OK we all know what a merry-go-round audio can be. For those of us who are incessant upgraders, what components have you found that either have stopped or seriously curtailed your search for better?
For me its my Audio Tekne Cables and my vintage Classe DR3 amps (25 wpc high current class A design designed by Dave Reisch in the early days of the company). My Green Mountain Audio Continuum 3s would probably fall into this category, but I would probably buy the next statement models that Roy Johnson builds sight unheard.
The 2Q symmetrical balanced transformer product from Equitech is definitely a keeper as a foundation for AC power isolation/conditioning in my Spectra/MIT system. The beauty of the product is the incontrovertible mathematics it's based on. A breakthrough with an apparently limitless application timespan; well,as long as we use electricity...
I bought an HITACHI AM/FM Stereo FT920 back in about 1976 and it's been on and playing ever since. In the 80/90's I tried a couple of the most highly touted new digital tuners but found I easily preferred the Hitachi. It replaced a very highly touted Marantz(then given to a brother in law) I found the Hitachi bettered the Marantz in clarity and nuance and particularly the bottom end which I found too 'bloomy' in the Marantz. I can't comment on aspects other than the sound received from good FM stations.
After auditioning several integrated amplifiers over the last two years I have settled on the Mark Levinson No. 585 integrated. It will stay around for a long time. I’m also be happy with the recently acquired Focal Sopra No. 1s.
Looking back at my post from 2005 where I answered the question of " equipment that's made me stop looking " ,then seeing my answer being Mcintosh XRT-22 dual column line arrays my answer still holds true ,anybody else here still have the same equipment they fell in love with 15 years ago ?
My Mcintosh XRT-22s have never been taken out of my 5 channel Mcintosh system as no speaker I've heard makes me feel as they do ,until I lucked into buying Roger Russells personal Mcintosh XR-290 triple column line arrays a few years ago ,the all Mcintosh system still has every component it had in it when I posted in 2005 e.
Lyngdorf 2170, Within the first 2 wks of using,I stepped directly off the Preamp,pwr amp,dac merry go rounds and started listing and selling gear that I would no longer use or need.
The only related gear that I look at now is Lyngdorf’s new 3400.
Being retired, I'm done upgrading anyway, but more by luck than judgement, have ended up with a system I'm happy to stay with till it breaks, or I fall off my perch.
TW Accustic Raven one Turntable, Ortofon 309D arm
Innuos Zenith Server
Magnum Dynalab Etude tuner
Modwright 36.5 Pre
ARC Ref 75 SE Power amp
Daedalus Audio DA-RMA speakers
Stax l700 Earspeakers with Mjolnir Audio KGss Energiser
For me, it's been my Audio Note Kit 003 speakers (Audio Note AN-E LX/He spec). I've been through a few different speakers last few years including Spatial Audio M3 TS, Totem Element Ember and Tekton Double Impacts etc.
These AN's do everything I've lusted after and more. Now I'm finally tweaking the rest of my system around them instead of vice versa.
Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck. Used to startle friends with how good their tapes actually were! Kept it. I was lucky to get one of the last few made. Serendipity. I’ve kept it and am building a new equipment rack where it will be very welcome.
My Fisher Price Record player. Got it when I was 3 and have been so happy with it I have never wanted to look at anything else. Of course it doesn't actually "play" so I have to whistle and pretend. But it is fun to play with.
YG Acoustics speakers, got my first pair over eight years ago and have moved up the line. Doubt I'll ever own another brand Audionet electronics. Kubala-Sosna wire
Pass Labs. I downsized from a Pass Labs X250 and had instant regret. Went through many different brands and a lot of money before I finally realized what I needed to do. Bought a Pass Labs X250.8 and haven't changed a thing in years.
I had gone through probably a dozen pre amps and finally just got an aesthetix Janis signature and was quite content until one day I walked into see a movie (James Bond) with my wife and an aesthetix calisto eclipse came up. I had only seen one or two come up in the last few years, but this was in excellent condition and had the single power supply with the reinforced case. As the light dimmed, i couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I snuck out in a slow passage and just bought it. After selling my Janus Sig it only cost me $600. It has stayed in my reference system for the past 5+ years and has satisfied my need to look around. The only thing I can see is that I have been looking for an Io without volume to pair with my callisto.
