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Would you go all 1 brand for electronics?

When I was younger I used to dream of stacks. Especially Tandberg. The sexy black and chrome gear was amazingly sexy, and sleek. Ahead of it’s time really in that respect. Kyocera, Studer, Sumo, Amber, Hitachi, Yamaha, Technics, were all making gear that stacked beautifully together. Of course, so was McIntosh.

Then I got to hear a demo of Conrad Johnson gear driving a Martin Logan single panel speaker. It was good, but as soon as the CJ amp got switched out for a solid state amp, it was absolutely magical. That broke the spell for me. When I got older I found myself mixing and matching more and more, as well as often wishing there wasn’t a single damn cable in the system and it all just worked. :)

I tried going all 1 brand with Parasound, but then I discovered great sounding digital amps and instead of going with many Parasounds I went with little monoblocks, and the whole stack idea was broken. They don’t make sources anyway.

So my question for all of you, especially those of you who do not have all 1 brand stacks of gear. If you had to choose, from source to amp, a single brand, what would it be? Of course your paying for it, so keep the cost in mind. :)

I think we should reasonably exclude record players, though some like McIntosh DO make them.


Best,


Erik


erik_squires
erik_squires OP
16,414 posts
 
I've heard Spectral at Goodwyn's High End in Waltham, MA ages ago. I missed the magic, but it has a very strong following, what did I miss that others like about it?

I wonder if the original KSA amps would still stand up to the challenge today in terms of smoothness and soundstaging. I heard the original B&W Nautilus driven by a stack of ... six of them? (long ago) and was also kind of "meh" about it. They were the de-facto amp for Apogee though. :)

Best,

Erik
erik_squires OP
16,414 posts
 
Speaking of old standards, what about Halcro? It made a big splash just like Krell did, then went Poof! They certainly had a unique look to them.

Best,


Erik
erik_squires OP
16,414 posts
 
Other brands, now on memory lane.... Threhold (some of whose talent is now at Coda) and a french company that starts with a P..... or a P like letter....
mountz's avatar
mountz
135 posts
 
I had an all Nakamichi system back in the day.  Wow, how things change.  Now, I'm all separates, but would lust after an aesthetics stack.  Jim just has a tonality that is hard to find.  I also have an LSA integrated and speakers (Statement) that is hard to beat (although you would have to chose a source or DAC).
theothergreg
222 posts
 
Some say that built-in phonos can be as good as a stand alone (DarTZeel, Audio Note, Luxman for instance), but I have not personally heard them.

My C1100 preamp is superb in every way except for the built-in phono.  I tried really to love it but just couldn't, so ended up getting a stand alone from another brand.  I have not heard the new stand alone Mac phono but have absolutely no desire to replace mine now. 
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