Opinions on why this system is uninvolving


I have just upgraded my system in a number of ways from Snell Type A/IIs to Revel Studios; from Audible Illusions Modulus 2 to Hovland HP-1; and from the earliest EADs to Metronome Technology DAC and transport. I find the system uninvolving much of the time. I also find it lacking in dimensionality, find it sometimes hard sounding and I notice image wander. Here's the whole system:

Revel Studios
Hovland HP-1
MFA 200C mono amps
Metronome DAC and Transport
Shunyata Hydra on amps
Power Wedge I on other components
Various high end cords incl. Top Gun, Shunyata Mamba and EMI whales
Tara Prime (or perhaps 1800) speaker cables (bi-wiring)
Audioquest Ruby interconnects between amps and pre amp (about 30-foot run)
Hovland interconnct between DAC and preamp
Siecor optical AT&T between DAC and transport

Any thoughts on how to arrest these problems would be greatly appreciated. I was thinking about trying solid state amps like the Pass 250 or 350, the McCormack DNA line, Proceed or Rowland, but I'm not really sure that will make a sginficiant difference. I know it could change the sound signficantly, but not necessrily for the better (which I realize is completely subjective anyway).
znak_m
Asa, you don't just beat somebody to a pulp and then decide to call it quits while their body is still moving.

1. Not that it matters one iota, as you yourself confirm, that you were once a reviewer.

2. Two, I apologize for using the word sterile. I did not verify your verbage from your previous post. I don't like it when somebody misquotes me and I certainly would not intentially want to do that to another. But again, you stated that I 'demanded' information from you when in fact I simply 'asked' that you share more information.

3. I stated very clearly that I myself had not heard these speakers. Yet in laymans (sp) terminology, I simply attempted to convey to other readers, from my readings and from another who has auditioned them, who's opinion I highly respect, that your opinion was and IS the only descenting vote on this speaker that I am aware of. That has not changed. And I certainly do not believe I need to listen to the Vm5's to qualify that or any other statement I made to you in my previous post.

4. As a professional reviewer, I would think you would realize you have a greater responsibilty to be more informative and constructive before poo-pooing a product since some to many would have a tendency to be swayed by your words and good manufacturers doors can be closed permanently by a reviewer's comments.

5. I've been pretty consistant with my feelings of many to most audio reviewer's opinions just as I believe I was in my previous post to you. Yet you attempt to portray me as one who clings to those journalist's and/or their opinions. See number two above. And your 40 lashes have done nothing to make me love you guys more.

6. Yes I did make a few assumptions about you. That was pretty easy to do since you gave little information regarding your opinion and background. But now I have a few more assumptions.

6. You state in your last post that you are quite informed with the Vandersteen product line and have more experience than some with them. You listed your system. That's good. Now we're getting somewhere. That was all I ASKED for along with a few other things.

Had I known you were some sort of professional reviewer, I would not have asked for those things. Instead, I would have demanded them from you.

You know, Asa, I said nothing to warrant the beating that you tried to give me in your last post. But obviously I hit some nerve. They say that if you throw a rock into a pack of wolves, the one that barks the loudest is usually the one that got hit."

And here you repeatedly and intentionally misquoted me and twisted my words to your advantage. While at same time falsely accusing me of doing those very things to you. Nice try.

Talk about tenacity? How about irresponsible? And I can think of a few other adjectives.

I too have become disinterested.

-IMO
I have heard the Vandy 5's in a system composed of all Spectral gear, and I would like to say it sounded pretty darn good. I liked it and frankly, I would have been happy to have called it my own.

Vandy's may not be the 'best' speaker at ultimate transparency. They may be not the greatest speaker at imaging. HOWEVER, for the money it is HARD to beat them. The Vandy 5's are some of the best all round great performing speakers for less than $12k. Certainly, they one of the best box speakers under $15k. Comparing them to ribbon and electrostats is kinda like comparing apples to oranges. Both are fruit, both taste good, but give a different presentation altogether.

Frankly, unless you have tried out a lot of different equipment with a given loudspeaker, one really does not know the speaker's qualities (or general qualities). Just changing out gear can make speakers sound very, very different. Speakers can go from dark sounding to bright sounding with the change of an amp. Speakers can go from muddy sounding with little low frequency response to seemings transparent to a much tighter bass with the change of a preamp. And this does not stop with just the speakers you are listening to. When you listen to a recording you are listening to the performers through the mics that they were recorded with through the wires connected to the mics through the sound mixer they were recorded with through the medium they were recorded with through the medium you are playing them through, through the player you are playing it on, through the preamp you are running the signal through in your system, through the amp you are driving your speakers with, and NOW through the speakers you are listening to.

Many people forget what a long electronic line of chain they are hearing when they listen to their systems. Subtly can be lost many places in that chain. So can imaging. So can sooooo many things.

Well, I must goto bed now.

KF
Bwhite - if the EAD T-7000 & Audiomeca DAC are so good, why don't you use them in your system?

Do they need $3K power cords to sound good?
Tok, agreed.

Stehno, sorry I hit you too hard. You didn't seem to be waking up. Hope you feel better after hitting me back. I will leave you with that and turn the cheek. You need to ask yourself, however, how my original post steering the poster away from Vandy's - while never saying they were necessarily bad speakers - makes me now "irresponsible". I understand you are upset, but you need to be more careful with such words in the future. Just for the record, the "was" in the context of reviewer was past tense.
bwhite or anyone,

I have spent the last 20 min in frustration looking for some place online where I could check out the EAD gear (including pricing) and have come up empty...can anyone help?

Bwhite, when you talk about liking the EAD, are you aiming at the T-7000? I thought I picked up in my travel around the www that there is a MKII and MKIII version? Are these the latest, do you recommend one over the other? Ya know, basically, tell me everything ya know. :)

Also on the Audiomecca (which I have no problem finding infor on), you said OR Audio Note...Which Audio Note do you mean, the line is quite large (and can get expensive)?

I am nearing some significant changes in my system which I have been thinking about and looking into for nearly a year. I am on the verge of having pretty much all the cash flow I would want (10k - 20k) with which I am going to build a system. If I can save in the digital front end, and get better sound, YEA. I have had my mind focused on the EMC-1...I was tempted by Audiomecca (too expensive but aesthetically (sp) just what I want)...the Capitol is way to high and is ugly...IMHO.

After owning and hearing all kinds of speakers I always gravitate back to JM Lab. So I have been debating basically between the Micro and the Mini with plans to add a REL sub someday out. I have owned the Mini's before and regrettably sold them. The difference between these two is almost imperceptible so I have a hard time justifying the difference. With the new Utopia line looming both of these are a better than ever value.

I recently heard the new Dynaudio C2s and was blown away. That was the most gripping experience I have had for quite sometime (first time I heard them it was on a 1k Consonance Integrated). I lean toward the "warmth" musicality of the Utopia line but am always impressed with the detail and purity of lines like Kharma (owned the Cerm 2). Do you, bwhite, or anyone else know anything about the C2 characteristic over a longer period of time?

Bwhite, anyway, what I am getting at is to give you an brief idea of my listening bias so you can tell me if you think the EAD/Audiomecca front end would match well.
[side note: I have not decided about amps though I am drawn to the Joule Stargate because I fell in love with Lamm's use of the 6C33 tube (ML1) and hoped that the stargate might lean in that direction. I have learned to love tubes but I like bottom end too and so I vasilate between which I will miss most. The midrange warmth or the bottom end roll-off.]

Anyway, your thoughts are appreciated. I don't mean to hi-jack this thread and so I would take comments offline but maybe some of the answers might be relevant to this thread also. Either way thanks for the help.

Charles