fatiguing at loud volumes)
Krell (fast sounding, nice bass attack, nice highs, but some detail does get lost with certain speakers)
rotel (good amp for the money, but too bright in my opinion)
cary audio (good sound overall, very musical, but it didn’t have enough oomph)
parasound halo (good detail, great bass, but it still holds back some background detail that i can hear in others)
lexicon (very laid back and smooth. huge power, but if you like more detail or crisper highs, this amp will disappoint you)
McIntosh mc205 (probably the worst multichannel amp given its price point. it was too thin sounding, had detail but lacked bass.
butler audio (good amplifier. very warm and smooth sweet sounding. i think for the money, this is a better amp than the parasound a51)
pass labs (very VERY musical with excellent bass control. You can listen to this for hours and hours without getting ear fatigue. however, it DOES NOT do well in home theater applications if all you have is a 2 channel set up for movies. The midrange gets somewhat "muddy" or very weak sounding that you find yourself trying to turn it up.
classe audio (best amplifier for multi channel applications. i simply COULDNT FIND a better multi channel amplifier PERIOD. IT has amazing smoothness, amazing power and good bass control although i would say krell has much better bass control)
Update: The reviews above were done in January 2015. Below is my newest update as of October 2016:
PS AUDIO BHK 300 MONOBLOCKS: Amazing amps. Tons of detail and really amazing midrange. the bass is amazing too, but the one thing i will say is that those of you with speakers efficiency of 87db and below you will not have all the "loudness" that you may want from time to time. These amps go into protection mode when using a speaker such as the Salon, but only at very loud levels. Maybe 97db and above. If you don’t listen to extreme crazy levels, these amps will please you in every way.
Plinius Odeon 7 channel amp: This is THE BEST multichannel amp i have ever owned. Far , but FAR SUPERIOR to any other multichannel amp i have owned. In my opinion it destroyed all of the multichannel amps i mentioned above and below. The Odeon is an amp that is in a different tier group and it is in a league of its own. Amazing bass, treble and it made my center channel sound more articulate than ever before. The voices where never scrambled with the action scenes. It just separated everything very nicely.
Theta Dreadnaught D: Good detailed amp. Looks very elegant, has a pleasant sound, but i found it a tad too bright for my taste. I thought it was also somewhat "thin" sounding lacking body to the music. could be that it is because it is class d?
Krell Duo 300: Good amp. Nice and detailed with enough power to handle most speakers out there. I found that it does have a very nice "3d" sound through my electrostatics. Nothing to fault here on this amp.
Mark Levinson 532H: Great 2 channel amp. Lots of detail, amazing midrange which is what Mark Levinson is known for. It sounds very holographic and will please those of you looking for more detail and a better midrange. As far as bass, it is there, but it is not going to give you the slam of a pass labs 350.5 or JC1s for example. It is great for those that appreciate classical music, instrumental, etc, but not those of you who love tons of deep bass.
It is articulate sounding too
Krell 7200: Plenty of detail and enough power for most people. i found that my rear speakers contained more information after installed this amp. One thing that i hated is that you must use xlr cables with this amp or else you lose most of its sound performance when using RCA’s.
Krell 402e: Great amp. Very powerful and will handle any speaker you wish. Power is incredible and with great detail. That said, i didn’t get all the bass that most reviewers mentioned. I thought it was "ok" in regards to bass. It was there, but it didn’t slam me to my listening chair.
Bryston 4B3: Good amp with a complete sound. I think this amp is more laid back than the SST2 version. I think those of you who found the SST2 version of this amp a little too forward with your speakers will definitely benefit from this amp’s warmth. Bryston has gone towards the "warm" side in my opinion with their new SST3 series. As always, they are built like tanks. I wouldn’t call this amp tube-like, but rather closer to what the classe audio delta 2 series sound like which is on the warm side of things.
