Opinions on why this system is uninvolving

charles, try to swing the Supra amps, maybe get package deal. Jud Barber is an old friend of mine at Joule, great guy and I have his pre, but the amps are different. The amps are more thin than the pre's. I haven't heard the Stargate, but would be surprised if sound of those amps are that much off what I've heard earlier. Since getting TAS attention, not the value as when they started, but still good stuff, and, again, Jud, like Mick, is a class act. I just think the Supra's are a hell of a lot for the money - you are essentially getting the $15K LAMM's super customized. That said, you can't go wrong with Jud or his products.

Tubegroove is right, dump the speakers. Look around, stay away from wjat people call "high resolution"; look for what people call "musical." Vandys are not your answer. Spendors, guys?

Bwhite also right, get those nice amps OUT of the Hydra and into the wall. Plug CD/pre into Hydra. Avoid long IC's if at all possible.

Get better IC's/spkr cabling. Ask around, see other posts, say how much you are willing to drop.

Hovland nice, good company, but Supratek far better, less money. You'd like it. See current thread on it.

Good luck!!

Stehno, you say that I must be wrong on the Vandy 5's in how they sound, assuming that I must not have listened long enough, while admitting that you do not know what my experience is and have no experience yourself beyond what other people have told you, ie no experience? Interesting approach to an argument, but if you simply have to believe that Vandy's have the spatial and harmonic sophistication of some others based upon a conversation with a manufacturer - not always a good place to look for objective opinion - then ok, I'll be happy for you. Vandy 5's are nice speakers and I would recommend them to many people, but given the poster's sterilty sensitivity, which implies a strong need for sophisticated harmonics and spatial continuity, I believe he should look beyond Vandersteen.

Glad that tweeking has helped, Znak. Now, look at the wires, but don't go nutty - bwhite can help you there too. I still think in the end you will move away from the Revels. Talk to bwhite about his pre and its effects on his system.

Stehno, you keep making assumptions, as in, if I don't believe that the Vandy's are the last word on spatial and harmonic performance, then, ipso facto, I've somehow said that they are "sterile". That's NOT what I said and I do not appreciate your bending of my words, which, at this point, one must assume is intentional. I said that the 5's can be bettered by other speakers in those specific areas and that, in the context of the poster's listening biases, this consideration is heightened, and, in my opinion, determitive.

I was a "professional" reviewer (TAS,UA) and I can tell you from personal experience, you really need to try and get beyond this conformism to others' ideas in a dearth of your own experience. Mags are fun and informative, but should be kept in perspective. I'm glad you are excited about the world of audio, but, please, in the future, try to think before you leap.

I have two systems: TNT 4, Graham 2, Cardas Heart, Hovland phono cable, NBS & Audionote Kondo wire, ElectraGlide PC's , ESP Concert Grand & Harp, Spendor & Quad US spkrs, Joule Electra line & phono, Supratek pre, AirTight ATM300 amp, Cary 805 monos, dedicated lines & room, all NOS tubed, etc. etc.

You have too nice of a system - hence, have been around long enough - to be comfortable with demanding others to provide information when you yourself have admittedly no experience with the issue at hand.

Your next question, since I know you can't stop...

I have owned 2 Vandy spkrs (1B & 2Ce), heard them more times than I can count and and have recommended them to many people starting out. The 5 is alot of speaker for the $ - I've heard it several times - and, as I said, I would recommend them to many people (and have...). However, the Vandy's as a line - and the 5's continue this - have never been world beaters in some nuanced areas aforementioned. Better all the time, but not the best.

If you do not know this, then we will have to agree to disagree until you either 1) listen to what you've read about, or 2) listen and are entitled to conclude/demand as you do above (assuming that your listening experience aligns with your pre-concieved ideas).

Frankly, I've never seen someone exhibit such tenacity on an issue that they themselves admit they have no experience in.

At this point, its become something apart from "interesting".

Tok, agreed.

Stehno, sorry I hit you too hard. You didn't seem to be waking up. Hope you feel better after hitting me back. I will leave you with that and turn the cheek. You need to ask yourself, however, how my original post steering the poster away from Vandy's - while never saying they were necessarily bad speakers - makes me now "irresponsible". I understand you are upset, but you need to be more careful with such words in the future. Just for the record, the "was" in the context of reviewer was past tense.

Btuna, Supratek has some LAMM look alike amps for @ $5K which is a steal - a lot for your $. Take a look on their site. Havene't heard them myself, but worth consideration given pre's performance.

Let's see, Audiomecca/EAD with JL Mini/REL, Supratek electronics...sounds delicious.

Bwhite...a six month old echo can be heard. Do you hear it?

Teres 265, teres, teres...

Koetsu Urushi, urushi, urushi...

:0)