2. amps-preamps
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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
spotcheckb
34 posts
 
As others have advised choose your speakers first. In general terms if I opted for Maggies I would look for a high powered SS amp of at least 200wpc @8ohms that doubled that power into 4ohms.

If I were putting a system together for myself I would choose the Leben intergrated and my speaker choice would be either the M-Lore, Lore, or Pendragon (all from Tekton Design) depending on budget and room size.
mbovaird
140 posts
 
Group 2 with a monkey wrench in your plans.

Swap the preamp for the Classe CP-800 (which has a DAC built in, including USB), and most importantly, it handles bass management like a champ.

Next - add in two JL Audio F110 subs (instead of upgrading from the xa60.5 to the xa100.5...you can always do that later if you so desire, but the xa60.5's I heard have PLENTY of power).

I have owned the Maggie 1.7,s, I currently own the JL Audio F110's and the Classe CP-800....I have heard the Pass xa60.5 and LOVED it....so much so that I am buying the xa160.5's.....so I know of what I speak!

Forget the tube pre...the Pass amps will provide all the warmth and detail you need. The JL Audio F110's will round out the bottom end BEAUTIFULLY on the Maggies and the CP-800 will allow you to control everything - connecting up to two stereo subs, setting the crossover points, allowing you to use its DAC and so much more.

You should be able to negotiate hard on some of the prices. I paid $1400 each for my JL Audio F110's (new), $3400 for my CP-800 (new). Not sure of the cost of the Maggies or Pass xa60.5....but try to get 20-25 points off. Hope this helps.

Lastly, if you find yourself getting heavy into vinyl down the road, you can always add a separate phono stage later. However, digital is definitely the way to go with the setup described. Run a Mac Mini with all your CD's ripped to Apple Lossless, download some high res tracks from HD Tracks, add in a program like Audirvana + with iTunes, connect the Mac Mini USB to the USB on the CP-800, and control everything from your ipad (using Apple Remote). Sit back and soak it the tunes!

NOW you have a setup that will rock!

Mike

P.S. Classe is coming out with a software update for the CP-800 which will give it some additional functionality including AirPlay, etc. This may or may not matter....but just thought I would pass it along. See John Atkinson's review of the CP-800 in Stereophile if you don't believe me! :)
thegoodarcher OP
70 posts
 
Mbovaird Thank you for your long and detailed response, really appreciate it.
I am quite really, not a subwoofer guy - i usually leave the music and tend to fiddle with the subwoofer in the middle of a track which takes away, the whole point of kicking back and listening to music, so woofers are not for me.

I rather look for something full range which handles bass well.

Quite frankly, i've tried classes before and always found them to be somewhat underwhelming..as far the DAC goes ; i just bought a M2Tech Vaughan Super DAC (USD 7999) - i believe is right and and is ready fit for any matchup

The Vaughan DAC is fed by I2S connection via a HiFace Evo with Evo Supply.

So really not looking for any DAC at the moment.
For a Phonostage i have a Softone Model 4 from a Japanese Manufacturer,
which does everything right, so i do not need to walk down that avenue i believe at least for some time.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
The goodarcher,
What type of sound/music reproduction do you really want?
The Pass Maggie combo is quite different from VAC with Devore. I doubt you`d like such different systems equally.

All VAC with full range Devore is getting many votes for a reason. Pass is a very good SS amp but if won`t duplicate a good tube power amp(nor will the tube amp mimic the Pass) if in fact that`s what you desire. They`re two different camps for sure.Warm SS amp does`nt = organic tube sound.Which one appeals to you more?
Regards,
thegoodarcher OP
70 posts
 
Dear Charles1dad,
Thank you for your reply, as a music lover - hands down - i do and always will prefer the sound of the valves - to me right now : it has not come down to Tube or Solid State its not even an even fight ; tubes have that rich intricacies that solid state just cannot offer, but some i believe like pass labs comes pretty close.

The reason, in my choices - i have partnered Pass Labs Amplifier with the Modwright LS36.5 (a tube based design)

The thing that worries me most, is the inability of most "tube amp" designs to translate modern music, such as film scores which has everything mixed in (sometimes even techno meets classical) as in some of Ryiuchi Sakamoto's work, but i can be so wrong - as my tube experience has only been through
a few amplifiers (The Rogue Cronus Magnum - being the closest champ) even
vs amplifiers costing 2x or 3x more.

I wish there was a dealer where i am, where i can experience VAC in its full effect, but alas - i had to go to a friends place to listen to the preamp, theres no dealer in my country, but i have spoken to a distributor who off late was seen carrying Pass Labs in their show, I've asked this guys to approach VAC, and i just have to see where it leads me to, for this reasons i have to be very
"Sure" when placing the order ; thats where good guys like you come in to advice, a country like India is a bad place for hifi, i hope new companies that have venture in open more up-to-date showroom with multiple system combination.
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