Parasound JC1s: Good powerful amps. Amazing low end punch (far superior bass than the 402e). This amp is the amp that i consider complete from top to bottom in regards to sound. Nothing is lacking other than perhaps a nicer chassis. Parasound needs to rework their external appearance when they introduce new amps. This amp would sell much more if it had a revised external appearance because the sound is a great bang for the money. It made my 800 Nautilus scream and slam. Again, amazing low end punch.
Simaudio W7: Good detailed amp. This amp reminds me a lot of the Mark Levinson 532h. Great detail and very articulate. I think this amp will go well with bookshelves that are ported in order to compensate for what it lacks when it comes to the bass. That doesn’t mean it has no bass, but when it is no Parasound JC1 either.
Pass labs 350.5: Wow, where do i begin? maybe my first time around with the xa30.8 wasn’t as special as it was with this monster 350.5. It is just SPECTACULAR sounding with my electrostatics. The bass was THE BEST BASS i have ever heard from ANY amp period. The only amp that comes close would be the jC1s. It made me check my settings to make sure the bass was not boosted and kept making my jaw drop each time i heard it. It totally destroyed the krell 402e in every regard. The krell sounded too "flat" when compared to this amp. This amp had amazing mirange with great detail up top. In my opinion, this amp is the best bang for the money. i loved this amp so much that i ended up buying the amp that follows below.
Pass labs 250.8: What can i say here. This is THE BEST STEREO AMP i have ever heard. This amp destroys all the amps i have listed above today to include the pass labs 350.5. It is a refined 350.5 amp. It has more 3d sound which is something the 350.5 lacked. It has a level of detail that i really have never experienced before and the bass was amazing as well. I really thought it was the most complete power amplifier i have ever heard HANDS DOWN. To me, this is a benchmark of an amplifier. This is the amp that others should be judged by. NOTHING is lacking and right now it is the #1 amplifier that i have ever owned.
My current amps are Mcintosh MC601s: i decided to give these 601s a try and they don’t disappoint. They have great detail, HUGE soundstage, MASSIVE power and great midrange/highs. The bass is great, but it is no pass labs 250.8 or 350.5. As far as looks, these are the best looking amps i have ever owned. No contest there. i gotta be honest with you all, i never bought mcintosh monos before because i wasn’t really "wowed" by the mc452, but it could have been also because at that time i was using a processor as a preamp which i no longer do. Today, i own the Mcintosh C1100 2 chassis tube preamp which sounds unbelievable. All the amps i just described above have been amps that i auditioned with the C1100 as a preamp. The MC601s sound great without a doubt, but i will say that if you are looking for THE BEST sound for the money, these would not be it. However, Mcintosh remains UNMATCHED when it comes to looks and also resale value. Every other amp above depreciates much faster than Mcintosh.
That said, my future purchase (when i can find a steal of a deal) will be the Pass labs 350.8. I am tempted to make a preliminary statement which is that i feel this amp could be THE BEST stereo amp under 30k dollars. Again, i will be able to say more and confirm once i own it. I hope this update can help you all in your buying decisions!
