Yamaha NS 5000 w/ NAD M33

I was deciding on whether to sell my AHB2 tonight, so I hooked it up to the Holo Serene preamp and the Benchmark DAC3B. I put it through the RAAL T1-1b amp interface box and listened with the RAAL CA-1a headphone.

That fatigue I had on the NS5000 system with the AHB2 is not evident on the phones. A very surprising result. I am keeping the AHB2 for the RAAL, since it sounds so good. I am even using a silver headphone cable from RAAL.

yyzsantabarbara

I remember reading a post somewhere that you don't care for Mac electronics and I was wondering if you'd listened to the latest gen? I picked up a pair of MC611's to replace the H590 driving my Blades and the low level resolution improvement was a pleasant surprise. Top to bottom detail, resolution and soundstage gained more texture and bass which is one of Hegels highlights was bested by the mac. These amps power meters usually bounce between .6 and 6 watts and deliver. Ultimately I needed to turn the treble on the c49 to -2 db because the Blade uniq can overwhelm a room, but I recently heard the MA352 int driving a pair of Dali elikore11's and probably could have saved a lot of money going with that 200wpc int with a tube pre.

@steve59 In the past I have not been a fan of MAC. Now if I am not seeing a perfect match with the CODA #16, which is slightly warm. I think I would have the same issue with the MAC. That is why I tried to make the brighter Benchmark AHB2 work. I bought the Audience FrontRow speaker cable specifically for the AHB2 and it made a huge improvement. I really think the SimAudio will work for me. I am fine with the Sanders until I am ready to get a new amp.

BTW - in terms of neutrality, for my ears the KEF Blade is neutral. My NS5000 is a touch warmer.

I take all reviews with a grain of salt. After going through over a half a dozen highly rated full range speakers I am firmly in the camp that believes the listening room makes the biggest difference when comparing speakers.

Bel Canto Black EX with the NS-5000. Wonderful