I have heard Tidal Contrivia with Wadia S7i, Pass Labs X-250.5 and Transparent Reference MM2 cables. The sound was very musical. It was warm and soft. Warmer than most tube setups that I have listened to. Yet it was still detailed and dynamic. I did however think that the warmth did compromise transparency somewhat. I have however heard other Accuton based speakers too like several of the Morten speakers including the Coltrane. Their sonic signature have been exactly the opposite - very transparent and borderline bright and hard. I suppose the Wadia, Pass Labs and Transparent Audio products might have colored the Tidal Audio Contrivia system I heard.
The same weekend I also heard the Magico Q5 with Krell S350 CD-player, darTZeel NHB-18NS preamplifier, darTZeel NHB-458 mono amplifiers and Nordost Odin cables. This system was very transparent, detailed, dynamic with tonal balance more towards light and bright than absolute neutral. Still I think this system was much closer to neutral than the Tidal system.
A few months before this I heard a friends system with the Rockport Technologies Altair speakers, Sim Audio Moon CD-player and amplifier (don't remember the models) and Kimber Black Pearl speaker cables. It was obvious the amplifier had not enough power to show the speakers true potential. Bass and dynamics were lacking and the stereo image did not free itself from the speakers. However the tonal balance was the most neutral of the three speakers. Trancparency and resolution was also very good but not quite as good as the
Magico Q5.
Please also notice that these three systems were playing in in different rooms.
My question to you guys here is if this overly warm sound from the Tidal system I listened to is a "house character" of the Tidal speakers or if this was just a system matched to sound like that by its owner by using electronics and cables with this character?
