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Starting from Scratch -Please Help Pick 1 out of 3

Dear Friends,
Hope that all of you are well, in a moment of transitional evolutional state of mind i sold off my Rogue Cronus Integrated, my Tannoy Stirling Speakers ; well pretty much the spine of the entire system.

I wanted to start over, i listen to a lot of varied stuff ; usually very complex stuff ; i love the weight of solid state gear and the resolution of their baselines and the treble which intermittently sound "filled" ; i also love the midrange liquidity of tubes especially on vocals and the natural timbre of orchestras and drum snares.

So i had gone on a spree to audition some gears, some which couldn't be heard are also included as a part of the system (say, i listened to the power amp but not the pre) i couldn't get to some of these due to various difficulties but generally i've put a package of 4 different set ups - i hope learned pundits here can guide through this to build a good system which i will use for a long time.

I am not the type for frequent upgrades.
Thank you!

The Candidates

Group 1
------
Pre : Rennaisance Preamplifier MKIII by VAC (Valve Amplification Company)
Power : VAC Phi 200 Power Amplifiers (Valve Amplication Company)
Speakers : Harbeth SHL5 [or] Devore Fidelity The Nines (Please Pick)

Just love the look of this system!

Group 2
------
Pre : Modwright LS 100 or Ls36.5
Power : Pass Labs XA 60.5 (Class A 60 wpc) but can take a few months to save
up for Pass Labs XA100.5 (Class A 100 wpc) if it really matters.
but evidence shows otherwise :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXGf3AonFCQ
Speakers : Magnepan 1.7
Which sounds great!

But Will the Modwright (semi-tube) impedance match with the pass'?

Group 3
-------
Pre : Leben RS28CX Premium Preamplifier
Power : CS-660P Separate Power Amplifier
Speakers : Harbeth SHL5 (or) Devore Fidelity The Nines (or) Devore Fidelity Orang Utan

Group 4
-------
Pre : Modwright LS100
Power : Pass Labs XA30.5 Monoblocks (30 watts Class A)
Speakers : Devore Fidelity Orang Utan

Also Please Feel Free to Mix-Match and Advice.

Music will be fed from my MAC to my DAC and to these.

Thank You!
thegoodarcher
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
I am just so worried about weak bass with tube gear, hence the confusion about using "all tube set up" but i havent heard VAC enough or lived with them - infact i've only heard their preamp, i listen to a lot of weighty stuff (but not techno or anything like that) - lots of film scores which have everything interwoven
If you are referring to deep bass extension, I'd be more concerned about the speakers than the amplifier. My impression is that the Orangutan is the only one of the speakers mentioned which will extend significantly into the bottom octave.

You might also want to consider the Daedalus Ulysses, which is rated to 28 Hz, and which several members here, myself included, have paired with VAC amplification with excellent results. It costs a few thousand dollars more than the Orangutan, but its 98 db efficiency means that you most likely wouldn't need anything near the 100W power capability of the Phi 200, and you could consider purchasing one of the older and lower powered Renaissance series 300B-based amplifiers used, at far lower cost. I'd feel certain that those amplifiers would also do fine with the Orangutan. Search posts by Audiogon member "Raquel" for lots of good info on the Renaissance amplifiers.

Best of luck, however you decide to proceed.

Regards,
-- Al
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
I really enjoyed my Verity Audio Parsifal Encore's with my VAC preamp/amp. As I stated earlier, I haven't heard either the Harbeth SHL5 [or] Devore Fidelity The Nines.
dayglow
1,994 posts
 
Group #1 gets my vote! I would also consider a Coincident-Super Victory 2 loudspeaker.
thegoodarcher OP
70 posts
 
Wow, VAC indeed is getting a lot of love, i guess something which as classic as VAC is always timeless - yes, i do lean more towards planars say magnepan 1.7 but that have to be teamed with solid state high powered amp like Pass Labs X60.5 Monoblocks ( minimum) and possibly combined with Modwright LS36.5 DM for that tube warmth - again i do not know if Pass Xp-20 is better, all i know i do like tubes a lot except for the lack of weighty bottom end (forgive my limited expressions) as i am still a novice!

Theres also a possibility of a match-matched impedance between Modwright
and Pass - with the VAC synergy is abundant and i have no qualms.

Yes, i must also consider other speakers other than Harbeth,Devore Fidelity and Magnepan but auditions are difficult to get to for others.

But all said and done, deep inside i know, i want a VAC but am not too sure if it can play "A.R.Rahman" well - :)

Also,
Due to work situation and finances , i lack the time or resources for frequent updates of my system - this system here will have to be the one i will take into the grave, and in that grave i have lots of different types of music from A.R.Rahman to Miles Davis to Shostakovich.
audionuts
74 posts
 
I would pick #1. I always like the VAC combination - they have a musical quality that it is hard to find somewhere else.
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