Yes. Peace boys. It's all great stuff. Pick your favorite flavor of ice cream and move on. There are no winners or losers. Just different flavors. Different strokes for different folks. |
Thanks all! Speakers will likely be Raidho D3's.
Krell was my first reaction, especially the evo series, but I want to hear them along with Constellation, Vitus, Jeff Rowland and a few others. I've heard (and loved Soulution), but fear the 500 monos might not have the power I need. The 700 series is out of the question, maybe the 711 stereo which is coming. But I have a thing for monos!
Thanks again! |
Thanks everyone!
I'm leaning toward the Soulution 501 monos. Thoughts? |
Yes and the 710 stereo. I compared them head to head with ML53's, Accuphase, EAR and whatever else my dealer had. It wasn't even close. The speakers were Amati Futura's. The source was an EAR CD player which was phenomenal for the money (a little cheapie looking, but the sound was excellent). Its the best CD player I've heard. It bettered the much more expensive Accuphase by a large margin. Cabling was all Tara Labs. And I preferred it slightly to the Esoteric k03.
The Soulution gear had this ability to vertically slice the music into its proper place with zero "blending" or "mushing" together of the midrange and tweeter. It was crystal clear. No mud. The tonality was also very natural and a close second to my ARC gear. Where some amps tend to "mush" the music together, the Soulution was crystal clear, with incredible spacing between the instruments and most importantly, between the frequencies. I'm not sure that makes much sense....but in summary, it was CRYSTAL clear, with terrific speed and bass grip.
Why no ARC gear for the Raidho's? I own the D1's now (actually they were just sold here yesterday). The ARC gear could not control the lightening fast diamond woofer. My Classe CAM600's do a much better job. My ARC gear sounds incredible on every speaker I've heard them on. But the Raidho's are so special and require a totally different approach IMO.
Lightening fast tweeter and woofers need electronics which can keep up. IMHO, tubes and Raidho don't mix. Except for maybe VTL. That's not a knock on the ARC gear. I love it - for almost every other speaker.
I want to hear Constellation and perhaps Jeff Rowland and D'Agostino as well. Maybe Spectral, but I am not a big fan of MIT cables. The amp on the outside is Vitus. I heard Vitus gear on Magico S5's (an absolutely amazing speaker IMO - especially for the money). It was terrific. Maybe an all Dane system is the way to go! :)
More auditioning is needed, but if I was picking today, it would be Soulution. I hope to hear Constellation, D'Agostino and others next week.
Thanks for all your suggestions. I'm making a list!
Mike |
Wolf - playing bass and controlling bass are two completely different things. If I gave you a really old paper cone bass amp, you wouldn't like the way the bass sounded (flabby). Just like some guitarists prefer tube amps to SS amps....it's the same thing.
Diamond woofers (new technology) are very hard and therefore need an amp that can move them in and out quickly and efficiently. |
Boulder is definitely on my very short list! Can't wait to hear them. |
I hope to hear the D'Agostino amps next week. I'm looking forward to it.
The EAR CD Player was the Acute III. My friend ended up buying it. If I still spun CD's, I would too.
Mike |
I don't want to get off topic with discussions of a CD player, but I will say the EAR CD player sounded very warm, without any hint of typical digital edge or fatigue. There is digital I can listen to for hours (like the Linn Klimax DS, Akurate DS and even the new Marantz NA11S1), then there is digital that I can only stomach for an hour or less because while listening, things are "sticking out" which causes fatigue (I guess my brain has to work too hard!).
That being said, I will still take my analog/vinyl rig over everything "digital".
YMMV.
Mike |
Quick update: I was able to audition Constellation, Boulder and D'Agostino amps yesterday. The Constellation Stereo, the Boulder 1060 and the D'Ag monos.
I found the Constellation very smooth, yet detailed, but lacking a little in bass punch - but it could have been the room.
Next up was the D'Agostino. By far, the most musical, liquid sounding amp I have ever heard. They don't sound like other amps. They are like someone took the best of solid state and the best of tubes and smushed them together. Only downside is those little buggars get hot!
