Well I am narrowing it down a bit. I started auditioning yesterday with the Rogue Tempest with Vandersteen 2CEsig and a Linn Genki player and Audioquest cable and interconnects. I was a little disappointed with this combo although the sound was not unpleasent there seemed to be no soundstage and the treble was almost none existent.
I then listened with the Vandersteen's replaced with ProAc Tablette Reference 8's and the difference was night and day. The Rogue came alive and the sound stage became almost as deep as it was wide and there was much more air surronding the instruments. I guess maybe the Vandersteen's are a bad combo with the Rogue since they both are a tad bit laid back. The ProAcs sounded even more incredible with the Rogue gear when we threw into the mix a Vandersteen 2WQ sub and rolled the ProAcs off at 80 to the sub. The sound stage became massive, and the ProAcs began to sing when that little mid driver did not have to worry about bass and the sub blended in beautifully.
Then just for the hell of it I listened to the ProAc Tablette Reference 8's being driven by an all Audio Research system composed of the AR CD3, AR LS25MKII, and the VT 200MKII Monos and I was blown away! If I had an unlimited bank roll I would have bought that combo right then and there. This was my first experience with AR since I was always told their new equipment is High Rez and I tend to shy away from that since my ears are sensitive to brightness. I never bothered to audition AR equipment and man I did not know what I was missing.
I must say since I have a real world budget (although after yesterday it has gone up) and I am contemplating an LS8MKI or MKII with a Rogue 88 power amp or even the Rogue mono 120s. Has anyone tried this combo before?
Also are there any other tube componenets that sound similar to the new AR equipment, which is tending towards being analytical and having that inner detail, without that massive price tag?
Thanks,
Mike
I then listened with the Vandersteen's replaced with ProAc Tablette Reference 8's and the difference was night and day. The Rogue came alive and the sound stage became almost as deep as it was wide and there was much more air surronding the instruments. I guess maybe the Vandersteen's are a bad combo with the Rogue since they both are a tad bit laid back. The ProAcs sounded even more incredible with the Rogue gear when we threw into the mix a Vandersteen 2WQ sub and rolled the ProAcs off at 80 to the sub. The sound stage became massive, and the ProAcs began to sing when that little mid driver did not have to worry about bass and the sub blended in beautifully.
Then just for the hell of it I listened to the ProAc Tablette Reference 8's being driven by an all Audio Research system composed of the AR CD3, AR LS25MKII, and the VT 200MKII Monos and I was blown away! If I had an unlimited bank roll I would have bought that combo right then and there. This was my first experience with AR since I was always told their new equipment is High Rez and I tend to shy away from that since my ears are sensitive to brightness. I never bothered to audition AR equipment and man I did not know what I was missing.
I must say since I have a real world budget (although after yesterday it has gone up) and I am contemplating an LS8MKI or MKII with a Rogue 88 power amp or even the Rogue mono 120s. Has anyone tried this combo before?
Also are there any other tube componenets that sound similar to the new AR equipment, which is tending towards being analytical and having that inner detail, without that massive price tag?
Thanks,
Mike