20,890 responses
Hi Jay, You may have already seen, but thought I’d share in case maybe you hadn’t given your past affinity for Nordost Odin cables. I did not realize YG’s Sonja 2.2 was being used as Nordost’s reference speaker... at least that’s the report from Matej as of this past November. YG also offers Nordost internal wiring for their speakers interestingly and use Nordost cables as their reference I guess not surprisingly. https://www.facebook.com/100058296620036/videos/1187684624962129 or https://www.monoandstereo.com/2020/11/yg-acoustics-sonja-at-nordost.html |
Jay, YES, YES, I am looking forward to hearing the new battery operated preamp. I am putting my Goal Zero Yeti battery/AC regenerator trial on hold, because I want to first try the IceEdge amp Ric recommended, and later with his mods. Look at the 10Audio review of his modded VTV Purifi amp, how it was far superior to the veiled Purifi amp of NAD. Based on Mike Fremer's disaster with the outdoor power switch for his home generator, how his AQ Niagara 7000 couldn't remedy the bad sound, and how the PS Audio PP20 and 15 restored his great sound, I am curious about what you heard with the PS Audio PP's. My guess is that all these conditioners have drawbacks--AQ, Shunyata, etc. But battery power is the way to go. For low power preamps, small batteries will do, but for big power amps, even the large capacity batteries probably struggle, or give few hours before recharge is needed. You still need the AC regenerator which takes the DC battery power and regenerates the AC. Even the Boulder and Pandora preamp external power supplies may be corrupted by EMI/RF, so battery power/AC regeneration is probably beneficial to even Boulder and Pandora. You may even find that if B is purer than P with their power supplies, the P with battery/AC regeneration may charge ahead of the standard B as is. This is an unchartered area of important investigation, and you have the opportunity to be a leader in this quest. I will eventually do my own tests, and be interested in what you find. Maybe your suburban power situation is not as bad as mine in big NYC. |
If you are now investigating power conditioners, I have a single Core Power 1800, but hard core dual mono guys buy one for each amp (now improved to Mk II status). Also they have a Deep Core which supposedly adjusts for best sound. 2 weeks ago a fellow came up from Miami to pick up a pioneer PD 65 power supply. I think his name is Jerry. He said he had a long history in the biz He noticed my Core Power 1800 and exclaimed that he sold all his PLCs (don't know whether he had Core Powers) after putting a Deep Core in his system Core Power Technologies A/V | Underwood HiFi |
Tweak1 and Jay, For years I used a Balanced Power Technologies (BPT) isolation transformer. Sold it two years ago to buy a Shunyata Denali. Last month I decided to try a Core Power Tech Equi-core 2400 as a friend of my noticed and commented that my system had changed in not a good way since the BPT left the mix. He was correct. The addition of the Equi-core has brought back a good deal of soundstage, clarity and tonality. Currently running the Denali after the Equi-core, not out of the wall. Only minor improvements but still additive. So for what its worth, this is an inexpensive experiment and I'm glad I took the chance. Don't know if it could handle the demands of your amps but there are other isolation transformers on the market. Just my 2 cents! The for what you're doing Jay! I continue to learn from you and your other followers. Ed |
Well, here is a new component https://youtu.be/p5Jye9rxIf8 Time to guess what it is? Let’s see how good you all are 😆 Ps: headphones...a big plus here. |
I can't tell much. I don't know if you posted a previous XLF playing this song--I think it is "Liberty." If you did, was it with the silver bullets and other amps? If this latest video is with the gold bullets, there are too many variables, so whatever the new thing is, I can't draw any conclusions. All I can say is that the sound now seems more rounded than before, but there are too many variables to say what the new component does. If you have that previous video, just say what components were used in that, and then say what components are used in the new video, but of course omitting the identity of the new component. |
Hello, In my experience Furutech receptacles GTX-D NCF(R) coupled with a few dedicated 20Amp/10 gauge lines bring the noise floor of my entire 2 channel system down way better than any power conditioner/isolation devices could do. There is something in the Furutech line of power products that continues to work additively in my system. First I installed the Furutech receptacles replacing PS Audio receptacles and there was a huge performance improvement. Then I added their thick aluminum side and face plate on the receptacles and the noise floor continued to drop. The only downside of Furutech line of power products is that it takes a very long time to sound good and they all need your patience. The face plate installation was interesting because I had to really adjust the tightness of the screw to dial in the sound output that in my ears was full and accurate. I am going to try their inline power filter Flux 50 NCF(G) very shortly to see if it could further bring the noise floor of my system down. After using these