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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
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.
knghifi
1,668 posts
 
I vote #1. You will not suffer lack of bass with VAC. I think Vac use Phi 200 driving KingSound King's at shows.
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Theres also a possibility of a mis-matched impedance between Modwright and Pass.
That would not be a problem, at least with the LS 36.5. The LS 36.5 has transformer coupled outputs, which provide a very low output impedance and do not have the substantial output impedance rise at deep bass frequencies that is common among tube preamps having capacitively coupled outputs.

See this post by Dan Wright of Modwright.

I have no knowledge as to whether or not the same holds true for the LS 100, though.

Nevertheless, as I indicated earlier my vote is for VAC, with a suitably paired speaker that will give you the kind of bass reproduction you are looking for.

Regards,
-- Al
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,099 posts
 
I am not sure I would go with systems listed per OP. For example, I would probably go with the Devore loudspeakers, but if you want them to sound right (especially to play bass right) transistors are not a good idea. They are very tube friendly, and most transistor amps will overdamp the speaker, resulting in some punch but no definition or real impact.

You also don't need a great amount of power with that speaker. So you will have a lot of flexibility with the tube amp used.
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