Hello @tvad it is an SMc hybrid made from the TLC-1 platform with the VRE-1 outboard power supply and a bunch of upgrades. I actually quit using it as a preamp and with Steve's help bypassed the volume control with two Audio Note Tantalum silver resistors so I now use it as a buffer with my Metrum Adagio, that has volume control by changing the reference voltage. I am currently in discussions with Steve and Patrick to build me a dedicated buffer based on the VRE-0.5 platform but without volume control.
InnuOs Zenith Mkiii Roon Server Innuos Phoenix USB reclocker Luxman C900u preamp Pass Labs X0.8 series amps (assuming everyone ok after this crisis I’ll attempt to trade in my INT 250 for X350.8)
Dynaudio Confidence 50 loudspeakers
These are all in my done forever group.
Chord TT2 DAC is fundamentally amazing and will likely enter above group assuming I have a place to plug it in after this current health crisis.
for me it's my simple integrated Naim xs2 amp in my second system and the xs3 amp in my living area system. perfect amps for living and listening. don't even think about replacing them.
ML326S preamp, ML390S CD processor used as transport, ML36(S) DAC, PASS X350.5 and last but not least, Burmester 961, 3 way floor stander speakers, Transparent Ultra XLR, Transparent Ref. digital XLR, StraightWire WaveGuide speaker cable, (definately NOT in bi-wire fashion).
If my music / living space would be much bigger - maybe, some Wilson Sasha DAW would be something to look out for (in place of another new car? 🤭) 💐 Michélle 🇿🇦
I notice that many of the components listed are of the higher budget category, so here's something a little bit different. I've tried what might be more in the "mid-fi" end of things. Emotiva, Adcom, Parasound, Nad, and older components by Harman Kardon and Onkyo.
Still unsatisfied, although the experience was fun. I also went through over a dozen pairs of speakers from Paradigm, Pioneer, Polk, Tannoy, Totem Acoustic, Infinity and Mission(everything mostly used, under 1500 except the Paradigm Signature S6 v2). The Tannoys and Totems imaged the best and sounded more like live music to me.
And what complimented them well were components from Schiit Audio, The Freya+ is simply the best preamp I've owned, and people rave about it. I didn't realize it but mid-fi typically has too many compromises and affects/degrades the signal before it ever gets to your speakers. Not the Freya+. It's a true industry disrupter(saw another guy use that phrase and it really fits), so transparent and engaging and far better than anything I had before.
The Schiit Vidar also performs far above its asking price, and their Aegir amp is on Stereophile's A list. I've stopped looking for real, and started enjoying the music more.
My system, with all digital sources, has a P15 power regenerator, DirectStream CD/SACD disk transport & DirectStream DAC from PS Audio, Mytek Brooklyn DAC for streaming MQA, a Roon Nucleus Plus streaming server controlled from my iPad & Android smart phone, a Dell Windows10 Pro machine for iTunes, McIntosh C2500 tube pre-amp, McIntosh MC452 solid state power amp, driving a pair of Focal Sopra No2 speakers, and a pair of JL Audio F113V2 sub woofers, all connections with Wireworld cabling.
It's all boxed up, as we moved from MD to NC, as our new house (with a "bonus room") won't be ready until February or March....
Pass Labs electronics have kept the itch at bay for 18 years now. My Hales T5’s are not being replaced any time soon. The only thing I have changed over the years is digital gear, headphone gear and cables.
My Audio Art Statement e2plus power cables are as nice as I can imagine. I would probably have to spend thousands of dollars per cable to better them and at that I can’t imagine. I think I’m good to stop looking at power cables.
My actual equipment totally stop me to frantically looking( i look sometimes for some gear hundred times more costly than all my audio system, someone can always dream for sure)... :)
The reason why my actual equipment sound so good that i dont look frantically to upgrade it, is not by virtue of his branded magical generic design.... But yes the design of my carefully electronic components is good and the brand well choosen...
