Mindless, just because two systems were setup with expensive equipment, doesn’t mean that there was synergy.
When we were starting with the Blades we had Parasound JC 1 Monoblocks, Electrocompaniet AW 400 Monoblocks, Hegel stereo amp, Chord Monoblocks non reference and then reference monos from Chord, we also experimented with a very well known Ncore amp.
None these combos sounded truly amazing until we went with a pair of the big Chord amps, which were $30k, although the smaller stereo Chord an $8k amp and the smaller Chord $15k monos did sound superb, the size of the image, the nearly limitless sense of power and punch and of course really deep tuneful bass didn't really manifest itself until the big mono blocks showed up and if you noticed the Parasound and Electrcompaniet amplifiers were both 400 watts into 8Ohms and 800 watts or so into a 4 ohm load, so it wasn't a case of power the more expensive amplifier just sounded far superior.
With that being said the resulting $150k total system sounded as good as a $400k one which makes the Blades a bargain when compared to a $110k pair of YG or Wilson speakers.
Today we would pair the Blades up with a T+A HV 3000 an $18k integrated which sounds about 70% as good as a $50k stack of electronics or the T+A 2500R an $11k integrated which also sounds amazing.
One of the most remarkable compact monitors we have ever heard is the Legacy Calibre which basically has a built in sub woofer, and hits very hard in the bass, $5,500.00 a pair plus stands. The Calibre has a very wide sound stage, and has a lovely combination of a very smooth German sourced Heil AMT tweeter with a custom made exotic Italian mid range driver. In addition you can add a Wavelet a $5k dac,preamp, room correction processor and electronic crossover and then you would just need a good amp for the top end.
One of our clients just ordered a pair of the Calibres https://legacyaudio.com/products/view/calibre/
His pair was ordered with a set of built in amps which makes the speakers $6,800.00, then at any time you could progress to add a Wavelet and any amplifier you want for the top end for a very cool bi-ampable system which would then have a very good dac and room correction.Legacy was showcasing this system at the New York Audio show and it was absolutely extraordinary how close the sound was to a much more expensive system.
The ATC SCM 40 is a fantastic compact floor stander which also has great punch and dynamics, $7,000.00 a pair. The ATC have a very natural sound in the mid range frequencies and is clean without being bright in the top end, they also image very well.
The new Dynaudio Contour series is supposed to be fabulous we have not hear them but the two speakers above would be our recommendations if you are looking for warmth, bass depth, sound staging, dynamics in an under $10k price point.
Dave and TroyAudio Doctor NJ
When we were starting with the Blades we had Parasound JC 1 Monoblocks, Electrocompaniet AW 400 Monoblocks, Hegel stereo amp, Chord Monoblocks non reference and then reference monos from Chord, we also experimented with a very well known Ncore amp.
None these combos sounded truly amazing until we went with a pair of the big Chord amps, which were $30k, although the smaller stereo Chord an $8k amp and the smaller Chord $15k monos did sound superb, the size of the image, the nearly limitless sense of power and punch and of course really deep tuneful bass didn't really manifest itself until the big mono blocks showed up and if you noticed the Parasound and Electrcompaniet amplifiers were both 400 watts into 8Ohms and 800 watts or so into a 4 ohm load, so it wasn't a case of power the more expensive amplifier just sounded far superior.
With that being said the resulting $150k total system sounded as good as a $400k one which makes the Blades a bargain when compared to a $110k pair of YG or Wilson speakers.
Today we would pair the Blades up with a T+A HV 3000 an $18k integrated which sounds about 70% as good as a $50k stack of electronics or the T+A 2500R an $11k integrated which also sounds amazing.
One of the most remarkable compact monitors we have ever heard is the Legacy Calibre which basically has a built in sub woofer, and hits very hard in the bass, $5,500.00 a pair plus stands. The Calibre has a very wide sound stage, and has a lovely combination of a very smooth German sourced Heil AMT tweeter with a custom made exotic Italian mid range driver. In addition you can add a Wavelet a $5k dac,preamp, room correction processor and electronic crossover and then you would just need a good amp for the top end.
One of our clients just ordered a pair of the Calibres https://legacyaudio.com/products/view/calibre/
His pair was ordered with a set of built in amps which makes the speakers $6,800.00, then at any time you could progress to add a Wavelet and any amplifier you want for the top end for a very cool bi-ampable system which would then have a very good dac and room correction.Legacy was showcasing this system at the New York Audio show and it was absolutely extraordinary how close the sound was to a much more expensive system.
The ATC SCM 40 is a fantastic compact floor stander which also has great punch and dynamics, $7,000.00 a pair. The ATC have a very natural sound in the mid range frequencies and is clean without being bright in the top end, they also image very well.
The new Dynaudio Contour series is supposed to be fabulous we have not hear them but the two speakers above would be our recommendations if you are looking for warmth, bass depth, sound staging, dynamics in an under $10k price point.
Dave and TroyAudio Doctor NJ