Next up was the Boulder 1060. I don't want to start a whole big thing, but lets just say, it was an amp for me. It sounded a little dated and it was like listening to an amp design that is well, 10 or 15 years old. Certainly not SOTA IMO. YMMV.
So for me, the three best SS amps I've heard are Soulution, D'Agostino and Vitus. Vitus is the big sleeper in this group. I would say, picking one, would depend entirely on speakers, the rest of your system (preamp, cabling, etc.) and music preference.
Mike |
Have you heard Soulution amps? Coloration? Hmm...me thinks you haven't heard them.
Have you heard D'Agostino amps? Vitus? Constellation? Anything SOTA? If your reference is an amp designed in 1999, you need to simply enjoy it for what it is or keep an open mind and listen to some of the current SOTA amps.
Clobbering people over the head with an outdated amp, which many love and some don't, is not the appropriate approach. There are no winners and losers. If we are in search of the absolute sound, sonic truth for ourselves, then our opinions are just that. Opinions. You are free to disagree and so are others with you.
As for your price argument, I will happily put a pair of Classe CAM600's (which I also own) up against the 1060 any day of the week and they will handily trounce then in balance, speed, dynamics, measured performance and sonic quality......oh, and they would save to $10,000.
Enjoy your Boulder amp.....but no one will convince me otherwise. I know what I heard. |
Melbguy1 - you are paranoid. Move on. You love Boulder - great. Enjoy it. |
@ Audiolaybrinth - I flip gear - a lot. It's what I do. A year ago, I had a pair of Sonus Faber Stradivari's and all McIntosh gear. Then I sold all that, and moved to Pass gear. Then I sold all that and moved to ARC gear.....now.....well....you get the picture. I have two systems going and I'm constantly swapping gear in and out.
People who aren't gear swappers have a hard time understanding those who are! I like to switch gear. That's it. No secret. No voodoo magic. Just love to try different things. Whenever I post an ad for something, I get these PM's "why are you selling this?" or "why are you selling that?" I'm not sure people believe me! I like to try different things - that's all.
I have audiophile friends who are similar (and some even worse!) - and others who take years and years to make a decision and upgrade or buy something. There is no right or wrong - whatever floats your boat.
There is very little gear I've had over the past 35 years, that I wished I had kept. Maybe the McIntosh 2301's. They are pretty special, but below average bass control. If you can live with that, oh my, are they good!
Hell, I've bought and sold the Classe CP800 three times! The Classe CAM600's twice! I'm definitely a little nutty! :)
As for D'Agostino amps - I really like what I hear from both Soulution and D'Agostino. Although, admittedly, I was so overwhelmed by the sheer liquidity and musicality of the D'Agostino amps, I was completely awash with emotion to pay proper attention to just the bass!
But I'm between the Soulution and D'Agostino. With the Soulution, I hear more of the music. It has this uncanny ability to sort everything out with no blurring, smudging, muddying whatsoever. Crystal clear. And absolutely the best bass control I've heard - yet.
However, I can't think of two amps that are more opposite - but yet both were incredibly pleasing - but for different reasons. Its almost like a heart vs head battle!
Other than those two (and maybe the Vitus), everything else I've listened to, seemed like more or less, the same or a slight variation of the same - and truthfully, the Classe CAM600's I own remain right up there with many of these - and exceeded many of them too is speed and smoothness. Not sure why they don't get the respect they deserve. Maybe if they were still made in Canada and cost 3 times as much they would! :)
But I digress...I desperately want the D'Agostino's to pair perfectly with my new (just ordered) Raidho D3's, but I'm afraid they may not. The Soulution/Raidho pairing I think will be a much better synergy. The owner of Raidho uses Soulution amps in his home (501's). That says a lot.
Just because I love the D'Agostino amps and the Raidho speakers doesn't mean they will work well together.
My research for pairing with Raidho's has showing the best three are:
1. Soulution (high priced)
2. Jeff Rowland (moderate priced)
3. Sim Audio (most economical)
Mike |
I already bought the Raidho D3's.
