Ultra high resolution

04-28-08: Dazzdax said:
"Is any of you familiar with a poweramp that has ultra high resolution (without sounding overly aggressive)? If you do, could you specify which amp you have in mind? In my opinion 95% of all amps (tubes or solid state) don't have this ultra high resolution. So this is a very rare breed indeed."

Chris, the Jeff Rowland Design Group Continuum 500 integrated amp will meet your goal, as will several others.

HOWEVER, I'm worried that you may not have your speakers properly set. The very best equipment will "shout" at you if you haven't set it up to minimize intermodulation distortion. IM distortion from the speakers is due to conflict between the two speakers (assuming a 2-channel set up) and/or the speakers and the room.

See my Review of the Sumiko Master Set. Also Guidocorona mentions it recently in his review of either the Rowland Capri or set up of his Vienna Acoustic Mahlers. After a Master Set you'll find yourself listening around 10 dB higher and the system stress will drop 100%, better than if you spent another 10-grand on equipment.

So, do a speaker set first, then consider upgrading your equipment.

Dave

Yeah Rodman, I looked around at some of Mrtennis' other posts and that seems to be a constant theme of his. As you say, he has his right to his opinion.

He's so vociferous about it I wonder if he's got "short man syndrome." ;-) However, I have empathy to some degree, since I've heard a lot of nasty sounding high rez systems, due usually to poor set up. A low rez system is going to be way more foregiving. I CAN agree with him that I'd rather have a low rez system than a poorly set up hi rez system (assuming I weren't allowed to move the speakers or change cables on the high rez system).

Man, how can anyone say that Diana Krall's breathing isn't music????

Dave

By the way: A system that WILL reproduce a vocalist's breath and the resonance of their chest will also reproduce breath over the reed of a sax, or the texture of the bow rosin across the strings of a 1715 Klotz Bass AND the woody resonance of it's huge body. To some of us, this is part of the gestalt of music, and the art of the recording engineer. If the information is present on the recording, I want my system to deliver it to me accurately and without adulteration. I can focus on individual voices(whether human or instrumental), or the entire performance as I choose. Generally speaking- I find music too enthralling to sleep to. BUT- I WILL let Jathintha, Diana or Norah lullabye me to sleep from time to time.

Dazzdax,

A TRL (Tube Research Labs) amp, either their monster tube designs (there is an ad for one on Audiogon right now) or their solid state designs will deliver ultra resolution and transparency, but will not sound aggressive and will actually be very musically accurate (see the recent thread by Grannyring on the ST-225). I have been using the D-225 solid state amp in my system for 2 years now.

hi dave:

as i understand, music is pitch, timbre and dynamics.

breath is not music.

yes, my tastes have been documented and i admit to them.

the notion of reality has to take into account where you are sitting in relation to where musicians are playing.

in a concert hall setting, filled with people, a rear hall perspective is accompanied by attenuated treble and some homogenization. while such a listening position may not be preferred, it is real for those of us who sit there. it may be perceived as boring for some or pleasant to others.