The reason why i dont look no more to upgrade at all cost is :
Any generic electronic component need to be rightfully embed in the" particular" machanical dimension and in the electrical and the acoustical dimensions to reach his utmost potential S.Q.
The price paid and the brand name of any electronic design is way less important than you think, the way you will embed it in your house is the most important factor....
I will not name the brand name of my beloved amplifier, or speakers, or dac.... I dont want to sell anything, i wanted instead to reveal something very important.... Thats all....
+1 boa Eva M for the win. I fell in love with her in Hitch. I actually had a Jamaican American girlfriend who looked a lot like her
My room is 20 x 40 x 12ft peak in vaulted ceiling. It takes some umph to load the room with a good spl. The PS Audio M700s didn't quite get me there, so I moved on to Ric Schultz EVS1200, dual mono 1200AS1 class D modules, highly tweaked amp, pumping 600/1200 wpc. It's doing everything I want on all musical genres. That said, I am curious to hear with my own ears, in my system whether the Voyager GaN amp is any better (its only 200w @$3K), especially in my room. So the GaNs said virtues may well be lost here Speakers: I have Emerald Physics 3.4s which would be amazing in a much smaller room, but expecting EP 2.8s to help my EVS1200 fill my room. I suspect my speaker search will be over: https://www.emeraldphysics.com/products/ep-28
It should be fun revisiting this one year from now!!!
I’m essentially ’done’.
Speakers: Vintage from 1958: 15" woofers (re-coned), horn mids and highs, new rosewood enclosures. Spare drivers for next generation’s use.
everything goes thru
Chase RLC-1. remote line controller: 4 inputs/volume/balance from listening chair. auto loudness bass boost properly engaged as volume is reduced. I have spares.
McIntosh mx110z, tube tuner preamp, terrific sounding FM and Phono (2 MM), McIntosh Mode switch is a big help when balancing the system, especially my speakers with individual controls for brilliance and presence. They are tricky to get frequency response matching individually and l/r.
Teac Reel to Reel X2000r, their last ’prosumer’ deck.
TT, big change just finished: JVC two arm plinth cl-p2 with TT81 spinner Blackbird 12.5" long arm, now my first MC cartridge, god help me with future MC chase. Fidelity FRT-4 SUT, 3 inputs, 4 optional loads, pass: then to mx110z’s wonderful Phono. Acos Lustre gst-801 9" arm with MM Mono cartridge. I may try different mono cartridge someday, and I use alt. MM stereo cartridge for some ’non-special’ LP’s to reduce MC stylus wear.
*IF I ever see/get rare JVC CL-P3 three arm plinth, then I will have 1 mono, 2 stereo arms. Not an upgrade, just a functional change.
CD, 5 disc changer, nothing special, but it matched my high end single player’s sound, back to LP big time, no incentive to change it.
Dual Cassette, Onkyo TA-RX490,
8 Track: Columbia House Player (sentimental gift, I designed their offices way back then). ......................
Probably will change Tube Amp. Now Cayin A88T Integrated with remote volume, very happy with it’s sound. Plenty of power for my speakers, It has 16 ohm taps for my vintage speakers, but it has internal bias control which scares me as well as inconvenient. I’ll keep my eyes out for unit with 16 ohm taps and external bias, only 1 input needed, no remote needed as all go thru Chase controller.
I don’t stream, highly doubtful I ever will. ...............................................
I think I'm "done" for now, though I might upgrade my disk transport to the new one from PS Audio in the future:
My system, with all digital sources, has a P15 power regenerator, DirectStream CD/SACD disk transport & DirectStream DAC from PS Audio, a Roon Nucleus Plus streaming server controlled from my iPad & Android smart phone, a Dell Windows10 Pro machine for iTunes, McIntosh C2500 tube pre-amp, McIntosh MC452 solid state power amp, driving a pair of Focal Sopra No2 speakers, and a pair of JL Audio F113V2 sub woofers, all connections with Wireworld cabling.
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