2. amps-preamps
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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
zephyr24069's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
zephyr24069
1,241 posts
 
Aurender...another great suggestion!
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,090 posts
 
Bel Canto for ss and arc for tubes. 
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,866 posts
 
I'm running the full line of Rogue's top components: Apollo monoblocs, Hera II preamp, Ares phono. An absolutely fantastic match with my Tannoy Canterbury. There are no worries about sonic matching between components -- they all gel together. The MSRP of the full Rogue stack is 22K, though I've also added a Bob's Devices 1131 SUT and tube upgrades. 

Rogue gets lots of attention for their entry-level and midrange-priced products, but not so much for their top line (at least in North America). But they represent a very nice option, above the midrange-priced stuff but still below the "full audio retard"-priced gear -- and well worth the money over the midrange in my experience. When you get this Rogue stack behind some great speakers in a decent room (as Rogue has done at some shows), I think it's hard to not walk away impressed.

Some years ago I inserted a VAC Renaissance III pre+phono in place of the Hera/Ares, and it definitely had its good points, but in the end I went back to the Hera II and then the Ares again. I've also heard various full VAC stacks, and they're all capable of sounding very very nice, but cost A LOT more once you get beyond the basic Sigma 160 integrated. All my systems prior to this were mixed, and basically sonic junk compared to the current end result, though they consisted of some nice components.
inna
7,296 posts
 
Mapman, you are wrong, get Lamm or Gryphon or Ypsilon.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,440 posts
 
I have all Ayre electronics....amp, preamp, silver disc player....all designed to work and sound the best they can when wired together.
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