Finally.....Today I listened for 4 hours. I let the system warm up for about a half hour, then sat down to enjoy. The equipment I played today was the CJ MF2550 amp, Rogue RP-5 tube pre, Esoteric X-3 SACD Player and the GE Triton Reference speakers. All power cords and conditioning courtesy of Shunyata and I use a full loom of Groneberg Quattro Reference cables. I also have 2 dedicated lines, a 20 amp for equipment and a 15 amp for speakers.
Started off with DSOTM by Pink Floyd. I cranked up the heartbeat, it was unbelievable. My Odyssey amp ran out of gas on this song with the same speakers previously. When "On The Run" came on it was amazing, no staggering is a better word. The dynamic range had to be heard to believe. The soundstage went way beyond the speakers, it was like a wall of sound. The rest of the disk was equally amazing.
Next up was a SHM SACD of Paranoid by Black Sabbath. This disk never sounded good on any of my previous systems and I thought I wasted 50 bucks on it. Not so, it sounded deep and authorative. Ozzy’s voice was perfect and it was very easy to hear the different bass lines. With the Conrad Johnson amp driving the Triton References, all the upper midrange hardness disappeared and everything sounded just like music.
Next up was an old favorite, The Who Live At leeds (deluxe set). I listened to track 13, "The Magic Bus". John Entwistle really nailed the bass, it was truly something and Keith Moon was really smashing away on the drums, I was in Heaven.
Lastly, I listened to the CD "Letters Never Sent" by Carly Simon. Her voice was that of an angel, her vocals hung in the air in front of me, it was spooky. There was absolutely no strain to Carly’s voice and the CJ amp never even came close to running out of steam.
That’s it, so far. All positives, no negatives or what if’s. More to come.
