@pokey77
Interesting about the Alexia 2 with subs. I gotta tell ya, in my room it feels as if i have subwoofers playing. The bass is incredible and deep DEEP. I guess it all depends on the room to be honest, but for most people i can’t see why they would want more bass.
I wanted to add a few more impressions from listening today for about 4 hours at about 80db
1. Either the Mephisto or the Alexia 2 have easily shown me that stilpoints under the Momentum HD preamp were adding some brightness to the presentation.
2. I can hear more bass come out of some songs on High Res QoBuZ than if i play the same exact song on MQA on Tidal. That said, MQA seems to have more decay, a tad more information than the High Res version of QoBuz
3. Using Nordost Odin 1 PCs on the DCS dac/clock makes the presentation 2-3 times clearer, more resolved than if i use Audioquest Hurricane, but sometimes there is "bite" depending on the song and/or volume level.
4. I have an easier time detecting system changes with this Alexia 2/Mephisto combo than any other system i have owned. It feels as if i am now capable to tell you "hey, this cable has less bass than this other cable" or "this cable has less resolution, nuance, etc" than this other one. It feels easier to tell without having to try HARD AS HELL which is what i had to do sometimes with my most recent speakers.
5. Those damn stupid filters on the DCS dac don’t do a damn thing
6. The "dither" buttons on the DCS clock are now "alive" for the first time. i did not think they did a damn thing, but now i can hear that they feel like they "recondition" the music or "reconstruct it".
7. FOR SURE, the Colosseum is more forgiving than the Mephisto. NO QUESTION, NO IFS OR BUTS.
8. On the Mephisto, bad recordings sound like bad recordings on steroids (worse than on the Colosseum)
9. You can buy a Colosseum, bring it home, and it will play nice with the rest of your components. It will try to make the best music possible within its limitations of course
10. If you bring a Mephisto home, it will tell you "your floor is dirty, it stinks in here, this room & cable sucks ass" and it will NOTICE EVERYTHING you own. It does not give a damn. For instance, it just easily allowed me to hear how inferior an Audioquest Hurricane PC is on the dac when compared to Odin 1 PC.
The mephisto/alexia 2 combo in my opinion seems to be more balanced/resolved than if i had the sasha daw/mephisto.
Here is why: if i had the DAW, i am sure i would still have bass and possibly more bass if matched with Mephisto than it did with Colosseum, BUT i could never reach the depths or the true potential of the bass control of the mephisto because the DAW did not dig as deep as the Alexia 2.
I feel like the Mephisto is too much amp for the Sasha DAW. It would be like having a car that can go 220 mph, but you don’t have enough open space to reach 220mph. You run out of road before you get to 220mph.
I STRONGLY BELIEVE, the Colosseum is the perfect partner for the Sasha and the Mephisto mates with the Alexia and above. That said, this does not mean the Colosseum won't work with the Alexia (it does).
Interesting about the Alexia 2 with subs. I gotta tell ya, in my room it feels as if i have subwoofers playing. The bass is incredible and deep DEEP. I guess it all depends on the room to be honest, but for most people i can’t see why they would want more bass.
I wanted to add a few more impressions from listening today for about 4 hours at about 80db
1. Either the Mephisto or the Alexia 2 have easily shown me that stilpoints under the Momentum HD preamp were adding some brightness to the presentation.
2. I can hear more bass come out of some songs on High Res QoBuZ than if i play the same exact song on MQA on Tidal. That said, MQA seems to have more decay, a tad more information than the High Res version of QoBuz
3. Using Nordost Odin 1 PCs on the DCS dac/clock makes the presentation 2-3 times clearer, more resolved than if i use Audioquest Hurricane, but sometimes there is "bite" depending on the song and/or volume level.
4. I have an easier time detecting system changes with this Alexia 2/Mephisto combo than any other system i have owned. It feels as if i am now capable to tell you "hey, this cable has less bass than this other cable" or "this cable has less resolution, nuance, etc" than this other one. It feels easier to tell without having to try HARD AS HELL which is what i had to do sometimes with my most recent speakers.
5. Those damn stupid filters on the DCS dac don’t do a damn thing
6. The "dither" buttons on the DCS clock are now "alive" for the first time. i did not think they did a damn thing, but now i can hear that they feel like they "recondition" the music or "reconstruct it".
7. FOR SURE, the Colosseum is more forgiving than the Mephisto. NO QUESTION, NO IFS OR BUTS.
8. On the Mephisto, bad recordings sound like bad recordings on steroids (worse than on the Colosseum)
9. You can buy a Colosseum, bring it home, and it will play nice with the rest of your components. It will try to make the best music possible within its limitations of course
10. If you bring a Mephisto home, it will tell you "your floor is dirty, it stinks in here, this room & cable sucks ass" and it will NOTICE EVERYTHING you own. It does not give a damn. For instance, it just easily allowed me to hear how inferior an Audioquest Hurricane PC is on the dac when compared to Odin 1 PC.
The mephisto/alexia 2 combo in my opinion seems to be more balanced/resolved than if i had the sasha daw/mephisto.
Here is why: if i had the DAW, i am sure i would still have bass and possibly more bass if matched with Mephisto than it did with Colosseum, BUT i could never reach the depths or the true potential of the bass control of the mephisto because the DAW did not dig as deep as the Alexia 2.
I feel like the Mephisto is too much amp for the Sasha DAW. It would be like having a car that can go 220 mph, but you don’t have enough open space to reach 220mph. You run out of road before you get to 220mph.
I STRONGLY BELIEVE, the Colosseum is the perfect partner for the Sasha and the Mephisto mates with the Alexia and above. That said, this does not mean the Colosseum won't work with the Alexia (it does).