Is D for Dry? Class D...

Thanks tweak1 for your informative post.  You prefer a little roundness in sound obtained from the WW optical cable.  With the other cable, you described the EVS1200 as sounding "a bit hot" which is music to my ears.  If its soundstage was not as big, that is expected from an accurate amp which focuses the instruments to sound thinner or more pinpoint.  The opposite of this effect is most pronounced in euphonic tube amps which bloat all the sound, making images larger on a bloated soundstage.  More subtlely, euphonic SS amps or other components inflate images slightly with the overlay of fuzzy warmth not present in the natural unamplified instruments.

Ric now writes that the Rouge Audio Studio N-10DM with his mods will yield the same sound as his original EVS1200, for roughly the same money, $2100, without the euphonic tube stage of the already excellent PS Audio M1200.  Fabulous.

@viber6 Thanks pointer to Ric's site. A couple of links on it are non-functioning (including the link to the info where he actually talks about what he mods on the 1200 modules) however, I was able to follow the link to the page about the Rouge amps.  Beyond binding post and one other mod there isn't much info there but honestly was not expecting a full core dump on all his "secret sauce" so to speak.

in a couple years when my warranty runs on out this newer amp I might try these mods as they are at the time however, I'd void warranty between now and then so it'll have to wait.

To a couple of other posts on this thread my reference is both great recorded music in a large number or genres out of an extensive collection as well as a lifetime of chasing live music from the player(s) on the streets here and various places I've traveled to jazz and other live clubs around the world, concert halls, cathedrals, etc....my passion is music of all kinds and I find it live whenever I can.

"I asked Ric to name one amp at any price that he has personally A/B'ed to be better in clarity than these IceEdge amps, and so far no word.  I offer you the same challenge."

Well I won't be going out to buy amps just to A/B against what I have today; not practical or feasible and frankly a waste of money.  If someone wants to send them, I'll be happy to test side by side :-). 

All kidding aside, I can think of many reasons why Ric or someone in his position would not answer with 1 or more amps on that list.  For myself, in recent years, the only amp I remember having this clarity, musical versatility, beauty and realism while not over-emphasizing, saturating and/or 'warming' any one frequency band are the Esoteric Grandioso M1 monoblocks that I've heard multiple times over recent years however, that is not an A/B.

There’s a reason basically no music is mastered using tube equipment, there’d be no way to ensure a consistent experience across platforms.

This statement is false. Pick up a copy of Tape Op magazine. Tube mics, tube mic preamps, tube compressors and as pointed out, some are using tube amps for LP mastering.

I’d tapped out a couple of replies when this was current the other day, only to see that id been banned temporarily and my posts removed.

I don’t see much point in interacting in this kind of debate if the mods are going to delete/ban people for having a different opinion.

zephyr24069,
Thanks for being totally honest.  My audio experience started as a child 66 years ago as a 2 year old child.  The classical music radio station was playing all the time.  Audio was my first understood language, since I said my first English words at age 3.  I started the violin in school at age 9, although as an amateur I didn't make my debut until age 40, playing solo in the Mendelssohn violin concerto.  My audiophile life started when I was 25, so my audio qualifications are based on many years of familiarity with live sound.  I dabbled in recording, experimenting with various top condenser mikes.  Like you, I learn much from random audio experiences anywhere.  Although my expertise is classical music, one of the best live experiences I had was in the summer of 2005 in New Orleans just before Katrina at the Preservation Hall.  A small unamped jazz band with piano played in a small cave of a room with 3 rows of audience benches.  The sound cracked and snapped excitement. On vacations, I enjoy street performers and the bells of street cars.  Anyone who says that they want to smooth out the sharp, brilliant natural sounds of reality is missing the boat and defiling the concept of high fidelity.

You are smart to enjoy your stock Legacy IV as it is.  It is possible it is better than the stock Rouge Audio Studio N-10DM because of more refined parts, etc.  Possibly the most important mod that Ric does is increase the input impedance from 38K ohms to 150K ohms.  I am not a circuit engineer, but I would make an analogy that just as with moving coil cartridges, 47K ohms reveals more HF than loading down a cartridge way below at 100-1000 ohms.  Advocates of loading down the cartridge say that many MC cartridges have HF ringing, so the ringing is reduced by loading down.  All I know is that in my experience using various MC cartridges with various phono preamps, I hate the rolled off duller sound when the loading down is used.  Ric specifically states that increasing the input impedance to 150K ohms sounds "way better."

Agree--don't break your back and bank account by trying to find a heavy expensive amp that is better than the Legacy IV.