products I do no longer feel any need to focus on power conditioner/isolator/regenerator components. Along the way I tried Audioquest/Shuniyata/Einstein/BPT power products and none of them could bring additional improvement in my system over the Furutech products. I think that almost all of these products have a major downside I.e the receptacles they used in their products. They use good quality hospital grade receptacles but nothing beyond that. Now if you are evaluating these products in a system where all power cables go straight to the stock house receptacles or to hospital grade receptacles then yes there would be a big improvement. However if you are evaluating these products in a system that is built on a solid power framework with dedicated power lines and audiophile grade receptacles then the difference might not be as pronounced. That is my experience and I would love to hear from others who are in a similar situation like me. Thanks. |
I’ve had the same experience with the Furutech GTX-D NCF(R) receptacles. They are a must in any high-end audio system. I’ve installed them on my 3 dedicated 20A/10A gauge power lines. They will lower the noise floor, providing low-level musical details which were previously buried in the noise floor. However, as indranilsen mentioned, they will take a few hundred hours of burn-in before they sound their best. |
I don't know what is commonly meant by "noise floor." "Noise" is obvious, like hiss in analogue recordings. But you can hear hiss in recordings at maybe 20 dB, yet there may be great resolution, clarity and detail at 30 dB and above. Even at 20 dB, the hiss is steady, but the changing transients at 20 dB may be audible. Highly resolved amps and speakers will reveal more of the hiss/noise as well as the musical content. On noiseless digital recordings, I have never heard any hiss. We are interested in greater resolution of the information content of the music. If people hear more low level detail from a component, I believe it is because the component reveals more information with less of some type of distortion, but nobody hears the "noise floor" whatever that means. You could have a component with rolled off HF, less resolution across the entire freq range, with unmeasurable noise. |
indranilsen, Which regenerator products did you try? PS Audio Power Plants or other? What effect on the sound did they have? Although I have never installed better receptacles in my apartment, the power quality is very variable in my urban area. I would expect the power quality to still vary even with perfect receptacles, although the average quality would still be better with perfect receptacles. With an Isotek power conditioner or an isolation transformer, there was minimal improvement in average power quality, with still wide and bad variation. With my current Shunyata Denali 6000, average quality is much better, but still with some variation. Maybe you live in a suburban or rural area where the power quality variation is small, so the crucial factor is the receptacle. |
Viber61 Noise floor is related to Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) measurement. It has nothing to do with hiss on a recording. SNR is a the ratio between the desired information or the power of a signal (music) and the undesired signal or the power of the background noise, which in this case is the noise floor. According to Furutech's web site, the use of the Furutech GTX-D NCF(R) receptacle, eliminates static, interconvert thermal, mechanical and electrical energy and damps vibrations. All of these effects will decrease the background noise, thus increasing your SNR. This is what I experienced using these receptacles. Now hearing lower level details (better soundstage/imaging) which were not present prior to the Furutech installation. I agree that we cannot hear the noise floor, however we can have better low-level music resolution, once the noise floor is reduced. |
Hello Vibre6- I didn't try any power regenerator so far. However I tried power conditioners like Audioquest Niagara 3000, Shuniyata Everest, Einstein power strip/conditioner, Balanced Power Transformer in my system and the only unit that looked like provided a marginal benefit was the BPT transformer but again the difference wasn't very significant. Some products even made my system sound worse but I am not too critical on that point because I probably didn't give them enough time in my system to blend well. I don't live in a big city and I do have power issues. Nothing major but good enough to cause inconsistent audio performance throughout the day. Even with Furutech receptacles and dedicated lines my system sounds the best after mid-night but the power foundation that I currently have made my system much more consistent and listenable throughout the day. I do have room for improvement in this regard but the products that I tried are not able to take my system to the next level. I do believe that the receptacles on the currently available power related products are limiting the performance of these components. I wish I had enough courage to open the hood of those boxes, replace the stock receptacles and confirm my assumption but I am still not there.... Thanks. |
