Concerning the Rives, I have playing with one between an Aesthetix Callisto Signature and either CAT JL-3 or Wolcott P220 amps. IC's to/from the Rives are Purist Dominus. With simply using the Bypass switch on the Rives, there is a significant improvement with the unit in the loop. The reduction of the bass peaks brings on a huge clarity especially in the mids. However, when I remove the Rives and the one Purist Dominus IC from the system, there is a substantial increase in dynamic contrasts. I can only imagine the far greater losses with other less resolving ICs. Speakers here are SoundLab A1s.
In the context of a top-notch music based system, the Rives is a tough sell in the final analysis unless you have no other options to resolve the bass peaks with room improvements. In the context of a home-theatre based system, the Rives would be very welcome as it cleans up so much of the mids and the final last bit of loss in dynamics would not be an issue for me. Highly recommended but very system dependent.
John
In the context of a top-notch music based system, the Rives is a tough sell in the final analysis unless you have no other options to resolve the bass peaks with room improvements. In the context of a home-theatre based system, the Rives would be very welcome as it cleans up so much of the mids and the final last bit of loss in dynamics would not be an issue for me. Highly recommended but very system dependent.
John