Hi The_rang,
The DSi200 (Auditioned with B&W 805Ds) reminded me very much of when I owned Linn Separates. Very Neutral; Very Detailed; SoundStage that was Very Good but not Awesome. Leaning towards the Analytical.
Great with stringed/piano classical; great with Coltrane & Brubeck; okay with hard rock (but great with Abbey Road). Definitely not the "typical" ARC tube sound (which I also asked to listen to briefly for a comparison).
I was on the fence, my thought being that if I wanted the "flat earth" switch-amp sound that it made more sense just to stick with Linn (who have been doing switching amps for years) or something like a Naim SuperNait V2. (I thought the Ax-7e sounded better than the SuperNait V1, but haven't heard the V2.)
The Modwright was a completely different beast... To put it mildly, this puppy had THUMP. I liked the sound, but was concerned it might be too much for the Condo HOA (the HOA President is my ceiling neighbor). Which brings me back to the Ax-7e. My ceiling neighbor LIKES my AX-7e, because she pretty much almost never hears it... I really liked the Modwright, but the allegedly "mature grown-up" in me thought I would be asking for trouble...
As per my post, I'm still kinda/sorta thinking of tempting fate, but this "mature grown-up" thing keeps getting in the way. I do REALLY like my Ax-7e, but I'd like it more if it had 40-60 additional watts.
Hope that helps clarify
The DSi200 (Auditioned with B&W 805Ds) reminded me very much of when I owned Linn Separates. Very Neutral; Very Detailed; SoundStage that was Very Good but not Awesome. Leaning towards the Analytical.
Great with stringed/piano classical; great with Coltrane & Brubeck; okay with hard rock (but great with Abbey Road). Definitely not the "typical" ARC tube sound (which I also asked to listen to briefly for a comparison).
I was on the fence, my thought being that if I wanted the "flat earth" switch-amp sound that it made more sense just to stick with Linn (who have been doing switching amps for years) or something like a Naim SuperNait V2. (I thought the Ax-7e sounded better than the SuperNait V1, but haven't heard the V2.)
The Modwright was a completely different beast... To put it mildly, this puppy had THUMP. I liked the sound, but was concerned it might be too much for the Condo HOA (the HOA President is my ceiling neighbor). Which brings me back to the Ax-7e. My ceiling neighbor LIKES my AX-7e, because she pretty much almost never hears it... I really liked the Modwright, but the allegedly "mature grown-up" in me thought I would be asking for trouble...
As per my post, I'm still kinda/sorta thinking of tempting fate, but this "mature grown-up" thing keeps getting in the way. I do REALLY like my Ax-7e, but I'd like it more if it had 40-60 additional watts.
Hope that helps clarify