OP, here.
LISTENING UPDATE: With an initial budget seeking $3k or less, I auditioned:
* Quicksilver Integrated Amp
against
* Atoll separates (MA100, 60w amp & Atoll HD 120 preamp)
Source: Atoll CD player
DAC was in CD player.
Speakers were Dynaudio Evoke 10’s.
I was hoping that they would set me up with more powerful Atoll (the 100 watt integrated) but they didn’t. So, I spent a lot of time comparing various types of music between the QS Integrated and the Atoll 60 watt. I also asked that a setup be done with QS preamp and an Atoll (or whatever) power amp, but that did not happen.
Quick reflections were that the QS integrated was phenomenally good — rich, luscious, great control over bass and lovely soundstage. However, the volume had to be turned a fair way up and my impression is that the amp was reaching close to its limit.
The Atoll was really good up to a point, but then, especially in the highs, it became almost shrill. I’ve been reading that a big sign that an amp is having a challenge is when the highs get shrill and the soundstage collapses. That definitely happened with the Atoll/ Dyns at higher volumes. I wish they had set me up with a bigger amp.
This is where the listening day ended. I had a couple of exchanges with the sales guy that left me a bit perplexed.
First, when I said I was concerned that the QS might not have quite enough power, he said I could go QS Preamp plus QS monoblocks but that was it. He suggested going to a Rogue Cronus Magnum integrated ($3k) instead. (I'm not dead-set against the monoblocks, but I'm setting up a fairly compact space as was hoping not to sprawl out so many components.)
Second, when I said that I was still interested in trying a tube pre/solid state combo, he seemed to deflect from that idea. “Then you’re getting into matching them and you’ve got additional cables involved. You really make the most of the combo when you get an integrated or at least separates from the same company.”
So, not only did we NOT try any kind of hybrid today (as I had requested) but he also made it seem as if I was getting into complicated and too-deep waters by trying to mix and match tube amp and preamp. My sense from what I’ve read on the blogs and elsewhere indicates that this is not so difficult. I sense he was trying to “steer me” toward an easy, all-in-one solution, even if it was no longer QS, which I definitely liked a lot.
Any thoughts about my experience and what the sales guy was saying and/or about the Rogue Cronus Magnum appreciated.
LISTENING UPDATE: With an initial budget seeking $3k or less, I auditioned:
* Quicksilver Integrated Amp
against
* Atoll separates (MA100, 60w amp & Atoll HD 120 preamp)
Source: Atoll CD player
DAC was in CD player.
Speakers were Dynaudio Evoke 10’s.
I was hoping that they would set me up with more powerful Atoll (the 100 watt integrated) but they didn’t. So, I spent a lot of time comparing various types of music between the QS Integrated and the Atoll 60 watt. I also asked that a setup be done with QS preamp and an Atoll (or whatever) power amp, but that did not happen.
Quick reflections were that the QS integrated was phenomenally good — rich, luscious, great control over bass and lovely soundstage. However, the volume had to be turned a fair way up and my impression is that the amp was reaching close to its limit.
The Atoll was really good up to a point, but then, especially in the highs, it became almost shrill. I’ve been reading that a big sign that an amp is having a challenge is when the highs get shrill and the soundstage collapses. That definitely happened with the Atoll/ Dyns at higher volumes. I wish they had set me up with a bigger amp.
This is where the listening day ended. I had a couple of exchanges with the sales guy that left me a bit perplexed.
First, when I said I was concerned that the QS might not have quite enough power, he said I could go QS Preamp plus QS monoblocks but that was it. He suggested going to a Rogue Cronus Magnum integrated ($3k) instead. (I'm not dead-set against the monoblocks, but I'm setting up a fairly compact space as was hoping not to sprawl out so many components.)
Second, when I said that I was still interested in trying a tube pre/solid state combo, he seemed to deflect from that idea. “Then you’re getting into matching them and you’ve got additional cables involved. You really make the most of the combo when you get an integrated or at least separates from the same company.”
So, not only did we NOT try any kind of hybrid today (as I had requested) but he also made it seem as if I was getting into complicated and too-deep waters by trying to mix and match tube amp and preamp. My sense from what I’ve read on the blogs and elsewhere indicates that this is not so difficult. I sense he was trying to “steer me” toward an easy, all-in-one solution, even if it was no longer QS, which I definitely liked a lot.
Any thoughts about my experience and what the sales guy was saying and/or about the Rogue Cronus Magnum appreciated.