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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
jdoris
972 posts
 
A vote for 4. On my hearing the Devore O93 and 096 sounded a lot better than the (good) Nines. For a few grand cheaper, I think the 93 a better value proposition than the 96.

At RMAF, John D. told me the low watt Pass class A made a good match with his boxes.

Why a Modwright pre instead of a matching pass?

Good troubles to have, do you.

John
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Thegoodarcher,
I understand your circumstances and dilemma more clearly. In your case and given your desires, the Pass amp could be best for you(hard to say without actually hearing all this stuff).
I have a lot of experience with VAC components so I`m confident in suggesting them(with a tube friendly speaker). IMO this combination will play any and everything very well.It won`t do SS type bass'slam' if that is what you seek(you`ll get beautiful tube bass instead).Which do you prefer? Rogue is decent tube gear and value. However, VAC is simply on a higher sonic plane(and should be for the cost premium).

You`d likely be happy with any of the system choices you listed.
Best of Luck,
clio09
3,360 posts
 
I used Audikinesis Jazz Modules with my VAC setup. Kevin Hayes uses Kingsound speakers. I believe he paired the Phi 200 with them at one of the past RMAF shows. You could email him and ask for speaker suggestions. He is a great guy to deal with.
thegoodarcher OP
70 posts
 
My dealer in India, is approaching VAC - they are a very reputable company, and hopefully, they get the VAC in-fact and i am placing an opening order of their VAC Phi 200 and the Entry level Rennaisance Preamp MK3 after hearing the comments from you guys - hopefully they get this in - if their deal doesn't get through i'll take the XP60.5 Class A from Pass Labs from them and combine it with a tube amp so, i have the best of both worlds - in which case Modwright Ls36.5 or Aesthetix Calypso Signature...you see..clearly plunging into a complete SS system sounds rather stale hence not the XP Preamp from Pass - ill be missing the glow of the tubes.
Though;
I do not know, if matching the Modwright Ls36.5 or The Calypso with the Pass would work, but i guess it sounds good atleast on paper...

Keeping my fingers crossed for the VAC.
mbovaird
140 posts
 
Let me give you another idea (and just to further confuse you!) - Sonus Faber Anniversarios (there is a good looking pair for sale here on AG). Add in a pair of mint used McIntosh 2301's (call Mike at Audio Classics and mention my name). Add in a McIntosh 2300 Preamp (or C500T if your budget will allow). This would be a glorious sounding system IMO!

Mike
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