If you go to the Raidho Acoustics Facebook page - the speakers they are building "for a customer in Florida" are mine! :)
I'm still considering Soulution, Audionet, Viola and D'Agostino. Maybe Sim, Jeff Rowland and Burmester too.
Open to other suggestions. Amps need to have a high damping factor (north of 500 is best). Soulution and Audionet are both over 10,000. Wowser. High damping factor is one of the important specs for control of the difficult, hard, diamond woofers.
The D'Agostino doesn't have a high damping factor, but damn do I love the sound! May not be a fit on my D3's though. TBD. |
The D'Agostino amp is one of my favorites - indeed! You have to be careful with isolation. Too much isolation is not good IMO. Isolation causes equipment to store up energy and this energy needs to be released. We are all talking about isolation, but no one is asking "is this really a good thing?" I think we may learn in the near future, that too much isolation is not ideal.
I am narrowing my amp selection down to Audionet, Burmester and Soulution. D'Agostino is still in the running - but I need to hear it on D3's. |
@audiolabyrinth - the D3 specs are 89db, 6ohms, with a impedance ohm drop into the 3 range.
I am flying to Boston next week for a demonstration of the Audionet amp/preamp on the D3's. In addition, my friend may bring his Soulution 501's so we can compare head-to-head vs the Audionet. I'm very much looking forward to that.
The new Audionet DNP preamp is very interesting. I would like your thoughts on it. If you search on youtube, you will actually find Audionet demonstrating their amps with the Raidho C3.1 speakers (same specs as my D3). Here is a review on the new preamp: http://www.i-fidelity.net/en/test-reports/high-end/audionet-dnp/audionet-dnp.html
You know I absolutely love the D'Agostino amps, and my friend who owns the D'Agostino amps/preamp just bought a pair of D3's! So, I will get to hear that combo too.
I'm also interested in the Viola Acoustics amps. The monos were favorably reviewed in the latest Tone Magazine (you can download this for free) at www.tonepublications.com or just the review at: http://www.violalabs.com/sites/default/files/viola_review_bravo.pdf |
Your friend, is my friend....and he swaps gear as much as I do. He loves the amp, but not the preamp. I've never said I wanted the preamp, but the amps are exceptional. Tell Joe I said hello.
As for blind, I'm far from blind. I am doing my own listening, making a list, and checking it twice. :)
I would like to hear the Viola amps and draw my own conclusions - as I do with the Burmester, Accuphase and several others on my list. |
@Audiolabyrinth - the frequency response of the D3 is: 30 Hz - 50 KHz
Thank you for your kind words. I am really looking forward to my trip to Boston next Thursday/Friday where I will hear my speakers on Audionet and Soulution amps. Then I will hear a variety of Magico Q and S series speakers with Soulution, Constellation and even some of the new SimAudio amps. I also hope to hear the Rockport speakers (again). My previous demo of them here in Florida was less than ideal.
In case you're wondering why I would audition speakers....it's because I have two systems. I just sold my "outstanding for the money" Revel Studio 2's in my second system. So, they will likely be replaced with something like Magico S1, S5, Q1 or even Raidho D2's! :) We shall see. It needs to be a speaker that can perform well relatively close to the back wall. The Magico S5/Vitus combination was still one of my favorites. I could possible do the S5 and Vitus integrated in my second system. We shall see.
I may end up moving the D3's to my second system and buying the Wilson Alexia/D'Agostino monos - which is still the best system synergy I've heard to date.
I'll no doubt further confuse things by going to RMAF this year and hearing Vivid Giya G2's and an assortment of other things.
So much gear....so little time (and money!) :)
Mike |
Thanks guys! This is certainly fun. It's hard to tell yourself to slow down and audition. This stuff is never in one place. I've had to travel to Dallas, Toronto, Miami and now Boston. Denver next month. Phew! I may not have any money left for gear after all these trips! :)
P.S. if you guys get a chance, come on over and join my audio forum (it's free) - www.audioshark.org Lots of good discussions. |
