Tekton Double Impacts

Post regarding a possible amplifier pairing for the SEs.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of demoing the Mastersound Evolution 845 Integrated Amplifier in-home.

It was demoed as is stock, with stock tubes and was run with signal through to the speakers for about 9 hours prior to first listen.

The following DACs were used: my primary DAC, the Denafrips Terminator; the North Star Designs Venti; and my Schiit Yggdrasil.

We also ran the Evolution 845 direct, bypassing it’s Preamp section and using the Pass XP-20 as Pre.

Those of you I have spoken with directly know that I recommend tubed components as a primary consideration for the SEs, despite my personal quest for a solid state pairing / solution.

As pointed out with regard to the Double Impacts by most, the SEs also showcased the individual flavors and signatures of the three DACs clearly. As well as the A/B/C/D differences between the T+A / Pass Separates / Mastersound / Mastersound + Pass XP-20 The direct A/Bing was conducted primarily with the Denafrips DAC and to a lesser extent with the North Star Design Venti.

I can say that the Mastersound, by itself and ALSO with it’s amplifier section alone, is a very nice pairing with the SEs.

For those of you who are more comfortable with and prefer to have more watts on hand especially from tubed components but still pine or crave for that SET magic: the EVOs 845s in Parallel SET at 55 watts per side, are worth considering.

@david_ten
I can't keep up with all your gear man!  But it sounds like you are having fun.  You know, with all the posts on this thread I can't recall if you tried the Lyngdorf 2170 that Bill is so fond of.  This seems like a unique piece of solid state gear.

I finally finished by room treatments and am quite pleased with the outcome.  The room now strikes a nice balance.  Bass is now very tight and controlled down to below 20hz as I had hoped for.  My DIY mega bass trap clearly improved the bass quality.  Treatment of first reflection points increased detail and nuance without closing the sound stage in too much.  And there is no sense of reflection off the rear wall.  The DI's just seem to get better with time and respond to  any improvements as we have all found.  Please check out my system pics so you can get a better visual on the above.

The Hsu ULS 15 MK2 subs have been a nice addition to the DI's.  They are so similar to the DI's I'm not surprised they worked out.  Both have satin black finishes (with the Hsu's finish getting the nod--buttery smooth black satin) and are both are value packed.  I lugged the subs all around my room and it seemed clear that the best sound was achieved predictably in the corners of the room.  The Hsu subs do exactly what I had hoped for.  They extend the music down to just below 20 Hz which was my objective.  The DI's in my room do have response down to 30Hz (cabinet tuning frequency)  but just didn't provide the full extension I wanted in the bottom octave.  Well no longer is this an issue. The subs are dead quiet with no quirks. (On the other hand, I did need to spend time quieting several light connection boxes!)  I don't sense any intrusion into the domain of the DI's.  In short, I can fully recommend the Hsu's as a great complement to the DI's. 

I'm impatiently waiting for new speakers to be made.  I have 6 weeks of this anxiety to contend with.  I have a NAD M22 rev2 to try out coming tomorrow, but I will likely not keep it because I'm pretty sure the NORD OneUp SE Monoblocks will slay the NAD and I ordered them yesterday  I have 2 months to audition the NAD.  Being a die hard SET guy I'm actually surprised I'm considering a CLASS D amp just for some variety in my system.  I am very curious about the TDAI 2170 myself.  I will try to find a used one at some point after my bank account recovers from all this hemorrhaging.  I've heard lots of good things about it, but the price for the one I wanted is $2k more than I wanted to spend.

@corelli  Actually, I can't keep up with my cables! : )  It's been a ride with cabling evaluations...however, all good now with terrific outcomes.

Not much component movement until recently. There have been two amp related demos. Still figuring that out.

I need to listen to the Lyngdorf again. I know how strongly Bill feels about it as well as Kenny and others here. And I'd love to listen to the new LTA gear that @lancelock has, preferably in his system once he gets his SEs. : )

@jcarcopo & david_ten, Lyngdorf just released a new integrated, TDAI- 3400, double the power and possibly other improvements. Bill raves about his modded TDAI-2170 and I'm very interested in this new model.