Integrated amp for my Sonus Faber Guarneri

Maximum toe-in per Lloydelee21 made a huge difference. Such a dumb and simple thing. I think it drastically reduced reflections off side walls that I hadn't realized were so severe, giving me more "near-field" earview. Right now I'm enjoying a collection of jazz recordings (not classic string quartets), and they sound really good. Another thing I'm doing is not comparing to my other speakers, but just listening to these Gs for a change. The total lack of harsh notes, even with trumpets, is certainly soothing...

Next, I'll try to find any cheap subwoofer to try as "test of concept" per Onemug.

Thanks all, and please keep any more suggestions coming. I really hope to make these Guarneris work and keep them.

Hi Onemug, I agree with what you say about a sub. However, don't you think that in a room as small as Deaf's and mine that a sub is likely to overload the room and cause more problems than good?
I have actually heard the Yamaha's that deaf is referring to.. They are able to drop down lower due to their 12" driver, however, they are very much like the old JBL's of the past that could move air, but that was about it.Frankly, I'm not sure that Deaf is looking to get past that sound.
If he is, then a willingness to give up the lower reaches of the bass and accept the gains in overall music reproduction across the rest of the board is something that he may want to live with. I have accepted that in my system, because I am very sure that in a room of these dimensions only so much is possible. Without question in a larger room that can accommodate bass below 50Hz, then a quality sub with the GH's is absolutely warranted. Alternatively, as Lloyd pointed out, maybe a more full range speaker would be appropriate....if one wanted to give up a little accuracy and acquire more full range.
IMHO, Deaf is trying out a speaker that is NOT showing him its true self, Because he is essentially system building from the wrong end. Again, IMHO, he would be much better served starting at the front end and working from there. Even if it means leaving the Yamaha's in place for the time being!
As I said in my previous post, putting the GH's in the system would be a great foundation to a superb system, BUT a foundation only...Until the front end is sorted out along with the rest of the system, I don't think that Deaf will be able to hear what the GH's can really do.

Hi Daveyf. Yes it would be "very" easy to overload a small room with sub. You would want to be very careful with the volume control. Less is more.

I'm pretty happy with the G's just the way they are and usually don't use a sub with them but a few days ago I heard ELP's Lucky Man on the radio. When I dug it out of my vinyl collection, it just didn't sound as good as I remembered. I fired up the sub, played it again and it made all the difference. To me, that song needs to have the lower octave produced to make it right.

That's where the beauty of the sub comes in. Turn it on when you need it, adjust the level to your taste and "room size" and enjoy 20 to beyond 20k hz.

I could easily live with the G's and no sub for all the magic they do but if Deaf needs to feel that impact some of the time, this is what I'd recommend. And yes, he will be rewarded with future upgrades to his system. No matter what I put in front of them, they bring out the best of it.

Daveyf and everyone when you talk about upgrading the front end of my system first, are you referring specifically to my iDecco DAC? Many people seem to think this DAC is high-end (although not the amp output stage of the iDecco, which I am not using).

Also, many people seem to like their McIntosh integrateds with their Gs. I really like the McIntosh with my other kinds of speakers, and I like it best of my 4 amps with the Gs. I also like it much better than the VERY expensive Krell and Goldmund amps and preamps I tried it with at the shop before I bought the Gs. I can imagine another flavor of amp being better for me with the Gs than the McIntosh, though, as the McIntosh, while warm and bassy, is not the clearest or most detailed around. Two of my Luxman amps are more detailed, and the Gs show all details immaculately, as they did with the Krell and Goldmund stuff. My Luxman amps sound thinner with the Gs, though, and I suspect they are just way underpowered.

I am at a loss as to how to start trying various speaker cables. Is there a relatively common one that you consider a good starting point that I might be able to find over here right away?

Anything that would show me definitely that the cables are one of the components I need to upgrade would be helpful. Once I hear the differences, I could get a better and more permanent set sometime later.

I guess my biggest gripe about the Gs I'm having is the flat and distant presentation I am hearing. For instance, Aretha's voice on "I Never Loved a Man" is quieter than the electric piano through the Gs, whereas with the same equipment/room/placement through 3 other kinds of speakers her voice is dominant. The Gs' presentation is similarly flatter across the spectrum of genre to my ears. I think this is what Lloydelee was describing as a characteristic of the Gs, also. Maybe its just what I am used to, but I prefer a more foreword presentation. Is that "flatness" an aspect that could be changed with another source/preamp/amp/cables?

Deaf_in_left_eye, I can't talk for the other posters, but when I talk about your front end, I am referring to your source components. The Toslink connection IMHO, needs to be tossed (pun intended). I'm not sure that the imac with flac files is the way to go either, others with more experience on this area might comment.
The itunes platform apparently isn't that great for downloading hi-rez files. ( I am presuming you are using itunes?) ( see MF's comments in the new Stereophile)
The iDecco DAC might be ok, but I suspect that there are probably significant losses there as well. I heard a Peachtree Nova a few months ago and frankly it did nothing for me. Albeit, I heard the Nova used as a integrated and not as a stand alone DAC; the Nova was ahead of a Mac Mini feeding WAV files. IMHO, the sound was very thin and unimpressive.
I think that a better solution would be in the way of a stand alone transport and DAC along with a different set of electronics...I would dump the Mac integrated and look into maybe the new ARC Vsi60 or if funds allow a good tube amp and separate tube preamp. The preamp section is a really important part of one's system, IMHO. Besides the front end, this is where I suspect you are also loosing a lot of information. The aspect of a flattened sound and a distant presentation most likely can be laid at the integrated's preamp section along with the cables that you are using.