Well i just brought home yet another component after the one you all heard on my last video. Sometimes there are components that right out of the gate, dead cold, zero stupid "warm up" just blow you away. This component i received today falls within this category. I might release a clip later today. |
Jay, please include a song you have previously presented on the XLF with the same electronics, dac, with the same either gold or silver bullet in the SR cable. There is a big difference between the gold and silver bullets. Then we can evaluate the new component. I thought the songs used in rounds 1,2,3 of the legendary dac shootout are excellent for demo, although the silver bullets were used. |
Yes the Furutech power "stuff" has been an eye, or ear of delight. Over the years I've tried Oyaide white outlets which were very nice sounding but on the recommendation of a dealer tried the GTX outlets. After almost 500+ hours I started to understand what blackness was like seeing/hearing in the soundstage. Then upgraded to the GTX NCF version and another improvement. Had a listen to the Furutech Flux and did nothing. But was lent a Pranawire Linebacker and yes more improvements. So give any of these products a listen yourself and hear what might be possible. Outlets are the hardest to compare but in the end it will be worth the effort and expense. |
On vacation so behind on videos but hanging out on a couch watching second system building video on my phone playing on phone speaker and my daughter is sitting there too reading one of her books. After the video ended I asked her, “so did you learn a lot?” (knowing she probably wasn’t listening at all). She looked at me and goes, “the only thing I remember about it is you need to buy more cables!” 😂 |
I had an ear- opening experience the other day that I’m willing to bet many listeners would find very memorable. I know you’re a fan of the GT Reference 3 speakers you’ve heard at previous shows and I’ve been privy to their latest updates. Featuring recently improved tweeters and midrange drivers as well as an even stiffer new frame these speakers are absolutely tremendous. I’m certain they’ll be heading to the show circuit very soon and they will absolutely knock your socks off. |
Let’s see if you all can guess this one https://youtu.be/z_OapWq26Q4 We can continue to elevate this XLF to new heights. Is this the best sound out of them? Is this the best sound to come out of my room? Maybe... Maybe not.. but let me know your thoughts. |
Good clarity on the voice, snap on the opening percussion. It could be either the 725 or ARC which are both new preamps for the XLF. The clarity is primarily due to the XLF. Some euphony comes from the Constellation amps and the ARC preamp combo, and less euphony from Connie + 725. Guessing which preamp is in the last video is meaningless--only an A/B/C/D shootout will reveal the essential nature of each preamp, with everything else the same. I believe the last preamp to appear is the battery one, which I am looking forward to hearing. |
Fair enough. You have learned everything you needed about Gryphon electronics, cables, in combination with different speakers. Time to move on, mainly to have the money for new things. Boulder had qualities such as more refinement and resolution that the Gryphons didn't have. Probably Soulution as well. However, the XLF is unlikely to be replaced any time soon, because it beats any other speaker you have tried for all the qualities you value. You can use different cabling and amps to get whatever you want. No other speaker so far enables you to satisfy all your desires. You will be disappointed if you trade out of the XLF. You can still keep the journey alive with these ancillary components. The XLF is marriage material, as I said when you introduced it. The other stuff is just good relationships that come and go. |
I do not have any reason to sell the XLF even though,I WILL ADMIT IT - I HAVE looked at possible replacements, i feel like most are like "meh" and simply don’t motivate me to begin to crate the XLF. In my personal opinion, anything under 100k MSRP is not going to come close to the level of this speaker. In the event that i replaced it with a speaker under $100k MSRP it would be more to try something "different" than actually something better. There is no "ifs and buts" about that and i am quite CLEAR on this. I have spoken to many of my sources about other speakers and everyone presents the same argument to me which is: " i don’t really know where you go from there Jay...honestly just about everything will be a downward movement UNLESS you spend a boat load of money on top of the XLF to bring something far more expensive". So there you have it. Those thoughts have actually been put to rest and i expect to still have the XLF when I go to Axpona later this year. Wilson Alexx V might happen, but not this year. I don’t think it can happen until probably summer of 2022. I need to hear it in a better environment because quite frankly i would be MAD AS HELL if i sell my XLF to buy the Alexx V and find out that it was a lateral move at best... Yea, dealers will always sing the same song with mariachis next to them telling you how far better the Alexx V is than any other Wilson speaker, but guys we know what’s up... we have heard that same tune about other stuff and when you are playing with this top end speaker, everything that is presented to you as a possible replacement needs to be evaluated thoroughly. |