2. best-of
  3. 1037570597

Which components knocked you out on first listen?

I've been listening to stereos since 1973 and I am still waiting to be truly knocked out by the sound of a component. I have sat in showrooms across the country and have been pleased by what I have heard but never truly blown away.
The closest I came was when I listened to a Meitner str-55 amp and VTL preamp a few years ago, sourced by a Linn Ikemi and Revel loudspeakers. However, I also have been moved by a
Apple computer cd drive, circa 1994 through a Creek 4040 and RA Lab speakers, estimated cost about $1,200; maybe more so than the Linn,Revel 10K system. How about you?
cody
gliderguider's avatar
gliderguider
294 posts
 
The Tom Evans Linear A amplifier. Ten minutes after I powered it on I knew it eclipsed any other amp I'd heard. It's hard to convey in words what a transformative audio experience this amplifier has been for me. It's bewilderingly good.
jpms
39 posts
 
Sound Lab A-1. Big in every way, subtle also.
Supratek Syrah. Fantastique tube line and phono preamp.
Supratek Cabernet. Closer to the truth even then the Syrah.
EMM Labs CDSD transport and DCC2 Digital Control Center. An impressive music machine.
jasman
102 posts
 
Magnapan's with Conrad Johnson in 1981. That system got me into High End audio.
jacquescornell
56 posts
 
Spica TC-60s. Incredible value. But, they're a bugger to position. Got 'em two weeks ago, and am still trying to find the best arrangement. They don't respond as expected to position changes. They were muddy, flat, and imaged poorly on 26" stands 5' from the front wall and 2' from the side walls, toed-in, in a 12x19 room. At 4' from front wall and 18" from side walls, imaging was great, but bass was still thick. Pushed 'em toward the corners for furniture reasons, expecting bass to get deeper. Nope. At 2' from front wall and 6" (six inches!) from side walls, bass is evened out, lower midrange is no longer congested, and imaging is going gangbusters. Counterintuitive, but furniture-friendly. Still experimenting. The one absolute of positioning these things is that they have to be aimed right at the throne.

Imaging is hot on the heels of $3,000 Gallo Reference 3s and Martin Logan Aeons.
emmaco
4 posts
 
Hill Plasmatronics 1A. Still do! One reviewer made an apt comparison. The Plasmatronics are the audio equivalent of an SR-71A Blackbird... everything else is a Cessna 150. When you play back a recording of a telephone ringing on a pair of Hills, everyone in the house walks over to the phone and picks it up. Nothing else even comes close...

For daily listening I use Quad 988's and 63's, Gale GS401A's, and Lecson HL1's... The Gales are best for getting dressed in the morning, the 988's best for sitting down and reading to FM classical music, the HL1's for something a little funky.
More to discover